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This paper gives a direct Visual Odometry (VO) of RGB-D cameras by using features conducted with low-order Gaussian derivative functions such as Gaussian gradient operator. By using the feature metrics locally, it improves further possibilities for sampling more reliable points from scenarios that are lack of structure or texture and is beneficial to continuous tracking. The proposed approach reaches relatively acceptable performance with a globally heuristic framework built on the general coarse-to-fine and inverse compositional estimation. Experimental results are conducted on a group of TUM datasets for validating the proposed approach.

Aim: Patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) have a low survival rate, with a 5-year survival of approximately 45%, regardless of the treatment received. The risk of death within 5 years after radical cystectomy in patients with MIBC remains as high as 60%. Over 80% of patients with bladder cancer are over 65. Therefore, identifying prognostic correlates associated with radical cystectomy in older patients with MIBC could improve survival rates. In addition, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are particularly important as adjuvant treatments for MIBC patients undergoing radical cystectomy. Therefore, this study aimed to find risk factors for cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS) after radical cystectomy in elderly MIBC patients. The difference in survival between radiotherapy and chemotherapy was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier (K-M) curves to provide theoretical support for whether radiotherapy is recommended for such patients. Methods: Patients 65 or older diagnosed with MIBC with radical cystectomy between 2004-2018 were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. 2004-2015 patients were subjected to column line plot production and internal validation, and 2016-2018 patients were subjected to external temporal validation. A single-factor COX regression model was first used to screen for prognostic correlates. Then a multi-factor COX regression model was used to screen for independent risk factors. A nomogram was constructed by using independent risk factors. The accuracy and reliability of the nomogram were examined using calibration curves, consistency index (C-index), and area under subjects (AUC) as operational characteristic curves. Decision curve analysis (DCA) was performed to evaluate the clinical value of the prediction model. Results: A total of 11,557 patients were included in this study, divided into training set (N = 4,712), validation set (N = 4,810) and external validation set (N = 2,035). Multivariate COX regression models showed that chemotherapy, radiotherapy, TNM stage, race, and age were independent risk factors for CSS and OS patients. We constructed a nomogram to predict CSS and OS in elderly MIBC patients undergoing radical cystectomy. The C-indexes were 0.692 (95%CI: 0.680-0.704) and 0.690 (95%CI: 0.678-0.702) for the CSS training and validation sets, respectively, and 0.674 for the OS training and validation sets (95%CI: 0.664-0.684) and 0.672 (95%CI: 0.662-0.682) for the OS training and validation sets, respectively. The C-index of the external validation set CSS was 0.731 (95%CI: 709-0.753), and that of OS was 0.721 (95%CI: 0.701-0.741), indicating that the nomogram prediction model has good discriminative power. The calibration curves and AUC also suggested that the nomogram had good accuracy and discrimination. In addition, the KM curves of propensity-matched pre- and post-radiotherapy showed that radiotherapy was detrimental to patient survival. Meanwhile, chemotherapy favored OS and short-term CSS but not long-term CSS. Conclusions: We established a nomogram to predict the CSS and OS in elderly MIBC patients undergoing radical cystectomy. After internal cross-validation and external validation, the nomogram prediction model showed good accuracy and reliability, and the DCA results showed that the nomogram has good clinical value. In addition, this study gave good suggestions on whether radiotherapy or chemotherapy is necessary for radical cystectomy in elderly MIBC patients.

Warthin tumor is a benign salivary gland tumor comprising ductal epithelium and lymphoid stroma. To date, reports about the malignant transformations of intraepithelial and lymphoid components in Warthin tumor are extremely rare; lymphoid malignant transformation into B-cell lymphoma is particularly rare in combination with T-cell lymphoma. The case of Warthin tumor complicated with T-lymphoblastic lymphoma is reported to emphasize the importance of a careful light microscopic evaluation of lymphoid tissue in Warthin tumor for identifying occult lymphoma presence, reducing misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis, and determining a timely treatment.Warthin瘤是一种良性唾液腺肿瘤，由导管上皮和淋巴样间质组成，迄今为止，有关Warthin瘤内淋巴成分恶变的报道罕见，且多恶变为B细胞淋巴瘤，合并T细胞淋巴瘤更尤为少见。本文报道1例Warthin瘤合并T淋巴母细胞淋巴瘤，旨在强调要对Warthin瘤内的淋巴组织进行仔细的光学显微镜评估，以识别隐匿性淋巴瘤的存在，减少误诊及漏诊并及时治疗。.

Delta and Notch-like endothelial growth factor-related receptor (DNER) is a transmembrane protein that mediates signal communication between neurons and glial cells. This study was performed to elucidate the specific mechanism by which DNER inhibits human glioma growth. RNA sequencing was used to detect differentially expressed genes after DNER inhibition in glioma cells. The functions of the Torsin family 4 member A (TOR4A) gene were explored through cell proliferation and clonogenic assays, flow cytometric analysis, in vitro cell migration and invasion assays, in vivo glioma transplantation, and human glioma tissue analysis using the Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas database. Protein expression levels were determined using the western blot assay. We found that TOR4A was highly expressed after the inhibition of DNER in glioma cells. The prognosis of patients with gliomas that expressed high levels of TOR4A was worse than those with low levels of the protein. TOR4A promoted the proliferation of glioma cells and inhibited their apoptosis, likely by enhancing the expression of phosphorylated protein kinase B (p-AKT) and inhibiting that of antiapoptotic proteins. We confirmed that TOR4A is an oncogene and that DNER acts as a tumor suppressor gene by inhibiting TOR4A and its functions of promoting p-AKT and inhibiting antiapoptotic protein expression.

Time series prediction refers to the learning of existing observed data of a parameter and predicting its future evolution. Based on the application of machine/deep learning methods in the field of engineering geology, it is desirable to predict the time series evolution of microseismic parameters in the process of rockburst development. Our study explores key microseismic indices that help describe the development process of rockbursts based on abundant rockburst data obtained from deep underground engineering construction. The integrated process of dynamic moving-window method and improved convolutional neural network (CNN) realizes the evolution prediction of multiple microseismic parameters or their different combinations, and the modified model structures of a univariate, multivariate input and a single-step, multi-step output are established. Various models of the multiple microseismic parameters for the CNN-based time series prediction are innovated, including a univariate prediction model, a multiple parallel series model, a multiple input series model, and a multivariate multi-step prediction model. Model training, testing, and interpretation of the rockburst risk and comparative analyses of the different models are performed for the complete process of multiple rockbursts. The results show that the proposed models can well predict the evolution trends in the various key characteristics during rockbursts. The predicted trend of multiple microseismic parameters provides time labels for rockburst prediction and risk judgement, which is conducive to rockburst early warning. This study provides a new research idea for the prediction and early warning of rockbursts in the field of deep underground and mining engineering.

The closely spaced tunnels structure has been widely used in traffic tunnels, hydropower stations, collieries and underground metal mines. Blasting has important implications for the construction of these closely spaced tunnels. Due to the effect of multi-free surfaces and the appearance of excavation damaged zones (EDZs), the propagation and attenuation of blast vibration are expected to be more complex than in ordinary separated tunnels. In this study, field tests including ultrasonic tests and vibration tests were conducted during the excavation process of a closely spaced tunnels project, then a series of three-dimensional dynamic calculations considering explosive velocity detonation were conducted to study the propagation and attenuation of blast vibration. The results indicate that in closely spaced tunnels, EDZs have evident amplification effects on the vibration intensity, especially on the Rayleigh waves propagating longitudinally. The small clear distance and larger dimensionless wavenumber lead to the asymmetric distribution of vibration velocity, and the side wall located in the wave incident side is more easily damaged. In tunnel blasting, the maximum Peak Particle Velocity often appears around the heading face, while the maximum value appears at 1.5–3.0 m behind the heading face section for adjacent tunnels. The results of this study can be applied in the design of blasting and monitoring scheme of closely spaced tunnels.

Objective Prostate cancer (PC) is a significant disease affecting men's health worldwide. More than 60% of patients over 65 years old and more than 80% are diagnosed with localized PC. The current choice of treatment modalities for localized PC and whether overtreatment is controversial. Therefore, we wanted to construct a nomogram to predict the risk factors associated with cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS) in elderly patients with localized PC while assessing the survival differences in surgery and radiotherapy for elderly patients with localized PC. Methods The information of patient was obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, and this study was aimed at localized PC patients over 65 years. Independent risk factors for assessing CSS and OS of patients were determined by univariate and multivariate Cox regression models. A multivariate Cox regression model was used to establish nomograms for predicting CSS and OS. The accuracy and discriminability of the prediction model were tested by the concordance index (C-index), the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and the calibration curve. Decision curve analysis (DCA) was used to test the potential clinical value of this model. Results From 2010 to 2018, there were a total of 90,434 PC patients included in this study, all of whom were diagnosed with localized PC and were over 65 years of age. This study is divided into training set (n = 63328) and validation set (n = 27106) according to the ratio of 7:3. The results showed that independent risk factors for predicting CSS in elderly localized PC patients included T stage, age, surgery, marriage, radiotherapy, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), Gleason score (GS), and race. The independent risk factors for predicting OS included surgery, radiotherapy, marriage, age, race, GS and PSA. The c-index of the training and validation sets for predicting OS is 0.712(95%:0.704–0.720) and 0.724(95%:0.714–0.734). It shows that the nomograms have excellent discriminatory ability. The AUC and the calibration curves also show good accuracy and discriminability. Conclusions We have developed new nomograms to predict CSS and OS in elderly patients with localized PC. After internal validation and external temporal validation with good accuracy and reliability, and potential clinical value, the model can be used for clinically assisted decision-making.

DC-DC CONVERTERS ARE SOLID-STATE DC "transformers" that convert one type of dc electricity into another via power electronic circuits. They have been used in a broad range of applications, from IT devices (such as a power supply to provide different dc voltage levels inside a personal computer or a data center server) to medical equipment (e.g., a solar charger for a cardiac pacemaker) and from consumer electronics (e.g., chargers for various smart mobile devices) to high-power industrial applications, which is the focused area of this article. As there has been exponential growth in transportation electrification since the beginning of the 21st century, dc-dc converters have become one of the core devices in electric and autonomous vehicles. Extensive research and development efforts have been made on the design and implementation of dc-dc converters, aiming at higher power density, higher efficiency, and more reduction in cost. In this article, various dc-dc converter topologies and control methodologies for transportation electrification are reviewed. The challenges and future development trends for creating the next-generation dc-dc power converters are also discussed.