Given n points on a plane, a Rectilinear Steiner Minimal Tree (RSM T ) connects these points through some extra points called steiner points to achieve a tree with minimal total wire length. Taking blockages into account dramatically increases the problem complexity. It is extremely unlikely that an efficient optimal algorithm exists for Rectilinear Steiner Minimal Tree Construction with Rectilinear Blockages (RSM T RB). Although there exist some heuristic algorithms for this problem, they have either poor quality or expensive running time.In this paper, we propose an efficient and effective approach to solve RSM T RB. The connection graph we used in this approach is called spanning graph which only contains O(n) edges and vertices. An O(n log n) time algorithm is proposed to construct spanning graph for RSM T RB. The experimental results show that this approach can achieve a solution with significantly reduced wire length. The total run time increased is negligible in the whole design flow.

It is difficult to accurately evaluate the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which leads to the uncertainty and complexity of dose-effect analysis. In this study we established the "Focus" mode of biomarkers to characterize the dose-effect relationship of Gegen Qinlian Decoction (GQD), a TCM formula for treating type 2 diabetes mellitus (2-DM). A rat model of 2-DM was established through high fat diet feeding combined with low-dose STZ injection. Rats with 2-DM were administered high, middle or low doses (6.785, 4.071, 1.357 mg·kg·d, respectively) of GQD extract for 60 d. Metformin (300 mg·kg·d) was taken as the positive control. Blood samples were collected to assess serum biochemical indexes and metabolic profiling. After "Focus" analysis, the biochemical index triglycerides (TG) and insulin sensitivity (ISI) were identified as focused integrated biomarkers (FIBs), while arachidonic acid and docosatetraenoic acid were the metabolic FIBs. Dose-effect relationship curves of GQD were built based on these types of FIBs. Furthermore, the two dose-effect relationship curves showed similar trends with the middle dosage displaying the greatest efficacy, suggesting that insulin function and arachidonic acid metabolism played important roles in 2-DM and the responses to GQD. The metabolic FIB docosatetraenoic should be further explored for understanding its involvement in the process of 2-DM occurrence and the treatment. This "Focus" mode provides a novel strategy to evaluate the dose-effect relationship of a TCM. The system and concepts established here may also be applicable for assessing the dose-effect relationships of Western medicines.

An “umpolung relay” strategy, which includes an one-pot, twice polarity inversion cascade of C60 via carbanion and carbocation polarity reversed relay pathway, has been developed for the synthesis of a diverse range of novel [60]­fulleroindole derivatives.