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Background The mortality rate of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains high worldwide despite surgery and chemotherapy. Immunotherapy is a promising treatment for the rapidly expanding HCC spectrum. Therefore, it is necessary to further explore the immune-related characteristics of the tumour microenvironment (TME), which plays a vital role in tumour initiation and progression. Methods In this research, 866 immune-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by integrating the DEGs of samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)-HCC dataset and the immune-related genes from databases (InnateDB; ImmPort). Afterwards, 144 candidate prognostic genes were defined through weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). Results Seven immune-related prognostic DEGs were identified using the L1-penalized least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox proportional hazards (PH) model, and the ImmuneRiskScore model was constructed on this basis. The prognostic index of the ImmuneRiskScore model was then validated in the relevant dataset. Patients were divided into high- and low-risk groups according to the ImmuneRiskScore. Differences in the immune cell infiltration of patients with different ImmuneRiskScore values were clarified, and the correlation of immune cell infiltration with immunotherapy biomarkers was further explored. Conclusion The ImmuneRiskScore of HCC could be a prognostic marker and can reflect the immune characteristics of the TME. Furthermore, it provides a potential biomarker for predicting the response to immunotherapy in HCC patients.

Background: Bioelectrical impedance technology is a common technique used for the early detection of breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL). However, studies on the threshold value established by Inbody 720 device (Biospace, Korea) have been extremely limited. We aimed to determine its reference range and cutoff values. Methods: All patients were recruited from October 2017 to October 2019 at the Peking University People's Hospital Breast Center. In total, 82 patients with unilateral BCRL and 1305 healthy subjects were recruited in this study. We measured the extracellular fluid (ECF) ratio, extracellular water (ECW) ratio, as well as the single-frequency bioimpedance analysis (SFBIA) ratios at 1 and 5 kHz with the Inbody 720 device. The Youden index-based cutoff points, mean + 2SD and mean + 3SD values of these four indicators for both dominant and nondominant arms were also calculated. Results: Data were collected from 1387 women, including healthy subjects and patients with lymphedema. All statistical analyses were performed with SPSS. Significant differences were found between the two groups in the ECW, ECF, and SFBIA ratios. For the dominant affected arms, the Youden index-based cutoff points for the ECF, ECW, as well as SFBIA ratios at 1 and 5 kHz were 1.009, 1.008, 1.068, and 1.068, respectively. For the nondominant affected arms, the Youden index-based cutoff points were 1.014, 1.013, 1.047, and 1.048, respectively. The mean + 2 standard deviations (SD) and mean + 3SD values were also calculated. Conclusions: We determined the Youden index-based cutoff points, mean + 2SD and mean + 3SD values of the ECF, ECW, as well as SFBIA ratios at 1 and 5 kHz for both dominant and nondominant arms with data from 1305 healthy subjects. Next, the Youden index-based cutoff points, the mean + 2SD and mean + 3SD values were used to recognize patients with lymphedema. We found that the Youden index-based cutoff points and the mean + 2SD showed similar identification capacity on lymphedema, and they seemed to distinguish more patients with lymphedema than mean + 3SD values.

Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (MBS) has become increasingly common as a treatment option for severely obese. We examined the association of hospital length of stay (LOS) by race-ethnicity (Hispanic, non-Hispanic white [NHW], NH black [NHB]) and MBS-procedure among Florida inpatients.Secondary analysis of inpatient records was performed using the 2016 Florida Agency for Health Care Administrative (AHCA) data. Records of Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (RYGB), Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding (LAGB), and Sleeve Gastrectomy (SG) procedures based on ICD 10th edition code were analyzed. Via logistic regression analysis, the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of longer LOS (≥2 versus 2days) and the corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated for racial-ethnic groups (NHW versus other groups) and MBS type (SG versus LAGB or RYGB) adjusted for age, sex, BMI, and insurance status.The majority of the sample (N = 10,630, approximately 56% NHW, 21% NHB, 20% Hispanic, 3% Other) underwent SG (71%), followed by RYGB (24%) and LAGB (5%). Hispanic were more likely (aOR 1.27; 95% CI 1.14-1.42) and NHB were less likely (0.68; 0.61-0.75) than NHW to have longer LOS regardless of MBS type. Compared to SG, LAGB patients were more likely (2.09; 1.70-2.55) but RYGB patients were less likely (0.32; 0.29-0.36) to have longer LOS.Although LAGB is considered the least invasive MBS, recipients tend to stay longer in hospital after adjustment for health insurance and sociodemographic factors. Medical and socioecological reasons for racial-ethnic variations in LOS relating MBS should be explored further.

Methanol-to-gasoline (MTG) process is an important modern technology for fuel production. As a process featured in redundant heat, with reaction temperature sometimes up to 380℃, so far MTG heat integration has not been discussed in detail to make MTG an electricity generator. This paper, in this context, proposes a novel superstructure of the integration of methanol-to-gasoline (MTG) process with organic Rankine cycle (ORC) in the hope of higher energy efficiency. To simultaneously optimize the flowsheet structural, the working fluid and operating condition of the novel superstructure of ORC-MTG integrated process, genetic algorithm (GA) is performed based on economic criteria through MATLAB coupled with Aspen Plus. With Propylbenzene-R601 the most favorable working fluid pairs in ORC. Compared with the current industrial counterpart process, the optimal ORC-MTG integrated process saves cooling water by 18.77% with the ROI at 22.66%. The thermal efficiency of 18.3% is valuable for the industrial application, which suggests the significance of introducing ORC to other heat-rich industrial plants requiring higher energy efficiency, especially in the case of expensive electricity.

OBJECTIVE This randomized controlled-feeding trial aimed to determine the impact of fried meat intake on the gut microbiota and fecal cometabolites and whether such impacts influenced host glucose homoeostasis, intestinal endotoxin levels, and systemic inflammation. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 117 overweight adults were randomized into two groups. Fifty-nine participants were provided fried meat four times per week, and 58 participants were restricted from fried meat intake, while holding food group and nutrient compositions constant, for 4 weeks. The gut microbiota was analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing. Glucose and insulin concentrations at 0, 30, 60, and 120 min of an oral glucose tolerance test, fecal microbiota-host cometabolite levels, and intestinal endotoxin and inflammation serum biomarker levels were measured. The area under the curve (AUC) for insulin, insulinogenic index (IGI), and muscle insulin resistance index (MIRI) were calculated. RESULTS The participants who consumed fried meat had lower IGI values than the control subjects, but they had higher MIRI and AUC values of insulin and lipopolysaccharide (LPS), TNF-α, IL-10, and IL-1β levels (P < 0.05). Fried meat intake lowered microbial community richness and decreased Lachnospiraceae and Flavonifractor abundances while increasing Dialister, Dorea, and Veillonella abundances (P FDR CONCLUSIONS Fried meat intake impaired glucose homoeostasis and increased intestinal endotoxin and systemic inflammation levels by influencing the gut microbiota and microbial-host cometabolites.

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has drastically enhanced human cancer research, but diverse sequencing strategies, complicated open-source software, and the identification of massive numbers of mutations have limited the clinical application of NGS. Here, we first presented GPyFlow, a lightweight tool that flexibly customizes, executes, and shares workflows. We then introduced DIVIS, a customizable pipeline based on GPyFlow that integrates read preprocessing, alignment, variant detection, and annotation of whole-genome sequencing, whole-exome sequencing, and gene-panel sequencing. By default, DIVIS screens variants from multiple callers and generates a standard variant-detection format list containing caller evidence for each sample, which is compatible with advanced analyses. Lastly, DIVIS generates a statistical report, including command lines, parameters, quality-control indicators, and mutation summary. DIVIS substantially facilitates complex cancer genome sequencing analyses by means of a single powerful and easy-to-use command. The DIVIS code is freely available at https://github.com/niu-lab/DIVIS, and the docker image can be downloaded from https://hub.docker.com/repository/docker/sunshinerain/divis.

Carbon emission is one of the most important topics in the environmental and economic issues. Although previous studies have largely revealed the drivers of carbon emissions, there is still a big challenge to uncover the impacts of the positions of countries in the global supply chains. This paper combined multi-regional input-output analysis, complex network and panel regression analysis to quantify the influence of the roles of countries in the global carbon emissions embodied in trade (EET) transfer networks on their direct carbon emissions. The results showed the network structures had significant evolutionary characteristics. Countries played different roles in the embodied carbon emission transfers, and their roles changed over time. Furthermore, we found the direct carbon emissions of countries were significantly determined by some roles in the networks, including import universality, import strength, media capability and the importance of transfer partners. Our work demonstrated the import of embodied carbon emissions significantly decreased countries’ direct carbon emissions. For the global emission reduction, these important importing countries should reduce their domestic consumptions, and take the responsibility to help their import sources reduce the environmental pressure. It also indicated developing the trade relations with some important countries would help reduce the unnecessary carbon emissions in the domestic productions. Moreover, our work indicated reducing carbon emissions should consider both direct and indirect influence from the entire supply chains. One country’s carbon emission reduction would need the improvement of the trade structures of all the direct and indirect importer and exporters in the same supply chain.

With the increasing incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) and continued difficulty in treating it using immunotherapy, there is an urgent need to identify an effective immune-related biomarker associated with the survival and prognosis of patients with this disease. DNA methylation plays an essential role in maintaining cellular function, and changes in methylation patterns may contribute to the development of autoimmunity, aging, and cancer. In this study, we aimed to identify a novel immune-related methylated signature to aid in predicting the prognosis of patients with CRC. We investigated DNA methylation patterns in patients with stage II/III CRC using datasets from The cancer genome atlas (TCGA). Overall, 182 patients were randomly divided into training (n = 127) and test groups (n = 55). In the training group, five immune-related methylated CG sites (cg11621464, cg13565656, cg18976437, cg20505223, and cg20528583) were identified, and CG site-based risk scores were calculated using univariate Cox proportional hazards regression in patients with stage II/III CRC. Multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that methylated signature was independent of other clinical parameters. The Kaplan–Meier analysis results showed that CG site-based risk scores could significantly help distinguish between high- and low-risk patients in both the training (P = 0.000296) and test groups (P = 0.022). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve in the training and test groups were estimated to be 0.771 and 0.724, respectively, for prognosis prediction. Finally, stratified analysis results suggested the remarkable prognostic value of CG site-based risk scores in CRC subtypes. We identified five methylated CG sites that could be used as an efficient overall survival (OS)-related biomarker for stage II/III CRC patients.

Background To compare the efficacy and safety of nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-paclitaxel) and solvent-based taxanes (sb-taxanes) as neoadjuvant therapy in the treatment of breast cancer. Methods We systematically searched the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register databases. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies, published in English, about the comparison between nab-paclitaxel and sb-taxanes as neoadjuvant therapy in patients with breast cancer were searched up to September 2019. Results The primary outcome was the proportion of patients with pathological complete response (pCR, defined as ypT0 ypN0 or ypT0/is ypN0). Other main outcomes included long-term survival and adverse events (AEs). Seven studies (five RCTs and two cohorts) and 2949 patients were included. Neoadjuvant nab-paclitaxel improved pCR compared with sb-taxanes (ypT0 ypN0: OR = 1.52, 95%CI: 1.27–1.83, P P = 0.020), triple-negative breast cancer (weekly/every 2 weeks regimen; OR = 2.95, 95%CI: 1.54–5.67, P 20% (OR = 1.63, 95%CI: 1.26–2.12, P > 3 AEs between nab-paclitaxel and sb-taxanes (all P > 0.05), besides of any grade hypersensitivity (OR = 0.29, 95%CI: 0.11–0.72, P = 0.008), any grade (OR = 2.10, 95%CI: 1.37–3.23, P = 0.001) and grade > 3 (OR = 4.01, 95%CI: 2.51–6.41, P Conclusion Nab-paclitaxel is effective for the treatment of non-metastatic breast cancer in the neoadjuvant setting. Nab-paclitaxel could improve pCR rate and EFS compared with sb-taxanes and with reasonable toxicities.

Current single-cell experiments can produce datasets with millions of cells. Unsupervised clustering can be used to identify cell populations in single-cell analysis but often leads to interminable computation time at this scale. This problem has previously been mitigated by subsampling cells, which greatly reduces accuracy. We built on the graph-based algorithm PhenoGraph and developed FastPG which has the same cell assignment accuracy but is on average 27x faster in our tests. FastPG also has higher cell assignment accuracy than two other fast clustering methods, FlowSOM and PARC.AvailabilityFastPG is available here: https://github.com/sararselitsky/FastPG

Background Preventing breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) by preserving upper lymphatic drainage is still controversial. Our study aimed to use the axillary reverse mapping (ARM) technique in patients who underwent axillary surgery to analyse the correlation between postoperative residual ARM nodes and the occurrence of lymphedema, select candidates at high risk of developing lymphedema, and analyse the oncologic safety of ARM nodes. Methods Patients undergoing sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) or axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) from October 2015 to February 2016 at the Peking University People’s Hospital Breast Center were prospectively recruited for the study. ARM was performed in all patients before surgery. ARM nodes were separated from SLNB and ALND specimens. Data were collected on the identification of ARM nodes before surgery, number of residual ARM nodes after surgery, nodal status, crossover rate, and correlation between residual ARM nodes and the occurrence of lymphedema. Results The analysis included 78 patients. Of the 53 patients who underwent SLNB, crossover between ARM nodes and breast sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) was seen in 22 specimens. The incidence of ARM node metastasis was 1.89% (1/53) and 25% (9/36) in the SLNB and ALND groups, respectively. The number of positive axillary lymph nodes was associated with the involvement of ARM nodes (P = 0.036). The incidence of residual ARM nodes was significantly higher in the SLNB group than in the ALND group (67.6% vs. 37.9%, P = 0.016). The incidence of lymphedema was significantly higher in the ALND group than in the SLNB group (33.3% vs. 5.4%, P = 0.003). Conclusions For SLNB, the ARM technique can help to resect SLNs more accurately. However, we do not recommend using the ARM technique to preserve ARM nodes in patients undergoing ALND due to oncologic safety issues. Nevertheless, we can predict patients undergoing axillary surgery who are more likely to have a high risk of lymphedema by assessing residual ARM nodes. Trial registration This study was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov in February 2016. The clinical trial registration number is NCT02691624.

Breast cancer is one of the most deadly forms of cancer in women worldwide. Better prediction of breast cancer prognosis is essential for more personalized treatment. In this study, we aimed to infer patient‐specific subpathway activities to reveal a functional signature associated with the prognosis of patients with breast cancer. We integrated pathway structure with gene expression data to construct patient‐specific subpathway activity profiles using a greedy search algorithm. A four‐subpathway prognostic signature was developed in the training set using a random forest supervised classification algorithm and a prognostic score model with the activity profiles. According to the signature, patients were classified into high‐risk and low‐risk groups with significantly different overall survival in the training set (median survival of 65 vs 106 months, P = 1.82e‐13) and test set (median survival of 75 vs 101 months, P = 4.17e‐5). Our signature was then applied to five independent breast cancer data sets and showed similar prognostic values, confirming the accuracy and robustness of the subpathway signature. Stratified analysis suggested that the four‐subpathway signature had prognostic value within subtypes of breast cancer. Our results suggest that the four‐subpathway signature may be a useful biomarker for breast cancer prognosis.

Time series processing and analyzing is one of the major challenges in big data research, especially in inferring the dynamical mechanism of time series. In this paper, we constructed a complex network from time series via exploring the evolutionary relationship among the volatility patterns. We introduced the symbolic method and sliding window to describe the volatility patterns of time series that contains multidimensional information. Meanwhile, we explored the evolutionary mechanism of these volatility patterns based on the topological characteristics in network. In our research, we selected six stock indices around the world as sample data. Interestingly, for the six networks, they all showed a “petal-shaped”structure which consists of a core and loops. Moreover, through analyzing the topological characteristics of the six networks, we discovered distinguished results of their overall characteristics and loop length distributions. Furthermore, we uncovered the media patterns which trigger the structure of network changing among core and loops. In a word, this paper described the volatility patterns and explored the topological characteristics in networks constructed from time series data, which provides a novel perspective to understand the evolutionary dynamic mechanism.

Background Lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) approximately accounts for a third of lung cancers. However, the role of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) in LUSC remains largely unknown according to previous studies. Methods In this study, we investigated the mutations, copy number variants (CNVs), expression of 20 m6A RNA methylation regulators, and clinical data from The Cancer Genome Atlas-LUSC (TCGA-LUSC). These data were used for the training cohort of screening potential biomarkers. The prognostic model of m6A RNA methylation regulators was constructed. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was undertaken to determine the area under the curves (AUCs) (for 3- and 5-year survival) for the model. Additionally, the accuracy of the two-gene model was confirmed with external data verifications. Combined two-gene model and clinincal information were performed to construct a nomogram to predict patient's prognostic risk assessment. Results Fat mass- and obesity-associated protein (FTO) and methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) were identified as potential prognostic biomarkers to evaluate benign and malignant tumors and prognosticate. The following prognostic model of m6A RNA methylation regulators was constructed: risk score = 0.162 × FTO - 0.069 × METTL3. Patients in low-risk group [median overall survival (mOS), 43.4 months] had longer survival than those with high-risk (mOS, 67.3 months) with P=0.0023. The smoking grade and risk score could be independent prognostic factors (P=0.00098 and P=0.0014, respectively). Ultimately, a nomogram was developed to assist clinicians to predict clinical outcomes. Conclusions FTO and METTL3 are potential prognostic biomarkers of LUSC. The two-gene model's use of prognostic risk scores may provide guidance in the selection of therapeutic strategies.

Background H2S can also protect nerve cells. The objective of the study is to investigate the effects of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) on the expressions of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its receptors, tyrosine protein kinase B (TrkB) and p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR), in brain tissues of rats with cardiac arrest and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CA/CPR) following the restoration of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). Methods Rats (n = 240) with CA/CPR were divided into three groups: Intervention (n = 80) that received sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS, 14 μmoL/kg·d) intervention after ROSC; Inhibition (n = 80) that received hydroxylamine (40 μmoL/kg·d) intervention after ROSC; and Control (n = 80) that received saline after ROSC. Kaplan-Meyer analysis was used to analyze the survival data. Quantitative real-time PCR (q-PCR), Western blot, immunohistochemistry and IODs (integrated optical density) were performed to determine the mRNA and protein expressions of BDNF, TrkB and p75NTR in rat brain tissues. Results Survival rate of the three groups had significant difference (χ2 = 28.376, p = 0.000). The Intervention group had the highest survival rate (82.5%), while the Inhibition group had the lowest survival rate (62.5%). The mRNA and protein levels of BDNF and TrkB in the Intervention group were significantly higher compared to the Control group (p

Rationale: Gallbladder carcinoma is a malignant biliary tract tumor which is characterized by poor prognosis. Recent advances in genomic medicine have identified a few novel germline mutations that contribute to the increased risk of gallbladder carcinoma. RAD52 is a crucial human deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) repair gene involved in maintaining genomic stability and preventing tumor occurrence. Patient concerns: A 57-year-old man was hospitalized for space-occupying lesions in the gallbladder. Diagnosis: A diagnosis of gallbladder adenocarcinoma was made based on computed tomography, B-ultrasound, blood tests, and postoperative pathology. Interventions: Next-generation sequencing using a 599-gene panel and Sanger sequencing were performed to validate the mutation in the proband and his family members, respectively. Outcomes: A novel potentially pathogenic heterozygous germline RAD52 missense mutation (c.276T > A: p.N92K) was identified in the patient. Sanger sequencing revealed that this variation was not observed in unaffected family members. Lessons: We identified a novel heterozygous germline RAD52 missense mutation in a patient with gallbladder carcinoma. Our results added to the current body of knowledge. It also provides new insights into genetic counseling and targeted therapeutic strategies for patients with gallbladder carcinoma.

Integrating the Internet of things technology into the power grid is a major development trend in the future, which can effectively improve the overall performance of the existing power grid. However, due to the traditional Internet of things mainly uses the form of digital password for security protection, due to the low security problems, there are great hidden dangers to the operation of the equipment. For this reason, this paper proposes a security verification mechanism for the perception layer terminal of the power Internet of things based on the device operation fingerprint. In this paper, the biometric fingerprint identification technology and Internet of things architecture are deeply studied, and the fingerprint identification algorithm process and steps are analyzed in detail, and the processing time of each step is compared. In order to improve the comprehensive performance of the security verification of the perception layer terminal of the Internet of things, according to the actual security requirements of the power Internet of things, combined with the biometric fingerprint identification technology, a new security verification system is established. In this paper, the security mechanism of RFID system is adopted, and the performance of fingerprint image filtering is improved by optimizing calculation method and simplifying algorithm. By improving the identity authentication mode and optimizing the data encryption transmission mechanism, the security protection performance of the perception layer of the power Internet of things is further improved. In the simulation test, the system identification accuracy rate of this paper reaches 99.75%, and the software implementation efficiency test results are good, which shows that the system in this paper has high security protection performance, and can meet the current security protection needs of the power Internet of things.

// Junwei Han 1, * , Siyao Liu 1, * , Yunpeng Zhang 1, * , Yanjun Xu 1 , Ying Jiang 3 , Chunlong Zhang 1 , Chunquan Li 2 , Xia Li 1 1 College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150081, PR China 2 School of Medical Informatics, Daqing Campus, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150081, PR China 3 College of Basic Medical Science, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin 150040, PR China * These authors contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Xia Li, email: lixia@hrbmu.edu.cn Chunquan Li, email: lcqbio@163.com Keywords: microRNA, mRNA, pathway, cancer, enrichment analysis Received: April 28, 2016 Accepted: July 10, 2016 Published: July 26, 2016 ABSTRACT Recent studies have shown that dysfunctional microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in the progression of various cancers. Dysfunctional miRNAs may jointly regulate their target genes and further alter the activities of canonical biological pathways. Identification of the pathways regulated by a group of dysfunctional miRNAs could help uncover the pathogenic mechanisms of cancer and facilitate development of new drug targets. Current miRNA-pathway analyses mainly use differentially-expressed miRNAs to predict the shared pathways on which they act. However, these methods fail to consider the level of differential expression level, which could improve our understanding of miRNA function. We propose a novel computational method, MicroRNA Set Enrichment Analysis (MiRSEA), to identify the pathways regulated by dysfunctional miRNAs. MiRSEA integrates the differential expression levels of miRNAs with the strength of miRNA pathway associations to perform direct enrichment analysis using miRNA expression data. We describe the MiRSEA methodology and illustrate its effectiveness through analysis of data from hepatocellular cancer, gastric cancer and lung cancer. With these analyses, we show that MiRSEA can successfully detect latent biological pathways regulated by dysfunctional miRNAs. We have implemented MiRSEA as a freely available R-based package on CRAN ( https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/MiRSEA/ ).

Previous studies have focused mainly on the price transmission from crude oil to producer price index (PPI). However, the PPI is an aggregate price index and consists of some producer price indices in different industrial sectors (sub-PPIs). Besides, there also exist transmissions relationships among sub-PPIs. Then, what are the price transmission mechanism from international crude oil to the sub-PPIs? Aiming to explore it, we propose a systematic framework combining the Granger causality test, the generalized variance decomposition method, and the network analysis method. The spot price of Brent crude oil and 15 Chinese sub-PPIs from January 1999 to November 2018 are taken as data samples. We find that (1) the full-sample analysis provides a useful summary of “average” transmission relationships, and the influence of crude oil to producer price volatility of petroleum-related industrial sectors is larger than others. (2) the rolling-sample analysis reveals that the empirical period can be divided into four phases, and there is a lag time in terms of the impact of crude oil price shocks on the transmission relationships between crude oil and sub-PPIs. (3) not all the sub-PPIs are affected by international crude oil price fluctuations in the empirical period, except for the petroleum industry.

Grafting robots have been developed in the world, but some auxiliary works such as gap-inspecting for grafted seedlings still need to be done by human. An machine-vision system of gap inspection for grafted muskmelon seedlings was developed in this study. The image acquiring system consists of a CCD camera, a lens and a front white lighting source. The image of inspected gap was processed and analyzed by software of HALCON 12.0. The recognition algorithm for the system is based on principle of deformable template matching. A template should be created from an image of qualified grafted seedling gap. Then the gap image of the grafted seedling will be compared with the created template to determine their matching degree. Based on the similarity between the gap image of grafted seedling and the template, the matching degree will be 0 to 1. The less similar for the grafted seedling gap with the template the smaller of matching degree. Thirdly, the gap will be output as qualified or unqualified. If the matching degree of grafted seedling gap and the template is less than 0.58, or there is no match is found, the gap will be judged as unqualified; otherwise the gap will be qualified. Finally, 100 muskmelon seedlings were grafted and inspected to test the gap inspection system. Results showed that the gap inspection machine-vision system could recognize the gap qualification correctly as 98% of human vision. And the inspection speed of this system can reach 15 seedlings·min-1. The gap inspection process in grafting can be fully automated with this developed machine-vision system, and the gap inspection system will be a key step of a fully-automatic grafting robots.