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To avoid expanding existing fossil power plants, building the energy performance management system is an effect method to cope with a high growth demand of electricity in China's urbanization process. The accuracy thermal load prediction is the first step to build an energy performance management system which has important significance for energy saving, decreasing air pollution and high-efficiency operation of HVAC system. This paper discusses the use of hybrid intelligent approaches and re-optimization strategy, a multi-layer hybrid model (APNN) has been proposed by hybridizing an auto-regressive model with exogenous inputs (ARX) and a particle swarm optimization neural network (PSO-NN) to make a good use of the comprehensive information of the meteorological data and historical data. For the purposes of improving prediction precision generalization ability of the multi-layer hybrid model, temperature interval and hierarchical modeling techniques were used. According to the re-optimization strategy, there are two improvements of the previous proposed APNN model, which are based on temperature interval and hierarchical modeling by solar radiation intensity. Compared with the basic prediction models, validation results show that accuracy of the optimized models are greatly improved. What’s more, the optimization of multi-layer hybrid building’s cooling and heating load soft sensing technology enhance learning and generalization capability of the basic APNN model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to determine whether the application of ultrahigh pressure could modify the content of inosine 5′-monophosphate (IMP) in fresh pork and give direct detection of each relevant enzymatic activity to affirm the enzymatic mechanism. Pressure (0–400 MPa) and time (10 min) were applied to two types of samples: adenosine monophosphate deaminase, acid phosphatase, and alkaline phosphatase in normal saline and IMP in pork tenderloin. The results showed that varied degrees of susceptibility depended upon the pressure level. The pressure of 300 MPa could promote the formation of IMP to 1250%, at which the activity of adenosine monophosphate deaminase, an enzyme catalyzing adenosine monophosphate (AMP) to IMP, was maximized. In contrast, the activities of acid phosphatase and alkaline phosphatase were suppressed at this extreme pressure, resulting in decomposition of IMP. Finally, IMP accumulated to its maximum level at 300 MPa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Skull base malignancies are problematic. We evaluated the efficacy and toxicity of gamma knife radiosurgery (GKRS) in the treatment of patients with primary and secondary malignancies in the skull base. Methods: The data of 43 patients were retrospectively analyzed. Sixteen of these patients had a primary skull base malignancy, and 27 patients had skull base metastasis or an invasion from other cancers. The median tumor volume was 7.2 cm³ (range, 0.6-33.4). The median prescription margin dose was 14.0 Gy (range, 10-16). Nine patients with tumor regrowth after initial reduction received another treatment. Results: The median follow-up time was 14 months (range, 1-60). Following GKRS, the progression-free survival was 89% and 62% at 1 and 2 years, respectively, and the overall survival rate was 74% and 45% at 1 and 2 years, respectively. Nineteen (44%) patients reported an improvement following GKRS. One patient (2%) reported decreased vision, which was considered to be a side effect from cumulative GKRS doses. Conclusion: Gamma knife radiosurgery is an effective treatment for primary and secondary malignant tumors in the skull base as initial monotherapy or as an adjunct therapy to surgery or radiotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inactivation of the selected vegetative bacteria Escherichia coli, Listeria innocua, and Lactobacillus plantarum by high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) in physiological saline (PS) and in four fruit juices with pHs ranging from 3.4 to 6.3, with or without dissolved CO2, was investigated. The inactivation effect of HHP on the bacteria was greatly enhanced by dissolved CO2. Effective inactivation (>7 log) was achieved at 250 MPa for E. coli and 350 MPa for L. innocua and L. plantarum in the presence of 0.2 M CO2 at room temperature for 15 min in PS, with additional inactivation of more than 4 log for all three bacteria species compared with the results with HHP treatment alone. The combined inactivation by HHP and CO2 in tomato juice of pH 4.2 and carrot juice of pH 6.3 showed minor differences compared with that in PS. By comparison, the combined effect in orange juice of pH 3.8 was considerably promoted, while the HHP inactivation was enhanced only to a limited extent. In another orange juice with a pH of 3.4, all three strains lost their pressure resistance. HHP alone completely inactivated E. coli at relatively mild pressures of 200 MPa and L. innocua and L. plantarum at 300 MPa. Observations of the survival of the bacteria in treated juices also showed that the combined treatment caused more sublethal injury, which increased further inactivation at a relatively mild pH of 4.2 during storage. The results indicated that the combined treatment of HHP with dissolved CO2 may provide an effective method for the preservation of low- or medium-acid fruit and vegetable juices at relatively low pressures. HHP alone inactivated bacteria effectively in high-acid fruit juice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focal adhesions (FAs) are specialized sites where intracellular cytoskeleton elements connect to the extracellular matrix and thereby control cell motility. FA assembly depends on various scaffold proteins, including the G protein-coupled receptor kinase-interacting protein 1 (GIT1), paxillin, and liprin-α. Although liprin-α and paxillin are known to competitively interact with GIT1, the molecular basis governing these interactions remains elusive. To uncover the underlying mechanisms of how GIT1 is involved in FA assembly by alternatively binding to liprin-α and paxillin, here we solved the crystal structures of GIT1 in complex with liprin-α and paxillin at 1.8 and 2.6 Å resolutions, respectively. These structures revealed that the paxillin-binding domain (PBD) of GIT1 employs distinct binding modes to recognize a single α-helix of liprin-α and the LD4 motif of paxillin. Structure-based design of protein variants produced two binding-deficient GIT1 variants; specifically, these variants lost the ability to interact with liprin-α only or with both liprin-α and paxillin. Expressing the GIT1 variants in COS7 cells, we discovered that the two PBD-meditated interactions play different roles in either recruiting GIT1 to FA or facilitating FA assembly. Additionally, we demonstrate that, unlike for the known binding mode of the FAT domain to LD motifs, the PBD of GIT1 uses different surface patches to achieve high selectivity inLDmotif recognition. In summary, our results have uncovered the mechanisms by which GIT1's PBD recognizes cognate paxillin and liprin-α structures, information we anticipate will be useful for future investigations of GIT1-protein interactions in cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose To detect the diagnostic efficacy of computed tomography (CT) in distinguishing mandibular invasion caused by head and neck cancer and to compare the accuracy of contrast-enhanced and plain CT in the diagnosis. Materials and Methods Studies designed as cohort studies that detected the diagnostic efficacy of CT on mandibular invasion (including bone cortex and bone marrow invasion) and mandibular medullary alone (bone marrow invasion) were included. The included studies were required to use the pathologic diagnosis as the reference standard and reported true-positive, false-positive, false-negative, true-positive, and related data. Thirteen databases were electronically and manually searched to retrieve any possible related studies. Two reviewers independently conducted the study inclusion, data extraction, and assessment of the quality of the included studies. Meta-diSc, version 1.4, and STATA, version 11.0, were used to conduct the meta-analysis. Results A total of 30 studies with 1459 patients were included in the present study. Of those patients, 1,257 underwent CT and were accounted for in the meta-analysis. Of the included studies, 1 had a low risk and 6 had a high risk of bias; 23 studies had an unclear risk of bias. Meta-regression showed that the slight clinical heterogeneity did not influence the outcome (P > .10). The meta-analysis showed that CT for the diagnosis of mandibular invasion had a pooled sensitivity of 0.72, specificity of 0.90, positive likelihood ratio (+LR) of 5.33, negative likelihood ratio (-LR) of 0.36, diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) of 21.41, area under the curve (AUC) of 0.9022, and Q* (the value of the sensitivity or specificity when the sensitivity equals the specificity on the summary receiver operating characteristics curve) of 0.8336. The CT findings for mandibular medullar invasion had a sensitivity of 0.81, specificity of 0.85, +LR of 4.76, -LR of 0.24, DOR of 29.49, AUC of 0.9240, and Q* of 0.8580. No statistical significance was found in the sensitivity (P = .809), specificity (P = .27), AUC (P = .4296), and Q* (P = .4277) between the contrast-enhanced and plain CT scans. Conclusions The present clinical evidence has shown that CT had an acceptable diagnostic value in detecting mandibular invasion caused by head and neck cancer. The high specificity of CT predicted it would be helpful when it was used to confirm the clinical diagnosis of bone invasion. Contrast-enhanced and plain CT scans had a similar diagnostic efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acute Kraft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) is a major complication of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplintation (ailo-HSCT). We examined the association between the composition of the cell subsets present in allogeneic grafts (allografts) and the occurrence and severity of aGVHD in pediatric patients. Met/zods.· We retrospectively analyzed 80 consecutive pediatric patients undergoing allo-HSCT at our center. Results.· Both univariate and multivariate analyses showed that the number of CD34 and CD3- T-cells iii 8110- grafts were the two highest risk factors associated with Ii-IV aGVHD. Using receiver operating characteristic analysis, the cutoff levels of the allo-HSCT cell doses were used to divide the recipients into low-dose and highdose groups. The 100-day cumulative incidence of II-IV aGVHD in the high-dose CD34 - and CD3 T-cells group was significantly higher than that of the low-dose group (CD34 : 57% vs. 29%, p = 0.009; CDS-: 63% vs. 180/0, p < 0.001). No other clinical factors or cell subsets correlated with aGVHD incidence. Conclusions: Our analysis indicates that the CD:34'" and CD3 ' T-cell numbers in the allografts could be the risk factors for the development of severe aGVHD (level II-IV). Further studies should aim to optimize the critical number of CD34- and CD3- T-cells to reduce the risk of severe aGVHD occurrence in pediatric patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A study on sintering of imported chromite fines using sinter pot (diameter 150 mm, depth 600 mm) was conducted. The effect of sintering parameters including coke breeze size and dosage, sinter mix moisture, bed depth, ignition duration and suction, and sintering suction on the sintering performance of chromite fines was investigated. It is shown that normal sintering process is suitable for agglomeration of chromite fines. And the sintering of chromite fines is characterized by wider combustion zone (75.00 mm), higher sintering temperature (1450 °C–1500 °C) and longer cooling time when compared with iron ores. Furthermore, the consolidation mechanism of chromite sinter was determined by using Leica DMRXP microscope equipped with Leica Qwin image processing and analysis application, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). It is revealed that the consolidation of chromite sinter mainly depended on about 20% liquid phase of olivine along with solid-state reactions and recrystallization of Cr2O3 contributing to sinter strength to some extent, which is quite different from the sintering of iron ores with about 35%–40% liquid phase. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

An experimental design has been built in order to study the influence of different parameters on the crystallization ratio and purity of andrographolide extraction using supercritical CO2: pressure (8-24 MPa), temperature (40-70 °C) and extraction duration (45-105 mm). Crystallization ratios are between 14.32 and 72.29 wt%, and purities are between 43.11 and 79.78 wt%, indicating that the experimental design covers a large range of results. The results indicate that pressure and extraction duration are the most influencing parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]