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With the rapid development of science and technology, the self-driving car industry is booming, increasing the use of LiDAR, digital cameras and other instruments. This paper proposes to use histogram equalization method combined with neural network to specifically enhance image in the night environment. Using histogram equalization method to achieve image enhancement is quite simple and fast, while neural network has the advantage of high accuracy.

As the medical equipment is widely used, the quality reliability guarantee of medical equipment is also introduced into a wide range of attention. Quality control of medical equipment is an important part of hospital work and an inevitable trend of scientific development. In this paper, typical failure case is presented to illustrate the common component failures, analysis steps and brief treatment methods of medical equipment. Defect and failure analysis technology plays an increasingly important role in the production of high-quality and highly reliable medical equipment, which can effectively ensure the stability, safety and effectiveness of medical equipment. The most effective sequence of failure analysis is constitutive of nondestructive evaluation followed by destructive techniques.

The role of cell division cycle 20 (CDC20) was investigated in chemoresistance to decetaxel and the underlying mechanisms in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). MTT assays were performed to determine effects of siRNA-mediated CDC20 knockdown on cell proliferation and anticancer activity of docetaxel. Western blot analyses were conducted to detect changes of Akt and Wnt signaling. Furthermore, in vivo growth of PCa was examined in nude mice treated with siCDC20 or docetaxel alone or in combination. CDC20 was overexpressed in mCRPC cells. Knockdown of CDC20 suppressed cell proliferation and enhanced anticancer effect of docetaxel with IC50 reducing from 0.358 to 0.188 µg/ml in PC3 cells and 0.307 to 0.162 µg/ml in DU145 cells (P

To investigate the impact of prostate weight on outcomes of nerve sparing laparoscopic radical prosta-tectomy (LRP) and assess its predictive value on postoperative continence and potency recovery.We conducted a retrospective study on the clinical data of 165 patients with low risk prostate cancer (PCa) who underwent nerve sparing LRP. All the patients included had normal preoperative uri-nary and sexual function. The association of prostate weight with perioperative data was assessed using Spearman correlation coefficient. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were employed to identify prognostic predictors for continence and potency recovery.Increased prostate weight was significantly associated with older age, higher prostate-specific antigen (PSA), lower biopsy and pathological T stage and Gleason score, longer operative time, and higher estimated blood loss (P.05). The continence rates at the 3rd, 6th, and 12th month after surgery were 63.6% (105/165), 87.9% (145/165), and 95.8% (158/165); and the potency rates were 44.8% (74/165), 62.4% (103/165) and 77.6% (128/165), respectively. Furthermore, multivariate Cox analysis showed that patient age (HR = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.35- 0.76) and prostate weight (HR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.34-0.86) were independent predictors for continence recovery, while only patient age (HR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.45-0.96) could independently predict potency recovery.Larger prostate size was correlated with older age, higher PSA, lower tumor stage and grade, longer operative time, and more intraoperative blood loss in low risk PCa patients. Increased prostate weight may inde-pendently predict poor continence recovery after nerve sparing LRP.

Acute renal injury is a common severe clinical syndrome, occurring in many clinical situations. It is necessary to explore effective drugs to treat it. Eupafolin is a flavonoid compound, derived from Phyla nodiflora, which has been previously reported to possess a variety of pharmacological activities, including anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. However, it is known little about how it works in acute renal injury. Also, eupafolin is characterized by skin penetration and poor water solubility, limiting its clinical applications. Thus, we synthesized an eupafolin nanoparticle delivery system. We found that eupafolin nanoparticle could address the physicochemical defects of raw eupafolin and increase water solubility without any toxicity to normal renal cells via reducing particle size. Eupafolin nanoparticle attenuated LPS-induced acute renal injury in mice through inhibiting oxidative stress and inflammation accompanied with up-regulated SOD activity and down-regulated pro-inflammatory cytokines. Additionally, inactivation of NF-κB and MAPKs of p38, ERK1/2 and JNK signaling pathways was a main molecular mechanism by which eupafolin nanoparticle improved renal injury. Together, eupafolin nanoparticle exhibits effective anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, which could be used as a potential drug to ameliorate acute renal injury clinically.

TRPM7 is a potential therapeutic target for treatment of prostate cancer. In this study, we investigated the effects of nonselective TRPM7 inhibitor carvacrol on cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of prostate cancer PC-3 and DU145 cells. Our results showed that carvacrol blocked TRPM7-like currents in PC-3 and DU145 cells and reduced their proliferation, migration, and invasion. Moreover, carvacrol treatment significantly decreased MMP-2, p-Akt, and p-ERK1/2 protein expression and inhibited F-actin reorganization. Furthermore, consistently, TRPM7 knockdown reduced prostate cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion as well. Our study suggests that carvacrol may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of prostate cancer through its inhibition of TRPM7 channels and suppression of PI3K/Akt and MAPK signaling pathways.

Odontogenic ameloblast associated protein (ODAM) is a protein contributed to cell adhesion and has been shown to express in normal prostate tissue, but the expression and significance of ODAM in prostate cancer remain unknown. In this study, we detected the protein expressions of ODAM in 88 prostate cancer tissues with immunohistochemical staining, and found that 53 cases (60.2%) was high expression of ODAM, which was shown in the cytoplasm and paranuclear regions. Furthermore, low expression of ODAM was significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis, preoperative PSA and Gleason score, but not with mean age, follow-up duration, PSM rate and distribution of pathological T stage. Additionally, our results of multivariate analysis showed that low ODAM expression was an independent predictor of biomedical recurrence, while the positive lymph node metastasis, Gleason score, and preoperative PSA were not the independent risks for biomedical recurrence. Overexpression of ODAM did not inhibit the growth of prostate cancer cells PC3, but significant suppressed their invasion and migration with decrease of the protein levels of MMP-2. These results suggest that ODAM is a predictor for biomedical recurrence and inhibits the migration and invasion of prostate cancer.

The present study analyzed the predictive value of combined analysis of collapsin response mediator protein 4 (CRMP4) methylation levels and the Cancer of the Prostate Risk Assessment (CAPRA-S) Postsurgical score of patients who required adjuvant hormone therapy (AHT) after radical prostatectomy (RP). We retrospectively analyzed 305 patients with prostate cancer (PCa) who received RP and subsequent androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Two hundred and thirty patients with clinically high-risk PCa underwent immediate ADT, and 75 patients with intermediate risk PCa underwent deferred ADT. CRMP4 methylation levels in biopsies were determined, and CAPRA-S scores were calculated. In the deferred ADT group, the values of the hazard ratios for tumor progression and cancer-specific mortality (CSM) in patients with ≥15% CRMP4 methylation were 6.81 (95% CI: 2.34-19.80) and 12.83 (95% CI: 2.16-26.10), respectively. Receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis indicated that CRMP4 methylation levels ≥15% served as a significant prognostic marker of tumor progression and CSM. In the immediate ADT group, CAPRA-S scores ≥6 and CRMP4 methylation levels ≥15% were independent predictors of these outcomes (uni- and multi-variable Cox regression analyses). The differences in the 5-year progression-free survival between each combination were statistically significant. Combining CAPRA-S score and CRMP4 methylation levels improved the area under the curve compared with the CRMP4 or CAPRA-S model. Therefore, CRMP4 methylation levels ≥15% were significantly associated with a poor prognosis and their combination with CAPRA-S score accurately predicted tumor progression and metastasis for patients requiring AHT after RP.

To analyze and compare surgical, oncological and functional outcomes of laparoscopic radi­cal prostatectomy (LRP) in patients with and without previous transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP).In total, 785 men underwent LRP at our institution from January 2002 to December 2012. TURP had been performed previously in 35 of these patients (TURP group). A matched-pair analysis iden­tified 35 additional men without previous TURP who exhibited equivalent clinicopathological characteristics to serve as a control group. Perioperative complications and surgical, functional, and oncological outcomes were compared between the two groups.The groups were similar in age, body mass index, serum prostate-specific antigen level, and pre- and post-operative Gleason scores. Patients in the TURP group had greater blood loss (231 vs. 139 mL), longer opera­tive times (262 vs. 213 min), a greater probability of transfusion (8.6% vs. 0%), and a higher rate of complications (37.1% vs. 11.4%) compared with the control group. The positive surgical margin rate was higher in the TURP group, but this difference was not statistically significant (P = .179). The continence rates at one year after surgery were similar, but a lower continence rate was identified in the TURP group (42.9% vs. 68.6%) at 3 months. Bio­chemical recurrence developed in 17.1% and 11.4% of the patients in the TURP and control groups, respectively, after a mean follow-up of 57.6 months.LRP is feasible but challenging after TURP. LRP entails longer operating times, greater blood loss, higher complication rates and worse short-term continence outcomes. However, the radical nature of this cancer surgery is not compromised.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the capacity of polylactid acid (PLA) fibrous membrane seeded with allogeneic rabbit adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ADSCs) to repair urethral defects in a rabbit model.Rabbit ADSCs were harvested and phenotypically characterized. Twenty-four New Zealand male rabbits with 5-mm urethral mucosal defects were randomly divided into two groups. They underwent urethroplasty either with PLA fibrous membrane seeded with ADSCs (group A) or blank PLA fibrous membrane (group B). At 4 and 6 weeks after urethroplasty, the urethral grafts were collected and analyzed grossly and histologically. The incidence rate of urethrostenosis was measured.The adipose tissue-derived cells in monolayer culture showed a typical morphology of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). They were positive for the MSC marker CD44 but negative for lineage markers CD45 and CD105. Six weeks after surgery, the incidence rate of urethrostenosis in group A was significantly lower than that in group B (p 0.05). In group A, the ADSC-seeded grafts showed a normal urethral architecture with a thickened muscle layer. In contrast, the newly developed urethra in group B demonstrated a fewer number of urothelial layers and scarce or no smooth muscle cells.The PLA scaffold seeded with ADSCs is effective in urethral regeneration in a rabbit model. ADSCs may represent a promising source of seed cells for urethral tissue engineering.

Currently, there are no well-established preoperative clinicopathological parameters for predicting extra-prostatic extension (EPE) in patients with clinically localised prostate cancer (PCa). The transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2)-ETS-related gene (ERG) fusion gene is a specific biomarker of PCa and is considered a prognostic predictor. The aim of the present study was to assess the value of this marker for predicting EPE in patients with clinically localised PCa. In total, 306 PCa patients with clinically localised disease, including 220 patients (71.9%) with organ-confined disease and 86 EPE cases (28.1%), were included in the study. Receiver operating characteristic curves and logistic regression were employed to establish the optimal cut-off value and to investigate whether ERG rearrangement was an independent predictor for the EPE of clinically localised PCa. A leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV) model was implemented to validate the predictive power of ERG rearrangement. An increase in ERG rearrangements was identified to be associate'd with EPE, and the optimal cut-off for predicting EPE was determined to be 2.25%, with a sensitivity of 70.24% [95% confidence interval (CI), 62.6-78.9%], a specificity of 80.43% (95% CI, 75.4-85.1%), and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.781 (95% CI, 0.730-0.826). In the LOOCV model, ERG rearrangement also demonstrated good performance for predicting EPE (sensitivity, 76.923%; specificity, 71.429%; 95% CI for AUC, 0.724-0.958). In addition, a high Gleason score (≥7) and a cT2c classification upon biopsy were independent factors for EPE.

A new type bistable reflective cholesteric liquid crystal display is reported. The texture and the relaxation process are very different from other types of the reflective cholesteric displays reported previously. The contrast ratio of the display is about 2.5 times higher than regular cholesteric displays. The response time of the display is 10 ms, which is much faster than the 230 ms response of regular cholesteric displays made with the same liquid crystal materials. A model to explain the unique textures of the display is presented.

Objective: To compare operative time, safety and effectiveness of minimally invasive percutaneous nephrolithotomy (MPCNL) in the supine lithotomy versus prone position. Methods: Between January 2008 and December 2010, a total of 109 consecutive patients with upper urinary tract calculi were enrolled and randomly divided into group A (53 patients, supine lithotomy position) and group B (56 patients, prone position). The MPCNL procedures were performed under the guidance of real-time grayscale ultrasound system. The preoperative characteristics, intraoperative and postoperative parameters were analyzed and compared. Results: All patients were successfully operated. There was no significant difference between the two groups in stone-free rate (group A 90.1 vs. group B 87.5%, p = 0.45), mean blood loss, number of access tracts, calyx puncture, mean hospital stay (group A 6 ± 1.1 vs. group B 6 ± 1.5 days, p = 0.38) and complications. But the operative time was significantly shortened in supine lithotomy position (group A 56 ± 15 vs. group B 86 ± 23 min, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The effectiveness and safety of the supine lithotomy position for MPCNL were similar to the prone position. However, the supine lithotomy position has an important advantage of reducing the operative time. The supine lithotomy position could be a good choice to perform MPCNL.

Explores the application of quality function deployment (QFD) concept in strategic marketing planning. First discusses the literature of quality control concepts and marketing concepts, and the current thinking in strategic marketing planning. Then proposes that the QFD concept can be an ideal approach in the strategic marketing planning. The QFD approach maximizes benefits for both customers and companies in the long run, by first determining the customer’s needs, and then translating these needs into corporate goals and marketing objectives. Based on these goals and objectives, marketing strategies and marketing tactics could be developed and implemented to ensure the customers’ needs are met and company’s objectives are obtained.

Develops a strategic planning framework for long‐range marketing policy making. Uses this framework to explore the relationship between marketing orientation and total quality management and extends Kotler′s model of three types of marketing strategic orientation on the perspective of total quality management. Uses two group consensus management techniques (quality function deployment and analytic hierarchy process) and competitive benchmarking to demonstrate how a particular company can make a decision on which strategic marketing orientation to adopt. Furthermore, shows how a company can evaluate itself relative to its competitors on the basis of strategic marketing orientation.

Quasielastic light scattering measurements are reported for a 4 mg/ml solution of 1,2-bis(10,12-tricosadiynoyl)- sn -glycero-3-phosphocholine in an 85:15 (by vol.) methanol/water mixture as a function of temperature and pH. We find that the tubule-liposome phase transition temperature is relatively insensitive to pH, whereas the transition from liposome to the high temperature clear phase varies strongly and nonmonotonically with temperature. The hydrodynamic radius of the liposome was measured as a function of pH, temperature and time after cooling from the clear phase. In addition, the average wall thickness of the liposomes is estimated from sedimentation data and found to be considerably greater than that of the tubule.

Quasielastic light-scattering measurements are reported for a chiral smectic-C material as a function of enantiomer concentration and applied electric field. The elastic constant ${\mathit{B}}_{1}$ and associated viscosity have been determined. More importantly, it was found that ${\mathit{B}}_{1}$ is composed of a bare part ${\mathit{B}}_{1}^{0}$ and a polarization-dependent part \ensuremath{\propto}${\mathit{P}}_{0}^{2}$/${\mathit{q}}^{2}$. For q${10}^{5}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$, the polarization-dependent term is much larger than ${\mathit{B}}_{1}^{0}$.

We have found that at a sufficiently high concentration, diacetylenic phospholipid tubules form a nematic phase when suspended in water. As a consequence of their large size, the tubules were imaged with visible light and the nematic order parameter was extracted.

A novel linear electro-optic effect is observed in a surface-stabilized chiral nematic cell above the Fr\'eedericksz transition threshold field. The slow dynamic response indicates that this effect arises from the interfacial region which elastically couples to the bulk, rather than directly from the bulk. Moreover, evidence suggests that the primary effect is a spontaneous electric polarization very near the interface. Other possible contributions to this effect are discussed.

Microbial detoxication of pesticides may offer a promising alternative to existing physical-chemical treatment methods. We investigated a strain of Streptomyces sp. which can transform metolachlor in a liquid medium for its ability to decontaminate herbicide-treated soil. A cell suspension of Streptomyces sp. was added to a silt loam soil (Hagerstown, pH 6.1) which was amended with 10 μg of metolachlor containing 5 nCi ring-UL-14C metolachlor per gram of soil, and the mixture was incubated at 28°C. Inoculation of the sterile soil resulted in the rapid transformation of metolachlor. Analyses of one-week-old samples indicated that approximately 70% of the added radioactivity was recovered in the ethyl acetate and water fractions as products from the inoculated reaction mixture, whereas in the uninoculated control less than 8% of the 14C was found as products and about 80% was recovered in the form of unchanged metolachlor. In native soil, however, the rate of metolachlor disappearance was not enhanced by Streptomyces inoculation. In inoculated sterile soil the yields of products were affected by inoculum size, inoculation temperature and substrate concentration, but these variables had no effect on product formation in the inoculated native soil. Addition of Na2CO3 (200 μg/g soil) into native soil significantly promoted growth of Streptomyces due to the higher pH (7.8) and also stimulated transformation of metolachlor by 30%. Our results suggest that proliferation of the inoculated organisms under favorable conditions is essential for their function as metolachlor degraders in native soil.

A percutaneous nephrostomy (PCN) done on the same side as a previous open nephrolithotomy is always technically challenging. A novel one-step PCN tube that allows the puncture and placement of a drainage tube to be done in a single step has been developed. The hydrophilic coating on the tube's surface significantly reduces friction and allows easier insertion. We evaluated the tube's efficiency and safety compared with the traditional fascial dilator system.Sixty-five patients with a history of open nephrolithotomy were randomly allocated (with the aid of a computer-derived assignment number) into two groups to have PCN performed in one step or multiple steps. In the one-step group, a new type of PCN tube was used. In the multistep group, fascial dilators were used serially prior to tube insertion. The two groups were similar in terms of mean age, width of target calix, and baseline serum creatinine and hemoglobin concentrations. The operating times, intubation rates, and complications in the two groups were compared.The mean number of attempts required to access the collecting system was 1.1 +/- 0.6 in the one-step group v 2.3 +/- 1.2 in the multistep group (P = 0.002), the successful intubation rate was 96.9% v 78.8% (P = 0.012), the mean operating time was 10.2 +/- 2.4 minutes v 25.6 +/- 2.8 minutes (P = 0.029), and the rate of intraoperative and postoperative complications was 3.1% v 15.2%, respectively (P = 0.019). No major complications occurred in the one-step group.The one-step PCN tube is a convenient and efficacious method for accessing an anatomic region where open nephrolithotomy was done previously and is a simple method for nephrostomy tube placement.

Conductivities tomography with the interactions of magnetic field, electrical field, and ultrasound field is presented in this paper. We utilize a beam of ultrasound in scanning mode instead of the traditional ultrasound field generated by point source. Many formulae for the reconstruction of conductivities are derived from the voltage signals detected by two electrodes arranged somewhere on tissue's surface. In a forward problem, the numerical solutions of ultrasound fields generated by the piston transducer are calculated using the angular spectrum method and its Green's function is designed approximately in far fields. In an inverse problems, the magneto—acousto—electrical voltage signals are proved to satisfy the wave equations if the voltage signals are extended to the whole region from the boundary locations of transducers. Thus the time-reversal method is applied to reconstructing the curl of the reciprocal current density. In addition, a least square iteration method of recovering conductivities from reciprocal current densities is discussed.

Aqueous suspensions of elongated, hollow tubules are shown to align in magnetic fields of order 10 G when mixed with a water‐based ferrofluid. The tubule’s effective susceptibility anisotropy is obtained, and is found to be six orders of magnitude larger than in the absence of the ferrofluid. A geometry‐based model is used to explain this effect.

A long and ever-expanding roster of small (∼20-30 nucleotides) RNAs has emerged during the last decade, and most can be subsumed under the three main headings of microRNAs (miRNAs), Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), and short interfering RNAs (siRNAs). Among the three categories, miRNAs is the most quickly expanded group. The most recent number of identified miRNAs is 16,772 (Sanger miRbase, April 2011). However, there are insufficient publications on their primary forms, and no tissue-specific small RNAs precursors have been reported in the epididymis. Here, we report the identification in rats of an epididymis-specific, chimeric, noncoding RNA that is spliced from two different chromosomes (chromosomes 5 and 19), which we named HongrES2. HongrES2 is a 1.6 kb mRNA-like precursor that gives rise to a new microRNA-like small RNA (mil-HongrES2) in rat epididymis. The generation of mil-HongrES2 is stimulated during epididymitis. An epididymis-specific carboxylesterase named CES7 had 100% cDNA sequence homology at the 3'end with HongrES2 and its protein product could be downregulated by HongrES2 via mil-HongrES2. This was confirmed in vivo by initiating mil-HongrES2 over-expression in rats and observing an effect on sperm capacitation.

Background Pomegranate possesses many medicinal properties such as antioxidant, anti-inflammation and antitumor. It has been extensively used as a folk medicine by many cultures. Pomegranate fruit has been shown to have the inhibitory efficacy against prostate cancer and lung cancer in vitro and in vivo. It can be exploited in chemoprevention and chemotherapy of prostate cancer. In this study we examined the anti-cancer efficacy of pomegranate fruit grown in Taiwan against urinary bladder urothelial carcinoma (UBUC) and its mechanism of action. Methods Edible portion of Taiwanese pomegranate was extracted using ethanol and the anti-cancer effectiveness of ethanol extract was evaluated by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Flow cytometry and western immunoblotting were exploited to uncover the molecular pathways underlying anti-UBUC activity of Taiwanese pomegranate ethanol extract. Results This study demonstrated that Taiwanese pomegranate fruit ethanol extract (PEE) could effectively restrict the proliferation of UBUC T24 and J82 cells. Cell cycle analyses indicated that the S phase arrest induced by PEE treatment might be caused by an increase in cyclin A protein level and a decrease in the expression of cyclin-dependent kinase 1. The results of western immunoblotting demonstrated that PEE treatment could not only evoke the activation of pro-caspase-3, -8,-9 but also increase Bax/Bcl-2 ratio in T24 cells. The above observations implicated that PEE administration might trigger the apoptosis in T24 cells through death receptor signaling and mitochondrial damage pathway. Besides we found that PEE exposure to T24 cells could provoke intensive activation of procaspase-12 and enhance the expressions of CHOP and Bip, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress marker, suggesting that ER stress might be the cardinal apoptotic mechanism of PEE-induced inhibition of bladder cancer cell. Conclusions The analytical results of this study help to provide insight into the molecular mechanism of induced bladder cancer cell apoptosis by pomegranate and to develop novel mechanism-based chemopreventive strategy for bladder cancer.