17,401 research outputs found
Wang Shuo and the commercialisation of contemporary Chinese culture
No full textThis thesis examines the commercialisation of Chinese culture that has taken place over the past twenty years in mainland China. It explores the contribution of Wang Shuo, a cultural figure who straddles different fields of culture, moving from literature to the ultimate mass culture medium of television, this study plots Wang Shuo' s development from educational failure, to business failure, to fiction writer, film & TV editor, film director and cultural critic and analyst. His stories, films, TV series and articles have caused shock-waves throughout national cultural circles as he has transformed the terms of the debate from academic discourse to a validation of the role of the market in the culture field. Although Wang Shuo has not been labelled as a dissident, his approach to the culture market has had a more subversive effect on official ideology that those overt dissidents who have had to live in exile or have been imprisoned. He has utilised the language of official ideology to satirise the authorities, turning the ideology and its supporters into figures of fun. Yet his own goals have been strictly personal and economic ones. The authorities recognize the value of Wang Shuo's work in the cultural market but at the same time distrust his works and place him under strict censorship. Examining the way Wang Shuo and people surround him have succeeded in different fields of cultural achievement is a mirror to understanding the process of the transformation of contemporary Chinese culture from a socialist state-controlled culture to a market-oriented mass culture industry
JC virus evolution and its association with human populations
No full textThe ubiquitous human polyomavirus JC (JCV) is a small double-stranded DNA virus that establishes a persistent infection, and it is often transmitted from parents to children. There are at least 14 subtypes of the virus associated with different human populations. Because of its presumed codivergence with humans, JCV has been used as a genetic marker for human evolution and migration. Codivergence has also been used as a basis for estimating the rate of nucleotide substitution in JCV. We tested the hypothesis of host-virus codivergence by (i) performing a reconciliation analysis of phylogenetic trees of human and JCV populations and (ii) providing the first estimate of the evolutionary rate of JCV that is independent from the assumption of codivergence. Strikingly, our comparisons of JCV and human phylogenies provided no evidence for codivergence, suggesting that this virus should not be used as a marker for human population history. Further, while the estimated nucleotide substitution rate of JCV has large confidence intervals due to limited sampling, our analysis suggests that this virus may evolve nearly two orders of magnitude faster than predicted under the codivergence hypothesis.</p
Self-propping exists in coal seam hydraulic fractures
No full textThis repository contains data used in "Self-propping exists in coal seam hydraulic fractures" submitted by R Li, CZ Qin, SW Wang, and JC Wang
Magnetization of YBCO film with ac travelling magnetic waves of relatively short wavelengths
No full text© 2017 Author(s). The magnetizations of the YBCO film with ac travelling magnetic waves of relatively short wavelengths were studied. The results have verified that the reported “intermediate value” of the superconducting current density [Wang et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 104(3), 032602 (2014)] was caused by the existence of multiple transition regions in the sample: the magnetic poles induce ±JC in the pole regions, which produces two transition regions within each wavelength λ ( +JC→−JC→+JC, and vice versa, while the symbol → indicates the transition region). The current densities in the transition region are with intermediate values, which are smaller than the critical value. In case of relatively short wavelength, there are multiple transition regions, which occupy a large fraction of the YBCO sample with intermediate current values. Moreover, the wavelike current distributions might help explain the flux transportation and dc output voltage in HTS flux pump
Insulin resistance and ferritin as major determinants of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in apparently healthy obese patients
No full textAlternative splicing in COL1A1 mRNA leads to a partial null allele and two in-frame forms with structural defects in non-lethal osteogenesis imperfecta.
No full textAn ELISA for antibodies against infectious bronchitis virus using an S1 spike polypeptide
No full textJC and BK polyomavirus-like particles as targets of innate and adaptive humoral immunity
No full textJC polyomavirus (JCPyV) and BK polyomavirus (BKPyV) were identified as the first of now more than 12 human polyomaviruses (HPyVs). The average JCPyV and BKPyV seroprevalence rates in adults are 70% and 90%, respectively. After asymptomatic infection both viruses persist in the renourinary tract. In fact, asymptomatic viruria is detectable in one-third of general population. However, in immunocompromised patients, JCPyV and BKPyV replication may progress to significant diseases. Hence, JCPyV can cause progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) in patients with HIV-AIDS, malignancies or autoimmune diseases under immunosuppressive treatment. BKPyV can be a cause of polyomavirus-associated nephropathy (PyVAN) in kidney transplant recipients or hemorrhagic cystitis (PyVHC) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Due to more frequent application of immunosuppression, the risk of developing these diseases has increased in the last few decades. The risk of PML development is estimated to be 100-fold higher for JCPyV-seropositive patients in comparison to JCPyV-seronegatives. Most cases of PyVAN and PyVHC have been tested positive for BKPyV at the moment of disease diagnosis. Unfortunately, there is no specific antiviral therapy against any of these HPyV diseases. Thus, current strategies to avert PyVAN or PyVHC aim at identifying patients with BKPyV viremia and reducing immunosuppression. Similar strategies for PML have not been effective, since JCPyV viremia is usually not detected prior to or at the diagnosis of disease. The fate of BKPyV and JCPyV virus-like particles (VLPs) was examined in an animal model corresponding to primary viremia in non-immune host. Radioactively labeled VLPs were used to assess blood decay, organ, and hepatocellular distribution of ligand, and non-labeled VLPs to examine cellular uptake by immunohisto- and cytochemistry. Rapid distribution of both BKPyV and JCPyV VLPs to the liver was observed, with lesser uptake in kidney and spleen. Liver uptake was predominantly observed in LSECs. Blood half-life and tissue distribution of both wild-type JCPyV VLPs and two mutant JCPyV VLPs (L55F and S269F), lacking sialic acid binding affinity, were similar, indicating involvement of non-sialic acid receptors in cellular uptake. We concluded that LSECs very effectively cleared a large fraction of blood-borne BKPyV and JCPyV VLPs, indicating a central role of these cells in early removal of polyomavirus from the circulation. Moreover, we observed that a subpopulation of endothelial cells in kidney, the main organ of polyomavirus persistence, showed selective and rapid uptake of VLPs, suggesting a role in viremic organ tropism (Simon-Santamaria et al., p. 54). Giving the increasing clinical need to reliably determine JCPyV and BKPyV IgG levels in patients at risk, we first reviewed and optimized serological tools for JCPyV and BKPyV IgG detection including virus-like particle (VLP)-based ELISA. We demonstrated that although no statistically significant differences in intraassay and interassay variability were revealed for JCPyV serology of 400-fold diluted sera from healthy donors, qualitative differences were seen in the identification of the individual JCPyV serostatus. The cause of discordance for approximately 10% of sera resulted from a low IgG activity close to the cutoff of the assay. Therefore we standardized the ELISA using reference serum for normalization. Moreover, we developed a preadsorption assay with cutoff of 35% reduction of the JCPyV IgG activity after preincubation with JCPyV VLPs. Importantly, we excluded BKPyV antibody cross-reactivity by testing JCPyV IgG positive sera in preadsorption assay using BKPyV VLPs. In conclusion, we showed that VLP-based ELISA with normalization can serve as a reliable tool for JCPyV IgG serology. Additionally, the preadsorption assay can help with unequivocal determination of JCPyV serostatus for samples with low IgG levels. (Kardas et al., p. 72). We also normalized this VLP-based ELISA for BKPyV IgG detection and showed that for seroepidemiology studies, normalized JCPyV and BKPyV IgG ELISA at 1:200 serum dilution provides optimal sensitivity and specificity with the lowest false-positive and false-negative rate. However, for individual risk assessment, 100-, 200-, and 400-fold dilutions combined with preadsorption for low-reactive sera might be the most appropriate (Kardas et al., p. 82). This improved ELISA was used to investigate JCPyV and BKPyV specific antibody levels in several clinical studies: (1) one case of PML patient where positive JCPyV IgG status was compatible with other PML-indicating symptoms (Kurmann et al., p. 90); (2) one case of PyVAN caused by JCPyV rather than BKPyV, as confirmed by JCPyV IgG/IgM positive and BKPyV IgG/IgM negative results (Lautenschlager et al., 99); (3) one case of PyVHC patient after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation where increasing BKPyV IgG activities were in line with progression of BKPyV viremia (Koskenvuo et al., p. 106). Further, by serological testing of 122 immunocompetent and 63 immunocompromised patients we demonstrated that the BKPyV IgG level is age-dependent, with the highest values between 20 and 30 years (Schmidt et al., p. 119). In another study we compared serological outcomes of ELISA utilizing two different antigens in terms of prognostic value in prostate cancer development. To accomplish this we utilized improved ELISA for BKPyV IgG activity to both BKPyV VLPs and BKPyV LTag. Testing of 226 patients undergoing radical prostatectomy for primary prostate cancer revealed that BKPyV VP1 serostatus, in contrast to BKPyV LTag, has no prognostic value in prostate cancer progression (Keller et al., p. 125). In conclusion, we provided a new input into knowledge about tropism and clearance of polyomaviruses from blood. Moreover, we established a reliable and sensitive VLP-based assay for specific detection of JCPyV and BKPyV IgG and IgM. Serostatus based on ELISA results was compatible with other symptoms of BKPyV- and JCPyV-related diseases
Effect of sample size on magnetic Jc for MgB2 superconductor
No full textA strong effect of sample size on magnetic Jc(H) was observed for bulk MgB2 when Jc is obtained directly from the critical state model. Thus obtained zero-field Jc (Jc0) decreases strongly with the sample size, attaining a constant value for the samples larger than a few millimetres. On the other hand, the irreversibility field (Hirr) defined at Jc = 100 A/cm2 increases with the sample size. The decrease of Jc0 is described in terms of voids in the bulk MgB2 samples and superconducting screening around the cells of superconducting material between these voids (35 micro-m), because of concentration of the current in the narrow bridges connecting the cells. For samples larger than a few millimetres, the value of magnetic Jc is in agreement with the transport Jc and it is restricted by the voids. The critical state model is not suitable for obtaining Jc for small bulk MgB2. The increase of Hirr with the sample size is an artefact of defining Hirr by the value of Jc at which an additional superconducting screening on 1 micro-m scale dominates Delta(m)
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