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This article employs a Markovian regime-switching autoregressive approach to examine triangular arbitrage across forex and cryptocurrency markets during the coronavirus disease 2019 crisis. The fin...

This paper investigates the limit cycles for planar differential system x˙=λx−y+Pn(x,y), y˙=x+λy+Qn(x,y), where Pn(x,y),Qn(x,y) are homogeneous polynomials of degree n. Using the method of upper an...

The hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity of zeolites has been received increasing attentions due to its great influence on the physical, chemical property and application of zeolites. Generally, zeolites ...

The ability to construct magnetic self-assembling architectures in carbon materials offers a novel and extremely tantalizing route towards spintronics, both from fundamental and application points ...

Objective To evaluate the impact of systematic nutrition management (SNM) on nutritional status, treatment-related toxicity, quality of life (QoL), response rates, and survival in patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LA-NPC) treated by radiotherapy (RT). Methods In this retrospective study, 56 patients with LA-NPC were selected as nutrition management group (NG) for SNM during RT till 1 month later. Another 56 patients with LA-NPC receiving RT without SNM as control group (CG) were identified from the hospital database and matched pairs with NG patients according to age, gender, stage, and body mass index (BMI) prior to RT. Results At 1 month after RT, the percentage of malnourished patients with BMI 0.05) for the 2-year progression-free survival and overall survival (84.2% versus 79.5% and 94.7% versus 92.3%, respectively.). Conclusion SNM for LA-NPC patients treated by RT resulted in better nutritional status, reduced treatment-related toxicity and improved QoL.

Purpose: Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is a main subtype of lung cancer, which is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths. The five-year survival rates of lung cancer patients are still comparatively low. Therefore, potential therapeutic targets are urgently needed to improve the survival of lung cancer patients. In this study, we identified FAM111B as an oncogene and potential therapeutic target for LUAD. Methods: The TCGA database and tissue microarray analysis were used to compare the expression of FAM111B in tumor tissue and normal tissues and evaluate the relationship between FAM111B expression and clinical survival. FAM111B was knocked down and overexpressed to observe whether FAM111B could affect the proliferation, migration, cell cycle, and apoptosis of LUAD cells in vivo and in vitro. Results: FAM111B was highly expressed in tumor tissues compared with normal tissues (P

This article develops an autoregressive distributed lag-exponential GARCH (ARDL–EGARCH) model to explore the formation mechanism of covered profits from the perspectives of forex swap premi...

To investigate the effect of microRNA-16 on hypoxia-induced VEGF expression of ARPE-19 cells.ARPE-19 cells were cultivated under normoxia and hypoxia state. At 0 h, 12 h, 24 h, and 48 h after cultivation, the supernate of the culture medium was separated to test the VEGF secretion by ELISA, and the cells were purified to measure the expression of VEGF mRNA and microRNA-16 by qRT-PCR; microRNA-16 mimic was then transfected into ARPE-19 cells by the Hiperfect transfection reagent, a liposome transfection system. Scramble group and the non-transfected group were set as the controls. VEGF secretion and the level of VEGF mRNA were measured in these three groups.The VEGF secretion of the hypoxia ARPE cells was significantly higher than the initial state (p 0.01). Compared with the normoxia cells, the VEGF secretion of the hypoxia cell was significantly increased (p 0.01), and the division of VEGF secretion between these two groups increased by time. VEGF mRNA of the hypoxia ARPE cell was significantly higher than the initial state (p 0.01). Compared with the normoxia cells, VEGF mRNA of the hypoxia cells was significantly increased (p 0.01), and the division of VEGF mRNA between these two groups increased by time. After cultivating under hypoxia, the expression of microRNA-16 in ARPE-19 cells decreased significantly compared with the normal group, and the division of these two groups augmented by time. MicroRNA-16 was successfully transfected into ARPE-19 cells by the Hiperfect transfection system. Twenty four hours and 48 h after the transfection, the VEGF secretion of the miR-16 transfected cell was decreased significantly (p 0.01) compared with the scramble and the non-transfected group under hypoxia, while VEGF mRNA level had no significant difference among these three groups.Hypoxia can increase the expression of VEGF mRNA and the secretion of VEGF protein of ARPE-19 cells. At the same time, microRNA-16 expression can be down-regulated by hypoxia. Transfection of microRNA-16 exogenously can down-regulate the VEGF protein secretion but cannot affect the expression of VEGF mRNA.

Jianfeng Huang,1,* Qinzhou Zou,1,* Danqi Qian,1 Leyuan Zhou,1 Bo Yang,1 Jianjun Chu,1 Qingfeng Pang,2 Kewei Wang,2 Fuzheng Zhang1 1Department of Radiation Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University, 2Department of Epidemiology, Wuxi Medical School of Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) plus nimotuzumab with or without concurrent chemotherapy (CCT) for patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LA-NPC). Patients and methods: A total of 50 newly diagnosed patients with LA-NPC treated at the Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University between November 2011 and January 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients received the combined treatment modality of nimotuzumab plus IMRT. Nimotuzumab was administered concurrently with IMRT at a weekly dose of 200 mg. Neoadjuvant, concurrent or adjuvant chemotherapy with the doublet regimen of taxanes (docetaxel or paclitaxel) plus platinum (cisplatin or nedaplatin) were administered. Among the 50 patients, 43 (86.0%) received ≥6 cycles of nimotuzumab (median 7 cycles, range 2–14 cycles) and 29 (58.0%) received two cycles of CCT with docetaxel plus nedaplatin. Results: With a median follow-up of 28.0 months, the 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival were 83.29% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 67.93%–91.72%) and 97.67% (95% CI: 84.62%–99.67%), respectively. Both univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that cycles of nimotuzumab were significantly associated with PFS. Patients who received≥6cycles of nimotuzumab showed a better PFS than those receiving

Antioxidant modification for C/C composites by in situ hydrothermal synthesise at 140 °C of a 4ZnO·B2O3·H2O crystallite coating has been successfully achieved. The influence of hydrothermal time on the phase composition, microstructure of the as-prepared Zn4B2O7·H2O (4ZnO·B2O3·H2O), and its antioxidant modification for C/C composites were investigated. Samples were characterised by XRD, SEM, isothermal oxidation test and TG-DSC. Results show that, 4ZnO·B2O3·H2O crystalline coating is achieved on the surface of C/C composites after the hydrothermal treatment at 140 °C for time in the range of 2–12 h. A smooth and crack-free 4ZnO·B2O3·H2O layer can be obtained when the hydrothermal time reaches 8 h. Isothermal oxidation test demonstrates that the oxidation resistance of C/C composites is improved. The as-modified composites exhibit only 1.52 g·cm−2 weight loss after oxidation at 600 °C for 15 h, while the non-modified one shows a 6.57 g·cm−2 weight loss after only 10 h oxidation. For the uncoated C/C compos...

In the present work, three different sized nitrile–butadiene rubber (NBR) particles were used to modify carbon fiber–reinforced paper-based friction material (CFRPF). The effects of NBR particle size on performance of CFRPF were studied. The microstructure and properties of the samples were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, thermal analysis, and wet friction performance testing. Experimental results indicated that there were four stages in the thermal degradation of NBR-modified CFRPF. NBR particle size had a great effect on the first degradation stage (100–300°C). The highest friction coefficient was obtained with the sample containing the finest NBR particles. The wear rate of the friction materials decreased with an increase in NBR particle size. However, NBR particle size had little influence on the wear rate of the couple plate. The sample containing coarse NBR particles showed excellent friction stability under oil-lubricated conditions.

We use an iterative finite difference method to establish theoretical models that reflect the relationships among climate threshold, financial hoarding and economic growth. We build a simultaneous equations model to conduct an empirical analysis based on China’s statistical data from 1979 to 2012. Our study yields the following results: China’s climate threshold has shown a zigzag-shaped rising trend since 1979; the main reasons for the rapid expansion of financial hoarding were high savings rate, savings leakage, higher marginal efficiency of financial hoarding compared to capital efficiency or higher internal creativity of the financial sector; there were positive cumulative effects between financial hoarding and economic growth, which were significantly inhibited by climate threshold; the climate threshold had discrepant influences on different industries. To achieve a balanced economy, more money should be invested in the real sector to appropriately reduce the rate of savings leakage; the financial s...

In this article, we study the limit set of trajectory in three-dimensional quasi-homogeneous system. For the trajectory which is close to a singular curve, we show that either it approaches a fixed point or infinity, or it oscillates. Moreover, an oscillating example is given. The behaviour of trajectory which is near a closed orbit is also studied. At the end, we classify the integral manifolds of the system with isolated singularities.

The pH-responsive polyelectrolyte, named poly(methyl vinyl ether-alt-maleic anhydride) (PVM/MA), was grafted onto the surface of carbon black (CB) by ultrasonically degraded method. The effect of pH on the dispersion of PVM/MA grafted CB in water and waterborne polyurethane (WPU) was studied. Particle size of PVM/MA grafted CB and its transmission electron microscope images showed the increasing of pH in the suspension of grafted CB easily causes the aggregates of grafted CB. Furthermore, scanning electron microscope images showed grafted CB had better dispersibility than that of untreated CB in WPU emulsion or corresponding solid composite. When grafted CB was neutralized in aqueous solution, the compatibility between PVM/MA grafted CB and WPU got poor. In addition, the dispersion of grafted CB in solid composite could be controlled through tuning the composite resistance.

The traditional way to define the instantaneous frequency of a real-valued signal is based on the analytic signal obtained by means of the Hilbert transform. Vakman showed the justification of this method by proving that under some fundamental conditions the imaginary part signal operator I must be the Hilbert transform. This paper shows that his arguments are not valid in the finite-energy signal space L2()-an important space of signals. In this paper, we propose substitutive conditions and establish the L2() version of Vakman's analysis, which is a meaningful supplement to Vakman's theory.

Y2Si2O7–MoSi2/SiC multi-composition coatings were deposited on the surface of SiC pre-coated carbon/carbon (C/C) composites using a hydrothermal electrophoretic process. The prepared coatings were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Influences of Y2Si2O7 whisker on the morphologies and anti-oxidation properties of coatings were particularly investigated. Results show that Y2Si2O7 whisker has a strong influence on the microstructure and oxidation resistant performance of the coated composites. Compared with MoSi2/SiC coating, Y2Si2O7–MoSi2/SiC coating exhibits dense, uniform, and homogeneous morphologies without any microcracks. Y2Si2O7 whisker can effectively decrease the thermal expansion coefficient of MoSi2 and prevent coatings from cracking, which results in improved oxidation resistant performance of the coated composites. The as-prepared multi-layer coating can protect C/C composites from oxidation for 100 h at 1773 K with a weight loss of 1.22×10–3g/cm2.

Cross‐linking behavior of acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR)/copper sulfate (CuSO4) and NBR/cobalt dichloride (CoCl2) composites were investigated by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) under nonis...

A new method was applied to modify the surface activity of virginal carbon black (VCB). LA‐57, one kind of hindered amine light stabilizer, was adsorbed onto the carbon black surface through a strong shear force induced by the screws of a HAAKE internal mixer. The modified carbon black (MCB) was characterized by FT‐IR and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The bound rubber content of the natural rubber (NR) compounded with MCB and VCB varied with the fraction of LA‐57 on the MCB surface. The nonlinear effect at small strains, generally referred as the Payne effect, was investigated in the rubber compounds based on the different bound rubber contents. The NR compound containing the lowest bound rubber content had an obvious Payne effect. Based on the bound rubber content, the types of filler network varied from direct contact mode to the joint rubber shell mechanism.

Bi3.2Nd0.8Ti3O12 Ferroelectric thin film was successfully prepared on p-Si(111) substrate using chemical solution deposition process. The orientation and formation of thin film under different annealing condition were studied. XRD analysis indicated that (200)-oriented films with degree of orientation of I(200)/I(117)=2.097 and 0.466 were obtained by preannealing at 400 °C for 10 min followed by rapid thermal annealing at 700 °C for 3 min and 10 min, respectively, (008)-oriented film with degree of orientation of I(008)/I(117)=1.706 which decreased as increase of annealing time were obtained by rapid thermal annealing at 700 °C 3 min without preannealing, and (008)-oriented film with degree of orientation of I(008)/I(117)=0.719 were obtained by preheating the film from room temperature at 20 °C/min followed by annealing at 700 °C for 10 min. AFM analysis further indicated that preannealing at 400 °C for 10 min followed by rapid thermal annealing at 700 °C for 3 min resulted in formation of platel...