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The fibrinogen-to-albumin ratio index (FAR) is a valuable tool reflecting the systemic inflammation level and associated with the severity of coronary artery disease. However, the utility of the FAR in predicting the long-term prognosis of patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and multivessel disease has remained to be determined. A total of 424 patients diagnosed with STEMI and multivessel disease were recruited for the present study. They were given emergent percutaneous coronary intervention treatment and then completed a follow-up for primary (all-cause mortality) and secondary endpoints (major adverse cardiac events, including MI, stroke, emergent revascularization and rehospitalization due to heart failure). The association between FAR and the Synergy Between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention with Taxus and Cardiac Surgery (SYNTAX) score was investigated, while receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was adopted to assess the ability of the FAR to predict long-term outcomes. The long-term survival of high and low FAR groups was compared by drawing Kaplan-Meier survival curves. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was adopted to evaluate the risk factors of primary and secondary endpoints. The FAR was revealed to have a linear correlation with the SYNTAX score (y=0.022x+17.737; P=0.015). Furthermore, the FAR was a significant predictor of all-cause death with a cut-off value of 128.4 (area under the curve, 0.832; P

A bolted beam-to-column connection with rib-stiffened splicing plates is presented to facilitate on-site assembly and enhance the stiffness of joints. The joints consist of three modules and are assembled using bolts on site. Cyclic tests and a finite element analysis (FEA) are performed on seven full-scale joints. The influence of the trapezoidal stiffener's size, end-plate connection type, and the number of bolts on the seismic performance of the joints is investigated. The seismic performance of the bolted joints is compared with that of a welded joint. The failure mode, hysteretic curve, energy dissipation capacity, ductility, rotation capacity, bolt tension, friction, strength, and stiffness of the joints are determined via the tests and FEA. The trapezoidal stiffener significantly improves the bearing capacity, stiffness, and energy-dissipation capacity of the joints, making the plastic hinge occur on the beam flange outside the splicing zone. It is preferable to move the web bolts to the beam flange for improved seismic performance. The bolts on the four corners of the column flange have little effect on the seismic performance; thus, the bolts can be eliminated and the flange can be substituted by four small plates to reduce cost. This reasonable design could prevent the slipping of the joint during small-magnitude earthquakes, facilitate energy dissipation via slip during medium-magnitude earthquakes, and facilitate energy dissipation via the slip and plastic deformation of the beams during large-magnitude earthquakes. The formula for the ultimate load is presented, and the corresponding calculation results agree well with the test results.

Atmospheric ammonia (NH 3) has great environmental implications due to its important role in ecosystem and global nitrogen cycle, as well as contribution to secondary particle formation. Here, we report long-term continuous measurements of NH 3 at different locations (i.e. urban, industrial and rural) in Shanghai, China, which provide an unprecedented portrait of temporal and spatial characteristics of atmospheric NH 3 in and around this megacity. In addition to point emission sources, air masses originated from or that have passed over ammonia rich areas, e.g. rural and industrial sites, increase the observed NH 3 concentrations inside the urban area of Shanghai. Remarkable high-frequency NH 3 variations were measured at the industrial site, indicating instantaneous nearby industrial emission peaks. Additionally, we observed strong positive exponential correlations between NH 4 + /(NH 4 + +NH 3) and sulfate-nitrate-ammonium (SNA) aerosols, PM 2.5 mass concentrations, implying a considerable contribution of gas-to-particle conversion of ammonia to SNA aerosol formation. Lower temperature and higher humidity conditions were found to favor the conversion of gaseous ammonia to particle ammonium, particularly in autumn. Although NH 3 is currently not included in China s emission control policies of air pollution precursors, our results highlight the urgency and importance of monitoring gaseous ammonia and improving its emission inventory in and around Shanghai.

Metastasis is the major feature of malignant tumors that causes 90% of cancer deaths. Our laboratory has already established liver metastatic clones with YCC-16, isolated from the blood of a gastric cancer patient and expanded in vitro culture using a repeated orthotopic implantation method, and had reported biologic behaviour of the parental YCC-16, the orthotopic primary S1L0, and S1L1, S2L2 and S3L3 liver metastatic clones. Here, using these cell lines, we screened from chromosomal abnormalities using karyotype analysis and micro-CGH matching. There were 31 genes screened using PCA method which were functionally related to cell adhesion. Also, there were 23 genes selected which were related to the liver specific metastasis but excluded genes related to adhesion. There were 4 genes which demonstrated reduced or increased expression stepwise with passage. In conclusion, our results should contribute to exploring the mechanisms of liver metastasis by gastric cancer.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.7150/jca.82949.]., (© The author(s).)