Abstract The conversion of sesamin to asarinin is a promising route for the production of asarinin. This work reports the affection of acid type and strength of the catalyst on the conversion of sesamin to asarinin and the effect of various reaction conditions in anhydrous ethanol using phosphotungstic acid (HPW) as catalyst. The experimental results indicate that the activity of sesamin conversion is determined by strong B acids. L acids are not active for the reaction, and do not show synergy with B acids for the formation of asarinin. Reaction time, HPW dosage and temperature have significant effects on sesamin conversion. A maximum asarinin yield of 57.93% was achieved. The reaction kinetics in the temperature range 55-75 °C were studied. The kinetic curves can be successfully fitted with an opposing first-order reaction model. The activation energy (Ea) for this reaction is found to be 105.2 ± 0.4 kJ/mol.

Riassunto: L’antico teatro della Casa Ufficiale è un antico teatro esistente nell’area Montuosa del Taihang nella Provincia dell’Henan Settentrionale, il quale nacque nel periodo centrale della Dinastia Qing. L’aspetto dell’antico teatro della Casa Ufficiale è legato all’ambiente naturale locale, alla cultura popolare e alla produttività agricola. Ci sono otto antiche fasi della casa ufficiale nell’area Montuosa del Taihang nella Provincia dell’Henan Settentrionale, che forniscono prove fisiche per lo studio del dramma teatrale popolare nell’area Montuosa del Taihang durante la dinastia Qing. Le iscrizioni sulle stele e sul palcoscenico dell’opera tradizionale cinese riflettono alcune caratteristiche del dramma teatrale rappresentato dai funzionari fin dalla dinastia Qing in Cina. I tipi di opere eseguite sono opere locali, le quali rappresentano dei preziosi materiali per lo studio storico. In una certa misura, è possibile ricostruire il percorso lo sviluppo regionale della società, della cultura e della vita quotidiana locale. Riassunto Lantico L nellarea nell area dellHenan dell Henan Settentrionale Laspetto aspetto dellantico allambiente all ambiente locale agricola dellopera opera Cina locali storico misura società

Abstract: As a particular type of ancient Chinese theater, talented theater of official house was mainly found in the Taihang Mountain area, in North Henan Province, which was formed in the middle of the Qing Dynasty. The appearance of it is related to the local natural environment, folk culture and agricultural productivity. Through field investigation, it is found that there are eight existing theaters in the Taihang Mountain area of North Henan Province; among which three ones are newly discovered that have not been documented by the academic circle before, as well as several traditional Chinese opera steles and wall inscriptions. This is the first time the academic circle discloses relevant data and information. These provide physical evidence the performance of the village opera in the Taihang Mountain area of the Qing Dynasty, in China. Especially the inscriptions on the steles and the stage wall can reflect some features of the local opera performance since the Qing Dynasty, such as the type, time, troupe, and so on. To some extent, the richness of these ancient theaters of official house, with the architectural styles of ancient Chinese opera, has a significant value related to historical material and cultural relics. The first-hand data obtained in the investigation will also provide the latest research materials on ancient Chinese opera and theater architecture. Abstract Province Dynasty environment productivity before information China troupe extent relics firsthand hand architecture

ABSTRACT Glossopharyngeal nerve neuralgia is a painful clinical entity, secondary to different etiologies of compressive character on the nerve. It can generate an important deterioration in the quality of life, due to its sensitive symptoms at the facial level; being less frequent than trigeminal nerve neuralgia, and requiring the fulfillment of diagnostic criteria for its clinical confirmation. The treatment of this entity can be pharmacological, surgical, or interventional by percutaneous route with ultrasound guidance. Complications of interventional techniques are rare, in this case, we present peripheral facial paralysis; with complete resolution in 12 hours after a percutaneous block of the glossopharyngeal nerve with ultrasound guidance. This complication is very rarely reported in the medical literature may be due to the local diffusion of the anesthetic drug or the multiple anatomical variants of the facial nerve in addition to the possibility of extra petrosal branches that communicate the facial nerve with the glossopharyngeal nerve. Peripheral facial paralysis can be considered an expected side effect, infrequent of this procedure in patients with anatomical variants, which does not modify the effectiveness of the intervention or the patient's safety.

RESUMEN La neuralgia del nervio glosofaríngeo es una entidad clínica dolorosa, secundaria a diferentes etiologías de carácter compresivo sobre el nervio. Puede llegar a generar un deterioro importante sobre la calidad de vida por sus síntomas sensitivos a nivel facial, siendo menos frecuente que la neuralgia del nervio trigémino y requiriendo el cumplimiento de criterios diagnósticos para su confirmación clínica. El tratamiento de esta entidad puede ser farmacológico, quirúrgico o intervencionista por vía percutánea con guía ecográfica. Las complicaciones de las técnicas intervencionistas son poco frecuentes. En este caso se presenta una parálisis facial periférica, con resolución completa en 12 horas posterior a un bloqueo percutáneo del nervio glosofaríngeo con guía ecográfica. Esta complicación muy poco reportada en la literatura médica puede deberse a la difusión local del medicamento anestésico o las múltiples variantes anatómicas del nervio facial, además de la posibilidad de ramas extra petrosas que comunican al nervio facial con el glosofaríngeo. Se puede considerar a la parálisis facial periférica un efecto secundario esperado, poco frecuente de este procedimiento en pacientes con variantes anatómicas, que no modifica la efectividad de la intervención o la seguridad del paciente.

BACKGROUND: South Africa (SA) has embarked on a process to implement universal health coverage (UHC) funded by National Health Insurance (NHI). The 2019 NHI Bill proposes creation of a health technology assessment (HTA) body to inform decisions about which interventions NHI funds will cover under UHC. In practice, HTA often relies mainly on economic evaluations of cost-effectiveness and budget impact, with less attention to the systematic, specific consideration of important social, organisational and ethical impacts of the health technology in question. In this context, the South African Values and Ethics for Universal Health Coverage (SAVE-UHC) research project recognised an opportunity to help shape the health priority-setting process by providing a way to take account of multiple, ethically relevant considerations that reflect SA values. The SAVE-UHC Research Team developed and tested an SA-specific Ethics Framework for HTA assessment and analysisOBJECTIVES: To develop and test an Ethics Framework for use in the SA context for health priority-settingMETHODS: The Framework was developed iteratively by the authors and a multidisciplinary panel (18 participants) over a period of 18 months, using the principles outlined in the 2015 NHI White Paper as a starting point. The provisional Ethics Framework was then tested with multi-stakeholder simulated appraisal committees (SACs) in three provinces. The membership of each SAC roughly reflected the composition of a potential SA HTA committee. The deliberations and dedicated focus group discussions after each SAC meeting were recorded, analysed and used to refine the Framework, which was presented to the Working Group for review, comment and final approvalRESULTS: This article describes the 12 domains of the Framework. The first four (Burden of the Health Condition, Expected Health Benefits and Harms, Cost-Effectiveness Analysis, and Budget Impact) are commonly used in HTA assessments, and a further eight cover the other ethical domains. These are Equity, Respect and Dignity, Impacts on Personal Financial Situation, Forming and Maintaining Important Personal Relationships, Ease of Suffering, Impact on Safety and Security, Solidarity and Social Cohesion, and Systems Factors and Constraints. In each domain are questions and prompts to enable use of the Framework by both analysts and assessors. Issues that arose, such as weighting of the domains and the availability of SA evidence, were discussed by the SACsCONCLUSIONS: The Ethics Framework is intended for use in priority-setting within an HTA process. The Framework was well accepted by a diverse group of stakeholders. The final version will be a useful tool not only for HTA and other priority-setting processes in SA, but also for future efforts to create HTA methods in SA and elsewhere

Congenital abnormalities of the biliary system are a consideration in children with biliary symptomatology. The preoperative diagnosis rate is still not satisfactory, despite progresses made in imaging technology, with the potential of biliary tract injury if surgery is indicated. The double gallbladder is a rare developmental abnormality of the biliary tract with several anatomical variations. This abnormality was accurately delineated in a 7-year-old child by MRI/MRCP, allowing the ductal anatomy to be accurately identified and safe laparoscopic cholecystectomies to be performed.

ABSTRACT This study aimed to evaluate the effects of adding Moringa oleifera leaf powder (MOLP) to the basal diets of chickens at late laying period on clutch trait, reproductive organs, serum reproductive hormones and reproduction-related genes expression. A total of 350 hens (37 weeks old) with similar laying rate and clutch trait were randomly allocated into five groups, and fed 0 (Control, CON), 2.5 (MOLP2.5), 5, 7.5 and 10% MOLP supplemented diets for 6 weeks. The hens supplemented with 2.5% MLOP had the average clutch length, clutches and clutch intensity close to those in CON. The numbers and weight of hierarchal follicle were significantly increased at the supplementation 2.5% MOLP group. The estrogen concentration was highest in MOLP2.5 group and lowest in MOLP10 group. Expression levels of steroidogenesis-related genes of StAR and Cyp19a1 were higher in MOLP2.5, MOLP5 and MOLP7.5 groups compared with that in the control. These findings suggested that dietary supplementation with 2.5% MOLP effectively increased hierarchal follicle numbers, estrogen level and gene expression of StAR and Cyp19a1, which has a potential beneficial effect on laying performance in laying chicken.

Abstract Hibiscus Sabdariffa L. has important nutritional and medicinal value. Currently, a safe process extraction of reducing sugar from Hibiscus Sabdariffa L. calyx by biological complex enzyme system is seldom investigated. In this experiment, the pectinase and cellulase complex enzyme system was used to optimize the enzymatic hydrolysis of Hibiscus Sabdariffa L. and Box behnken was used to design the experiment. The results showed that there was significant difference in enzymolysis effect of Hibiscus Sabdariffa L under different conditions (p < 0.05). When the enzymolysis temperature was 45 °C, pH 4.5, and the mass volume ratio of material to liquid was 5g:100ml, the optimum conditions were obtained by response surface methodology: the addition amount of pectinase and cellulase complex enzyme was 0.011 g/kg, the ratio of mixed enzyme was 1.36:1, the enzymolysis time was 2.09 h, and the reducing sugar content of Hibiscus Sabdariffa L extract was 3.56 mg/ml. The experimental results of reducing sugar content of Hibiscus Sabdariffa L (3.54 ± 0.1mg / ml) were in good agreement with the predicted value of the equation fitted by response surface. The mixed enzyme system of pectinase and cellulase has the advantages of environmental protection and energy saving, which can provide guidance for industrial production.

Cyanogen chloride, as a systemic toxic agent, can cause death rapidly. In this paper, a non-dispersive infrared sensor was designed for the infrared absorption detection of cyanogen chloride at 800 cm-1. The roughness of the internal coating material was analyzed by experiments, and the gold-plated gas chamber was selected. The light path propagation of different cross-section gas chambers was simulated, and the circular section gas chamber was selected to increase the infrared detector signal. The effect of flow rate on voltage was studied. The standard curve between voltage and concentration was obtained under the optimal condition of 0.4 L min-1. The maximum response time was 19 s, and RSD was less than 2%. The interference experiment results showed that common gases entering the gas chamber do not cause interference. The non-dispersive infrared sensor for cyanogen chloride has good stability and detects cyanogen chloride in real-time.

SUMMARY: This study aimed to accurately localize the location and depth of the centre of the highest region of muscle spindle abundance (CHRMSA) of the triceps brachii muscle. Twenty-four adult cadavers were placed in the prone position. The curve connecting the acromion and lateral epicondyle of the humerus close to the skin was designed as the longitudinal reference line (L), and the curve connecting the lateral and the medial epicondyle of the humerus was designed as the horizontal reference line (H). Sihler's staining was used to visualize the dense intramuscular nerve region of the triceps brachii muscle. The abundance of muscle spindle was calculated after hematoxylin and eosin stain. CHRMSA was labelled by barium sulphate, and spiral computed tomography scanning and three- dimensional reconstruction were performed. Using the Syngo system, the projection points of CHRMSA on the posterior and anterior arm surface (P and P' points), the position of P points projected to the L and H lines (PL and PH points), and the depth of CHRMSA were determined. The PL of the CHRMSA of the long, medial, and lateral heads of the triceps brachii muscle were located at 34.83 %, 75.63 %, and 63.93 % of the L line, respectively, and the PH was located at 63.46 %, 69.62 %, and 56.07 % of the H line, respectively. In addition, the depth was located at 34.73 %, 35.48 %, and 35.85 % of the PP' line, respectively. These percentage values are all the means. These body surface locations and depths are suggested to be the optimal blocking targets for botulinum toxin A in the treatment of triceps brachii muscle spasticity.

RESUMEN: Este estudio tuvo como objetivo localizar con precisión la ubicación y la profundidad del centro de la región más alta del huso muscular (CHRMSA) del músculo tríceps braquial. Se colocaron veinticuatro cadáveres adultos en posición prona y se designó la curva que conecta el acromion y el epicóndilo lateral del húmero cerca de la piel como la línea de referencia longitudinal (L), y la curva que conecta los epicóndilos lateral y medial del húmero fue designada como la línea de referencia horizontal (H). Se usó la tinción de Sihler para visualizar la región nerviosa intramuscular densa del músculo tríceps braquial. La abundancia de huso muscular se calculó después de la tinción con hematoxilina y eosina. CHRMSA se marcó con sulfato de bario y se realizó una tomografía computarizada espiral y una reconstrucción tridimensional. Usando el sistema Syngo, fueron determinados los puntos de proyección de CHRMSA en la superficie posterior y anterior del brazo (puntos P y P'), la posición de los puntos P pro- yectados en las líneas L y H (puntos PL y PH) y la profundidad de CHRMSA. Los PL de la CHRMSA de las cabezas larga, medial y lateral del músculo tríceps braquial se ubicaron en el 34,83 %, 75,63 % y 63,93 % de la línea L, respectivamente, y el PH se ubicó en el 63,46 %, 69,62 %, y 56,07 % de la línea H, respectivamente. La profundidad se ubicó en el 34,73 %, 35,48 % y 35,85 % de la línea PP', respectivamente. Estos valores porcentuales son todas las medias. Se sugiere que estas ubicaciones y profundidades de la superficie corporal son los objetivos de bloqueo óptimos para la toxina botulínica A en el tratamiento de la espasticidad del músculo tríceps braquial.

ABSTRACT This study was conducted to investigate effects of vitamin A (VA) and vitamin K3 (VK3) on immune function and intestinal antioxidant capacity of aged laying hens. In a 3 × 3 factorial arrangement, the diets of 1080 Roman Pink laying hens (87 weeks old) was formulated with deficient, adequate and excess VA and VK3, including 0, 7000 and 14000 IU/kg VA and 0, 2.0 and 4.0 mg/kg VK3 for 8 weeks. Interactive effects between VA and VK3 were observed that VA and VK3 decreased the splenetic mRNA expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and tumour necrosis factor α (TNF-α), but increased the plasma immunoglobulin G (IgG) content and jejunal mRNA expression of nuclear factor-like 2 (Nrf2). Hens fed adequate or excess VA had higher spleen index, mRNA expression of interleukin-10 (IL-10) in spleen, sIgA content, catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase and total dismutase (T-SOD) activity, and mRNA expression of polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (pIgR) in jejunum and lower mRNA expression of IL-1β in jejunum and iNOS, TNF-α in spleen. Furthermore, adequate or excess VK3 significantly increased plasma IgG content, the CAT, T-SOD and total antioxidant capacity activities, up-regulated the mRNA expression of pIgR, Nrf2, SOD1 and CAT in jejunum and down-regulated the mRNA expression of iNOS and TNF-α in spleen. In conclusion, dietary addition of adequate VA (7000 IU/kg) and VK3 (2.0 mg/kg) improved the immune function and intestine antioxidant capacity of aged laying hens and excess levels did not exhibit superior effects.

ABSTRACT Abdominal cocoon syndrome is a rare cause of intestinal obstruction, which is difficult to diag- nose preoperatively. We here report a case of abdominal cocoon. A 47-year-old male patient was referred to the general surgery department with complaints of abdominal pain, distension, nausea and vomiting for 1 day. An abdominal computed tomography examination detected the dilated small intestinal loops clustered in the abdomen and surrounded by a sac-like membrane. During the exploratory surgery, a capsular structure was identified in the lower quadrant with a regular surface that was solid fibrous in nature. The combination of physical examination, imaging signs and medical history may be helpful in the diagnosis.

ABSTRACT Objective: To have anatomic measurements of carotid artery bifurcation (CAB) with 64-spiral computed tomography angiography (64-SCTA), and provide anatomic basis for related research. Methods: Imaging data of 92 subjects (45 males, 47 females, the age range 20–82 years and mean age 48.4 ± 6.1 years) without pathology of CAB, who underwent 64-SCTA in head and neck from June 1, 2008 to June 30, 2010, were selected from the Picture Archiving and Communication Systems in Zhongshan Hospital of Xiamen University, Fujian, China. On the 3D images, the angle and size of CAB were measured, and the statistical comparisons of measurements were made between the bilateral, sex and age groups. Results: The measurements of CAB were divided into young (≤ 40 years) and older (> 40 years) groups: bifurcation angle is 36.206° ± 10.210° and 49.343° ± 16.489°, respectively; the inner diameter of common carotid artery (CCA) is 6.820 ± 0.635 and 6.845 ± 0.838 mm, respectively; the proximal inner diameter of internal carotid artery (ICA) is 7.143 ± 0.992 and 7.476 ± 1.630 mm, of the enlargement is 7.568 ± 1.069 and 8.554 ± 1.733 mm, of the distal is 4.897 ± 0.508 and 5.123 ± 0.699 mm, respectively; the inner diameter of external carotid artery (ECA) is 4.324 ± 0.580 and 4.104 ± 0.638 mm, respectively. There were statistically significant differences in all the measurements between male and female groups, in the bifurcation angle, inner diameters of ICA and ECA between young and older groups, and in the bifurcation angle between the left and right (p < 0.05). Conclusion: A 64-SCTA with 3D image post-processing technique can clearly observe and show the CAB. All CAB measurements will provide the objective basis for applied anatomy, imaging diagnosis and surgery treatment.

ABSTRACT Effective microorganism biochar-based fertilizer (EMBF) can improve the physiological properties of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) In this study, the irrigation and EMBF rates were applied as factors that influence the photosynthetic characteristics and chlorophyll content of tobacco. The experiment involved 12 treatments: CK1-CK3, T1-T3, T4-T6, and T7-T9; these four groups represented 0, 100, 300, and 600 g EMBF pot-1, respectively. Each group was irrigated at rates of 40, 80, and 120 L pot-1. When comparing with the control treatment CK, results showed that net photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (gs), intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci), transpiration rate (Tr), and soil plant analysis development (SPAD) increased by 8.21%-107.03%, 18.78%-118.27%, 18.78%-118.27%, 7.24%-104.15%, and 3.47%-69.09%, respectively, after EMBF application. The Pn, gs, Ci, and Tr at the growth and maturity stages were highly significant (P < 0.01) and positively correlated with EMBF application. The Pn, gs, and Tr were significant (P < 0.05) and positively correlated with irrigation, and Ci was less affected by irrigation (P > 0.05). The SPAD value of flue-cured tobacco at three growing stages was highly significant (P < 0.01) and positively correlated with the irrigation and fertilization rates. The SPAD values at the growth and maturity stages were higher than those at the rooting stage by 46.73%-79.2% and 2.21%- 46.17%, respectively. Furthermore, the 80 L pot-1 irrigation rate combined with 300 g EMBF pot-1 is the best water and fertilizer combination. The results of this study might provide theoretical and practical guidance for growing flue-cured tobacco in production areas.

ABSTRACT This study explores the differences of appearance and the digestive systems of two birds (Lonchura striata and Copsychus saularis), which have the same eating pattern in staple ingredients. Each bird was caught naturally and euthanized in appropriate manner, followed by morphology survey on bill, duodenum, jejunum, ileum and appearance of the body parts such as Culmen, Claw, Wing, Tarsus, Toe and Tail. The results showed that the appearance feature between them presented significant differences in the beak length, wing length and tail length, which were correlated to their staple feeding habits. In addition, in the digestive system, the length of duodenum and duodenal indexes showed significant differences (p<0.05 or p<0.01), which was considered to be correlated to their predation rate. However, there were no significant differences in jejunum length, ileum length, and the whole digestive tract length and weight, the evidence showed that feeding habits still play a great role in the whole intestine. It is concluded that different staple feeding habits allow the birds to evolve different traits both in appearance and intestine, which aim to improve their predation rate and adapt to different environments. Among all features, duodenum and duodenal were the major objects to get stressed in digestive system, while beak length, wing length and tail length differed most in appearance. And it was speculated that different food compositions lead to different changes in certain positions of the body, thus might shape an explorable trail, which needs to be investigated thoroughly.

ABSTRACT Over-accumulation of triglycerides (TGs) in goose hepatocytes leads to the formation of fatty acid liver. Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase kinase 1 (PEPCK) is regarded as the rate-limiting enzyme for gluconeogenesis, and there is evidence that PEPCK is involved in regulating hepatic glucolipid metabolism. Hence, we proposed that PEPCK may have a role in goose hepatic steatosis. To test our hypothesis, the present study was conducted to firstly determine the sequence characteristics of goose PEPCK and then to explore its role in overfeeding-induced fatty liver. Our results showed that goose PEPCK encodes a 622-amino-acids protein that contains highly conserved oxaloacetate-binding domain, kinase-1 and kinase-2 motifs. PEPCK had higher mRNA levels in goose liver, and overfeeding markedly increased its expression in livers of both Sichuan White and Landes geese (p<0.05). Besides, expression of PEPCK was positively correlated with hepatic TG levels as well as plasma glucose and insulin concentrations. Additionally, in cultured goose primary hepatocyte, treatment with either oleic acid (0.8, 1.2 or 1.6 mM) or linoleic acid (0.125 or 0.25 mM) significantly (p<0.05) enhanced the expression of PEPCK. Taken together, these data suggested a role for PEPCK in the occurrence of overfeeding-induced goose hepatic steatosis.