Embryo quality determines the success of in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) treatment. Biomarkers for the evaluation of embryo quality have some limitations. Apoptosis in cumulus cells (CCs) is important for ovarian function. PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog) is a well known tumour suppressor gene that functions as a mediator of apoptosis and is crucial for mammalian reproduction. In the present study, we analyzed the expression level of PTEN in human CCs and aimed to investigate its association with embryo developmental competence in IVF treatment cycles. The PTEN mRNA level in CCs was measured using real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR. The association of the differential expression of PTEN with embryo quality was analyzed. Our data showed that PTEN mRNA levels were significantly decreased in CCs surrounding mature oocytes compared with immature oocytes. Similar changes were found in the analysis of fertilization and blastocyst formation. The speculation that the measurement of PTEN mRNA levels in human CCs would provide a useful tool for selecting oocytes with greater chances to implant into the uterus needs to be further verified through single-embryo transfer in the future. The proapoptotic mechanism of PTEN in human reproduction needs to be further studied.

The ecological environment of the headwater area of the Yellow River, west China, is seriously deteriorating because of the harsh natural environment, weakened ecological systems and intensified human activities as well as regional climate changes. Forests and glaciers coexist in this area. Glaciers in the area have retreated over the last decade because of climate change. Most glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) tend to retreat during warm intervals and advance during cold intervals. Tree-ring records provide an important index for examining past climate changes. A total of 139 core samples from 97 living cypresses (Juniperus przewalskii) in the central region of the Yellow River headwater area, the Animaqin mountains, northeastern TP, were sampled from three sites that are close to each other. The chronologies were developed using the ARSTAN program. Analyses indicate that these tree-ring width records reflect the summer maximum temperature of the study area over the past 700 years. The tree-ring records and the glacier advances recorded by terminal moraines are compared. Inferred summer maximum temperatures suggest three cold periods during the Little Ice Age, around AD1500, 1700 and 1850. These cold intervals are consistent with the glacier moraine record from the region.

Porous silicon nitride ceramics are attracting extensive attention due to its high strength and low dielectric loss. However, further strength enhancement at elevated temperatures is hindered by its intergranular phase, forming from sintering additives. This paper describes the fabrication of porous silicon nitride ceramic materials, by using a replacement method of carbothermal nitridation. The initial samples which were obtained from the sintering of mixed powder consisted of 95 wt% Si3N4 and 5 wt% Y2O3. After the removal of the oxide intergranular phase and the infiltration of mixtures of phenolic resins and silica sols, carbothermal nitridation process was carried out at 1550 °C for 2 h under nitrogen. X-ray diffraction and microstructural analysis revealed a complete replacement of oxide intergranular phases by the newly formed Si3N4 intergranular phase. The unmodified ceramic exhibited lower flexural strength at 1400 °C, which was only 50% of the room-temperature strength. Although the modified ceramic attained a slightly lower flexural strength at room temperature after the replacement of intergranular phase, its strength measured at 1400 °C could attain 90% of room-temperature strength.

The thermal properties of organic membranes attract much attention due to the fact that heat dissipation in electronic devices limits their functionality and reliability. Here, we enhance the thermal conductivity of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) membrane using nano-fibers fabricated by electrospinning. Measured by the 3-Omega method, the results show that the effective thermal conductivity of the electrospinning membranes (with/without Cu nanoparticles) are as high as 0.7 W/m-K at room temperature which is as twice as the value of thermal conductivity of amorphous spin-coated PVA membrane (0.35 W/m-K). The mechanism of enhancement are that, compared with amorphous membrane, the phonon scattering is attenuated and the crystallinity is improved in the electrospinning process. Our studies bring new insights in designing new kind of membrane with high thermal conductivity.

Structural organization of the plant cell wall is a key parameter for understanding anisotropic plant growth and mechanical behavior. Four imaging platforms were used to investigate the cell wall architecture of Miscanthus sinensis cv. internode tissue. Using transmission electron microscopy with potassium permanganate, we found a great degree of inhomogeneity in the layering structure (4–9 layers) of the sclerenchymatic fiber (Sf). However, the xylem vessel showed a single layer. Atomic force microscopy images revealed that the cellulose microfibrils (Mfs) deposited in the primary wall of the protoxylem vessel (Pxv) were disordered, while the secondary wall was composed of Mfs oriented in parallel in the cross and longitudinal section. Furthermore, Raman spectroscopy images indicated no variation in the Mf orientation of Pxv and the Mfs in Pxv were oriented more perpendicular to the cell axis than that of Sfs. Based on the integrated results, we have proposed an architectural model of Pxv composed of two layers: an outermost primary wall composed of a meshwork of Mfs and inner secondary wall containing parallel Mfs. This proposed model will support future ultrastructural analysis of plant cell walls in heterogeneous tissues, an area of increasing scientific interest particularly for liquid biofuel processing.

First principles studies about the influence of electric field and anisotropic oxygen vacancy on the dielectric properties of rutile titanium dioxide (TiO2) are investigated. These results demonstrate that dielectric properties of perfect TiO2 presents dependent on the low electric field that less than 5.2 MV/cm. As a comparison, the dielectric properties of defected TiO2 in (1 1 0) plane and [1 1 0] direction show more sensitive to high electric field. Further more, considering the different positions of oxygen vacancy, the oxygen vacancy locates in (1 1 0) plane of defected TiO2 appears more active to high electric field than it does in [1 1 0] direction. The effect of electric field and oxygen vacancy induce the distorted supercell structure and broken bond between the nearer oxygen atoms and titanium atoms. Moreover, the oxygen vacancy locates in (1 1 0) plane of defected TiO2 can create more potential broken bond. These results account for the difference of dielectric properties in perfect TiO2 and defected TiO2.

A transformed auto-correlation method is presented here, where a received signal is transformed based on a priori reflecting model, and then the transformed signal is cross-correlated to its original one. If the model is correct, after transformation, the reflected signal will be coherent to the transmitted signal, with zero delay. A map of transformed auto-correlation function with zero delay can be generated in a given parametric space. The significant peaks in the map may indicate the possible reflectors nearby the central transmitter. The true values of the parameters of reflectors can be estimated at the same time.

In order to continuously monitor the phytoplankton growth in Antarctic coastal waters, an online mooring system was deployed in Great Wall Bay (unofficial name), King George Island, and both chlorophyll a (chl a) concentrations and environmental variables were monitored in a period between December 2010 and March 2011. Water temperatures showed a significant increasing trend (0.27–2.52°C), whereas the salinities displayed a decreasing trend (34.19–33.86). In general, phytoplankton biomass accumulated from mid-December and two significant blooms developed in January (3.18 μg l-1 and 4.75 μg l-1) and were then maintained at a relatively high level, with a transient bloom in late February (4.93 μg l-1). Sea-ice meltwater and terrestrial freshwater input caused by the increase of temperature played an important role in inducing phytoplankton blooms in early summer. The variation and stratification of temperature and salinity signals in different water layers, without total mixing, suggested lateral intrusion of oceanic waters with alternating levels of temperature and salinity and, presumably, phytoplankton as well. Meanwhile, chl a concentrations initially decreased with an increase in irradiance, indicating the shade-adapted characteristic of phytoplankton in early summer, and then gradually adapted to the increasing irradiance. Our results demonstrated the effectiveness and reliability of the online coastal mooring system for the monitoring of Antarctic coastal phytoplankton bloom and environmental conditions.

Learning to read in any language requires learning to map among print, sound and meaning. Writing systems differ in a number of factors that influence both the ease and the rate with which reading skill can be acquired, as well as the eventual division of labor between phonological and semantic processes. Further, developmental reading disability manifests differently across writing systems, and may be related to different deficits in constitutive processes. Here we simulate some aspects of reading acquisition in Chinese and English using the same model for both writing systems. The contribution of semantic and phonological processing to literacy acquisition in the two languages is simulated, including specific effects of phonological and semantic deficits. Further, we demonstrate that similar patterns of performance are observed when the same model is trained on both Chinese and English as an “early bilingual”. The results are consistent with the view that reading skill is acquired by the application of statistical learning rules to mappings among print, sound and meaning, and that differences in the typical and disordered acquisition of reading skill between writing systems are driven by differences in the statistical patterns of the writing systems themselves, rather than differences in cognitive architecture of the learner.

Sea level oscillations associated with both the 2010 Chile and 2011 Japan tsunamis were recorded in the coastal waters of King George Island off the west coast of Antarctica with an online coastal mooring system. The Chile tsunami arrived at the detection site within around five hours of the earthquake. The largest wave (84.4 mm) was measured 27 hours after the first arrival. In contrast, the Japan tsunami was detected around 26 hours after the earthquake, and the maximum wave height (180.8 mm) was observed around 11 hours after the initial wave. The energy level of the earthquake and the direction of energy propagation are probably the two most significant causes of the comparatively high amplitudes of the 2011 Japan tsunami, despite the fact that its epicentre was much further away than that of 2010 Chile tsunami. The sea level oscillations associated with the tsunami increased the level of mixing of seawater in the shallow Antarctic coastal waters and influenced the environment temporarily.

Astrophysical Integrated Research Environment (AIRE), aims to integrate astrophysical data, analysis software and astrophysical knowledge into an easy-to-use Internet based environment. Therefore, astrophysicists from different institutes can constitute virtual research groups which are favorable to study some complex multi-band astrophysical phenomena. The AIRE was put into use in Center for Astrophysics, Tsinghua university in 2003. Up to now, there are 219 advanced users in this environment. Several astrophysical researches base on AIRE have generated some important published results.