Explore the vast range of titles available.

Manure is a primary source of methane (CH4) emissions into the atmosphere. A large proportion of CH4 from manure is emitted during storage, but this varies with storage methods. In this research, we tested whether covering a manure heap with plastic reduces CH4 emission during a short-term composting process. A static chamber method was used to detect the CH4 emission rate and the change of the physicochemical properties of cattle manure which was stored either uncovered (treatment UNCOVERED) or covered with plastic (treatment COVERED) for 30-day periods during the four seasons? The dry matter content of the COVERED treatment was significantly less than the UNCOVERED treatment (P < 0.01), and the C/N ratio of the COVERED treatment significantly greater than the UNCOVERED treatment (P > 0.05) under high temperature. In the UNCOVERED treatment, average daily methane (CH4) emissions were in the order summer > spring > autumn > winter. CH4 emissions were positively correlated with the temperature (R2 = 0.52, P < 0.01). Compared to the UNCOVERED treatment, the daily average CH4 emission rates from COVERED treatment manure were less in the first 19 days of spring, 13 days of summer, 10 days of autumn and 30 days of winter. In summary, covering the manure pile with plastic reduces the evaporation of water during storage; and in winter, long-term covering with plastic film reduces the CH4 emissions during the storage of manure.

A comprehensive series of global datasets for land–atmosphere models has been collected, formatted to a common grid, and released on a set of CD-ROMs. This paper describes the motivation for and the contents of the dataset. In June of 1992, an interdisciplinary earth science workshop was convened in Columbia, Maryland, to assess progress in land–atmosphere research, specifically in the areas of models, satellite data algorithms, and field experiments. At the workshop, representatives of the land–atmosphere modeling community defined a need for global datasets to prescribe boundary conditions, initialize state variables, and provide near-surface meteorological and radiative forcings for their models. The International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Project (ISLSCP), a part of the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment, worked with the Distributed Active Archive Center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center to bring the required datasets together in a usable format. The data have since been released on a collection of CD-ROMs. The datasets on the CD-ROMs are grouped under the following headings: vegetation; hydrology and soils; snow, ice, and oceans; radiation and clouds; and near-surface meteorology. All datasets cover the period 1987–88, and all but a few are spatially continuous over the earth's land surface. All have been mapped to a common 1° × 1° equal-angle grid. The temporal frequency for most of the datasets is monthly. A few of the near-surface meteorological parameters are available both as six-hourly values and as monthly means.

The martensitic transformation (MT), magnetic phases, and exchange bias (EB) effect in Mn50Ni25 + xIn25−x (x = 14.5∼18) Heusler alloys have been investigated. The MT and magnetic state can be tuned significantly by modifying the Ni/In ratio, while the Curie temperature (TC) remains almost unchanged. With increase of the Ni/In ratio, the ferromagnetic components in the studied samples decrease continuously, while the antiferromagnetic components increase and it therefore enhances the exchange interaction as well. All of the samples exhibit negative horizontally shifted loops after field-cooled procedure. In addition, the samples with the compositional range of 15 ≤ x ≤ 16 also present the EB effect in zero field-cooled condition. To evaluate the causes of this scenario, EB field and coercive field as a function of temperature and cooling field have been investigated. The experimental results imply that the spin reconfiguration of superspin glass (SSG) clusters and the competition between antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic interactions can account for the behavior of EB effect.

Purpose To determine the influence of diabetes and diabetes type on ocular outcomes following central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO). Methods Retrospective chart review of all patients evaluated over a 4-year period in a tertiary diabetes eye care center. Ophthalmic findings were recorded including visual acuity and the presence of retinal neovascularization at presentation, after 3–6 months, and at last follow-up. Results The records of 19 648 patients (13 571 diabetic; 6077 nondiabetic) were reviewed. The prevalence of CRVO in diabetic patients ( N =72) and nondiabetic patients ( N =27) were 0.5 and 0.4%, respectively. Disc neovascularization (21.3 vs 0.0%, P =0.05) and panretinal photocoagulation (PRP) (48.7 vs 21.4%, P =0.01) were more common in diabetic patients compared with nondiabetic patients. Compared with type 2 diabetic patients, retinal neovascularization (28.6 vs 3.7%, P =0.004) and subsequent PRP (78.6 vs 41.9%, P =0.01) were more likely in type 1 patients. Optic nerve head collateral vessels (CVs) were observed less than half as often (21.4 vs 56.5%, P =0.04) in patients with type 1 diabetes. Presence of optic nerve head CVs at baseline was associated with less likelihood of PRP (14.3 vs 46.1%, P =0.03). Conclusions In this cohort, the rates of CRVO in diabetic and nondiabetic patients were similar to previously published population-based studies. Following CRVO, diabetic patients had higher rates of disc neovascularization and were more likely to require subsequent PRP than nondiabetic patients. As compared with CRVO patients with type 2 diabetes, patients with type 1 diabetes and CRVO had worse anatomic outcomes with substantially increased risks of retinal neovascularization and PRP; however, final visual acuity outcomes were similar.

Several models for end-point carbon prediction of BOF(Basic Oxygen Furnace) based on off-gas analysis were studied in this paper. The advantages and disadvantages of the integral model, the exponential decay model and the cubic fitting model were analyzed respectively. Based on analysis of the characteristics of the decarburization rate curve, a new exponential model was established by the introduction of a correction algorithm. The principle of the proposed model involves applying the decarburization rate curve and the descending gradient of the historical heats to obtain the average decarburization curve and reference decarburization efficiency coefficient using the regression fitting method. According to the deviation between the actual and the predicted decarburization curves, the decarburization efficiency coefficient was corrected to improve the prediction accuracy. Plant trials were carried out in a 210 t converter to compare the performance of the mentioned models. The results showed that the new model exhibited better adaptability and higher accuracy than the other ones. The hit ratio of the new model reached more than 90% for the prediction of end-point carbon content within a tolerance of ±0.02%.

A trial of three drugs — bevacizumab, ranibizumab, and aflibercept — for the treatment of diabetic macular edema showed that each drug improved visual acuity, but aflibercept outperformed the other two drugs for eyes with a baseline visual acuity of 20/50 or worse. Diabetic macular edema, a manifestation of diabetic retinopathy that impairs central vision, affects approximately 750,000 people in the United States and is a leading cause of vision loss. 1 The costs associated with visual disability and treatment of diabetic macular edema are high. 2 The increasing prevalence of diabetes worldwide highlights the importance of diabetic macular edema as a global health issue. 3 Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an important mediator of abnormal vascular permeability in diabetic macular edema. 4 , 5 Intravitreous injections of anti-VEGF agents have been shown to be superior to laser photocoagulation of the macula, the standard treatment for diabetic . . .

Some insurance companies mandate a form of step therapy, which involves initial use of an inexpensive drug, bevacizumab, to treat diabetic macular edema. This trial compared two treatments: step therapy and use of a more expensive drug.

Chrysin, an active natural bioflavonoid, has been proven to protect against carcinogenesis. However, the role of chrysin in glioblastoma and the potential molecular mechanisms remain to be elucidated. In our previous study, we found that nuclear factor erythroid 2 (NF-E2)-related factor 2 (Nrf2) is highly expressed in a variety of glioblastoma cell lines associated with the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antitumor effects of chrysin in glioblastoma cells and how chrysin is related to the MAPK/Nrf2 signaling pathway. A Cell Counting Kit-8 assay and a plate colony formation assay were performed to evaluate cell proliferation. Cell migration ability was tested by a wound-healing assay. Transwell migration and Matrigel invasion assay were used to test the migration and invasion potential of cells. Nrf2 was knocked down by shRNA transfection. Protein expression was determined by Western blotting and immunofluorescence staining. The in vivo anticancer effect was measured using tumor xenografts in nude mice. Chrysin inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion capacity of glioblastoma cells in dose- and time-dependent manners. Mechanistically, chrysin deactivated the Nrf2 signaling pathway by decreasing the translocation of Nrf2 into the nucleus and suppressing the expression of hemeoxygenase-1 (HO-1) and NAD(P)H quinine oxidoreductase-1, meanwhile, Nrf2 shRNA attenuated the anticancer activity of chrysin. Furthermore, chrysin downregulated the protein expression of p-extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2 (ERK1/2), but did not significantly affect p-JNK and p-P38 expression levels. However, the downregulated level of Nrf2 and the antitumor effect of chrysin in glioblastoma cell lines were partially abrogated by the ERK1/2 signaling inhibitor (U0126). Finally, chrysin inhibited tumor growth in U87 xenografts. Our results show that chrysin exerts anticancer activity in glioblastoma cell lines possibly via the ERK/Nrf2 signaling pathway and indicate the potential application of chrysin as a natural sensitizer in chemotherapy.

Background To investigate the effects of early enteral nutrition (EEN) on intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) and disease severity in patients with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). Methods Enteral nutrition (EN) was started within 48 h after admission in the EEN group and from the 8th day in the delayed enteral nutrition (DEN) group. The IAP and intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) incidence were recorded for 2 weeks. The caloric intake and feeding intolerance (FI) incidence were recorded daily after EN was started. The severity markers and clinical outcome variables were also recorded. Results Sixty patients were enrolled to this study. No difference about IAP was found. The IAH incidence of the EEN group was significantly lower than that of the DEN group from the 9th day (8/30 versus 18/30; P  = 0.009) after admission. The FI incidence of the EEN group was higher than that of the DEN group during the initial 3 days of feeding (25/30 versus 12/30; P  = 0.001; 22/30 versus 9/30; P  = 0.001; 15/30 versus 4/30; P  = 0.002). Patients with an IAP <15 mmHg had lower FI incidence than those with an IAP ≥15 mmHg on the 1st day (20/22 versus 17/38; P  < 0.001), the 3rd day (11/13 versus 8/47; P  < 0.001), and the 7th day (3/5 versus 3/55; P  = 0.005) of feeding. The severity markers and clinical outcome variables of the EEN group were significantly improved. Conclusions Early enteral nutrition did not increase IAP. In contrast, it might prevent the development of IAH. In addition, EEN might be not appropriate during the initial 3–4 days of SAP onset. Moreover, EN might be of benefit to patients with an IAP <15 mmHg. Early enteral nutrition could improve disease severity and clinical outcome, but did not decrease mortality of SAP.

Background Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) of children could indicate the potential of an exercise therapy to treat or prevent obesity. However, EPOC as a result of playing active video games (AVG) has been poorly investigated. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the rapid component of EPOC of children with healthy weight and overweight/obesity (according to their BMI percentile) after playing AVGs that feature predominately upper body (UB) and whole-body (WB) movement. Methods Twenty-one children with healthy weight (BMI percentile < 85%) and with overweight/obesity (BMI percentile ≥ 85%) randomly underwent two 10-min AVG sessions (UB and WB). The heart rate (HR), minute ventilation (VE), oxygen consumption (VO 2 ) and carbon dioxide production (VCO 2 ) were recorded during exercise and post-exercise recovery period. For the rapid component of EPOC in each AVG session, measurements were recorded every 15 s for 5-min of post-exercise recovery. The rate of perceived exertion (RPE) was also measured immediately before and after each AVG play. Results Children with overweight/obesity had a higher average of absolute VE, VO 2 , and VCO 2 than their healthy-weight counterparts (BMI percentile < 85%; n  = 21) during post-exercise recovery. RPE, HR, and HR% were not different between the game sessions and weight groups. Children with overweight/obesity showed a higher absolute VO 2 during EPOC than healthy-weight children in both game sessions, but relative VO 2 was higher in healthy-weight children during EPOC. No differences were observed for EPOC between UB and WB sessions. Conclusions Children with overweight/obesity had a greater EPOC than healthy-weight children after AVG sessions in terms of absolute oxygen values, whereas healthy-weight children have higher EPOC considering relative VO 2 when controlling for body mass. UB and WB AVGs induced a similar EPOC among children with healthy weight and overweight/obesity. As UB and WB AVGs induce the rapid component of EPOC in children regardless their weight status, AVGs could be used as an exercise method to treat and prevent child obesity.