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Sparse general matrix–matrix multiplication (SpGEMM) is a crucial and complex computational task in many practical applications. Improving the performance of SpGEMM on SIMT processors like modern GPUs is challenging due to the unpredictable sparsity of sparse matrices. Although existing GPU solutions have made progress in improving performance through advanced algorithm design, they ignore some optimizations related to specific processor architectures. This can result in a partially inefficient implementation of their algorithms. This paper focuses on optimizing four inefficient parts of the NSparse algorithm on DCU (a GPU-like accelerator). The optimizations include: 1) setting parameters to improve the load balance of the second matrix by extracting maximum row information at runtime; 2) reducing overhead of binning operations by making full use of registers and shared memory effectively; 3) improving numerical SpGEMM performance by adjusting its calculation mode; and 4) enhancing global load balance through finer-grained grouping and kernel configurations. Experiment results demonstrate that when compared to five state-of-the-art SpGEMM algorithms (bhSparse, KokkosKernels, NSparse, rocSparse, and spECK), our optimized method achieves an average of 7.99x (up to 18.2x), 8.01x (up to 20.83x), 2.37x (up to 6.16x), 1.82x (up to 4.20x), and 1.63x (up to 5.01x) speedups on 29 sparse matrices with different sparse structures, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of Internet of Things (IoT) technology has led to increased attention to its potential applications in agriculture. IoT-based agricultural applications are able to better monitor crops and make informed decisions about resource allocation. Ensuring data reliability is a significant challenge in agricultural IoT environments. The reliability of collected data is subject to situational characteristics of IoT devices, such as their location, which can be easily compromised by environmental and human factors. To address this issue, location-based device authentication has been proposed as a means of ensuring data reliability. Currently, Physical Unclonable Function (PUF) is also widely used in IoT authentication mechanisms. In this paper, we propose a lightweight two-factor continuous authentication protocol based on PUF and location. The proposed protocol leverages the properties of PUF to resist physical attacks, uses simple cryptographic operations such as XORs and hash functions to ensure security, and reduces resource consumption through continuous authentication. A formal security analysis of the proposed scheme is performed using Burrows–Abadi–Needham (BAN) logic analysis. The informal security analysis of the proposed scheme demonstrates that it is resistant to several known attacks. Additionally, we further evaluate the performance of the proposed scheme. The results demonstrate that the proposed scheme has low communication and computational costs, and offers better security and functionality attributes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel phytic acid-modified corn stalk-composite superabsorbent (PACS-g-p(AA-AM-VP)) with water absorbency of 391 g/g, water retention around 30% at 200 min under 90 °C, adsorption capacities of 284 mg/g and 448 mg/g for Ni(II) and Cu (II), respectively, was synthesized by graft copolymerization of acrylamide(AM), vinyl pyrrolidone(VP) and itaconic acid(IA) with phytic acid-modified corn stalk (PACS) in aqueous solution, using N,N-methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) as a crosslinker and ammonium persulfate (APS) and sodium bisulfite (SBS) as redox initiator. Factors influencing water absorbency and water retention of PACS-g-p (AA-AM-VP), such as PACS amount, initiator amount, crosslinker amount, neutralization degree of IA, IA/VP mass ratio and IA/AM mass ratio, were investigated. Morphologies and structure of PACS-g-p (AA-AM-VP) were characterized by FTIR and SEM. FTIR spectra indicate the structure of phytic acid-modified corn stalk graft-copolymer. SEM data shows that fiber structure of corn stalk is partially destroyed after phytic acid modification under ultrasonic wave. PACS-g-p (AA-AM-VP) has a coarse, fluffy and porous structure, facilitating the permeation of water and heavy metal ions into the polymeric network. Given these properties, PACS-g-p (AA-AM-VP) can be extensively applied in agriculture and horticulture as a water-retaining and soil remediation material which increases agricultural irrigation efficiency and remediates heavy metal-contaminated soil due to its low cost, environmental friendliness, high water retention and good adsorption for heavy metal ions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Magnetic hydrogels have huge potential environmental applications in the elimination of various noxious pollutants from the water system. Polyethyleneimine (PEI)-modified magnetic hydrogel nanocomposites (PEI-mHNCs) with three-dimensional networks were prepared based on poly (acrylamide-co-acrylic acid) and PEI-modified magnetic nanoparticle and used for the removal of crystal violet dye from aqueous solution. XRD results preliminarily confirmed the target structure of PEI-mHNCs without destroying the structure of magnetic nanoparticles during modification and radical polymerization. PEI-mHNCs had rough and uneven surface with many coarse porous and gap structure. PEI-mHNCs had crystal violet adsorption capacity of 198.5, 286.3 and 372.6 mg/g for initial dye concentration of 300, 500 and 700 mg/L, respectively. Dye absorption approached absorption equilibrium at 90 min and PEI-mHNCs had maximum dye absorption capacity at pH = 8. The adsorption isotherms and kinetics conformed to the Langmuir model and pseudo-second-order kinetic model, respectively. Thermodynamic studies revealed that crystal violet adsorption for PEI-mHNCs was a spontaneous, exothermal and decreased entropy process.Besides, PEI-mHNCs had good magnetic responsiveness, desorption and reusability which made it an efficient adsorbent for the removal of cationic dyes from an aqueous solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

γ-Methacryloxypropyl trimethoxysilane (KH570)-modified magnetic hydrogel nanocomposite absorbents with semi-interpenetrating networks (semi-IPNs-KH570-mHNAs) were synthesized by radical copolymerization via poly(acrylamide-co-acrylic acid), polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) and KH570-modified magnetic nanoparticles. FTIR and XRD results preliminarily confirmed the target structure of semi-IPNs-KH570-mHNAs without destroying the structure of magnetic nanoparticles during KH570 modification and radical polymerization. Semi-IPNs-KH570-mHNAs with many porous and ravine structure had high adsorption capacity for Pb(II) (450 mg/g). Semi-IPNs-KH570-mHNAs had the best absorption capacity for Pb(II) ion in the synthesis condition of acrylic acid/acrylamide mass ratio of 60:40, 0.8% initiator, acrylic acid (AA) neutralization degree of 70%, 0.2% cross-linker, 12% PVP and 10% KH570-modified magnetic nanoparticles. Besides, semi-IPNs-KH570-mHNAs had good magnetic responsiveness, high thermal stability, reusability which made it a potential application in removing heavy metal ions from the contaminated wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The systematics of the Cricetid genus Neodon have long been fraught with uncertainty due to sampling issues and a lack of comprehensive datasets. To gain better insights into the phylogeny and evolution of Neodon, we systematically sampled Neodon across the Hengduan and Himalayan Mountains, which cover most of its range in China. Analyses of skulls, teeth, and bacular structures revealed 15 distinct patterns corresponding to 15 species of Neodon. In addition to morphological analyses, we generated a high-quality reference genome for the mountain vole and generated whole-genome sequencing data for 47 samples. Phylogenomic analyses supported the recognition of six new species, revealing a long-term underestimation of Neodon diversity. We further identified positively selected genes potentially related to high-elevation adaptation. Together, our results illuminate how climate change caused the plateau to become the centre of Neodon origin and diversification and how mountain voles have adapted to the hypoxic high-altitude plateau environment. Morphological and molecular phylogenetic analyses reveal six new species of mountain vole from China and climate drivers of mountain vole diversification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of novel polyethylenimine (PEI)-modified magnetic hydrogel nanocomposites (PEI-mHNs) for heavy metal ions removal were prepared by copolymerization of acrylamide, acrylic acid and PEI-modified magnetic nanoparticles using polyethylene glycol diacrylate as chemical crosslinker and PEI-modified magnetic nanoparticles as physical crosslinker. FTIR and XRD results preliminarily confirmed the target structure of PEI-mHNs without destroying the structure of magnetic nanoparticles during modification and radical copolymerization. PEI-mHNs have rough and uneven surface with many porous and gap structure, which makes the rapid adsorption rate and high adsorption capacity of heavy metal ions(Cu(II) (150 mg/g), Cd(II) (236.7 mg/g) and Pb(II) (371.4 mg/g). The adsorption capacity of PEI-mHNs could be improved by increasing the pH of the original solution and initial concentration of heavy metal ions. Heavy metal ions adsorption isotherms and kinetics conformed to the Langmuir model and pseudo-second-order kinetic model, respectively. Besides, PEI-mHNs had good magnetic responsiveness, desorption and reusability which made them potential materials to remove heavy metal ions from the aqueous solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyethylenimine(PEI)-modified magnetic hydrogel nanocomposite absorbents (PEI-mHNAs) were fabricated based on poly(acrylamide-co-acrylic acid) and PEI-modified magnetic nanoparticles by radical copolymerization. FTIR and XRD results preliminarily confirmed the target structure of PEI-mHNAs without destroying the structure of magnetic nanoparticles during modification and radical copolymerization. PEI-mHNAs with many rough porous and interstitial structure had high adsorption capacity of Cu(II) (217 mg/g), Cd(II) (232 mg/g) and Pb(II) (459 mg/g). PEI-mHNAs had the best absorption capacity for heavy metal ions in the synthesis condition of acrylic acid/acrylamide mass ratio of 60:40, 0.8% initiator, AA neutralization degree of 70%, 0.75% crosslinker, and 15% PEI-modified magnetic nanoparticles. Moreover, PEI-mHNAs had good magnetic responsiveness, high thermal stability and reusability, which make it a potential application in removing heavy metal ions from the contaminated wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the fine-grained entity typing method of distant supervision, when assigning type labels to entity mention, since the knowledge base contains all type labels of the entity, noisy labels will be introduced. This paper proposed a Fine-grained Entity Typing model combined with Features (FETF) to reduce the negative impact of noisy labels. It is different from the previous methods such as manual annotation and heuristic rule pruning. The model not only improves the classification efficiency, but also does not need to reduce the size of the training set, which can improve the overall performance of the classification model. FETF divides the training set into clean dataset and noisy dataset according to the type numbers of entity mention in candidate type set, and constructs different objective functions for them to achieve the purpose of reducing the impact of noisy labels. At the same time, FETF can use the feature generator to jointly learn the relational features of entity mention - type label, as well as the similarity and hierarchical features of type label - type label. The feature generator extracts semantic features other than context, so as to help the fine-grained entity typing model to assign type labels to entity mention. In addition, we introduce adversarial training in the context processor, which can effectively alleviate the model overfitting noisy labels, and improve the robustness and generalization ability of the model. Experimental results on the public datasets show that the method proposed in this paper can effectively alleviate the negative impact of noisy labels on the fine-grained entity typing model, and outperforms previous methods in accuracy, Macro F1 value and Micro F1 value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Specific emitter identification (SEI) is an association of radar signal to specific emitter primarily. SEI has been widely used in military and civilian spectrum management applications. We propose an SEI method based on deep learning (DL), which uses the phase noise feature of the received signal. Particularly, we calculate the bispectrum and ambiguity function of the signal as the feature. Then, we use integral bispectrum and slice to reduce the influence of noise and redundant information. Finally, some DL models like deep residual network (Resnet) are used to identify specific emitters by using the feature. The method proposed in this paper improves the recognition performance of SEI by extracting the characteristic information of phase noise hidden in the original signal. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is verified by comparison with simulation experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Platinum is the most efficient catalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction in acidic conditions, but its widespread use has been impeded by scarcity and high cost. Herein, Pt atomic clusters (Pt ACs) containing Pt-O-Pt units were prepared using Co/N co-doped carbon (CoNC) as support. Pt ACs are anchored to single Co atoms on CoNC by forming strong interactions. Pt-ACs/CoNC exhibits only 24 mV overpotential at 10 mA cm−2 and a high mass activity of 28.6 A mg−1 at 50 mV, which is more than 6 times higher than commercial Pt/C with any Pt loadings. Spectroscopic measurements and computational modeling reveal the enhanced hydrogen generation activity attributes to the charge redistribution between Pt and O atoms in Pt-O-Pt units, making Pt atoms the main active sites and O linkers the assistants, thus optimizing the proton adsorption and hydrogen desorption. This work opens an avenue to fabricate noble-metal-based ACs stabilized by single-atom catalysts with desired properties for electrocatalysis. Modulating single-metal sites at the atomic level can boost the intrinsic catalytic activity. Here, the authors describe the design of Pt atomic clusters containing Pt-O-Pt units supported on Co single atoms and N co-doped carbon for enhanced hydrogen evolution catalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of the Internet of Things (IoT), mobile medical systems based on wireless body area networks (WBAN) have aroused extensive attention. Wearable wireless medical devices have emerged to meet the demand for high-quality medical services that brought great convenience to people's lives. However, attackers pose a latent threat to users' medical information privacy, and identity is easy to leak due to wireless networks' openness. It can be seen that the authentication phase is a vital part. In this paper, we proposed a lightweight continuous authentication protocol in medical WBAN environments. Our protocol overcomes the shortcomings of sensor node impersonation attack by using physiological signals, cutting energy consumption by using lightweight technology, saving time and energy by reducing computation complexity, and ensuring the current sensor node is the original one through continuous authentication. Finally, our performance analysis has shown that our protocol is provided with the superiority of lightweight, mutuality, low cost. It has a considerable application prospect in medical WBAN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taxol, a natural product derived from Taxus, is one of the most effective natural anticancer drugs and the biosynthetic pathway of Taxol is the basis of heterologous bio-production. Here, we report a high-quality genome assembly and annotation of Taxus yunnanensis based on 10.7 Gb sequences assembled into 12 chromosomes with contig N50 and scaffold N50 of 2.89 Mb and 966.80 Mb, respectively. Phylogenomic analyses show that T. yunnanensis is most closely related to Sequoiadendron giganteum among the sampled taxa, with an estimated divergence time of 133.4−213.0 MYA. As with most gymnosperms, and unlike most angiosperms, there is no evidence of a recent whole-genome duplication in T. yunnanensis. Repetitive sequences, especially long terminal repeat retrotransposons, are prevalent in the T. yunnanensis genome, contributing to its large genome size. We further integrated genomic and transcriptomic data to unveil clusters of genes involved in Taxol synthesis, located on the chromosome 12, while gene families encoding hydroxylase in the Taxol pathway exhibited significant expansion. Our study contributes to the further elucidation of gymnosperm relationships and the Taxol biosynthetic pathway. Song, Fu, Yang, Niu, Tian, et al. present a high-quality genome assembly and transcriptome data of Taxus yunnanensis, a plant belonging to the Taxus genus known for sources of traditional medicine and natural anticancer drugs. This study explores the Taxus evolutionary history and sheds light on the Taxol biosynthetic pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Factors and outcomes associated with decompensation of liver disease and liver failure in obese patients who underwent modern bariatric surgery are unclear. We present here a cohort of seventeen consecutive patients referred because of decompensation of liver disease following laparoscopic bariatric surgery. All patients showed signs of malnutrition (sarcopenia in 76.5%). In ten (58.8%), decompensation was associated with alcohol ingestion, which started after bariatric surgery in six patients. One patient died and three patients required liver transplantation, in one case preceded by transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS). However, thirteen patients achieved stabilization or full re-compensation with medical therapy and nutritional support. Our cases underline the risk of alcohol intake and malnutrition after laparoscopic bariatric surgery as causes of severe liver decompensation and underline the need for careful interdisciplinary care of these patients after surgery to early identify and treat alcohol misuse, malnutrition, and liver disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Patients with morbid obesity are at high risk of liver fibrosis due to metabolic-associated fatty liver disease. Data on liver stiffness measurement (LSM) and controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) by vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE, FibroScan®) XL probe for liver fibrosis and steatosis assessment in morbid obesity are needed. Materials and Methods: LSM and CAP were measured in candidates to bariatric surgery at a single center during 12 months. In patients who underwent an intraoperative liver biopsy, we compared LSM and CAP with histology findings. Comorbidities, body mass index, type of surgery, and infections after surgery were collected and analyzed. Results: Of the eighty-three patients assessed by XL probe, 49 (59%; female in 63%, BMI 42.6 ± 5.1 kg/m2) had a valid LSM and CAP measurement. LSM was 7.0 ± 3.9 kPa and CAP 329 ± 57 dB/m. In the 14 patients undergoing intraoperative liver biopsy, all had steatosis (severe in 50%), 6 (43%) had NASH (NAS ≥ 5), and 4 (29%) showed significant or bridging fibrosis. LSM accurately discriminated between patients with and without significant or severe fibrosis (AUROC 0.833) and CAP well-identified patients with or without ≥S2 steatosis (AUROC 0.896). Nine of 49 patients (18%) tested positive for significant/severe fibrosis by LSM (cut-off 8.9 kPa). Conclusion: Applicability of LSM and CAP by XL probe in patients candidate to bariatric surgery was moderate. However, when technically successful, their reliability to diagnose severe steatosis and fibrosis related to MAFLD was good. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an ever-growing demand for the construction of silty clay stratum tunnels; therefore, effectively controlling the surface settlement caused by tunnel construction has become an important task. Since the physical indexes of silty clay greatly influence strength and deformation, based on the physical and mechanical indexes of 3192 groups in three areas, quantitative and determinative indexes for the subclassification of silty clay are proposed using K-means clustering and the tracking records of the actual project. Then, the soil loss and settlement of different subclassifications of silty clay are studied through the standard Gauss error function. Empirical formulas for calculating the width of the settlement trough and the soil loss rate are proposed. The dispersion of the settlement parameters with different subclassifications indicates that the soil properties of the silty clay strata vary greatly with subclassification, and the influence range of the surrounding soil disturbance caused by excavation also varies. In addition, the change in the soil loss rate with the propulsion of the tunnel face in the same monitoring section is discussed. For subgrade V, the increasing soil loss rate reaches a maximum when the tunnel face reaches the monitoring sections. For subgrades VI1 and VI2, this rate changes mainly during the timeframe spanning from 5 days before excavation to 5 days after excavation. A numerical simulation was also carried out to validate the applicability of the Peck formula for silty clay tunnels. The numerical prediction and field measured data show that when the cover-to-diameter ratio is between 1 and 3, it is reasonable to use the Peck formula to analyze the surface settlement of a silty clay tunnel. This paper can provide guidance based on experience for the subclassification of the soil surrounding rock and for the prediction of the ground surface settlement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The underlying principles influencing bacteria community assembly have long been of interest in the field of microbial ecology. Environmental heterogeneity is believed to be important in controlling the uniqueness and variability of communities. However, little is known about the influence of the host macrophytes on epiphytic bacteria assembly. In this study, we used two contrasting artificial water environments (eutrophic and oligotrophic) for reciprocal transplant experiment of Myriophyllum spicatum to examine the colonization of epiphytic bacteria accompanied with plants growth. Comparative analysis addressed a higher species diversity in epiphytic bacteria than in bacterioplankton, and the highest microbiome richness in sediment. Our data revealed that the organization of epiphytic bacterial community was affected by both plant status (i.e. branch number, net photosynthesis rate etc.) and water bodies (i.e. total phosphate, total nitrogen, pH etc.). Moreover, plant status effected the assembly in priority to water. 16S rRNA gene sequencing further indicated that the epiphytic assemblies were motivated by functionalization and interplay with hosts as a whole. The results complemented new evidences for the 'lottery process' in the epiphytic bacteria assembly traits and shed insights into the assembly patterns referring to functional adaptation across epiphytic bacteria and macrophytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RNA Directed DNA Methylation (RdDM) is a pathway that mediates de novo DNA methylation, an evolutionary conserved chemical modification of cytosine bases, which exists in living organisms and utilizes small interfering RNA. Plants utilize DNA methylation for transposable element (TE) repression, regulation of gene expression and developmental regulation. TE activity strongly influences genome size and evolution, therefore making DNA methylation a key component in understanding divergence in genome evolution among seed plants. Multiple proteins that have extensively been studied in model plant Arabidopsis thaliana catalyze RNA dependent DNA Methylation pathway along with small interfering RNA. Several developmental functions have also been attributed to DNA methylation. This review will highlight aspects of RdDM pathway dynamics, evolution and functions in seed plants with focus on recent findings on conserved and non-conserved attributes between angiosperms and gymnosperms to potentially explain how methylation has impacted variations in evolutionary and developmental complexity among them and advance current understanding of this crucial epigenetic pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1999, Diexi paleo-dammed lake (2349 m a.s.l.) was discovered around Diexi town along the Minjiang River in Sichuan province. Diexi is located where the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau and the Sichuan Basin meet. The dammed lake was formed during the Last Glacial Maximum of the Late Pleistocene (~30,000 years ago) and began to empty about 15,000 years ago. The lacustrine sediments (up to 240 m thick) preserve abundant paleoenvironment information. In this paper, a mass of oxygen isotopes and 14C dating from drilled cores are analyzed and discussed. The δ18O curve on the paleo climate from this section is comparable with the coeval paleo climatic curves of ice cores and karsts in China and others. Furthermore, the physical model testing has confirmed that the disturbed zones in the core are caused by strong earthquakes occurred at least 10 times, which implies strong crustal deformation, as an important driving force, affecting climate change. This study provides a new window to observe East Asian monsoon formation, paleoenvironmental evolution and the global climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MADS-box transcription factors are essential mediators of the vegetative and reproductive development of seed plants. Although MADS-box genes have been extensively characterized in angiosperms, their functions are not well-understood in gymnosperms, especially the Gnetales, due to an ambiguous phylogeny of seed plants. Here, we performed a genome-wide search for MADS-box genes in Gnetum luofuense and found 11 Type I and 38 Type II MADS-box members (i.e. three MIKC* and 35 MIKCc genes). The relative abundance of the Type I Mα and Type II MIKCC subgroups (including the DEF/GLO and TM8-like genes) were mainly contributed by tandem duplications. Comparisons of the gene expression levels among members of the MIKCc subgroup reveal that the DEF/GLO-like genes and several TM8-like genes were exclusively expressed in reproductive organs, whereas TM3-like, StMADS11-like and other TM8-like genes exhibited a broad expression pattern in both vegetative and reproductive organs in G. luofuense. In addition, 14 Type II MIKCc genes were found in the stem transcriptome of Ephedra equisetina and we made an attempt to assess the homology to the MIKCc genes within Gnetales. The results of this study provide valuable information for understanding the phylogenies and functions of MADS-box genes in seed plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a stable and accurate object registration pipeline for markerless augmented reality applications. We present two novel algorithms for object recognition and matching to improve the registration accuracy from model to scene transformation via point cloud fusion. Whilst the first algorithm effectively deals with simple scenes with few object occlusions, the second algorithm handles cluttered scenes with partial occlusions for robust real-time object recognition and matching. The computational framework includes a locally supported Gaussian weight function to enable repeatable detection of 3D descriptors. We apply a bilateral filtering and outlier removal to preserve edges of point cloud and remove some interference points in order to increase matching accuracy. Extensive experiments have been carried to compare the proposed algorithms with four most used methods. Results show improved performance of the algorithms in terms of computational speed, camera tracking and object matching errors in semi-cluttered and partial-occluded scenes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) before radical excision has become the preferred initial option for locally advanced digestive cancers such as esophageal cancer (EC), esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma (EGJAC), gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC), rectal cancer (RC), and pancreatic cancer (PC). Although some patients reportedly achieve a pathologic complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant therapy, the published data are inconsistent regarding whether pCR yields a survival benefit. The current meta-analysis was performed to assess the potential prognostic value of pCR after preoperative therapy for patients with digestive cancers. Methods: An extensive electronic search in PubMed, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library was performed for relevant articles, from which data relative to independent correlations of pCR with overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were extracted for analysis. A random-effects model was used to calculate the pooled hazard ratios (HRs) with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: The study identified 6780 patients who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The results showed that pCR was significantly correlated with better OS (HR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.43–0.58; P < 0.001) and DFS (HR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.40–0.60; P < 0.001) for the digestive cancer patients who achieved pCR than for those who did not achieve pCR. Subgroup analysis showed that the correlation of pCR with OS was significant in EC (HR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.47–0.69; P < 0.001), EGJAC/GAC (HR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.17–0.86; P = 0.02), RC (HR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.28–0.81; P = 0.006), and PC (HR, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.17–0.97; P = 0.04). In addition, the survival benefit for pCR patients was of similar magnitude, irrespective of the type of study, type of NAT, or ethnicity. Conclusions: A pCR is correlated with favorable survival outcomes compared with a non-pCR for digestive cancer patients after NAT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With shale oil reservoir pressure depletion and recovery of hydrocarbons from formations, the fracture apertures and conductivity are subject to reduction due to the interaction between stress effects and proppants. Suppose most of the proppants were concentrated in dominant fractures rather than sparsely allocated in the fracture network, the fracture conductivity would be less influenced by the induced stress effect. However, the merit of uniformly distributed proppants in the fracture network is that it increases the contact area for the injection gas with the shale matrix. In this paper, we address the question whether we should exploit or confine the fracture complexity for CO2-EOR in shale oil reservoirs. Two proppant transport scenarios were simulated in this paper: Case 1—the proppant is uniformly distributed in the complex fracture system, propagating a partially propped or un-propped fracture network; Case 2—the proppant primarily settles in simple planar fractures. A series of sensitivity studies of the fracture conductivity were performed to investigate the conductivity requirements in order to more efficiently produce from the shale reservoirs. Our simulation results in this paper show the potential of CO2 huff-n-puff to improve oil recovery in shale oil reservoirs. Simulation results indicate that the ultra-low permeability shales require an interconnected fracture network to maximize shale oil recovery in a reasonable time period. The well productivity of a fracture network with a conductivity of 4 mD ft achieves a better performance than that of planar fractures with an infinite conductivity. However, when the conductivity of fracture networks is inadequate, the planar fracture treatment design maybe a favorable choice. The available literature provides limited information on the relationship between fracture treatment design and the applicability of CO2 huff-n-puff in very low permeability shale formations. Very limited field test or laboratory data are available on the investigation of conductivity requirements for cyclic CO2 injection in shale oil reservoirs. In the context of CO2 huff-n-puff EOR, the effect of fracture complexity on well productivity was examined by simulation approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of en bloc right hemicolectomy with pancreaticoduodenectomy (RHCPD) for locally advanced right-sided colon cancer (LARCC).Method: A pooled data analysis was performed on individual patients identified from the literature and the authors’ institutions. The short- and long-term outcomes were assessed.Results: Recruited in this study were 81 LARCC patients undergoing RHCPD, including 75 patients reported in the literature and 6 patients from our own institutions. R0 resection was achieved in 97.5% cases. Morbidity and the 30-day mortality rate were 53.8 and 3.7%, respectively. The median survival duration was 70.4 months, and the 1-, 3- and 5-year overall survival rates were 77.8, 64.6, and 55.2%, respectively. Multivariable analysis identified only lymph node metastasis (hazard ratio 3.474, 95% confidence interval 1.323-9.120; P = 0.011) as independent predictors of poor survival.Conclusion: En bloc RHCPD for LARCC can be performed safely with a high proportion of R0 resection and a good postoperative survival outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data clustering is the process of dividing data elements into clusters so that items in the same cluster are as similar as possible, and items in different clusters are as dissimilar as possible. One of the key features for clustering is how to define a sensible similarity measure. Such measures usually handle data in one modality, but unable to cluster data from different modalities. Based on fuzzy set and prototype theory interpretations of label semantics, two (dis) similarity measures are proposed by which we can automatically cluster data and vague concepts represented by logical expressions of linguistic labels. Experimental results on a toy problem and one in image classification demonstrate the effectiveness of new clustering algorithms. Since our new proposed measures can be extended to measuring distance between any two granularities, the new clustering algorithms can also be extended to cluster data instance and imprecise concepts represented by other granularities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performance optimization is one of the core issues in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). The existing efforts on performance optimization mainly consist of two research themes: power control and sleep scheduling. A well-designed network performance optimization method is not only close to the actual but also has good generality. There are many aspects that need to be studied. This paper aims to pursue a trade-off between network comprehensive performance and survival time by employing gain and cost to characterize the whole network performance. Towards this goal, a comprehensive performance optimization evaluation model based on complex network theory is proposed. In addition, a relevant optimization algorithm is proposed, which bears a number of merits such as low complexity and competitive performance. Simulation results show that WSNs have the best network average degree to make network obtain maximum income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a simple and effective topic correlation model (TCM) for cross-modal multimedia retrieval by jointly modeling the text and image components in multimedia documents. In this model, the image component is represented by the bag-of-features model based on local scale-invariant feature transform features, meanwhile the text component is described by a topic distribution learned from a latent topic model. Statistical correlations between these two mid-level features are investigated by mapping them into a semantic space. These cross-modality correlations are used to calculate the conditional probabilities of answers in one modality while given query in the other modality. The model is tested on three cross-modal retrieval benchmark problems including Wikipedia documents in both English and Chinese. Experimental results have demonstrated that the new TCM model achieves the best performance compared to recent state-of-the-art cross-modal retrieval models on the given benchmarks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel pH- and temperature-responsive poly ( N-isopropyl acrylamide/itaconic acid/acrylamide)(NIPAM/IA/AM) hydrogel was synthesized by inverse microemulsion polymerization and crosslinker effects on its swelling and gel properties were investigated. Water absorbency and salt solution absorbency increased with crosslinker amount increased to 0.2 wt%, and then decreased, while pH-sensitivity decreased and gel strength, temperature-and shear- resistance increased with increased crosslinker amount. The average particle size of the NIPAM/IA/AM hydrogels synthesized at crosslinker amount of 0.2 and 0.4 wt%, increased from 0.45 and 0.38 μm to 11.86 and 9.88 μm, respectively, with swelling time from 1 to 15 h. The NIPAM/IA/AM hydrogel demonstrated shear-thinning behavior and increased gel strength from 25 to 35 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hierarchical topology control is an efficient technique and commonly used in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Complex network theory is used for depicting and investigating structures and functions of natural and artificial networks/systems. In this paper, we explore directed and weighted dynamics of hierarchical WSNs, based on complex network theory. Early work did not considerate edge directions and attribute of heterogeneous node. We present two dynamic evolution models, which consider link/communication directions in real WSNs, and two kinds of nodes: router node and normal node are introduced into two evolution models with directed weighted edges. Then we conduct theoretical analysis by using statistical physics approach. With numerical simulations, the results show that two models fit well with expect goals. The two models could be extended in some practical projects and have better effects than common un-weighted network model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new microcrystal muscovite composite superabsorbent was synthesized by UV photopolymerization using 2-hydroxy-2-methylpropiophenone (1 173) as photoinitiator, N, N-methylene bisacrylamide(MBA) as crosslinker, acrylic acid (AA), acrylamide (AM) and sodium 4-styrenesulfonate (SSS) as comonomers. Factors affecting water and salt absorption of the microcrystal muscovite composite superabsorbent, such as crosslinker amount, microcrystal muscovite concentration, photoinitiator content, and SSS concentration, were systematically studied. Water retention capacity of the composite superabsorbent was also investigated. The results show that microcrystal muscovite composite superabsorbent has water absorbency of 550 g/g, salt absorbency of 62 g/g, and water retention of 60% after heating at 70 °C for 40 h. The microcrystal muscovite is physically combined into the polymeric network without destroying its polycrystalline structure and the surface of the microcrystal muscovite composite superabsorbent has some deep and small holes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new hectorite/poly(acrylamide/itaconic acid) nanocomposite hydrogel was synthesized by inverse microemulsion polymerization. The effects of crosslinker amount on water absorbency and salt absorbency, swellability, pH-sensitivity, gel strength, temperature-and shear-resistance were investigated. Water and salt absorbencies, pH-sensitivity and swellability decreased, while gel strength and temperature-and shear-resistance increased with increasing crosslinker amount. Nanocomposite hydrogels had good thermal stability with onset decomposing temperature of 252 °C. The as-synthesized hydrogel particles were regular and spherical-like and had an average particle size of 43 nm in the range of 30-65 nm. Hectorite clay platelets were exfoliated and transformed into amorphous structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nonlocal nonlinear boundary value problem with turning point is considered. Leading the stretched variables the formal asymptotic solution of the original problem is constructed. And by using the theory of differential inequalities the existence and uniformly validity of solution for the original boundary value problems are proved. The contribution of this paper is that, the asymptotic behavior of solution is studied by using a simple and special method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new hectorite/poly(AM/IA) nanocomposite hydrogel was synthesized by inverse microemulsion polymerization. Influences of hectorite content on water absorbency and salt solution absorbency, swellability, pH-sensitivity, gel strength and temperature-resistance of the nanocomposite hydrogel were investigated. Water and salt solution absorbencies, pH-sensitivity and swellability decreased while gel strength and temperature-resistance of the nanocomposite hydrogel increased with increasing hectorite content. The as-synthesized hydrogel particles were regular and spherical-like in shape and had the average particle size of 43 nm with the range of 30-65 nm. Hectorite clay platelets were exfoliated and transformed into amorphous structure within the polymeric networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel hectorite/poly(AM/IA) nanocomposite hydrogel was synthesized by inverse microemulsion polymerization. The influence of hectorite amount on water absorbency rate, gel strength and shear-resistance was investigated. Dynamic viscoelasticity behaviour of the nanocomposite hydrogels was also studied. The nanocomposite hydrogels showed suitable water absorbency and shear-resistance, high gel strength, solid-like behaviour in the whole oscillation frequency region and enhanced viscoelastic behaviours under high stress. TEM indicated that the as-synthesized hydrogel particles were regular and spherical in shape with an average particle size of 43 nm in the range of 30-65nm. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complex network theory is used for depicting and investigating structures and functions of natural and artificial social networks or systems. Current state-of-the-art research is limited to either modeling Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) under some energy constraint or assuming fixed/static network model. However, WSNs is a dynamic social network, it should be an evolution network, and time of the sensor nodes adding to the network cannot be uniform. In this paper, we try to explore the Poisson dynamics of WSNs based on complex network theory combined with fitness function. Early works have not considered the node energy, we present a new Poisson-fitness model. Then we conduct theoretical analysis by using statistical physics approach. With numerical simulations, the results show that the model fits well with expect goals. Our results offer important references on the performance issues depending on specific application scenarios of WSNs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microcrystal muscovite composite superabsorbents (MMCSA) were prepared by water solution polymerization using acrylic acid, acrylamide and itaconic acid as comonomers and microcrystal muscovite as an inorganic additive. Properties, such as water absorbency, salt absorbency, gel strength, water retention capacity and structure of MMCSA characterized by SEM and XRD, were investigated. Water absorbency, salt absorbency, gel strength, water retention capacity and thermostability were enhanced by incorporation of suitable amount of microcrystal muscovite. Water absorption of MMCSA was rapid, requiring 24.55 min to reach 63% of equilibrium absorbency (1218 g/g). Microcrystal muscovite was physically combined into the polymeric network without destroying its polycrystalline structure and microcrystal muscovite composite superabsorbent had some irregular, undulant, and small microporous holes with sheet-like microcrystal muscovite distributed in the polymeric matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of hydrophobically associating copolymers of acrylamide and hydrophobic stearyl methacrylate as comonomers were prepared by microemulsion polymerization. The rheological properties of the copolymers in aqueous solution depended on the content of hydrophobic monomer, initiator amount, surfactant concentration, the copolymer concentration and the addition of salt. The hydrophobically associating copolymers showed good temperature, shear, and salt resistance with the critical aggregation concentration around 0.6 g dL. In addition, the apparent viscosities of hydrophobically associating copolymer solutions are increased remarkably by the addition of a small amount of NaCl and CaCl, respectively. FTIR and H-NMR spectra indicate the structure of hydrophobically associating copolymers. The shear-thinning behavior of hydrophobically associating copolymer makes it useful in enhanced oil recovery and drilling fluids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of hydrophobic associative copolymers using acrylamide (AM), sodium 4-styrenesulfonate (SSS) and hydrophobic stearyl methylacrylate (SMA) as co-monomers were prepared by microemulsion polymerization. Factors affecting the rheological properties of the aqueous copolymer solutions, such as the content of hydrophobic monomer, amount of SSS, amount of initiator, amount of sodium dodecyl sulfate, the copolymer concentration and the addition of salt, were investigated. The hydrophobic associative copolymers show good temperature-, shear-, and salt-resistance with the critical aggregation concentration of the copolymers being around 0.4 g·dL. The apparent viscosities of hydrophobic associative copolymer solutions increase as SMA content is increased from 8 to 12 %. The apparent viscosity and temperature resistance of the hydrophobic associative copolymers are enhanced by incorporation of a suitable amount of SSS segments into the polymeric chains. In addition, the apparent viscosities of hydrophobic associative copolymer solutions are increased by the addition of a small amount of NaCl and CaCl. Both the storage modulus and loss modulus of the hydrophobic associative copolymers increase with angular frequency ω and were well fitted by the Maxwell model in the low-frequency region. FTIR and H NMR spectra indicate the structure of hydrophobic associative copolymers. AFM indicated that some aggregates and small network connections between polymeric chains were present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel dual responsive hydrogel was synthesized by inverse microemulsion polymerization, using itaconic acid as pH-responsive monomer and N- isopropylacrylamide as thermo-responsive monomer. pH- and temperature-sensitivity and dynamic viscoelasticity behaviour of the dual responsive hydrogels were investigated. Dual responsive hydrogels showed remarkable pH- and temperature-sensitivity and enhanced viscoelastic behaviour under high stress. Temperature-induced shrinkage range of the dual responsive hydrogels was higher and broader than that of the conventional poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) hydrogel. FTIR revealed the structure of dual responsive hydrogels. The as-synthesized regular and sphere-like hydrogel particles had the average particle size of 49 nm in the range of 30-78 nm. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]