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This study empirically examines the impact of Domestic Investment (DI) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on the economic development of Cameroon from 1990 to 2018. The four factors investigated include financial development, institution, infrastructure, and social capital. Both the dynamic panel estimate and standing panel lapse methods were used to evaluate the connection between DI and FDI concerning the economic development based on the factors enumerated. The results show that DI has a positive influence on and correlates with the growth of the economy. In addition, it indicated that there is an improvement in the financial progress when FDI is on the increase. Moreover, this study indicates that the increase in the institutions, human capital, and the monetary system improves the economic development of the country. It can be inferred from the results that Cameroon had a significant increase in her infrastructures and school enrolment from 2001 to date because of the increase in DI and FDI. The results show that FDI negatively affects some social capital of the Cameroon people such as the displacement of schools and markets, which is consistent with previous studies and results from the literature reviewed.

Perceptions play a critical role in international affairs. Politicians must be able to consider and forecast both challenges and opportunities. Public opinion has the power to change the course of politics. As the world becomes more interconnected, it’s critical to comprehend how China is perceived and how this affects China’s global effect. Although it only makes up a small part of overall Chinese OFDI, this investment class has recently drawn interest because of its sectoral and geographic diversification. Nigeria has been one of China’s top 40 trading partners for more than five decades. For some time, it has been the leading African investment destination for Chinese investment in the continent. The pursuit of multilateral agreements has a significant effect on how countries engage in the political and economic realm. This study used both quantitative and qualitative methods. The study adopted simple random sampling techniques to allow for equal and unbiased respondents’ participation in the primary data collection. The response scale was base on a 1 - 5 points Likert scale. Secondary data was sourced from archival materials, published books or scholarly works, the internet, international organization official documents, journals, press releases, newspapers. The overall research accepts the study’s alternative hypothesis, which shows that perhaps the ten outlined perceptions of Nigerians towards Chinese FDIs and its acceptability are heavily influenced by the success of FDI by Chinese investors and businesses in Nigeria’s market climate. The importance and positive outcomes of such FDI are heavily reliant on Nigerian perceptions of Chinese FDI and their acceptability and the investment target region.

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in protection against ischemic-reperfusion injury (IRI) in a nephron-sparing surgery (NSS) rat model using erythropoietin (EPO) preconditioning. Fifty-four male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 3 groups for right kidney nephrectomy treatment: sham group (exposure without clamp treatment), NSS group (3 days of peritoneal phosphate buffered saline [PBS] injection before renal blood vessels were clamped for 40 mins and NSS was performed), and EPO group (3 days of EPO abdomen injections prior to renal blood vessel clamping for 40 min before NSS was performed). After 12, 24, and 72 hours, inferior vena cava blood and renal tissues were harvested. The extent of renal injury was assessed, along with EPC number, cell proliferation, angiogenesis, and vascular growth factor expression. EPO preconditioning significantly improved renal function and histologic morphology, indicated by reduced blood urea nitrogen (BUN) ([33.12 ± 1.88] vs [16.03 ± 0.91], P .05) and serum creatinine (Scr) ([190.2 ± 20.23] vs [77.23 ± 5.82], P .05) levels and histologic injury scores ([3.20 ± 0.78] vs [1.70 ± 0.67], P .05). Angiogenesis in peritubular capillaries markedly increased in the EPO group. EPC numbers increased in the kidneys at 24 hours following reperfusion in the EPO group, compared to the NSS group. Furthermore, EPO preconditioning also increased SDF-1α and CXCR7 expression at 24 hours following reperfusion relative to the NSS group. These findings suggest that EPO pretreatment can reduce renal injury in rats caused by IRI. Mechanistically, this may be related to EPC mobilization and recruitment to injured renal tissues by SDF-1α and CXCR7.

Background To report the incidence and risk factors of suction loss during small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE). Methods This retrospective comparative case control study included 8493 eyes of 4261 patients. Patients underwent SMILE surgery between January 2014 and September 2019 were included. Videos of suction loss were reviewed, and the direct causes of suction loss were noted. An independent samples t-test was used for comparisons between the suction loss group and the control group. A binary logistic regression model was used to determine the possible significant risk factors that might increase the likelihood of suction loss during SMILE surgery. Results Suction loss occurred in 31 (0.37%) eyes of 30 patients; 23 (74.2%) cases occurred in the right eye (the first operative eye) and 8 (25.8%) cases occurred in the left eye. Among the 30 patients, 23 (76.7%) were male and 7 (23.3%) were female. The incidence in the six consecutive years were 0, 2.13, 0.34, 0.24, 0.22, and 0.25%. Head and eye movements during surgery caused suction loss in 16 (51.6%) and 15 (48.4%) eyes, respectively. Comparison between the suction loss group and the control group showed that the first operative eye and male sex are at a significantly high risk for suction loss (p Conclusions The risk factors of suction loss were first operative eye and male sex. Head and eye movements due to patient anxiety are the most common direct causes of suction loss. Surgeon’s experience may help to reduce the incidence of suction loss. Preoperative education and better communication during surgery needs to be emphasized. Trial registration Retrospectively registered. ChiCTR-ORC-17011040. Registered 1 April 2017. Name of registry: The observation of clinical results after corneal refractive surgery. Data of enrolment of the first participant to the trial: 1 January 2014.

Aim To compare the pregnancy outcomes after day 5 blastocyst-stage embryo transfers (BET) versus day 6 BET following vitrified-warmed cycle and to evaluate whether the number of embryos transferred and the chromosomal status of embryo influence effect estimates. Methods A literature search (PubMed, Embase and MEDLINE) up to January 2019 was conducted to identify studies where women with day 6 BET were compared to women with day 5 BET. Only studies published in English language, on peer-reviewed journal were considered eligible. The following subgroup analyses were performed: (i) number of embryos transferred and (ii) chromosomal status of embryo. Results From a total of 1956 articles identified, 23 observational studies were included in the meta-analysis. We observed that day 6 BET were associated with lower implantation rate (risk ratio, RR: 1.17, 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.10-1.24), clinical pregnancy rate (RR: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.10-1.24), ongoing pregnancy rate (RR: 1.15, 95% CI: 1.07-1.24) and live birth rate (RR: 1.22, 95% CI: 1.11-1.33) than day 5 BET following vitrified-warmed cycle. The subgroup analysis found that the superiority of day 5 BET compared with day 6 BET is influenced by the number of embryos transferred and chromosomal status of embryos. Conclusion Current evidence shows that day 5 BET is superior to day 6 BET following vitrified-warmed cycle in clinical practice. Due to the overall low quality of available evidence, more larger and well-conducted studies are needed to compare the pregnancy outcomes between day 5 and day 6 BET before drawing a clear conclusion.

Background: Inflammation and oxidative stress play important roles in energy imbalance and its complications. Recent research indicates that hypothalamic inflammation may contribute to the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome and cardiac dysfunction, but the mechanisms remain unclear. We hypothesized that suppression of the proinflammatory IKKβ/NF-κB pathway in the hypothalamus can improve energy balance and cardiac function in type 2 diabetic (T2D) rats. Methods: Normal and T2D rats received bilateral hypothalamic arcuate nucleus (ARC) infusions of the IKKβ inhibitor SC-514 or vehicle via osmotic minipump. Metabolic phenotyping, immunohistochemical analyses, and biochemical analyses were used to investigate the outcomes of inhibition of the hypothalamic IKKβ. Echocardiography and glucometer were used for measuring cardiac function and blood glucose, respectively. Blood samples were collected for the evaluation of circulating proinflammatory cytokines. Heart was harvested for cardiac morphology evaluations. The ARC was harvested and analyzed for IKKβ, NF-κB, proinflammatory cytokines, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and NAD(P)H (gp91phox, p47phox) oxidase activity levels and neuropeptides. Results: Compared with normal rats, T2D rats were characterized by hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, glucose intolerance, cardiac dysfunction, as well as higher ARC levels of IKKβ, NF-κB, proinflammatory cytokines, ROS, gp91phox, and p47phox. ARC infusion of the IKKβ inhibitor SC-514 attenuated all these changes in T2D rats, but not in normal rats. Conclusions: Our results indicate that the hypothalamic IKKβ/NF-κB pathway plays a key role in modulating energy imbalance and cardiac dysfunction, suggesting its potential therapeutic role during type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Declarative memory and procedural memory have their own independent information processing channels, but also share common processing mechanisms. Converging evidence recently shows that declarative learning can inhibit the performance of procedural memory. However, other studies also show that there may be semantic association effect and sequence expectation effect. We assumed that this interference effect of declarative memory on procedural memory could vanish or even be transformed into the enhancing effect when there was semantic association or both semantic association and sequence matching existed between two tasks. Experiment 1 examined the role of semantic association in the influence of declarative memory on procedural memory. We found that the performance of the semantic association group was significantly better than that of the baseline group, while the performance of the semantic independent group was significantly worse than that of the baseline group. In Experiment 2, based on semantic association, the role of sequence matching in the impact of declarative memory on procedural memory was tested. As a result, the accuracy of the sequence matching group was significantly higher than that of the baseline group, while the accuracy of the sequence mismatched group was not significantly different from that of the baseline group. The results of the two experiments suggest that the effect of declarative memory on procedural memory is not a fixed relationship. It is modulated by semantic association and sequence matching between two tasks. Declarative memory can interfere with procedural memory when two tasks have no semantic association, however, when there is semantic association the interference effect can vanish. Further, when both semantic association and sequence matching exist, the interference effect can be reversed into an enhancing effect.

Controlled-source electromagnetic method (CSEM) signals are inevitably contaminated by man-made noises. For this reason, a new CSEM data processing method was proposed. First, the 50 Hz powerline interference was removed by FFT method, followed by the CEEMD method to remove baseline drift, and finally the correlation analysis method was used to select the high-quality signal. The method was applied to the processing of measured data in Huidong, Sichuan. As a conclusion, the presented method can effectively remove the strong cultural noise from raw CSEM data and preserve the useful signal completely; the apparent resistivity curves acquired by using the filtered data are improved significantly upon the previous.

As the world is struggling to fight off the COVID-19 pandemic, counties are witnessing unprecedented economic slowdowns and shutdowns. In Nigeria, the financial crisis is affecting the stability of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs). As the pandemic continues to ravage the country, SMEs are struggling to survive due to the decline in the production volumes and harsh market conditions. Our findings revealed that the cessation of movement, the reduction in consumer spending power, and decrease in imports is negatively affecting Nigerian SMEs. However, there are government policies set in place to protect SMEs, but there is a need for more efforts and interventions to enable them to survive the consequence of the pandemic. However, SMEs should be more proactive in adapting to this new situation.

PURPOSE: The objective of our meta-analysis was to estimate the effect of VTS on obstetric outcomes of ART singletons. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, MEDLINE, and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched up to January 2019 to find studies reporting the obstetric outcomes of ART singletons with VTS. Dichotomous data were expressed as odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Continuous data were expressed as weighted mean difference (WMD) with 95% CI. RESULTS: A total of 17 observational studies encompassing more than 60,000 ART singletons were included in this meta-analysis. The impact of VTS on singletons was highly dependent on the definition of VTS, precisely, the vanishing timing and intrauterine growth stage. When VTS happened at or before 14 weeks, regardless of intrauterine growth stage, there were no differences in terms of gestational age (GA) [WMD = − 0.08, 95% CI = − 0.27, 0.10], preterm birth (< 37 weeks) (PTB) [OR = 1.23, 95% CI = 0.89, 1.70], and low birth weight (< 2.5 kg) (LBW) [OR = 1.56, 95% CI = 1.00, 2.43] in original singletons versus singleton with VTS. On the contrary, VTS occurred after 14 weeks was associated with significantly shorter GW and lower BW, as well as higher risks of PTB and LBW. When the sac reduced in VTS was an empty gestational sac, there would be no differences in GW, PTB, and LBW between singletons versus singletons with VTS, whereas the loss of a fetus with cardiac-activity was associated with adverse obstetric outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis suggests whether or not VTS is harmful to obstetric outcomes is highly dependent on the vanishing timing and intrauterine growth stage.

In 2015, the new installed capacity of global renewable energy power generation exceeded the newly installed capacity of conventional energy power generation, marking a structural change in the construction of the global power system. With the continuous improvement of wind energy utilization technology, the global wind power industry has developed rapidly in recent years. The world's available wind energy is 20 billion kilowatts and has become one of the most economical green power. In China, wind power has become the third largest source of electricity, with the installed capacity increasing from 3.1% in 2010 to 9.2% in 2017. In 2017, China's new installed capacity was 19,660 MW, accounting for 37.45% of the world's new installed capacity. This paper evaluates and compares the efficiency of wind power industry in the four regions of eastern, central, western and northeastern China through EBM models based on radial and non-radial factors. This paper discusses the contribution of China's wind power industry to CO2 emission reduction from the relationship between installed capacity efficiency and CO2 emission reduction efficiency. The conclusions show that the overall efficiency score and ranking of wind power in 2013-2017 is the best in the eastern region, followed by the northeast region and the western and central regions.

Background/Aims: Acute rejection (AR) is a major complication post renal transplantation, with no widely-accepted non-invasive biomarker. This study aimed to explore the expression profiles of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the peripheral blood (PB) of renal transplant recipients and their potential diagnostic values. Methods: The genome-wide lncRNA expression profiles were analyzed in 150 PB samples from pediatric and adult renal transplant (PRTx and ARTx) cohorts. The diagnostic performance of differentially expressed lncRNA was determined using receiver operator characteristic curve, with area under the curve (AUC) and 95% confidential interval (CI). Finally, a risk score was constructed with logistical regression model. Results: A total of 162 lncRNAs were found differentially expressed in PRTx cohort, while 163 in ARTx cohort. Among these identified lncRNAs, 23 deregulated accordingly in both cohorts, and could distinguish AR recipients from those without AR. Finally, a risk score with two most significant lncRNAs (AF264622 and AB209021) was generated and exhibited excellent diagnostic performance in both PRTx (AUC:0.829, 95% CI:0.735-0.922) and ARTx cohorts (AUC: 0.889, 95% CI: 0.817-0.960). Conclusion: A molecular signature of two lncRNAs in PB could serve as a novel non-invasive biomarker for the diagnosis of AR in both pediatric and adult renal transplant recipients.

Due to globalization, the great diversity that prevails requires more innovative concepts of businesses, Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), and ventures that consider economic and environmental aspects of sustainable development that facilitate the growth of communities, towns, cities, and countries at large. As such, for a country like Nigeria to attain sustainability and significantly achieve the 17nr. Sustainable development goals (SDGs): Complete diversification of the economy is needed through adequate infrastructure, planned and executed without harming the environment. In China, African countries like Nigeria found a partner whose FDI is directed towards infrastructural projects that is adequately financed between China (Financier) and Nigeria (Host). These affirm that Nigeria needs Chinese financing for its projects to achieve its SDGs while China needs resources from Nigeria for its manufacturing. However, despite these mutualisms, sustainable funding agreements for developments, it is impacted by factors that hinder or promote such arrangements. Hence, this study examined the role of Chinese FDI in infrastructures across various sectors that enable achieving SDGs in Nigeria. Desk research concept was adopted as the sole research method by reviewing secondary sources of data from existing and publicly available data, which enable identification of projects by sectors that Chinese finances are playing a development role in Nigeria. The results show that Chinese FDI in development projects in countries like Nigeria enable Chinese companies to function properly on one hand, while Nigeria benefits from projects that drive growth and sustainable development that rhymes with its SDGs.

Background: Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most prevalent histologic subtype of kidney cancers in adults, which could be divided into two distinct subgroups according to the BRCA1 associated protein-1 (BAP1) mutation status. In the current study, we comprehensively analyzed the genome-wide microRNA (miRNA) expression profiles in ccRCC, with the aim to identify the differentially expressed miRNAs between BAP1 mutant and wild-type tumors, and generate a BAP1 mutation-specific miRNA signature for ccRCC patients with wild-type BAP1. Methods: The BAP1 mutation status and miRNA profiles in BAP1 mutant and wild-type tumors were analyzed. Subsequently, the association of the differentially expressed miRNAs with patient survival was examined, and a BAP1 mutation-specific miRNA signature was generated and examined with Kaplan-Meier survival, univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Finally, the bioinformatics methods were adopted for the target prediction of selected miRNAs and functional annotation analyses. Results: A total of 350 treatment-naive primary ccRCC patients were selected from The Cancer Genome Atlas project, among which 35 (10.0%) subjects carried mutant BAP1 and had a shorter overall survival (OS) time. Furthermore, 33 miRNAs were found to be differentially expressed between BAP1 mutant and wild-type tumors, among which 11 (miR-149, miR-29b-2, miR-182, miR-183, miR-21, miR-365-2, miR-671, miR-365-1, miR-10b, miR-139, and miR-181a-2) were significantly associated with OS in ccRCC patients with wild-type BAP1. Finally, a BAP1 mutation-specific miRNA signature consisting of 11 miRNAs was generated and validated as an independent prognostic parameter. Conclusions: In summary, our study identified a total of 33 miRNAs differentially expressed between BAP1 mutant and wild-type tumors, and generated a BAP1 mutation-specific miRNA signature including eleven miRNAs, which could serve as a novel prognostic biomarker for ccRCC patients with wild-type BAP1.

Powerful terahertz (THz) radiation sources are crucial to the development of THz science. High-energy strong-field THz pulses have many significant applications such as in the ultrafast control of matter and the THz-driven electron acceleration. In recent years, ultraintense laser-plasma interactions have been proposed as a novel approach to strong-field THz generation. In this paper, the experimental results are presented about the generation of THz radiation from a solid foil irradiated by a 10-TW femtosecond laser pulse. The THz energy as a function of laser energy and defocusing amount is studied. It is found that both the THz energy and the laser-to-THz conversion efficiency increase nonlinearly with the laser energy increasing. At maximum laser energy ~270 mJ, the measured THz pulse energy is 458 μJ, corresponding to a laser-to-THz energy conversion efficiency of 0.17%. No indication of saturation is observed in the experiment, implying that a stronger THz radiation could be achieved with higher laser energy. By simultaneously monitoring the backward scattered laser light spectrum, it is qualitatively understood that the observed THz radiation as a function of laser energy and laser defocusing distance is closely related to the electron heating mechanisms at different laser intensities. The THz spectrum and polarization are characterized by using different band-pass filers and a wire-grid polarizer, respectively. The THz radiation covers an ultrabroad band ranging from 0.2 THz to 30 THz, and shows a radially polarized distribution. By fitting the measured THz spectrum with the theory of coherent transition radiation, the THz pulse duration is inferred to be about 30 fs. At the THz focal spot of ~1 mm in size, the THz field strength is evaluated to be 3.68 GV/m. Such a strong-field THz source will enable the study of extreme THz-matter interactions.

Carotid and vertebral artery dissections are estimated to account for ∼20% of strokes in patients under 45-years-old. This meta-analysis compared the efficacy and safety of treatment with anticoagulants versus antiplatelet agents to determine the optimal therapy. We searched 4 electronic databases for clinical trials published from January 1, 1980 to August 25, 2021 that included patients who received anticoagulant or antiplatelet therapy for carotid and/or vertebral artery dissections. The curative effect was judged by recanalization evaluated by imaging. The primary outcomes were all cause death and ischemic stroke; secondary outcomes included hemorrhage and transient ischemic attack (TIA). Patients who received only a single drug treatment were divided into antiplatelet or anticoagulant groups; all received conservative treatment without surgical intervention. For this investigation, we pooled the available studies to conduct a meta-analysis, which included 7 articles with 1126 patients. The curative effect of vascular recanalization was not significantly different between the 2 treatment groups (odds ratio [OR] = 0.913, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.611-1.365, P = .657); similarly, no significant differences were found regarding the primary outcomes all cause death (OR = 1.747, 95%CI: 0.202-15.079, P = .612) and ischemic stroke (OR = 2.289, 95%CI: 0.997-5.254, P = .051). Patients treated with anticoagulants were more likely to experience TIA (OR = 0.517, 95%CI: 0.252-1.060, P = .072) and hemorrhage (OR = 0.468, 95%CI: 0.210-1.042, P = .063), but the differences were not statistically significant. Overall, there were no statistically significant differences between anticoagulant therapy and antiplatelet therapy for the treatment of carotid and vertebral artery dissections.

This paper presents a probabilistic assessment on the time-dependent mechanical behavior of post-tensioned (PT) self-centering (SC) concrete connections. First, the prestress loss in PTSC frames induced by the shrinkage and creep effects of concrete is estimated according to the probabilistic analysis with the inclusion of possible sources of uncertainties. The finite element models of PTSC subassemblies with different structural parameters are developed and utilized to investigate the impacts of span number, reinforcement ratio and initial prestress level on the loss degree of prestress. Subsequently, a time-dependent analytical model is proposed for the PTSC concrete connections. The long-term performance of PTSC joints is analyzed with the incorporation of prestress loss and other time-dependent effects, such as the continuing hydration of cement. Finally, the key indicators for the mechanical properties of PTSC connections are extracted and quantitatively evaluated.

Identify the prevalence of postoperative anxiety and depression as well as their correlations with clinical features and survival profiles in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who underwent resection. Four hundred NSCLC patients who underwent resection were recruited, and their anxiety and depression were assessed by hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) at discharge after surgery. Besides, 480 healthy controls (HCs) were also enrolled and assessed by HADS. The HADS-Anxiety score of NSCLC patients (7.8 ± 3.9) was greatly higher than that of HCs (4.8 ± 2.7), and the anxiety prevalence of NSCLC patients (49.6%) were dramatically increased compared with HCs (13.8%). Furthermore, the HADS-Depression score (7.2 ± 3.6) of NSCLC patients was considerably increased compared with HCs (4.2 ± 2.6), and the depression prevalence of NSCLC patients (38.3%) was significantly raised compared with HCs (10.0%). Besides, anxiety correlated with gender, marital status, hypertension, diabetes, pathological differentiation, tumor size, lymph node metastasis, TNM stage and carcinoembryonic antigen level, meanwhile, depression correlated with marital status, employment status before surgery, diabetes, pathological differentiation, and TNM stage in NSCLC patients. Additionally, the anxiety and depression predicted shorter disease-free survival in NSCLC patients. And the anxiety predicted worse overall survival (OS), while no association of depression with OS was observed in NSCLC patients. Post-operative anxiety and depression are highly prevalent and implicated in the ongoing care and prognosis prediction in NSCLC patients who underwent resection.

In the situation of high-speed or heavy load, pneumatic cylinders usually generate cushion failure like collision or rebound, so that the key question to be solved for the cylinders is cushion. In order to obtain a better cushion method, the paper used the ideal cushion characteristic curve of hydraulic cylinders for reference; and throttling area equation, temperature equation, flow rate equation and motion equation were established. By building the simulation module in Matlab/Simulink, the rule of throttling area approaching to the ideal cushion curve was found, which provide theoretical basis for the design of cylinders cushion devices.

In the analysis of semiconductor position sensitive detector (PSD) based on the traditional structure, using dual ion implantation method to studying the new type of PSD structure. The new structure of the n-type silicon substrate by implanting a high dose, low energy boron ions and another high energy boron ion, Which subsequent annealing of 2h at 1050 °C in an ambient of dry O2to form a shallow and a low doped p-n junction. Experimental results show that the new structure of PSD can obtained high position resolution, smaller errors and nonlinear response time.

Purpose Current evidence suggests that preconditioning with erythropoietin (EPO) can protect against ischemia reperfusion injury in rodents. However, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the efficacy and safety of high-dose EPO in kidney transplantation have yielded inconclusive results. Herein, we performed a meta-analysis of RCTs to assess whether the administration of high-dose EPO can improve graft function and the potential adverse events. Methods Relevant RCT studies that investigated high-dose EPO on graft function after kidney transplantation were comprehensively searched in Pubmed, Embase, and Cochrane Library until July 10, 2014. All statistical analyses were performed using Review Manager 5.0 and STATA 12.0. Results A total of 4 RCTs involving 356 patients were identified. Comprehensively, a trend of reduction in the incidence of delayed graft function could be observed in the EPO group (EPO vs. placebo groups: RR = 0.88); however, the result did not reach the significance level (95% CI, 0.72–1.08; P = 0.21). Furthermore, no significant difference in the incidences of adverse events was observed between the two groups. Conclusions The current meta-analysis indicates that the administration of high-dose EPO is, to some extent, prone to protect kidney function without increasing the susceptibility to adverse events.

A rigid-elastic coupling multi-body dynamic model of an in-wheel motor vehicle with double pivot suspension was established. The steering effort performance is analyzed. Results showed an excessive steering force of the vehicle with double pivot suspension. By optimizing the suspension parameters using response surface surrogate model and genetic algorithm, the characteristic of steering effort was improved.

Objective We conducted this meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to investigate whether remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) could improve graft functions in kidney transplantation. Methods PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were comprehensively searched to identify all eligible studies by October 5, 2016. The treatment effects were examined with risk ratio (RR) and weighted mean difference with the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI). The statistical significance and heterogeneity were assessed with both Z-test and Q-test. Results A total of six RCTs including 651 recipients, were eventually identified. Compared to the controls, RIC could reduce the incidence of delayed graft function (DGF) after kidney transplantation (random-effects model: RR = 0.89; fixed-effect model: RR = 0.84). However, the decrease did not reveal statistical significance. The subgroup analysis by RIC type demonstrated no significant difference among the three interventions in protecting renal allografts against DGF. Furthermore, no significant difference could be observed in the incidence of acute rejection, graft loss, 50% fall in serum creatinine, as well as the estimated glomerular filtration rate and hospital stay between the RIC and Control groups. Conclusions This meta-analysis suggested that RIC might exert renoprotective functions in human kidney transplantation, and further well-designed RCTs with large sample size are warranted to assess its clinical efficacy.

Background Human leukocyte antigen-G (HLA-G) is involved in the development and progression of human cancers, and numerous molecular epidemiological studies have been conducted to explore the potential relationship of HLA-G 14-bp insertion/deletion (ins/del) polymorphism with cancer risk. However, results from published studies were inconclusive. Methods Both PUBMED and EMBASE databases were searched comprehensively to identify eligible studies investigating the association of HLA-G 14-bp ins/del polymorphism with cancer risk. Statistical analysis was performed by using STATA 12.0 and Review Manager 5.0. Results Fourteen eligible studies with 2340 cancer patients and 3967 controls were included and analyzed with odds ratio (OR) and its corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI). Overall, no significant association between HLA-G 14-bp ins/del polymorphism and overall cancer risk was detected in all comparison models. Further subgroup analyses based on ethnicity and cancer types demonstrated the significant association among Asians (ins/del vs. del/del: OR = 0.80, 95% CI, 0.66–0.95; ins/ins + ins/del vs. del/del: OR = 0.80, 95% CI, 0.65–0.97) and for breast cancer (ins allele vs. del allele: OR = 0.76, 95% CI, 0.61–0.96; ins/ins vs. del/del: OR = 0.57, 95% CI, 0.37–0.87; and ins/ins vs. ins/del + del/del: OR = 0.60, 95% CI, 0.42–0.87). Conclusion This study suggested that HLA-G 14-bp ins/del polymorphism might contribute to breast cancer susceptibility and overall cancer risk among Asians. Further well-designed studies with larger sample size are warranted to validate our conclusion.

A multi-body dynamic rigid-flexible coupling model of an in-wheel motor vehicle is built. This vehicle is based on a particular class-A car. An overall investigation of the influence of unsprung mass on vehicle ride comfort is conducted. With the increment of unsprung mass, overall vehicle ride comfort is decreased. The degradation of wheel dynamic load performance is most obvious. Suspension parameters are optimized based on the multi-body dynamic model of the vehicle and Response Surface Method. The suspension deflection and wheel dynamic load of the vehicle using optimized suspension parameters are improved significantly, while the body vertical acceleration increased slightly.

A double pivot suspension used for in-wheel motor electric vehicle was designed, and the virtual prototype model of the suspension assembly was build. The suspension parameters changed greatly during steering. In order to solve this problem, this paper proposed a non-linear response surface model to fit the relationship of suspension parameters and design variables. An optimization scheme was designed based on the response surface model. The suspension performance was improved significantly using optimized variables.

Background Disease progression remains the major challenge in the management of advanced (stage IIIb or IV) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after the failure of first-line or second-line chemotherapy, or even of targeted therapies such as gefitinib. The current study evaluated the tolerability and efficacy of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in combined with gefitinib as a second-line or third-line treatment in patients with advanced NSCLC. Methods Fourteen advanced NSCLC patients showing disease progression after platinum-based chemotherapy regimens were recruited. Eligible patients started taking gefitinib (250 mg/d) 7 days before SBRT and continued for 1 year until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity or withdrawal of consent. SBRT was delivered in median 3 fractions within 3 to 5 days. Treatment-associated toxicity was assessed according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (v.3.0). Local control was assessed according to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors criteria and symptom assessments were measured by the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Lung instrument (V4.0). Results With an overall median follow-up of 15.5 months (range, 4 to 27 mo), most patients were well tolerated with common side effects from grade 1 to 2. No grade 4 or higher toxicity was encountered. The clinical disease-related symptom improvement rate was reached 57.1% with the median duration of symptom improvement of 8.0 months. The 1-year local control and overall survival (OS) rates were 83.9% and 69.6%, respectively. The median progression-free survival and OS were 7.0 and 19.0 months, respectively. Conclusions The SBRT combined with gefitinib is a promising treatment strategy for advanced (stage IIIb or IV) NSCLC after the failure of previously chemotherapy. This method improves local control and disease-related symptoms with tolerated toxicity, and even increases the progression-free survival and OS.

A rigid-elastic coupling multi-body dynamic model of a car was established. The controllability and stability including constant cornering, steering returnability and steering effort performances are analyzed. Results show that there is still a feasibility to enhance the understeer. By optimizing the suspension parameters using DOE method, the characteristic of understeer was improved. Simulation analysis indicated that the characteristics of steering effort and steering returnability were not affected due to change of suspension parameters.

// Rong-Bin Liu 1, 2, 3, * , Jian-Gui Guo 1, 2, 4, 8, * , Tian-Ze Liu 1, 2, * , Cheng-Cheng Guo 1, 2, 5 , Xin-Xiang Fan 6 , Xiao Zhang 1, 2, 3 , Wei-Han Hu 1, 2, 4 and Xiu-Yu Cai 1, 2, 7 1 State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangzhou, China 2 Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, China 3 Department of Molecular Diagnostics, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China 4 Department of Radiation Oncology, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China 5 Department of Neurosurgery, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China 6 Department of Urology, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Guangzhou, China 7 Department of VIP Region, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China 8 Department of Radiation Oncology, The First People's Hospital of Foshan, Foshan, China * These authors contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Xiu-Yu Cai, email: caixy@sysucc.org.cn Wei-Han Hu, email: huwh@sysucc.org.cn Keywords: T-ALL, NOTCH1, FBXW7, prognosis, meta-analysis Received: September 20, 2016 Accepted: April 26, 2017 Published: June 19, 2017 ABSTRACT The NOTCH1 signaling pathway is crucial for T-cell development, and NOTCH1 and/or FBXW7 mutations are frequently detected in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of 18 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to assess the prognostic impact of mutations in the NOTCH1 pathway. After retrieving relevant articles from PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library, we investigated overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) with hazard ratios (HRs) using fixed-effects or random-effects models and conducted subgroup analyses based on population and mutation status. NOTCH1/FBXW7 mutations correlated significantly with better prognosis (5-year EFS: HR, 0.57; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.46 to 0.68; P < 0.001 and 5-year OS: HR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.51 to 0.74; P < 0.001). The HR for 5-year EFS and OS with NOTCH1 mutations were 0.63 (95% CI, 0.53 to 0.75) and 0.76 (95% CI, 0.60 to 0.95), respectively; with FBXW7 mutations, they were 0.82 (95% CI, 0.60 to 1.11) and 0.79 (95% CI, 0.55 to 1.12), respectively. However, differences between children and adults showed no significance. We conclude that the presence of NOTCH1/FBXW7 mutations is an independent prognostic factor for 5-year EFS and 5-year OS.

Nowadays, the users’ evaluation of sound environment in the railway stations is focused by all kinds of experts. Comparing with other spaces, the waiting hall is usually recognized as the most important space in the railway station. In this study, more than 600 questionnaire survey has been undertaken at 4 waiting halls of railway stations in capital cities of China, to determine how the sound sources and sound pressure level influence acoustic evaluation. More details of acoustic evaluation in the waiting hall of Harbin railway station are given in this paper. Based on the analysis of the investigation results, it has been found that in the waiting halls of railway stations, PA system is generally noticeable and ‘masking’ other less preferred sound sources, while sound from mobiles is preferred by passengers. The relationship between the measured LAeq and the subjective loudness, acoustic comfort evaluation as well as subjective loudness and acoustic comfort are all of a linear shape, and the acoustic comfort is general better when LAeq is lower than 75dBA.

In this paper, strong Moire-fringe density and direction are studied in noisy phase maps using a preprocessing method of automatic Moire–fringe analysis. This information can be used to improve the performance of 2-D phase unwrapping methods, to construct phase-jump-preserving filtering strategies, and also to perform robust segmentation of phase data. The method is highly insensitive to noise, is model based and perforros the studies in the Fourier domain.

Introduction This work was to analyze characteristics of breast cancer (BC) in Central China, summarize main characteristics in China and compare with USA. Methods BC main characteristics from four hospitals in Central China from 2002 to 2012 were collected and analyzed. All the single and large-scale clinical reports covering at least ten years were selected and summarized to calculate the BC characteristics of China. BC Characteristics in USA were selected based on the database from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program. Results Age distribution in Central China was normal with one age peak at 45–49 years, displaying differences from USA and Chinese American with two age peaks. BC characteristics in Central China displayed distinct features from USA and Chinese American, including significant younger onset age, lower proportion of patients with stage I, lymph node negative, small tumor size and ER positive. A total ten long-term and large-scale clinical reports were selected for BC characteristics of Mainland China analysis. A total of 53,571 BC patients were enrolled from 1995 to 2012. The main characteristics of BC in Mainland China were similar as that in Central China, but were significant different from developed regions of China (Hong Kong and Taiwan), USA and Chinese American. Conclusions BC characteristics in Central China displayed representative patterns of Mainland China, while showed distinct patterns from Chinese patients in other developed areas and USA.

A novel flowrate sensor based on a couple of fiber Bragg gratings( FBGs) has been proposed, consisting of fiber grating pressure sensing setup and Venturi tube. The expression of relationship between the flowrate and the wavelength shift difference of the FBGs is derived. The pressure that two sides of the cross section of the aluminum foil tube in the pressure sensing setup results in the distortion of an isosceles triangle cantilever structure. The distortion results in the wavelength shift of a couple of FBGs that are mounted at either side of the cantilever. By monitoring the wavelength shift difference of the two FBGs, the flowrate can be obtained. The cross-sensitive problem of the FBGs sensor can be solved by compensating the temperature effect. The preliminary experiments have been carried out, and the results verify the feasibility of the proposed sensor with a measurement range from 8 to 200 mm/s.

PC1D software, which was developed by the University of New South Wales, has been used to simulate photovoltaic properties of crystalline semiconductor devices. The paper focuses on the simulation of silicon solar cell by PC1D. The simulation of silicon solar cell is carried out by setting up key parameters, which include device area, thickness, band gap, etc. Several important characteristics of silicon solar cells are obtained by simulation.

This paper, innovative approaches are based on laser scanning and image analysis, presents an efficient composite technique for object profile extraction with real-time image processing. High throughput is obtained by algorithmic prefiltering to restrict the image area, while high accuracy is achieved by neural recontruction of the profile.

Paper has been removed due to double publication.

Study design Serum proteomes from normal subjects and the patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) were analyzed by using proteomics. Objectives To identify novel serologic biomarkers for diagnosing OPLL. Summary of background data OPLL can compress the spinal cord, and special planning is required for surgeries that are done from the front of the cervical spine. However, the definitive serologic biomarkers for OPLL are still unclear. Methods The 2-dimensional electrophoresis patterns of sera from OPLL patients and normal subjects were compared. The differentially expressed spots were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and electrospray ionization quadruple time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Results Nine spots that were differentially expressed in the sera of OPLL patients were found and were identified. PRO2675, human serum albumin in a complex with myristic acid and tri-iodobenzoic acid, an unknown protein, chain B of the crystal structure of deoxy-human hemoglobin beta6, pro-apolipoprotein, ALB protein, retinol binding protein and chain A of human serum albumin mutant R218h complexed with thyroxine (3,3',5,5', tetraiodo-L-thyronine), were up-regulated in the sera of OPLL patients, whereas alpha1-microglobulin/bikunin precursor was down-regulated. Conclusions These proteins could be used as diagnostic biomarkers of OPLL.

By the means of test rig for friction force measurement which is set up, the friction force of pneumatic high speed cushion cylinder are investigated experimentally. Under various working condition, the ordering variation of friction force of pneumatic cylinder is obtained by analyzing the detail of test data. The influence of friction force of pneumatic cylinder is compared under various working condition when pneumatic cylinder is working. As the variety feature of friction force of pneumatic cylinder in the stage of cushion, the segmented function of curve fitting of friction force is given in this stage, which provides the theoretical basis for the model of high speed cylinder cushion.

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text, Papillary renal cell carcinoma (pRCC) is the second most prevalent subtype of kidney cancers. In the current study, we analyzed the global microRNA (miRNA) expression profiles in pRCC, with the aim to evaluate the relationship of miRNA expression with the progression and prognosis of pRCC. A total of 163 treatment-naïve primary pRCC patients were identified from the Cancer Genome Atlas dataset and included in this retrospective observational study. The miRNA expression profiles were graded by tumor-node-metastasis information, and compared between histologic subtypes. Furthermore, the training-validation approach was applied to identify miRNAs of prognostic values, with the aid of Kaplan–Meier survival, and univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Finally, the online DAVID (Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discover) program was applied for the pathway enrichment analysis with the target genes of prognosis-associated miRNAs, which were predicted by 3 computational algorithms (PicTar, TargetScan, and Miranda). In the progression-related miRNA profiles, 26 miRNAs were selected for pathologic stage, 28 for pathologic T, 16 for lymph node status, 3 for metastasis status, and 32 for histologic types, respectively. In the training stage, the expression levels of 12 miRNAs (mir-134, mir-379, mir-127, mir-452, mir-199a, mir-200c, mir-141, mir-3074, mir-1468, mir-181c, mir-1180, and mir-34a) were significantly associated with patient survival, whereas mir-200c, mir-127, mir-34a, and mir-181c were identified by multivariate Cox regression analyses as potential independent prognostic factors in pRCC. Subsequently, mir-200c, mir-127, and mir-34a were confirmed to be significantly correlated with patient survival in the validation stage. Finally, target gene prediction analysis identified a total of 113 target genes for mir-200c, 37 for mir-127, and 180 for mir-34a, which further generated 15 molecular pathways. Our results identified the specific miRNAs associated with the progression and aggressiveness of pRCC, and 3 miRNAs (mir-200c, mir-127, and mir-34a) as promising prognostic factors of pRCC.

Objective The ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) involves the ligament that lines the posterior surface of the spinal vertebral bodies. Hormonal and metabolic factors as well as hereditary factors have been proposed to be involved in pathologic ligamentous OPLL. However, there are currently no definitive serological biomarkers for OPLL that might be used to achieve a more convenient and economic diagnosis. To find an easier and simpler diagnostic method and to identify pathogenic proteins associated with OPLL, we assessed PLL tissues from patients with OPLL for proteomic alterations. Methods OPLL tissues were collected from 12 patients with OPLL, and non-OPLL tissues were collected from 12 healthy subjects without OPLL. To minimize individual variations, we matched the sex and age of the patients in the healthy and OPLL groups. The two-dimensional electrophoresis patterns of tissue from 12 OPLL patients and 12 healthy subjects were compared. Results We found 25 proteins that were significantly and consistently different on the two-dimensional electrophoresis gels between the group of ossified PLL tissues from the patients with OPLL and the group of nonossified PLL tissues from the healthy subjects. Among them, 21 proteins were up-regulated in the patients with OPLL, whereas the remaining four proteins were down-regulated. Conclusions The information obtained via this proteomic analysis will be very useful in understanding the pathophysiology of OPLL as well as in finding protein candidates to serve as new diagnostic biomarkers of OPLL.

Principle of frequency -domain method to implement fluorescence lifetime imaging is introduced in the paper. Referred to the excitation light, the fluorescence light has a phase shift and a reduced modulation degree. Both the phase and the modulation can be used to determine the fluorescence lifetime. However, phase measurements are much more accurate than measurements of the modulation degree. So the phase is used for lifetime measurements. Taking into consideration the high frequency, the wide amplitude range of the fluorescence signal and the signal-to noise ratio, the better solution is provided. As high frequency mixers do not work well for DC output signals, heterodyne principle is used. The heterodyne method was used in the signal modulation technique so that the signal-to-noise ration is improved. The advantage of the method is that the output signals of the mixers can be directly digitized so that effective digital filtering algorithms may be applied and the phase can be determined via fast Fourier transform.

Nowadays, since most information is transmitted by public medias, the security of information is very important, especially of confidential information. The information security system has its particular processing method. The use of cryptographic machine is one of the effective solutions. The hidden trouble of cryptographic machine mainly comes from information processing kernel program and key chip. And in China, information security is being menaced, for most of the key chip involving the information security devices come from abroad. Developing the key chip-set for information security system is a hard and chief task for China. A research on system-level architecture of single-chip cryptographic data processing is presented. The architecture involves microprocessor core architecture, data interface, user ID interface, special component for cryptographic data processing and cryptographic algorithms RSA and CHES VLSI implementation IP module and the true random number generator. All of the functions are necessary for the system on a single cryptographic data processing chip. The architecture, including microprocessor core architecture, is incompatible with any other system, and has a special function to accelerate cryptographic data processing, so it is a very effective way to implement information security chip.

Radially oriented anthracene nanowires and their self-assembled concentric ring arrays were prepared through a facial solvent-evaporation method. The successful growth of anthracene nanowires can be attributed to a combined mechanism of molecular self-assembly facilitated by strong π-π intermolecular interactions together with evaporation-induced capillary flow and fingering instability. Their radial orientation is determined by the capillary flow; their shape (either straight or curved nanowires) is governed by the competition between the capillary and Marangoni convectional flows. The self-assembly of nanowires into large-scale concentric ring arrays can be interpreted in terms of the repeated slipping-and-sticking motions of the contact line. The high-quality crystalline anthracene nanowire arrays exhibit size-dependent fluorescence emission with high-degree anisotropy.

Objective The etiology and pathogenesis of moyamoya disease remain unclear. Furthermore, the definitive diagnostic protein-biomarkers for moyamoya disease are still unknown. The present study analyzed serum proteomes from normal controls and moyamoya patients to identify novel serological biomarkers for diagnosing moyamoya disease. Methods We compared the two-dimensional electrophoresis patterns of sera from moyamoya disease patients and normal controls and identified the differentially-expressed spots by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of flight mass spectrometry and electrospray ionization quadruple time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Results We found and analyzed 22 differently-expressed proteomes. Two proteins were up-regulated. Twenty proteins were down-regulated. Complement C1 inhibitor protein and apolipoprotein C-III showed predominantly changed expressions (complement C1 inhibitor protein averaged a 7.23-fold expression in moyamoya patients as compared to controls, while apolipoprotein C-III averaged a 0.066-fold expression). Conclusion Although our study had a small sample size, our proteomic data provide serologic clue proteins for understanding moyamoya disease.