Introduction:In recent years, interest in magnetic biomimetic scaffolds for tissue engineering has increased considerably. A type of magnetic scaffold composed of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) and hydroxyapatite (HA) for bone repair has been developed by our research group. Aim and methods: In this study, to investigate the influence of the MNP content (in the scaffolds) on the cell behaviors and the interactions between the magnetic scaffold and the exterior magnetic field, a series of MNP-HA magnetic scaffolds with different MNP contents (from 0.2% to 2%) were fabricated by immersing HA scaffold into MNP colloid. ROS 17/2.8 and MC3T3-E1 cells were cultured on the scaffolds in vitro, with and without an exterior magnetic field, respectively. The cell adhesion, proliferation and differentiation were evaluated via scanning electron microscopy; confocal laser scanning microscopy; and 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), alkaline phosphatase, and bone gla protein activity tests. Results:The results demonstrated the positive influence of the magnetic scaffolds on cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation. Further, a higher amount of MNPs on the magnetic scaffolds led to more significant stimulation. Conclusion:The magnetic scaffold can respond to the exterior magnetic field and engender some synergistic effect to intensify the stimulating effect of a magnetic field to the proliferation and differentiation of cells.

Abstract-3D-stacked ICs that employ through-silicon vias (TSVs) to connect multiple dies vertically have gained wide-spread interest in the semiconductor industry. In order to be commercially viable, the assembly yield for 3D-stacked ICs must be as high as possible, requiring TSVs to be reparable. Existing techniques typically assume TSV faults to be uniformly distributed and use neighboring TSVs to repair faulty ones, if any. In practice, however, clustered TSV faults are quite common due to the fact that the TSV bonding quality depends on surface roughness and cleaness of silicon dies, rendering prior TSV redundancy solutions less effective. To resolve this problem, we present a novel TSV repair framework, including a hardware architecture that enables faulty TSVs to be repaired by redundant TSVs that are farther apart, and the corresponding repair algorithm. By doing so, the manufacturing yield for 3D-stacked ICs can be dramatically improved, as demonstrated in our experimental results.

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AIM:To analyze the spectrum and risk factors of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) based on presenting symptoms and endoscopic findings. METHODS:A cross-sectional survey in a cluster random sample was conducted from November 2004 to June 2005 using a validated Chinese version Reflux Disease Questionnaire (RDQ) and other items recording the demographic characteristics and potential risk factors for GERD. Subjects were defined as having GERD symptoms according to the RDQ score (> 12). All subjects were endoscopied and the definition and severity of erosive esophagitis were evaluated by Los Angeles classification. The statistical analysis was performed with SPSS13.0 programs. RESULTS:Of 2231 recruited participants, 701 (31.40%) patients were diagnosed as having GERD while 464 (20.80%) patients had objective findings of reflux esophagitis (RE). Of those 464 patients, only 291 (13.00%) were reported as subjects with GERD symptoms. A total of 528 (23.70%) patients were found to have GERD symptoms, including 19.50% patients with grade A or B reflux esophagitis, 0.90% with grade C and 0.40% with grade D. On multivariate analysis, old age, male, moderate working burden, divorced/widowed and strong tea drinking remained as significant independent risk factors for erosive esophagitis. Meanwhile, routine usage of greasy food and constipation were considered as significant independent risk factors for non-erosive reflux disease (NERD). CONCLUSION:GERD is one of the common GI diseases with a high occurrence rate in China and its main associated factors include sex, anthropometrical variables and sociopsychological characteristics.

Pore structure determines the gas occurrence and storage properties of gas shale and is a vital element for reservoir evaluation and shale gas resources assessment. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE‐SEM), high‐pressure mercury intrusion porosimetry (HMIP), and low‐pressure N2/CO2 adsorption were used to qualitatively and quantitatively characterize full‐scale pore structure of Longmaxi (LM) shale from the southern Sichuan Basin. Fractal dimension and its controlling factors were also discussed in our study. Longmaxi shale mainly developed organic matter (OM) pores, interparticle pores, intraparticle pores, and microfracture, of which the OM pores dominated the pore system. The pore diameters are mainly distributed in the ranges of 0.4–0.7 nm, 2–20 nm and 40–200 μm. Micro‐, meso‐ and macropores contribute 24%, 57% and 19% of the total pore volume (PV), respectively, and 64.5%, 34.6%, and 0.9% of the total specific surface area (SSA). Organic matter and clay minerals have a positive contribution to pore development. While high brittle mineral content can inhibit shale pore development. The fractal dimensions D1 and D2 which represents the roughness of the shale surface and irregularity of the space structure, respectively, are calculated based on N2 desorption data. The value of D1 is in the range of 2.6480–2.7334 (average of 2.6857), D2 is in the range of 2.8924–2.9439 (average of 2.9229), which indicates that Longmaxi shales have a rather irregular pore morphology as well as complex pore structure. Both PV and SSA positively correlated with fractal dimensions D1 and D2. The fractal dimension D1 decreases with increasing average pore diameter, while D2 is on the contrary. These results suggest that the small pores have a higher roughness surface, while the larger pores have a more complex spatial structure. The fractal dimensions of shale are jointly controlled by OM, clays and brittle minerals. The TOC content is the key factor which has a positive correlation with the fractal dimension. Clay minerals have a negative influence on fractal dimension D1, and positive influence D2, while brittle minerals show an opposite effect compared with clay minerals.

Aspergillus oryzae has been used for the production of traditional fermentation and has promising potential to produce primary and secondary metabolites. Due to the tough cell walls and high drug resistance of A. oryzae, functional genomic characterization studies are relatively limited. The exploitation of selection markers and genetic transformation methods are critical for improving A. oryzae fermentative strains. In this review, we describe the genome sequencing of various A. oryzae strains. Recently developed selection markers and transformation strategies are also described in detail, and the advantages and disadvantages of transformation methods are presented. Lastly, we introduce the recent progress on highlighted topics in A. oryzae functional genomics including conidiation, protein secretion and expression, and secondary metabolites, which will be beneficial for improving the application of A. oryzae to industrial production.

We investigated the effects of predator diet breadth on the relative importance of bottom-up and top-down control of prey assemblages, using microbial food webs containing bacteria, bacterivorous protists and rotifers, and two different top predators. The experiment used a factorial design that independently manipulated productivity and the presence or absence of two top predators with different diet breadths. Predators included a "specialist" predatory ciliate Euplotes aediculatus, which was restricted to feeding on small prey, and a "generalist" predatory ciliate Stentor coeruleus, which could feed on the entire range of prey sizes. Both total prey biomass and prey diversity increased with productivity in the predator-free control and specialist predator treatments, a pattern consistent with bottom-up control, but both remained unchanged by productivity in the generalist predator treatment, a pattern consistent with top-down control. Linear food chain models adequately described responses in the generalist predator treatment, whereas food web models incorporating edible and inedible prey (which can coexist in the absence of predators) adequately described responses in the specialist predator treatment. These results suggest that predator diet breadth can play an important role in modulating the relative strength of bottom-up and top-down forces in ecological communities.

Artificial electrical stimulation of anogenital afferents induced a prolonged increase in the micturition threshold volume of anaesthetized rats. The change presumably involved the modulation of the synaptic transmission in the central micturition reflex pathway. It is proposed that the observed change represents the first step in the curative 're-education' process induced in patients with urge incontinence by electrical stimulation of anovaginal afferents.