Isochronous mass spectrometry based on heavy-ion storage rings is a powerful tool for direct mass measurements of very short-lived nuclei. Owing to the nature of in-flight separation of high-energy ...reaction products, many ion species with different mass-to-charge ratios (m/q) can be transmitted to and stored in the ring in one shot. However, high mass resolving power can be achieved only for a limited range of ion species with velocities well matching the isochronous condition of the ring. The knowledge of velocities of each stored ions is required to overcome this restriction. For this purpose, two time-of-flight (TOF) detectors were installed 18 m apart in one straight section of the cooler-storage ring CSRe in Lanzhou. The time sequences measured by the two TOF detectors for each stored ion were used for the precision determination of its velocity. A relative precision of the velocity is achieved to the level of10−5for individual ions. The betatron oscillations of the ion motion in the ring were clearly identified in the data and were taken into account in the analysis. The presented technique can be used for measurements of machine tunes and their dependence on particle momenta.
The rural population in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka is largely affected by Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown etiology (CKDu). According to the multidisciplinary research carried out so far, quality of ...groundwater is considered one of the possible causative factors for CKDu. Therefore, assessment of the quality of groundwater being used for drinking and its evolution mechanism is the key to identifying the linkage between CKDu and drinking water. This study aimed to perform a detailed investigation on groundwater sources using isotopic, chemical, and hydrogeological methods in the CKDu-endemic (site A) and the control area (sedimentary formation—site B) in the Malwathu Oya basin and the control areas in the Malala Oya basin (site C) selected for a systematic comparison. Our investigation shows that elevated levels of TDS, magnesium, and fluoride in the shallow groundwater affected by climatic, geochemical, and hydrogeological processes may contribute to the CKDu in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka. All the groundwater samples analysed have exceeded the hardness threshold. Prominent Mg hardness proportion together with excess Fsup.− in the CKDu endemic area may produce nephrotoxic MgFsub.2 complexes that may trigger renal damage. In contrast, NaF complexes in the CKDu control area leads to reduction of Fsup.− toxicity in the human body. Elevated Fsup.− and Mgsup.2+ are found in site A, low Fsup.− and high Mgsup.2+ in site B, and either combinations of low Fsup.− and low Mgsup.2+, high Fsup.− and low Mgsup.2+, or low Fsup.− with high Mgsup.2+ in site C. TDS, hardness, Mgsup.2+, Nasup.+, and Fsup.− are formed with different mechanisms in the three selected areas. The primary process that regulates the evolution of groundwater types and contents in sites A and C is the weathering of silicates. Similarly, in site A, carbonate dissolution and reverse ion exchange are quite strong. Cation exchange and evaporite dissolution are more pronounced in site C. Shallow groundwaters are evapo-concentrated, hence their quality deteriorates more significantly than the deep groundwater in the CKDu endemic area. Dilution decreases the ion content in site A while evaporite dissolution increases it in site C after the rainy season. Evaporation and seawater mixing affect the quality of groundwater in site B. It is also found that a statistically significant difference exists in the Fsup.−/Nasup.+, Fsup.−/Mgsup.2+, and Fsup.−/Casup.2+ between the endemic and control areas. Intensive rock weathering combined with desorption has added excess Fsup.− to the groundwater in site A, while cation exchange and fluorite dissolution are contributing factors in site C.
Hepatitis B virus infection is still a major global health problem, despite decades of research. Interleukin (IL)-22 induces acute phase reactants and chemokines, favors anti-microbial defence and ...protects tissues from damage. IL-22 is important in chronic skin inflammation, but its role in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is unclear. This study explores the association between intra-hepatic IL-22 expression, its relevant associated cytokines and the severity of liver inflammation/fibrosis in CHB patients. IL-22, IL-17, IL-10, IL-6, non-ELR-CXC chemokines (CXCL-9, CXCL-10, CXCL-11), fibroblast growth factors and Kupffer cell (KC) numbers were measured in patients with CHB (n=65), acute hepatitis B (AHB; n=4), chronic hepatitis C (CHC; n=14) and non-viral hepatitis (n=23), using immunohistochemistry. Expression of IL-22, IL-17, IL-10, IL-6, non-ELR-CXC chemokines and number of KCs in liver tissues were substantially higher in AHB patients than others. In CHB patients, the expression of IL-22, IL-6, CXCL-9 and CXCL-10 were significantly higher with alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels ≤ twice the upper limit of normal (ULN), compared with those with ALT levels >twice the ULN, whereas IL-10 and IL-17 showed a reverse pattern. IL-22 was inversely (P<0.01), but IL-17 was positively (P<0.05), correlated with the histological activity index) in these patients, and a significant negative correlation between the fibrosis stage and IL-22 or non-ELR-CXC chemokines was observed. Furthermore, immunofluorescent labeling demonstrated a close spatial association of IL-22, CXCL-9, -10 or -11 in the CHB liver. We speculate that IL-22 and non-ELR-CXC chemokines synergistically may provide protection in liver inflammation/fibrosis during CHB infection.
The direct electrochemistry of glucose oxidase (GOD) immobilized on a hexagonal mesoporous silica modified glassy carbon electrode was investigated. The adsorbed GOD displayed a pair of redox peaks ...with a formal potential of −
417 mV in 0.1 M pH 6.1 phosphate buffer solution (PBS). The response showed a diffusion-controlled electrode process with a two-electron transfer coupled with a two-proton transfer reaction process. GOD immobilized on a hexagonal mesoporous silica retained its bioactivity and stability. In addition, the immobilized GOD could electrocatalyze the oxidation of glucose to gluconlactone by taking ferrocene monocarboxylic acid (FMCA) as a mediator in N
2 saturated solutions, indicating that the electrode may have the potential application in biosensors to analyze glucose. The sensor could exclude the interference of commonly coexisted uric acid,
p-acetaminophenol and ascorbic acid and diagnose diabetes very fast and sensitively. This work demonstrated that the mesoporous silica provided a novel matrix for protein immobilization and the construction of biosensors.
In this study, the insertion of both Al and Cr atoms into SiC matrix has been experimentally evidenced by X-ray diffraction, Raman scattering, elements analysis and magnetic measurements. Structure ...analysis showed that (Al, Cr)-codoped SiC has a single-phase 4H-crystal structure and no trace of any other impurity phases were detected. Raman scattering showed that several new features appeared in (Al, Cr)-codoped 4H-SiC: (1) the vanishing of the folded longitudinal-optical phonons modes-plasmon coupling (FLOPC) modes with
x=(
q/
q
B)=0; (2) an obvious absorbing peak was found in Si
1−
x−
y
Al
x
Cr
y
C with
y=0.0203
at%; (3) folded transverse-optical (FTO) mode shifts to high frequency and linewidths full widths at half maximum (FWHM) decrease with increase in Cr content. Magnetic properties characterizations showed that weak ferromagnetism order is established. With increase in Cr content, the magnetization decreased. No clear influence of Al doping on the magnetic properties of codoped 4H-SiC is evidenced while the magnetic origin should be ascribed to be induced by Cr. It is speculated that doping Cr elements at Si sites destroy the effective coupling of the spins induced by Al doping. The major role of Al is to stabilize the codoped crystal structure as 4H-single-phase.
► We found that codoping Al and Cr elements can also be realized in SiC lattice. ► No traces of any other impurities phase were detected by various characterizations means. ► In other words, codoping strategy of using (Al, TM) elements is useful to approach natural magnetic properties of TM-doped SiC.
Aims/hypothesis Chromosome 1q21-q24 has been shown to be linked to type 2 diabetes. The International Type 2 Diabetes 1q Consortium showed that one of the nominal associations was located in the ...NOS1AP gene. Although this association was not replicated in additional samples of European descent, it remains unknown whether NOS1AP plays a role in Chinese individuals. Methods In stage 1 analyses, 79 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the NOS1AP gene were successfully genotyped in a group of Shanghai Chinese individuals, comprising 1,691 type 2 diabetes patients and 1,720 control participants. In stage 2 analyses, the SNP showing the strongest association was genotyped in additional Chinese individuals, including 1,663 type 2 diabetes patients and 1,408 control participants. Results In stage 1 analyses, 20 SNPs were nominally associated with type 2 diabetes (p < 0.05), with SNP rs12742393 showing the strongest association (OR 1.24 95% CI 1.11-1.38; p = 0.0002, empirical p = 0.019). Haplotype analysis also confirmed the association between rs12742393 and type 2 diabetes. In stage 2 analyses, the difference in allele frequency distribution of rs12742393 did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.254). However, the meta-analysis showed a significant association between rs12742393 and type 2 diabetes with an OR of 1.17 (95% CI 1.07-1.26; p = 0.0005). Conclusions/interpretation Our data suggest that NOS1AP variants may not play a dominant role in susceptibility to type 2 diabetes, but a minor effect cannot be excluded.
Genomic biomarkers for the detection of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) from blood are urgently needed for monitoring drug safety. We used a unique data set as part of the Food and Drug ...Administration led MicroArray Quality Control Phase-II (MAQC-II) project consisting of gene expression data from the two tissues (blood and liver) to test cross-tissue predictability of genomic indicators to a form of chemically induced liver injury. We then use the genomic indicators from the blood as biomarkers for prediction of acetaminophen-induced liver injury and show that the cross-tissue predictability of a response to the pharmaceutical agent (accuracy as high as 92.1%) is better than, or at least comparable to, that of non-therapeutic compounds. We provide a database of gene expression for the highly informative predictors, which brings biological context to the possible mechanisms involved in DILI. Pathway-based predictors were associated with inflammation, angiogenesis, Toll-like receptor signaling, apoptosis, and mitochondrial damage. The results show for the first time and support the hypothesis that genomic indicators in the blood can serve as potential diagnostic biomarkers predictive of DILI.
Tourism geography did not exist in China before 1978. Since its birth shortly after the 1978 reforms, it has been growing rapidly. After a brief period of growth with strong interests in theoretical ...issues, the field over the last two decades has been dominated by applied work. This is attributable to the rise of tourism as an important source of national and local income which demands better planning of tourism resources, and to the neoliberalization of the educational system at the university level. Topics of theoretical inquiry are suggested for the development of a more balanced tourism geography in China.
Due to the increasing demand for clean energy and improved energy utilization, the metal hydride heat transformer for low-grade heat recovery has attracted wide attentions recently. In this paper, ...such a system with LaNi sub(5)-LaNi sub(4.7)Al sub(0.3) pair, which is used for upgrading waste heat to a higher temperature, was investigated in detail by numerical simulation. Different from existing studies, in this investigation only ambient and waste heat sources are involved during operation of the heat transformer, which could be advantageous in many aspects. A rigorous 2-D unsteady model was developed and numerically solved by the fully implicit finite volume method (FVM). It was shown that the proposed system can achieve steady heat upgrading operation, resulting in an average temperature boost of 6.8 K using a 358 K waste heat source. The dynamic behavior of the heat transformer in three subsequent cycles was analyzed, and the measures aiming at continuous output were further discussed.
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