[Spatio-temporal evolution and driving mechanism of green economic efficiency at county level in the Yellow River Delta, China]. / 黄河三角洲县域绿色经济效率的时空演变与驱动机制.

A comprehensive measurement of green economic efficiency in the Yellow River Delta region can provide a reference basis for achieving ecological protection and high-quality development. We constructed an evaluation system of green economic efficiency in counties based on multi-source remote sensing data. We adopted the Super-EBM model that considered non-expected output to make a comprehensive measurement of green economic efficiency in Yellow River Delta counties, used the kernel density function estimation method to portray the characteristics of spatial and temporal evolution, and finally used the system generalized moment estimation method to identify influen-cing factors. The results showed that the comprehensive efficiency and pure technical efficiency of the green economy in the Yellow River Delta counties showed a fluctuating upward trend from 2000 to 2015. The scale efficiency showed a rapid increase and then stayed stable in a 'Γ' type trend, while the increase in comprehensive efficiency transformed from being driven by scale-technology to being led by technology. The comprehensive efficiency and pure technical efficiency of the green economy in the Yellow River Delta counties showed an evolutionary trend from 'club convergence' to 'overall convergence', with the low efficiency counties formed a 'catch-up effect' on the high efficiency counties and the scale efficiency toward a balanced and smooth development. The comprehensive efficiency of green economy and its decomposition efficiency spatially formed a 'mountain' pattern, which was high in the middle, low in the two wings, and the high value area concentrated in the headland of the Yellow River Delta and along the coast of Laizhou Bay. The high-value area showed the characteristics of a northwest-southeast shift, and the east and west wings of the Yellow River Delta formed low-value subsidence areas. Industrial structure, population concentration level, and fixed asset investment intensity had positive effects on green economic efficiency, while population urbanization rate had negative effects on green economic efficiency. There was an obvious 'environmental Kuznets' effect between green economic efficiency and economic development level.

A Novel Analytical Model for Pore Volume Compressibility of Fractal Porous Media.

Over the past decades, many scholars have been studying the pore volume compressibility (PVC) of porous media. However, the fundamental controls on PVC of porous media are not yet definitive. Some scholars suggest a negative correlation between PVC and initial porosity, while others suggest a positive correlation. Motivated by this discrepancy, this paper presents a new analytical model to study the PVC of fractal porous media. The predictions are compared with test results and thereby validated to be accurate. In our attempt not only to complement but also to extend the capability beyond available models, the derived model accounts for multiple fundamental variables, such as the microstructural parameters and rock lithology of porous media. Results suggest that, there is a negative correlation between PVC and initial porosity, if all other parameters are fixed, the relationship between initial porosity and PVC is not monotonic. In addition, PVC decreases with rougher pore surfaces and smaller initial minimum pore radius. Besides providing theoretical foundations for quantifying PVC of porous media, this analytical model could be applied to estimate pore structure parameters of porous media using inverse modeling.

In vivo evaluation of Mg-6Zn and titanium alloys on collagen metabolism in the healing of intestinal anastomosis.

There is a great clinical need for biodegradable materials, which were used as pins of circular staplers, for gastrointestinal reconstruction in medicine. In this work we compared the effects of the Mg-6Zn and the titanium alloys on collagen metabolism in the healing of the intestinal tract in vivo. The study included Sprague-Dawley rats and their effect was compared on rat's intestinal tract, using serum magnesium, radiology, and immunohistochemistry in vivo. Radiographic and scanning electron microscope evaluation confirmed the degradation by Mg-6Zn alloy during the implantation period. Biochemical measurements including serum magnesium, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen and glutamic-pyruvic-transaminase proved that degradation of Mg-6Zn alloy showed no impact on serum magnesium and the function of other important organs. Superior to titanium alloy, Mg-6Zn alloy enhanced the expression of collagen I/III and relatively suppressed the expression of MMP-1/-13 in the healing tissues, leading to more mature collagen formation at the site of anastomosis. In conclusion, Mg-6Zn alloy performed better than titanium alloy on collagen metabolism and promoted the healing of intestinal anastomosis. Hence, Mg-6Zn may be a promising candidate for use of stapler pins for intestinal reconstruction in the clinically.

[Correlation between prostatic parameters of transrectal ultrasonography and age in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation of prostatic parameters of transrectal ultrasonography with age in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and the patterns of prostatic enlargement in different age groups of the patients. METHODS: We retrospectively studied the reports of transrectal ultrasonography for 1 739 outpatients with BPH from January 2010 to December 2015, who were divided into four age groups, 50－59, 60－69, 70－79, and =≥80 years. We analyzed the patterns of prostatic enlargement in different age groups. RESULTS: The transrectal ultrasonographic prostatic parameters, most significantly the transitional zone index (TZI), of the BPH patients were positively correlated with age. And the prostatic parameters were gradually increased with aging, with statistically significant differences among different age groups (P <0.05). The prostate was enlarged most quickly between 50 and 69 years of age. CONCLUSIONS: There is a positive correlation between age and prostatic parameters of transrectal ultrasonography, particularly the transitional zone index, in patients with BPH, which indicates that TZI can serve as one of the best criteria in evaluating BPH. The volume of the prostate, especially that of the transitional zone, is increased with aging, reaching the peak between 50 and 69 years, which is of great significance for further study of the development and progression of BPH.

Adipose-derived stem cells seeded on polyglycolic acid for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect and possible mechanism of suburethral tissue-engineered sling in an animal model of stress urinary incontinence (SUI). METHODS: Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) were obtained from the adipose tissues of rats. The differentiation potential, proliferation, and viability of rat ADSCs were evaluated after infecting these cells with a lentiviral vector-encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP). Next, GFP transfected ADSCs were seeded on polyglycolic acid (PGA) fibers to construct the tissue-engineered sling with the induction of 5-azacytidine (5-Aza). Afterward, the tissue-engineered slings were transplanted into a rat model of SUI that was established by vaginal balloon dilatation method and bilateral ovariectomy. Histology and the leak point pressure measurements were performed at 2 months after tissue-engineered sling implantation. RESULTS: The ADSCs were found to be efficiently transfected with GFP, without any effects on proliferation, cell cycle and multi-differentiation potential. After been seeded on PGA fibers, ADSCs formed tissue-engineered slings in 4 weeks of induction culture. Two months after implantation, the mean leak point pressure (LPP) was significantly increased in sling-treated rats compared with the balloon-injured ovariectomized rats. Immunofluorescence assay showed that some of the GFP expressing cells stained positive for muscle-specific markers. CONCLUSIONS: The newly suburethral tissue-engineered sling restores LPP in the rat model of SUI, which could be an effective treatment in future SUI therapy.

Knockdown of GCF2/LRRFIP1 by RNAi causes cell growth inhibition and increased apoptosis in human hepatoma HepG2 cells.

BACKGROUND: GC-binding factor 2 (GCF2) is a transcriptional regulator that represses transcriptional activity of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) by binding to a specific GC-rich sequence in the EGFR gene promoter. In addition to this function, GCF2 has also been identified as a tumor-associated antigen and regarded as a potentially valuable serum biomarker for early human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) diagnosis. GCF2 is high expressed in most HCC tissues and cell lines including HepG2. This study focused on the influence of GCF2 on cell proliferation and apoptosis in HepG2 cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: GCF2 expression at both mRNA and protein levels in HepG2 cells was detected with reverse transcription (RT) PCR and Western blotting, respectively. RNA interference (RNAi) technology was used to knock down GCF2 mRNA and protein expression. Afterwards, cell viability was analyzed with a Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), and cell apoptosis and caspase 3 activity by flow cytometry and with a Caspase 3 Activity Kit, respectively. RESULTS: Specific down-regulation of GCF2 expression caused cell growth inhibition, and increased apoptosis and caspase 3 activity in HepG2 cells. CONCLUSIONS: These primary results suggest that GCF2 may influence cell proliferation and apoptosis in HepG2 cells, and also provides a molecular basis for further investigation into the possible mechanism at proliferation and apoptosis in HCC.

[Influential factors on psychosocial health of the migrant workers in Guangzhou].

OBJECTIVE: To study the influential factors on psychosocial health of the migrant workers in Guangzhou. METHODS: The Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) and Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) were used to investigate 518 migrant workers in Guangzhou. RESULTS: The rate of migrant workers with psychosocial problems was 36.5%. The scores of SCL-90 and positive rates in migrant workers with the different personality types had significant difference (P < 0.01). The results of binary logistic regression analysis indicated that the working years, drinking, sex, P scores, E scores and N scores of EPQ were main predictors of the poor physical fitness status. The vocations, working years, P scores and N scores of EPQ were strong predictors of the somatization. he vocations, P scores and N scores of EPQ were strong predictors of the obsessive compulsive symptom. The smoking, P scores and N scores of EPQ were strong predictors of the interpersonal sensitivity. The working years, P scores of EPQ were strong predictors of the depression. P scores of EPQ was strong predictors of the anxiety. P scores, E scores and N scores of EPQ were strong predictors of the hostility. The working years, smoking, P scores, E scores and N scores of EPQ were strong predictors of the phobic anxiety. The working years, P scores of EPQ were strong predictors of the paranoid ideation. The working years, P scores and N scores of EPQ were strong predictors of the psychosis. CONCLUSION: The level of mental health of the migrant workers was significantly associated with the personality. The results of present study indicated that different vocation, sex, working years, smoking and drinking might interfere with the psychological states. The migrant workers with the personality of psychoticism, neuroticism and introversion may have unhealthy mental reaction.