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Cold recycling method minimizes the need for aggregates while building roads and has significant economic and environmental benefits. The cold recycled mixture's inadequate mechanical strength, however, is a significant flaw. This article presents the strength increase equation after first analyzing the increasing law of the mechanical strength of the emulsified asphalt cold recycled mixture. The mechanical strength, high-temperature performance and low-temperature performance of emulsified asphalt cold recycled mixture have all been examined after the use of cement and fiber. The reinforcing effect of the fiber is also confirmed through field testing. Studies have shown that after 48 h, the mechanical properties of the emulsified asphalt cold recycled mixture become stable, and the increase is small. The correlation between the proposed strength growth equation and the laboratory test results reaches 0.99. With the addition of 1.5% cement, the high-temperature performance and low-temperature performance of asphalt mixture can be improved by 33% and 18%, respectively. The 0.4% of fiber can improve the high-temperature performance and low-temperature performance of asphalt mixture by 6% and 19%, respectively. Analyze the effect of cement and fiber on the performance of the emulsified asphalt cold recycled mixture, and choose the optimal content of cement and emulsified asphalt to be 1.5% and 0.4%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the mechanical properties of compacted loess specimens formed using the vertical vibration compaction method (VVCM) were investigated, including unconfined compressive strength, CBR value, and shear strength. The top water seepage test and slope simulated rainfall test were implemented. In the test section, the water infiltration laws of compacted loess subgrades with different degrees of compaction were studied. Subsequently, the water stability of compacted loess subgrades was investigated. The results show that the loess specimens formed using the VVCM have adequate mechanical properties. Moreover, increasing the degree of compaction significantly improves the resistance of the loess roadbed to water infiltration and reduces both the water infiltration area and the corresponding water content. In addition, the seepage of the loess roadbed causes the roadbed to collapse, which affects the roadbed's stability. The high-compacted roadbed section exhibits improved resistance to collapse. Thus, improving roadbed compaction can effectively improve the roadbed's stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herringbone gear planetary gear transmission system has the advantages of high contact ratio and high bearing capacity and is widely used in various heavy load fields. However, the gear generates a large amount of heat during the meshing transmission, which affects the nonlinear dynamic characteristics of the system. In this paper, the various nonlinear factors are considered, including time-varying meshing stiffness, engagement damping, backlash, and engagement error. A nonlinear dynamic model of the herringbone planetary gear system considering temperature effects is established by using the lumped-parameter method. The nonlinear vibration differential equation of the system is solved by using the Runge–Kutta method. The impact law of temperature and engagement damping ratio changes on the bifurcation features of the herringbone planetary gear system is studied by combining the maximum Lyapunov exponent diagram, bifurcation diagram, time domain diagram, phase diagram, Poincare diagram, and spectrogram. And the chaos phenomenon of the system is analyzed and controlled by using a non-feedback control method with the external periodic signal. The result shows that with the change of temperature rise and meshing damping ratio, the system exhibits the kinematics response of chaotic, multi-period, and single-period. Higher temperature rise (∆T > 64 °C) and larger engagement damping ratio (ξ > 0.122) can make the gear system enter stable periodic motion. The chaotic motion region of the system is effectively controlled to the periodic motion orbit by introducing the periodic signal feedback controller. The relevant conclusions can provide a theoretical basis for the optimal design of the dynamic structure stability of herringbone planetary gear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a critical global health concern, with existing treatments benefiting only a minority of patients. Recent findings implicate the chemokine ligand 17 (CCL17) and its receptor CCR4 as pivotal players in the tumor microenvironment (TME) of various cancers. This investigation aims to delineate the roles of CCL17 and CCR4 in modulating the tumor’s immune landscape, assessing their potential as therapeutic interventions and prognostic markers in HCC. Methods: 873 HCC patients post-radical surgery from 2008 to 2012 at Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University were retrospectively examined. These individuals were stratified into a training cohort (n = 354) and a validation cohort (n = 519). Through immunohistochemical analysis on HCC tissue arrays, the expressions of CCL17, CCR4, CD73, CD47, HHLA2, and PD-L1 were quantified. Survival metrics were analyzed using the Cox model, and a prognostic nomogram was devised via R software. Results: The investigation confirmed the presence of CCL17 and CCR4 within the cancerous and stromal compartments of HCC tissues, associating their heightened expression with adverse clinical markers and survival outcomes. Notably, the interplay between CD73 and CCR4 expression in tumor stroma highlighted a novel cellular entity, CCR4 + CD73 + stromal cells, impacting overall and relapse-free survival. A prognostic nomogram amalgamating these immunological markers and clinical variables was established, offering refined prognostic insights and aiding in the management of HCC. The findings suggest that reduced CCR4 and CCR4 + CD73 + cell prevalence may forecast improved outcomes post-TACE. Conclusion: This comprehensive evaluation of CCR4, CCL17, and associated markers introduces a nuanced understanding of the HCC immunological milieu, proposing CCR4 + CD73 + stromal cells as critical to HCC pathogenesis and patient stratification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We sought to summarize the value of contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) in the differential diagnosis of bladder paraganglioma (BPG) and bladder cancer. Methods: The medical records of 19 patients with BPG (13 males, 6 females) and 56 patients with bladder cancer (49 males, 7 females) between November 2007 and June 2023 were retrospectively reviewed. All patients underwent unenhanced and contrast-enhanced CT scanning. Results: Patient age (46.4 ± 11.1 years vs. 58.6 ± 16.0 years), tumor calcification (1/19 vs. 18/56), stalk (0/19 vs. 10/56), internal vessels (15/19 vs. 19/56) and the enlarged adjacent supplying artery (14/19 vs. 10/56) were significantly different between BPG and bladder cancer (P < 0.05). The CT value in the corticomedullary phase (92.4 ± 16.6 HU vs. 64.0 ± 14.5 HU) and the contrast-enhanced value in the corticomedullary phase (54.5 ± 17.4 HU vs. 28.5 ± 12.8 HU) were significantly greater in BPG patients than in bladder cancer patients (P < 0.001), with corresponding area under the curve values of 0.930 and 0.912, respectively. The optimal cutoff values were 83.2 HU and 38.5 HU, respectively. A CT value > 83.2 HU in the corticomedullary phase and a contrast-enhanced CT value > 38.5 HU in the corticomedullary phase were used to indicate BPG with sensitivities of 78.9% and 89.5%, respectively, and specificities of 94.6% and 75.0%, respectively. Conclusion: The corticomedullary phase of CECT plays an important role in the preoperative differential diagnosis of BPG and bladder cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: A survival paradox between T4N0 (Stage IIB/IIC) and Stage IIIA colon cancer exists, even after adjusting for adequate lymph node (LN) retrieval and receipt of adjuvant chemotherapy (C). We conducted a large hospital-based study to re-evaluate this survival paradox based on the newest 8th edition staging system. Methods: The National Cancer Data Base was queried to evaluate 35,606 patients diagnosed with Stage IIB, IIC, and IIIA colon cancer between 2010 and 2017. The Kaplan–Meier method and log-rank test were used to compare unadjusted overall survival (OS). Multivariable Cox proportional hazards model was used to determine the association of stage with hazard ratios adjusted for relevant demographic and clinical variables including ≥ 12 LNs retrieved and receipt of adjuvant chemotherapy. P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The 5-year OS for optimally treated stage IIIA colon cancer (receipt of C) was 84.3%, which was significantly higher than stage IIB/C (≥ 12 LNs retrieved + C) (72.8%; P < 0.0001). Stage was an independent predictor of OS. Among optimally treated Stage IIIA patients, T1N1 had the best survival (90.6%) while stage T4bN0 (stage IIC) had the worst (70.9%) (P < 0.0001). Compared to stage IIB, stage IIC had a 17% increased risk of overall death while stage IIIA had a 21% reduction in death (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: Stage IIB/C and Stage IIIA survival paradox persists even after accounting for receipt of adjuvant chemotherapy and adequate lymph node retrieval. Future iteration of the TNM system should take this paradox into consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To evaluate if there are differences in outcomes for patients with stage III colon cancer in those from urban vs. rural commuting areas. Methods: Data were evaluated on patients diagnosed with stage III colon cancer between 2012 and2018 from the Louisiana Tumor Registry. Patients were classified into rural and urban groups. Data on overall survival, time from diagnosis to surgery and time from surgery to chemotherapy, and sociodemographic factors (including race, age, and poverty level) were recorded. Results: Of 2652 patients identified, 2159 were urban (81.4%) and 493 rural (18.6%). No age difference between rural and urban patients (p = 0.56). Stage IIIB accounted for 66.7%, followed by IIIC (21.6%) and IIIA (11%), with a significant difference between rural and urban patients based on stage (p = 0.02). There was no difference in the extent of surgery (p = 0.34) or tumor size (p = 0.72) between urban and rural settings. No difference in undergoing chemotherapy (p = 0.12). There was a statistically significant difference in receiving timely treatment for hospital volume (p < 0.0001) and poverty level (p < 0.0001), but no difference in time from diagnosis to surgery (p = 0.48), and time from surgery to chemotherapy (p = 0.27). Non-Hispanic Blacks were less likely to receive timely treatment when compared with non-Hispanic Whites for both surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy, (aHR 0.91, 95% CI 0.83–0.99) and (aHR 0.86, 95% CI 0.77–0.97), respectively. There was no difference in Kaplan–Meier overall survival curves comparing rural vs. urban patients (p = 0.77). Conclusions: There was no statistical difference in overall survival, time to surgery, and time to adjuvant chemotherapy between rural and urban patients with Stage III colon cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Oxidative stress induced growth inhibitor 1 (OSGIN1) regulates cell death. The role and underlying molecular mechanism of OSGIN1 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are uncharacterized. Methods: OSGIN1 expression in NSCLC samples was detected using immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. Growth of NSCLC cells and gefitinib-resistant cells expressing OSGIN1 or TUBB3 knockdown was determined by MTT, soft agar, and foci formation assays. The effect of OSGIN1 knockdown on in vivo tumor growth was assessed using NSCLC patient-derived xenograft models and gefitinib-resistant patient-derived xenograft models. Potentially interacting protein partners of OSGIN1 were identified using IP-MS/MS, immunoprecipitation, PLA, and Western blotting assays. Microtubule dynamics were explored by tubulin polymerization assay and immunofluorescence. Differential expression of signaling molecules in OSGIN1 knockdown cells was investigated using phospho-proteomics, KEGG analysis, and Western blotting. Results: We found that OSGIN1 is highly expressed in NSCLC tissues and is positively correlated with low survival rates and tumor size in lung cancer patients. OSGIN1 knockdown inhibited NSCLC cell growth and patient-derived NSCLC tumor growth in vivo. Knockdown of OSGIN1 strongly increased tubulin polymerization and re-established gefitinib sensitivity in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, knockdown of TUBB3 strongly inhibited NSCLC cell proliferation. Mechanistically, we found that OSGIN1 enhances DYRK1A-mediated TUBB3 phosphorylation, which is critical for inducing tubulin depolymerization. The results of phospho-proteomics and ontology analysis indicated that knockdown of OSGIN1 led to reduced propagation of the MKK3/6-p38 signaling axis. Conclusions: We propose that OSGIN1 modulates microtubule dynamics by enhancing DYRK1A-mediated phosphorylation of TUBB3 at serine 172. Moreover, elevated OSGIN1 expression promotes NSCLC tumor growth and gefitinib resistance through the MKK3/6-p38 signaling pathway. Our findings unveil a new mechanism of OSGIN1 and provide a promising therapeutic target for NSCLC treatment in the clinic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design of a random copolymer comprising of 4-vinylbenzocyclobutene (4VBCB) and styrene as repeating units is presented herein. The effect of the 4VBCB to styrene ratio in the copolymer on the dielectric and thermodynamic properties of the materials was investigated using the molecular dynamics simulation technique. A script for the interactive crosslink relaxation method was developed using Perl as the language to control the crosslinking degree of the copolymers. This method was used to construct simulation units to generate highly crosslinked polymer networks from a given set of monomers. Three-dimensional simulation cells were constructed with the help of a computational algorithm and Materials Studio. The dielectric constants of the model were calculated using the existing polymer COMPASS force field by varying the monomer contents. The crosslinking degree was tuned to analyze the material properties. Several thermomechanical properties, such as curing-induced shrinkage, coefficient of thermal expansion, and glass transition temperature, were analyzed, and their dependence on the crosslinking degree was examined. The simulation results revealed that an increase in the crosslinking density resulted in an increase in the dielectric constant and glass transition temperature of the material. The extent of thermal expansion realized decreased under these conditions. The reliability of the simulation results was confirmed by comparing these results with experimentally-obtained results. The theoretically and experimentally obtained results demonstrated a close match within the acceptable error range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: CXCL11 has been reported to be up-regulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), and CAF-secreted CXCL11 has been found to promote HCC cell proliferation and migration. Knowledge on how CAFs promote HCC progression is imperative for the future design of anti-tumor drugs addressing the high rates of disease recurrence. Herein, we propose a mechanism by which LINC00152 positively regulates CXCL11 expression and, subsequently, HCC cell phenotypes and growth characteristics via miR-205-5p in CAFs. Methods: The expression of LINC00152, miR-205-5p in HCC/non-cancerous tissues, CAFs/NFs and HCC cell lines was determined by RT-qPCR. The CXCL11 expression and secretion were determined by westernblot and ELISA. Different expressions of LINC00152, CXCL11 and miR-205-5p in CAFs were achieved by transfection with corresponding overexpression/knockdown vectors or mimics/inhibitor. The interactions among LINC00152, miR-205-5p and CXCL11 were confirmed by FISH, luciferase, AGO2 and RNA-pulldown assays. Transwell, colony formation and MTT assays were performed to assess the role of CAFs conditioned medium (CM) in HCC cell phenotype. BALB/c nude mice xenografts were used to determine the role of CAFs on HCC growth in vivo. Results: We found that in vitro, CM from CAFs transfected with sh-LINC00152 dramatically suppressed HCC cell viability, colony formation and migration, and that CM from CAFs transfected with miR-205-5p inhibitor (CAF-CM (miR-205-5p inhibitor)) exerted opposite effects on HCC cell phenotypes. Exogenous overexpression of CXCL11 in CAFs or CAF-CM (miR-205-5p inhibitor) could partially attenuate the effects of LINC00152 knockdown. In contrast, CM from CAFs transfected with LINC00152 dramatically increased HCC cell viability, colony formation and migration, and CM from CAFs transfected with miR-205-5p mimics (CAF-CM (miR-205-5p mimics)) exerted opposite effects on HCC cell phenotypes. Knockdown of CXCL11 in CAFs or CAF-CM (miR-205-5p mimics) could partially attenuate the effects of LINC00152 overexpression. In vivo, LINC00152 knockdown in CAFs inhibited tumor growth in a mouse model, which could be reversed by CXCL11 overexpression in CAFs. Mechanistically, we found that LINC00152 could act as a ceRNA to counteract miR-205-5p-mediated suppression on CXCL11 by directly binding to miR-205-5p and the 3'UTR of CXCL11. Conclusion: Our data indicate that a LINC00152/miR-205-5p/CXCL11 axis in HCC CAFs can affect the proliferative and migrative abilities of HCC cells in vitro and HCC tumor growth in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a novel approach was presented for controllable preparation of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) hollow microspheres, and PAN-derived graphite carbon microspheres were synthesized through a simple and facile method, overcoming the intrinsic non-graphitizable property of PAN under low temperatures. The pure PAN microspheres and PAN/M (M = Fe, Co, Ni) microspheres were fabricated by the microfluidic technique and solvent evaporation method. Subsequently, the graphitization process was performed for carbon growth of all PAN microspheres at carbonization temperatures of 800 °C, 1000 °C,1200 °C, and 1400 °C, respectively. The effects of transition metals on the stability of compound droplets, monodispersity, and morphology of microspheres were investigated. The carbon resides was given by TG analysis, and the degree of graphite was characterized by the Raman spectra, XRD patterns, and TEM image. The results showed that the three transition metals exhibited different catalytic graphitization effects, leading to a different degree of catalytic graphitization. Understanding the catalytic graphitization effect of Fe, Co, and Ni on PAN microspheres offers new strategies for converting polymer-derived microspheres to invaluable synthetic graphite carbon, which has potential application in upcycling of waste plastics, catalysis, absorption, thermally conductive materials, and energy conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon-supported platinum-nickel alloy catalysts have become one of the main choices of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) due to the high catalytic activity toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). In this work, carbon aerogel supported platinum-nickel solid solution alloy catalysts (Pt3Ni/CA) with small particles (~ 3.5 nm) and uniform distribution were prepared via a simple one-step rapid reduction method during which no structure guide or stabilizer is added. In rotating disk electrode (RDE), the mass activity (MA, 0.25 A mgPt−1) and specific activity (SA, 4.69 A m−2) of the optimized Pt3Ni/CA catalysts for ORR are nearly 3.8 times and 6.5 times that of the state-of-the-art commercial carbon-supported platinum catalysts (Pt/C, 0.07 A mgPt−1 and 0.72 A m−2), respectively. After the accelerated durability test (ADT), the as-prepared Pt3Ni/CA catalysts still keep a satisfactory MA and SA which are more than 3.4 and 8.9 times as high as that of Pt/C. The Koutecký-Levich (K-L) equation shows that the electrochemical reaction conforms to be a 4e− process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]