Electroacupuncture-induced neural activation detected by use of manganese-enhanced functional magnetic resonance imaging in rabbits

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of acupuncture on neural activity detected by use of manganese-enhanced functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and elucidate the relationship between somatic acupoint stimulation and brain activation. ANIMALS: 40 New Zealand White rabbits. PROCEDURE: Manganese-enhanced fMRI was performed in anesthetized rabbits manipulated with electroacupuncture (EA) on Zusanli (ST-36) and Yanglingquan (GB-34) acupoints. Image acquisition was performed on a 1.5T superconductive clinical scanner with a circular polarized extremity coil. T1-weighted images were acquired sequentially as follows: baseline, after mannitol injection, after manganese infusion, and 5 and 20 minutes after initiation of EA. RESULTS: Changes in focal neural activity were detected by use of manganese-enhanced fMRI. Stimulation on Zusanli (ST-36) for 5 minutes resulted in activation of the hippocampus, whereas stimulation on Yanglingquan (GB-34) resulted in activation of the hypothalamus, insula, and motor cortex. Activation became less specific after 20 minutes of EA. Furthermore, stimulation on ipsilateral acupoints led to bilateral brain activation. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Each acupoint has a corresponding cerebral linkage, and stimulation on these points resulted in time-dependent neural activation. Understanding the linkage between peripheral acupoint stimulation and central neural pathways may provide a useful guide for clinical applications of acupuncture.     

State-specific correlation of coincident product pairs in the F + CD4 reaction

When a chemical reaction forms two molecular products, even if the state-resolved differential cross section (DCS) for each product is obtained individually, the coincident attributes of the coproducts are still lacking. We exploit a method that provides coincidence information by measuring the state-resolved, pair-correlated DCS. Exemplified by the reaction F + CD4 --> DF + CD3, a time-sliced ion velocity imaging technique was used to measure the velocity distribution of a state-selected CD3 product and to reveal the information of the coincident DF in a state-correlated manner. The correlation of different product state pairs shows a striking difference, which opens up a new way to unravel the complexity of a polyatomic reaction.     

Immunopathogenic behaviors of canine transmissible venereal tumor in dogs following an immunotherapy using dendritic/tumor cell hybrid

Canine transmissible venereal tumor (CTVT) is a naturally occurring tumor that can be transmitted between dogs via live tumor cell inoculation. It is also a spontaneous self-regression tumor and its behavior is closely related to host immune responses. Since CTVT had been widely used for tumor models in canine cancers, whether this self-regression may overtake the immunity elicited from an exogenous tumor vaccine remains unclear and certainly worthwhile to be investigated. In this study, we used DCs/tumor hybrids as a tumor vaccine to evaluate the CTVT model. We prepared mature allogeneic dendritic cells from bone marrow and then assessed their phenotype (CD80, CD83, CD86, CD1a, CD11c, CD40 and MHC II), antigen uptake and presenting abilities. Fused dendritic cell/CTVT hybrids were then used as a vaccine, administered three times at two-week intervals via subcutaneous injection near the bilateral auxiliary and inguinal lymph nodes. In comparison with unvaccinated dogs (spontaneous regressed group), within a period of 2.5 months, the vaccinations substantially inhibited tumor progression (p<0.05) and accelerated the rate of regression by a mechanism involving amplification of the host tumor-specific adaptive immune responses and NK cytotoxicity (p<0.001). Pathologic examination revealed early massive lymphocyte infiltration resulting in final tumor necrosis. In addition, there are not any detectable effects on routine physical, body temperature or blood chemistry examinations. In conclusion, our data furnishes a reference value showing that CTVT is a model of potential use for the study of immunity elicited by vaccines against tumors, and also enable early-phase evaluation of the dendritic cell/tumor vaccine in terms of raising host immunity.     

Design for Precision Measurement System Based on Machine Vision

It is difficult to measure the geometric quantity of small parts in finishing, assembling and measuring, because it's easy to break the workpieces' surface and alter their position by means of traditional contact measuring methods.There are some non contact measurers, such as,light feeler pin and interference microscope etc., because of it's high price and strict working conditions,so it's difficult to promote them in widely use. Precision measurement system based on machine vision has the advantages of non contact measuring as well as high performance and low price. Some problems, such as light source, algorithm of edge fitting, auto focusing,are discussed.     

Real Time Economic Load burdening Method of the Regulating Peak Load about the Boiler Units of Power Plant

Basing on the combing the Equivalent Differential Increment Theory(EDIT) with the Equivalent Polyhedron Method(EPM),the optimum real time economical adjustment of regulating peak load for each boiler about power plant is presented. The results are applying in the site and the economical benefit is increased obviously. The method is simply,and cuts the time.     

Design of wireless inductive power receiver circuit in artificial subretinal chip

A scheme of inductive wireless receiver circuit is put forward, according to special requirement of inductive wireless power supply in artificial subretinal prosthesis circuit. The proposed receiver circuit can be divided into CMOS rectifier, regulator and self-biasing circuit. The CMOS rectifier is used to provide power supply for regulator and self-biasing circuit. The self-biasing circuit furnishes the regulator with bias voltage and bias current which is independent from power supply. The proposed receiver circuit is designed by Cadence tool and Chartered 0.35 μm CMOS device model, and oscillator in artificial subretinal chip is used as the proposed receiver circuit’s load. The results show that the proposed receiver circuit can provide load capacity of 3.3 V and >1 mA,with a layout size of 62 μm×195 μm.     

Antiproliferative lactams and spiroenone from adlay bran in human breast cancer cell lines

Two new lactams, coixspirolactam D (1) and coixspirolactam E (2), and a new spiroenone, coixspiroenone (3), together with seven known compounds, coixspirolactam A (4), coixspirolactam B (5), coixspirolactam C (6), coixlactam (7), coixol (8), ethyl dioxindole-3-acetate (9), and isoindol-1-one (10), and two neolignans, zhepiresionol (11) and ficusal (12), were isolated from the bioactive subfraction of adlay bran ethanolic extract (ABE). Compounds 9 and 10 are the first isolates from natural resources. The structures of new compounds were identified by spectroscopic methods, including infrared (IR) spectrum, 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and mass spectrum (MS). All of the isolated compounds were tested for antiproliferative effects on MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, and T-47D cells. Results showed that compounds 1, 3, 4, 6, and 7 at 50 μM significantly inhibited MCF-7 cell proliferation by 30.2, 19.2, 21.0, 13.5, and 32.4%, respectively; compounds 2, 4, and 7 significantly inhibited T-47D cells at 50 μM by 20.7, 24.8, and 28.9%; and compounds 1, 2, and 12 significantly inhibited MDA-MB-231 cells at 50 μM by 47.4, 25.3, and 69.3%, respectively. In conclusion, ABE has antiproliferative activities, and this effect is partially related to the presence of lactams and spiroenone.     

Timing, duration, and transitions of the last interglacial Asian monsoon

Thorium-230 ages and oxygen isotope ratios of stalagmites from Dongge Cave, China, characterize the Asian Monsoon and low-latitude precipitation over the past 160,000 years. Numerous abrupt changes in 18O/16O values result from changes in tropical and subtropical precipitation driven by insolation and millennial-scale circulation shifts. The Last Interglacial Monsoon lasted 9.7 +/- 1.1 thousand years, beginning with an abrupt (less than 200 years) drop in 18O/16O values 129.3 +/- 0.9 thousand years ago and ending with an abrupt (less than 300 years) rise in 18O/16O values 119.6 +/- 0.6 thousand years ago. The start coincides with insolation rise and measures of full interglacial conditions, indicating that insolation triggered the final rise to full interglacial conditions.