Sudies on non-isothermal melt crystallization kinetics in PET/PEN/DBS blends

Macrokinetic models, namly the modified Avrami, Ozawa and Zibicki models, were applied to study the non-isothermal melt crystallization process of PET/PEN/DBS blends by DSC measurement. The modified Avrami model was found to describe the experimental data fairly well. With the cooling rates in the range from 5 to 20 K/min, Ozawa model could be well used to describe the early stages of crystallization. However, Ozawa model did not fit the polymer blends during the late stages of crystallization, because it ignored the influence of secondary crystallization. The crystallization ability of the blends decreases with increasing the DBS content from analysis by using Ziabicki kinetic model, which is similar to the results based on calculation of the effective energy barrier of the blends.

Gender effect on the right-left discrimination task in a sample of heroin-dependent patients

Rationale: Discriminating right from left is an everyday cognitive ability. Repeated exposure to certain drugs, such as heroin, can produce poor performance on many cognitive tasks. However, it is yet unclear whether drug abuse impairs the ability of right-left discrimination. Objectives: The aim of the present study is to examine whether the spatial ability measured by the right-left discrimination task can be affected by heroin abuse and whether such drug effect, if it exists, is gender related. Methods: A paper-and-pen test was used. The test consists of line drawings of a person with no arm, one arm, or both arms crossing the vertical body axis of the figure. The line drawings are viewed from the back, from the front, or randomly alternating between the back and front drawings. The subjects task is to mark which is the right or left hand in the figure as fast as possible. Results: A main finding in this study was that the ability to discriminate between left and right in visual space was impaired in heroin-dependent patients. Especially, heroin-dependent females performed poorer than control females in all conditions but heroin-dependent males only performed poorly in part of conditions. Conclusions: Recent heroin abuse impairs the ability of right-left discrimination and such impairment is gender related: heroin-dependent females demonstrated greater performance deficits than males.

Growth and food availability of silver and bighead carps: evidence from stable isotope and gut content analysis

A 2-year investigation of growth and food availability of silver carp and bighead was carried out using stable isotope and gut content analysis in a large pen in Meiliang Bay of Lake Taihu, China. Both silver carp and bighead exhibited significantly higher delta 13C in 2005 than in 2004, which can probably be attributed to two factors: (i) the difference between isotopic compositions at the base of the pelagic food web and (ii) the difference between the compositions of prey items and stable isotopes. The significantly positive correlations between body length, body weight and stable isotope ratios indicated that isotopic changes in silver carp and bighead resulted from the accumulation of biomass concomitant with rapid growth. Because of the drastic decrease in zooplankton in the diet in 2005, silver carp and bighead grew faster in 2004 than in 2005. Bighead carp showed a lower trophic level than silver carp in 2005 as indicated by stable nitrogen isotope ratios, which was possibly explained by the interspecific difference between the prey species and the food quality of silver carp and bighead.

Field and laboratory studies on pathological and biochemical characterization of microcystin-induced liver and kidney damage in the phytoplanktivorous bighead carp

Field and experimental studies were conducted to investigate pathological characterizations and biochemical responses in the liver and kidney of the phytoplanktivorous bighead carp after intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of microcystins (MCs) and exposure to natural cyanobacterial blooms in Meiliang Bay, Lake Taihu. Bighead carp in field and laboratory studies showed a progressive recovery of structure and function in terms of histological, cellular, and biochemical features. In laboratory study, when fish were i.p. injected with extracted MCs at the doses of 200 and 500 mu g MC- LReq/kg body weight, respectively, liver pathology in bighead carp was observed in a time dose-dependent manner within 24 h postinjection and characterized by disruption of liver structure, condensed cytoplasm, and the appearance of massive hepatocytes with karyopyknosis, karyorrhexis, and karyolysis. In comparison with previous studies on other fish, bighead carp in field study endured higher MC doses and longer-term exposure, but displayed less damage in the liver and kidney. Ultrastructural examination in the liver revealed the presence of lysosome proliferation, suggesting that bighead carp might eliminate or lessen cell damage caused by MCs through lysosome activation. Biochemically, sensitive responses in the antioxidant enzymes and higher basal glutathione concentrations might be responsible for their powerful resistance to MCs, suggesting that bighead carp can be used as biomanipulation fish to counteract cyanotoxin contamination.

Biochemical and ultrastructural changes of the liver and kidney of the phytoplanktivorous silver carp feeding naturally on toxic Microcystis blooms in Taihu Lake, China

Many experimental studies have documented the impact of microcystins (MC) on fish based on either intraperitoneal injection, or oral gavaging via the diet, but few experiments were conducted by MC exposure through natural food uptake in lakes. In this study, the phytoplanktivorous silver carp were stocked in a large pen set in Meiliang Bay of Taihu Lake where toxic Microcystis blooms occurred in the warm seasons. Fish samples were collected monthly and MC concentrations in liver and kidney of the fish were determined by LC-MS. The maximum MC concentrations in liver and kidney were present in July when damages in ultrastructures of the liver and kidney were revealed by electron microscope. In comparison with previous studies on common carp, silver carp showed less damage and presence of lysosome proliferation in liver and kidney. Silver carp might eliminate or lessen cell damage caused by MC through lysosome activation. Recovery in the ultrastructures of liver and kidney after Microcystis blooms was companied with a significant decrease or even disappearance of MC. Catalase and glutathione S-transferase in liver and kidney of silver carp during Microcystis blooms were significantly higher than before and after Microcystis blooms. The high glutathione pool in liver and kidney of silver carp suggests their high resistance to MC exposure. The efficient antioxidant defence may be an important mechanism of phytoplanktivorous fish like silver carp to counteract toxic Microcystis blooms. (C) 2007 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Genetic heterogeneity analysis and RAPD marker detection among four forms of Atrina pectinata Linnaeus

Pen shell (Atrina pectinata Linnaeus) can be distinguished into four forms based on the morphololgic characteristics. Genetic similarity, and heterogeneity were analyzed among the four forms by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique using 24 10-nucleotide-long primers. Of these primers, 22 pruners produced well-identifiable RAPD band patterns. Significant differences in RAPD band patterns were revealed among the four forms. A total of 198 polymorphic fragments were scored from 22 pruners. and they are specific for one form, shared by two or three forms. Several pruners, such as S451, S453 S463 S464, S470. S473 and S474, produced abundant band patterns and provided sufficient information for reliable discrimination of the four forms. The average genetic distances and phylogenetic relationships were calculated and analyzed according to the distinguishable fragments. The data indicate that pen shells of form G and form Y are similar not only among individuals within the same form, but also between individuals from the two forms, and that shells of form T and form S are highly divergent. The constructed phylogenetic free matches the average genetic distances. Three clusters were clearly distinguishable, in which two were corresponding to form S and form T respectively and one included forms G and Y. This Study will be benefit to further studies oil the taxonomy and selective breeding of Pinnid species. It is suggested that the four forms of pen shell should be categorized to at least two species taxonomically.

一种笔式用户界面软件领域模型及其应用

笔式用户界面软件以其自然、高效的交互方式，在很多领域中有着广泛的应用笔式用户界面软件具有以交互为中心、用户个性化需求高的特点，由此也决定了用户在软件设计中的主导地位“用户为中心的设计的关键问题在于，如何使用户的思想如实地反映到设计中通过建立笔式用户界面软件特征模型PUIDM(the domain model for pen—based user interface software)，构造了一个连接用户与软件设计的平台．从上下文、软件实体、界面特征、体系结构等角度，对该模型的建立进行分析．并给出了相应的XML描述在此基础上，描述了用户使用该模型进行软件设计的过程实例表明，PUIDM能够正确引导用户进行设计，将用户意图充分地引入到软件设计和最终实现中，使软件满足可用性要求。

基于笔交互的表格制作

利用笔交互技术实现了表格的正式制作和草图制作，满足不同用户和不同应用的需要.提出了一种基于推理的自适应字线分离方法，首先通过上下文分析和全局分析来获取笔画的字特征和框线特征，然后对这2个特征进行综合评判来分离字线，通过交互来纠正分离错误.该方法实现了草图表格到正式表格的转换，增强了表格制作的灵活性.

UPIM:以用户为中心的笔式交互系统设计

笔式用户界面是Post-WIMP界面的一种重要形态，有自然、易学、易用等潜在性优点，但是在开发笔式交互系统时，以应用为中心的设计方法无法保证笔式用户界面继续拥有这些优点J为此，首先分析了软件设计的交流模型，在此基础上提出了一种以用户为中心的笔式交互系统的设计方法，并结合科学跳水训练管理系统对该方法进行了详细描述J从实际应用系统的评估结果来看，该设计方法在提高笔式交互系统的可用性方面非常有效.

CoPenML:基于XML的笔式用户界面构件体系结构

笔式用户界面在许多领域得到了广泛应用，但现有的笔式界面技术不能支持高层次、多领域的可视化界面制作，很难实现面向软件构件的重用．因而提出一个新的解决方案，面向构件的体系结构CoPenML．该方案基于XML语言抽象描述了笔式界面的配置组成．可用于快速生成界面原型及二次开发接口，并且在系统实现级以及场景图级两个层面上实现软件构件的重用．设计了CoPenML的体系结构并给出了界面描述语言规范．最后开发了基于CoPenML的笔式界面制作环境以及相关工具．结果表明该方案对于笔式用户界面制作是十分有效的．

PIBG Toolkit:一个笔式界面工具箱的分析与设计

PIBG Toolkit是一个基于PIBG交互范式构造而成的笔式应用开发平台:PIBG Toolkit中包含了纸、框等多种交互组件，定义了纸、框和内容三个层次之间的静态结构和动态机制: 开发者开发笔式交互系统时，可以用PIBG Toolkit来建立整体的软件框架和交互机制，并有选择地在系统中添加Toolkit中所提供的交互组件.这样，开发者的精力将会集中在应用领域的内容上.目前，基于该平台已经开发出多个具有很好应用前景的笔式应用系统.