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ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE: Reducing the priming volume is an effective means of decreasing hemodilution and blood transfusion during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). The patient's own blood was used to replace the crystalloid in the CPB circuit by retrograde autologous priming (RAP) in order to decrease the priming volume. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to investigate whether RAP could reduce blood transfusion and improve clinical outcomes.Materials and METHODS: A comprehensive search was conducted for randomized, controlled trials (RCTs) exploring RAP in PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, Google Scholar and Chinese literature databases (WanFang, WeiPu and CNKI). Clinical parameters and outcomes were focused on the lowest hematocrit (Hct) during CPB, the number of patients transfused blood intraoperatively, the number of patients transfused blood perioperatively, the number of blood units transfused, 24-hour chest tube drainage, hours to extubation, length of ICU stay, and length of hospital stay. RESULTS: Ten trials, with a total of 1123 patients, were included. The number of patients transfused blood intraoperatively (RR = 0.39, 95% CI = [0.29, 0.53], p<0.00001, I(2) = 40%) and perioperatively (RR = 0.53, 95% CI = [0.43, 0.66], p<0.00001, I(2) = 0%) and the number of blood units transfused (SMD = -0.53, 95% CI = [-0.73, -0.33], p<0.00001, I(2) = 14%) were all significantly reduced in the RAP group. No differences in the hours to extubation (SMD = -0.11, 95% CI = [-0.33, 0.12], p=0.37, I(2) = 0%) and the length of ICU stay (SMD = -0.17, 95% CI = [-0.41, 0.08], p=0.18, I(2) = 0%) were observed between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Compared to conventional priming, RAP could reduce transfusion in adults significantly, but had no effect on clinical outcomes, comparing to conventional priming. Further studies involving RAP are expected to investigate if this technique is beneficial to the patient.
Perfusion 01/2013; · 0.92 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: L-arginine (L-Arg), the precursor of nitric oxide (NO), plays multiple important roles in nutrient metabolism and immune regulation. L-Arg supplement serves as a potential adjunctive therapy for severe malaria, because it improves NO bioavailability and reverses endothelial dysfunction in severe malaria patients. In this study, we investigated the effect of dietary L-Arg supplement on host immune responses during subsequent malaria infection using the Plasmodium yoelii 17XL - BALB/c mouse model. We have shown that pretreatment of mice with L-Arg significantly decreased parasitemia and prolonged the survival time of mice after infection. L-Arg supplement led to significant increases in activated CD4(+)T-bet(+)IFN-γ(+) T cells and F4/80(+)CD36(+) macrophages during early-stage infection, which were accompanied by enhanced synthesis of IFN-γ, TNF-α and NO by spleen cells. Moreover, L-Arg-pretreated mice developed more splenic myeloid and plasmacytoid dendritic cells with up-regulated expression of MHC II, CD86 and TLR9. In comparison, L-Arg treatment did not change the number of regulatory T cells and the level of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. Taken together, our results showed that L-Arg pretreatment could improve the protective immune response in experimental malaria infection in mice, which underlines potential importance of L-Arg supplement in malaria-endemic human populations.
Parasite Immunology 06/2012; 34(8-9):412-20. · 2.60 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Considered as a significant ultrafiltration technology during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), zero-balance ultrafiltration (Z-BUF) has always received controversial support regarding its effectiveness in reducing inflammatory mediators in plasma. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the clinical effect of Z-BUF through screening all relevant published randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
A comprehensive search was conducted to screen all RCTs of Z-BUF. Three trained investigators searched databases, including PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Google scholar, and Chinese literature databases (CNKI, WanFang, WeiPu). RCTs that compared Z-BUF with non-ultrafiltration were included. We focused on clinical outcomes such as length of stay in ICU, duration of ventilation, hospital stay, total amount of chest tube drainage and mortality. Finally, a total of 7 studies containing appropriate criteria were divided into an adult group and a pediatric group. A random effects model was used to calculate weighted mean difference with 95% confidence intervals.
In the adult group, the benefits of Z-BUF in duration of ventilation (WMD=-2.77, 95% CI = [-6.26, 0.72], I(2)=71%, p=0.12) and the length of ICU stay (WMD=-4.13, 95% CI = [-10.09, 1.84], I(2)=77%, Z=1.36, p=0.17) were not apparent, with significant heterogeneity existing in the statistical results. The rest of the clinical parameters could not be evaluated due to insufficient data. In the pediatric group, combined analysis showed Z-BUF could reduce the duration of mechanical ventilation (WMD=3.07; 95%CI= [-7.56, -3.46], I(2)=17%, p=0.27). The advantage of Z-BUF was not observed in other clinical outcomes.
The benefits of Z-BUF were not apparent, according to the report. Further studies involving combined ultrafiltration are expected to provide improved ultrafiltration during CPB.
Perfusion 06/2012; 27(5):386-92. · 0.92 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: It is proposed to use 14MeV neutrons tagged by the associated particle neutron time-of-flight technique (APnTOF) to identify
the fillers of unexploded ordnances (UXO) by characterizing their carbon, nitrogen and oxygen contents. To facilitate the
design and construction of a prototype system, a preliminary simulation model was developed, using the Geant4 toolkit. This
work established the toolkit environment for (a) generating tagged neutrons, (b) their transport and interactions within a
sample to induce emission and detection of characteristic gamma-rays, and (c) 2D and 3D-image reconstruction of the interrogated
object using the neutron and gamma-ray time-of-flight information. Using the modeling, this article demonstrates the novelty
of the tagged-neutron approach for extracting useful signals with high signal-to-background discrimination of an object-of-interest
from that of its environment. Simulations indicated that an UXO filled with the RDX explosive, hexogen (C3H6O6N6), can be identified to a depth of 20cm when buried in soil.
KeywordsTagged-neutron–UXO identification–Modeling–Geant4 tool kit
Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry 04/2012; · 1.52 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: A laser-diode-pumped high efficiency, high pulse energy and single-frequency oscillator and amplifier for potential space
environment applications have been developed and demonstrated using conductively-cooled heat removal. A diode-pumped injection
seeded single-frequency oscillator was achieved by using the resonance-detection technique in Q-Switching operation, and Nd:
YAG zigzag slabs based on “pump on bounce” are used in power amplifier stage for high-efficiency pulse energy extraction.
Output pulse energy of 800mJ with 11ns pulse duration is obtained at a repetition rate of 100Hz, with a near 3× diffraction-limit
beam and an optical-to-optical efficiency of 18%. The experimental result shows that the laser has compact structure, high
efficiency, reliability, conductive cooling and can be used for space environments.
Applied Physics B 04/2012; 103(4):809-812. · 2.19 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Preliminary field observations in our maize breeding nurseries indicated that breeding for improved resistance to gibberella
ear rot (Fusarium graminearum) in maize may indirectly select for resistance to another ear disease, common smut (Ustilago zeae). To investigate this, we compared the disease severity ratings obtained on 189 maize inbreds, eight of which included our
inbreds developed with selection for gibberella ear rot resistance after field inoculation and breeding for 8–10years. No
correlation was found between disease severities for the 189 inbreds but the eight gibberella-resistant lines were consistently
more resistant to smut. To further examine this relationship and to determine if these eight inbreds would be useful for developing
inbreds with either common smut or fusarium ear rot (F. verticilliodes) resistance, we conducted a Griffing’s diallel analysis on six inbreds of maize, four with high levels of gibberella ear
rot resistance representing all of the pedigree groups in our eight gibberella lines, and two with very low levels. Our most
gibberella ear rot resistant inbreds, CO433 and CO441, had the lowest disease ratings for all three diseases, the consistently
largest general combining ability effects and several significant specific combining ability effects. It was concluded that
some inbreds bred specifically for gibberella ear rot would also be useful in breeding for resistance to common smut and fusarium
ear rot.
Euphytica 04/2012; 165(3):567-578. · 1.55 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The structure and phase behavior of amphiphilic compound sodium 2,3,4-tri(dodecyl)benzenesulfonate, which is capable of self-assembling
and contains methacryloyl groups in aliphatic ends, were studied by X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry.
The initial samples are characterized by an ordered columnar ϕ
oh
phase, which, during a rise in temperature to 53°C (at the expense of mobility, an increase in mesogenic groups, and a loss
of order in their mutual arrangement), transforms into a disordered columnar ϕ
h
phase. Under the action of irradiation, the cross-linking of benzenesulfonate molecules by methacryloyl groups and the formation
of a continuous polymer matrix occur, which leads to a consistency of the column diameter at high temperatures. Cross linking
proceeds much more intensively in the area where the disordered columnar phase exists. To analyze the structure of the columnar
phase, we used an established technique: the reconstruction of electron density distribution maps in cylindrically symmetric
systems from the relation of the intensities of small-angle X-ray reflections. Mutual ordering of benzenesulfonic groups in
the area where the ϕ
oh
phase exists leads to the formation of ordered ion channels; this opens up possibilities to use this material to make ion-selective
membranes with controlled conductivity.
Nanotechnologies in Russia 04/2012; 5(11):762-770.
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Breast Cancer Research 04/2012; 3:1-1. · 5.33 Impact Factor
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A. W. Cooke,
A. J. G. Gray,
W. Nutt,
J. Magowan,
M. Oevers,
P. Taylor,
R. Cordenonsi,
R. Byrom,
L. Cornwall,
A. Djaoui, [......],
S. Hicks,
J. Leake,
R. Middleton,
A. Wilson, X. Zhu,
N. Podhorszki,
B. Coghlan,
S. Kenny,
D. O’Callaghan,
J. Ryan
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ABSTRACT: We have developed and implemented the Relational Grid Monitoring Architecture (R-GMA) as part of the DataGrid project, to provide a flexible information and monitoring service for use by other middleware components and applications.R-GMA presents users with a virtual database and mediates queries posed at this database: users pose queries against a global schema and R-GMA takes responsibility for locating relevant sources and returning an answer. R-GMAs architecture and mechanisms are general and can be used wherever there is a need for publishing and querying information in a distributed environment.We discuss the requirements, design and implementation of R-GMA as deployed on the DataGrid testbed. We also describe some of the ways in which R-GMA is being used.
Journal of Grid Computing 04/2012; 2(4):323-339. · 1.31 Impact Factor
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08/2010: pages 201 - 210; , ISBN: 9780470649343
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ABSTRACT: This study developed a sensory board and investigated the optimal position to monitor heart rate and respiration rate during
sleep. The sensory board was devised using a circular piezoelectric cell which is sandwiched between two acrylic boards. Four
identical boards were installed in different positions simultaneously during sleep to detect changes of applied pressure due
to heart beating and breathing. One board was set beneath the pillow; the other three boards were set under the mattress close
to the back, hip and calf level positions. Data were collected from five healthy university students during a 2-hour’s nap
individually. At the same time, Lead I ECG and nasal thermistor signals were recorded as heart rate and respiration rate references,
respectively. These rates were detected by applying the same algorithm on the data collected from different positions. Detection
performance was evaluated by sensitivity and positive predictivity. The results showed that nearly all positions could be
used to detect the above two parameters but performance was different slightly in positions. Heart rate could be detected
in all positions, and both sensitivity and positive predictivity were over 97% among all five persons. Sensitivity and positive
predictivity in respiration rate detection could be found the highest performance in the back position; both performance indexes
were over 97% on average and close to the heart rate detection.
KeywordsHeart rate-respiration rate-piezoelectric sensor-sleep
03/2010: pages 126-129;
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ABSTRACT: An 83-day growth trial was conducted using a flow-through system to examine the effects of different dietary iron levels on growth and hepatic iron concentration in juvenile gibel carp (Carassius auratus gibelio). Six purified diets supplemented with different levels of iron (0, 10, 30, 60, 100 and 200 mg kg−1) (as ferrous sulfate) were fed to triplicate groups of fish (initial weight 2.12 ± 0.00 g per fish). The results showed that the addition of iron to the basal diet did not significantly affect the specific growth rate (SGR), feed efficiency (FE), survival, red blood cell amount (RBC), hemoglobin content (Hb), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) or mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC). Hepatic iron concentration and hematocrit (Hct) were significantly influenced by dietary iron level (P < 0.05). On the basis of the iron concentration for the maintenance of optimum hepatic iron concentration and Hct, it was concluded that the dietary iron concentration of juvenile gibel carp should be not less than 202 mg Fe kg−1 diet.
Journal of Applied Ichthyology 07/2009; 25(4):428 - 431. · 0.87 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The fatigue stress-life (S-N) behavior of E319 cast aluminum alloy was studied by using both ultrasonic and conventional fatigue
techniques in order to understand the potential effect of frequency on fatigue behavior of cast aluminum alloys. It was observed
that, at the investigated temperature (20°C, 150°C, and 250°C), fatigue life in air at 20kHz is 5 to 10 times longer than
that at 75Hz. The difference in fatigue life between 20kHz and 75Hz is attributable to an environmental effect on fatigue
crack growth rate. The effect of frequency, environment, and temperature on S-N behavior of E319 cast aluminum alloy can be
predicted by use of a general version of a modified environmental superposition model. Environmental effects need to be considered
when ultrasonic fatigue is used for estimating fatigue lives of aluminum alloys that are under cyclic loading at lower frequencies
in service. It is possible to extrapolate ultrasonic fatigue data to conventional fatigue behavior for an E319 cast aluminum
alloy based on the environmental superposition model.
Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A 10/2008; 39(11):2681-2688. · 1.54 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The influence of test frequency on fatigue-crack propagation behavior of small cracks in E319 cast-aluminum alloy was studied
using ultrasonic and conventional test techniques. It was observed that fatigue cracks grow faster at 30Hz than at 20kHz
in air at both 20°C and 250°C. The effect of frequency on the fatigue-crack growth rates was attributed to an environmental
effect. For E319 cast-aluminum alloy, fatigue-crack growth rate increases with increasing water exposure (characterized by
the ratio of water partial pressure over test frequency, P/f), and this behavior can be estimated using a modified superposition model. The effect of temperature on fatigue-crack growth
behavior was primarily attributed to the effect of temperature on Young’s modulus and yield strength. The environmental contribution
to fatigue-crack growth rates modestly decreases with increasing temperature.
Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A 10/2008; 39(11):2666-2680. · 1.54 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: a b s t r a c t Si nanowire (SiNW) channel non-volatile memory (NVM) cells were fabricated by a ''self-alignment" pro-cess. First, a layer of thermal SiO 2 was grown on a silicon wafer by dry oxidation, and the SiNWs were then grown by chemical vapor deposition in pre-defined locations. This was followed by depositing the gate dielectric, which almost surrounds the nanowire and consists of three stacked layers: SiO 2 block-ing layer, HfO 2 charge-storing layer and a thin tunneling oxide layer. Source/drain and gate electrodes were formed by photolithography and lift-off, and the devices were electrically tested. As expected from this fabrication process and the enhanced electrostatic control of the ''surrounding" gate, excellent cell characteristics were obtained.
10/2008;
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ABSTRACT: A range of Meiyu onset dates (MODs) have been presented but they are highly controversial. The problem is, however, crucial
to local activities and meteorological service. The 1957–2001 MODs determined at several typical stations in the mid- and
lower reaches of the Yangtze River valley (MLYRV) are employed to construct a regionally averaged index for quantifying the
Meiyu onset time in the valley, and the ocean-atmospheric features in the extremely early and late Meiyu onset years are investigated,
statistically. Results show that, typically, the Meiyu season starts in June at a regional mean level, and the MOD is of good
relationship with the Meiyu duration that dominates the total precipitation during the Meiyu period, i.e., the earlier the
Meiyu establishes, the longer it may persist, and thus the more the total rainfall might be. In June, at the lower troposphere
the meridional temperature gradient is much larger over the MLYRV with the Meiyu front more northward in early than late onset
years. Additionally, the early onset years are often accompanied in the upper troposphere by the extended South Asia High,
western Pacific subtropical high more north-westward, East Asian summer monsoon and Walker circulation stronger in comparison
to the late onset years. And viewed from sea surface temperature (SST) field for the early onset years, SST is lower in the
central and eastern Pacific near the equator, maybe in association with the cool phase of ENSO, and considerably higher in
the subtropical western North Pacific than for the late onset years.
In addition, there are probably some abnormal precursory signals for the early (late) Meiyu onset years, such as SST being
higher (lower) with respect to the mean around the western Pacific warm pool, the Intertropical Convergence Zone more (less)
active and the local Hadley circulation stronger (weaker) in previous boreal winter. In northern spring, the convection is
probably stronger (weaker) about the Philippines. The North Pacific SST at lower latitudes might be warmer (cooler) from previous
April to May, and SST appears higher (lower) over the waters around Australia in proceeding boreal winter and spring.
Theoretical and Applied Climatology 08/2008; 94(1):81-95. · 1.94 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: An accumulating body of evidence shows significant similarities between cellular processes involved in neurodegeneration and
those involved in neurodevelopment. Most striking, in Alzheimer's disease, cell cycle re‐entry appears to be a pathological
signature of the disease that also occur in brain development. Such inappropriate reactivation of a fetal program is likely
to play a key role in both the etiology and pathogenesis of disease.
04/2008: pages 147-155;
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ABSTRACT: The formation, phase change and transport of water have a major impact on the operation, performance and durability of PEM
fuel cells, specifically in terms of start up, including freeze-start, transient response and degradation. Net water balance
is primarily determined by the water production rate at the cathode, and transport across the membrane via diffusion and electro-osmotic
drag. At higher currents, excessive water condensation can lead to ‘flooding’ of the cathode porous layers. Eventually, discrete
water droplets can emerge through the pores of the gas diffusion layer (GDL) into the air distribution micro-channels. Such
droplets may grow and coalesce, partially or completely blocking the transport pathways for the reactant (particularly oxygen),
and also causing a substantial increase in pressure drop. The resulting starvation of the reaction sites induces dips in current
density as well as flow maldistribution.
04/2008: pages 153-170;
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ABSTRACT: Absence of XK protein, the McLeod phenotype, is responsible for red cell acanthocytosis and neuromuscular abnormalities known
as the McLeod syndrome (MLS). XK is predicted to be a membrane transport protein but its substrate s unknown. Kell is an endothelin-3-converting
enzyme, and in erythroid tissues, where Kell and XK are expressed in near equal amounts, Kell and XK are linked by a disulfide
bond. Absence of XK is accompanied by a reduced amount of Kell on red cells, however, in non-erythroid tissues their expressions
differ. Northern blot analyses indicated that human XK is largely expressed in erythroid tissues, skeletal muscle, heart,
testis and brain with less amounts in many other tissues. By contrast, human Kell is predominantly expressed in erythroid
tissues with small amounts in non-erythroid tissues. The different tissue expressions of Kell and XK suggest that XK may function
by itself in non-erythroid tissues, and in conjunction with Kell in erythroid tissues. To obtain further information regarding
the expressions of Kell and XK, as a prerequisite to understand their cellular functions, we performed in situ hybridization
in newborn mouse whole body sagittal section and in adult mouse brain, spleen and testis. Mouse XK (mXK) mRNA expression was
detected in brain, spleen, bone marrow, testis, spinal cord, stomach, small intestine, pancreas kidney and bladder. mXK mRNA
was expressed in most regions of the brain, with large amounts in Purkinje cells of cerebellum, magnocellular neurons in the
pontine region, Cornu Ammonis fields of hippocampus and mitral cell layer of olfactory lobe, and noticeable amounts in caudate/putamen,
nucleus lateralis thalami and cerebral cortex.
12/2007: pages 107-114;
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ABSTRACT: The very high-cycle fatigue behavior of a 319-type cast aluminum alloy was investigated using ultrasonic fatigue instrumentation
operating at 20kHz. An endurance limit was demonstrated in the lifetime regime beyond 107 cycles. Accordingly, the fatigue strength at 108 cycles was determined using the staircase test method. Large pores at or close to the specimen surface or in the specimen
interior were responsible for crack initiation in all specimens, and the staircase results were associated with both size
and location of the initiating pores through a critical stress intensity factor for fatigue crack growth. Based on the experimental
observations, a probabilistic model was developed to establish the relationship between the porosity population and the fatigue
strength of the alloy. Good agreement was obtained between the modeling results and experiments.
Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A 04/2007; 38(5):1111-1122. · 1.54 Impact Factor
