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Aims/Introduction: Gastric cancer, one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide, is affected by insulin resistance. The triglyceride glucose (TYG) index is considered a surrogate indicator of insulin resistance; however, its prognostic value in patients with gastric cancer remains obscure. This study aimed to determine whether the TYG index could predict the long‐term prognosis of patients with gastric cancer after radical resection gastrectomy. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients with gastric cancer who underwent radical resection gastrectomy. The preoperative TYG index was calculated using the patients' laboratory data. Patients were divided into two groups based on a high or low TYG index. We observed overall survival and evaluated the clinical application value of the index using Cox proportional hazards regression to calculate independent parameters. A prediction model was also established. Results: In total, 822 patients with gastric cancer were included. The high and low TYG index groups comprised 353 and 469 patients, respectively. The overall survival time was significantly longer in the high‐index group than in the low‐index group. In the multivariate analysis, TYG index, preoperative age, surgical procedure, tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage, N stage, and postoperative complications (all p < 0.01) were considered independent prognostic predictors. Based on the multivariate analysis, the riglyceride glucose (TYG) index hazard ratio was 0.70 (95% confidence interval, 0.54–0.89, p = 0.004). Conclusions: We established a model with a high clinical application value and clinical practice relevance to predict the prognosis of gastric cancer. In this model, TYG was an independent protective factor for gastric cancer prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current tumor‐node‐metastasis staging system does not provide sufficient prognostic prediction or adjuvant chemotherapy benefit information for stage II‐III colon cancer (CC) patients. Collagen in the tumor microenvironment affects the biological behaviors and chemotherapy response of cancer cells. Hence, in this study, we proposed a collagen deep learning (collagenDL) classifier based on the 50‐layer residual network model for predicting disease‐free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). The collagenDL classifier was significantly associated with DFS and OS (P < 0.001). The collagenDL nomogram, integrating the collagenDL classifier and three clinicopathologic predictors, improved the prediction performance, which showed satisfactory discrimination and calibration. These results were independently validated in the internal and external validation cohorts. In addition, high‐risk stage II and III CC patients with high‐collagenDL classifier, rather than low‐collagenDL classifier, exhibited a favorable response to adjuvant chemotherapy. In conclusion, the collagenDL classifier could predict prognosis and adjuvant chemotherapy benefits in stage II‐III CC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Transaxillary endoscopic thyroidectomy has been introduced to achieve better cosmetic outcomes. However, the benefits of this technology on the patients' health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) remain unclear. We aimed to investigate whether transaxillary endoscopic lobectomy is comparable to conventional open lobectomy in terms of QOL and cosmetic results in order to provide more evidence for establishing appropriate clinical decisions. Methods: Between August 2019 and May 2020, transaxillary endoscopic lobectomy and conventional open lobectomy were performed in 73 and 99 patients with papillary thyroid microcarcinoma, respectively. HRQoL was assessed at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery using the Thyroid Cancer‐Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire. The cosmetic outcomes were assessed 12 months after surgery using the Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS). Results: No significant difference was observed in the surgical results between the two groups. However, the data showed that the average operative time and postoperative hospital stay of the transaxillary group were longer than those of the open group (p < 0.001). Both groups showed similar changes in the QOL scores over time. However, the transaxillary group had fewer complaints of the throat or oral problems at 1 month postoperatively than the open group (p < 0.001). During the follow‐up, the cosmetic results of scars in the transaxillary group were significantly better than those in the open group (p < 0.05). Patients who underwent transaxillary endoscopic lobectomy had higher overall satisfaction with their scar appearance, determined using POSAS, at 12 months postoperatively. Conclusions: The current findings suggest that transaxillary endoscopic lobectomy may offer better cosmetic and HRQoL outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumour‐induced osteomalacia (TIO) is a very rare paraneoplastic syndrome with bone pain, fractures and muscle weakness, which is mostly caused by phosphaturic mesenchymal tumours (PMTs). Cell‐free DNA (cfDNA) has been regarded as a non‐invasive liquid biopsy for many malignant tumours. However, it has not been studied in benign tumours, which prompted us to adopt the targeted next‐generation sequencing approach to compare cfDNAs of 4 TIO patients, four patients with bone metastasis (BM) and 10 healthy controls. The mutational landscapes of cfDNA in TIO and BM groups were similar in the spectrum of allele frequencies and mutation types. Markedly, deleterious missense mutations in FGFR1 and loss‐of‐function mutations in MED12 were found in 3/4 TIO patients but none of BM patients. The gene ontology analysis strongly supported that these mutated genes found in TIOs would play a potential role in PMTs' process. The genetic signatures and corresponding change in expression of FGFR1 and FGF23 were further validated in PMT tissues from a test cohort of another three TIO patients. In summary, we reported the first study of the mutational landscape and genetic signatures of cfDNA in TIO/PMTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In this paper, we explore how to get the information of input‐output coupling parameters (IOCPs) for a class of uncertain discrete‐time systems by using iterative learning technique. Firstly, by taking advantage of repetitiveness of control system and informative input and output data, we design an iterative learning scheme for unknown IOCPs. It is shown that we can get the exact values of IOCPs one by one through running the repetitive system T+1 times if the control system is with identical initial state and noise free. Secondly, we give the iterative learning scheme for unknown IOCPs in the presence of measurement noise, system noise, or initial state drift and analyze the influence factors on the performance of developed iterative learning scheme. Meanwhile, we introduce the maximum allowable control deviation into the iterative learning mechanism to minimize the negative impact of noise on the performance of learning scheme and to enhance the robust of iterative learning scheme. Thirdly, for a class of multiple‐input–multiple‐output systems, we also develop iterative learning mechanism for unknown input‐output coupling matrices. Finally, an illustrative example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of proposed iterative learning scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the problem of sampled-data controller design for a class of lower-triangular systems in the p-normal form (0 < p < 1). A multirate digital feedback control scheme is proposed to achieve the global strong stabilization of the sampled-data closed-loop system under some assumptions. In the design of the controller, the input-Lyapunov matching strategy and multirate control approach are combined to obtain better stabilizing performance. Unlike the design method based on the approximate discrete-time model, our controller is obtained from the exact discrete-time equivalent model, which does not need to be computed completely. The approximate multirate digital controllers are proved to be effective in the practical implementation. It is shown that, compared with the emulated control scheme, our controller may provide faster decrease of Lyapunov function for each subsystem. This will lead to allow large sampling periods. An illustrative example is provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the event‐triggered adaptive switching stabilisation problem for a class of lower‐triangular non‐linear systems with multiple unknown control directions. A novel Lyapunov‐based event‐triggered adaptive switching control rule is proposed to implement the stability of the closed‐loop system. Moreover, a unified time sequence is introduced by combining two time sequences which are generated from such a control rule. The designed event‐triggered adaptive switching controller not only ensures the closed‐loop systems is globally generalised exponentially stable but also excludes the Zeno behaviour under the triggering condition. Finally, two simulation examples are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: GPR126 has been identified to be associated with AIS (Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis) in different populations, but data on the northern Chinese population are unavailable. Additionally, it is important to know the exact clinical phenotypes associated with specific genetic polymorphisms. Fourteen SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) loci in GPR126 were genotyped in 480 northern Chinese Han AIS patients and 841 controls. These patients were classified into three types based on the PUMC classification system. Luciferase assays were used to investigate their regulation of GPR126 transcription activity. Combined and stratified genotype–phenotype association analyses were conducted. The alleles rs225694, rs7774095 and rs2294773 were significantly associated with AIS (P = 0.021, 0.048 and 0.023, respectively). rs225694 and rs7774095 potentially have regulatory functions for the GRP126 gene. Correlation analysis revealed that allele A of rs225694 was a risk allele only for PUMC type II AIS (P = 0.036) and allele G of rs2294773 was a risk allele only for PUMC type I AIS (P = 0.018). In summary, rs225694, rs7774095 and rs2294773 are significantly associated with disease in northern Chinese Han AIS patients. The SNPs rs225694 and rs2294773 are associated with different AIS PUMC classifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Congenital scoliosis ( CS) is a three-dimensional deformity of the spine affecting quality of life. We have demonstrated TBX6 haploinsufficiency is the most important contributor to CS. However, the pathophysiology at the protein level remains unclear. Therefore, this study was to explore the differential proteome in serum of CS patients with TBX6 haploinsufficiency. Sera from nine CS patients with TBX6 haploinsufficiency and nine age- and gender-matched healthy controls were collected and analysed by isobaric tagged relative and absolute quantification ( iTRAQ) labelling coupled with mass spectrometry ( MS). In total, 277 proteins were detected and 20 proteins were designated as differentially expressed proteins, which were submitted to subsequent bioinformatics analysis. Gene Ontology classification analysis showed the biological process was primarily related to 'cellular process', molecular function 'structural molecule activity' and cellular component 'extracellular region'. IPA analysis revealed ' LXR/ RXR activation' was the top pathway, which is a crucial pathway in lipid metabolism. Hierarchical clustering analysis generated two clusters. In summary, this study is the first proteomic research to delineate the total and differential serum proteins in TBX6 haploinsufficiency-caused CS. The proteins discovered in this experiment may serve as potential biomarkers for CS, and lipid metabolism might play important roles in the pathogenesis of CS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite the use of prokinetic agents, the overall success rate for postpyloric placement via a self-propelled spiral nasoenteric tube is quite low.Methods: This retrospective study was conducted in the intensive care units of 11 university hospitals from 2006 to 2016 among adult patients who underwent self-propelled spiral nasoenteric tube insertion. Success was defined as postpyloric nasoenteric tube placement confirmed by abdominal x-ray scan 24 hours after tube insertion. Chi-square automatic interaction detection (CHAID), simple classification and regression trees (SimpleCart), and J48 methodologies were used to develop decision tree models, and multiple logistic regression (LR) methodology was used to develop an LR model for predicting successful postpyloric nasoenteric tube placement. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the performance of these models.Results: Successful postpyloric nasoenteric tube placement was confirmed in 427 of 939 patients enrolled. For predicting successful postpyloric nasoenteric tube placement, the performance of the 3 decision trees was similar in terms of the AUCs: 0.715 for the CHAID model, 0.682 for the SimpleCart model, and 0.671 for the J48 model. The AUC of the LR model was 0.729, which outperformed the J48 model.Conclusion: Both the CHAID and LR models achieved an acceptable discrimination for predicting successful postpyloric nasoenteric tube placement and were useful for intensivists in the setting of self-propelled spiral nasoenteric tube insertion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents an inequality which can be used to analyse the stability of fractional order systems by constructing Lyapunov functions. By using the presented inequality, it is shown that the fractional order system is Mittag–Leffler stable if there is a convex and positive definite function such that its fractional order derivative is negative definite. This result generalises the existing works and gives a useful method to construct the Lyapunov function for the stability analysis of the fractional order systems. Finally, the authors illustrate the advantages of the proposed method by two examples and their numerical simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the problem of global decentralised fault‐tolerant control for a class of non‐linear large‐scale systems with unknown time‐delayed interconnections. The authors propose a novel time‐delay replacement technique. With this technique, a delay‐assumption independent controller is then developed. In addition, the delayed input variables of the fuzzy approximator are replaced by the bounded reference signals so that the global stability is achieved for the approximation‐based fault tolerant control field. In doing so, it will eliminate the limitation which is posted in estimating unknown functions in the traditional approach. The proposed controller ensures that all the signals in the closed‐loop system are globally uniformly ultimately bounded, and the tracking errors can converge to a small neighbourhood of the original point by appropriate choice of the design parameters. Simulation results are provided to show the effectiveness of the control scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a finite‐time convergent distributed continuous‐time algorithm is proposed to solve a network optimisation problem where the global cost function is the sum of strictly convex local cost functions under an undirected network with fixed topologies. The algorithm is inspired by finite‐time consensus protocols and continuous‐time zero‐gradient‐sum algorithms. Instead of the exponential convergence in existing works, the finite‐time convergence is guaranteed based on the Lyapunov method. A numerical simulation example is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the developed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Low back pain (LBP) is a common health problem and many LBP are caused by lumbar disc degeneration (LDD). ADAMTS-4 (a disintegrin and metalloprotease with thrombospondin motifs-4), also known as aggrecanse-1, plays a core role in degeneration of extracellular matrix in LDD. To investigate the association between ADAMTS-4 genetic polymorphism and LDD, we genotyped SNPs in and around ADAMTS-4. We recruited 482 sporadic cases of LDD and 496 healthy controls from Chinese Han population. Five SNPs were selected and phenotyped by the Sequenom MassARRAY system. Allelic, genotypic, and haplotypic association was performed. Rs4233367 (c.1877 C>T), which located in exon of ADAMTS-4 showed significant association with LDD. The T allele conferred a lower risk of LDD with an OR of 0.69 and TT genotype is at nearly one-fifth of the risk compared to CC genotype. Other tested SNPs didn't show significant difference between the case and control groups. The SNP rs4233367 in the exon of ADAMTS-4 gene may be associated with lumbar disc degeneration. © 2015 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 34:860-864, 2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the problem of globally stable adaptive neural tracking control for a class of strict-feedback nonlinear systems. Compared with the existing works, the salient properties of the proposed scheme are given as follows. First, a novel switching controller is developed, which consists of a traditional adaptive neural controller and an extra robust controller to pull back the transient outside of the approximation domain. Second, only two adaptive parameters need to be tuned online, and the computational burden is considerably alleviated in practice. Third, to design the desired switching controller via the backstepping technique, a novel switching function, which has continuous derivatives up to the nth order, is constructed. It is shown that the system output converges to a small neighborhood of the reference signal and the closed-loop system is globally stable. Finally, an example is provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed control method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study considers the decentralised periodic event‐triggered consensus problem for continuous‐time linear multi‐agent systems (MASs) under general directed graphs. The authors discretise the continuous‐time MASs based on zero‐order hold, and propose an event‐triggered consensus control (ETCC) algorithm rendering the states of agents reach consensus. They prove that under the proposed ETCC implemented in multiple steps, there is no Zeno‐like behaviour exhibited in the sense of sampling. To relax the requirement of the periodic monitoring in the ETCC, it is further proposed a self‐triggered consensus control algorithm, where the next triggering instant is predetermined by each agent at the previous triggering instant. For the case where the states of MASs are unavailable, the authors further propose an observer‐based ETCC algorithm. Simulation results are given to illustrate the theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY This paper addresses the distributed observer-based consensus problem of second-order multi-agent systems via sampled data. Firstly, for the case of fixed topology, a velocity-independent distributed control law is proposed by designing a distributed observer to estimate the unavailable velocity, then a sufficient and necessary condition of consensus on design parameters and sampling period is obtained by using the matrix analysis method. Secondly, for the case of stochastically switching topology, a sufficient and necessary condition of mean square consensus is also proposed and proven, and an algorithm is provided to design the parameters in the consensus protocol. Two simulation examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed consensus algorithms. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY This paper investigates the problem of state-feedback stabilization for a class of lower-triangular stochastic time-delay nonlinear systems without controllable linearization. By extending the adding-a-power-integrator technique to the stochastic time-delay systems, a state-feedback controller is explicitly constructed such that the origin of closed-loop system is globally asymptotically stable in probability. The main design difficulty is to deal with the uncontrollable linearization and the nonsmooth system perturbation, which, under some appropriate assumptions, can be solved by using the adding-a-power-integrator technique. Two simulation examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the control algorithm proposed in this paper.Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new adaptive learning control approach is proposed for a class of first-order nonlinear systems with two unknown time-varying parameters and an unknown time-varying delay. By reconstructing the system equation, all unknown time-varying terms, including the time-varying delay, are combined into an unknown periodic time-varying vector, which is estimated by a periodic adaptive mechanism. By constructing a Lyapunov-Krasovskii-like composite energy function (CEF), we prove the boundedness of all signals and the convergence of the tracking error. The results are extended to two classes of high-order nonlinear systems with mixed parameters. Three simulation examples are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the control algorithms proposed in this paper. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd and Chinese Automatic Control Society [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cover image is based on the Original Article I Genetic and molecular mechanism for distinct clinical phenotypes conveyed by allelic truncating mutations implicated in FBN1 i by Mao Lin et al., https://doi.org/10.1002/mgg3.1023. GLO:FU4V/01jan20:mgg31158-toc-0001.jpg PHOTO (COLOR): . gl. [Extracted from the article]

Background: The molecular and genetic mechanisms by which different single nucleotide variant alleles in specific genes, or at the same genetic locus, cause distinct disease phenotypes often remain unclear. Allelic truncating mutations of FBN1 could cause either classical Marfan syndrome (MFS) or a more complicated phenotype associated with Marfanoid–progeroid–lipodystrophy syndrome (MPLS). Methods: We investigated a small cohort, encompassing two classical MFS and one MPLS subjects from China, whose clinical presentation included scoliosis potentially requiring surgical intervention. Targeted next generation sequencing was performed on all the participants. We analyzed the molecular diagnosis, clinical features, and the potential molecular mechanism involved in the MPLS subject in our cohort. Results: We report a novel de novo FBN1 mutation for the first Chinese subject with MPLS, a more complicated fibrillinopathy, and two subjects with more classical MFS. We further predict that the MPLS truncating mutation, and others previously reported, is prone to escape the nonsense‐mediated decay (NMD), while MFS mutations are predicted to be subjected to NMD. Also, the MPLS mutation occurs within the glucogenic hormone asprosin domain of FBN1. In vitro experiments showed that the single MPLS mutation p.Glu2759Cysfs*9 appears to perturb proper FBN1 protein aggregation as compared with the classical MFS mutation p.Tyr2596Thrfs*86. Both mutations appear to upregulate SMAD2 phosphorylation in vitro. Conclusion: We provide direct evidence that a dominant‐negative interaction of FBN1 potentially explains the complex MPLS phenotypes through genetic and functional analysis. Our study expands the mutation spectrum of FBN1 and highlights the potential molecular mechanism for MPLS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GPR126 has been identified to be associated with AIS (Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis) in different populations, but data on the northern Chinese population are unavailable. Additionally, it is important to know the exact clinical phenotypes associated with specific genetic polymorphisms. Fourteen SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) loci in GPR126 were genotyped in 480 northern Chinese Han AIS patients and 841 controls. These patients were classified into three types based on the PUMC classification system. Luciferase assays were used to investigate their regulation of GPR126 transcription activity. Combined and stratified genotype-phenotype association analyses were conducted. The alleles rs225694, rs7774095 and rs2294773 were significantly associated with AIS (P = 0.021, 0.048 and 0.023, respectively). rs225694 and rs7774095 potentially have regulatory functions for the GRP126 gene. Correlation analysis revealed that allele A of rs225694 was a risk allele only for PUMC type II AIS (P = 0.036) and allele G of rs2294773 was a risk allele only for PUMC type I AIS (P = 0.018). In summary, rs225694, rs7774095 and rs2294773 are significantly associated with disease in northern Chinese Han AIS patients. The SNPs rs225694 and rs2294773 are associated with different AIS PUMC classifications., (© 2018 The Authors. Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Foundation for Cellular and Molecular Medicine.)