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Anatomical sublobar resection was widely performed for small-sized nodule located in the deep field of the lung. In this study, we compared surgical outcomes between anatomical sublobar resection in left upper lobe including segmentectomy and subsegmentectomy. We also applied a technique based on bronchovascular patterns for subsegmentectomy.A hundred and fifty-one patients underwent anatomical sublobar resection of left upper lobe in our hospital in the period from January 2018 to December 2019 and they were retrospectively reviewed. Patients' characteristics and surgical outcome of the subsegmentectomy group (n = 71) were analyzed and compared to those of patients of the segmentectomy group (n = 80). The bronchovascular patterns of left upper lobe in these patients were also classified, and a technique of subsegmentectomy was introduced by cases description.Compared to segmentectomy, the subsegmentectomy group had longer operative time [141min, interquartile range (IQR): 125-161 vs. 127.5 min, interquartile range (IQR): 114.75-148.25; P = 0.001] and more estimated blood loss [50 mL, IQR: 30-50 vs. 30 mL, IQR: 20-50; P = 0.02]. Branching pattern of bronchus was classified into 3 types in left upper division, and 2 types in lingular division. Branching pattern of pulmonary artery was classified into 7 types in left upper division and 2 types in lingular division. Branching pattern of pulmonary vein was classified into 3 types in left upper division and VSubsegmentectomy is a safe procedure with surgical outcome comparable to the one of segmentectomy except operative time and estimated blood loss. Subsegmentectomy based on bronchovascular patterns in left upper lobe is feasible.

Inter-turn short-circuit (ITSC) faults do not necessarily produce high temperatures but have special heat distribution and characteristics. Therefore, a new recognition solution for diagnosing faults is proposed, based on the fault overlay method, and the convolutional neural network (CNN) is trained to achieve the automatic identification of infrared images. In this method, through the coverage of layers, the proposed image augmentation method is carried out and simulates the fault data of increasing training. We produce 43 fault traces through the fault overlay method on the three-phase winding of a transformer and use 90 infrared images of transformers in normal operation combined with them to enhance the amount of image data. The fault recognition ability is realized based on CNN model training, including analysis of experimental results of grayscale and color images, and Gaussian noise. In the test of the practical case, a short-circuit test of the 11.4 kV dry-type transformer is carried out, and the ITSC fault is identified when the load is about 15%. The fault characteristic block on this thermal image is 36.3 degrees, which verifies the identification available by this method, and has a certain reference value for the development of infrared image diagnosis technology for power equipment.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the feasibility of single-port video-assisted thoracoscope (SPVATS) in treating thoracic oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (TESCC) using McKeown approach. Materials and Methods: Totally 10 McKeown approach-based SPVATS surgeries (8 males and 2 females, aged 42–68 years) were carried out from January 2015 to December 2015 to treat TESCC, including one case in upper thoracic segment, 5 cases in median thoracic segment and 4 cases in inferior thoracic segment. All the cases were pathologically diagnosed as SCC pre-operatively. SPVATS was performed to free thoracic oesophagus and dissect the lymph nodes, and laparoscopy was performed to free stomach and to perform oesophagus-left gastric collum anastomosis. Results: All the patients were successfully completed SPVATS, with average thoracic surgery time as 150 min, intra-operative blood loss as 30–260 ml (average 90 ml), and post-operative hospital stay as 9–16 days (average 12 days). Conclusions: SPVATS was technically feasible and safe in treating TESCC using McKeown approach, with less trauma and rapid post-operative recovery, and hence, it could be used as a new surgical option for McKeown approach-based TESCC treatment.

Detecting the faults related to the operating condition of induction motors is a very important task for avoiding system failure. In this paper, a novel methodology is demonstrated to detect the working condition of a three-phase induction motor and classify it as a faulty or healthy motor. The electrical current signal data is collected for five different types of fault and one normal operating condition of the induction motors. The first part of the methodology illustrates a pattern recognition technique based on the empirical wavelet transform, to transform the raw current signal into two dimensional (2-D) grayscale images comprising the information related to the faults. Second, a deep CNN (Convolutional Neural Network) model is proposed to automatically extract robust features from the grayscale images to diagnose the faults in the induction motors. The experimental results show that the proposed methodology achieves a competitive accuracy in the fault diagnosis of the induction motors and that it outperformed the traditional statistical and other deep learning methods.

The Philippines consists of 7100 islands, many of which still use fossil fuel diesel generators as the main source of electricity. This supply can be complemented by the use of renewable energy sources. This study uses a Philippine offshore island to optimize the capacity configuration of a hybrid energy system (HES). A thorough investigation was performed to understand the operating status of existing diesel generator sets, load power consumption, and collect the statistics of meteorological data and economic data. Using the Hybrid Optimization Models for Energy Resources (HOMER) software we simulate and analyze the techno-economics of different power supply systems containing stand-alone diesel systems, photovoltaic (PV)-diesel HES, wind-diesel HES, PV-wind-diesel HES, PV-diesel-storage HES, wind-diesel-storage HES, PV-wind-diesel-storage HES. In addition to the lowest cost of energy (COE), capital cost, fuel saving and occupied area, the study also uses entropy weight and the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method to evaluate the optimal capacity configuration. The proposed method can also be applied to design hybrid renewable energy systems for other off-grid areas.

Gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) encompasses a range of trophoblast-derived disorders. The most common type of GTD is hydatidiform mole (HM). Some of HMs can further develop into malignant gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN). Aberrant expression of microRNA (miRNA) is widely reported to be involved in the initiation and progression of cancers. MiRNA expression profile also has been proved to be the useful signature for diagnosis, staging, prognosis, and response to chemotherapy. Till now, the profile of miRNA in the progression of GTD has not been determined. In this study, a total of 34 GTN and 60 complete HMs (CHM) trophoblastic tissues were collected. By miRNA array screening and qRT-PCR validating, six miRNAs, including miR-370-3p, -371a-5p, -518a-3p, -519d-3p, -520a-3p, and -934, were identified to be differentially expressed in GTN vs. CHM. Functional analyses further proved that miR-371a-5p and miR-518a-3p promoted proliferation, migration, and invasion of choriocarcinoma cells. Moreover, we demonstrated that miR-371a-5p was negatively related to protein levels of its predictive target genes BCCIP, SOX2, and BNIP3L, while miR-518a-3p was negatively related to MST1 and EFNA4. For the first time, we proved that miR-371a-5p and miR-518a-3p directly targeted to 3′-UTR regions of BCCIP and MST1, respectively. Additionally, we found that miR-371a-5p and miR-518a-3p regulated diverse pathways related to tumorigenesis and metastasis in choriocarcinoma cells. The results presented here may offer new clues to the progression of GTD and may provide diagnostic biomarkers for GTN.

Heme oxygenase-1 (HMOX-1) is a microsomal enzyme that exerts anti-apoptotic and cytoprotective effects. In the present study, HMOX-1 was demonstrated to be overexpressed and able to be induced by doxorubicin in breast cancer cell lines. Knockdown of HMOX-1 using short interfering (si)RNA enhanced the cytotoxicity of doxorubicin in MDA-MB-231 and BT549 cells. Knockdown of HMOX-1 downregulated B cell lymphoma (Bcl)-2 and Bcl-extra large expression, and significantly enhanced doxorubicin-induced apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 and BT549 cells. Additionally, knockdown of HMOX-1 upregulated light chain 3B expression and markedly increased the accumulation of autophagic vacuoles in MDA-MB-231 and BT549 cells treated with doxorubicin. These results indicated that HMOX-1 may be involved in conferring the chemoresistance of breast cancer cells, by preventing apoptosis and autophagy. Therefore, HMOX-1 may represent a potential therapeutic target for enhancing the cytotoxicity and efficacy of doxorubicin during the treatment of breast cancer.

Aims: To explore the expression of miR-24-3p in human arteries with arteriosclerosis obliterans (ASO) as well as the role of miR-24-3p in the pathogenesis of ASO. Methods: We used quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and in situ hybridization to monitor miR-24-3p expression in human arteries. To investigate the effect of miR-24-3p on human arterial smooth muscle cells (HASMCs), we applied cell counting and EdU assays to monitor proliferation and transwell and wound healing assays to investigate migration and flow cytometry to investigate apoptosis. Furthermore, we applied 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) luciferase assays to investigate the role of miR-24-3p in targeting platelet-derived growth factor receptor B (PDGFRB) and c-Myc. Results: MiR-24-3p was mainly located in the media of arteries and was downregulated in ASO arteries compared with normal arteries. Platelet-derived growth factor BB (PDGF-BB) treatment reduced the expression of miR-24-3p in primary cultured HASMCs. MiR-24-3p mimic oligos inhibited the proliferation and migration, and promotes apoptosis of HASMCs. Our 3'-UTR luciferase assays confirmed that PDGFRB and c-Myc were targets of miR-24-3p. Conclusion: The results suggest that miR-24-3p regulates the proliferation and migration of HASMCs by targeting PDGFRB and c-Myc. The PDGF/miR-24-3p/PDGFRB and PDGF/miR-24-3p/c-Myc pathways may play critical roles in the pathogenesis of ASO. These findings highlight the potential for new therapeutic targets for ASO.

Fetal growth restriction (FGR) threatens perinatal health and is correlated with increased incidence of fetal original adult diseases. Most cases of FGR were idiopathic, which were supposed to be associated with placental abnormality. Decreased circulating placental growth factor (PGF) was recognized as an indication of placental deficiency in FGR. In this study, the epigenetic regulation of PGF in FGR placentas and the involvement of PGF in modulation of trophoblast activity were investigated. The expression level of PGF in placental tissues was determined by RT-qPCR, immunohistochemistry and ELISA. DNA methylation profile of PGF gene was analyzed by bisulfite sequencing. Trophoblastic cell lines were treated with ZM-306416, an inhibitor of PGF receptor FLT1, to observe the effect of PGF/FLT1 signaling on cell proliferation and migration. We demonstrated that PGF was downregulated in placentas from FGR pregnancies compared with normal controls. The villous expression of PGF was positively correlated with placental and fetal weight. The CpG island inside PGF promoter was hypomethylated without obvious difference in both normal and FGR placentas. However, the higher DNA methylation at another CpG island downstream exon 7 of PGF was demonstrated in FGR placentas. Additionally, we found FLT1 was expressed in trophoblast cells. Inhibition of PGF/FLT1 signaling by a selective inhibitor impaired trophoblast proliferation and migration. In conclusion, our data suggested that the PGF expression was dysregulated, and disrupted PGF/FLT1 signaling in trophoblast might contribute to placenta dysfunction in FGR. Thus, our results support the significant role of PGF in the pathogenesis of FGR.

Lung adenocarcinoma (AC) is one of the most deadly malignancies. The disease has a low five-year survival rate; therefore, the identification of novel therapeutic agents is required. This study aimed to investigate the effect of small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting hypoxia‑inducible factor 1α (HIF‑1α) on the growth of AC A549 cells. A549 cells were transfected with various concentrations of HIF‑1α or control siRNA, and the effect on HIF‑1α expression was analyzed using quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis. The effects of HIF-1α siRNA on growth inhibition and apoptosis were then assessed using standard methods. HIF‑1α siRNA treatment significantly reduced HIF‑1α mRNA and protein expression in A549 cells. Furthermore, the downregulation of HIF-1α expression inhibited the growth of A549 cells and induced apoptosis of A549 cells by upregulating caspase-3 expression. The present in vitro study demonstrates that the downregulation of HIF‑1α is capable of suppressing AC A549 cell growth, through the induction of apoptosis. This suggests that HIF‑1α inhibition may represent a promising strategy for the treatment of AC.

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is a pregnancy-specific disorder characterised by raised bile acids in foetal-maternal circulation, which threatens perinatal health. During the progression of ICP, the effect of oxidative stress is underscored. Peroxiredoxin-3 (PRDX3) is a mitochondrial antioxidant enzyme that is crucial to balance intracellular oxidative stress. However, the role of PRDX3 in placental trophoblast cells under ICP is not fully understood. We demonstrated that the level of PRDX3 was downregulated in ICP placentas as well as bile acids–treated trophoblast cells and villous explant in vitro. Toxic levels of bile acids and PRDX3 knockdown induced oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction in trophoblast cells. Moreover, silencing of PRDX3 in trophoblast cell line HTR8/SVneo induced growth arrest and cellular senescence via activation of p38-mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and induction of p21WAF1/CIP and p16INK4A. Additionally, enhanced cellular senescence, determined by senescence-associated beta-galactosidase staining, was obviously attenuated by p38-MAPK inhibitor SB203580. Our data determined that exposure to bile acid decreased PRDX3 level in human trophoblasts. PRDX3 protected trophoblast cells against mitochondrial dysfunction and cellular senescence induced by oxidative stress. Our results suggest that decreased PRDX3 by excessive bile acids in trophoblasts plays a critical role in the pathogenesis and progression of ICP.

Induction motors face various stresses under operating conditions leading to some failure modes. Hence, health monitoring for motors becomes essential. In this paper, we introduce an effective framework for fault diagnosis of 3-phase induction motors. The proposed framework mainly consists of two parts. The first part explains the preprocessing method, in which the time-series data signals are converted into two-dimensional (2D) images. The preprocessing method generates recurrence plots (RP), which represent the transformation of time-series data such as 3-phase current signals into 2D texture images. The second part of the paper explains how the proposed convolutional neural network (CNN) extracts the robust features to diagnose the induction motor&rsquo, s fault conditions by classifying the images. The generated RP images are considered as input for the proposed CNN in the texture image recognition task. The proposed framework is tested on the dataset collected from different 3-phase induction motors working with different failure modes. The experimental results of the proposed framework show its competitive performance over traditional methodologies and other machine learning methods.

Deacetoxy/deacetylcephalosporin C synthase (acDAOC/DACS) from Acremonium chrysogenum is a bifunctional enzyme that catalyzes both the ring-expansion of penicillin N to deacetoxycephalosporin C and the hydroxylation of the latter to deacetylcephalosporin C. The R308 residue located in close proximity to the C-terminus of acDAOC/DACS was mutated to the other 19 amino acids. In the resulting mutant pool, R308L, R308I, R308T and R308V showed significant improvement in their ability to convert penicillin analogs, thus confirming the role of R308 in controlling substrate selectivity, the four amino acids all possess short aliphatic sidechains that may improve hydrophobic interactions with the substrates. The mutant R308I showed the highest reactivity for penicillin G, with 3-fold increase in k(cat)/K(m) ratio and 7-fold increase in relative activity.

This study is a creative and initial work focused on designing an intelligently automatic detecting and sensor system for home appliances being smartly interactive with mankind with speech in the living space. Since the tide of automation flowed over the industry, manufacturing business, even the living space of mankind resulting from shifting and highly developing of computer technique such as office-automation (OA), home-automation (HA), and Manufacture-automation (MA) etc. Though automation spread throughout the manufacturing in last decade, there seemed no such equal attention with home appliance. In this paper, the automation developed into the place where we spend most of our time becomes a brand-new thinking. There are so many home appliances in our living space, and how to make them intelligent so as to let our life more safety, convenient, and comfortable will be a challenge to our knowledge. In this study, some technique and skills especially related 3C (computer, communication, content) were developed to make our home appliances intelligent such as radio remote control, sensors invented by researchers, auto-dialing system, and image analysis with CCD (charged-coupled device) image-fetched. Through linking the sub-systems' function, the main function of the home appliance worked smartly - in this case, we use a refrigerator as the center of all home appliances in a family, the refrigerator could sense the lack of the food, drinks, even irregular shape fruits through all designed sensors and CCD images analysis system, and it also could auto-dial the vendors to deliver the thing those were sensed insufficient. In addition to detect capability, the refrigerator could assign works to other appliance through inter-net or wireless radio remote control system, for example, supposing that we forgot to turn off the gas oven after we had reached far away our home, we could dial cell phone or phone into the refrigerator to generate command code to turn off the fire through remote control module set up both on refrigerator and oven. This design can insure our life saved and convenience.

The purpose of this study was to explore the related practical techniques of monitoring and controlling system in designing renewable energy system, especially for Small-scaled wind-power generator. Recently, the whole world was actively developing replaced energy to solve the economic development and daily-life necessities problems resulting from gradually lacking of oil. Taiwan government was progressively planning to develop small-scaled wind-power generators under authority of Energy Bureau of Economy Minister. The real-time running parameters of wind-power generator is very essential for designing the power-generating system, in this paper, a data transition system including how to construct ZigBee Non-Beacon-Enable-Network, communication techniques, data coding, and its interface for collecting running parameters in wind-power generator was designed with both ZigBee wireless-sensor-networks (WSN) module and wired RS- 422 Interface to double check the precision of transmitting data. The final result of this study has successfully implemented in a practical small-scaled wind-power generator system which was part of integrated-project of Teaching Superior Projects authorized by Taiwan Education Minister – Constructing Monitoring and Controlling Interface in Small-scaled Wind-power Generator System, and the validity and stability of the system has been proved efficient and successful.