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Abstract To enhance the resilience of Nanchang’s water supply system and ensure a dependable emergency water supply. Taking youkou emergency groundwater source field as an example, a flow simulation model was developed through an analysis of the hydrogeological conditions in the study area. Additionally, an optimization model based on the genetic algorithm (GA) technique was constructed and integrated into the flow simulation model. Subsequently, various water supply schemes were simulated with the minimum cost of groundwater extraction as the objective function. The results show that the values of the objective function were reduced by 4.92%, 15.67%, and 42.35% for the three different optimization schemes, namely pumping rates, joint pumping rates and the number of wells, and joint pumping rates, number of wells and well location. Ultimately, the optimal emergency water supply scheme was determined by considering a comprehensive range of factors. These factors encompassed considerations such as the area of the water level depression funnel, the dewatering thickness of the aquifer and the recovery of the groundwater level. The practice shows that the simulation–optimization model could effectively simulate complex groundwater flow systems, meeting the objective function and constraints toachieve the optimal exploitation scheme.

In order to understand the resistance loss along the way during multistage high-pressure slurry transportation, the flow state of fly ash slurry in the pipeline was simulated by Fluent software in this paper, and the effects of pipe diameter D, pipe transportation flow rate Q, and fly ash mass concentration Cw on the resistance loss along the pipeline were studied. The fly ash slurry is a non-Newtonian Bingham fluid that moves in a turbulent state in a pipeline. When simulating the flow of fly ash slurry using Fluent software, the mesh type is a mixed mesh of hexahedron and wedge shapes, and the viscous model is selected as realizable k-ε Turbulence Model, with Enhanced-Wall Function (EWF) selected as the wall function, combined with a four-layer boundary layer mesh, which can more accurately capture the details of velocity changes at the wall, thereby improving the accuracy of the model. The inlet of the model is the velocity inlet, and the outlet is the pressure outlet. The coupled algorithm is chosen as the solution method. Under these conditions, the model converges quickly and the calculation accuracy is high. The results show that the resistance loss along the pipeline decreases as a power function with the increase of pipeline diameter, and there is a polynomial relationship between the pipeline flow and the resistance loss along the pipeline, while the mass concentration of fly ash slurry changes linearly with the resistance loss along the pipeline. In addition, three friction coefficient models, namely Blasius formula, Colebrook–White equation, and Wilson–Thomas model, were selected according to the flow characteristics of fly ash slurry. Based on the Blasius formula with the smallest relative calculation error, the Blasius formula was modified by multiple linear regression analysis to improve the accuracy of the frictional resistance coefficient model and to provide help for the design and use of separate layer grouting conveying system.

IntroductionEthylene (ET) is involved in plant responses to viral infection. However, its molecular mechanisms and regulatory network remain largely unknown.Methods and resultsIn the present study, we report that cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV) in watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) triggers ET production by inducing the expression of ClACO5, a key gene of the ET biosynthesis pathway through transcriptome data analysis and gene function validation. The knock-down of ClACO5 expression through virus-induced gene silencing in watermelon and overexpressing ClACO5 in transgenic Nicotiana benthamiana indicated that ClACO5 positively regulates CGMMV resistance and ET biosynthesis. The salicylic acid-responsive transcription factor gene ClWRKY70 shares a similar expression pattern with ClACO5. We demonstrate that ClWRKY70 directly binds to the W-box cis-element in the ClACO5 promoter and enhances its transcription. In addition, ClWRKY70 enhances plant responses to CGMMV infection by regulating ClACO5 expression in watermelon.DiscussionOur results demonstrate that the ClWRKY70-ClACO5 module positively regulates resistance to CGMMV infection in watermelon, shedding new light on the molecular basis of ET accumulation in watermelon in response to CGMMV infection.

Abstract To reduce the chance of being infected by the COVID-19, wearing masks correctly when entering and leaving public places has become the most feasible and effective ways to prevent the spread of the virus. It is a concern to how to quickly and accurately detect whether a face is worn a mask correctly while reduce missed detection and false detection in practical applied scenarios. In this paper, an improved algorithm is proposed based on the YOLO-v4 algorithm. The attention mechanism module is added to the appropriate network level to enhance the key feature points of face wearing masks and suppress useless information. Apart from that, three attention mechanism modules are added to different layers of the YOLO-v4 network for ablation experiments, including CBAM (convolutional block attention module), SENet (squeeze-and-excitation networks) and CANet (coordinate attention networks). The path-aggregation network and feature pyramid are used to extract features from images. Two network models were compared and improved in the experiment, and it is found that adding the dual-channel attention mechanism CBAM before the three YOLO heads of YOLOv4 and in the neck network had better detection performance than the single channel attention mechanism SENet and the coordinated attention mechanism CANet. The experimental results show that when the attention module CBAM and the YOLO-v4 model are integrated, the accuracy of the selected MAFA + WIDER Face dataset reaches the highest value of 93.56%, which is 4.66% higher than that of the original YOLO-v4.

Fruit rot caused by Colletotrichum magnum is a crucial watermelon disease threatening the production and quality. To understand the pathogenic mechanism of C. magnum, we optimized the Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation system (ATMT) for genetic transformation of C. magnum. The transformation efficiency of ATMT was an average of around 245 transformants per 100 million conidia. Southern blot analysis indicated that approximately 75% of the mutants contained a single copy of T-DNA. Pathogenicity test revealed that three mutants completely lost pathogenicity. The T-DNA integration sites (TISs) of three mutants were Identified. In mutant Cm699, the TISs were found in the intron region of the gene, which encoded a protein containing AP-2 complex subunit σ, and simultaneous gene deletions were observed. Two deleted genes encoded the transcription initiation protein SPT3 and a hypothetical protein, respectively. In mutant Cm854, the TISs were found in the 5′-flanking regions of a gene that was similar to the MYO5 encoding Myosin I of Pyricularia oryzae (78%). In mutant Cm1078, the T-DNA was integrated into the exon regions of two adjacent genes. One was 5′-3′ exoribonuclease 1 encoding gene while the other encoded a WD-repeat protein retinoblastoma binding protein 4, the homolog of the MSl1 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Watermelon silver mottle virus (WSMoV) and melon yellow spot virus (MYSV) (Tospoviridae, Orthotospovirus) are responsible for silver mottle mosaic and yellow spot symptoms, posing threats to melon (Cucumis melo), watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), and cucumber and leading to significant economic losses in China. Early disease detection and monitoring of these two viruses are necessary for disease management, for which a rapid, reliable, and adaptable diagnostic method is required. In this study, using a droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) method, the conserved region of the nucleocapsid gene (N gene) sequence was detected in WSMoV and MYSV. The probes and primers for WSMoV and MYSV did not detect other relevant cucurbit viruses, and the specificity reached 100%. Although both qPCR and ddPCR exhibited good reproducibility, the reproducibility of ddPCR was better than that of qPCR. The reproducibility of ddPCR was proved to be 100%. Moreover, ddPCR exhibited a good linear correlation with varying concentrations of targets. The detection limits of WSMoV and MYSV in ddPCR were 18 and 9 copies/μL and were approximately 12- and 18-times more than those in qPCR, respectively. Finally, 62 samples collected from the field (including infected melon, watermelon, and weeds) were further evaluated for the presence of WSMoV and MYSV. The field samples exhibited 91.94% and 51.61% positivity rates in ddPCR assays for WSMoV and MYSV, respectively; the rates were higher than those in qPCR (59.68% and 43.39%, respectively). The results indicated that ddPCR has a higher accuracy than qPCR. Therefore, ddPCR could be used in the clinical diagnosis of early infections of WSMoV and MYSV. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to establish a ddPCR method for the detection of WSMoV and MYSV. The application of this method for differential detection of MYSV and WSMoV will help in understanding the epidemics caused by these two important viruses and provide important information for the early detection, monitoring, and rapid extermination of infection.

The resting potential is the potential difference that exists between the inner and outer sides of the cell membrane when the cell is not stimulated. The resting membrane potential is a key regulator of phenomena such as cell proliferation, morphogenesis, migration and differentiation. In this paper, we proposed a model of electrified cell clusters that considers the resting potential of cell clusters in the resting state. By measuring the potential difference between the inner and outer sides of biological tissues, it is verified that the cell cluster has a negative potential difference when taking the outer potential as the reference. In the absence of external conductors, the tissue is electrically neutral; while in the presence of external conductors, the positive net charges escape freely under repulsive forces and the biological tissues form a negative electrical equilibrium system. The model proposed in this study explored the potential situation above the cellular level in the resting state, providing a new perspective for the research on resting potential.

Abstract Background Mixed cell ovarian adenocarcinoma (MCOA) is a malignant gynecologic tumor consisting of serous, mucous, and papillary tumor cells. However, the clinical features and prognosis of MCOA patients are unclear. Methods In this study, univariate and multivariate Cox proportional risk models were performed to identify independent prognostic factors. The Kaplan–Meier method was used to assess the relationship between clinical characteristics and patient survival. Finally, a nomogram was constructed and validated to predict patient survival time, and the C-index was used to evaluate the efficacy of the nomogram. Results A total of 2,818 patients diagnosed with MCOA were identified, and the 5-year survival rate was 62%. Univariate and multivariate Cox models suggested that age (HR=1.28, 95% CI[1.15,1.44]), grade (HR=1.26, 95% CI[1.12,1.41]), SEER stage (HR=1.63, 95% CI[1.25,2.13]) and AJCC (American Joint Committee on Cancer) stage (HR=1.59, 95% CI[1.36,1.86]) were independent prognostic factors for MCOA patients. After propensity score matching for age, grade, SEER stage, and AJCC stage, the 5-year survival rate was 69.7% for ovarian serous cystadenocarcinoma and 62.9% for ovarian papillary serous cystadenocarcinoma. These results mean that serous adenocarcinoma had the best prognosis of the three pathologic types of ovarian carcinoma (p

Squash leaf curl China virus (SLCCNV) is a bipartite Begomovirus. The function of the protein AC5, which is encoded by SLCCNV, is unknown. Here, we confirmed that the 172-amino acids (aa) long AC5 protein of SLCCNV could suppress single-stranded RNA but not double-stranded RNA-induced post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS). Furthermore, we determined that the C-terminal domain (96–172 aa) of the AC5 protein was responsible for RNA silencing suppressor (RSS) activity via deletion mutant analysis. The AC5 protein can reverse GFP silencing and inhibit systemic silencing of GFP by interfering with the systemic spread of the GFP silencing signal. The SLCCNV AC5 protein was localized to both the nucleus and cytoplasm of Nicotiana benthamiana cells. Furthermore, deletion analysis showed that the putative nuclear localization signal (NLS, 102–155 aa) was crucial for the RNA silencing suppression activity of AC5. In addition, the AC5 protein elicited a hypersensitive response and enhanced potoao virus X (PVX) RNA accumulation in infected N. benthamiana plants. Using the infectious clones of the SLCCNV and SLCCNV-AC5 null mutants, mutational analysis confirmed that knockout of the AC5 gene abolished SLCCNV-induced leaf curl symptoms, showing SLCCNV AC5 is also a virulence determinant.

Background & Aims: Loss of Spectrin beta, non-erythrocytic 1 (SPTBN1) plays an important role in the carcinogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, the mechanisms underlying its involvement remain poorly understood. Defects in autophagy contribute to hepatic tumor formation. Hence, in this study, we explored the role and mechanism of SPTBN1 in the autophagy of hepatic stem cells (HSCs) and HCC cells. Methods: Expansion, autophagy, and malignant transformation of HSCs were detected in the injured liver of Sptbn1+/- mice induced by 3,5-diethoxycarbonyl-1,4-dihydrocollidine treatment. Hippo pathway and Yes-associated protein (YAP) stabilization were examined in isolated HSCs, Huh-7, and PLC/PRF/5 HCC cells and hepatocytes with or without loss of SPTBN1. Results: We found that heterozygous SPTBN1 knockout accelerated liver tumor development with 3,5-diethoxycarbonyl-1,4-dihydrocollidine induction. Rapamycin promoted autophagy in murine HSCs and reversed the increased malignant transformation induced by heterozygous SPTBN1 deletion. Loss of SPTBN1 also decreased autophagy and increased YAP stability and nuclear localization in human HCC cells and tissues, whereas YAP inhibition attenuated the effects of SPTBN1 deficiency on autophagy. Finally, we found that SPTBN1 positively regulated the expression of suppressor of variegation 3-9-enhancer of zeste-trithorax domain containing lysine methyltransferase 7 to promote YAP methylation, which may lead to YAP degradation and inactivation. Conclusions: Our findings provide the first demonstration that loss of SPTBN1 impairs autophagy of HSCs to promote expansion and malignant transformation during hepatocarcinogenesis. SPTBN1 also cooperates with suppressor of variegation 3-9-enhancer of zeste-trithorax domain containing lysine methyltransferase 7 to inactive YAP, resulting in enhanced autophagy of HCC cells. These results may open new avenues targeting SPTBN1 for the prevention and treatment of HCC.

Recombination drives evolution of single-stranded RNA viruses and contributes to virus adaptation to new hosts and environmental conditions. Intraspecific recombinants are common in potyviruses, the largest family of single-stranded RNA viruses, whereas interspecific recombinants are rare. Here, we report an interspecific recombination event between papaya ringspot potyvirus (PRSV) and zucchini tigre mosaic potyvirus (ZTMV), two potyviruses infecting cucurbit crops and sharing similar biological characteristics and close phylogenetic relationship. The PRSV-ZTMV recombinants were detected through small RNA sequencing of viruses infecting cucurbit samples from Guangxi and Henan provinces of China. The complete nucleotide (nt) sequences of the interspecific recombinant viruses were determined using overlapping RT-PCR. Multiple sequence alignment, recombination detection analysis and phylogenetic analysis confirmed the interspecific recombination event, and revealed an additional intraspecific recombination event among ZTMV populations in China. The symptoms and host ranges of two interspecific recombinant isolates, KF8 and CX1, were determined through experimental characterization using cDNA infectious clones. Surveys in 2017 and 2018 indicated that the incidences of the interspecific recombinant virus were 16 and 19.4%, respectively, in cucurbits in Kaifeng of Henan province. The identified interspecific recombinant virus between PRSV and ZTMV and the novel recombination pattern with the recombination site in HC-pro in potyvirid provide insights into the prevalence and evolution of ZTMV and PRSV in cucurbits.

Background: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) reportedly play important roles in biomarker and tumorigenesis of gastric cancer (GC). This study aimed to determine the potential application of prognostic lncRNA signature and identified the role of LINC01614 in carcinogenesis in GC.Material and Methods: Data accessed from the Cancer Genome Atlas database was used to construct a lncRNA signature. Joint effect analysis of the signature and clinical parameters was performed to verify the clinical value of the signature. Co-expression analysis was conducted for prognostic lncRNAs and protein-coding genes. Moreover, the relative expression of LINC01614 was validated in GC tissues and cell lines. In vitro and in vivo experiments were conducted to analyze the biological functions of the newly identified gene in GC cells.Results: A seven-lncRNA (LINC01614, LINC01537, LINC01210, OVAAL, LINC01446, CYMP-AS1, and SCAT8) signature was identified as a promising prognostic signature in GC. Results indicated that the seven-lncRNA was involved in tumorigenesis and progression pathways. LINC01614 expression was identified and found to be upregulated in GC tissues and cells. The study findings revealed that LINC01614 promoted cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Knockdown of LINC01614 arrested cell cycle distribution at the G2/M phase. Further, LINC01614 also promoted tumor growth in vivo.Conclusion: We developed an independent seven-lncRNA biomarker for prognostic prediction and identified LINC01614 as an oncogenic lncRNA in GC.

ObjectivesGastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common malignant tumors. More and more evidences support the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in tumor progression. However, the role of miRNAs in human GC remains largely unknown.MethodsBased on the published gastric cancer expression profile data, combined with bioinformatics analysis, potential miRNAs in the process of GC were screened. The expression of miR-199b-5p in GC cells and patients’ plasma was detected by RT-PCR. The effects of miR-199b-5p on GC in vitro were detected by EdU proliferation assay, colony formation assay, Transwell assay and wound healing assay. Western blot was used to detect epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) related proteins. The subcutaneous tumorigenesis model and metastatic tumor model of mice were used to study its effect in vivo. Bioinformatics and Dual luciferase reporter assay were used to verify the effect of miR-199b-5p and its target gene.ResultsThrough bioinformatics analysis, we screened a novel miRNA miR-199b-5p that was significantly up-regulated in GC tissue and associated with poor prognosis of GC patients. RT-PCR results showed that its expression was also up-regulated in GC cell lines and patients’ plasma. MiR-199b-5p can significantly promote GC cell proliferation and migration in vitro and in vivo. Western blot showed that miR-199b-5p could promote the EMT process of GC. HHIP has been proved to be a target of miR-199b-5p, and the recovery of HHIP can weaken the effect of miR-199b-5p.ConclusionMiR-199b-5p may play an oncogene role in GC by targeting HHIP, suggesting that miR-199b-5p may be a potential therapeutic target for GC.

Angiogenesis is necessary for carcinoma progression and is regulated by a variety of pro- and anti-angiogenesis factors. CircRNAs are RNA molecules that do not have a 5’-cap or a 3’-polyA tail and are involved in a variety of biological functions. While circRNA-mediated regulation of tumor angiogenesis has received much attention, the detailed biological regulatory mechanism remains unclear. In this review, we investigated circRNAs in tumor angiogenesis from multiple perspectives, including its upstream and downstream factors. We believe that circRNAs have natural advantages and great potential for the diagnosis and treatment of tumors, which deserves further exploration.

BackgroundPrimary hepatic carcinoid tumor (PHCT) is rare and has unclear clinical characteristics and prognosis.MethodsA retrospective study using data from the SEER database for patients diagnosed with PHCT used univariate and multivariate Cox models to screen for independent prognostic factors. The outcomes of patients in the surgical and nonsurgical groups were compared, and Propensity Score Matching (PSM) analysis was used to reduce confounder bias.ResultsA total of 186 PHCT patients were identified and the median survival was 65 (95% CI [43.287, 86.713]) months. Tumor size(HR = 2.493, 95% CI[1.222,5.083], p = 0.012), male(HR = 1.690, 95% CI[1.144,2.497], p = 0.008), age(HR = 2.583, 95% CI[1.697,3.930], p < 0.001), SEER stage(HR = 1.555, 95% CI[1.184,2.044], p = 0.002) and surgery(HR = 0.292, 95% CI[0.135,0.634], p = 0.002) were significantly correlated with patient prognosis. In multivariate analysis, sex(HR = 3.206, 95% CI[1.311,7.834], p = 0.011) and surgery(HR = 0.204, 95% CI[0.043,0.966], p = 0.0045) were independent predictors of patient prognosis. Females are potentially susceptible to PHCT but have a better prognosis. With consistent baseline data, surgical patients have a better prognosis.ConclusionsPHCT is uncommon and survival time is longer than that of other primary liver cancers. We found that none-surgery was potentially independent risk factors for poor prognosis.

Peripheral neurotoxicity is a disturbing issue for cancer patients who are treated with chemotherapy. Several medications have been developed for preventing chemotherapy-induced chronic neurotoxicity (CICNT) however; their relative efficacies have not yet been studied. In this study, we conducted a network meta-analysis to give intervention recommendations. The literature was searched in a variety of databases and eligible studies were chosen based on predefined criteria. Data extraction and statistical analysis was performed, and the results are displayed using the odds ratio (OR) and corresponding 95% credible intervals (CrI) with respect to overall and severe neurotoxicity. The medications were ranked according to their surface under cumulative ranking curve values. The consistency of direct and indirect evidence was also evaluated. We found that patients with amifostine or vitamin E (VE) treatment exhibited a lower risk of overall neurotoxicity compared to those using the placebo (amifostine: OR = 0.10, 95% CrI: 0.02–0.46; VE: OR = 0.08, 95% CrI: 0.01–0.99). In regard to preventing severe neurotoxicity, glutathione and amifostine treatment appeared to be significantly more effective than the placebo (glutathione: OR = 0.19, 95% CrI: 0.04–0.64; amifostine: OR = 0.12, 95% CrI: 0.02–0.48). In summary, amifostine, VE, and glutathione treatment is considered to be effective in lowering the risk of CICNT. However, further studies which consider safety are required.

At the request of the Authors, the following article has been retracted. Yang, Jianwei, Zhao, Chunqing, Zhu, Aihua, Yao, Dechen and Wu, Huijie (2016) The reliability estimation for the braking system of high-speed electric multiple units based on Bayes and GO method Advances in Mechanical Engineering published 21 June 2016. doi: 10.1177/1687814016654825

Arsenic is a proven human carcinogen. Although the mechanism of its carcinogenicity is still largely unknown, methylation is thought to have an important role to play in arsenic toxicity. In this study, urinary methylation profiles were investigated in female C57BL/6J black mice given drinking water containing 500 μg arsenate (AsV)/L, 250 μg AsV/L, or 100 μg AsV/L as sodium arsenate for 2 months. The concentrations of arsenic chosen reflected those in the drinking water often encountered in arsenic-endemic areas. Urine samples were collected from the mice at the end of the exposure period, and the arsenic species were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. All detectable arsenic species showed strong linear correlation with the administered dosage. The methylation patterns were similar in all three groups with a slight decrease of dimethylarsinic acid/AsV ratio in the 500-μg/L group, which corresponded to the significantly higher arsenic retention in the tissue. The results indicate that urinary arsenic could be used as a good biomarker for internal dose and potential biological effects. Different doses of arsenic exposure could result in different degrees of methylation, excretion, and tissue retention, and this may contribute to the understanding of arsenic carcinogenicity.

Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV) is one of the most devastating viruses infecting members of the family Cucurbitaceae. The assembly initiation site of CGMMV is located in the coding region of the coat protein, which is not only involved in virion assembly but is also a key factor determining the long-distance movement of the virus. To understand the effect of assembly initiation site and the adjacent region on CGMMV infectivity, we created a GTT deletion mutation in the GAGGTTG assembly initiation site of the infectious clone of CGMMV, which we termed V97 (deletion mutation at residue 97 of coat protein), followed by the construction of the V94A and T104A mutants. We observed that these three mutations caused mosaic after Agrobacterium-mediated transformation in Nicotiana benthamiana, albeit with a significant delay compared to the wild type clone. The mutants also had a common spontaneous E96K mutation in the coat protein. These results indicated that the initial assembly site and the sequence of the adjacent region affected the infectivity of the virus and that E96 might play an essential role in this process. We constructed two single point mutants—E96A and E96K—and three double mutants—V94A-E96K, V97-E96K and T104A-E96K—to further understand the role of E96 in CGMMV pathogenesis. After inoculation in N. benthamiana, E96A showed delayed systemic symptoms, but the E96K and three double mutants exhibited typical symptoms of mosaic at seven days post-infection. Then, sap from CGMMV-infected N. benthamiana leaves was mechanically inoculated on watermelon plants. We confirmed that E96 affected CGMMV infection using double antibody sandwich-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA), reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and sequencing, which further confirmed the successful infection of the related mutants, and that E96K can compensate the effect of the V94, V97, and T104 mutations on virus infectivity. In addition, Northern blotting showed that the accumulation of viral RNA corroborated the severity of the symptoms.

Objectives: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of early postoperative intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) combined with temozolomide chemotherapy in the treatment of patients with malignant glioma. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study 80 patients with glioma surgery admitted to Chengde Central Hospital from January 2019 to January 2021 were selected and divided into two groups according to postoperative treatment: the experimental group and the control group, with 40 cases in each group. Patients in the experimental group received IMRT combined with temozolomide chemotherapy postoperatively, while those in the control group received IMRT alone. The clinical effects of patients were analyzed before treatment and three months after treatment, and the incidence of adverse reactions such as bone marrow suppression, gastrointestinal reactions, fever, and liver dysfunction were analyzed in the two groups within one month after treatment. Before treatment and two months after treatment, MMSE scale, QOL scale and KPS were used to compare the cognitive function and health status of the patients. All patients were followed up for one year after treatment, and the difference of disease progression-free survival and overall survival rate between the two groups was analyzed. Results: The effective rate of the experimental group was 70% after treatment, while that of the control group was 43.3%, with a statistically significant difference (P=0.04). The incidence of adverse reactions was 50% in the experimental group and 40% in the control group, with no statistically significant difference between the two groups (P=0.25). After treatment, MMSE score, QOL score and KPS score of the experimental group were significantly improved compared with those of the control group, with statistically significant differences between the two groups (MMSE score, QOL, P=0.00; KPS, P=0.01). Moreover, the two groups of patients were followed up for one year after treatment. The disease progression-free survival rate of the experimental group was 70% and that of the control group was 47.5%, with a statistically significant difference (P=0.04), and the overall survival rate of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group after treatment, with a statistically significant difference (P=0.03). Conclusion: Early postoperative IMRT combined with temozolomide chemotherapy is an effective treatment regimen for patients with malignant glioma, boasting a variety of advantages such as high efficiency, cognitive function, favorable recovery of health status, significantly improved progression-free survival rate and overall survival rate, and no significant increase in adverse reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the research aim of weak fault diagnosis of metro gearbox, this paper proposed a new method that combines adaptive variable parameter Stochastic Resonance (SR) and under-determined Blind Source Separation (BSS). This method uses Artificial Fish Swarm Algorithm (AFSA) to optimize the parameters automatically in SR system, so the vibration signals with large parameters are transferred into signals with small parameters, then the method processes the signals with small parameters SR system to transfer energy of signals from high frequency to low frequency. Then the method uses Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) to enhance the dimension of single-channel signal so it can satisfy the requirements of BSS operation. Finally, the method uses Hilbert Transform (HT) to find the features to realize the weak fault diagnosis of metro gearbox. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we study the problem of subway gearbox fault that emits a nonlinear and non-stable vibration signal which is difficult to diagnose. We propose a new theoretical method to diagnose this vibration signal. Our method is based on EMD (Empirical Mode Decomposition) and OHF Elman Artificial Neural Network. First, the EMD is used to decompose the original complex signal to obtain Intrinsic Mode Functions (IMF). Then, we construct the feature vectors based on the IMFs. Finally, these feature vectors are input into the OHF Elman neural network as the fault signal samples to train and identify. The experimental results show that the method can identify the faulty gears signal effectively and accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During intracellular recordings in rodent brainstem slice preparations, dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) pyramidal cells (PCs) exhibit characteristic discharge patterns to depolarizing current injection that depend on the membrane potential from which the responses are evoked. When depolarized from hyperpolarized potentials, PCs can respond with a short-latency action potential followed by a long silent interval (pauser) or a train of action potentials with a long latency (buildup). During the silent intervals in a pauser or a buildup response, the membrane potential slowly depolarizes towards spike threshold, often exhibiting distinct voltage oscillations of 1–2 mV before the first spike. The subthreshold voltage oscillations were investigated using whole cell recordings from DCN PCs in rat pup (P10–14) brainstem slices. The oscillations were unaffected by excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter antagonists, and were not temporally locked to the onset of the depolarization. The oscillations typically became larger as spike threshold was approached, and had a characteristic frequency between 40 and 100 Hz. In the presence of tetrodotoxin (TTX, 500 nM), the oscillations were significantly suppressed, and could not be evoked at any voltage below or above spike threshold. The oscillations were not blocked by phenytoin or Cd2+, but they were affected by prior activity in the neuron for approximately 1 s. We conclude that voltage-gated Na+ channels are required to generate membrane oscillations during the buildup phase. We suggest that the subthreshold oscillations play a role in controlling spike timing in PCs when the membrane potential slowly approaches, or hovers near, spike threshold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of early postoperative intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) combined with temozolomide chemotherapy in the treatment of patients with malignant glioma., Methods: In this retrospective cohort study 80 patients with glioma surgery admitted to Chengde Central Hospital from January 2019 to January 2021 were selected and divided into two groups according to postoperative treatment: the experimental group and the control group, with 40 cases in each group. Patients in the experimental group received IMRT combined with temozolomide chemotherapy postoperatively, while those in the control group received IMRT alone. The clinical effects of patients were analyzed before treatment and three months after treatment, and the incidence of adverse reactions such as bone marrow suppression, gastrointestinal reactions, fever, and liver dysfunction were analyzed in the two groups within one month after treatment. Before treatment and two months after treatment, MMSE scale, QOL scale and KPS were used to compare the cognitive function and health status of the patients. All patients were followed up for one year after treatment, and the difference of disease progression-free survival and overall survival rate between the two groups was analyzed., Results: The effective rate of the experimental group was 70% after treatment, while that of the control group was 43.3%, with a statistically significant difference (P=0.04). The incidence of adverse reactions was 50% in the experimental group and 40% in the control group, with no statistically significant difference between the two groups (P=0.25). After treatment, MMSE score, QOL score and KPS score of the experimental group were significantly improved compared with those of the control group, with statistically significant differences between the two groups (MMSE score, QOL, P=0.00; KPS, P=0.01). Moreover, the two groups of patients were followed up for one year after treatment. The disease progression-free survival rate of the experimental group was 70% and that of the control group was 47.5%, with a statistically significant difference (P=0.04), and the overall survival rate of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group after treatment, with a statistically significant difference (P=0.03)., Conclusion: Early postoperative IMRT combined with temozolomide chemotherapy is an effective treatment regimen for patients with malignant glioma, boasting a variety of advantages such as high efficiency, cognitive function, favorable recovery of health status, significantly improved progression-free survival rate and overall survival rate, and no significant increase in adverse reactions., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: None., (Copyright: © Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences.)