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Pigs have undergone intense selective pressure throughout their domestication history, and their size is a desirable trait for humans. The objective of this research was to detect the strong selective signals for swine body size using the genome-wide association study (GWAS) approach for ten different pig breeds based on the values of breed genetic differentiation (Fst). Three strong signatures are associated with the size of the pig, with LAGA0046501 at 12.84 Mb on SSC8, ALGA0046498 at 12.51 Mb on SSC8 and a ∼600 kb interval from 82.10 to 82.70 Mb on SSC4. LCORL, NCAPG, IMPAD1, PLAG1 have been characterized as plausible candidate genes for body size in swine based on their genomic position and biological function. Our findings provide deeper insights into the genetic architecture of body size in pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research object of this paper is the mixed (κ , s) -Riemann–Liouville fractional integral of bivariate functions on rectangular regions, which is a natural generalization of the fractional integral of univariate functions. This paper first indicates that the mixed integral still maintains the validity of the classical properties, such as boundedness, continuity and bounded variation. Furthermore, we investigate fractal dimensions of bivariate functions under the mixed integral, including the Hausdorff dimension and the Box dimension. The main results indicate that fractal dimensions of the graph of the mixed (κ , s) -Riemann–Liouville integral of continuous functions with bounded variation are still two. The Box dimension of the mixed integral of two-dimensional continuous functions has also been calculated. Besides, we prove that the upper bound of the Box dimension of bivariate continuous functions under σ = (σ 1 , σ 2) order of the mixed integral is 3 − min { σ 1 κ , σ 2 κ } where  κ > 0. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A relation between tectonics and arc magmatism has been proposed in the west Pacific‐type accretionary orogens, but the specific mechanism remains unclear. This study examines the Cretaceous records in NE Asia in order to unravel this link. Two tectono‐magmatic episodes, namely the Early and Late Cretaceous, are recognized. The first episode was under (trans‐)extension, consisting of both mafic and felsic, depleted and enriched, and deep‐ and shallow‐derived arc magmas. The second episode experienced several compressive events with highly evolved and shallow‐derived (mid‐crustal level) arc magmas. We propose that (trans‐)extension thinned the arc crust, facilitating deep mafic magmas to ascend and cool rapidly, maintaining their geochemical diversity. Compression led to magmatic emplacement around the middle crust; and the warm crust allowed highly‐evolved granitoids to form. Therefore, tectonic setting controls arc magmatism in NE Asia, and is likely representative of other west Pacific‐type orogens. Plain Language Summary: Arc magmas are produced where oceanic plates subduct into the mantle. Their chemical composition varies in different tectonic settings, but the specific mechanism is unclear. We explore this question using the NE Asian setting during the Cretaceous. Here, the Early Cretaceous arc magmas reveal diverse compositions when in a setting undergoing extension. However, the Late Cretaceous magmas uniformly contain high silica contents when the continental crust was under compression. This implies that thin arc crust under extension facilitated the ascent of deeply‐derived magmas and these cooled rapidly and kept their chemical diversity. In contrast, crust under compression prohibited the ascent of deep magmas, instead inducing crustal melting and slower cooling in the middle crust, thus increasing the silica content. Therefore, tectonics strongly affected the nature of arc magmatism in NE Asia, and possibly other west Pacific‐type orogens. Key Points: Cretaceous magmatism in the NE Asian arcs was diverse during extension, but highly evolved under compressionExtension induced deep magmas to ascend and cool rapidly; Compression restrained deep magmas and extended coolingArc magmas were controlled by alternating extensional and compressional regimes during subduction retreat in west Pacific‐type orogens [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the experimental results on the turbulence energy transfer in a cylindrical laboratory plasma based on the data obtained by a set of quadruple Langmuir probe on Zheda plasma experiment device. The turbulence energy transfer is directly embodied in the alternating change in the fluctuation amplitudes between the low frequency turbulence at ∼0.1–0.2 kHz and the drift wave (DW) turbulence at ∼1–2 kHz. The estimation of the radial electric field and the bispectral analysis of the experiments suggest that the DW turbulence gains the energy from the low frequency turbulence with the magnetic field increase. The energy transport due to the interaction between the low frequency turbulence and the DW turbulence is a possible reason to drive the turbulence energy transfer associated with the magnetic field increase in the laboratory plasma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cavity that occurs when a body enters water has a huge effect on the underwater motion of the body. Based on the theory of incompressible potential flow, a model for the study of water-entry cavity dynamics is established. The numerical process is divided into two phases. In the first phase, no cavity forms and the fluid slides continuously upward along the body surface. When the fluid particles on the body surface separate from the body during the flow, a cavity forms and the calculation enters the second phase. Calculating the change in the flow field around the cavity and the pressure of the air flow in the cavity allows us to determine the morphological changes in the cavity. When the cavity contracts and collides with the surface of the body, the cavity is cut into two parts. To verify the accuracy of the proposed model, the simulation results are compared with experimental results from a set of spheres entering the water. The model is used to simulate the water entry of bodies with different nose shapes and length-to-diameter ratios. The simulation results show that the cavity breaks into an annular shoulder cavity and tail cavity when the cavity collides with the body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An intrinsic evolution in the decoupling–coupling–decoupling (DCD) of the electron density and temperature responding to the magnetic field change is observed in a cylindrical laboratory plasma device. Experimental results show that the density and the temperature decouple in the low magnetic field, couple with higher magnetic field, and decouple again with a continuous magnetic field increase. An element physical picture of the DCD regime is unraveled based on the analyses of gradient lengths, the turbulence propagation directions, the turbulence spatial scales, and the relationship between the normalized collision rates and the poloidal mode numbers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More recent data suggested that the combination of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) with chemoradiotherapy is efficacious against rectal cancer with proficient mismatch repair (pMMR), especially in patients with high programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression. AK104 monotherapy, a humanized IgG1 bispecific antibody that simultaneously binds to programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4), has shown promising efficacy and tolerable toxicity in multiple cancer types. The objective of this trial is to report the efficacy and safety of AK104 combined with long-course chemoradiotherapy for local advanced rectal cancer (LARC) with positive PD-L1 expression. The trial (clinicalTrials.gov, NCT05980689), a prospective, open label, single-arm phase II study, is underway. Main inclusion criteria include: cT3-4aNany or cTanyN+ rectal adenocarcinoma aged 18-75years; MicroSatellite stability (MSS) and pMMR; positive PD-L1 expression (Tumor cell Proportion Score (TPS) ≥ 1% or Combined Positive Score (CPS) ≥1); ECOG performance 0-1; distance ≤ 12cm from anal verge. 33 patients will be enrolled in the trial. Patients will receive 2 cycles of neoadjuvant immunotherapy (AK104) during long-course radiotherapy (50Gy/25 fractions) and concurrent capecitabine, followed by another 3 cycles of AK104, finally received total mesorectal excision (TME) (or other treatment decisions, such as watch and wait) and adjuvant chemotherapy. Primary endpoint is the rate of complete response, including pathologic complete response (pCR) and clinical complete response (cCR). Secondary endpoints include rate of major pathologic response and tumor regression grade distribution, acute toxicity, surgical complications, long-term anal function, late toxicity, disease-free survival, and overall survival. The study has now enrolled three patients, and the study is still ongoing. The study is ongoing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Highly conductive sandwich structure embedded with Cu nanoparticles for EDLC. • Sandwich structure includes CC layer, porous Cu/N-doped carbon layer, carbon flocculation layer. • EO-Cu/N-CC exhibited a high specific capacitance of 3546 mF cm−2 at 1 mA cm−2. • EO-Cu/N-CC cell achieve energy density of 23 mWh cm−3 at a power density of 179 mW cm−3. In carbon-based electric double-layer capacitors (EDLC), an ideal electrode should have convenient mass transport, ensuring rich porosity and rapid electron transfer, guaranteeing the electrode bulk's high conductivity. In this study, ultrafine Cu nanoparticles inserted carbon flocculation is formed on carbon cloth using polydopamine and cupric chloride precursors via pyrolysis and electrochemical oxidation reaction. As a result, the obtained electrode has a large surface area of 55.5 m2g−1 and high conductivity of 48.7 S/mm, which shows excellent charge storage capability with high specific capacitance of 3546 mF cm−2 at a current density of 1 mA cm−2. Moreover, when the as-prepared electrode is used as electrodes in symmetric EDLC, it can provide a high energy density of 23 mWh cm−3 with a power density of 179 mW cm−3, making it as a promising carbon electrode for practical EDLCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferroelectric Bi3.25Nd0.75Ti3O12 (BNT), BiFeO3 (BFO) and Bi3.25Nd0.75Ti3O12-BiFeO3 (BNT-BFO) composite thin films were deposited onto Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si(100) substrates using the sol–gel process. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to identify the crystal structure, the surface and cross-section morphology of the deposited ferroelectric thin films. Structure evolution and ferroelectric properties of the as prepared thin films annealed under 750 °C were studied in detail. It is found that the leakage current of the entire thin film was effectively reduced by preparing BNT and BFO composite thin films with appropriate thickness ratios to achieve their full advantages, and consequently, significantly improve the ferroelectric properties of the composite thin films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore physiological roles associated with early bolting (EB) of Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels, 48 re-green plants transplanted by two sources of seedlings were randomly sampled to observe their phenology. Synchronously, physiological characters in tender leaves of single plant were measured every 18 d or so until the end of EB. The results showed that anthocyanin and CAT activities in the potential EB plants firstly boosted 48.33 and 60.50% more than the normal ones, and thereafter they all decreased and then again increased with the EB occurrence, while they reversed exactly in the normal plants. The same reverse trends also found in SOD, POD and APX activities in the EB and normal plants. Stronger antioxidant enzyme activities triggered higher survival but also higher EB rates as well. The property of the significant relations of the anthocyanin and CAT activity to the EB varied with the individual phenology and was modulated by SOD, POD and APX activities in synergy. This conclusion is of great significance to improving our understanding early bolting and its physiological control mechanism in A. sinensis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferroelectric Bi3.25Nd0.75Ti3O12 (BNT), BiFeO3 (BFO) and Bi3.25Nd0.75Ti3O12-BiFeO3 (BNT-BFO) composite thin films were deposited onto Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si(100) substrates using the sol–gel process. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to identify the crystal structure, the surface and cross-section morphology of the deposited ferroelectric thin films. Structure evolution and ferroelectric properties of the as prepared thin films annealed under 750 °C were studied in detail. It is found that the leakage current of the entire thin film was effectively reduced by preparing BNT and BFO composite thin films with appropriate thickness ratios to achieve their full advantages, and consequently, significantly improve the ferroelectric properties of the composite thin films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to investigate the dynamics of a bubble in a liquid fully confined by an elastic boundary, which are used for applications and research of cavitation bubbles in botanical and biomedical sciences, we establish a related numerical model by the boundary element method. The boundary is defined as an interface between two liquids with different densities to simulate the environment of biological tissue efficiently. Our numerical model is validated thanks to the results of an available related experiment and the calculations of a confined corrective Rayleigh–Plesset equation. Then, we focus on the dynamics of a non-spherical bubble caused by relative position of the bubble and confinement. The results show that the confinement can lead to a rapid oscillation of a bubble, and a jet will be generated along the eccentric direction because of the accumulation of high pressure and disturbance on one side of the spherical confinement. Furthermore, elastic modulus of the boundary, size of the confinement, and eccentric position of the bubble in the confinement are considered in this paper. The amplitude and cycle of a bubble oscillation will decrease with the increase of the elastic modulus and decrease of the size of the confinement. What's more, eccentricity leads to a strong restriction on the bubble surface near the boundary and obvious non-spherical deformation of the elastic boundary. The study can contribute to understandings and applications of cavitation bubbles in expulsion of spores, plant cell wall broken, thrombolysis, and other related botanical and biomedical fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, confined explosions of HMX-based aluminized explosives in a spherical chamber are studied. The effects of aluminum particles on the afterburning reaction and explosive performance are obtained by changing the size of the particles and the gas environment. The results show that the concentration of oxygen in air is not sufficient to support complete combustion of aluminum particles. The estimated oxidation rate of aluminum particles is 87–93%, and it tends to decrease with increasing particle size. Part of aluminum particles oxidize with detonation products, and the reaction can last for hundreds of microseconds. However, the degree of oxidation between the large-sized aluminum particles and detonation products is small. A new method is used to estimate the initial energy of detonation by observing the time difference between sensing the initial light and the pressure wave. This method leads to a conclusion that some of the aluminum particles are oxidized during detonation and provide additional energy to the primary blast wave. Small micron-sized aluminum particles in the range of 48.9 nm to 46.7 m extend the duration of the fireball. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human papilloma virus (HPV) is a significant cause of cervical cancer and viral DNA can be detected in the blood of patients with cervical cancer (cfHPV-DNA). We hypothesized that detecting HPV cfDNA before, during and after chemoradiation (CRT) could provide insights into disease extent, clinical staging, and treatment response. Forty-seven patients with cervical cancer were enrolled on this study between 2017 and 2022, either as part of a standard-of-care (SOC) treatment banking protocol (33 patients) or as part of a clinical trial combining a therapeutic HPV vaccine (PDS0101; Immunocerv, 14 patients). Longitudinal plasma samples were collected from each patient as baseline, during week 1, 3 or 5 of CRT. cfHPV-DNA was quantified using droplet digital PCR targeting the HPV E6/E7 oncogenes of 13 high-risk types based on analysis of cervical tumor genotype (AmpFire). Clinical covariates, including FIGO stage, primary tumor size, and treatment response were studied using appropriate statistical tests. All 47 patients had detectable HPV cfDNA during CRT with 38 out of 47 having HPV type 16 detected. The median cfDNA at baseline was 24.5 copies/mL, with a range of 0 to 157,638 copies/mL. Of the 35 patients with at least three measurements, 20 (57%) had peak cfDNA counts at week 3, and 30 out of 35 showed a decline in cfDNA counts at week 5 compared to week 3. The proportion of patients who cleared cfDNA (<16 copies/mL) increased with each week of CRT, reaching 75% at week 5. Baseline cfDNA counts were associated with para-aortic nodal involvement (p<0.0001) but not with FIGO stage or gross tumor volume. A greater proportion of patients treated with therapeutic HPV-directed vaccine had clearance of cfDNA counts as compared to those treated with SOC (at week 3, 38% vs 5%, P = 0.02 and week 5, 79% vs 22%, P = 0.0054) HPV cfDNA levels change dynamically throughout definitive CRT and peak during the first 3 weeks for the majority of patients. Treatment with a therapeutic HPV vaccine was associated with a more rapid decline in cfHPV DNA. Further analysis of cfDNA kinetics could provide valuable information on the relationship between cfDNA levels, treatment response, and clinical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let f (t) be α -Hölder continuous on ℝ and well-defined about the Weyl fractional integral. Then, dim ¯ B Γ (f , [ 0 , 1 ]) ≤ 2 − α and dim ¯ B Γ (W ν f , [ 0 , 1 ]) ≤ 2 − α − ν , where W ν f (x) = 1 Γ (ν) ∫ x ∞ (t − x) ν − 1 f (t) d t and 0 < α , α + ν < 1. This estimation shows that the Box dimension of W ν f (x) leads to some similar linear dimension decrease like the Riemann–Liouville fractional integral [Y. S. Liang and W. Y. Su, Fractal dimensions of fractional integral of continuous functions, Acta Math. Sin.32 (2016) 1494–1508]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many factors contribute to the health risks encountered by astronauts on missions outside Earth's atmosphere. Spaceflight‐induced potential adverse neurovascular damage and late neurodegeneration are a chief concern. The goal of the present study was to characterize the effects of spaceflight on oxidative damage in the mouse brain and its impact on blood‐brain barrier (BBB) integrity. Ten‐week‐old male C57BL/6 mice were launched to the International Space Station (ISS) for 35 days as part of Space‐X 12 mission. Ground control (GC) mice were maintained on Earth in flight hardware cages. Within 38 ± 4 hours after returning from the ISS, mice were euthanized and brain tissues were collected for analysis. Quantitative assessment of brain tissue demonstrated that spaceflight caused an up to 2.2‐fold increase in apoptosis in the hippocampus compared to the control group. Immunohistochemical analysis of the mouse brain revealed an increased expression of aquaporin4 (AQP4) in the flight hippocampus compared to the controls. There was also a significant increase in the expression of platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule‐1 (PECAM‐1) and a decrease in the expression of the BBB‐related tight junction protein, Zonula occludens‐1 (ZO‐1). These results indicate a disturbance of BBB integrity. Quantitative proteomic analysis showed significant alterations in pathways responsible for neurovascular integrity, mitochondrial function, neuronal structure, protein/organelle transport, and metabolism in the brain after spaceflight. Changes in pathways associated with adhesion and molecular remodeling were also documented. These data indicate that long‐term spaceflight may have pathological and functional consequences associated with neurovascular damage and late neurodegeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a new empirical formula for the prediction of the triple point path in irregular shock reflection cases. Numerical simulations using a two-dimensional axisymmetric multi-material arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian formulation are employed to obtain the data of fluid density. Using the data of fluid density and nodal coordinates, the gradients of fluid density are determined and then used to generate numerical schlieren images. Based on these images, the triple point paths are derived and compared with the models of the Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC) and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) as well as two models from the open literature. It is found that the numerically derived triple point paths are in good agreement with those predicted by a recently published model in the open literature for the typical ground range of shock wave propagation of up to 6 m. Considering the whole distance range, it is found that the agreement of different models of the triple point path with the numerical ones depends on the considered blast scenario, i.e., the scaled charge height. For small-scaled charge heights, the model of the UFC and the recently published model in the open literature are in better agreement with the numerical results than the other two models, whereas the NRDC model has the best agreement with the numerical results for large-scaled charge heights. Based on the numerical results, a new empirical formula is proposed for the prediction of the triple point path, which is valid for a wide range of the scaled charge heights from 0.5 to 3.5 m/kg1/3 and scaled ground distances up to 15 m/kg1/3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The I–V curve tracer is an instrument that captures the I–V characteristics of photovoltaic (PV) generators corresponding to variable environmental conditions. The device is widely used to evaluate power generation performance and detect the fault conditions of PV power generators. Various I–V tracer techniques have been developed and proposed to trace the IV characteristics and ensure high accuracy and fast speeds. A comprehensive classification and analysis was undertaken to identify the advantages and disadvantages of different technologies. This study proposes and uses five performance indices to evaluate the performance of I–V tracers. The quantitative fidelity of commercial I–V tracers were also reviewed and evaluated. This paper serves as a valuable reference tool that should be used to guide the direction of future research and lead future improvements in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alamethicin (AMT) is a linear antimicrobial peptide isolated from fungi Trichoderma viride. To date, the mode of action of AMT in plant cells remains unknown. Our experimental results indicate that AMT causes leaf lesion attributed to its multiple effects on PSII. AMT decreases the O2 evolution rate of PSII. Based on chlorophyll fluorescence data, similar to the classical herbicide diuron, AMT interrupts PSII electron transfer beyond QA at the acceptor side, leading to the inactivation of the PSII reaction centers. Additionally, AMT decreases chlorophyll content and destroys the architecture of PSII pigment assemblies. However, AMT does not affect the oxygen-evolving complex at the donor side of PSII. Thus, it is concluded that AMT is a natural photosynthetic inhibitor with several action sites in PSII. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a first-principles density functional theory investigation on the vacancy segregation near the nickel Σ5(210) grain boundary (GB) under applied stress. Our total energy calculations within generalized-gradient approximation reveal that the applied stress can hardly alter the energy preference of a vacancy at different atomic layers away from the GB plane, especially in the range of practical stresses. The segregation enthalpy, nevertheless, gets more (less) significant with the increasing compressive (tensile) stress as a result of the vacancy being smaller in volume at the boundary. Our first-principles result that high-angle tilt GBs in nickel are likely to act as a source (sink) in emitting (absorb) vacancies under a tensile (compressive) stress is not in accordance with the prediction based on a thermodynamic model. The numerical results are discussed with electronic structure analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growth performance, nutrient digestibility, jejunal morphology, plasma cytokine, and gene expression responses of broiler chickens (Cobb 500) to graded concentrations of dietary soybean bioactive peptide (SBP) and coccidia challenge (CC) were investigated in 2 experiments. In experiment 1, 384 male broiler chicks were used to investigate the effect of graded dietary concentrations of SBP on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and intestinal morphology in a randomized complete block design with 8 replicate cages and 6 diets. Corn-soybean meal-based diet was supplemented with 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 g of SBP/kg of diet. There were linear effects (P < 0.05) of graded concentrations of SBP on BW, BW gain, gain:feed, ileal villus height, and jejunal crypt depth at day 22 post hatching. There were linear effects (P < 0.01) of graded SBP concentrations on Ileal DM and energy digestibility. Experiment 2 was conducted to investigate the immune-protective properties of SBP on broiler chickens during a coccidia challenge. A total of 256 male broiler chicks were randomly assigned to 8 replicate cages in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments with 2 SBP levels (0 or 4 g/kg of diet) and with or without CC. On day 14 post hatching, birds in the challenged group received 20×, which is twice the recommended coccidia vaccine dose of 25 doses/kg BW, whereas the non-challenged group received physiological saline. Dietary SBP ameliorated the CC-induced effect (P = 0.01) on gain: feed. Coccidia challenge reduced (P < 0.05) jejunal villi height, whereas dietary SBP supplementation increased (P < 0.05) jejunal villi height. Dietary SBP attenuated the CC-induced effects (P < 0.05) on the expression of plasma IL-1β, transforming growth factor-β, claudin-1, and occludin genes. In conclusion, dietary SBP improved growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and jejunal morphology. In addition, dietary SBP reduced the impact of coccidia challenge, and may be beneficial in the feed of broiler chickens for alleviation of health-related effects of coccidia infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methylammonium lead iodide perovskites, CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 , possess excellent photoelectric conversion properties and can be potentially applied as the next-generation light-harvesting layer of solar cells. However, the stability problems have been hindering their practical applications. The density-functional theory calculations have been performed to investigate the structural and electronic properties of Al-decorated TiO 2 /perovskite interfaces. Combined with the density derived electrostatic and chemical method, the bonding characteristics around the interfaces are explored. It is found that both interfacial Pb O and Ti I bonds are responsible for the stability of the interfaces, especially the interfacial Pb atoms making the formation of oxygen vacancies harder, which is beneficial for the performance of the solar cells. Furthermore, our calculations have shown that the properties of the TiO 2 /perovskite interfaces could be well improved by Al modification. The corresponding atomistic mechanisms that govern the stabilities of the TiO 2 /perovskite interfaces are also discussed. • Pb atoms at the interfaces make the formation of oxygen vacancies harder. • Al atoms could more favorably occupy the interstitial sites than the substitutional ones. • The heterointerfaces properties could be well improved by Al modification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim was to study the relationship between purinergic P2X7 receptor (P2X7R) functional genetic polymorphisms and lipid profiles in Chinese postmenopausal osteoporosis (OP) patients and controls. Methods: A total of 517 OP patients and 531 controls were randomly recruited by cluster sampling; blood was drawn to analyze P2X7R genetic polymorphisms and serum lipid levels. Bone mineral density (BMD) at the lumbar spine and hip was measured via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Results:P2X7R rs2230911 was found to be associated with serum total cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein, and BMD at the lumbar spine and hip in OP patients (p < 0.05). P2X7R rs3751143 was shown to be associated with serum TG and hip BMD in OP patients (p < 0.05). Furthermore, their estimated haplotype (rs1718119G-rs2230911C-rs3751143A) was indicated to be associated with TG, HDL, and BMD at the lumbar spine and hip in OP patients. However, no difference in the level of lipid profiles or BMD was found to be related to P2X7R genotype or haplotype in the control group (p>0.05). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that P2X7R functional genetic polymorphisms and their estimated haplotypes are associated with serum lipid concentrations and BMD among Chinese postmenopausal women with OP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The external liquid compressibility cannot be ignored because the speed of the bubble jet emerging at the end of bubble collapse reaches hundreds of meters per second. Additionally, when the bubble jet penetrates the surface of a bubble, a toroidal bubble forms and the singly connected flow domain changes to a doubly connected topology. As the Biot–Savart law is based on the assumption of incompressibility, the vortex ring model is very difficult to extend to compressible fluids. This paper describes the use of the boundary integral method to establish a numerical model of a toroidal bubble, considering the external liquid compressibility and the internal gas wave effect. A cut is introduced into the fluid domain so that it can be considered as singly connected, with the discontinuity of velocity across this cut equal to the circulation of the flow. Furthermore, the initial bubble condition is calculated by the volume acceleration model. The numerical model is validated through comparisons with experimental data from underwater explosions. The numerical results are found to correlate well with the experimental results. Then, the influence of buoyancy parameters and the internal gas wave effect on toroidal bubble dynamics in a gravitational field is investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study is devoted to the synthesis of Schiff base ligand, HL, by condensation of 5-aminosalicylic acid with o-vanillin, followed by preparing its Cu(II), Co(II), Mn(II), and Zn(II) complexes, and their characterization. The Schiff base behaves as a bidentate ligand which forms tetrahedral complexes with Cu(II) and Zn(II), unlike Co(II) and Mn(II) that give octahedral complexes. The Schiff base ligand and its complexes with Cu2+, Co2+, Mn2+, and Zn2+ exhibit considerable antibacterial activity against some drug resistant reference strains and local isolates of S. aureus, E. Coli, P. aersginosa. Overall, the metal complexes exhibit more potent antibacterial activity than the ligand HL alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: We present a numerical analysis and experimental characterisation of spatial resolution in optical projection tomography (OPT) and light‐sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) using their 'standard' systems. Although both techniques provide spatial resolution at the micrometre scale for mesoscopic (millimetre to centimetre) samples, LSFM provides higher lateral (∼3 μm, ∼34% of OPT) but lower axial (∼25.8 μm, 295% of OPT) resolution as compared to OPT (∼8.75 μm, 100%) when imaging the same sample (∼2 mm). Moreover, OPT provides isotropic spatial resolution due to its rotational scanning which may reduce the ambiguity in 3D analysis, so it is more practically appropriate for relatively large samples. We also demonstrate the application performances of both techniques by imaging various biological tissues, illustrating their imaging ability at different spatial scales. Lay Description: Optical projection tomography (OPT) and light‐sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) are generally used to extract 3D information from relatively large biological tissues/organs/embryos or even some small animals. Both techniques have made a great progress in recent decades and have been widely applied in life science, medical research and so on. The different implementation features of these two techniques results in isotropic and anisotropic spatial resolution respectively, making a dilemma for the researchers to choose the appropriate system when imaging the samples with different size. So far, there is no study to numerically discuss the differences between their image formation properties and to adequately quantify their own strengths and limitations. In our work, we quantified the imaging behaviour in 'standard' OPT and LSFM using both numerical analysis and experimental characterisations, showing the relationship between spatial resolution and sample size in each system. We also demonstrated the detailed structure differences when imaging various biological tissues. We believe this work will be useful and can provide a reference for the 3D fluorescence‐imaging‐based researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An O-mode microwave reflectometry system has been developed to measure the density fluctuation on Zheda Plasma Experiment Device (ZPED). The microwave frequency range of this diagnostic system is from 10 GHz to 18 GHz, corresponding to the cutoff densities from 0.13×1019m-3 to 0.4×1019m-3. The density fluctuations are measured with a fixed microwave frequency for plasma in different magnetic field. It has been observed that the density fluctuation power changes with the magnetic field nonlinearly: the density fluctuations increase linearly with the magnetic field when the magnetic field is less than the critical magnetic field, while almost no change when the magnetic field is larger than the critical magnetic field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because different patients may respond quite differently to the same drug or treatment, there is an increasing interest in discovering individualized treatment rules. In particular, there is an emerging need to find optimal individualized treatment rules, which would lead to the "best" clinical outcome. In this paper, we propose a new class of loss functions and estimators based on robust regression to estimate the optimal individualized treatment rules. Compared to existing estimation methods in the literature, the new estimators are novel and advantageous in the following aspects. First, they are robust against skewed, heterogeneous, heavy-tailed errors or outliers in data. Second, they are robust against a misspecification of the baseline function. Third, under some general situations, the new estimator coupled with the pinball loss approximately maximizes the outcome's conditional quantile instead of the conditional mean, which leads to a more robust optimal individualized treatment rule than the traditional mean-based estimators. Consistency and asymptotic normality of the proposed estimators are established. Their empirical performance is demonstrated via extensive simulation studies and an analysis of an AIDS data set. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Well-designed clinical trials are of great importance in validating novel treatments and ensuring an evidence-based approach for sarcoma. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive landscape of the characteristics of metastatic or advanced sarcoma clinical trials using the substantial resource of the ClincialTrials.gov database.Methods: We identified 260,755 trials registered with ClinicalTrials.gov in the last 20 years, and 277 of them were eligible for inclusion. The baseline characteristics were ascertained for each trial. The trials were systematically reviewed to validate their classification into 96 trials registered before 2008 and 181 trials registered between 2008 and 2017.Results: We found that in the last decade, metastatic and advanced sarcoma trials were predominantly phase II-III studies (p = 0.048), were more likely to be ≥2 arms (17.7% vs 35.3%, respectively; p = 0.007), and were more likely to use randomized (13.5% vs 30.4%; p = 0.002) and double-blinded (2.1% vs 9.4%; p = 0.024) assignment than trials registered before 2008. Furthermore, in the last 10-year period, metastatic sarcoma trials were more likely to be conducted in Asia. Treatment involving target therapy and immunotherapy were more common (71.8% vs 37.5%; p < 0.001) than in previous years.Conclusions: Our data showed provocative changes in the sarcoma landscape and demonstrated that the incidence of clinical trials with target therapy and immunotherapy is increasing. These findings emphasize the desperate need for novel strategies, including target therapy and immunotherapy, to improve the outcomes for patients with advanced sarcoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the studies of the electron paramagnetic resonance parameters for two types of the Cu2+ centers in Cd(HCOO)2·2H2O by using the high‐order perturbation formulas for a 3d9 ion in a rhombically elongated octahedron, local structure of the doped copper ion is determined. Research suggests that the impurity Cu2+ replaces the host Cd2+ and undergoes the local rhombic elongation distortion, characterized by the axial elongation ratios of 4.1%, and 3.8% along the z‐axis and the planar bond length variation ratios of 3.8%, and 3.1% along the x‐axis and y‐axis, for Cu2+ Centers, I and II, respectively. The above slightly different axial elongation ratios and planar bond length variation ratios may suitably account for the slightly dissimilar axial g anisotropies Δg (≈0.351 and 0.339) and perpendicular g anisotropies δg (≈0.028 and 0.022) of the two centers, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A missile‐borne conformal array antenna with off‐axis radiation is designed in this article. 16 inclined radiation elements are connected by a power divider to form a conformal array, which consists of an active patch and a parasitic patch with an open‐circuit stub. By coplanar coupled feeding and adjusting the length of the open‐circuit stub, the radiation pattern toward axis‐direction of missile is realized. Experimental results show the antenna can cover 5.25–5.45 GHz with −10 dB return loss and with off‐axis radiation. Due to its excellent electrical performance and conformal ability, it can be widely used on the missiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An 8‐week feeding trial was conducted to quantify the dietary valine requirement of cultured juvenile Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus. Six isonitrogenous (280 g/kg crude protein) and isoenergetic (16.06 MJ/kg gross energy) diets with graded levels of valine (amounting to 4.1, 7.2, 9.9, 12.7, 15.6 and 18.8 g/kg of dry diet) were formulated. Each diet was randomly assigned to triplicate groups of 20 fish (6.48 ± 0.06 g). Results showed that the weight gain, specific growth rate, protein efficiency ratio and protein retention efficiency all increased with an increasing level of dietary valine up to 12.7 g/kg, but remained relatively constant for fish fed higher levels of dietary valine. In addition, the total protein concentration and aspirate aminotransferase activity in plasma, hepatic lysozyme and catalase activities were all significantly (p < .05) improved by dietary valine supplementation. Based on the broken‐line regression analysis of weight gain and protein retention efficiency, the optimal dietary valine requirement for juvenile Nile tilapia occurred between a level of 11.5 g/kg of diet (equivalent to 41.1 g/kg of dietary protein) and 12.7 g/kg of diet (equivalent to 45.3 g/kg of dietary protein). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macroalgae contribute approximately 15% of the primary productivity in coastal marine ecosystems, fix up to 27.4 Tg of carbon per year, and provide important structural components for life in coastal waters. Despite this ecological and commercial importance, direct measurements and comparisons of the short-term responses to elevated pCO2 in seaweeds with different life-history strategies are scarce. Here, we cultured several seaweed species (bloom forming/nonbloom forming/perennial/annual) in the laboratory, in tanks in an indoor mesocosm facility, and in coastal mesocosms under pCO2 levels ranging from 400 to 2,000 μatm. We find that, across all scales of the experimental setup, ephemeral species of the genus Ulva increase their photosynthesis and growth rates in response to elevated pCO2 the most, whereas longer-lived perennial species show a smaller increase or a decrease. These differences in short-term growth and photosynthesis rates are likely to give bloom-forming green seaweeds a competitive advantage in mixed communities, and our results thus suggest that coastal seaweed assemblages in eutrophic waters may undergo an initial shift toward communities dominated by bloom-forming, short-lived seaweeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional photovoltaic (PV) systems make use of series-connection of PV panels, arranged into strings, in order to provide a voltage-stack at the input of grid-tied inverters. The string solution forces all PV modules to share the same current which results in power loss in presence of any mismatching condition. The emergence of Distributed Maximum Power Point Tracking (DMPPT) PV systems, which increase the level of MPPT fineness, provided an effective solution to mitigate the mismatch impact on energy harvest. The earlier DMPPT systems consisted of module-level power electronic solutions such as microinverter, DC Power Optimizer (DCPO), and Differential Power Processor (DPP). The recent studies increase the level of MPPT granularity and focus further to the submodule-level in order to alleviate the intra-panel mismatch problem and maximize solar energy harvest. The research on the topic resulted in a group of DMPPT systems that are classified as the submodule integrated converters (subMICs), submodule-level DPP (subDPP) and submodule-level isolated-port DPP (subIPDPP). This study focuses on the various implementations of these architectures and provides an in-depth analysis regarding to their advantages and limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluid filled structure widely exists in the field of ship and ocean engineering, but the investigation concerned with the whipping response of a fluid filled structure subjected to an underwater explosion is very less. A numerical model considering the effect of an internal fluid is established in this paper. In the implementation of the numerical model, the doubly asymptotic approximation for the external fluid is used to model the external fluid domain, the doubly asymptotic approximation for the internal fluid is used to model the internal fluid domain, and the dynamic response of the structure is simulated by the finite element method. After that, the numerical model is validated against the analytical solution. The numerical result agrees well with the analytical result. Finally, the whipping response of a fluid filled cylindrical shell subjected to an underwater explosion is investigated and the influence of the internal fluid on the whipping response is analyzed. The main results are as follows. The existence of the internal fluid makes the maximum relative displacement decrease, as the density of the internal fluid and the sound speed within the internal fluid increase, the maximum of the maximum relative displacement decreases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of epidural ropivacaine may result in significant haemodynamic fluctuations during combined epidural and general anaesthesia. We designed this study to investigate whether epidural anaesthesia with a goal-directed approach, when combined with general anaesthesia, improved haemodynamic stability in elderly patients undergoing major abdominal surgery. Seventy-five elderly patients undergoing major abdominal surgery were randomly and evenly assigned to one of three groups receiving intraoperative epidural anaesthesia with either ropivacaine 0.1% (Group 1), ropivacaine 0.375% (Group 2) or ropivacaine 0.375% for abdominal wall pain and ropivacaine 0.1% for visceral pain (Group 3). General anaesthesia was induced using a target-controlled infusion of combined propofol and remifentanil. The remifentanil target concentration was adjusted according to the mean arterial pressure and heart rate, and vasoactive agents were administered to maintain stable haemodynamics. The need for vasoactive drug administrations was 1.4 (standard deviation 0.9) in Group 3 (n=24), representing a significantly lower frequency of administration compared with Groups 1 (n=24) and 2 (n=24) (P <0.05 versus Group 1; P <0.01 versus Group 2). The total intraoperative dose of remifentanil was significantly greater in Group 1 (P <0.01 versus Group 2; P <0.05 versus Group 3) but did not differ significantly between Groups 2 and 3. Goal-directed epidural anaesthesia with different ropivacaine concentrations can improve haemodynamic stability when combined with general anaesthesia for elderly patients undergoing major abdominal surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A bubble jet with velocity of hundred meters per second forms at the final stage of bubble collapse, which makes the compressibility of flow field can’t ignore. Based on the spherical bubble model of Geers and Hunter, a compressible numerical model is improved for simulating non-spherical bubble dynamic in this paper. In the present implementation, the compressibility of external liquid and the wave effect of internal gas are considered by the first order external doubly asymptotic approximation and the first order internal doubly asymptotic approximation, respectively. In addition, the volume acceleration model is applied to calculate the initial condition of bubble. After that, the improved compressible numerical model is validated against the underwater explosion experiment data. The numerical result of bubble radius correlates well with the experiment data. Finally, based on the improved compressible numerical model, the influences of wave effect of internal gas and initial condition of bubble on bubble dynamics in free field and gravity field are investigated. The wave effect of internal gas makes bubble radius, radial velocity, translational displacement, jet velocity and remaining total energy decrease. The initial radial velocity, on the one hand, makes bubble radius, radial velocity, translational displacement, jet velocity and remaining total energy increase at the first bubble cycle; on the other hand, intensifies bubble radius, radial velocity, translational displacement, jet velocity and remaining total energy decay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the usefulness of two-dimensional quantitative ultrasound shear-wave elastography (2D-SWE) [i.e. virtual touch imaging quantification (VTIQ)] in assessing the ablation zone after radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for ex vivo swine livers. Methods: RFA was performed in 10 pieces of fresh ex vivo swine livers with a T20 electrode needle and 20-W output power. Conventional ultrasound, conventional strain elastography (SE) and VTIQ were performed to depict the ablation zone Omin, 10min, 30min and 60min after ablation. On VTIQ, the ablation zones were evaluated qualitatively by evaluating the shear-wave velocity (SWV) map and quantitatively by measuring the SWV. The ultrasound, SE and VTIQ results were compared against gross pathological and histopathological specimens. Results: VTIQ SWV maps gave more details about the ablation zone, the central necrotic zone appeared as red, lateral necrotic zone as green and transitional zone as light green, from inner to exterior, while the peripheral unablated liver appeared as blue. Conventional ultrasound and SE, however, only marginally depicted the whole ablation zone. The volumes of the whole ablation zone (central necrotic zone + lateral necrotic zone + transitional zone) and necrotic zone (central necrotic zone + lateral necrotic zone) measured by VTIQ showed excellent correlation (r= 0.915, p< 0.001, and 0.856, p = 0.002, respectively) with those by gross pathological specimen, whereas both conventional ultrasound and SE underestimated the volume of the whole ablation zone. The SWV values of the central necrotic zone, lateral necrotic zone, transitional zone and unablated liver parenchyma were 7.54-8.03 ms-1, 5.13-5.28 ms-1, 3.31-3.53ms-1 and 2.11-2.21 ms-1, respectively (p<0.001 for all the comparisons). The SWV value for each ablation zone did not change significantly at different observation times within an hour after RFA (all p>0.05). Conclusion: The quantitative 2D-SWE of VTIQ is useful for the depiction of the ablation zone after RFA and it facilitates discrimination of different areas in the ablation zone qualitatively and quantitatively. This elastography technique might be useful for the therapeutic response evaluation instantly after RFA. Advances in knowledge: A new quantitative 2D-SWE (i.e. VTIQ) for evaluation treatment response after RFA is demonstrated. It facilitates discrimination of the different areas in the ablation zone qualitatively and quantitatively and may be useful for the therapeutic response evaluation instantly after RFA in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Automatic Crash Notification (ACN) system is an effective technology to decrease the crash response time, improve the level of post-accident rescue and alleviate the severity of injuries. To realize this system, a vehicle terminal is developed. And based on a moving window integral algorithm, the trigger algorithm of ACN system is designed. By comparing the effect of different window widths on the trigger algorithm, we select the window width of the moving window integral algorithm as 8 ms. After system is triggered, different notify types was determined according to the change of velocity in the moving window. A sled impact simulation test shows that the impact can be identified rapidly and also the notify types can be judged by the trigger algorithm. A vehicle road test proves that the ACN system has no false trigger cases. The outcomes of this study support identifications of accidents and crash severities for both occupants and emergency centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jatropha curcas L. is a perennial, drought-resistant, and non-food oilseed crop. The fatty acid composition of seed oil, especially the ratio of 16- to 18-carbon fatty acids, has a direct impact on the biodiesel quality. In plants, fatty acid chain lengths are mainly determined by the plastidial fatty acid synthase complex which includes three β-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthases (KASs), KASI, KASII, and KASIII. The KASIII is thought to play a rate-limiting role in fatty acid synthesis. Here, we report the functional characterization of a putative JcKASIII gene from Jatropha curcas using Arabidopsis thaliana L. as model system. The transcripts of JcKASIII were detected in all tissues examined and increased in seeds. Overexpression of JcKASIII in Arabidopsis led to an increased content of palmitic acid and a higher ratio of 16- to 18-carbon fatty acids. Moreover, functional analysis of JcAKSIII in kasI or kasII knock down Arabidopsis mutants revealed that the composition of seed oil changed. Taken together, these results suggest that heterologous JcKASIII could function as one of the major regulators of fatty acid composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The disperse curves of lamb waves in glass fibre reinforced aluminium laminate (GLARE laminate) is the basis of GLARE laminate's ultrasonic lamb waves' detection. In this paper, air-coupled ultrasonic transmitter-receiver system and transducers were used to generate and receive lamb waves in the GLARE laminate. Continuous wavelet transform was applied to the lamb waves' signals to obtain the characteristic information in time-frequency domain. Select the points from the contour line and draw the disperse curves. Compare the experimental disperse curves with the theoretical ones. The experimental results of the A0 mode agree well with the theoretical dispersion curve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The short-circuit current (Isc), the open-circuit voltage (Voc), and the maximum power point (VMPP, IMPP) of monocrystalline and multicrystalline silicon solar cells under three kinds of partial shading patterns have been investigated experimentally. The partial shades are, respectively, the nine shelter locations by 1 cm × 1 cm black card, the six shelter locations by 2 cm × 1 cm black card, and the center shelters with isosceles triangle, circle, square, and two rectangles black cards whose areas are 2 cm2. Firstly, the results show that the partial shading causes disproportional high losses on those parameters of both cells but will have a minimal effect on Voc. Secondly, it is found that those parameters of the monocrystalline cell are less dependent on the shading than that of the multicrystalline cell. Thirdly, it is noted that Isc and IMPP of both cells will be decreasing dramatically as a rectangular black shading card with a long side parallel to cell’s finger, compared with that normal to cell’s finger. Finally, it can be seen that the effects of shading on the electrical parameters of both cells will be suppressed when the border lines of shading match the size of the shaded cell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quaternary Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 (CZTS) is a promising material for the thin-film solar cell applications. However, because CZTS is only stabilized in a very small chemical-potential region and the defect formation is much more complicated compared to the ternary systems, it requires careful control of the thin-film solar cell preparation. We have performed a density-functional theory investigation on the intrinsic defects, defect complexes and Na doping in this complicated system. Our calculations show that the disorder and nonstoichiometry in the Cu–Zn plane induces a bandgap shrinkage of the material. From our calculated results for various defects and the doping rules, we rationalize why the experiments obtain high conversion efficiencies for the thin-film solar cells under the Cu-poor and Zn-rich conditions. The most possible defects which fulfill the experimental Cu-poor and Zn-rich conditions are V Cu , rather than Zn Cu . It is necessary to keep the Sn chemical potential moderate during the CZTS thin-film solar cell growth because the Sn-involved defects and defect complexes are generally harmful. We also find that Na doping is expected to increase the conductivity and improves the conversion efficiency of CZTS solar cells. The present study provides valuable insights into the defect physics of the complicated CZTS system and a theoretical basis for exploring its practical applications as thin-film solar cell absorbers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, an external magnetic field was utilized during the thermal decomposition process to manipulate the shapes, surfaces and magnetic properties of Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The applied magnetic field of 500 Oe induced the formation of uniform Fe3O4 nanocubes of 250 nm, in sharp contrast to the nanocuboctahedra formed when no magnetic field was applied. The size of the Fe3O4 nanoparticles was also effectively controlled by adjusting the pre-heating time of the reaction precursor. It is noticed that the magnetic field promotes the transformation of Fe3O4 nanocuboctahedra to nanocubes and has no effect on nanooctahedra. Furthermore, first-principles calculation was employed to understand the interaction between the magnetic field and the synthesized nanoparticles by studying the surface magnetic anisotropy of Fe3O4 (001) and (111) surfaces. Moreover, the Fe3O4 nanocubes and nanocuboctahedra were coated with chitosan and were well dispersed in water for hyperthermia measurement. The intrinsic loss power (ILP) of the Fe3O4 nanocubes (1.71 nH m2 kg−1) was 56% higher than that of the nanocuboctahedra (1.09 nH m2 kg−1) inferring a surface magnetic effect on hyperthermia performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The progression of colorectal cancer (CRC) is a multistep process and metastatic CRC is always incurable; consequently, CRC is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths. There is therefore an urgent need for identifying useful biomarkers with enough sensitivity and specificity to detect this disease at early stages, which will significantly reduce the mortality for this malignancy. In this study, we performed an integrating analysis of different RNA-Seq data sets to find new candidate biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis and as therapeutic targets for this malignancy, as well as to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of CRC carcinogenesis. We identified 883 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) across the studies between CRC and normal control (NC) tissues by combining five RNA-Seq data sets. Gene function analysis revealed high correlation with carcinogenesis. The top 10 most significantly DEGs were further evaluated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in both rectal cancer (RC) and colon cancer (CC), and the results matched well with integrating data, suggesting that the method of integrating analysis of different RNA-seq data sets is acceptable. Therefore, integrating analysis of different RNA-seq data sets may be a useful way to overcome the limitation of small sample size in a single RNA-seq study. In addition, our study showed that some genes, such as SIM2, ADAMTS6, FOXD4L4 and DNAH5, may have an important role in the development of CRC, which could be applied for diagnosis, prognosis and as therapy for this malignancy. Our findings would also help to understand the pathology of CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]