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Background. Liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC) is the most frequently seen type of primary liver cancer. Cuproptosis is a novel form of cell death highly associated with mitochondrial metabolism. However, the clinical impact and pertinent mechanism of cuproptosis genes in LIHC remain largely unknown. Methods. From public databases, we systematically assessed common genes from LIHC differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and cuproptosis-related genes using bioinformatics analysis. These common genes were then analyzed by enrichment analysis, mutation analysis, risk score model, and others to find candidate hub genes related to LIHC and cuproptosis. Next, hub genes were determined by expression, clinical factors, immunoassay, and prognostic nomogram. Results. Based on 129 cuproptosis-related genes and 3492 LIHC DEGs, we totally identified 21 downregulated and 18 upregulated common genes, and they were enriched in pathways, such as zinc ion homeostasis and oxidative phosphorylation. In the mutation analysis, missense mutation was the most common type in LIHC patients, and the common gene F5 had the highest mutation frequency. After LASSO-Cox regression analysis and prognostic analysis, CDK1, ABCB6, LCAT, and COA6 were identified as prognostic signature genes. Among them, ABCB6 and LCAT were lowly expressed in tumors, and CDK1 and COA6 were highly expressed in tumors. In addition, ABCB6 and LCAT were negatively correlated with 6 kinds of immune cells, while CDK1 and COA6 were positively correlated with them. CDK1 and COA6 were identified as hub genes related to LIHC by Cox regression analysis and prognostic nomogram. Conclusion. CDK1 and COA6 are two oncogenes in LIHC, which are involved in the molecular mechanism of cuproptosis and LIHC. Besides, CDK1 and COA6 can positively regulate the expressions of immune cells in LIHC. In clinical practice, they can be used as immunotherapeutic targets and prognostic predictors in LIHC, which sheds new light on the scientific fields of cuproptosis and LIHC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of microbial flora was characterized during the soy whey fermentation process by Tibetan kefir grains by analyzing changes in bacterial and fungal community structures using amplicon sequencing. Moreover, changes in physicochemical indexes and active components were monitored. Acidity, pH, and oligosaccharides got a dramatic decline after 30 h of fermentation, while the aglycones isoflavones significantly increased which resulted in a noticeable increase of DPPH· scavenging ability from 53.0% to 70.2%, and many new aromatic volatile compounds were produced. Yeasts, lactic acid bacteria, and acetic acid bacteria grew to more than 7 log CFU/ml after fermentation. The relative abundance of Lactobacillus and Acetobacter changed dramatically in fermented soy whey, which can be ascribed to the increase in aglycone isoflavones levels, especially genistein. This research may deepen the understanding of the mechanism in the fermentation of soy whey by Tibetan kefir grains, and provide a scientific basis for the utilization of soy whey. Novelty impact statement: The fermentation process of soy whey by Tibetan kefir grains was studied. Yeasts, lactic acid bacteria, and acetic acid bacteria grew to more than 7 log CFU/ml after fermentation, and Acetobacter became the dominant genus. Aglycone isoflavones and amino acid nitrogen significantly increased, and DPPH· scavenging ability increased to 70.2%. In addition, new aromatic volatile compounds were produced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gel properties of silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) surimi fortified with 0.1% PHP were investigated. The addition of 0.1% Psylluium husk powder (PHP) significantly increased the water‐holding capacity (WHC) of the surimi gels, which was associated with the increase in hydrophobic interaction and disulfide bond content (p <.05). A slight decrease in freezing point and non‐freezing bound water content and a increase in the content of water molecules in the gel network compared to the gels without PHP were observed. Gels containing 0.1% PHP had a smoother and firmer surface structure. The breaking force of the gel with PHP increased and the deformation decreased (p <.05) compared with the traditional gels (no PHP, heating at 40°C for 1 hr). Therefore, the addition of PHP affected the WHC of surimi gel. This study may provide some references for the application of PHP in healthy surimi products. Novelty impact statement: PHP provides health benefits as it is rich in dietary fiber; however, to date, there have been few studies regarding the effects of PHP on the gel properties of surimi products. Our result showed that a small amount of PHP (0.1%) improved WHC and water distribution of surimi gels, resulting in a gel with a smoother and more uniform surface. Therefore, this work is meaningful for the promotion of surimi gel properties and the development of healthy surimi products by adding PHP as a potential food ingredient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing evidence has shown that overexpression of P-element-induced wimpy-testis (PIWI)-like protein 1 (PIWIL1) was associated with unfavorable prognosis of patients with various types of cancers. Herein, we conducted this meta-analysis to identify the clinicopathological and prognostic value of the PIWIL1 expression in cancers. Three electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase) were comprehensively retrieved for relevant studies up to August 4th, 2019. RevMan 5.3 and STATA 12.0 statistical software programs were used to explore the relationships between PIWIL1 expression and the prognosis and clinicopathological features in cancer patients. A total of 13 studies recruiting 2179 patients with 9 types of solid tumors were finally included in the meta-analysis. The results indicated that patients with high PIWIL1 expression tended to have a shorter survival, and additionally deeper tumor invasion, higher clinical stage, and more lymph node metastasis. PIWIL1 could serve as a biomarker for prognosis and clinicopathological characteristics in various cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Growing evidence shows that enhancer RNAs (eRNAs) are pivotal for tumor progression. In this research, our team aimed to identify the survival-related eRNAs and further explore their potential function in glioblastoma (GBM). Methods. RNA-sequencing data in 31 tumor types were acquired from TCGA datasets. The survival-related eRNAs were identified by the use of Kaplan-Meier survival analyses and Spearman's correlation analyses. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis was completed to investigate the underlying signal paths of the critical eRNA. Pancancer assays were applied to explore the association between CYP1B1-AS1 and CYP1B1. Results. We identified 74 survival-related eRNAs and focused on CYP1B1-AS1 which displayed the greatest cor value. CYP1B1 was identified as a regulatory target of CYP1B1-AS1. KEGG analyses suggested that CYP1B1-AS1 might play an essential role through CK-CKR mutual effect, complement and coagulation cascades, TNF signal path, and JAK-STAT signal path. The pancancer verification outcomes revealed that CYP1B1-AS1 was related to survival in 4 cancers, i.e., LIHC, KIRP, KICH, and KIRC. Association was discovered between CYP1B1-AS1 and the targeted gene, CYP1B1, in 29 cancer types. Conclusion. The outcomes herein provided the first evidence that overexpression of CYP1B1-AS1 might be a potential molecular biomarker for predicting the prognosis of patients with GBM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In healthcare research, medical expenditure data for the elderly are typically semicontinuous and right-skewed, which involve a point mass at zero and may exhibit heteroscedasticity. The problem of a substantial proportion of zero values prevents traditional regression techniques based on the Gaussian, gamma, or inverse Gaussian distribution, which may lead to understanding the standard errors of the parameters and overestimating their significance. A common way to counter the problem is using zero-adjusted models. However, due to the right-skewness in the nonzeros' response, conventional zero-adjusted models such as zero-adjusted gamma, zero-adjusted Inverse Gaussian, and classic Tobit may not perform well. Here, we firstly generalize those three types of the conventional zero-adjusted model to solve the problem of right-skewness in health care. The generalized zero-adjusted models are very flexible and include the zero-adjusted Weibull, zero-adjusted gamma, zero-adjusted inverse Gaussian, and classic Tobit models as their special cases. Using the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, we find that, according to the AIC, SBC, and deviance criteria, the zero-adjusted generalized gamma model is the best one of these generalized models to predict the odds of zero cost accurately. In order to depict the predictors affecting the amount expenditure, we further discuss the situations where the mean, dispersion of a nonzero amount expenditure and model the probability of a zero amount of ZAGG in terms of predictor variables using suitable link functions, respectively. Our analysis shows that age, health, chronic diseases, household income, and residence are the main factors influencing the medical expenditure for the elderly, but the insurance is not significant. To the best of our knowledge, little study focused on these situations, and this is the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind load on building surface is one of the main loads for structural design; scholars in this field have put forward some methods to calculate wind load, such as Simiu method and Kasperski method. Based on the basic theory of probability and the systematic analysis of the surrounding environment and turbulence, a random variable model for calculating wind load is established. According to the model, through the analysis of the relationship between guarantee rate and wind load, a numerical calculation method to calculate wind load is proposed based on extreme value analysis and polynomial fitting theory. To verify the performance of the algorithm, wind tunnel experiments were carried out to obtain a large number of first-hand measured data of high-rise building (Shanghai World Financial Center). Based on the measured data, the algorithm is simulated, and calculated results are analyzed, including wind pressure distribution on building and probability distribution of fluctuating wind pressure of some measuring points. The validity and accuracy of the proposed model and algorithm are verified by the comparative analysis and theoretical analysis of the calculation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stroke is the leading cause of long-term disability in developed countries. Multitudinous evidence suggests that treadmill training treatment is beneficial for balance and stroke rehabilitation; however, the need for stroke therapy remains unmet. In the present study, a cerebral ischemia rat model was established by permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO) to explore the therapeutic effect and mechanism of scalp acupuncture combined with treadmill training on ischemic stroke. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling and neuronal nuclear protein (NeuN) double staining and cellular inhibitor of apoptosis protein-1 (cIAP1) and NeuN immunofluorescence double staining were used to detect the short-term and long-term neuroprotective effects of scalp acupuncture combined with treadmill training on pMCAO rats. In addition, the antiapoptotic effect of the combined treatment was evaluated in pMCAO rats transfected with cIAP1 shRNA. Western blotting was used to detect the relative protein expression in the caspase-8/-9/-3 activation pathway downstream of cIAP1 to further clarify its regulatory mechanism. Our results showed that scalp acupuncture combined with treadmill training successfully achieved short-term and long-term functional improvement within 14 days after stroke, significantly inhibited neuronal apoptosis, and upregulated the expression of cIAP1 protein in the ischemic penumbra area of the ischemic brain. However, no significant functional improvement and antiapoptotic effect were found in pMCAO rats transfected with cIAP1 shRNA. Western blotting results showed that the combined therapy markedly inhibited the activation of the caspase-8/-9/-3 pathway. These findings indicate that scalp acupuncture combined with treadmill training therapy may serve as a more effective alternative modality in the treatment of ischemic stroke, playing an antiapoptotic role by upregulating the expression of cIAP1 and inhibiting the activation of the caspase-8/-9/-3 pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wind pressure time history of high-rise building cladding is mostly non-Gaussian distribution, and there is a one-to-one correspondence between a specified guarantee rate and its corresponding peak factor. A stepwise search method for calculating the peak factor of non-Gaussian wind pressure and a gradual independent segmentation method for extracting independent peak values have been proposed to determine the relationship accurately in the previous study. Based on the given experiment and calculation results in the existing research results, more analysis can be given to enrich the study on this topic. In this paper, some characteristics of wind pressure coefficient time series in time and frequency domain are analysed. Based on the basic theory of fractal, the R/S analysis of wind pressure time series is made, and the fractal characteristics of wind pressure coefficient time series are explained. Based on the statistical theory, the relationship characteristics between high-order statistics and peak factors are studied. The correlation between the guarantee rate and the corresponding peak factor is analysed, and the guarantee rates calculated by the Davenport peak factor method are evaluated. The power spectrum characteristics of fluctuating wind pressure are analysed and the relationship between turbulence characteristic frequency and optimal observation time interval is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fairness of the benefits of basic medical insurance for the migrants is drawing increasing attention. This paper examined the beneficial equality of the basic medical insurance for the floating population in China using the "2014 National Internal Migrant Dynamic Monitoring Survey." The Heckman model was employed due to selection bias among inpatients, and the random forest algorithm of machine learning was used to analyze the importance of factors affecting the hospitalization decision-making, hospitalization consumption, and reimbursement proportion of the floating population. The results show significant differences in the fairness of basic medical insurance benefits among different income groups, and the highest-income group benefits the most. In contrast, the higher-income group benefits the least. Further verification by introducing the commercial medical insurance indicated that the differences among different income groups did not disappear but reduced the degree of difference among the groups. Although China's healthcare reform has progressed greatly, the study's findings confirm that the government's fair medical insurance can lead to unfair problems and the phenomena of low-income groups subsidizing high-income groups under the equalized basic medical insurance system. Adjusting the design of equalized medical insurance and allowing different income groups to pay different premium levels according to the payment level may be more conducive to the fairness of benefits based on achieving universal health coverage in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind-induced pressures on high-rise buildings claddings are mostly non-Gaussian distribution, and there is a one-to-one relationship between a specified guarantee rate and its corresponding peak factor. In this study, a stepwise search method for calculating the peak factor of non-Gaussian wind pressure and a gradual independent segmentation method for extracting independent peak values are proposed to determine the relationship accurately. Based on the pressure data of a high-rise building obtained from a rigid model wind tunnel test, the peak factors of non-Gaussian wind pressures on claddings are calculated and compared by using several typical methods. The value of the peak factor and its error rate calculated by several methods is compared with the observed average peak value, and the conversion between the guaranteed rate and the peak factor is discussed. Based on the reliability theory, the true distribution of wind pressure time history was approached infinitely through an efficient numerical method in the process of stepwise search. Compared with the classical Sadek–Simiu method, the proposed stepwise search method achieves improved overall accuracy and applicability. The non-Gaussian features are found to be prominent at leading edge airflow separation on the crosswind side, the leeward corner cuts, the windward corner cuts, and the junction of two leeward surfaces at 45° wind direction angle of square section. The junction of two leeward surfaces at 45° wind direction angle exhibits stronger non-Gaussian features than the crosswind surface at 0° wind direction angle. By giving the identical guarantee rate, the peak factors tend to be much larger in the regions with strong non-Gaussian properties and vice versa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the effects of storage time on the sensory and biochemical properties as well as the bacterial community composition of the vacuum‐packaged crab meat shucked by high pressure processing (300 MPa/20 min/25°C) stored at 4°C for 8 days. The aerobic plate count (APC), total volatile base nitrogen (TVBN), and histamine content of crab meat reached 5.71 log CFU/g, 24.50, and 0.99 mg/100 g, respectively, on the 8th day, which was below the reference limit. However, the storage limit was recommended to be 6 days by the sensory evaluation. Among quality indicators, the electronic conductivity presented good correlations with APC, TVBN, histamine content, pH, thiobarbituric acid‐reactive substances (TBARS) value, and sensory evaluation. High‐throughput sequencing showed that the community composition at day 8 was obviously varied from that of the others, and Clostridium was found to be the dominant bacteria at the end of the storage. Industrial relevance: It has been confirmed that HPP shucking has great potential in the segmentation process of crustaceans. HPP shucking can maintain the fresh state of the crab meat and save energy in comparison to the conventional treatment, which could meet the consumers' demand for fresh and minimally processed seafood products. In this work, the shelf life of HPP‐shucked crab meat stored at 4°C was evaluated to be 6 days and Clostridium was dominant in the spoiled meat. These results can provide basic knowledge for the storage and distribution of HPP‐shucked crab meat. Novelty impact statement: The storage quality of HPP‐shucked crab meat was studied, and shelf life of the HPP‐shucked crab meat stored at 4°C was 6 days. The microbial composition at day 8 differed from that of previous time points, and Clostridium was the predominant genera. The electronic conductivity had a good correlation with other indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current performance evaluation works of commercial banks, most of the researches only focus on the relationship between a single characteristic and performance and lack a comprehensive analysis of characteristics. On the other hand, they mainly focus on causal inference and lack systematic quantitative conclusions from the perspective of prediction. This paper is the first to comprehensively investigate the predictability of multidimensional features on commercial bank performance using boosting regression tree. The dimensionality in the financial-related fields is relatively high. There are not only observable price data, financial fundamentals data, etc., but also many unobservable undisclosed data and undisclosed events; more sources of income cannot be explained by existing models. Aiming at the characteristics of commercial bank data, this paper proposes an adaptively reduced step size gradient boosting regression tree algorithm for bank performance evaluation. In this method, a random subsample sampling is performed before training each regression tree. The adaptive reduction step size is used to replace the reduction step size setting of the original algorithm, which overcomes the shortcomings of low accuracy and poor generalization ability of the existing regression decision tree model. Compared to the BIRCH algorithm for classification of existing data, our proposed gradient boosting regression tree algorithm with adaptively reduced step size obtains better classification results. This paper empirically uses data from rural banks in 30 provinces in China to classify the different characteristics of rural banks' performance in order to better evaluate their performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, checkpoint inhibition of the PD-1/PD-L1 axis has been shown to be therapeutically relevant in urothelial carcinoma (UC). To evaluate the predictive and prognostic value of PD-L1 on response and survival in UC patients after cystectomy, chemotherapy, or anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy, a systematic review of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library was performed. A total of 2154 patients from 14 published studies were included. In all UC patients after cystectomy, tumour cell (TC) PD-L1 expression was not associated with the OS or PFS. For the subset of patients with organ-confined disease, TC PD-L1 expression significantly predicted OS after cystectomy (P = 0.0004). There was no significant evidence of an association between TC PD-L1 status and ORR or OS for UC patients treated with platinum-based chemotherapy. For UC patients treated with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy, TC PD-L1 expression ≥ 5 % could predict the response (P = 0.005), but not for the 1% cut-off (P ≥ 0.05). As for PD-L1 expression in tumour-inflating immune cells (TIICs), both subsets with IC2/3 vs. IC0/1 and IC1/2/3 vs. IC0 were associated with ORR to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy. In the TIIC subset, IC2/3 vs. IC0/1 of PD-L1 was associated with higher CR (P = 0.002), PR (P = 0.04), and PD (P = 0.007). Further, higher TIIC PD-L1 status benefited from longer PFS (P < 0.001), but was not associated with OS in UC patients with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy. Our study suggested that TIIC PD-L1 expression with 5% cut-off was valuable as a predictive and prognostic biomarker for ORR and PFS in UC patients with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. We aim to identify the methylation status of delta-like 1 (DLK1) in the placenta and the correlation between DLK1 methylation and maternal serum glucose level and fetal birth weight. Methods. We analyzed the gene expression of DLK1 gene in both maternal and fetal sides of the placenta in a GDM group (n=15) and a control group (n=15) using real-time polymerase chain reaction. With MethylTargetTM technique, we detected the methylation status of DLK1 promotor in the placenta. Furthermore, Pearson's correlation was used to confirm the association of methylation alteration of DLK1 promoter and maternal 2 h OGTT glucose level and fetal birth weight. Results. In our study, we found that DLK1 expression in both maternal and fetal sides of the placenta decreased significantly in GDM group compared with control group, and it was caused by hypermethylation of DLK1 promoter region. Additionally, the methylation status of DLK1 gene in the maternal side of the placenta highly correlated with maternal 2 h OGTT glucose level (coefficient=0.7968, P<0.0001), while the methylation status in the fetal side of the placenta was closely related to fetal birth weight (coefficient=0.6233, P<0.0001). Conclusions. Our results demonstrated that altered expression of DLK1 was caused by the hypermethylation of DLK1 promoter region in the placenta, and intrauterine exposure to GDM has long-lasting effects on the epigenome of the offspring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Although both nonfunctional paraganglioma of the bladder (NPB) and urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB) are subtypes of bladder tumors, they are entirely different entities with distinct tissue origins and anatomical locations. However, NPB is frequently misdiagnosed as UCB chiefly due to the similarities in their clinical characteristics and cystoscopic features. This study aimed to compare the differences in their clinical characteristics and cystoscopic features. Patients and Methods. Between April 2007 and September 2017, 14 patients with NPB (NPB group) were retrieved from 2 centers, and 42 patients with new-onset UCB (UCB group) were randomly retrieved. Demographic, symptomatic, imaging, and cystoscopic data of patients in both groups were collected and compared. Results. NPB group comprised 7 males and 7 females, with a mean age of 43.1 ± 13.6 years. Compared with the UCB group, patients in the NPB group were significantly younger (p<0.001), less likely to be male (p<0.05), and to present with hematuria (p<0.01). However, no significant difference in maximum tumor diameter was observed between the 2 groups (p=0.609). Compared with the UCB group, cystoscopically, patients in the NPB group were significantly more likely to present with hypervascularization but less likely to present with hemorrhage, necrosis, calcification, pedunculation, and multilesion (p<0.05). No patients with NPB were clinically diagnosed correctly before cystoscopy. Of the 5 patients who underwent both cystoscopy and biopsy, 4 were diagnosed with NPB, while 1 remained undiagnosed. Of the remaining 9 patients who underwent cystoscopy only, 5 were diagnosed with nonepithelial tumor, and 4 were misdiagnosed with UCB. Conclusions. Age, sex, and hematuria may provide clues to differentiating NPB from UCB. Differences in cystoscopic features between NPB and UCB are of high diagnostic value. Cystoscopic biopsy should be considered in the preoperative diagnosis of NPB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) is confirmed to regulate the production of nitric oxide (NO) when cells are exposed to external stimulus. Recent publications revealed that overexpression of iNOS predicted poor clinical outcomes for patients with malignant cancers, e.g., gastric, bladder, and colorectal cancers; however, several studies reported no obvious relationship between iNOS expression and prognosis of solid tumors. The aim of our study was to investigate the pooled effect of the prognostic value of iNOS expression. Materials and Methods. We performed a systematic search of PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases up to January 15, 2019. The concerned outcomes of interest included overall survival (OS), cancer-special survival (CSS), and recurrence-free survival (RFS). Results. Fourteen studies with 1,758 patients were included in this meta-analysis, and we reached the conclusion that increased iNOS expression was significantly associated with worse OS (HR: 1.89, 95% CI: 1.57 - 2.28, p ≤ 0.001), worse CSS (HR: 3.13, 95% CI: 1.88 - 5.20, p ≤ 0.001), and worse RFS (HR: 2.16, 95% CI: 1.29 - 3.62, p = 0.003) in solid tumors. Furthermore, the subgroup analysis identified the significant relationship of high iNOS expression with poor OS in gastric cancer. No obvious publication bias was detected by Begg's tests. Conclusion. In summary, the results drawn in our meta-analysis demonstrated that elevated expression of iNOS had a significant association with poor survival in human cancer. iNOS might serve as a promising predictive biomarker of prognosis in cancer patients, and well-designed prospective studies are further needed to substantiate the prognostic value of iNOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. As a newly discovered lncRNA, bladder cancer-associated transcript 1 (BLACAT1) has been reported to correlate with poor clinical outcomes in several different cancers. This study aimed to evaluate its generalized predictive value for cancer prognosis. Materials and Methods. We thoroughly searched PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases for eligible studies published until November 11, 2018, in which the relationship between BLACAT1 expression and cancer prognosis was explored. The analyses were performed using Review Manager Version 5.3 and Stata SE 12.0. The primary endpoints included overall survival (OS), pathological characteristics (TNM stage and tumor grade), lymph node metastasis (LNM), and distant metastasis. Results. Ten studies containing 861 patients with 7 different cancerous diseases were eventually included. The results demonstrated that patients with high lncRNA BLACAT1 expression had a significantly shorter OS (HR: 1.82, 95% CI: 1.44-2.30, p < 0.00001) than patients with low lncRNA BLACAT1 expression. Moreover, elevated BLACAT1 expression was significantly associated with advanced TNM stage (OR: 2.29, 95% CI: 1.15-4.56, p = 0.005), high tumor grade (OR: 1.67, 95% CI: 1.11-2.53, p = 0.01), and lymph node metastasis (OR: 2.53, 95% CI: 1.80-3.57, p < 0.00001). Meanwhile, the expression of BLACAT1 had no significant association with age (p = 0.92), gender (p = 0.55), and smoking (p = 0.62). Conclusion. High expression of lncRNA BLACAT1 may predict a poor prognosis in OS, TNM stage, tumor grade, and LNM. Its predictive roles were not significantly affected by age, gender, or smoking. Therefore, lncRNA BLACAT1 may serve as a promising predictor in cancer prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mudded weak interlayer is a geotechnical sandwich material exhibiting strain softening behavior, which plays an important part in the slope stability. The present work primarily focuses on the shear strength of the mudded weak interlayer in rock slopes. To determine the peak and residual shear strengths of the mudded weak interlayers, the particle flow code (PFC) is used to simulate the failure behavior during the direct shear tests. Laboratory investigations including uniaxial compression test, SEM, and 3D deformation measurement are employed to calibrate the essential micro parameters of the mudded weak interlayer during the simulation process in PFC. The numerical model is built based on these parameters and both the peak and residual shear strengths can be predicted from the model. The prediction results show that the peak and residual internal friction angle are 19.36° and 14.61°, while the peak and residual cohesion are 22.33 kPa and 2.73 kPa, respectively. Moreover, to validate the obtained peak and residual strengths, the results are compared with literature data. The peak and residual shear strengths of the mudded weak interlayer can serve as an important benchmark to evaluate the stability of side slopes and provide guiding suggestions for their reinforcement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is a challenging task for a star sensor to implement star identification and determine the attitude of a spacecraft in the lost-in-space mode. Several algorithms based on triangle method are proposed for star identification in this mode. However, these methods hold great time consumption and large guide star catalog memory size. The star identification performance of these methods requires improvements. To address these problems, a star identification algorithm using planar triangle principal component analysis is presented here. A star pattern is generated based on the planar triangle created by stars within the field of view of a star sensor and the projection of the triangle. Since a projection can determine an index for a unique triangle in the catalog, the adoption of the k-vector range search technique makes this algorithm very fast. In addition, a sharing star validation method is constructed to verify the identification results. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm is more robust than the planar triangle and P-vector algorithms under the same conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essential part of the smart grid development is to connect the main transmission grid with microgrids that consist of distributed generation resources. The integration of microgrids and the transmission grid not only can improve the reliability of the power system operation but also can increase the competition of the electricity market. The effective trading between microgrid agents and a distribution company (DisCo) is consistent with the direction of smart grid development. Developing effective strategy to optimally schedule energy trading between microgrid agents and the DisCo will bring benefits to all parties and promote further development of distributed clean energy. By analyzing the operation characteristics of the electricity market with the addition of microgrid agents as new market participants, this paper presents a bi-level optimization model that aims to maximize the benefits of microgrid agents and a DisCo while considering transmission loss factors from various generators, duality role of the microgrid agents who can either buy electricity from the wholesale market at volatile prices or sell electricity into the market or to its local consumers. The model presented in this paper jointly optimizes the energy schedules of the microgrid agents and the DisCo and determines the bid/offer price at which the microgrid agent buys and sells electricity from/to the DisCo. At last, simulation results are provided to demonstrate the feasibility and application of the proposed two-level optimization model. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of high pressure (100–500 MPa) pretreatment on the properties of reduced salt (1.5% of NaCl, w/w) surimi (RSS) containing 0.8% (w/w) κ‐carrageenan (RSS‐K) gels were investigated. Results showed that the gel strength and water‐holding capacity of RSS‐K gels obtained the maximum value at 300 MPa. The low‐field nuclear magnetic resonance revealed that pretreatment at 300 MPa shortened the T2 spin–spin relaxation time of RSS‐K gels and increased the proportion of immobilized water in gels. Scanning electron microscopy imaging suggested that the 3D network structure of RSS‐K gels became smoother, more continuous and uniform, and denser at 300 MPa. These results indicated that pretreatment at 300 MPa could improve the gel properties by changing the water state and microstructure of RSS‐K gels. Practical applications: Consumers' growing awareness of the reduction of NaCl intake has led the aquatic product processing industry to develop healthier surimi‐based products with lower NaCl. However, the gel‐forming ability of surimi is reduced by less NaCl, so effective technologies are required to facilitate gelation for the improvement of the gel properties. Adding κ‐carrageenan (dietary fiber) and high pressure processing can be a potential method to improve the gel quality of reduced NaCl surimi gel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a case study of a 15-year-old female who was examined fro increasing dyspnea where tranthoracic echocardiography revealed a double orifice mitral valve and aneurysmal masses connected to the free edges of the mitral leaflets.