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An air compression refrigeration performance calculation model applied to data center cooling was established, which is a reverse Brayton cycle system, the operation performance was studied by numerical simulation and the influence of supply air temperature, ambient temperature, pressure ratio, data center room temperature was analysed. The results showed that when the pressure ratio of the air compressor is 1.3, the system obtains the maximum cooling COP. Heat exchanger efficiency have a significant effect on the cooling capacity and cooling COP, the efficiency of the heat exchanger increases from 0.6 to 0.8, and the increase in cooling capacity is 4.84 kJ/kg, cooling COP increased by 23.2%, Compared to conventional vapour compression/loop heat pipe natural cooling systems, in cold regions, the annual energy efficiency of air compression refrigeration can reach to 13.85. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suppressor of cytokine signaling 2 (SOCS2) plays an essential role in a number of physiological phenomena and functions as a tumor suppressor. Understanding the predictive effects of SOCS2 on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is urgently needed. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases were used to assess SOCS2 gene expression levels in NSCLC. The clinical significance of SOCS2 was evaluated through Kaplan-Meier curve analysis and the analysis of related clinical factors. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) was used to identify the biological functions of SOCS2. Subsequently proliferation, wound-healing, colony formation and Transwell assays, and carboplatin drug experiments were used for verification. The results revealed that SOCS2 expression was low in the NSCLC tissues of patients in TCGA and GEO database analyses. Downregulated SOCS2 was associated with poor prognosis, as determined by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis (HR 0.61, 95% CI 0.52-0.73; P<0.001). GSEA showed that SOCS2 was involved in intracellular reactions, including epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Cell experiments indicated that knockdown of SOCS2 caused the malignant progression of NSCLC cell lines. Furthermore, the drug experiment showed that silencing of SOCS2 promoted the resistance of NSCLC cells to carboplatin. In conclusion, low expression of SOCS2 was associated with poor clinical prognosis by effecting EMT and causing drug resistance in NSCLC cell lines. Furthermore, SOCS2 could act as a predictive indicator for NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of technologies, multiple primary lung cancer (MPLC) has been detected more frequently. Although large-scale genomics studies have made significant progress, the aberrant gene mutation in MPLC is largely unclear. In this study, 141 and 44 lesions from single and multiple primary lung adenocarcinoma (SP- and MP-LUAD) were analyzed. DNA and RNA were extracted from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor tissue and sequenced by using the next-generation sequencing-based YuanSu450TM gene panel. We systematically analyzed the clinical features and gene mutations of these lesions, and found that there were six genes differently mutated in MP-LUAD and SP-LUAD lesions, including RBM10, CDK4, ATRX, NTRK1, PREX2, SS18. Data from the cBioPortal database indicated that mutation of these genes was related to some clinical characteristics, such as TMB, tumor type, et al. Besides, heterogeneity analysis suggested that different lesions could be tracked back to monophyletic relationships. We compared the mutation landscape of MP-LUAD and SP-LUAD and identified six differentially mutated genes (RBM10, CDK4, ATRX, NTRK1, PREX2, SS18), and certain SNV loci in TP53 and EGFR which might play key roles in lineage decomposition in multifocal samples. These findings may provide insight into personalized prognosis prediction and new therapies for MP-LUAD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Glutamine (Gln) metabolism has been reported to play an essential role in cancer. However, a comprehensive analysis of its role in lung adenocarcinoma is still unavailable. This study established a novel system of quantification of Gln metabolism to predict the prognosis and immunotherapy efficacy in lung cancer. Further, the Gln metabolism in tumor microenvironment (TME) was characterized and the Gln metabolism-related genes were identified for targeted therapy. Methods: We comprehensively evaluated the patterns of Gln metabolism in 513 patients diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) based on 73 Gln metabolism-related genes. Based on differentially expressed genes (DEGs), a risk model was constructed using Cox regression and Lasso regression analysis. The prognostic efficacy of the model was validated using an individual LUAD cohort form Shandong Provincial Hospital, an integrated LUAD cohort from GEO and pan-cancer cohorts from TCGA databases. Five independent immunotherapy cohorts were used to validate the model performance in predicting immunotherapy efficacy. Next, a series of single-cell sequencing analyses were used to characterize Gln metabolism in TME. Finally, single-cell sequencing analysis, transcriptome sequencing, and a series of in vitro experiments were used to explore the role of EPHB2 in LUAD. Results: Patients with LUAD were eventually divided into low- and high-risk groups. Patients in low-risk group were characterized by low levels of Gln metabolism, survival advantage, "hot" immune phenotype and benefit from immunotherapy. Compared with other cells, tumor cells in TME exhibited the most active Gln metabolism. Among immune cells, tumor-infiltrating T cells exhibited the most active levels of Gln metabolism, especially CD8 T cell exhaustion and Treg suppression. EPHB2, a key gene in the model, was shown to promote LUAD cell proliferation, invasion and migration, and regulated the Gln metabolic pathway. Finally, we found that EPHB2 was highly expressed in macrophages, especially M2 macrophages. It may be involved in the M2 polarization of macrophages and mediate the negative regulation of M2 macrophages in NK cells. Conclusion: This study revealed that the Gln metabolism-based model played a significant role in predicting prognosis and immunotherapy efficacy in lung cancer. We further characterized the Gln metabolism of TME and investigated the Gln metabolism-related gene EPHB2 to provide a theoretical framework for anti-tumor strategy targeting Gln metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To promote energy-saving potentials of the energy recovery unit under all-year conditions, a composite system combining pump-driven loop heat pipe with heat pump was firstly proposed, and the mathematical models were established. The operating characteristics of the composite system were studied in the whole year and compared with the traditional heat pump heat recovery system. The results show that the heating capacity of the composite system is in line with the heating load in winter. Compared with the traditional heat pump system, the composite system has higher energy efficiency ratio and lower deviation degree of temperature effectiveness in the whole year. The heat pump composite pump-driven loop heat pipe heat recovery system is generally superior to similar system reported in literatures, which indicates that it can replace heat pump system in buildings ventilation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the simulation results of the typical rural ultra-low energy building (ULEB) in five different climatic regions of China, three indicative technical parameters for paralleled-loop exhaust air heat pump (PEAHP) R&D which are nominal heating-cooling capacity, maximum required fresh air to return air ratio (MFRR) and system energy efficiency grades were calculated and summarized according to the demand of indoor thermal comforts by using statistic method. The nominal heating-cooling capacities were determined according to the peak loads, which are 6.84-2.01 kW, 5-2.96 kW, 3.9-4.6 kW, 3.08-5.02 kW, and 3.4-0.46 kW in the ULEB of Harbin, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Kunming, respectively. To ensure both thermal comforts and energy conservation, during the heating season, full fresh air supply is suggested in Beijing and the 1:0.5 MFRR is suggested in Harbin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Kunming. During the cooling season, the 1:5 MFRR is suggested in Shanghai and Guangzhou, the 1:3, 1:1.5, and 1:0.5 MFRR are suggested in Harbin, Beijing and Kunming, respectively. The PEAHP energy efficiency grades 1~5 are 7.92~11.7, 7.58~11.5, 7.5~11.35, 6.12~9.27, and 4.64~7.03 during the heating season of Harbin, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Kunming, respectively, and are 2.33~3.54, 3.93~5.96, 4.61~6.98, 4.62~6.99, and 2.04~3.1 for the cooling season, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an innate feature of human beings, gender differences have an influence on various biological phenotypes, yet it does not attract enough attention in genomics studies. The prognosis of multiple carcinomas usually exhibits a favorable ending for female patients, but the neglect of gender differences can cause serious bias in survival analysis. Enhancer RNAs (eRNAs) are mostly downstream of androgens or estrogen. The present study was aimed to screen eRNAs in patients with non-smallcell lung cancer. The findings revealed that eRNA TBX5-AS1 was expressed differently between female and male patients. Meanwhile, its prognostic significance appeared only in male patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) type. The Gene Set Enrichment Analysis proved that the expression level of TBX5-AS1 increased following the activation of the androgen signaling pathway. In pan-cancer analysis, the prognostic prediction based on gender grouping obtained more meaningful results, and the synergy between TBX5-AS1 and its homologous target was more consistent. Furthermore, immunity variations between sexes prompted us to explore the role that TBX5-AS1 played in tumor microenvironment and immunotherapy. The robust evidence proved that male patients with high expression of TBX5-AS1 possessed a malignant immune microenvironment and urgently needed immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment. In conclusion, TBX5-AS1 may be one of the strongest candidates to predict prognosis for male patients with SCC and provide a reference for immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The improvement performance of refrigerating dehumidification system was theoretically discusses based on a dehumidification model. The influence of evaporator inlet wind speed, dry bulb temperature and relative humidity on dehumidification were analysed by the model. The results show that, when inlet air temperature and humidity were kept constant, the dehumidification capacity increased first and then decreased with increase of the wind speed. When the moisture content and the wind speed of the inlet air were kept constant, the dehumidification capacity gradually decreased with increase of the inlet air dry bulb temperature. The inlet air dry bulb temperature was between 21-36 °C and the relative humidity was between 40% and 85%, the difference between the inlet air wet bulb temperature and the evaporation temperature at the optimum COP was about 10 °C. There was a nearly linear relationship between the corresponding evaporation temperature at the optimal COP and the evaporation temperature with the maximum dehumidification capacity, compared with the test value, the error was less than 10%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This paper presents a novel air source heat pump for heating of buildings named air source heat pump with multiple parallel outdoor units (ASHPMO). Multiple outdoor units were connected in parallel with the aim of realising alternate defrosting and uninterrupted heating simultaneously. An experimental apparatus of the ASHPMO system was developed. The defrosting performance was experimentally investigated under different outdoor air temperatures, outdoor air relative humidity, and condensation temperatures, among other factors. The test results showed that the novel ASHPMO system could provide continuous heating when defrosting even under an outdoor air temperature of −10°C. Variations in compressor vapour suction and discharge pressure and temperature were observed. The minimum heating capacity could still reach 60% of that without defrosting. Under the defrosting condition with outdoor air temperature −10°C, both the heating coefficient of performance (heating COP) and total energy efficiency ratio (EER) of the system can reach to 2.0 and 2.32, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The pathogenesis of lung cancer is unclear. Less expression of p53 or p53 mutation was identified in lung cancer cells, which plays a role in the development of lung cancer. Recent reports indicate that Bcl2-like protein-12 (Bcl2L12) can inhibit the expression of p53. Lung cancer cells express proteinase-activated receptor-2 (PAR2). This study tests the hypothesis that activation of PAR2 inhibits the expression of p53 in lung cancer cells.Material and Methods: Lung cancer cells were collected from patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The cells were exposed to active peptides or trypsin in the culture for 48 h. The expression of p53 was assessed by RT-qPCR and Western blotting.Results: We observed that lung cancer cells express Bcl2L12. Activation of PAR2 increases expression of Bcl2L12 in lung cancer cells. Bcl2L12 mediates PAR2-suppressed p53 expression in lung cancer cells. IgE-activated mast cell suppression of p53 expression in lung cancer cells can be prevented by knocking down Bcl2L12. The Bcl2L12 bound Mdm2, the transcription factor of p53, to prevent the Mdm2 from binding to the promoter of p53 and thus inhibited p53 expression in lung cancer cells. PAR2 could attenuate lung cancer cell apoptosis via inducing Bcl2L12.Conclusions: Lung cancer cells express Bcl2L12, which mediates the effects of activation of PAR2 on suppressing the expression of p53 in lung cancer cells, implying that Bcl2L12 may be a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dermatomyositis (DM) is a rare autoimmune disease associated with manifestations of proximal muscle weakness and typical cutaneous skin rash. Patients with DM have a higher incidence rate of cancer, compared with the general population, since DM usually presents as a paraneoplastic syndrome. The present study reports a case of a 69-year-old male patient presenting with typical cutaneous rash and aggravating proximal muscle weakness for 3 months. When first admitted to the Department of Dermatology of Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University (Jinan, China), the patient was diagnosed with DM. Subsequently, chest computed tomography scan revealed a neoplasm located in the right upper lobe. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery right upper lobectomy and lymph node dissection were then performed. The patient experienced a fast recovery from the surgery. The removal of the neoplasm clearly improved the symptoms of DM. Considering that DM is usually associated with the existence of a tumor, cases of DM require a thorough diagnostic investigation in order to exclude an underlying malignancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experimental study on a pump-driven loop heat pipe (PLHP) charged with R22 for cooling a data center is reported in this paper. The PLHP had five tube-fin heat exchangers as evaporators and three tube-fin heat exchangers as condensers, a liquid reservoir, and a canned motor pump. The coefficient of performance of the unit was 3.75 when the indoor-outdoor temperature difference was 10°C, then increased to 9.37 when the temperature difference was 25°C. The mass flow rates of R22 increased from 200 to 1,100 kg/h with one evaporator and one condenser of the PLHP, and the heat transfer rates first increased and then decreased. When the vapor quality of R22 at the evaporator outlet was between 0.3 and 0.6, the mass flow rate affected the heat transfer rate slightly. As the increase of mass flow rate in the PLHP, the temperature difference between the evaporator inlet and outlet, and the sensible heat ratio were both rising. When the mass flow rate was about 1,400 kg/h and the indoor-outdoor temperature difference increased from 10 to 30°C, the relationship between the heat transfer rate and the temperature difference was linear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thoracic aortic dissection (TAD) is a life-threatening vascular condition, in which matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are involved. Since the key determinants underlying MMP action remain elusive, the present study investigated the correlation between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the promoter region of the MMP-8 gene and a predisposition to TAD, by comparing genotypes of TAD patients and healthy controls. From 154 TAD patients and 148 healthy individuals, DNA samples were obtained from venous blood, and genotyping was performed by a combination of polymerase chain reaction and automatic sequencing to detect SNPs in the MMP-8 promoter. Data were analyzed and odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. P<0.05 was considered to indicate a statistically significant result. Two SNPs, -799C/T and -767A/T, were identified in the MMP-8 promoter. Distribution of the -767A/T genotype was not significantly different between the patients and healthy controls. The -799C/C genotype was utilized as a match control, and significant differences in the genotypic distribution were observed between the patients with TAD and the controls. Furthermore, it was identified that the distribution of the -799C/T+T/T and -799C/C genotypes between the TAD and control populations was significantly different. The frequency of T allele distribution was higher in the TAD group (27%) than in the control group (13.5%). The genotype distribution followed the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. In the present study, it was concluded that the -799C/T polymorphism in the promoter region of MMP-8 may be associated with the development of TAD and that the T allele may increase patient predisposition to the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the completely thoracoscopic anatomic segmentectomy with lobectomy to treat stage IA peripheral lung cancer <2 cm. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was performed that 54 cases stage IA peripheral lung cancer patients were selected, including 26 cases of segmentectomy and 28 cases of lobectomy. We observed the operative time, blood loss, number of lymphadenectomy, post-operative chest drainage, hospital days, post-operative complications and mortality, post-operative recurrence and 3-year survival rate. Results: There was no significant difference about complications such as post-operative atelectasis, severe pneumonia, arrhythmia and cardiovascular/cerebrovascular in two groups (P > 0.05). The local recurrence rate was not significant different in two groups (P > 0.05). Two groups of operative time, blood loss and number of dissected lymph nodes was not statistically significant (P > 0.05), However, the difference was statistically significant in average chest drainage and less decreased pulmonary function, which led to patients received segmentectomy recovered faster and hospitalized less time (P < 0.05). We also found there was no significant difference on survival rate with 1 and 3 year follow-up of two groups (log-rank Chi-square = 0.028, P > 0.05). Conclusions: For stage IA peripheral lung cancer, the thoracoscopic anatomic segmentectomy was safe and effective just as thoracoscopic lobectomy, and furthermore with faster post-operative recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the completely thoracoscopic anatomic segmentectomy with lobectomy to treat stage IA peripheral lung cancer <2 cm. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was performed that 54 cases stage IA peripheral lung cancer patients were selected, including 26 cases of segmentectomy and 28 cases of lobectomy. We observed the operative time, blood loss, number of lymphadenectomy, post-operative chest drainage, hospital days, post-operative complications and mortality, post-operative recurrence and 3-year survival rate. Results: There was no significant difference about complications such as post-operative atelectasis, severe pneumonia, arrhythmia and cardiovascular/cerebrovascular in two groups (P > 0.05). The local recurrence rate was not significant different in two groups (P > 0.05). Two groups of operative time, blood loss and number of dissected lymph nodes was not statistically significant (P > 0.05), However, the difference was statistically significant in average chest drainage and less decreased pulmonary function, which led to patients received segmentectomy recovered faster and hospitalized less time (P < 0.05). We also found there was no significant difference on survival rate with 1 and 3 year follow-up of two groups (log-rank Chi-square = 0.028, P > 0.05). Conclusions: For stage IA peripheral lung cancer, the thoracoscopic anatomic segmentectomy was safe and effective just as thoracoscopic lobectomy, and furthermore with faster post-operative recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The radiologic features of intralobar pulmonary sequestration (ILPS) have been describe and include the identification of a feeding systemic artery with venous drainage through pulmonary veins. Primary sequestration associated with typical hamartoma signs is really rare and has been described only once. We describe a patient with ILPS whose radiographic findings were unusual for two reasons. First, computed tomography (CT) demonstrated a bulky mass in the pulmonary sequestration. The size of lesion and histopathology made it an unusual presentation. Final histology study demonstrated pulmonary hamartoma with predominantly adipose and cartilage differentiation, which is an unusual complication originated from ILPS. Another sign also explains the second unusual feature, intracranial cholesteatoma, occurring concurrently with ILPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]