Radical anterior decompression and fusion for cervical spondylotic myelopathy

Sixty-seven patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy were treated by radical anterior decompression and anterior spinal fusion. Of the 51 patients followed post-operatively for an average of 4.02 years, 34 obtained complete or partial relief, nine were unchanged and two deteriorated. Early complete anterior decompression and spinal fusion led to the most favourable results.published_or_final_versio

Optimization of overproducing S-adenosyl-Lmethionine Saccharomyces cerevisiae S-W55 mutant utilizing unpolished rice from aging paddy by feeding Lmethionine

The medium and fed-batch fermentation by Saccharomyces cerevisiae S-W55 were optimized. The unpolished rice from aging paddy was used as major nutrient source to reduce the raw material cost of SAM fermentation. The unpolished rice saccharificate (URS) and yeast extract were employed as carbon source and nitrogen source, respectively. The dosages of URS and yeast extract in the medium compositions were optimized by response surface methodology (RSM). As a result, when the fermentation was carried out under the optimal conditions for URS (51.4 g/L) and yeast extract (4.74 g/L), the SAM yield reached 2.61 g/L. Some fed-batch processes by adding L-methionine (MET) were investigated. Adding MET into the fermentation broth at one time at the time of high cell density reaching 80 g/L could get better results with the optimal SAM concentration of 5.3 g/L and biomass yield of 89.1 g/L. By feeding MET into the fermentation broth at a feeding rate of 2 g/h for 5 h at the time of high cell density reaching 80 g/L, the optimal results were reached and the maximal SAM yield and biomass density were 5.82 and 90.2 g/L, respectively. It indicated that, the fed-batch at high cell density would be more propitious to the SAM biosynthesis.Key words: Unpolished rice saccharificate, S-adenosyl-L-methionine, fermentation optimization, fed-batch fermentation, Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Automatic Diagnosis of Pathological Myopia from Heterogeneous Biomedical Data

10.1371/journal.pone.0065736PLoS ONE86

Genome-wide copy number variation study in anorectal malformations

Anorectal malformations (ARMs, congenital obstruction of the anal opening) are among the most common birth defects requiring surgical treatment (2-5/10 000 live-births) and carry significant chronic morbidity. ARMs present either as isolated or as part of the phenotypic spectrum of some chromosomal abnormalities or monogenic syndromes. The etiology is unknown. To assess the genetic contribution to ARMs, we investigated single-nucleotide polymorphisms and copy number variations (CNVs) at genome-wide scale. A total of 363 Han Chinese sporadic ARM patients and 4006 Han Chinese controls were included. Overall, we detected a 1.3-fold significant excess of rare CNVs in patients. Stratification of patients by presence/absence of other congenital anomalies showed that while syndromic ARM patients carried significantly longer rare duplications than controls (P = 0.049), non-syndromic patients were enriched with both rare deletions and duplications when compared with controls (P = 0.00031). Twelve chromosomal aberrations and 114 rare CNVs were observed in patients but not in 868 controls nor 11 943 healthy individuals from the Database of Genomic Variants. Importantly, these aberrations were observed in isolated ARM patients. Gene-based analysis revealed 79 genes interfered by CNVs in patients only. In particular, we identified a de novo DKK4 duplication. DKK4 is a member of the WNT signaling pathway which is involved in the development of the anorectal region. In mice, Wnt disruption results in ARMs. Our data suggest a role for rare CNVs not only in syndromic but also in isolated ARM patients and provide a list of plausible candidate genes for the disorder.postprin

Effective Rheology of Bubbles Moving in a Capillary Tube

We calculate the average volumetric flux versus pressure drop of bubbles moving in a single capillary tube with varying diameter, finding a square-root relation from mapping the flow equations onto that of a driven overdamped pendulum. The calculation is based on a derivation of the equation of motion of a bubble train from considering the capillary forces and the entropy production associated with the viscous flow. We also calculate the configurational probability of the positions of the bubbles.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

A scalable silicon photonic chip-scale optical switch for high performance computing systems

This paper discusses the architecture and provides performance studies of a silicon photonic chip-scale optical switch for scalable interconnect network in high performance computing systems. The proposed switch exploits optical wavelength parallelism and wavelength routing characteristics of an Arrayed Waveguide Grating Router (AWGR) to allow contention resolution in the wavelength domain. Simulation results from a cycle-accurate network simulator indicate that, even with only two transmitter/receiver pairs per node, the switch exhibits lower end-to-end latency and higher throughput at high (> 90%) input loads compared with electronic switches. On the device integration level, we propose to integrate all the components (ring modulators, photodetectors and AWGR) on a CMOS-compatible silicon photonic platform to ensure a compact, energy efficient and cost-effective device. We successfully demonstrate proof-of-concept routing functions on an 8 x 8 prototype fabricated using foundry services provided by OpSIS-IME. (C) 2013 Optical Society of Americ

The relationship between job satisfaction, burnout, and turnover intention among physicians from urban state-owned medical institutions in Hubei, China: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Throughout China, a growing number of physicians are leaving or intending to depart from their organizations owing to job dissatisfaction. Little information is available about the role of occupational burnout in this association. We set out to analyze the relationship between job satisfaction, burnout, and turnover intention, and further to determine whether occupational burnout can serve as a mediator among Chinese physicians from urban state-owned medical institutions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional survey was carried out in March 2010 in Hubei Province, central China. The questionnaires assessed sociodemographic characteristics, job satisfaction, burnout, and turnover intention. The job satisfaction and occupational burnout instruments were obtained by modifying the Chinese Physicians' Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (CPJSQ) and the Chinese Maslach Burnout Inventory (CMBI), respectively. Such statistical methods as one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation, GLM-univariate and structural equation modeling were used.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 1600 physicians surveyed, 1451 provided valid responses. The respondents had medium scores (3.18 +/-0.73) on turnover intention, in which there was significant difference among the groups from three urban areas with different development levels. Turnover intention, which significantly and negatively related to all job-satisfaction subscales, positively related to each subscale of burnout syndrome. Work environment satisfaction (<it>b </it>= -0.074, <it>p < 0.01</it>), job rewards satisfaction (<it>b </it>= -0.073, <it>p < 0.01</it>), organizational management satisfaction (<it>b </it>= -0.146, <it>p < 0.01</it>), and emotional exhaustion (<it>b </it>= 0.135, <it>p < 0.01</it>) were identified as significant direct predictors of the turnover intention of physicians, with 41.2% of the variance explained unitedly, under the control of sociodemographic variables, among which gender, age, and years of service were always significant. However, job-itself satisfaction no longer became significant, with the estimated parameter on job rewards satisfaction smaller after burnout syndrome variables were included. As congregated latent concepts, job satisfaction had both significant direct effects (gamma₂₁= -0.32, <it>p < 0.01</it>) and indirect effects (gamma₁₁× beta₂₁= -0.13, <it>p < 0.01</it>) through occupational burnout (62% explained) as a mediator on turnover intention (47% explained).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our study reveals that several, but not all dimensions of both job satisfaction and burnout syndrome are relevant factors affecting physicians' turnover intention, and there may be partial mediation effects of occupational burnout, mainly through emotional exhaustion, within the impact of job satisfaction on turnover intention. This suggests that enhancements in job satisfaction can be expected to reduce physicians' intentions to quit by the intermediary role of burnout as well as the direct path. It is hoped that these findings will offer some clues for health-sector managers to keep their physician resource motivated and stable.</p

虚拟参考站技术中对流层误差建模方法研究

Author name used in this publication: 黄丁发Author name used in this publication: 丁晓利, DING Xiao-liAuthor name used in this publication: 殷海涛Title in Traditional Chinese: 虛擬參考站技術中對流層誤差建模方法研究Journal title in Traditional Chinese: 測繪學報2006-2007 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Construction and evaluation of rats’ tolerogenic dendritic cells (DC) induced by NF-κB Decoy method

Aims: To construct and evaluate rats’ tolerogenic dendritic cells (DC) through induction by NF-κB Decoy method.Methods: GM-CSF and IL-4 were used to transform rats’s monocytes into DC, and DC were stimulated with LPS, NF-κB Decoy ODN, and loaded with Bovine TypeⅡCollagen. The following methods were employed to phenotype DC: 1) Observation of cell morphology; 2) Evaluation of cell viability using trypan blue staining; 3) Purity determination of DC through detection of specific markers OX-62; 4) Evaluation of mature state of DC via the determination of the expression of CD80 and CD86; 5) Determination of stimulation capability towards the proliferation of lymphocyte and the secretion of INF-r and IL-10.Results: The activity of DC was more than 92%, and the expression of OX-62 was more than 70%. Most of DC exhibited the phenotype of CD80+/CD86-. Compared with control group and LPS-stimulation group, the less mature adhered cells and hairlike DC were observed in NF-κB decoy group. Significant reduction (p&lt;0.05) was observed for the positive expression and extension of CD80 and CD86 in cell surface. After loaded with calf type II collagen, the low expression of CD80 and CD86 remains to be existed. The stimulation capability of DC towards lymphocyte in NF-κB decoy group was lower than that in control group (p&lt;0.05) and LPS stimulation group (p&lt;0.05).Conclusion: NF-κB Decoy ODN method can be successfully applied for construct rats’ tolerogenic dendritic cells (DC) with stable morphology and phenotype. The tolerogenic DC exhibited immature immune phenotype, and low capability to stimulate lymphocytes.Keywords: dendritic cells (DC), NF-κB Decoy ODN, calf type II collage

Species-specified VOC emissions derived from a gridded study in the Pearl River Delta, China

This study provides a top-down approach to establish an emission inventory of volatile organic compounds (VOC) based on ambient measurements, by combining the box model and positive matrix factorization (PMF) model. Species-specified VOC emissions, source contributions, and spatial distributions are determined based on regional-scale gridded measurements between September 2008 to December 2009 in the Pearl River Delta (PRD), China. The most prevalent anthropogenic species in the PRD was toluene estimated by the box model to be annual emissions of 167.8 ± 100.5 Gg, followed by m,p-xylene (68.0 ± 45.0 Gg), i-pentane (49.2 ± 40.0 Gg), ethene (47.6 ± 27.6 Gg), n-butane (47.5 ± 40.7 Gg), and benzene (46.8 ± 29.0 Gg). Alkanes such as propane, i-butane, and n-pentane were 2–8 times higher in box model than emission inventories (EI). Species with fewer emissions were highly variable between EI and box model results. Hotspots of VOC emissions were identified in southwestern PRD and port areas, which were not reflected by bottom-up EI. This suggests more research is needed for VOC emissions in the EI, especially for fuel evaporation, industrial operations and marine vessels. The species-specified top-down method can help improve the quality of these emission inventories