Search

Characterizing the nature of hydrodynamical transport properties in quantum dynamics provides valuable insights into the fundamental understanding of exotic non-equilibrium phases of matter. Experimentally simulating infinite-temperature transport on large-scale complex quantum systems is of considerable interest. Here, using a controllable and coherent superconducting quantum simulator, we experimentally realize the analog quantum circuit, which can efficiently prepare the Haar-random states, and probe spin transport at infinite temperature. We observe diffusive spin transport during the unitary evolution of the ladder-type quantum simulator with ergodic dynamics. Moreover, we explore the transport properties of the systems subjected to strong disorder or a tilted potential, revealing signatures of anomalous subdiffusion in accompany with the breakdown of thermalization. Our work demonstrates a scalable method of probing infinite-temperature spin transport on analog quantum simulators, which paves the way to study other intriguing out-of-equilibrium phenomena from the perspective of transport. Quantum devices offer the potential to simulate quantum phenomena, which are otherwise computationally intractable. Here, Shi, Sun, Wang and coauthors use a superconducting quantum simulator to study spin-transport at infinite temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Conducting of clinical trials for rare diseases faces multiple challenges. Patients' cognition and attitude toward clinical trials are crucial, which may affect their participation and compliance, and affect the schedule of clinical trials eventually. Objective and Method: This study aims to explore the knowledge and attitudes of clinical trials of patients with rare diseases or patients' guardians. An anonymous cross-sectional survey was conducted from November 1, 2021, to November 30, 2021. A total of 1131 valid questionnaires were included. Among them, 417 were filled in by the patients themselves, and 714 were answered by the patients' guardians. Results: The average score of clinical trial knowledge of the patients (8.25) was lower than that of the guardians (8.85). The willingness of the patients to participate in clinical trials was high (4.28), and the willingness of the patients' guardians was also high for patients to participate in clinical trials (4.35). The main promoting factors of clinical trial participation were the possibility of curing the disease. The main hindering factors of participation in clinical trials were lack of access to clinical trial information and concern about the safety and effectiveness of the trial drug. Conclusions: In conclusion, most respondents had some basic knowledge of clinical trials and high willingness to participate in clinical trials. But there were some cognitive deficiencies about clinical trials and many hindering factors to participate in clinical trials. Clinical trials of rare diseases should be patient-centered and truly meet the unmet clinical, psychological, and social needs of patients with rare diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban hydrological monitoring is essential for analyzing urban hydrology and controlling storm floods. However, runoff monitoring in urban areas, including flood inundation depth, is often inadequate. This inadequacy hampers the calibration of hydrological models and limits their capacity for early flood warning. To address this limitation, this study established a method for evaluating the depth of urban floods using image recognition and deep learning. This method utilizes the object recognition model YOLOv4 to identify submerged objects in images, such as the legs of pedestrians or the exhaust pipes of vehicles. In a dataset of 1,177 flood images, the mean average precision for water depth recognition reached 89.29%. The study also found that the accuracy of flood depth recognition by YOLOv4 is influenced by the type of reference object submerged by the flood; the use of a vehicle as the reference object yielded higher accuracy than using a person. Furthermore, image augmentation with Mosaic technology effectively enhanced the accuracy of recognition. The developed method extracts on-site, real-time, and continuous water depth data from images or video data provided by existing traffic cameras. This system eliminates the need for installing additional water gauges, offering a cost-effective and immediately deployable solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In order to meet the unmet needs of rare disease patients in China, importing orphan drugs is an important way. The objectives of this study were to investigate the marketing trend of orphan drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and imported by China, to examine the orphan drug lag between China and the United States. Methods: This study analyzes the orphan drugs approved by FDA and imported by China from January 2010 to December 2021. The approval lag for orphan drugs between China and the US was calculated and analyzed by approval time. Factors potentially affecting the approval lag, such as target disease, ATC classification, formulation, corporation name, drug type, and whether the indications belong to the first batch of rare diseases catalogue were investigated. Results: The number of FDA-approved orphan drugs imported by China is increasing year by year, and the approval lag of these drugs is gradually decreasing, especially in the classification of Non-L, Injections, Non-United States, and biological product. Compared with 2010–2015, the approval lag of total drugs in the study was significantly improved in 2016–2021 (1977 days) compared with 2010–2015 (3928 days). Conclusion: China's groundbreaking regulatory reforms of drugs since 2015 had made significant progress in reducing orphan drug lags, but there is still considerable room for progress. We should more actively promote the approval of rare disease drugs in China, establish a better approval mechanism, and enable Chinese patients with rare diseases to receive drug treatment in a timely manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-quality graphene-based van der Waals superlattices are crucial for investigating physical properties and developing functional devices. However, achieving homogeneous wafer-scale graphene-based superlattices with controlled twist angles is challenging. Here, we present a flat-to-flat transfer method for fabricating wafer-scale graphene and graphene-based superlattices. The aqueous solution between graphene and substrate is removed by a two-step spinning-assisted dehydration procedure with the optimal wetting angle. Proton-assisted treatment is further used to clean graphene surfaces and interfaces, which also decouples graphene and neutralizes the doping levels. Twist angles between different layers are accurately controlled by adjusting the macroscopic stacking angle through their wafer flats. Transferred films exhibit minimal defects, homogeneous morphology, and uniform electrical properties over wafer scale. Even at room temperature, robust quantum Hall effects are observed in graphene films with centimetre-scale linewidth. Our stacking transfer method can facilitate the fabrication of graphene-based van der Waals superlattices and accelerate functional device applications. The large-scale fabrication of twisted van der Waals heterostructures remains challenging due to the formation of defects and contaminations during the transfer process. Here, the authors report a transfer method to fabricate graphene-based van der Waals superlattices at the wafer scale, showing controllable twist angles and robust quantum Hall effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allergic asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease primarily mediated by Th2 immune mechanisms. Exposure to antibiotics during early life is associated with an increased risk of allergic asthma, although the exact mechanism is not fully understood. In this study, mice were randomly divided into a normal saline control group (NS group), an OVA-induced asthma group (OVA group), a vancomycin treatment control group (VAN.NS group), and a vancomycin treatment the OVA-induced asthma group (VAN.OVA group). The results showed that vancomycin altered dominant species in experimental mice. The phylum level histogram showed that Bacteroides abundance was increased, and Firmicutes abundance was decreased in the OVA group. Airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) were aggravated in the vancomycin-exposed group. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) showed that the serum levels of IL-5, IL-13, and IL-33 in the OVA group were higher than those in the NS group, especially in the VAN.OVA group. The expression of GATA binding protein-3(GATA3) and retinoid acid receptor-related orphan receptor alpha (RORa) increased in the OVA group, even more so in the VAN.OVA group. Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) in the lung detected by flow cytometry was increased in OVA mice more than those in control mice, with a more remarkable increase in the VAN.OVA. Our results demonstrated that vancomycin used in early life could alter the intestinal microecology of mice, which, in turn, aggravates airway inflammation and upregulate type 2 innate lymphocytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of our study was to compare the short-term outcomes of early (within 3 months after stroke) and nonearly (more than 3 months after stroke) radical colorectal cancer surgery to find an appropriate time to surgery for these colorectal cancer patients complicated with new-onset cerebral infarction. A retrospective analysis of patients with stroke who underwent curative colorectal cancer surgery between January 2010 and December 2020 was conducted. Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was performed to overcome patient selection bias between the two groups. A total of 395 patients were reviewed. After PSM, 40 patients in the early group and 40 patients in the nonearly group were compared. The median time to surgery was 4 weeks in the early group. The overall incidence of postoperative complications between the groups was not significantly different (p = 0.745). The early group was associated with less intraoperative blood loss (50 vs. 100, p = 0.029 ml), with no difference in 30-day morbidity and mortality. Additionally, multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that previous abdominal surgery (p = 0.049) was an independent risk factor for postoperative complications after matching. Before matching, multivariate logistic analysis showed that ESRS (p = 0.028) and MRS (p = 0.039) were independent risk factors. Radical surgery after 4 weeks of cerebral infarction may be feasible for colorectal cancer patients with new onset stroke, as it appear not to increase the perioperative complications of Clavien–Dindo grade II or higher, while strengthening the preoperative evaluation and perioperative monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper takes the China's A-share listed companies in the heavy pollution industry from 2010 to 2021 as the research sample and constructs a corresponding model to explore the existence, heterogeneity, and economic consequences of peer effect of green innovation. The results show that the enterprises' green innovation not only has strategic behaviors of direct imitation, but also receives the environmental information disclosed by peer enterprises to correct their own decision-making; that is, there are two types of peer effects: imitation and reference. At the same time, the enterprises tend to imitate and learn from large-scale and high-quality enterprises with high governance level while making decisions on green innovation. External situational characteristics can moderate the peer effects of green innovation. The strengthening of intellectual property protection and the improvement of market competition will promote mutual learning and reference among enterprises, and the improvement of the institutional environment will inhibit the interaction of enterprises. Further analysis shows that the peer effect of imitation amplifies the promoting effect of green innovation on business performance, while the peer effect of reference does not show obvious spillover characteristics. The above analysis is helpful to reveal the more real decision-making motivation and potential driving mechanism for enterprises to take green innovation actions and provides new ideas and experience for green innovation to serve the development of entity enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The therapeutic efficacy of microwave ablation (MWA) for subcapsular hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been well characterized. We aimed to compare the long-term outcomes of MWA and surgical resection (SR) in patients with subcapsular HCC. Methods: This retrospective study comprised 321 patients with subcapsular HCC meeting the Milan criteria who received MWA (n = 99) or SR (n = 222). Local tumor progression (LTP), overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS) were analyzed using propensity score matching (PSM) to compare the therapeutic efficacy. Results: In the total cohort, there were no significant differences in 5-year LTP rates (14.0% vs. 8.9%, p = 0.12), OS rates (70.7% vs. 73.2%, p = 0.63), and DFS rates (38.3% vs. 41.2%, p = 0.22) between the MWA and SR groups. After PSM, the cumulative LTP rates at 1, 3, and 5 years were 9.7%, 14.0%, and 16.4% in the MWA group (n = 84) and 7.2%, 8.6%, and 10.6% in the SR group (n = 84), respectively, with no significant difference (p = 0.31). Neither corresponding OS rates (96.4%, 84.8%, and 73.0% vs. 95.2%, 85.5%, and 72.1%, p = 0.89) nor DFS rates (76.0%, 52.6%, and 38.1% vs. 76.2%, 44.7%, and 32.3%, p = 0.43) were significantly different between the MWA and SR groups. Whereas MWA obtained fewer complications for both cohorts (both p < 0.05). Conclusion: MWA showed comparable long-term therapeutic outcomes to SR, and it might be an alternative curative option for subcapsular HCC within the Milan criteria. Key Points: • Microwave ablation showed comparable local tumor progression, overall survival, and disease-free survival to surgical resection for subcapsular hepatocellular carcinoma meeting the Milan criteria. • Microwave ablation obtained fewer complications and shorter postoperative hospital stay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation methods for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) joint sensing and communication system normally pursue high estimation accuracy and resolution by imposing orthogonal waveforms. However, such operation results in a deterioration of communication performance. In this paper, we propose a nonorthogonal waveform assisted DOA estimation algorithm, where an augmented virtual array is derived by exploiting the nonorthogonal MIMO communication waveforms, while a high communication rate can still be maintained. To estimate the round-trip sensing channels of each subcarrier, we utilize the transmitted symbols as pilot symbols, and obtain all the channel coefficients with a minimum mean square error solver. A virtual channel matrix can be formulated with these channel coefficients, which can be regarded as the samples of an augmented virtual array. Based on that, the subspace processing can be conducted for DOA estimation with fully nonorthogonal waveforms. Furthermore, the rank deficiency property of the equivalent signal matrix of the virtual array is analyzed when the distance of targets are identical. To address the problem, a Toeplitz reconstruction method is proposed to restore the rank of the rank-deficient equivalent signal matrix for DOA estimation. Simulations show that the proposed nonorthogonal waveform assisted DOA estimation algorithm outperforms the conventional methods in terms of resolution and accuracy, while maintaining a satisfactory computational efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Timely diagnosis of bearing faults can effectively predict initial faults and avoid severe accidents. Ordinary neural networks have achieved relatively high accuracy for bearing failure classification. However, for the convolution process in neural networks, convolution kernels of fixed size are used across the whole image acquired by the time-frequency transformation, which is prone to overlook the intrinsic local time-frequency features of data. So as to solve this problem that the kernel may not reflect the local time-frequency characteristics of the non-stationary signal, a new method for planning convolutional kernels is proposed in this paper. We leverage variable kernels to capture the time-frequency resolution altering nature within the non-stationary signals. Firstly, starting from the time-frequency characteristics of non-stationary signals, the theoretical basis of adopting variable convolution kernels is analyzed, and the impact of Heisenberg's measurement inaccuracy principle on the design of the learning framework is analyzed in-depth with wavelet analysis as an example. Secondly, since the performance of different wavelet basis functions on time-frequency resolution varies dramatically, after comprehensive study of the mutual relationship between these resolutions, a proper criteria is deduced to deliver the measurement of performances, and the Gabor wavelet basis is chosen according to this principle. This design can be obtained by using wavelet analysis parameters before learning and training. This method is orthogonal to the model training process and can be plug-and-play with other deep learning frameworks. Finally, it is shown through datasets and practical experiments that the proposed method outperforms other newly proposed classification methods in terms of achieving higher accuracy in less time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective measures to improve road accessibility during storms are required as traffic congestion caused by storm floods increasingly constrains the efficiency of urban commuting. However, flood impacts on urban road connectivity are not yet well assessed due to inaccurate simulation of flood processes in urban areas where high-resolution data for drainage networks and gauged hydrological data are insufficient. Thus, this study assesses flood impacts on road network connectivity in an urban area of southern China through joint modeling of 1-D hydrodynamic processes in drainage networks and 2-D flood inundation processes on roads using MIKE Urban and MIKE 21. High-resolution DEM images of 5 m and a drainage network of 5635 pipelines were used for urban hydrological simulation. Flood depths were gauged for model calibration and validation by recruited volunteers in the context of citizen science. The results show that road network connectivity decreases as rainfall increases. More than 40% of road connectivity is lost in the study area when a 1-in-100-year return period rainfall occurs. The study results can help to inform more adaptive strategies for local flood control. The study methods are also applicable to improving urban hydrological modeling in broader regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To compare a novel vacuum suction ureteroscopic laser lithotripsy (VS-URS) with traditional ureteroscopic laser lithotripsy (T-URS) for impacted upper ureteral stones and to better define the potential benefits of VS-URS. Methods: Between May 2019 and March 2021, 158 patients with impacted upper ureteral stones underwent ureteroscopic holmium-YAG laser lithotripsy. Of these, 76 underwent VS-URS and 82 underwent T-URS. In VS-URS procedures, the vacuum suction device is composed of a 5F ureteral catheter and a tee joint. The ureteral catheter is linked to the vacuum aspirator by the sidearm of the tee joint, and a 200 μm fiber is inserted through the tee joint and the ureteral catheter into the stone site for lithotripsy. Results: When compared to the T-URS group, the VS-URS group had a shorter mean operation time (38.18 ± 6.37 min vs. 46.65 ± 5.66 min; P = 0.000), lower fever rate (3.9% vs. 14.6%; P < 0.022), less stone retropulsion (5.3% vs. 18.3%; P = 0.012), lower extra management rate (6.58% vs. 21.95%; P = 0.006), and a higher stone-free rate of the first postoperative day (88.2% vs. 72.0%; P = 0.011). There were no significant differences in stone-free rates 1 month after surgery between groups (94.7% vs. 92.7%; P = 0.748). Conclusions: VS-URS is an effective modality for impacted upper ureteral stones, and has a shorter operating time, lower fever rate, less stone retropulsion, and a higher primary stone-free rate compared with T-URS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study develops analytical equations for estimating the rigidity index of sand from the compression index and the angle of internal friction. Therefore, rigidity indices of sands can be determined based on routine geotechnical oedometer tests and direct shear tests. A total of 132 oedometer and direct shear tests are performed on 22 sands with various particle shapes, sizes, and gradations to determine their rigidity indices under different relative densities. Then, relationships between rigidity indices of sands and their intrinsic properties are explored. A material index by integrating particle shape and coefficient of uniformity is proposed to quantify effects of intrinsic properties of sands. This material index is used to develop a predictive model for rigidity index. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Thermal ablation is now accepted as one of the curative treatments for patients with early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the efficacy of this treatment for subcapsular HCC is not well characterized. Therefore, we aimed to compare the outcomes of microwave ablation (MWA) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for patients with subcapsular HCC.Methods: In total, 195 patients with subcapsular HCC who met the Milan criteria and underwent MWA or RFA were included. Local tumor progression (LTP), overall survival (OS), recurrence beyond the Milan criteria (RBM), and complications of these patients were compared.Results: After propensity score matching, the 1-, 3-, and 5-year cumulative LTP rates were 6.7%, 9.6%, and 11.4% in the MWA group, and 13.4%, 24.6%, and 29.1% in the RFA group, respectively (p = 0.006). The cumulative rates of RBM were lower in patients treated with MWA than in those treated with RFA (4.4% versus 12% at 1 year; 14.5% versus 23.0% at 3 years; and 37.4% versus 53.9% at 5 years; p = 0.03). The OS rates at 1, 3, and 5 years were 97.1%, 85.9%, and 73.4% in the MWA group, and 95.6%, 80.4%, and 61.4% in the RFA group, respectively (p = 0.36). The rate of major complications showed no significant difference between the MWA group and the RFA group (17.4% vs. 11.6%, p = 0.33).Conclusion: Compared to RFA, MWA showed better tumor control for subcapsular HCC within the Milan criteria. There was no difference in the incidence of major complications between the two groups.Key Points: •Compared to radiofrequency ablation, microwave ablation showed better local tumor control for patients with subcapsular hepatocellular carcinoma. •Microwave ablation showed similar major complication rates for patients with subcapsular hepatocellular carcinoma. •Microwave ablation may be preferred for patients with subcapsular hepatocellular carcinoma when they need to receive thermal ablation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the theory of trade added value, this paper discusses the potential actual trade scale and benefit damage degree of the two countries under the background of big country game by measuring the real trade scale of China and the USA, simulating the economic impact of tariffs imposed by China and the USA and utilizing Wang–Wei–Zhu (WWZ) method to decompose the potential changes in Sino-US trade. The results show that: firstly, the size of China-US trade in terms of total value is significantly overestimated and China's overall trade with the USA in 2001–2014 was overestimated by an average of 3.06 percent, of which goods trade was overestimated by 8.06 percent. Secondly, although tariff increases can reduce the degree of trade imbalance between China and the USA to some extent, the adverse effects are mutual and global, and the European Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Japan and Canada become the main transfer countries of Sino-US trade. Thirdly, the pattern of China's final exports and the US' intermediate exports determines that China's trade interests are more damaged than those of the USA. It is proved that there is a big gap between China and the USA in the depth and breadth of China's participation in the value chain division of labor and the trade scale measured by Gross Domestic Product is more instructive than the total value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To compare double-sheath vacuum suction minimally invasive percutaneous nephrolithotomy (DS-mini-PCNL) with vacuum-assisted mini-PCNL (VS-mini-PCNL) and to better define the potential benefits of DS-mini-PCNL. Methods: Between July 2019 and May 2020, 117 patients with large radiopaque renal stones underwent mini-PCNL. Of these, 63 underwent DS-mini-PCNL and 54 underwent VS-mini-PCNL. For VS-mini-PCNL, a F20 Y-shaped sheath was used and the oblique arm of the sheath was connected to the vacuum suction. For DS-mini-PCNL, the oblique arm of a F20 Y-shaped sheath (the outer sheath) and a F16 Y-shaped sheath (the inner sheath) was connected to the perfusion inflow and the vacuum suction, respectively. A 550-μm holmium–YAG laser was used for stone fragmentation. Results: Compared with VS-mini-PCNL group, DS-mini-PCNL group had significantly shorter operative time (35.78 ± 7.77 min vs. 44.56 ± 13.19 min; P = 0.000) and significantly lower fever rate (1.6% vs. 11.1%; P = 0.048). It was not significantly different between the two groups despite the higher initial stone-free rate seen for DS-mini-PCNL group relative to VS-mini-PCNL group (87.7% vs. 81.5%, P = 0.346). Auxiliary procedure rates were 4.8% (three patients) in DS-mini-PCNL group and 16.7% (nine patients) in VS-mini-PCNL group, with a significant difference (P = 0.034). The difference in the final stone-free rate between the two groups was rendered insignificant (93.8% vs. 89.1%, P = 0.510). Conclusions: DS-mini-PCNL is a safe and effective modality for large renal stones, which could increase the efficiency of stone extraction and decrease infectious complications compared with VS-mini-PCNL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The actual risks posed by tumor deposits (TDs) in colorectal cancer are still incompletely assessed. We explored the prognostic value of TDs in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) patients using propensity score matching (PSM) method. Methods: Consecutive LARC patients in Peking University First Hospital between 2011 and 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. Kaplan–Meier methods and Cox proportional hazard regression analysis were conducted to explore prognostic values of TDs. PSM method was conducted to minimize selection bias. The correlation between TDs number and prognosis was explored. Results: Four hundred and fifty-one LARC patients were recruited, and 78 (17.3%) patients were with TDs. Multivariate Cox analysis identified that the presence of TDs was an independent prognostic risk factor for overall survival (OS) (P = 0.044). PSM identified 76 matched pairs of LARC patients, and Kaplan–Meier curves revealed that patients with TDs experienced worse OS (log-rank P = 0.0220) and relapse-free survival (RFS) (log-rank P = 0.0117). Subgroup analysis of 50 pairs extracted by PSM from 246 LARC patients with lymph node metastasis (LNM) further proved that TDs were significantly associated with worse OS (log-rank P = 0.0415), and the association was barely significant for RFS (log-rank P = 0.0527). There were non-significant tendencies towards higher mortality in TDs ≥ 2 than TD = 1 group (log-rank P = 0.348 for OS, log-rank P = 0.087 for RFS). Conclusion: Our study manifested that the presence of TDs was an independent risk factor for LARC patients. The prognostic value of TDs for LARC patients with LNM should not be ignored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A thermal-responsive photonic crystal material was fabricated by forming an inverse opal nanocomposite hydrogel of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (IONHPNIPAm) within the interstitial space of a polystyrene photonic crystal template. In IONHPNIPAm, PNIPAm were physically cross-linked with two kinds of nanoparticles (carbon dots and laponite clays). The integration of carbon dots and laponite clays for physical crosslinking endowed IONHPNIPAm sufficient strength and self-healing property. IONHPNIPAm films can be completely peeled from the substrates to be utilized as an independent photonic crystal material. The structural color and optical diffraction of the IONHPNIPAm exhibits a rapid reversible change in response to external thermal stimuli due to its physical cross-linking feature. Moreover, the IONHPNIPAm shows clear fluorescence due to the introduction of carbon dots, which enables a convenient way for chemical detection (such as the detection of silver ions). This stimuli-responsive photonic crystal materials based on physically cross-linked inverse opal nanocomposite hydrogels with fast response and good mechanical stability are promising for applications in the fields of smart optical detectors, thermal-responsive sensors and chemical detectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interface heat transfer coefficient (IHTC) at the different casting/shell mold interfaces during the vacuum investment casting process was investigated by measuring the temperatures of K4169 superalloy melt and mold shell during the preheating, transferring, pouring, and solidification processes. The inverse model of ProCAST was used to calculate the interface heat transfer coefficient (IHTC) based on the temperature measurement results. The inverse calculation results show that the heat transfer between the shell mold and the outside air changes from natural convection to forced convection during the transfer process, but the heat transfer between the shell mold and the inside air is consistently natural convection heat transfer. Then, the convective heat transfer coefficient gradually decreases to 0.1 W/m2·K with the vacuum increases and is finally converted to radiation heat transfer at a vacuum of 10-3 Pa. In the early stages of solidification, the IHTC between the shell mold and the casting can reach 16,000 W/m2·K due to the close contact and the large temperature difference between them, and with the thermal expansion of the shell mold and cooling contraction of the casting, the formation of the gap leads to the interfacial heat transfer coefficient gradually stabilizing at 100–200 W/m2·K. The experimental validation results show that the IHTC has a great influence on the accuracy of the prediction of the location and shape of shrinkage porosities in the vacuum investment castings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the bifurcation and exact travelling wave solutions of the general regularized long wave (GRLW) equation. Based on the bifurcation theory of dynamical system, the various exact solutions are obtained. We consider the cases: p = 2 n + 1 and p = 2 n respectively. It is shown that GRLW equation has extra kink and anti-kink wave solutions when p = 2 n + 1 , while it’s not for p = 2 n . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Recurrence rate is up to 70% at 5 years for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after initial resection, but the management of recurrent HCC remains unclear. To compare the efficacy and safety of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and repeat resection as the first-line treatment in recurrent HCC. Methods: This multicenter retrospective study analyzed 290 patients who underwent RFA (n = 199) or repeat resection (n = 91) between January 2006 and December 2016 for locally recurrent HCC (≤ 5 cm) following primary resection. We compared the overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and complications between the two treatment groups for the total cohort and the propensity score matched (PSM) cohort. Results: The 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS (90.7%, 69.04%, 55.6% vs. 87.7%, 62.9%, 38.1%, p = 0.11) and PFS (56.5%, 27.9%, 14.6% vs. 50.2%, 21.9%, 19.2%, p = 0.80) were similar in the RFA group and the repeat resection group. However, RFA was superior to repeat resection in complication rate and hospital stay (p ≤ 0.001). We observed similar findings in the PSM cohort of 48 pairs of patients and when OS and PFS were measured from the time of the primary resection. The OS of the RFA group was significantly better than repeat resection group among those with 2 or 3 recurrent tumor nodules in both the total cohort (p = 0.009) and the PSM cohort (p = 0.018). Conclusion: RFA has the same efficacy as repeat resection in recurrent HCC patients, but with fewer complications. RFA is more efficient and safer than repeat resection in patients with 2 or 3 recurrent tumor nodules. Key Points: • Recurrence rate is up to 70% at 5 years for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after initial resection. • RFA has the same efficacy as repeat resection in recurrent HCC patients, but with fewer complications. • RFA may be preferred for those with 2 or 3 recurrent HCC nodules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the characteristics of the 5-prismatic–spherical–spherical (PSS)/universal–prismatic–universal (UPU) parallel mechanism with elastically active branched chains, the dynamics modeling and solutions of the parallel mechanism were investigated. First, the active branched chains and screw sliders were considered as spatial beam elements and plane beam element models, respectively, and the dynamic equations of each element model were derived using the Lagrange method. Second, the equations of the 5-PSS/UPU parallel mechanism were obtained according to the kinematic coupling relationship between the active branched chains and moving platform. Finally, based on the parallel mechanism dynamic equations, the natural frequency distribution of the 5-PSS/UPU parallel mechanism in the working space and elastic displacement of the moving platform were obtained. The results show that the natural frequency of the 5-PSS/UPU parallel mechanism under a given motion situation is greater than its operating frequency. The maximum position error is − 0.096 mm in direction Y, and the maximum orientation error is − 0.29° around the X-axis. The study provides important information for analyzing the dynamic performance, dynamic optimization design, and dynamic control of the 5-PSS/UPU parallel mechanism with elastically active branched chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, two nanoparticles with different dimensions, spherical carbon dots (C-dots) and sheetlike hectorite clay, were used as physical crosslinkers to fabricate C-dots-clay-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) nanocomposite hydrogels (coded as C-dots-clay-PNIPAm hydrogels). The mechanical properties, fluorescence features and thermal-responsive properties of the C-dots-clay-PNIPAm hydrogels were evaluated. The experimental results indicate that synergistic effects of C-dots and hectorite clay nanoparticles are able to significantly enhance mechanical properties of the hydrogels. The hydrogels can be stretched up to 1730% with strength as high as 250 kPa when the C-dots concentration is 0.1wt% and the clay concentration is 6wt%. The hydrogels exhibit complete self-healing through autonomic reconstruction of crosslinked network a damaged interface. The hydrogels show favorable thermal-responsive properties with the volume phase transition around 34 °C. In addition, the hydrogels are endowed with fluorescence features that are associated with C-dots in the hydrogels. It can be expected that the as-fabricated C-dots-clay-PNIPAm hydrogels are promising for applications in sensors, biomedical carriers and tissue engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphene films grown by chemical vapour deposition have unusual physical and chemical properties that offer promise for applications such as flexible electronics and high-frequency transistors1–10. However, wrinkles invariably form during growth because of the strong coupling to the substrate, and these limit the large-scale homogeneity of the film1–4,11,12. Here we develop a proton-assisted method of chemical vapour deposition to grow ultra-flat graphene films that are wrinkle-free. Our method of proton penetration13–17 and recombination to form hydrogen can also reduce the wrinkles formed during traditional chemical vapour deposition of graphene. Some of the wrinkles disappear entirely, owing to the decoupling of van der Waals interactions and possibly an increase in distance from the growth surface. The electronic band structure of the as-grown graphene films shows a V-shaped Dirac cone and a linear dispersion relation within the atomic plane or across an atomic step, confirming the decoupling from the substrate. The ultra-flat nature of the graphene films ensures that their surfaces are easy to clean after a wet transfer process. A robust quantum Hall effect appears even at room temperature in a device with a linewidth of 100 micrometres. Graphene films grown by proton-assisted chemical vapour deposition should largely retain their intrinsic performance, and our method should be easily generalizable to other nanomaterials for strain and doping engineering. A growth process in which protons decouple graphene from the underlying substrate greatly reduces the number of wrinkles that usually degrade large graphene films grown by chemical vapour deposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apolipoprotein E (APOE) is implicated not only in chronic degenerative neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, but also in acute brain disorders, including traumatic brain injury. Bexarotene, a selective agonist of the retinoid X receptor, has been reported to enhance markedly the expression of APOE. Previous studies have indicated that bexarotene exerts neuroprotective effects in animal models of ischemic stroke by modulating the peripheral immune response and autophagy. However, the role of this drug in neuronal apoptosis and the potential mechanisms involved have yet to be elucidated. The present study employed transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (t-MCAO) as a model of acute cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. The experiments were performed in wild-type C57BL/6 mice and APOE gene knockout (APOE-KO) mice. After t-MCAO, mice received intraperitoneal injection of bexarotene (5 mg/kg) or an equal volume of the vehicle. The outcome measurements included neurological deficits, learning ability, spatial memory, infarct volume, histopathology, magnitude of apoptosis, and the level of expression of proteins of the JNK/caspase-3 signaling pathway. The obtained results demonstrated that bexarotene administration significantly improved neurological function, learning ability, and spatial memory in C57BL/6 mice, but not in APOE-KO mice. Infarct volume, tissue damage, neuronal apoptosis rate, and the expression of proteins involved in the JNK/caspase-3 signaling pathway were markedly increased after t-MCAO in both C57BL/6 and APOE-KO mice. Importantly, bexarotene treatment significantly ameliorated all these changes in C57BL/6, but not in APOE-KO mice. In conclusion, bexarotene markedly alleviates the neurological deficits, improves the histological outcome, and inhibits cell apoptosis in mice after t-MCAO. This effect is mediated, at least in part, by up-regulation of APOE. Thus, bexarotene may be a candidate drug for the treatment of cerebral ischemia patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of two nitrogen (N) concentrations combining with three phosphorus (P) concentrations on Isochrysis zhangjiangensis growth and formation of fatty acid (FA) were investigated in this study. Biomass concentration, mass fraction, and productivity of FA in I. zhangjiangensis were low in N-deprived media. Under both N and P sufficiency conditions, the intake of P and N was 40 times and 4.7 times of the normal algal growth condition, respectively, indicating I. zhangjiangensis had the potential for removing P and N from high concentrated N and P salinity wastewater. This study also showed that P deficiency in N sufficient medium increased the FA content, however, the difference between P limitation and P deprivation was not significant (P > 0.05). In N sufficient and P limitation medium, FA productivity was the highest, with a composition suitable for biofuel, so, this condition was the optimal condition for biodiesel production from I. zhangjiangensis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the Co0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 microtube was prepared via a template-assembled sol-gel method, where three kinds of natural fiber worked as template. Effect of template types on morphology, specific area, and magnetic properties under different temperatures of ferrites microtube was investigated. XRD results confirm the formation of pure spinel Co0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4; SEM results proves that the CZF-microtubes is mono-dispersed and exactly copies the morphology of the corresponding template. It possesses excellent magnetic properties (Ms, 62.62 emu g−1) and higher specific area (51.11 m2 g−1), respectively, the former is mainly due to the net-liked microstructure and distribution of higher magnetic magneton cation in crystal cell, and the latter is attributed to not only the smaller grain size, but also the stack manner of nanoparticles. Below Curie temperature, coercivity of CZF-microtubes decreases with an increased temperatures in accordance with the ferromagnetism theory as the degree of atomic thermal vibration increases; Above Curie temperature, the unique variety of coercivity is attributable to not only the competition between the 2nd and 4th order crystal field terms derived from the d electrons of Fe3+ and Co2+ in crystal cell, but also the easy magnetized direction switches from basal plane to c axis via a preferred orientation of the magnetic moments in microtubes structure; The high Hc value of CZF-microtube above Blocking temperature TB (450.19 K) results from the existence of interparticle interaction as nanoparticles of it aggregate to produce a microtube structure, and resulting in a deviation from normal Kneller's law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, silicone-oil-based γ-Fe2O3 magnetic fluid was successfully prepared by thermal oxidizing of Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles, which were prepared by chemical co-precipitation with FeSO4·7H2O and FeCl3·6H2O, and their surface was modified by oleate ligands. Silicone oil was used as carrier liquid and oleic acid was as surfactant for preparing γ-Fe2O3 magnetic fluid. It is found that the Fe3O4 nanoparticles surrounded by oleate ligands are not damaged during the thermal oxidizing. The shape of γ-Fe2O3 magnetic nanoparticles prepared is similar to spherical, and their mean size is about 10-20 nm, which has nothing obvious difference compared with Fe3O4. The saturation magnetization of γ-Fe2O3 magnetic fluid prepared is 14.25 A·m2·kg−1 and that of γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles is 57.56 A·m2·kg−1. The needle of γ-Fe2O3 magnetic fluid is much bigger than that of Fe3O4 magnetic fluid under the same magnetic field, which shows better magnetic properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cathepsin E-A-like, also known as ‘similar to nothepsin’, is a new member of the aspartic protease family, which may take part in processing of egg yolk macromolecules, due to it was identified in the chicken egg-yolk. Previously, studies have suggested that the expression of cathepsin E-A-like increased gradually during sexual maturation of pullets, but the exact regulation mechanism is poorly understood. In this study, to gain insight into the function and regulation mechanism of the gene in egg-laying hen, we cloned the cathepsin E-A-like gene and evaluated its evolutionary origin by using both phylogenetic and syntenic methods. The mode of the gene expression regulation was analysed through stimulating juvenile hens with 17β-estradiol and chicken embryo hepatocytes with 17β-estradiol combined with oestrogen receptor antagonists including MPP, ICI 182,780 and tamoxifen. Our results showed that cathepsin E-A-like was an orthologoues gene with nothepsin, which is present in birds but not in mammals. The expression of cathepsin E-A-like significantly increased in a dose-dependent manner after the juvenile hens were treated with 17β-estradiol (P<0.05). Compared with the 17β-estradiol treatment group, the expression of cathepsin E-A-like was not significantly changed when the hepatocytes were treated with 17β-estradiol combined with MPP (P<0.05). In contrast, compared with the 17β-estradiol combined with MPP treatment group, the expression of cathepsin E-A-like was significantly downregulated when the hepatocytes were treated with 17β-estradiol combined with tamoxifen or ICI 182,780 (P<0.05). These results demonstrated that cathepsin E-A-like shared the same evolutionary origin with nothepsin. The expression of cathepsin E-A-like was regulated by oestrogen, and the regulative effect was predominantly mediated through ER-β in liver of chicken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Physicians play an important role in clinical trials, but attitudes toward clinical trials among physicians with different levels of experience have seldom been studied. The objective of this study was to assess the different attitudes toward clinical trials among junior, intermediate, and senior physicians. Methods: An anonymous cross-sectional survey was conducted between April 1 and May 1, 2015. A total of 217 physicians (66 junior, 86 intermediate, and 65 senior positions) completed and submitted the validated questionnaires. Results: The surveyed physicians responded with a high degree of agreement on the necessity of conducting clinical trials. Senior and intermediate physicians considered most about helping patients with new treatments in conducting a clinical trial. For junior physicians, the opportunity to have access to clinical trial methodology and enhancing their reputation in society or in the hospital were the 2 most significant factors. In addition, physicians with lower titles perceived greater difficulties in conducting clinical trials, especially in communicating with the Good Clinical Practice (GCP) office and the trial sponsor, enrolling trial participants, and obtaining informed consent. Conclusions: Our results revealed that physicians with different positional titles perceived different benefits and difficulties in conducting clinical trials. Junior physicians need more administrative assistance in clinical trials and related training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

FeO@SiO core-shell composite nanoparticles were successfully prepared by a one-pot process. Tetraethyl-orthosilicate was used as a surfactant to synthesize FeO@SiO core-shell structures from prepared FeO nanoparticles. The properties of the FeO and FeO@SiO composite nanoparticles were studied by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The prepared FeO particles were approximately 12 nm in size, and the thickness of the SiO coating was approximately 4 nm. The magnetic properties were studied by vibrating sample magnetometry. The results show that the maximum saturation magnetization of the FeO@SiO powder (34.85 A·m·kg) was markedly lower than that of the FeO powder (79.55 A·m·kg), which demonstrates that FeO was successfully wrapped by SiO. The FeO@SiO composite nanoparticles have broad prospects in biomedical applications; thus, our next study will apply them in magnetic resonance imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to study the role of sufficient phosphorus (P) in biodiesel production by microalgae, Phaeodactylum tricornutum were cultivated in six different media treatments with combination of nitrogen (N) sufficiency/deprivation and phosphorus sufficiency/limitation/deprivation. Profiles of N and P, biomass, and fatty acids (FAs) content and compositions were measured during a 7-day cultivation period. The results showed that the FA content in microalgae biomass was promoted by P deprivation. However, statistical analysis showed that FA productivity had no significant difference ( p = 0.63, >0.05) under the treatments of N deprivation with P sufficiency (N-P) and N deprivation with P deprivation (N-P-), indicating P sufficiency in N deprivation medium has little effect on increasing biodiesel productivity from P. triornutum. It was also found that the P absorption in N-P medium was 1.41 times higher than that in N sufficiency and P sufficiency (NP) medium. N deprivation with P limitation (N-P-l) was the optimal treatment for producing biodiesel from P. triornutum because of both the highest FA productivity and good biodiesel quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We put forward a scheme based on reservoir engineering to protect quantum coherence from leaking to bath, in which we intensely disturb the Lorentzian bath by N harmonic oscillators. We show that the intense disturbance changes the spectrum of the bath and reduces the qubit-bath interaction. Furthermore, we give the exact time evolution with the Lorentzian spectrum by a master equation and calculate the concurrence and survival probability of the qubits to demonstrate the effect of the intense bath disturbance on the protection of coherence. Meanwhile, we reveal the dynamic effects of counter-rotating interaction on the qubits as compared to the results of the rotating-wave approximation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bio-hydrogen production from mixed culture fermentation (MCF) of glucose was studied by conducting a comprehensive product measurement and detailed mass balance analysis of their contributions to the final H yield. The culture used in this study was enriched on glucose at 60 °C through a sequential batch operation consisting of daily glucose feeds, headspace purging and medium replacement every third day in serum bottles for over 2 years. 2-Bromoethanesulfonate (BES) was only required during the first three 3-day cycles to permanently eliminate methanogenic activity. Daily glucose feeds were fully consumed within 24 h, with a persistent H yield of 2.7 ± 0.1 mol H/mol glucose, even when H was allowed to accumulate over the 3-day cycle. The measured H production exceeded by 14 % the theoretical production of H associated with the fermentation products, dominated by acetate and butyrate. Follow-up experiments using acetate with a C-labelled methyl group showed that the excess H production was not due to acetate oxidation. Chemical formula analysis of the biomass showed a more reduced form of CHON suggesting that the biomass formation may even consume produced H from fermentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for protecting public health. Issuance of a warning letter is the FDA’s principal means of achieving prompt voluntary compliance with regulations. The objective of this study is to analyze the trends of warning letters issued to medical products about current good manufacturing practices (CGMP) violations during 2007-2014, with a secondary purpose of providing suggestions to manufacturers on how to avoid warning letters. Methods: Warning letters were collected from the FDA website, and information about the date of issuance, company, country, and type of medical product was collected from the letters related to medical products about CGMP violations. Descriptive statistics were performed for the analysis. Results: A total of 997 warning letters were issued to medical products about CGMP violations during 2007-2014. It showed an upward trend in the number of warning letters from 2009 to 2011. In 2011, it reached a maximum and the FDA released 159 letters. Overall, 685 (68.7%) letters were issued to medical devices, 223 (22.4%) to finished pharmaceuticals, followed by active pharmaceutical ingredients (5.7%), biological products (including blood products) (1.8%), and pharmacy compounding (1.4%). Despite a sharp reduction in 2013, the annual number of warning letters released to medical devices was larger than others; conversely, changes in other products remained relatively stable. Conclusions: The issuance number of warning letters increased during 2009-2011. Medical device manufacturers received the largest numbers of letters. The issuance number and type of warning letters were greatly influenced by changes in FDA’s internal enforcement procedures, drug policies and regulations, as well as other departments’ regulations. Manufacturers should comply with regulations voluntarily and respond promptly to policy changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water rights management modeling was considered the useful measure to ensure efficient water resources allocation and to avoid intensifying conflicts over water rights. Regarding to the two major patterns of water rights across the world, namely, quantitative water rights (QWR) and duration-based water rights (DWR), the corresponding measures are fastidious. Since QWR was established to set water entitlements instead of DWR in Heihe River Basin, China, the disability of usual DWR tool, managing water diversion by water intakes closing (WIC) during a certain period, has arisen increasingly. The historical data also reflected the low reliability of DWR in allocating water resources quantitatively without modeling guidelines. Aimed at the challenge, a modeling framework and a mixed integer optimization model (MIOM) combing QWR objectives and DWR tools were developed, by which the optimal schemes in Pareto frontier were found to improve the water intake on/off events, including WIC stages, duration days, and starting date through long term series probability analysis and historical data. Results showed that the reliability of DWR allocation was enhanced and WIC duration was reduced significantly compared with current regulation. Scenario analyses indicated that MIOM was powerful for assisting DWR tool to manage QWR and the proposed framework was able to manage water rights efficiently in comparable basins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formability can be improved in warm/hot sheet hydroforming due to two important factors of temperature and through thickness normal stress. An extension of the M-K model was presented in this paper with the liquid pressure induced through thickness normal stress taken into account. The through thickness normal stress was introduced by using the general form of the Hill48 criterion. The combined effect of temperature and through thickness normal stress on the increase of FLD is achieved by applying a proposed temperature dependent constitutive equation for 5A06 aluminum alloy (a Chinese designation of Al-Mg alloy, corresponding to the ASTM designation of 5056 aluminum alloy) into the M-K approach. The Newton-Raphson method is used in the numerical procedure and it is proved to be stable and correct. The yield loci show a significant dependence on temperature and through thickness normal stress. Both size shrinking caused by the elevated temperature and location shifting due to the increasing thickness normal stress of the yield loci are observed. Comparison of the experimental FLDs of AISI-1012 low carbon steel (an AISI designation of steel) at plane stress and room temperature, STKM-11A steel (a Japanese designation of Steel Tube Kozo Machine) for tube hydroforming at room temperature and 5A90 aluminum alloy (a Chinese designation of Al-Li alloy) at plane stress and elevated temperature with the theoretical results show good agreements. The effect of key parameters, such as inhomogeneity factor f, n value, m value and initial thickness T, grain size d, initial surface roughness R, show a strong dependence on FLDs and increase of FLD. The increase of FLD is formulized in a full quadratic form, which is a function of temperature and through thickness normal stress. The left quadrant of FLD was determined by the cylindrical warm hydromechanical cup deep drawing, which shows a good accordance with the predicted results by using the modified M-K model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

River flow that is characterized by variability requires commensurate flexibility in allocating water so that water users are able to plan their activities and respond accordingly. An indicator-based assessment method is proposed in this study to evaluate the flexibility of water allocation, based on a concept that a flexible water allocation regime provides greater opportunity for users to freely decide individual water use and leads to more variability and diversity for water consumption among the users. This is demonstrated by using historical water-use data and applying the assessment method in three river basins with different water allocation regimes. These allocation regimes include the seasonal and volumetric water allocation system in the Yellow River of China, duration-based water allocation in Northwestern China, and capacity sharing in southern Queensland in the northern Murray Darling Basin of Australia. Historical water-use variability and diversity are defined and assessed. The result shows that water allocation flexibility varies across the different water entitlement regimes. Duration-based water allocation, a type of allocation that provides the highest degree of water-use autonomy, is ranked as the most flexible regime. Seasonal water allocation, which has the highest level of centralized regulation, shows the lowest flexibility. The proposed indicator based assessment method would be useful for evaluating the flexibility of policy options for water allocation. This could be helpful for improving the capability of water allocation regimes to cope with the changing environment and improving the effectiveness of water allocation systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the difficulty of DNA extraction for Demodex, few studies dealt with the identification and the phyletic evolution of Demodex at molecular level. In this study, we amplified, sequenced, and analyzed a complete ( Demodex folliculorum) and an almost complete (D12 missing) ( Demodex brevis) ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequence and also analyzed the primary sequences of divergent domains in small-subunit ribosomal RNA (rRNA) of 51 species and in large-subunit rRNA of 43 species from four superfamilies in Acari (Cheyletoidea, Tetranychoidea, Analgoidea, and Ixodoidea). The results revealed that 18S rDNA sequence was relatively conserved in rDNA-coding regions and was not evolving as rapidly as 28S rDNA sequence. The evolutionary rates of transcribed spacer regions were much higher than those of the coding regions. The maximum parsimony trees of 18S and 28S rDNA appeared to be almost identical, consistent with their morphological classification. Based on the fact that the resolution capability of sequence length and the divergence of the 13 segments (D1-D6, D7a, D7b, and D8-D12) of 28S rDNA were stronger than that of the nine variable regions (V1-V9) of 18S rDNA, we were able to identify Demodex (Cheyletoidea) by the indels occurring in D2, D6, and D8. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of breast cancers are resistant to mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) inhibitors rapamycin and rapalogs. Recent studies indicate mTORC2 is emerging as a promising cancer therapeutic target. In this study, we compared the inhibitory effects of targeting mTORC1 with mTORC2 on a variety of breast cancer cell lines and xenograft. We demonstrated that inhibition of mTORC1/2 by mTOR kinase inhibitors PP242 and OSI-027 effectively suppress phosphorylation of Akt (S473) and breast cancer cell proliferation. Targeting of mTORC2 either by kinase inhibitors or rictor knockdown, but not inhibition of mTORC1 either by rapamycin or raptor knockdown promotes serum starvation- or cisplatin-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, targeting of mTORC2 but not mTORC1 efficiently prevent breast cancer cell migration. Most importantly, in vivo administration of PP242 but not rapamycin as single agent effectively prevents breast tumor growth and induces apoptosis in xenograft. Our data suggest that agents that inhibit mTORC2 may have advantages over selective mTORC1 inhibitors in the treatment of breast cancers. Given that mTOR kinase inhibitors are in clinical trials, this study provides a strong rationale for testing the use of mTOR kinase inhibitors or combination of mTOR kinase inhibitors and cisplatin in the clinic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To our knowledge, few reports on Demodex studied at the molecular level are available at present. In this study our group, for the first time, cloned, sequenced and analyzed the chitin synthase ( CHS) gene fragments of Demodex folliculorum, Demodex brevis, and Demodex canis (three isolates from each species) from Xi'an China, by designing specific primers based on the only partial sequence of the CHS gene of D. canis from Japan, retrieved from GenBank. Results show that amplification was successful only in three D. canis isolates and one D. brevis isolate out of the nine Demodex isolates. The obtained fragments were sequenced to be 339 bp for D. canis and 338 bp for D. brevis. The CHS gene sequence similarities between the three Xi'an D. canis isolates and one Japanese D. canis isolate ranged from 99.7% to 100.0%, and those between four D. canis isolates and one D. brevis isolate were 99.1%-99.4%. Phylogenetic trees based on maximum parsimony (MP) and maximum likelihood (ML) methods shared the same clusters, according with the traditional classification. Two open reading frames (ORFs) were identified in each CHS gene sequenced, and their corresponding amino acid sequences were located at the catalytic domain. The relatively conserved sequences could be deduced to be a CHS class A gene, which is associated with chitin synthesis in the integument of Demodex mites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNA-10b (miR-10b) was recently reported to be dysregulated in some types of cancer and to play a role in invasion and metastasis. However, effects and potential mechanisms of action of miR-10b in the metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have not been explored. In this study, we confirmed that miR-10b is highly expressed in metastatic HCC tissues and in metastatic HCC cell lines by qRT-PCR. Moreover, patients with higher miR-10b expression had significantly poorer overall survival, and high miR-10b expression was an independent predictor of poor prognosis. Inhibition of miR-10b reduced cell migration and invasion in MHCC97H cells, whereas over-expression of miR-10b in HepG2 cells increased cell migration and invasion. Bioinformatics and luciferase reporter assays revealed that miR-10b binds the 3′-UTR of CADM1 mRNA and represses its translation. Western blot and qRT-PCR showed that CADM1 is inhibited by miR-10b over-expression. Silencing of CADM1 resulted in substantially increased cell motility and invasion similar to that observed with over-expression of miR-10b in HepG2 cells. These results suggest that miR-10b may positively regulate the invasion and metastasis of HCC through targeting CADM1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pubic water rights allocation, in which water resources are allocated to users administratively as shared public property, is an effective and powerful policy for water resource management. Dozens of public water right allocation systems have been established in China since 1998 without any unified standard across the country. An indicator-based assessment approach, based on equity, efficiency and sustainability, is proposed in this study to evaluate the performance of public water rights allocation systems in China in a quantitative way. The approach was applied in 11 river basins of China in which water rights have been defined. The results show that the performance of the allocation systems depends on the spatial density and exploitation ratio of the water resources. The performance of allocated water rights systems is better in river basins with greater resource densities and smaller water exploitation ratios. This assessment approach is very useful for evaluating policy options for public water rights allocation with appropriate consideration of the local conditions of the river basins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We address the problem of adaptive modulation and coding scheme (AMCS) for a multi-input multioutput (MIMO) system in presence of time-varying transmitting correlation. Antenna subset selection and quasiorthogonal space-time block code (QOSTBC) have different error performances with different signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) and in different spatial correlation scenarios. The error performance can be improved by selecting an appropriate transmission scheme to adapt to various channel conditions. The maximum distance criterion is the simplest and very effective algorithm for the antenna subset selection without needs of complex calculation and channel state information at transmitter (CSIT). The minimum error performance criteria and the simplified linear decision strategy are developed for constant transmission rate traffic to select the optimal transmission scheme. It can dramatically decrease algorithm complexity for obtaining error probability according to the known quantities comparing with using instant CSIT. Simulation results show that, remarkable performances including low SNR and weak spatial correlation at the expense of simple calculation and almost no bandwidth loss by adopting AMCS can be achieved. The proposed AMCS improves robustness of slowly varying spatial correlated channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the spin-boson model with coupling to Ohmic bath, an analytical approach is developed to study the dynamics of the current correlation function in dissipative two-state systems with the view of understanding the effects of environment and tunneling on the coherent oscillation and the long-time decay of the current correlation function in these systems. An analytic expression of current correlation function is obtained and the results agree very well with that of numerical simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is very important to maintain the level of mean arterial pressure (MAP) . The MAP control is applied in many clinical situations, including limiting bleeding during cardiac surgery and promoting healing for patient’s post-surgery. This paper presents a fuzzy controller-based multiple-model adaptive control system for postoperative blood pressure management. Multiple-model adaptive control (MMAC) algorithm is used to identify the patient model, and it is a feasible system identification. method even in the presence of large noise. Fuzzy control (FC) method is used to design controller bank. Each fuzzy controller in the controller bank is in fact a nonlinear proportional-integral (PI) controller, whose proportional gain and integral gain are adjusted continuously according to error and rate of change of error of the plant output, resulting in better dynamic and stable control performance than the regular PI controller, especially when a nonlinear process is involved. For demonstration, a nonlinear, pulsatile-flow patient model is used for simulation, and the results show that the adaptive control system can effectively handle the changes in patient’s dynamics and provide satisfactory performance in regulation of blood pressure of hypertension patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]