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Identification of high-risk population among hepatitis B virus (HBV)/hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected individuals with first-degree relatives (FDR) who have liver cancer is important to implement precise intervention. A cross-sectional study was conducted under the framework of a population-based Cancer Screening Program in Urban China (CanSPUC), aimed to develop and validate a simple noninvasive model that could assess and stratify cirrhosis risk, in HBV/HCV-infected individuals with FDRs who have liver cancer. People who participated in liver cancer screening in Henan province were enrolled. Using the data set consisting of participants admitted from October 1, 2013, to December 31, 2016, a 24-point scale risk score model was developed through logistic regression, based on educational background, dietary habit, smoking index, cooking oil fume exposure, history of severe trauma, HBV/HCV infection status, history of diabetes, history of hyperlipidemia, and parent history of liver cancer. The model showed excellent discrimination with area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.875 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.853–0.896] and fair calibration with a Hosmer–Lemeshow test P = 0.106. The prevalence rates in the medium- and high-risk groups were 2.87 (95% CI, 1.94–4.25) and 47.57 (95% CI, 31.59–71.63) times of low-risk group, respectively. After internal validation, bias-corrected AUROC was 0.874 (95% CI, 0.873–0.875). In the external validation data set consisting of participants admitted from January 1, 2017, to October 31, 2018, the model had achieved similar discrimination, calibration, and risk stratification ability. In conclusion, the risk score model we developed can be a practical tool for the screening and prevention of liver cirrhosis among HBV/HCV-infected individuals with FDRs who have liver cancer. Prevention Relevance: We created a simple and noninvasive cirrhosis risk model for individuals infected by HBV/HCV who have FDRs with liver cancer. This model is useful not only for the prognosis of HBV/HCV infection, but also for the prevention of hepatocellular carcinoma.

There are various respiratory tract complications in patients undergoing general anesthesia, with postoperative sore throat (POST) being the most commonly seen. Although measures have been taken to prevent and treat POST in clinical practice, the control of POST is still not satisfactory. In this study, 880 ASA patients with grade I to II general anesthesia were randomly assigned into control group and experimental group. After patients entered into the operating room, the plasters were applied to the designated points (Tianzhu, Lianquan, Dazhui, etc), and the clinical efficacy of acupoint application in prevention and treatment of respiratory tract complications after general anesthesia was observed. The results showed that patients starting using acupoint application before operation could significantly reduce the incidence of postoperative respiratory tract complications, and the effects lasted for up to 24 hours. In this study, acupoint application was used, providing a simple, safe, efficient, and durable approach to prevent and treat respiratory tract complications after operation under general anesthesia.

BACKGROUND CC chemokine ligand-18 (CCL-18) and CX3 chemokine ligand 1 (CX3CL1) are key factors of vascular and tissue injury in chronic respiratory diseases. Here, we investigated the value of CCL-18 and CX3CL1 in diagnosis and prognosis of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and chronic cor pulmonale (COPD&CCP). METHODS First, we investigated the expression profile of CCL-18 and CX3CL1 in serum of COPD&CCP patients. Then the relationship of the level of CCL-18 and CX3CL1 with clinicopathological characteristics was analyzed. Subsequently, we evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of CCL-18 and CX3CL1 to discriminate COPD&CCP. The prognostic value and therapy outcome were also evaluated. RESULTS Compared to healthy subjects, the level of CCL-18 (8.01 ± 2.01 ng/mL) and CX3CL1 (2,096.11 ± 306.09 ng/mL) was significantly increased in COPD&CCP patients (p < 0.05). The upregulation of CCL-18 and CX3CL1 was significantly correlated with clinicopathological characteristics including CRP, IL-6, FIB, NT-proBNP, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, PASP, LVEF, and T wave anomaly. The combination of CCL-18 and CX3CL1 showed high precision for discriminating COPD&CCP with high AUC values (0.828), sensitivity (66.1%), and specificity (92.5%). Furthermore, CCL-18 and CX3CL1 acted as independent factors which lead to poor clinical benefits and indicated poor prognosis of COPD&CCP patients. CONCLUSIONS Taken together, our results indicated that CCL-18 and CX3CL1 could act as suitable biomarkers in prognosis and prognostic evaluation of COPD&CCP.

Aim To investigate the variation of IGSF3 gene in three families with congenital absence of lacrimal puncta and canaliculi, and to lay a foundation for further research on the pathogenic gene of congenital lacrimal duct agenesis. Methods The members of the three families were recruited. The ophthalmologic examinations in details, including slit-lamp biomicroscope, intraocular pressure and fundus examination, etc. were carried out. All patients were checked with paracentesis of puncta membrane and lacrimal duct probing, as well as the computed tomography-dacryocystography (CT-DCG). Peripheral blood of 14 participants (3 normal) from three families were collected, 4 mL each, for genomic DNA extraction, and 11 exon fragments of IGSF3 gene were amplified and sequenced by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to determine whether there were IGSF3 genetic variation. Results A total of 14 members from three families were screened for 4 synonymous variants: c.930C>T (p.Pro366=), c.1359T>C (p.Ser709=), c.1797G>A (p.Ser855=), c.1539G>A (p.Ser769=), and 6 missense variants: c.1507G>A (p.Gly759Ser), c.1783T>C (p.Trp851Arg), c.1952G>T (p.Ser 907Ile), c.3120C>G (p.Asp1040Glu), c.3123C>G (p.Asp1041Glu), c.3139_3140insGAC (p.Asp1046_Pro1047insAsp), and the latter three were only found in two patients with absence of lacrimal puncta and canaliculi combined with congenital osseous nasolacrimal canal obstruction from the first family. Conclusion The same IGSF3 gene mutation c.3139_3140insGAC is found in the patients with congenital absence of lacrimal puncta and canaliculi combine with osseous nasolacrimal canal obstruction.

Aims This study was designed to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrosis effects of Berberine hydrochloride (BBR) following canalicular laceration (CL) surgical repair. Main methods We used a rabbit CL model in this study. BBR and the control medicine were administered during and after the surgical operation. The degree of fibrosis in the canaliculi was evaluated using hematoxylin and eosin and Masson's trichrome staining 7 days after the operation. Inflammation inside the canaliculi was observed using a transcanalicular endoscope. Expression levels of inflammatory cell cytokines [tumor growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), intracellular adhesion molecule-I (ICAM-1), and interleukin-β1 (IL-1β)] were detected using immunohistochemistry. P38 and ERK1 phosphorylation and activation were determined using western blot analysis. Key findings The degree of inflammation and fibrosis were less in the BBR groups compared to Surgery group. The anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrosis effects of BBR were concentration-dependent. The levels of TGF-β1, CTGF, ICAM-1, and IL-1β were significantly lower in the BBR groups compared to Surgery group. BBR reduced the phosphorylation of P38 compared to Surgery group. Significance In conclusion, this study shows that BBR can reduce local fibrosis after CL surgical repair via its anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrosis effects.

Aim Sleep deprivation (SD) is a frequent health problem in modern society. Osthole (Ost), a natural coumarin, has antioxidant and neuroprotective properties. This study examined the functions of Ost in chronic sleep deprivation (CSD)-induced memory deficits in rats. Main methods The CSD rat model was constructed by applying Sleep Interruption Apparatus (SIA). The protective effect of Ost on memory ability of CSD rats was evaluated through behavioral tests. Modafinil (MOD) was a positive control for investigating the mechanisms underlying the actions of Ost. The oxidative stress changes in the cortex and hippocampus of the rats, histological changes in CA1 region in the hippocampus and the protein expressions of neural plasticity markers were measured. The hippocampal neurons were isolated from rats for evaluating the neuroprotective effects of Ost on glutamate-induced neuron injury in vitro. Key findings Ost administration significantly enhanced the cognitive performance of CSD rats in the open field test, object location recognition experiment, novel object recognition experiment, and Morris water maze test. Ost could effectively normalize the levels/activities of the antioxidant enzyme system in the cortex and hippocampus. Moreover, Ost administration reversed CSD-induced abnormal state of CA1 neurocytes and the down-regulated expressions of plasticity-related genes in vivo and in vitro. Additionally, Ost also notably up-regulated the expressions of Nrf2 and HO-1 previously down-regulated in CA1 neurocytes of CSD rats and in vitro. Significance Our findings showed that Ost alleviated CSD-induced cognitive deficits, and the activation of the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway might be involved in the neuroprotective action of Ost.

Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a genetic disease characterized by seizures, mental deficiency, and abnormalities of the skin, brain, kidney, heart, and lungs. TSC is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner and is caused by variations in either the TSC1 or TSC2 gene. TSC-related epilepsy (TRE) is the most prevalent and challenging clinical feature of TSC, and more than half of the patients have refractory epilepsy. In clinical practice, we found several patients of intractable epilepsy caused by TSC1 truncating mutations. To study the changes of protein expression in the brain, three cases of diseased brain tissue with TSC1 truncating mutation resected in intractable epilepsy operations and three cases of control brain tissue resected in craniocerebral trauma operations were collected to perform protein spectrum detection, and then the data-independent acquisition (DIA) workflow was used to analyze differentially expressed proteins. As a result, there were 55 up- and 55 down-regulated proteins found in the damaged brain tissue with TSC1 mutation compared to the control. Further bioinformatics analysis revealed that the differentially expressed proteins were mainly concentrated in the synaptic membrane between the patients with TSC and the control. Additionally, TSC1 truncating mutations may affect the pathway of amino acid metabolism. Our study provides a new idea to explore the brain damage mechanism caused by TSC1 mutations.

Aim To study the imaging characteristics of lacrimal punctum lesion with optical coherence tomography (OCT), and provide imaging basis for the diagnosis and treatment of lacrimal punctum diseases. Methods A total of 25 patients (28 eyes) with epiphora and lacrimal puncta lesions were enrolled. Lacrimal puncta lesions included: punctum membrane obstruction in 7 cases (9 eyes), punctum agenesis in 1 case (1 eye), a mass protruded from the punctum in 1 case (1 eye), slit puncta in 1 case (1 eye), peri-puncta mass in 2 cases (2 eyes), chronic dacryocystitis in 4 cases (4 eyes), and primary puncta stenosis in 9 cases (10 eyes; 3 eyes mild, 4 eyes moderate and 3 eyes severe). All patients were examined by slit lamp microscopy and OCT to observe the morphological characteristics of abnormal punctum. Results Two types of complete membrane obstruction and incomplete membrane obstruction of puncta were observed in OCT images of 7 patients. No lacrimal punctum and lacrimal canalicular cavity were found in 1 case with punctum agenesis. OCT images showed that a narrow lumen remained in the lacrimal puncta in 1 patient with a mass protruded from the punctum. OCT of punctum in a patient with slit punctum after stent placement showed stent and abnormal lacrimal structure. No abnormal intraluminal structure was found in 2 cases of peri-puncta mass after OCT scan, and the lacunar space was narrower than that of the contralateral eye. OCT of puncta in 4 patients with chronic dacryocystitis showed that pus floated in tear with lump-like medium-low reflex. In 9 patients with primary lacrimal puncta stenosis, OCT image could clearly show the changes of puncta lumen in different degrees and shapes. Conclusion OCT is feasible for the examination of pathological punctum, and can provide imaging basis for the diagnosis and treatment of punctum disease.

A 5-channel polymer/silica hybrid arrayed waveguide grating (AWG), fabricated through a simple and low-cost microfabrication process is proposed, which covers the entire O-band (1260&ndash, 1360 nm) of the optical communication wavelength system. According to the simulation results, the insertion loss is lower than 4.7 dB and the crosstalk within 3-dB bandwidth is lower than ~&minus, 28 dB. The actual fiber&ndash, fiber insertion loss is lower than 14.0 dB, and the crosstalk of the 5 channels is less than &minus, 13.0 dB. The demonstrated AWG is ideally suitable for optical communications, but also has potential in the multi-channel sensors.

In recent years, grain production has been rising steadily, and the income of farmers has been increasing dramatically, thanks in part to the central government's policy support for agriculture, rural areas and farmers. However, the conventional production mode leads to overconsumption of agricultural resources, increasingly challenging ecological environment impacts, and higher costs of agricultural products whose quality falls short of public expectations. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council both put extra emphasis on agricultural supply-side reform, restructuring of the sector, and a shift in the production mode. This paper explains the significance of the agro-ecological compensation mechanism, analyzes the efficacy of China's current agricultural subsidy policies, introduces related experience from developed countries, elaborates options to establish the mechanism, and proposes policy recommendations to accelerate its development. This analysis conclu...

Sulforaphane is a common antioxidant selectively abundant in cruciferous plants, which exhibits effective anti-cancer actions in control of tumorigenesis or progression of various cancers. A recent study has shown that sulforaphane attenuates the EGFR signaling pathway in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), suggesting its potential anti-metastatic effects. In this study we assessed the involvement of sulforaphane and miR-616-5p in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and NSCLC metastasis. Sulforaphane suppressed the cell proliferation in human NSCLC cell lines H1299, 95C and 95D with IC50 values of 9.52±1.23, 9.04±1.90 and 17.35±2.03 μmol/L, respectively. At low concentrations (1–5 μmol/L), sulforaphane dose-dependently inhibited the migration and invasion of 95D and H1299 cells with relatively high metastatic potential. The anti-metastatic action of sulforaphane was confirmed in 95D and H1299 cell xenografts in vivo. In fresh NSCLC tissue samples from 179 patients, miR-616-5p levels were upregulated in late-stage NSCLCs, and strongly correlated with risk of NSCLC recurrence and metastasis. Consistent with the clinic observation, miR-616-5p levels in the 3 NSCLC cell lines were correlated with their metastatic ability, and were decreased by sulforaphane treatment. Silencing miR-616-5p markedly suppressed the migration and invasion of 95D cells in vitro and NSCLC metastasis in vivo. Further studies revealed that miR-616-5p directly targeted GSK3β and decreased its expression, whereas sulforaphane decreased miR-616-5p levels by histone modification, and followed by inactivation of the GSK3β/β-catenin signaling pathway and inhibition of EMT, which was characterized by loss of epithelial markers and acquisition of a mesenchymal phenotype in NSCLC cells. Our findings suggest that sulforaphane is a potential adjuvant chemotherapeutic agent for the prevention of NSCLC recurrence and metastasis, and miR-616-5p can be clinically utilized as a biomarker or therapeutic target to inhibit metastasis.

In this study, a new dual beam model was proposed for a geosynthetic-reinforced granular fill with an upper pavement. This dual beam model was subjected to a uniform surcharge loading and resting on an elastic foundation which was simulated by a Pasternak model. The upper pavement was modeled by an Euler–Bernoulli beam while the geosynthetic reinforced granular fill was simulated by a reinforced Timoshenko beam. The explicit derivation process for the behavior of this dual beam-foundation system was presented and an exact solution was obtained. A two-dimensional finite element analysis and a Pasternak model for simulating the granular fill were carried out to validate the reliability of the proposed dual beam model. A parametric analysis was put forward to investigate the behavior of this dual beam-foundation system. It was found that the length of the pavement structure and vertical uniform loading, the stiffness and shear modulus of the foundation soil had significant influences on the behavior of the dual beam-foundation system.

There is the fact that the traditional k-means clustering training dictionary method has the problems of redundancy, high time complexity and easy to fall into local convergence, especially dictionary training has a direct influence on image classification effect. An improvement of the dictionary training method was proposed by this paper aiming to get the most optimal visual dictionary quickly. Firstly, an improved k-means clustering is presented by changing method of center selection. Then use it to train independent dictionaries for each category, and these dictionaries were all optimized with Word Activation Forces (WAFs). Finally, all categories of the dictionary are integrated to one dictionary. The optimized dictionary was obtained by using WAFs to optimize once again. The proposed method was verified on the classic image databases Caltech101 and Caltech256. The results showed that it improved not only the efficiency, but also the accuracy of image classification.

Modulation transfer function (MTF) measurement is a major means to evaluate the imaging quality of a space camera. The influence caused by the spectral characteristic of light source on the MTF results is not negligible, because the transmittance and color aberration of optical systems, and quantum efficiency of the space camera detectors are all spectrally related. Thus, MTF results tested by different light sources are different from each other. To address this problem, we propose a method to analyze the influence of spectral characteristics of light sources on measuring the MTF of space cameras. In addition, the devices and methods are designed to calibrate the spectral response and monochrome point spread function (PSF) of space camera. A Sigma lens (focal length: 1000mm, F number: 5.6) and a Cannon EOS 5DSR camera (pixel size: 4.14 μm) are combined into an experimental space camera, whose spectral response is calibrated with a monochromator (Omno30300, NBeT) and a spectral radiometer (FieldSpec, ASD). We calibrate the monochrome PSF of the Sigma lens with the same monochromator and a CCD (PIXIS 1024, Princeton Instruments, pixel size: 13 μm) micro-measuring system (20X objective). During the calibration of spectral response and monochrome PSF, the same collimator (focus: 5000 mm, F number: 10) is used. With using the proposed method and those calibrating data, we compute the theoretical values of the MTF of a space camera measured separately with five different light sources. The results indicate that MTF measured by a xenon lamp is greatly different from those MTFs measured by the other four light sources. Comparisons of those theoretically calculated MTFs, separately, show that the MTF measured by a tungsten halogen lamp is greater than the MTF measured by a xenon lamp at each spatial frequency. The deviation between those two lamps reaches a maximum value of 0.075 in the medium-high frequency zone. Furthermore, in order to verify those theoretical conclusions, a platform including a collimator and the previous space camera is constructed. The MTFs measured by a tungsten halogen lamp and a xenon lamp are computed with the slanted-edge method respectively. The results demonstrate that the distributions and deviations of the MTFs tested by those two lamps are identical to those theoretical results at each spatial frequency, with the maximum deviation being 0.057. The theoretical and experimental results demonstrate that the suggested method can accurately calculate the influence of spectral characteristics of light sources on measuring MTF of space cameras. The proposed method can also be adopted to investigate the influence of spectral characteristics of light sources on MTF of optical systems in the design or test stages.

Conventional radiotherapy has a good killing effect on femoral echinococcosis. However, the sciatic nerve around the lesion is irreversibly damaged owing to bystander effects. Although intensity-modulated radiation therapy shows great advantages for precise dose distribution into lesions, it is unknown whether intensity-modulated radiation therapy can perfectly protect the surrounding sciatic nerve on the basis of good killing of femoral echinococcosis foci. Therefore, this study comparatively analyzed differences between intensity-modulated radiation therapy and conventional radiotherapy on the basis of safety to peripheral nerves. Pure-breed Meriones meridiani with bilateral femoral echinococcosis were selected as the research object. Intensity-modulated radiation therapy was used to treat left femoral echinococcosis of Meriones meridianus, while conventional radiotherapy was used to treat right femoral echinococcosis of the same Meriones meridianus. The total radiation dose was 40 Gy. To understand whether intensity-modulated radiation therapy and conventional radiotherapy can kill femoral echinococcosis, trypan blue staining was used to detect pathological changes of bone Echinococcus granulosus and protoscolex death after radiotherapy. Additionally, enzyme histochemical staining was utilized to measure acid phosphatase activity in the protoscolex after radiotherapy. One week after radiotherapy, the overall structure of echinococcosis in bilateral femurs of Meriones meridiani treated by intensity-modulated radiation therapy disappeared. There was no significant difference in the mortality rate of protoscoleces of Echinococcus granulosus between the bilateral femurs of Meriones meridiani. Moreover, there was no significant difference in acid phosphatase activity in the protoscolex of Echinococcus granulosus between bilateral femurs. To understand the injury of sciatic nerve surrounding the foci of femoral echinococcosis caused by intensity-modulated radiation therapy and conventional radiotherapy, the ultrastructure of sciatic nerves after radiotherapy was observed by transmission electron microscopy. Additionally, apoptosis of neurons was examined using a terminal-deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling assay, and expression of Bcl-2 and Bax in sciatic nerve tissue was detected by immunohistochemical staining and western blot assay. Our results showed that most neurons in the left sciatic nerve of Meriones meridiani with echinococcosis treated by intensity-modulated radiation therapy had reversible injury, and there was no obvious apoptosis. Compared with conventional radiotherapy, the number of apoptotic cells and Bax expression in sciatic nerve treated by intensity-modulated radiation therapy were significantly decreased, while Bcl-2 expression was significantly increased. Our findings suggest that intensity-modulated radiation therapy has the same therapeutic effect on echinococcosis as conventional radiotherapy, and can reduce apoptosis of the sciatic nerve around foci caused by radiotherapy. Experiments were approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of People's Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China (Approval No. 20130301A41) on March 1, 2013.

Objective To explore the effect of acupuncture combined with medicated thread moxibustion of Zhuang medicine on insomnia rats. Methods Sixty SPF Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups, including a normal control group (control group), a sham operation group, a model group and a treatment group, with 15 rats in each group. In the model group and treatment group, insomnia model were established by injecting orexin into lateral ventricle of rats. In the sham operation group, artificial cerebrospinal fluid was injected into lateral ventricle of rats, and the rats in control group were not treated. On the basis of modeling, the rats in treatment group were treated by acupuncture combined with medicated thread moxibustion of Zhuang medicine which was conducted once a day, and the treatment lasted for 14 days. The expression of orexin mRNA and orexin content were detected, and the changes of associated receptors, including orexin 1 receptor (OX 1 R) and orexin 2 receptor (OX 2 R) were observed. Results The expression of orexin mRNA in model group (6.54 ± 1.21) significantly increased when compared with control group (0.66±0.12, P Conclusion It might be an effective link of acupuncture combined with medicated thread moxibustion of Zhuang medicine in treatment of insomnia that the treatment could inhibit the awakening promotion effect of orexin by affecting orexin, OX 1 R and OX 2 R.

The research results reveal that the covariance analysis results did not affect the learners own attitudes, cognitive load or emotions. However, in the t-tests for each of the different orientations, the research revealed that multimedia eBook teaching materials have a significant effect on the students' positive attitudes, cognitive loads, and positive emotions when compared with non-multimedia eBook materials. The abovementioned results can be used as a reference for professors and teachers of related curriculum when conducting education on carbon reduction and energy-saving, and can help establish a method which can effectively increase the publics' understanding of carbon reduction and energy saving initiatives.

The pension robot can guide the elderly in community. The path planning environment of community for pension robot is so complicated that it is a NP-Hard problem in the optimization research. The local optimization solution is solved by the traditional swarm intelligent algorithm in path optimization problem. The novel model of path planning with community pension robot is presented, and the Quantum Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm is proposed for path planning. The robot can walk with global path in community, so as to avoid obstacle collision. The simulation results are implemented for verifying effective and robust algorithm, as well as the algorithm can overcome the shortcoming by traditional swarm intelligent algorithm. The performance is obviously improved for robot path planning.

Aims: To investigate the white matter (WM) integrity and hippocampal functional connectivity (FC) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients without mild cognitive impairment (MCI) by using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI), respectively. Methods: Twelve T2DM patients without MCI and 24 age, sex and education matched healthy controls (HC) were recruited. DTI and rs-fMRI data were subsequently acquired on a 3.0T MR scanner. Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) combining region of interests (ROIs) analysis was used to investigate the alterations of DTI metrics (fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), λ1 and λ23) and FC measurement was performed to calculate hippocampal FC with other brain regions. Cognitive function was evaluated by using Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Brain volumes were also evaluated among these participants. Results: There were no difference of MMSE and MoCA scores between two groups. Neither whole brain nor regional brain volume decrease was revealed in T2DM patients without MCI. DTI analysis revealed extensive WM disruptions, especially in the body of corpus callosum (CC). Significant decreases of hippocampal FC with certain brain structures were revealed, especially with the bilateral frontal cortex. Furthermore, the decreased FA in left posterior thalamic radiation (PTR) and increased MD in the splenium of CC were closely related with the decreased hippocampal FC to caudate nucleus and frontal cortex. Conclusions: T2DM patients without MCI showed extensive WM disruptions and abnormal hippocampal FC. Moreover, the WM disruptions and abnormal hippocampal FC were closely associated. Highlights -T2DM patients without MCI demonstrated no obvious brain volume decrease.-Extensive white matter disruptions, especially within the body of corpus callosum, were revealed with DTI analysis among the T2DM patients.-Despite no MCI in T2DM patients, decreased functional connectivity between hippocampal region and some critical brain regions were detected.-The alterations in hippocampal functional connectivity were closely associated with those of the white matter structures in T2DM patients. This trial was registered to ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02420470, https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/).

Background The methylation status of oxygen 6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter has been associated with treatment response in glioblastoma(GBM). Using pre-operative MRI techniques to predict MGMT promoter methylation status remains inconclusive. In this study, we investigated the value of features from structural and advanced imagings in predicting the methylation of MGMT promoter in primary glioblastoma patients. Methods Ninety-two pathologically confirmed primary glioblastoma patients underwent preoperative structural MR imagings and the efficacy of structural image features were qualitatively analyzed using Fisher’s exact test. In addition, 77 of the 92 patients underwent additional advanced MRI scans including diffusion-weighted (DWI) and 3-diminsional pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (3D pCASL) imaging. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and relative cerebral blood flow (rCBF) values within the manually drawn region-of-interest (ROI) were calculated and compared using independent sample t test for their efficacies in predicting MGMT promoter methylation. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was used to investigate the predicting efficacy with the area under the curve (AUC) and cross validations. Multiple-variable logistic regression model was employed to evaluate the predicting performance of multiple variables. Results MGMT promoter methylation was associated with tumor location and necrosis (P

Background: Early auditory and speech development in home-based early intervention of infants and toddlers with hearing loss younger than 2 years are still spare in China. This study aimed to observe the development of auditory and speech in deaf infants and toddlers who were fitted with hearing aids and/or received cochlear implantation between the chronological ages of 7–24 months, and analyze the effect of chronological age and recovery time on auditory and speech development in the course of home-based early intervention. Methods: This longitudinal study included 55 hearing impaired children with severe and profound binaural deafness, who were divided into Group A (7–12 months), Group B (13–18 months) and Group C (19–24 months) based on the chronological age. Categories auditory performance (CAP) and speech intelligibility rating scale (SIR) were used to evaluate auditory and speech development at baseline and 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months of habilitation. Descriptive statistics were used to describe demographic features and were analyzed by repeated measures analysis of variance. Results: With 24 months of hearing intervention, 78% of the patients were able to understand common phrases and conversation without lip-reading, 96% of the patients were intelligible to a listener. In three groups, children showed the rapid growth of trend features in each period of habilitation. CAP and SIR scores have developed rapidly within 24 months after fitted auxiliary device in Group A, which performed much better auditory and speech abilities than Group B (P < 0.05) and Group C (P < 0.05). Group B achieved better results than Group C, whereas no significant differences were observed between Group B and Group C (P > 0.05). Conclusions: The data suggested the early hearing intervention and home-based habilitation benefit auditory and speech development. Chronological age and recovery time may be major factors for aural verbal outcomes in hearing impaired children. The development of auditory and speech in hearing impaired children may be relatively crucial in the first year's habilitation after fitted with the auxiliary device.

Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) is widely used in preoperative diagnosis of various tumors. We investigated the clinical value of DCE-MRI in differential diagnosis of malignant and benign ovarian lesions. The study involved 48 subjects with surgical pathology-confirmed ovarian tumors with solid components. Early dynamic phase enhancement performances of the ovarian lesions in patients were assessed, including the enhancement pattern, time-signal intensity curve (TIC), signal intensity rate at the initial 60 s (SI60), time to peak within 200 s (TTP200), and slope ratio. There were significant differences in enhancement patterns between benign and malignant ovarian tumors (P

We present defect detection of polyethylene (PE) pipes by using active infrared thermography technique. A finite element model was built to mimic the transient heat transfer in PE pipes, in which constant heat flux boundary condition was applied to the inner surface of the PE pipes. Various defects with different diameters and depths were simulated in PE pipes and they would affect the thermal distributions from which the relation between thermal images and defect sizes and locations would be established. An electrical heating bar, as the novel thermal excitation source, was employed in active infrared thermography experimental system. The finite element simulation results are well agreed with the one obtained from the infrared imaging experiments and it demonstrated that finite element numerical method can be an effective method to analyze infrared imaging. Furthermore, defects in heat fusion joints of PE pipes were fabricated and detected by the developed active infrared thermography. The experiment showed that active infrared thermography based on an electrical heating bar could provide a novel tool for nondestructive evaluation of PE pipes.

When UAV is implementing the simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) problem, the environment where UAV is flying exists unavoidable solid or moving obstacles because of its unknown character, which threatens the flying safety and the completeness of SLAM mission. To conquer this problem, an improved artificial potential field algorithm is proposed to simultaneously accomplish obstacle avoidance of UAV and SLAM mission based on a potential field function containing the distance from UAV to the goal and from UAV to the obstacles and the covariance of features. This algorithm is simulated and tested based on the built UAV plane motion model. The result shows that the proposed algorithm is effective to avoid the obstacles while implementing SLAM for UAV.

According to different printing materials, this paper has classified the types of 3D printers, discussed the characteristics and suitable material and application of various types of 3D printing technology, and put forward the future direction. Fund: Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2010EL015)

Through a lot of analysis and test on a rare failure (ongoing black mura), we found that the distance of TFT U shaped channel to the gate line edge have great influence on the stability of TFT device. When the distance is less than a critical value, the characterization of TFTs would degrade after a long-time of stress or aging, lead to decrease of Ion and increase of Vth, resulting in poor life time of TFT-LCD for the abnormal black phenomenon. By BTPS(Bias, Temperature, Photo, Stress) [1-2] and aging test, we compare the stability of TFTs with different distance value, establish calculation model and design spec. Effective improvement have achieved by process adjusting and design changes.

The CCD image sensor is set in the different production position, whose output signal is converted into digital signals to a dedicated image processing system by A/D. Using the image enhancement, smoothing, sharpening, segmentation, feature extraction, image recognition and understanding of digital image processing techniques,the system can identify the image, compare with feature information preservation, decide whether to enter the next process according to the similarity degree of alignment. Visual inspection having high precision, fast speed, working in the industrial field is stable and reliable, and improves the level of automation of production, make the products more competitive.

Summary Objective To evaluate the value of magnetic susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) for measuring deep cerebral venous diameter. Methods The diameters of 150 deep cerebral veins were measured by SWI and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) in 50 patients. Results SWI showed whole cerebral veins as clear soft vessels, but with a crooked hypointense linear structure along the sulcus. Venous vessel diameter as measured by SWI was greater than that by DSA, but values from the two different techniques showed significant linear correlation (r = 0.905). Conclusion SWI is reliable and suitable for quantitative measurements of deep cerebral veins, and more sensitive for measuring smaller vessels deep within the brain.

The crankshaft composite follow crankshaft turning lathes use the following tool system to complete the turning of crankshaft, when crankshaft machining is working, the turret mechanisms processing error and assembly errors will affect the crankshafts processing quality, So it is difficult to control the actual machining accuracy, or it may cause the waste of material. Therefore, in this paper, by analyzing the impact of the rod length errors on the trajectory of the tool tip, the tool tip trajectorys equations can be built. Using MATLAB tools, we can build the tip point trajectory modeling and solve the deviation between the actual tip point and the ideal trajectory, and finally can get the result of rod lengths error on the accuracy of the actual processing, which will provide basis for the design and analysis in future.

In view of orthogonal cutting, finite element simulation geometry is built. the friction model, thermal conduction model and chip separation model are established between chip and tool using Abaqus which is a finite element analysis software. Through a specific example, two-dimensional finite element model have been established, simulating the cutting process stress distribution of the work piece surface is also obtained during processing. While simulation analyzes the relationship between the rake angle and shear angle, the results of simulation and experiment are basically the same, thus further verify the credibility of Abaqus simulation results on orthogonal cutting, and the feasible is also proved of obtaining cutting data by the use of Abaqus simulation cutting process.

A new-type heat-insulating water transporting vehicle is designed to solve the problem that water transported in cold area is apt to be frozen. The vehicle shall be actively heated and passively heat-insulated with fuel oil heater and polyurethane insulation layer. Furthermore, it also can be automatically heated with the special management system by controlling the heater according to the water temperature and the ambient temperature. In order to study on the heat-insulation property of the vehicle, the temperature distribution of the water in the tank and heat losses from the tank with ANSYS; finally, the low temperature environmental test is carried out. The test result shows that the water temperature in the tank is reduced from 20°C to 19°C for 24h under ambient temperature of -25°C, the average overall heat transferring coefficient is 0.52W/(m2•K) and thus completely meets requirements for water transporting in cold areas.

For uninhabited flying vehicle, it is a key prerequisite of truly autonomous mobile vehicles to simultaneously localize and accurately map its surroundings. Kalman filter-based algorithms require time quadratic in the number of landmarks to incorporate each sensor observation. This paper presents an algorithm so called FastSLAM that recursively estimates the full posterior distribution over robot pose and landmark locations, but scales logarithmically with the number of landmarks in the map. FastSLAM factors the posterior into a product of conditional landmark distributions and a distribution over UAV paths. The algorithm has been tested in UAV environments. Experimental results demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages of the FastSLAM algorithm for UAV.

This document simulates the light leakage issue usually existed in liquid crystal display, and gains some experience conclusion. Simulation is mainly to the width of the black matrix (BM) located outside of the panel edge AA region, and ultimately determines the favorable range of value of the product, makes guidance to the product design.