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Laparoscopic liver resection (LLR) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains controversial, especially for tumors larger than 5 cm. We compared the short- and long-term outcomes of laparoscopic and open liver resection (OLR) for large HCC.Patients with large HCC after curative hepatectomy were enrolled. To compare the short-term outcomes, propensity score matching (PSM) and inverse probability treatment weighting (IPTW) were performed to reduce the effect of confounding factors, respectively. Subsequently, Cox-regression analyses were conducted to identify the independent risk factors associated with decreased recurrence-free survival (RFS) and poor overall survival (OS).There were 265 patients enrolled in the final analysis: 146 who underwent OLR and 119 who underwent LLR. There was no significant difference between the OLR and LLR groups according to PSM and IPTW analysis (all P 0.05). Multivariable analysis revealed that LLR was not independently associated with poorer OS (HR 1.15, 95% CI 0.80-1.67, P = 0.448) or RFS (HR 1.22, 95% CI 0.88-1.70, P = 0.238).There were no significant differences in perioperative complications or long-term prognosis between LLR and OLR for large HCC, which provides evidence for standard laparoscopic surgical practice with adequate surgeon experience and careful patient selection.

Primary liver cancer is the second leading cause of tumor-related deaths in China, with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounting for 80%–90% of these. Since there is a lack of symptoms in the early stages of HCC, a large proportion of patients were identified with unresectable HCC when diagnosed. Due to the severe resistance to chemotherapy, patients with advanced HCC were traditionally treated with systematic therapy in the past decades, and the tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) sorafenib has remained the only treatment option for advanced HCC since 2008. Immunotherapies, particularly immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), have shown a strong anti-tumor effect and have been supported by several guidelines recently. ICIs, for example programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) inhibitors such as nivolumab and pembrolizumab, programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors such as atezolizumab, and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) inhibitors such as ipilimumab, the ICI-based combination with TKIs, and VEGF-neutralizing antibody or systematic or local anti-tumor therapies, are being further studied in clinical trials. However, immune-related adverse events (irAEs) including cutaneous toxicity, gastrointestinal toxicity, and hepatotoxicity may lead to the termination of ICI treatment or even threaten patients’ lives. This review aims to summarize currently available immunotherapies and introduce the irAEs and their managements in order to provide references for clinical application and further research.

Although anatomical hepatectomy (AH) is widely used in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the prognosis is still unsatisfactory. The present study aimed to evaluate the survival benefit of adjuvant transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) for patients with HCC after AH. A total of 832 patients were stratified into with adjuvant TACE (443, 53.2%) and without adjuvant TACE group (389, 46.8%) AH. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to control for confounding factors, and multivariable Cox regression was performed to determine the independent risk factors. After PSM, the results showed that the adjuvant TACE group had better overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS). Among the patients with tumor recurrence, adjuvant TACE was associated with a high rate of early-stage tumor at recurrence, a lower recurrence rate around the frontal margin and extrahepatic metastases, and a higher rate of receiving curative treatment. Multivariable Cox regression analysis showed that adjuvant TACE was an independent prognostic factor for OS (HR 0.673, P = 0.001) and RFS (HR 0.650, P = 0.001). Patients with HCC after AH can benefit from postoperative adjuvant TACE. Therefore, adjuvant TACE should be considered for patients with a high risk of recurrence.

To observe the effect of warm acupuncture on the expression of Janus protein tyrosine kinase 2/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (JAK2/STAT3) signaling pathway and inflammatory factors of articular cartilage in rabbits with knee osteoarthritis (KOA), so as to explore its underlying mechanisms in improving KOA.New Zea-land rabbits were randomly divided into blank, model, warm acupuncture and medication groups (12 rabbits in each group). The KOA model was prepared by using the right hind limb tubular plaster extension fixation method. The rabbits in the warm acupuncture group received acupuncture of "Neixiyan"(EX-LE4),"Waixiyan"(ST35),"Heding"(EX-LE2) and "Zusanli"(ST36), followed by attaching an ignited moxa-stick segment to the acupuncture-handle. The treatment was conducted for 15 min, once a week for 4 weeks. The rabbits in the medication group received gavage of diclofenac sodium solution(0.35 mg/kg), once daily for 4 weeks. The dysfunction severity state of the rabbit's knee-joint was evaluated using Lequesne scale (0-3 points), and the histopathological changes of cartilage were observed under microscope after H.E. staining and the state of distribution of chondrocytes in different layers and the extracellular matrix was assessed using Mankin score (0-6 points). The contents of serum interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) were measured by using ELISA, and the expression levels of p-JAK2/JAK2, p-STAT3/STAT3 and MMP-9 in knee cartilage tissue were detected using Western blot.Compared with the blank group, the Lequesne score, Mankin score, and the contents of serum IL-6, TNF-α and MMP-9, and the ratios of p-JAK2/JAK2 and p-STAT3/STAT3, and the expression level of MMP-9 protein in knee cartilage tissue were significantly increased in the model group (Warm acupuncture can improve motor function and reduce cartilage injury in KOA rabbits, which may be related to its functions in inhibiting the secretion of pro-inflammatory factors and regulating JAK2/STAT3 signaling and downregulating MMP-9 expression in the cartilage tissue.

Background Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is common among adolescents and young adults (AYAs) in areas with endemic hepatitis B virus infection. We sought to characterize clinical features and long-term outcomes among AYAs versus older adults (OAs) who underwent HCC resection. Methods From a Chinese multicenter database, patients were categorized as AYA (aged 13–39 years) versus OA (aged ≥40 years). Patient clinical features, perioperative outcomes, overall survival (OS) and time-to-recurrence (TTR) were compared. Multivariable Cox-regression analyses were performed to identify the impact of age on OS and TTR. Results Among 1952 patients, 354(22.2%) were AYAs. AYAs were less likely to have cirrhosis yet were likely to have advanced tumor pathological characteristics than OAs. Postoperative morbidity and mortality were comparable. Compared with OAs, AYAs had a comparable OS but a decreased TTR. Multivariable analyses identified that young age ( Conclusions Compared with OAs, AYAs had a higher incidence of recurrence following liver resection among patients with HCC, suggesting that enhanced surveillance for postoperative recurrence may be required among AYAs.

The endophytic fungus Nigrospora sphaerica S5 derived from the semi-mangrove plant Myoporum bontioides was fermented. Its metabolites were purified by column chromatography. Nine compounds were obtained and identified as terezine P(1), 3-(1-hydroxyethyl)-4-methyl dihydrofuran-2(3H)-one(2), methylhydroheptelidate(3), hydroheptelidic acid(4), 5, 7-dimethoxy-4, 6-dimethylphthalide(5),(3R,4S)-(-)-4-hydroxymellein(6), pestalopyrone(7), indole-3-formaldehyde(8) and p-hydroxybenzaldehyde(9) by spectroscopic techniques. Terezine P(1) was a new alkaloid belonging to the terezine class with a pyrazine ring. Compounds 2-7 were lactones, of which 3 and 4 belonged to sesquiterpenes. Compounds 8 and 9 were indole alkaloids and phenols, respectively. Compounds 3-6 were purified from Nigrospora sp. for the first time. These compounds showed different degrees of antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli of O6 serotype and E. coli of O78 serotype.

Quantum coherence, coming from quantum superposition, occupies a significant position in the field of physics. We put forward a lower bound of the robustness of multilevel coherence mathematically by optimizing the coherence witnesses via semi-definite programming, which can be direct and easy to evaluate and experimentally accessible. A numerical example is supplemented to illustrate the efficiency of the presented bound.

The bearing behavior of suction caissons supporting offshore wind turbines under two-way cyclic lateral loading and dead load in clay was investigated with consideration of soil strength degradation and adhesive interface friction between caisson walls and heterogeneous clay using the finite-element package ABAQUS. An ABAQUS built-in user subroutine was programmed to calculate the adhesive interface friction between clay and caisson walls. The results of parametric studies showed that the degradation of bearing capacity could be aggravated by the decrease of the aspect ratio. The offset between the rotation point of the soil inside the caisson and the central axis of the caisson increased with the increasing vertical load and number of cycles. The linearly increasing strength profile and adhesive interface led to the formation of an inverted spoon failure zone inside the caisson. The settlement-rotation curves in each cycle moved downwards with increasing number of cycles due to the soil strength degradation.

Although traditional functionally graded materials (FGMs) have weakened a certain extent abrupt changes along interfaces between layers, eliminating residual abrupt interfaces which results in great inter laminar stresses remains a major challenge. Herein, ceramic scaffolds with novel continuously graded channels have been firstly prepared through combining layer-by-layer casting with gelation-freeze-dry. Followed by infiltrating soft phase, the co-continuous FGMs without delamination and abrupt changes between layers can be successfully fabricated. The wet layering of suspensions and continuous ice crystals across the interface are the main reasons for the eliminated interfaces. More importantly, the performance of FGMs can be optimized to meet the practical requirement attributed to the varied porosity and pore size distribution of freeze-cast ceramic scaffolds. The novel process for co-continuous ceramics/ FGMs without abrupt interfaces can be extended to other polymers or even metals.

In recent years, computational intelligence has been widely used in many fields and achieved remarkable performance. Evolutionary computing and deep learning are important branches of computational intelligence. Many methods based on evolutionary computation and deep learning have achieved good performance in remote sensing image registration. This paper introduces the application of computational intelligence in remote sensing image registration from the two directions of evolutionary computing and deep learning. In the part of remote sensing image registration based on evolutionary calculation, the principles of evolutionary algorithms and swarm intelligence algorithms are elaborated and their application in remote sensing image registration is discussed. The application of deep learning in remote sensing image registration is also discussed. At the same time, the development status and future of remote sensing image registration are summarized and their prospects are examined.

Background: TJAB1099 is a novel, highly active inhibitor of human enterovirus 71 (HEV71), which is a most commonly found virus leading to Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease (HFMD). However, the TJAB1099 could not be detected in the plasma using a regular HPLC-UV detection during the pharmacokinetic study due to the poor solubility, which in turn limited the release prior to be absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract. Objective: The objectives of the present study were to improve the solubility of TJAB1099 by preparing formulation and develop an Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method applied to the pharmacokinetic study. Methods: The TJAB1099 was prepared as a phospholipid complex that intends to increase the watersolubility and subsequently improving TJAB1099 exposed in the circulation system. A highly sensitive UPLC-MS/MS method was developed for the pharmacokinetic study, in which the pharmacokinetic parameters were determined following oral and intravenous administration of 5 mg/kg and 1 mg/kg of TJAB1099 in rats, respectively. Results: The precisions for the method were less than 12.8%, while the accuracies were in the range of 90.8 - 98.0% and 96.1 - 99.6% for within-day and between-day, respectively. The mean recoveries for TJAB1099 and terfenadine (internal-standard, IS) were 85.0 ± 5.4% and 92.4 ± 4.1%, respectively. The pharmacokinetic study revealed that the Cmax of TJAB1099 after oral administration can reach 6.84 ± 2.43 ng/mL, while the Tmax is 0.70 ± 0.11 h. The AUC0-12 is 19.81 ± 11.07 µg/mL/h. However, the absorption was poor with an absolute oral bioavailability of 0.62. Conclusion: The UPLC-MS/MS method was successfully applied in the pharmacokinetic study of TJAB1099 in rats.

To explore the molecular mechanism of warming moxibustion (WM) in knee osteoarthritis (KOA).The knee joints of 40 New Zealand rabbits were placed in a plaster cast in an extended position to establish a KOA model. The animals were randomly divided into four groups: the control group, model group, WM group, and diclofenac (DF) group. Hematoxylin-eosin staining and the modified Mankin score were applied to evaluate the histopathological changes. Chondrocyte apoptosis was determined by the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay. Western blotting and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction were performed to measure the expression of interleukin-1α (IL-1β), prostaglandin E receptor 3 (PTGER3), a disintegrin-like and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin type-1 motifs-5 (ADAMTS-5), matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13), and C-terminal telopeptides of collagen type II (CTX-II) in cartilage tissues of the different groups. The concentrations of IL-1β, PTGER3, and CTX-II in serum were detected by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Rabbits with KOA in the WM and DF groups showed significantly reduced cartilage erosion and Mankin scores, compared with the untreated rabbits. The number of TUNEL-positive cells observed in the WM group was much fewer than that in the model group. The expression of PTGER3, MMP-13, CTX-II IL-1β, and ADAMTS-5 in cartilage tissues was remarkably downregulated following therapy with WM and DF. Moreover, a marked reduction was observed in the serum levels of IL-1β, PTGER3, and CTX-II in the WM and DF groups.WM exerts favorable therapeutic effects on articular injuries of KOA by regulating the expression of inflammatory and cartilage degradation-related cytokines.

Hand-foot-mouth disease may cause severe central nervous system complications and even death, that is induced mainly by enterovirus 71 (EV71), which is a non-enveloped virus. Inactivation of the EV71 on hands could effectively inhibit the transmission. However, the inactivations of the EV71 by conventional disinfectants including the alcohols are poor, due to the high stability of the EV71. A novel pyridyl imidazolidinone compound (TJAB1099) was designed to specifically inhibit EV71 replication in vitro. It may potentially be developed as formulations applied on hands for EV71 transmission control.The stress stability of TJAB1099 was first evaluated after storing in high temperature (60 °C, RH 10%), high humidity (25 °C, RH90%), and the high-intensity photolysis (4500 Lx ± 500 Lx) for 15 days, respectively. A wash-free antimicrobial gel containing the TJAB1099 was developed using the copolymer carrier. The antiviral activity, the acute oral toxicity, and the local irritation of the antimicrobial gel were evaluated accordingly.The results indicated that the TJAB1099 was stable during the storage in high temperature and humidity. However, a significant change (p .0001) was detected when TJAB1099 stored in the high-intensity photolysis. The antimicrobial gel containing 1 μM TJAB1099 could inhibit EV71 significantly higher than the ethanol (75%) (p .0001) and commercialized disinfectant products (p .0001). The results of acute oral toxicity and the local irritation suggest that the TJAB1099 containing antimicrobial gel was not causing skin irritations and acute oral toxicity symptoms.The results suggest that the antimicrobial gel containing TJAB1099 was safe and could effectively inhibit EV71 transmission in vitro.

The pile foundation under a high-speed railway (HSR) not only bears the self-weight of the superstructure, but also bears a long-term vertical periodic load during its service. In this study, a large-scale vertical dynamic load test and particle flow numerical simulation method were adopted to investigate the axial cyclic performances of open piles in sand. The results from the dynamic test show that under a dynamic load with cyclic load ratios of 0.1 and 0.2, the surface displacement of the pile decays rapidly as the pile distance increases. Moreover, the higher the vibration amplitude and frequency, the larger the surface displacement. The influence range of the soil around the pile is approximately six times of the pile diameter. It is also found that the external frictional resistance of the upper part of the pile decreases, whereas that of the middle part increases. In addition, the internal friction resistance of the lower part of the pile decreases and gradually stabilizes after approximately 200 cycles. The simulation results show that the influence range of the pile on the surrounding soil is approximately 5–8 times the diameter of the pile under the action of dynamic loading; the vertical displacement of the pile mainly occurs at the beginning of the cycles. The total settlement of the pile foundation increases with an increase in the cyclic load ratio. With an increase in the cycle period, the friction resistance values on the outside of the pile and middle part significantly decrease and increase, respectively. After 10 cycles, the resistance gradually stabilizes, and no evident changes in the internal friction resistance of the pile are observed.

To observe the effect of warm needle with moxibustion (WNM) on morphological changes of articular cartilage and subchondral bone tissues in knee osteoarthritis (KOA) rabbits, so as to explore whether WNM intervention can delay the development of KOA.Forty male New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into blank control, model, WNM and medication (Alendronate sodium) groups, with 10 rabbits in each group. A KOA model was established by immobilizing the right hind limb of rabbits with orthopedic casting tape for 6 weeks. The rabbits of the WNM group received WNM stimulation at "Neixiyan"(EX-LE4) "Waixiyan"(ST35) and "Heding"(EX-LE2) for 15 min, once a day for 4 weeks and those of the medication group received gavage of Alendronate sodium (150 μg·kg-1·d-1) once a day for 4 weeks. X-ray examination and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning were performed to observe the structure of the knee joints. Outcomes of X-ray examination were used to assess the degree of bone hyperplasia and joint space stenosis which were scaled according to Kellgren and Lawrence (K-L) standards, and those of MRI used to evaluate the degree of cartilage damage and bone marrow edema degrees which were respectively scored according to Recht scaling standards and semi-quantitative whole-organ MRI score (WORMS). Histopathological changes (degeneration degrees) of the articular cartilage were observed after H.E. staining, and given Mankin score. The ultrastructure of the cartilage surface and chondrocytes was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively.Compared with the blank control group, the K-L grade, Recht grade, WORMS and Mankin score of the model group were significantly increased (P0.05,P0.01). After the intervention and in comparison with the model group, the K-L grade, Recht grade, WORMS and Mankin score of both WNM and medication groups were significantly decreased (P0.05,P0.01). Results of SEM showed severe defect, bulge and uneven surface of the cartilage with irregular growth and regeneration, and those of TEM showed degeneration and swelling of chondrocytes, margination of endonuclear chromatin, reduction in the number of organelles with disordered arrangement, extreme expansion of endoplasmic reticulum with detachment of the ribosome, unclear mitochondria, and disordered distribution of collagen fibers in the extracellular matrix in the model group, which was relatively milder in both the WNM and medication groups. Compared with the medication group, the Mankin score in the WNM group was evidently lower (P0.05).WNM can effectively slow down the degeneration of cartilage and subchondral bone of KOA rabbits, delay the development of KOA.

MicroRNA (miR)-26a-5p is an oncogene significantly associated with osteosarcoma. We try to evaluate expression of circulating miR-26a-5p in osteosarcoma patients and evaluate its significance.A total of 243 consecutive osteosarcoma patients and 96 healthy participates were enrolled. Circulating miR-26a-5p levels were evaluated by using real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reactions (RT-PCR). The association between circulating miR-26a-5p level and survival outcomes was evaluated by univariate and multivariate analysis.Circulating miR-26a-5p levels in osteosarcoma patients was significantly higher than that of healthy volunteers (P < .05). Upregulated miR-26a-5p was significantly related to advanced cancer and metastasis (both P < .05). Moreover, patients with a high serum miR-26a-5p had a poorer overall survival than those with a low serum miR-26a-5p levels (P < .05). Circulating miR-26a-5p level also been showed as independent risk factor for osteosarcoma in multivariate analysis (hazard ratio [HR], 0.38; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.11-0.98; P < .01).Circulating miR-26a-5p was significantly upregulated in osteosarcoma patients and remarkably associated with poor prognosis, indicating that circulating miR-26a-5p might serve as a useful diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for osteosarcoma.

Generating body movements based on given music audio recordings is an emerging research topic. This problem remains challenging particularly for string instruments, considering the fact that the relationship between the musical note sequences and the body movement sequences in string instruments does not have an one-to-one correspondence and is highly context-dependent. In this paper, we take a divide-and-rule approach to tackle the multifaceted characteristics of musical movement, and propose a framework for generating violinists’ body movements. Both objective and subjective evaluations show that the proposed framework improves the stability as well as the perceptual quality of the generation outputs by using the task-specific models for bowing and expressive movement. To the best of our knowledge, this work represents the first attempt to generate violinists’ body movements considering music expression.

Introduction Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is common among adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in areas with endemic HBV. We sought to characterize clinical features and long-term oncologic outcomes among AYAs versus older adults (OAs) who underwent liver resection for HCC. Methods Patients undergoing curative-intent liver resection for HCC were identified using a Chinese multicenter database; patients were categorized as AYA (aged 13-39 years) versus OA (aged ≥ 40 years). Patient clinical features, perioperative outcomes, overall survival (OS) and time-to-recurrence (TTR) were evaluated and compared. Multivariable Cox-regression analyses were performed to identify the impact of age relative to the risk factors associated with OS and TTR. Results Among 1,952 patients with HCC who underwent resection, 354 (22.2%) were AYAs. AYAs were less likely to have cirrhosis or portal hypertension yet were likely to have advanced tumor pathological characteristics than OAs. Although major hepatectomy was more often performed in the AYA group, postoperative morbidity and mortality were comparable between the AYA and OA groups. Compared with OAs, the AYAs had a comparable OS (median: 88.8 vs. 93.2 months, p = 0.305) but a decreased TTR (median: 35.6 vs. 50.7 months, p = 0.029). After adjustment for other confounding factors on multivariable analyses, young age (< 40 years) was independently associated with poorer TTR (hazard ratio: 1.35, 95% confidence interval: 1.08-1.69, p = 0.009) but not OS (p = 0.15). Conclusions Compared with OAs, AYAs had a higher incidence of recurrence following liver resection among Chinese patients with HCC, suggesting that enhanced surveillance for postoperative recurrence may be required among.

Due to multiple length-scale and gradient microstructures, numerous living organisms have optimized performance. Herein, inspired by the gradient structure of nacre , biomimetic materials with gradient microstructure were attempted to be created via overcoming the challenges of limited methods. The combination of layer-by-layer casting and gelation-freeze-drying were firstly used to produce ceramic scaffolds with continuously graded channels, followed by infiltrating molten alloy into the scaffolds, new B 4 C/2024Al bi-continuously functionally graded materials (FGMs) equipped with nacre-like and multicomponent gradient structures were developed. Since continuous ice crystals grew across the interface between layers and the around ceramic particles were rearranged during the solidification of the layered wet suspension, abrupt interfaces between layers were effectively eliminated in the scaffolds and final FGMs. Importantly, these unique structures not only provide an exceptional combination of strength and toughness but also allow for a smooth transition of properties. Our feasible approach paves a novel avenue to create FGMs in terms of biomimetic structures with high-performance.

With the acceleration of urbanization, the underground pipe gallery has gradually changed from traditional management to intelligent management. Real-time monitoring of underground pipe gallery can be realized by making good use of ground penetrating communication technology. In order to provide reference for the research of magnetic induction wisdom pipe gallery, this paper summarizes the common ground penetrating communication technology in China. In addition, the application of the increasingly mature technology of magnetic penetration technology in the field of intelligent pipe gallery is expounded.

Electricity not only plays a vital role in our daily lives, but it is also extremely important in national economic and social development. Accurate electric load forecasting can help electric power industry to secure electricity supply and use scheduling to reduce waste of electricity. In this paper, we propose a novel hybrid machine learning combining long short time memory and gradient descent approach to forecast the future hourly electricity demand of northern Taiwan. Furthermore, Random forest is applied to explore the influence of temperature of each city in northern Taiwan and features of electric load and remove irrelevant factors. The experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed hybrid machine learning approach. The average error percentage of load forecast is less than 2.5%.

Two new phthalide derivatives, angesinenolides A and B (1 and 2), were isolated from the roots of Angelica sinensis. Their structures were elucidated using HRMS, NMR, and X-ray crystallographic data. Compound 1 is the first example of a phthalide trimer presumably formed through two [2+2] cycloaddition reactions. Compound 2 is a unique dimeric phthalide with a peroxy bridge between C-3a and C-6. Both phthalides were evaluated for in vitro anticoagulation activities. Compound 1 reduced the level of fibrinogen (FIB). Compound 2 significantly extended thrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time, as well as markedly reduced the content of FIB.

This paper presents a two-dimensional particle flow code (PFC2D) model of the discrete element method (DEM) that is used to study the effects of pile installation in deep foundation. It is accepted widely that installation method affects pile behaviour, but there are still limited studies that compare and analyse the impacts systematically. In this paper, the DEM is used to explain the pile behaviour installed in granular soils. A rigid bored pile and a rigid driven pile of the same geometry were installed into an assembly of granular soil modelled under a high gravitation force. Behaviour of the driven pile during penetration compares well with published data, and the numerical data also provides further insights of the soil–pile interaction during the penetration process. After pile installation, comparisons of the subsequent pile-loading behaviour were made, showing different contributions of shaft and end bearing resistance between the bored pile and the driven pile. Furthermore, the impacts of having different pile weights and different soil friction angles were discussed. When considering the same pile and soil friction, the driven pile performed better in the pile load test because the soil was compressed during the driving process. In particular, it was found that the soil friction affects the bored pile and the driven pile in a different manner such that soil friction will take effect after certain depth for bored pile, however, it will have an impact at the beginning for driven pile. Micro-scale sliding fraction of the particles near the two piles was also used to explain the observed phenomena.

Soil samples were collected from an alpine coniferous forest. Soil cores with soil organic layer above and mineral soil layer below were incubated in plant growth chambers during 10 weeks. Taking the annual average soil temperature in the alpine forest as the control, and other two levels of temperature were increased 2 and 4 ℃, respectively, to investigate the responses of soil microbial community and soil enzyme activity to warming. The results showed that warming significantly reduced PLFAs content of bacteria in soil organic layer and PLFAs content of G将高山森林土壤装入PVC管中(土壤有机层在上、矿质土壤层在下)培养10周,以高山森林土壤年均温为对照,采用室内人工气候箱分别模拟增温2和4 ℃,研究土壤微生物群落和土壤酶活性对温度升高的响应.结果表明: 温度升高显著降低了土壤有机层中细菌、矿质土壤层中革兰氏阴性菌(G

This paper presents a distinct element method study on the installation effects of rigid driven open-ended piles subjected to force-control. A two-dimensional model of granular assembly is developed using the particle flow code. The model is generated under high gravity to simulate a deep foundation. The soil plugs of three types of open-ended piles were analysed, and the lateral stresses of different depths were shown.

A new stationary phase for iodide ion analysis has been developed. The cationic polymer-epichlorohydrin-dimethylamine (PEPI-DMA) was served as modifier in synthesizing polyelectrolyte sorbents and the macroporous polystyrene-divinylbenzene (PS-DVB) resin was used as support. The positively charged polymer (PEPI-DMA) was electrostatically bonded to a negatively charged particle (PS-DVB sulfonated). The new stationary phase was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), elemental analysis, chemical adsorption and desorption measurements. The chromatographic evaluation of the new stationary phase was performed using various anions with a conductivity detector. The new stationary phase was also applied to the determination of iodide directly with a DC amperometric detector using a platinum working electrode and an Ag/AgCl reference electrode. The chromatographic conditions were optimized and the eluent solution contained 5 mmol/L HNO 3 and 15 mmol/L NaNO 3 at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min and column temperature of 30 °C. The applied voltage of the DC amperometric detector was 0.9 V. Under the optimum conditions, the linear range of the method was 0.2–50 mg/L for iodide ion with a correlation coefficient of 0.9990. The detection limit was 0.05 mg/L (calculated at S/N = 3) and the relative standard deviations (RSD, n = 6) were all less than 1% for retention time, peak area and peak height. This method was also utilized for the determination of iodide ions in samples of povidone iodine solution and kelp samples with satisfactory results.

Increasing evidence indicates that the tumor microenvironment has critical roles in all aspects of cancer biology, including growth, angiogenesis, metastasis and progression. Although chemokines and their receptors were originally identified as mediators of inflammatory diseases, it is being increasingly recognized that they serve as critical communication bridges between tumor cells and stromal cells to create a permissive microenvironment for tumor growth and metastasis. Thus, an important therapeutic strategy for cancer is to break this communication channel and isolate tumor cells for long-term elimination. Cytokine CXCL12 (also known as stromal-derived factor 1α) and its receptor CXCR4 represent the most promising actionable targets for this strategy. Both are overexpressed in various cancer types, and this aberrant expression strongly promotes proliferation, migration and invasion through multiple signal pathways. Several molecules that target CXCL12 or CXCR4 have been developed to interfere with tumor growth and metastasis. In this article, we review our current understanding of the CXCL12/CXCR4 axis in cancer tumorigenesis and progression and discuss its therapeutic implications.

Using the method of expanding diameter in low temperature and water bath heating, this paper studied the effect of pre-deformation strain on shape memory recovery characteristics of Ni47Ti44Nb9 alloy Φ8 mm pipe joint. The results showed that the transformation hysteresis was relative stable along with the pre-deformation strain more than 12.1%, which was 130°C. And the radial recoverable strain got maximum value 8.4% when the pre-deformation strain was in 10.8%~12.5%. But the radial recovery rate of inside diameter declined smoothly with the pre-deformation strain. Systems considering the three parameters of transformation hysteresis, recoverable strain and strain recovery rate, it seemed the excellent predeformed strain for Ni47Ti44Nb9 alloy Φ8 mm pipe joint was just in 12%~17%.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the incidence of depression and anxiety caused by pegylated interferon α (PegIFN-α)treatment for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and assess the efficacy of intervention with escitalopram and alprazolam. METHODS: Atotal of 165 CHB patients receiving PegIFN-α-based treatment for 12 weeks were assessed for moderate to severe depressionand anxiety using Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7)]. Thepatients identified to have moderate to severe depression and anxiety treated with escitalopram or alprazolam and thepsychological condition of the patients was assessed at the 2nd, 4th and 8th weeks of the treatments. RESULTS: In the 165patients receiving PegIFN-α treatment, 51 patients developed moderate to severe psychiatric symptoms, incuding 37 (22.4%)with depression, 31 (18.8%) with anxiety, and 17 (10.3%) with both. The symptoms of depression and anxiety was bothsignificantly improved by intervention with escitalopram (P=0.000); alprazolam was effective for anxiety (P=0.001) but did notproduce obvious effects on depression (P=0.904). Nevertheless, alprazolam had a much better therapeutic effect thanescitalopram on anxiety in these patients (t=-3.198, P=0.010). CONCLUSION: Psychological symptoms are common in CHBpatients receiving PegIFN-α treatment. The symptoms of depression and anxiety can be ameliorated by intervention withescitalopram and alprazolam, respectively.

The sliding interaction between the sand and the surface of the structure is involved in many aspects of geotechnical engineering and is particularly important for the derivation of the shaft capacity of piles. A constant normal stiffness direct shear apparatus is designed and applied herein to research the soil-structure interface weakening mechanism under cyclic loading. The test results show that the sand-concrete shear stress and normal stress change in the "Hysteresis loop" and "Butterfly" trends with shear displacement respectively in a complete shear cycle. The difference of adjacent "Hysteresis loop" or "Butterfly" is evident in the initial stage of cyclic shear, but tends to gentle after 15 cycles. The evident decays of both the shear stress and the maximum normal stress take place during cyclic shearing, which is approximately logarithmically with the shear cycles. The shear strength of the interface is approximately linear with the normal stress under different cycles. The percentage of particle breakage is between 5.5% and 6% of the original sand after 20 shearing cycles. The percentage of particle breakage and the degeneration rate of shear stress and normal stress increase with the increase of the initial normal stress and the amplitude of shear displacement.

In this paper, characteristics of SMA were analyzed and the research basis was researched. The connecting mechanism and mechanism of pipe coupling was introduced. Otherwise, in our research, after connecting by pipe coupling, the pipe can endure high pressure and occur blasting when the pressure reaches to 84MPa.

In this research, the Effect of extrusion pass on microstructure and transformation temperature of NiTiNb alloy was researched. The results shows that ECAP can efficiently break the hard and brittle (Ti, Nb)2Ni phase. At the same time, β-Nb phase particles were precipitated and grow up after ECAP process.Due to enhancement of interfacial energy, train energy and non-chemical free energy, transformation temperatures including: As, Af, Ms and Mf increases with extrusion pass.

Zirconia has been widely concerned in dental restoration duo to its excellent properties, but its high hardness make direct milling inefficient, while pre-sintering zirconia has good machinability. By single factor experiment in high-speed finish milling on 900°C pre-sintering zirconia, effect of four milling process parameters’ change on surface roughness was analyzed, and process sensitivity and relative sensitivity were put forward to compare the effect degree and to optimize milling parameters’ domains respectively. Roughness models are established on each parameter, and analysis results show the effect degree in order of spindle speed, feed engagement, cutting width, and cutting depth, spindle speed in them is a main factor. Based on relative sensitivity, milling parameters stability domain and instability domain are presented.

Ultrasonic machining (USM) has been considered as a new cutting technology that does not rely on the conductance of the workpiece. USM presents no heating or electrochemical effects, with low surface damage and small residual stresses on workpiece material, such as glass, ceramics, and others; therefore, it is used to drill microholes in brittle materials. However, this process is very slow and tool wear dependent, so the entire process has low efficiency. Therefore, to increase microhole drilling productivity or hole quality, rotary ultrasonic machining (RUM) is considered as a strong alternative to USM. RUM, which presents ultrasonic axial vibration with tool rotation, is an effective solution for improving cutting speed, precision, tool wear, and other machining responses beyond those of the USM. This study aims to reduce the microchipping or cracking at the exit of the hole, which inevitably occurs when brittle materials are drilled, with consideration of tool wear. To this end, response surface analysis and desirability functions are used for experimental optimization. The experimental results showed that the proposed RUM scheme is suitable for microhole drilling.

The corrosion behavior of Mg-9Li-3Al-2.5Sr alloy, solution treated at 400°C for 3h with various aging temperature (Ta; Ta=75,100,125,150,175°C), was investigated in 3.5% NaCl solution by immersion test and polarization curve measurement. Experimental results suggest that the alloy aged at150°Cfor 6h exhibits the highest corrosion resistance while the alloy treated at 75°C for 6h presents lowermost corrosion resistance. The corrosion resistance of the alloy is related to the grain size and the distribution of Al4Sr compound. The segregation of intermetallic compounds can accelerate the corrosion process. It was found that duo to the proper solid-solution and aging treatment, intermetallic compounds were distributed evenly along the grain boundaries, which can reduce the corrosion rate and corrosion current. In addition,with the growth of grain, the decrease of the grain boundary area per unit volume lead to improvement of corrosion resistance of the alloys.

Using the method of expanding diameter in low temperature and water bath heating, this paper studied the effect of pre-deformation temperature on shape memory recovery characteristics of Ni47Ti44Nb9alloy Φ16 mm pipe joint. The results showed that the transformation hysteresis and the radial recoverable strain were relative stable along with the addition of pre-deformation temperature, which were 122°C±4°C and 7.1%±0.3% respectively. Moreover the radial recovery rate of inner diameter declined smoothly with the addition of pre-deformation temperature. Systems considering the three parameters of transformation hysteresis, recoverable strain and strain recovery rate, it seemed the excellent predeformed temperature for Ni47Ti44Nb9alloy Φ16 mm pipe joint was in-65~-70°C.

The characteristic of structural inheritance for 300M steel was explored and the eliminating effect of normalization was investigated. Then, both the first and secondary normalization process was optimized by comparing eliminate effect. It is known that obvious characteristic of structural inheritance can be shown with the condition of 810°C-840°C×30min/OC after over-heated treatment. The first normalization process whose condition is 950°C~1100°C×2.5h/air cooling has the good effect on eliminating structural inheritance. While, the secondary normalization process whose condition is 960°C~1060°C×2h/air cooling+925°C×2.5h/air cooling owns the better effect on eliminating structural inheritance.

The effect of annealing temperature（300-600°C）on the microstructure and transformation temperature of NiTiNb shape memory alloy rods deformed with equal channel angular pressing（ECAP） method was analyzed. The results show that the hard brittle phase （Ti,Nb）2Ni was decreased after ECAP. With the rising of annealing temperature, the number of β-Nb phase increase while eutectic declines. The DSC analysis shows that the martensite and reverse transformation temperature increase with annealing temperature. After annealing with 500°C, the martensite/austenite transformation starting temperatures rise to -64.6°C and -30.1°C, respectively.

The relationship among stress, cavities and twinning in the room-temperature bending process of hot-rolled AZ31 Mg alloy sheet was researched. It can be seen that the mount of twins which was tightly affected by stress value increases with the distance to press point. Otherwise, the cavities and twinning which seem totally independent, in fact affect with each other. Some cavities were hindered by twins and can not further grow up. Then, the relationship between slip and twinning was also roughly discussed. The dislocation lines in twins can be thought to release the stress focus and were beneficial for deformation.

The as-cast AZ91 Mg alloy samples were cryogenic treated with different time. Otherwise, optical microscope (OM), mechanical test, resistance test and XRD analysis were used to research the microstructure evolution and physical variation of the samples before and after cryogenic treatment (CT). Due to CT, the structure of as-cast AZ91 Mg alloy was changed from disordered solid solution to ordered solid solution. Firstly, the appearance of ordered solid solution leads to the improvement of peak stress after CT, because of ordered strengthening. Secondly, resistance and crystallographic lattice constant of the samples reduce obviously. Otherwise, the frame-type twinning which is created from matrix in the cryogenic environment could hinder the twin growth and cause the ordered strengthening.

Our recent perplexing findings that polyploid giant cancer cells (PGCCs) acquired embryonic-like stemness and were capable of tumor initiation raised two important unanswered questions: how do PGCCs acquire such stemness, and to which stage of normal development do PGCCs correspond. Intriguingly, formation of giant cells due to failed mitosis/cytokinesis is common in the blastomere stage of the preimplantation embryo. However, the relationship between PGCCs and giant blastomeres has never been studied. Here, we tracked the fate of single PGCCs following paclitaxel-induced mitotic failure. Morphologically, early spheroids derived from PGCCs were indistinguishable from human embryos at the blastomere, polyploid blastomere, compaction, morula and blastocyst-like stages by light, scanning electron or three-dimensional confocal scanning microscopy. Formation of PGCCs was associated with activation of senescence, while budding of daughter cells was associated with senescence escape. PGCCs showed time- and space-dependent activation of expression of the embryonic stem cell markers OCT4, NANOG, SOX2 and SSEA1 and lacked expression of Xist. PGCCs acquired mesenchymal phenotype and were capable of differentiation into all three germ layers in vitro. The embryonic-like stemness of PGCCs was associated with nuclear accumulation of YAP, a key mediator of the Hippo pathway. Spheroids derived from single PGCCs grew into a wide spectrum of human neoplasms, including germ cell tumors, high-grade and low-grade carcinomas and benign tissues. Daughter cells derived from PGCCs showed attenuated capacity for invasion and increased resistance to paclitaxel. We also observed formation of PGCCs and dedifferentiation in ovarian cancer specimens from patients treated with chemotherapy. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that PGCCs represent somatic equivalents of blastomeres, the most primitive cancer stem cells reported to date. Thus, our studies reveal an evolutionarily conserved archaic embryonic program in somatic cells that can be de-repressed for oncogenesis. Our work offers a new paradigm for cancer origin and disease relapse.

To evaluate the effect of long-term therapy with entecavir and Fufang Biejia Ruangan tablet in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB)-associated fibrosis and explore the synergistic therapy that accelerates the reversion of liver fibrosis.A total of 197 patients with CHB-associated fibrosis were recruited from Nanfang Hospital between June, 2010 and June, 2015. The patients were divided into two groups after matching for age, gender and liver stiffness measurement (LSM), namely group A (n=98) treated with Fufang Biejia Ruangan Tablet plus entecavir, and group B (n=99) to receive entecavir only. HBV DNA quantification, HBV serological indicators, blood biochemical indexes, and results of abdominal ultrasound and FibroScan were recorded every 12 weeks. FibroScan values were converted to Metavir staging.Both groups showed significant decreases in serum levels of HBV DNA, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and LSM value from baseline (all P0.05). The median time to achieve Metavir fibrosis staging improvement were 72 weeks in group A and 96 weeks in group B (P0.05), and the median time to achieve ALT and AST normalization were 12 and 24 weeks in Group A, respectively, significantly shorter than the time in group B (P0.05). No significant difference was found between the two groups in HBV DNA undetectable rate and HBeAg seroconversion rate.The combination therapy with Fufang Biejia Ruangan tablet and entecavir produces a stronger efficacy than entecavir alone in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B patients with liver fibrosis, and Fufang Biejia Ruangan tablet shows an obvious hepatoprotective effect in these patients.

In this research, in order to explore the main mechanism of direct and two-stage compression in as-cast light alloy, the mechanical property, microstructure evolution and the flowing of second phase particles were studied, before and after deformation. Then, the influence of the strain volume in first stage on flowing stress of the second stage deformation also was researched.

Construction effects on pile-soil systems arise from the process of installing displacement piles. This study conducted a comprehensive field test program complemented with laboratory tests to observe the performance of jacking open-ended concrete pipe piles into silt deposits. The jacked piles were examined in a plugged mode during installation. Direct observation on the soil plugs reveal that their formation generally accords with the stratigraphic nature of the layered soils. Soil-arching behavior during pile penetration causes the soil in the shear zone along the inner pipe wall to mainly come from the uppermost layer of the deposit. Laboratory tests on the soil plug shows evident compaction and the tendency increased strength over time. The buildup of the excess pore pressure and radial total stress in the soil is sensitive to the jacking installation procedure. By taking into account the soil displacement related to the plugging degree, the captured peak excess pore pressure at a given horizon can be modeled by the cavity expansion theory that normally adapts to closed-ended pile. The jacking annulus resistance normalized by the cone tip resistance is independent of the penetration depth and the degree of plugging. A considerable portion of the annulus resistance is locked in the pile after installation, decreases a little during adjacent pile installation, and remains stable over a long period. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000638. © 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers. CE Database subject headings: Concrete piles; Pipe piles; Field tests; Pore pressure; Jacking; Case studies. Author keywords: Concrete pipe piles; Field tests; Soil plugging; Pore water pressure; Jacking resistance.