Search

The decision-making model of merging behavior is one of the key technologies of unmanned vehicles. In order to solve the problem of unmanned vehicles’ merging decision making, this paper presents a merging strategy based on Least squares Policy Iteration (LSPI) algorithm, and selects the basis function which includes reciprocal of TTC, relative distance and relative speed to represent state space and discretizes action space. This study synthetically takes consideration o safety, the success of the task, the merging efficiency and comfort in setting reward function, compares the Q-learning with LSPI algorithm, and verifies its adaptability by using NGSIM data. The algorithm can ultimately achieve a success rate of 86%. This research can provide theoretic support and technical basis for the merging decision-making of unmanned vehicles.

Electroacupuncture (EA) has therapeutic effects on neuropathic pain induced by nerve injury; however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we examined whether EA treatment relieves pain hypersensitivity via the down-regulation of spinal P2X7 receptor-positive (P2X7R⁺) microglia-mediated overexpression of interleukin (IL)-1β and/or IL-18.Male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent chronic constriction injury (CCI) or 3'-O-(4-benzoylbenzoyl) adenosine 5'-triphosphate (BzATP) intrathecal injection. Von Frey and Hargreaves tests were performed to evaluate the effect of EA on pain hypersensitivity. The spinal P2X7R, IL-1β, and IL-18 expression levels were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction, Western blot analysis, immunofluorescence staining, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The selective P2X7R antagonist A-438079 was used to examine the P2X7R⁺ microglia-dependent release of IL-1β and IL-18. Primary cultures were subsequently used to assess the P2X7R⁺ microglia-induced IL-1β and IL-18 release.EA treatment significantly improved the pain thresholds and inhibited spinal P2X7R⁺ microglia activation induced by CCI or BzATP administration, which was accompanied by the suppression of spinal IL-1β and IL-18 overexpression. Moreover, A-438079 also improved pain thresholds and suppressed overexpression of IL-1β in the CCI- and BzATP-injected rats. The analysis of cultured microglia further demonstrated that A-438079 markedly decreased BzATP-induced IL-1β release.EA treatment relieves nerve injury-induced tactile allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia via the inhibition of P2X7R⁺ microglia-mediated IL-1β overexpression.

A tactical-level lane-driving and decision-making model that considers multisource information in a complex and dynamic urban environment is critical for the development of autonomous vehicles. A key challenge in operating an autonomous vehicle robustly in the real world is to deal with dynamic and uncertain information. In the real world, drivers are capable of making accurate and timely decisions that should also be required of autonomous vehicles. In this work, the authors describe the development of an algorithm for autonomous lane change functions in which information was extracted from the decision-making process of human drivers to support the decision making of autonomous vehicles. First, a virtual urban traffic environment was built with PreScan, which is a simulation environment for the development of advanced driver assistant systems and intelligent vehicle systems. The vehicle dynamics were simulated by a dynamic model, with 6 degrees of freedom, based on Simulink, and driver decision rules were extracted through the concept of rough set theory. After that, an algorithm was presented for lane-driving decision making at the tactical level when velocity control operation was desirable and feasible. The development of the algorithm was based on driver experience, safety thresholds, and acceptable gap theory. The algorithm was proved to provide satisfactory velocity control actions as well as to safely decide whether to change lanes in a real urban environment. Finally, the reliability and effectiveness of the model was validated by both simulations and real road experiments. The findings from this study can provide a theoretical basis for the in-depth study of driving decision making in complex and uncertain environments.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common and leading cause of death worldwide. Here, we identified that a cell-cell adhesion gene, CTNNA3, is a tumor suppressor in HCC. CTNNA3 inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of HCC cell lines. In these cells, CTNNA3 inhibited Akt signal, and in turn decreased the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and the matrix metallopeptidase MMP-9, and increased the cell cycle inhibitor p21(Cip1/Waf1). Meanwhile, CTNNA3 is inhibited by miR-425 in HCC. The miR-425 directly bound to the 3'UTR of CTNNA3 and inhibited its expression. The tumor suppressor function of CTNNA3 and the oncogenic function of miR-425 were further confirmed in HCC cell xenograft in nude mice. The miR-425/CTNNA3 axis may provide insights into the mechanisms underlying HCC, and contribute to potential therapeutic strategy of HCC.

Damage-tolerant titanium alloy, TC21, is widely used for the important components of the new-generation aircraft with high strength and durability requirements, many of which are machined by plunge milling. For optimizing the plunge milling parameters and improving machining efficiency, a number of experiments were carried out to study the machinability of plunge milling TC21. The effects of plunge milling parameters on cutting forces, the cutting temperature, and the tool life were investigated and analyzed. The process of the tool failure and the mechanism of tool wear were explored. Results showed that the cutting temperature had more influence than cutting force under the same parameters, and higher cutting heat was the main reason of the tool failure. In addition, this study showed that a large fracture of insert corner was the form of final tool failure. Furthermore, the results indicated that TiAlN-coating tool was more suitable for plunge milling TC21 than TiN-coating tool, and abrasive wear and adhesive wear were the main reasons of tool wear. Finally, reasonable parameters of plunge milling TC21 were recommended. Thus, a cutting tool with proper plunge milling parameters and tool materials should be carefully chosen to satisfy the tool life in real production.

Purpose : To investigate the inhibitory effect of berberine treatment on enhancement of zeste of homolog 2 (Ezh2) expressions in KYSE450 human esophageal cancer cells. Methods : Transwell motility chambers were used to analyze cell migration and invasion. Bio-Rad protein assay was used for the determination of protein concentration. Chemiluminescence with ECL system was employed for the detection of protein bands as per the manufacturer’s protocol. Staining was carried out with Alexa-Fluor 647 mouse anti-BrdU antibody. Flow cytometry was performed after adding DAPI. Annexin-V/DAPI staining and flow cytometry were used for the quantification of apoptotic cell death. Total RNA was isolated from KYSE450 cells using an RNA isolation kit. Results : Berberine-induced inhibition of Ezh2 expression led to inhibition of cell proliferation by G1 phase cell cycle arrest and induced anti-invasive properties of KYSE450 cells in Boyden chamber assays. There was 92 % reduction in invasive tendency of KYSE450 cells following treatment with berberine. Histone methylation inhibitor, 3-deazaneoplanocin A (DZNep), also led to a similar effect on cell proliferation of KYSE450 cells. Berberine treatment also resulted in strong transcriptional reduction of the AXL receptor kinase. The results of qRT-PCR and FACS analyses showed significant inhibition of AXL mRNA and protein expression in KYSE450 carcinoma cells after treatment with berberine. Conclusion : Berberine may be an effective therapeutic agent in the treatment of esophageal carcinoma. Keywords : Berberine, Histone methylation inhibitor, Anti-invasive, Cell proliferation, Human Esophageal cancer

Triethanolamine monolaurate ester was synthesized by lauric acid and triethanolamine (TEA) with a molar ratio around 1:1 and the esterification process was investigated and optimized. The esterification product of lauric acid with TEA was characterized by infrared spectra and nuclear magnetic resonance. The surface tension (γCMC) at the critical micelle concentration (CMC) was determined, and the antifogging properties of triethanolamine laurate ester on low-density polyethylene (LDPE) films were also measured. The results indicated that the yield of triethanolamine monolaurate ester was more than 69% under optimized esterification condition, the CMC value and γCMC of esterification product was 0.91 μg/mL and 22.1 mN/m in aqueous solution at 25 °C, respectively. The first-drop time and ten-drop time was 257 and 86 s, respectively, and the antifogging duration of triethanolamine laurate ester on the surface of LDPE film at 60 °C was more than 150 h.

CFRP laminates are used for various aircraft structural components because of their good mechanical and physical properties. Metallic inserts are one kind of aerospace fasteners, which are usually installed in the metallic components by an interference fit. However, when metallic inserts are installed in the CFRP laminates by the traditional installing way, delamination and low efficiencies are troublesome. Therefore, excellent quality and cost effective installing metallic inserts into the CFRP laminates remains a challenge. In this paper, a series of experiments were carried out to study the compatibility for metallic inserts bonded into the CFRP laminates soaked in the aircraft fuel. The experimental results show that the push-out values and breakaway torque values of metallic inserts bonded in the CFRP laminates soaked in the fuel are not reduced compared with these values of sample was not prepared in that way.

Previous studies have shown that temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) involves abnormal structural or functional connectivity in specific brain areas. However, limited comprehensive studies have been conducted on TLE associated changes in the topological organization of structural and functional networks. Additionally, epilepsy is associated with impairment in alertness, a fundamental component of attention. In this study, structural networks were constructed using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) tractography and functional networks were obtained from resting-state functional MRI (rsfMRI) temporal series correlations in 20 right temporal lobe epilepsy (rTLE) patients and 19 healthy controls. Global network properties were computed by graph theoretical analysis, and correlations were assessed between global network properties and alertness. The results from these analyses showed that rTLE patients exhibit abnormal small-world attributes in structural and functional networks. Structural networks shifted towards more regular attributes, but functional networks trended towards more random attributes. After controlling for the influence of the disease duration, negative correlations were found between alertness, small-worldness and the cluster coefficient. However, alertness did not correlate with either the characteristic path length or global efficiency in rTLE patients. Our findings show that disruptions of the topological construction of brain structural and functional networks as well as small world property bias are associated with deficits in alertness in rTLE patients. These data suggest that reorganization of brain networks develops as a mechanism to compensate for altered structural and functional brain function during disease progression.

The residual clearances after pre-joining the panels directly affect the subsequent processes with the automatic drilling and riveting machine, so that these clearances could be used a criterion of pre-joining processes. Moreover, the pre-joining process model for single panel based on clearances criterion is not applicable to determine the processes for batches of panels, which leads to the non-identical pre-joining parameters for every panel, the inconvenient operations for workers, the huge measurement workload of clearances, and the low assembly efficiency. To solve the aforementioned problems, this paper proposes a pre-joining process planning model for a batch of panels based on statistical clearances. The proposed model takes both the stiffness matrices of key points of panels and the measured distribution parameters of sample of initial clearances as an input, regards the weighted sum of mean and variance of residual clearances after pre-joining as an evaluation criterion, thinks the pre-joining parameters adapted to all panels including the number, location, and sequence as an objective, employs the random Bezier curves to fit the clearance distributions of key points of panels and applies the method of Latin hypercube sampling to simulate processes rapidly. Hence, this model may be used to exponentially reduce both the number of degrees of freedom of nodes and the number of statistical simulation, widely adapt the differences of clearance distributions of panels, quickly determine the standardized parameters of pre-joining process and dramatically improve the assembly efficiency. Lastly, the model has been verified with an example consisting of 30 pairs of skin–stringers with the same configuration.

This paper aims to investigate orbital drilling process in carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) composites with multi-point orbital drilling tool based on the robot automatic drilling system. One orthogonal experiment has been carried out, and the cutting forces of different parameters were measured online by dynamometer. Furthermore, the cutting force model was established through regression analysis, and the impacts of cutting parameters on thrust force were deeply analyzed. In addition, delamination and tear defects were inspected respectively, and the relationship between thrust force and delamination and tear was discussed. Our results indicate that thrust force increased with the increasing feed rate and axial feed depth, while decreased with the increasing spindle speed. Axial feed depth was found as the predominant factor on thrust force and defects. At last, the cutting parameters was optimized and then thrust force decreased more than 26% with almost none tear and burr around the hole, which indicates a better machine quality.

Compared with conventional push drilling, helical milling (orbital drilling) shows great advantages in aeronautical hard-machining materials hole making. However, helical milling of titanium alloy and carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) under dry cut condition still faces challenges such as burr of titanium alloy hole exit and CFRP hole delamination. In order to solve these problems, an innovative helical milling tool with distributed multi-point front cutting edge is designed based on the chip-splitting mechanism and tool movement feature. The description of cutting edge movement track and simulation of chip shape is used to analyze different functions of front and peripheral cutting edges, the chip-splitting result and the specialized tool's service life. The helical milling experiments are aimed to test the performance of the specialized tool compared with that of traditional end mill. Results show that the specialized tool can machine titanium hole free of burr and CFRP hole without delamination under dry cut condition. The specialized tool has a longer service life with its machining capacity amounting to 80 titanium holes and 65 CFRP holes..

A BmSG-SWUl cell line was established from the silk gland tissues of newly hatched Bombyx mori L. larvae by performing primary cultures for 2 yr. The cell line was comprised of long and thin shuttle cells. The percentage of cells with the chromosome number 2n = 56 was 76.28%. Therefore, the cell line was considered a diploid cell line. Fingerprint analysis of BmSG-SWUl cells and four other cell lines indicated that BmSG-SWUl cells had a specific fingerprint, and that the genetic relationship between BmSG-SWUl cells and the original silk gland tissue was the closest. We used whole genome microarray data, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and fluorescence quantitative real-time—polymerase chain reaction to analyze the expression profile of BmSG-SWUl cells. On day 3 of the fifth instar silk gland, the two known silk gland-specific genes Fib-L and P25 as well as 18 other highly expressed genes were found in the whole genome microarray data. Only some of these were expressed in the BmSG-SWUl cell line, which showed that this cell line had maintained some gene expression characteristics of silk gland. The key cell cycle-control genes BmCyclinB and BmCyclinB3 of the G2 and M phase were expressed at low levels in silk glands. Contrarily, they were highly expressed in BmSG-SWUlcells, in the ovaries and other cell lines, which suggested that BmCyclinB and BmCyclinB3 are important for the transformation of BmSG-SWUl cell line from endoreduplication to the mitotic cycle.

To investigate the effect of Buyang Huanwu Decoction (补阳还五汤, BYHWD) on estradiol (E2) and estradiol receptor (ER) in serum and brain in ovariectomized rats after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). Adult female rats were ovariectomized and focal cerebral ischemic was induced by MCAO. Rats were randomly divided into normal, ovariectomy (OVX), MCAO, OVX+MCAO, OVX+MCAO+E2, and OVX+MCAO+BYHWD group. Rats were administered BYHWD 5 g/kg daily, estradiol valerate 500 μg/kg per day or distilled water for 7 consecutive days. Neuronal function and infarct volume were measured on day 7 after artery occlusion, and E2 and ER concentration in serum and brain were checked by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. BYHWD significantly improved the neurological behavior, reduced the infarction volume, increased E2 concentration in serum and brain, and increased ER concentration in the brain in ovariectomized rats after MCAO. The neuroprotective effects of BYHWD are associated with estrogen and its receptor.

By analyzing the problems of leakage measurement methods of coupling clamps for aircraft tubing, a new technical solution is proposed based on the gas-liquid volume equivalent replacement principle. The test prototype and dedicated measuring device are developed. The results show that the new measurement method is scientific, safe, reliable and with high accuracy. The measurement method has already been used in the production of various coupling clamps in aircraft tubing.

Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) ORF79 ( Bm79 ) encodes an occlusion-derived virus (ODV)-specific envelope protein, which is a homologue of the per os infectivity factor 4 (PIF4) of Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV). To investigate the role of ORF79 in the BmNPV life cycle, a Bm79 knockout virus (vBm Bm79KO ) was constructed through homologous recombination in Escherichia coli. Viral DNA replication, budded virus (BV) production and polyhedra formation were unaffected by the absence of BM79. However, results of the larval bioassay demonstrated that the Bm79 deletion resulted in a complete loss of per os infection. Immunofluorescence analysis showed that BM79 localized at the innernuclear membrane of infected cells through its N-terminal sorting motif (SM). Further bimolecular fluorescence protein complementation and co-immunoprecipitation assays demonstrated the interaction of BM79 with PIF1, PIF2, PIF3 and ODV-E66. Thus, BM79 plays an important role in per os infection and is associated with the viral PIF complex of BmNPV.

The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which is a typical multi-sensor closed-loop flight control system, has the properties of multivariable, time-varying, strong coupling, and nonlinearity. Therefore, it is very difficult to obtain an accurate mathematical diagnostic model based on the traditional model-based method, this paper proposes a UAV sensor diagnostic method based on data-driven methods, which greatly improves the reliability of the rotor UAV nonlinear flight control system and achieves early warning. In order to realize the rapid on-line fault detection of the rotor UAV flight system and solve the problems of over-fitting, limited generalization, and long training time in the traditional shallow neural network for sensor fault diagnosis, a comprehensive fault diagnosis method based on deep belief network (DBN) is proposed. Using the DBN to replace the shallow neural network, a large amount of off-line historical sample data obtained from the rotor UAV are trained to obtain the optimal DBN network parameters and complete the on-line intelligent diagnosis to achieve the goal of early warning as possible as quickly. In the end, the two common faults of the UAV sensor, namely the stuck fault and the constant deviation fault, are simulated and compared with the back propagation (BP) neural network model represented by the shallow neural network to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method in the paper.

Cells and tissues counteract insults from exogenous or endogenous carcinogens through the expression of genes encoding antioxidants and phase II detoxifying enzymes regulated by antioxidant response element promoter regions. Nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 plays a key role in regulating the antioxidant response elements-target gene expression. Hence, the Nrf2/ARE pathway represents a vital cellular defense mechanism against damage caused by oxidative stress and xenobiotics, and is recognized as a potential molecular target for discovering chemopreventive agents. Using a stable antioxidant response element luciferase reporter cell line derived from human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells combined with a 96-well high-throughput screening system, we have identified a series of plant extracts from the family Lauraceae that harbor Nrf2-inducing effects. These extracts, including Litsea garrettii (ZK-08), Cinnamomum chartophyllum (ZK-02), C. mollifolium (ZK-04), C. camphora var. linaloolifera (ZK-05), and C. burmannii (ZK-10), promoted nuclear translocation of Nrf2, enhanced protein expression of Nrf2 and its target genes, and augmented intracellular glutathione levels. Cytoprotective activity of these extracts against two electrophilic toxicants, sodium arsenite and H2O2, was investigated. Treatment of human bronchial epithelial cells with extracts of ZK-02, ZK-05, and ZK-10 significantly improved cell survival in response to sodium arsenite and H2O2, while ZK-08 showed a protective effect against only H2O2. Importantly, their protective effects against insults from both sodium arsenite and H2O2 were Nrf2-dependent. Therefore, our data provide evidence that the selected plants from the family Lauraceae are potential sources for chemopreventive agents targeting the Nrf2/ARE pathway.

The corrosion behavior and fracture mechanisms of rock wool have been studied. After different corrosion test, morphologies of rock wool fibers were obtained using SEM. The leaching rate of non-siliceous cations was measured using ICP-MS. Elemental analysis and the structure of the fiber surfaces were investigated by SEM-EDS and XRD. The results revealed that the corrosion of rock wool fibers in sulfuric acid solution was primarily attributed to calcium, magnesium and aluminum ion depletion. Rock wool fiber dissolution begins by the exchange of network modifier ions via metal-proton exchange reactions, then a partial removal of network intermediate ions by Al,Fe-proton exchange reactions followed by the liberation of partially detached Si tetrahedrals.

Three bacterial endophytes of Sedum alfredii, VI8L2, II8L4 and VI8R2, were examined for promoting soil Zn bioavailability and Zn accumulation in S. alfredii. Results showed that three strains were re-introduced into S. alfredii rhizosphere soils under Zn stress and resulted in better plant growth, as roots biomass increased from 80% to 525% and shoot biomass from 11% to 47% compared with the uninoculated ones. Strains IV8L2, II8L4 and IV8R2 significantly increased shoot and root Zn concentrations in the ZnCO3 contaminated soil. Inoculation with strain IV8L2 resulted in 44% and 39% higher shoot and root Zn concentrations, while strain IV8R2 significantly decreased shoot Zn concentration in the Zn3(PO4)2 contaminated soils. In the aged contaminated soil, isolates IV8L2, II8L4 and IV8R2 significantly increased root Zn concentration, but decreased shoot Zn concentration of Sedum alfredii. It suggested that endophytes might be used for enhancing phytoextraction efficiency.

Oxidation-ditch operation modes were simulated using sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) with alternate stirring and aerating. The nitrogen-removal efficiencies and nitrifying characteristics of two aeration modes, point aeration and step aeration, were investigated. Under the same air-supply capacity, oxygen dissolved more efficiently in the system with point aeration, forming a larger aerobic zone. The nitrifying effects were similar in point aeration and step aeration, where the average removal efficiencies of NH 4 + - N were 98% and 96%, respectively. When the proportion of anoxic and oxic zones was 1, the average removal efficiencies of total nitrogen (TN) were 45% and 66% under point aeration and step aeration, respectively. Step aeration was more beneficial to both anoxic denitrification and simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND). The maximum specific ammonia-uptake rates (AUR) of point aeration and step aeration were 4.7 and 4.9 mg NH 4 + - N /(gMLVSS h), respectively, while the maximum specific nitrite-uptake rates (NUR) of the two systems were 7.4 and 5.3 mg NO 2 − - N /(gMLVSS h), respectively. The proportions of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) to all bacteria were 5.1% under point aeration and 7.0% under step aeration, and the proportions of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) reached 6.5% and 9.0% under point and step aeration, respectively. The dominant genera of AOB and NOB were Nitrosococcus and Nitrospira, which accounted for 90% and 91%, respectively, under point aeration, and the diversity of nitrifying bacteria was lower than under step aeration. Point aeration was selective of nitrifying bacteria. The abundance of NOB was greater than that of AOB in both of the operation modes, and complete transformation of NH 4 + - N to NO 3 − - N was observed without NO 2 − - N accumulation.

Hemerocallis citrina Baroni (Liliaceae), a Liliaceae plant, has been widely used in food and traditional medicine. This study investigated the safety of ethanol extracts from Hemerocallis citrina (HCE) after oral treatment (p.o.) and evaluating the anti-inflammatory mechanism of HCE in a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced depressive-like model. First, in an 8-week experimental procedure, blood and tissue samples collected from mice were used for biochemical and histopathological analysis every two weeks. Neither the body weight nor relative organ weights were affected by HCE administration. Only the total cholesterol levels were decreased by HCE administration. Histopathological analysis showed no significant liver and kidney changes caused by HCE. In addition, in an LPS-induced mouse depressive-like model, HCE significantly reversed the reduction of sucrose preference with LPS. The results also indicated that LPS activated the nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression in the prefrontal cortex. In contrast, these activations were normalized by HCE pretreatment. In summary, our study provided essential evidence for the safety of Hemerocallis citrina in both food and medicine. The results also demonstrated that HCE exhibited antidepressant-like effects that might be related to inhibition of the NF-κB signaling pathway.

Better pregnancy outcomes can be obtained by human mature oocyte vitrification, but many problems remain to be resolved in human mature oocyte vitrification. Since mature oocyte development possesses its own maturity cycle, there should be the optimal timing for mature oocyte vitrification. The purpose of this study was to observe the effects of frozen timing on the spindle density, the angle between the polar body and spindle, and embryo development of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in vitrified mouse mature oocytes and explore its possible mechanism. Mouse oocytes were randomly divided into three groups according to different frozen timing including Groups A, B, and C in which oocytes were vitrified within 2 h after ovum pick-up, and 3-4 and 5-6 h after ovum pick-up, respectively. Spindle-related parameters were measured, ICSI was performed. The spindle occurrence rate of vitrified-thawed oocytes was 98.4% in Group A, 82.3% in Group B, and 75.8% in Group C, without statistical differences between pre-vitrification and post-thawing and among the three groups (P > 0.05). The angles between the polar body and spindle were larger after thawing than before vitrification (P 0.05). The damage on the spindle is the slightest and embryo quality is the highest in the mouse oocytes vitrified within 2 h after ovum pick-up. The spindle retardance value is more valuable than the spindle occurrence rate in the evaluation of vitrified-thawed oocyte quality, and is positively correlated with embryo quality.

Irinotecan (IRI) chemotherapy toxicities can be severe, and may result in treatment delay, morbidity and in some rare cases death. Neutropenia is a life-threatening side effect of irinotecan, and UDP glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) gene polymorphisms could predict the side effects in cancer patients and then reduce IRI-induced toxicity by preventative treatment or a decrease in dose. Both UGT1A1*6 and *28 were reliably demonstrated to be risk factors for IRI-induced neutropenia, with tests for both polymorphisms potentially being particularly useful in Asian cancer patients. However, some researchers reported that UGT1A1*6 could predict IRI-induced toxicities in Asian populations, controversial conclusions still remained. Thus, the association between UGT1A1*6 polymorphisms and IRI-induced severe toxicity in cancer patients is still needed to be explored. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the association between UGT1A1*6 polymorphisms and IRI-related severe neutropenia in cancer patients on a large scale. A total of 12 studies that included 746 wild genotype (G/G) cases and 394 variant genotype (G/A and A/A) cases were included on the basis of inclusion criteria. Then we assessed the methodologies quality; odds ratio (OR), risk difference (RD) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were used to assess the strength of association. Overall, an increased risk of severe neutropenia in cancer patients with UGT1A1*6 polymorphisms was found. Patients with recessive models (GA + AA vs. GG) of UGT1A1*6 showed an increased risk (OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.54–2.68; RD = 0.11, P

MicroRNA (miR)-150 has been demonstrated to protect the heart from ischemic injury. However, the protective effect of miR‑150 in hypoxia‑injured cardiomyocytes remains unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the target gene of miR‑150 and the underlying molecular mechanisms of miR‑150 in hypoxia‑induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Using the hypoxia model of human cardiomyocytes (HCMs) in vitro, it was demonstrated that miR‑150 was markedly inhibited in HCMs after hypoxia treatment. Overexpressing miR‑150 significantly decreased hypoxia‑induced HCM death and apoptosis. In addition, GRP94 was revealed to be a direct target of miR‑150. Additionally, GRP94 was demonstrated to be involved in hypoxia‑induced HCM apoptosis, and the protein expression levels of GRP94 were increased in HCMs in the presence of hypoxia. These findings demonstrated that miR‑150 is involved in hypoxia‑mediated gene regulation and apoptosis in HCMs. Furthermore, GRP94 knockout increased the cell viability of hypoxia‑impaired HCMs with miR‑150 mimic or miR‑150 inhibitor transfection. In conclusion, miR‑150 may serve a protective role in cardiomyocyte hypoxia injury, and the underlying mechanism was mediated, at least partially, by inhibiting GRP94 expression. These findings may provide a novel insight for the therapy of hypoxia-induced myocardial I/R injury.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare the dosimetric characteristics for protection of the hippocampus between dual arc VMAT (volumetric modulated arc therapy) and 7 fields intensity-modulated radiation therapy (7F-IMRT) for patients with brain metastases from lung cancer under the whole brain radiotherapy. METHODS: Based on ten cases with brain metastases from lung cancer, two types of radiotherapy plans were designed, namely, dual arc VMAT and 7F-IMRT. Provided that the clinical requirements were satisfied, the comparisons of target dose distribution, conformity index (CI), homogeneity index (HI), dose of organs at risk (OARs), monitor units (MU) and treatment time between dual arc VMAT and 7F-IMRT were investigated for their dosimetric difference. RESULTS: Both treatment plans met the requirements of clinical treatments. However, the PTV-HA conformity and homogeneity of dual arc VMAT were superior to those of 7F-IMRT (P < 0.05). As to OARs, the mean maximum doses (Dmax )o f hippocampus, eyes and optic nerves in the dual arc VMAT plan were all lower than those in 7F-IMRT plan (P < 0.05), but the result had no statistical significance (P < 0.05) for the maximum dose of lens. Compared with 7F-IMRT, dual arc VMAT reduced the average number of MU by 67% and the average treatment time by 74%.Therefore, treatment time was shortened by dual arc VMAT. CONCLUSION: With regards to the patients with brain metastases from lung cancer under the whole brain radiotherapy, the PTV-HA conformity and homogeneity of dual arc VMAT were superior to those of 7F-IMRT under the precise of meeting the clinical requirements. In addition, dual arc VMAT remarkably reduced the irradiation dose to OARs (hippocampus, eyes and optic nerves), MU and treatment time, as well, guaranteed patients with better protection.

The paper gives the process of building the model of the Traffic Testing Field’s stationary scene which includes the acquisition and modifying of the texture, the building of the model and testing simulation. In the process, the model builder uses Geometry tool, Face tool, billboard tool and so on to build the model. Through testing and simulating, the model turns out to be a perfect simulation.

Colchicine is an alkaloid that has been widely used to treat gout. It also has a curative effect on cancer. Although many studies have shown that its effect on cell apoptosis was mediated by the activation of caspase-3, the pathways involved in the process remained obscure. Here we show some evidence regarding the missing information using human normal liver cells L-02 in our study. The effect of colchicine on apoptosis in L-02 cells and the apoptosis-associated signaling pathways were determined using different tests including cell viability assay, Annexin V and propidium idodide binding, PI staining, Hoechst 33342 staining, mitochondrial membrane potential assay, caspase activity assay and Western blot analysis. We found that colchicine-induced a dose-dependent drop of cell viability in L-02 cells; early apoptosis happened when cells were treated with 0.1μM of colchicine. The colchicine-induced loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, activation of caspase-3 and 9, up-regulation of Bax and down-regulation of Bcl-2 showed an evidence for the colchicine activity on apoptosis, at least, by acting via the intrinsic apoptotic pathway.

In order to investigate arsenic drinking water treatment effect of enhanced coagulation in integrated efficient-whirling clarifier, and explore optimum working condition, the experiment of arsenic removal was carried out for raw water, the arsenic concentration of 0.1mg/L (100µg/L) and the turbidity of 100NTU. In this experiment, the oxidant’s dosage of sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) was 10mg/L and the coagulant’s dosage of ferric chloride (FeCl3) was 15mg/L, when three kinds of reaction time (T) in the first and second flocculation zone were employed, which respectively equal to 5.4 minutes, 2.7 minutes and 1.8 minutes. The results of experiment showed that the concentration of arsenic all drop below 10µg/L, which reached drinking water sanitary standard (GB 5749-2006), and the best working condition for arsenic removal was reaction time equal to 2.7 minutes.

The paper mainly introduced the merit of taking the super electric capacity as the main energy- stored installation, the basic principle of braking energy regeneration system, the designed scheme, the hardware along with the operation mode of electric vehicle. The design of hardware circuit and operation mode had been carried on.

Calcium carbonate nanoparticles (nano-CaCO3) filled powdered styrene-butadiene rubber (P(SBR/CaCO3) was prepared by adding nano-CaCO3 particles, encapsulant and coagulant to styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) latex by coacervation, and the particle size distribution, structure were studied. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to investigate the (P(SBR/CaCO3) particle structure, and a powdering model was proposed to describe the powdering process. The process includes: (i) the latex particles associated with the dispersed nano-CaCO3 particles (adsorption process) to form “new particles” and (ii) the formation of P(SBR/CaCO3) by coagulating “new particles”. The SEM results also shown that the nano-CaCO3 and rubber matrix have formed a macroscopic homogenization in the (P(SBR/CaCO3) particles and nano-CaCO3 dispersed uniformly in the rubber matrix with an average diameter of approximately 50 nm.

The research on monitoring and predicting drivers’ fatigue state has remarkable effect on prevention of traffic accidents, using the CCD image sensor camera as the image acquisition device of driver’s face and the 940nm infrared emitting diode as the light supplementary device and 3-points light supplementary had been utilized, the light supplementary system had been optimized by the experiment of infrared light supplementary which proceeded by means of combining the orthogonal experiment and expert fuzzy evaluation. The research result makes great sense to the monitoring of drivers’ fatigue state and traffic safety

In this work, needlelike precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) nanometer particles were synthesized by industrial carbonation route using EDTA as crystal control agent. The morphological characterization shows that the as-synthesized needlelike PCC particles have an average diameter of 52 nm and an aspect ratio of around 14:1. The results indicate that EDTA plays a crucial role in the formation of needlelike PCC nanometer particles. A possible mechanism for the formation of needlelike PCC particles assisted by the crystal control agent EDTA is also proposed.

Ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis was employed to determine the sex of slave sacrifice victims from Qin State tombs during the Spring and Autumn Period of China. It is difficult to obtain sex information from fragmentary skeleton samples with the aid of skeletal morphology methods. aDNA was extracted from the dentine in selected tooth samples of sacrificial slaves using a modified traditional method, which combines together phenol/chloroform extraction, silicon dioxide adsorption and ultrafiltration concentration. Based on the sequence differences between the amelogenin homologous gene in the X and that in the Y chromosome, a pair of specific primers was designed to identify the sex of the selected samples. In the selected eight typical samples, the aDNA analytical results revealed that three were males and two were females. These findings indicate that molecular sex identification might provide more valuable information for archaeological research on the institution of slave sacrifice in the Spring and Autumn Period of China.

Drivers are used to steering when they meet obstacles in order to protecting the measure and lives. Freecod-data collector, dynamics GPS and the sensors of steering degree was utilized to study the rule of driver steering velocities, the relationships between maximum steering velocities and distance, and as well as maximum steering velocities and driving velocities were eastablished. The results show that drivers steering operation includes five periods and also indicates that driver maximum steering velocities is changing with distance in nagitive and driver maximum steering velocities is changing with distance in positive-linear. The regressive formulas were also given. This research help us to comprehend driver behavior under emergency.

Recent reports suggest that staphylococcal exotoxins, acting as superantigens, activate T cells with subsequent massive proliferation, thereby contributing to the etiology of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). The objectives of this study are (1) to demonstrate directly the presence of staphylococcal exotoxins in nasal mucosa and sinonasal polyp tissue, and (2) provide indirect evidence of the effect of superantigens on the T cells expressing the target of superantigen, i.e., the β variable chain receptor (TCRBV) in polyp tissue and peripheral blood of patients with CRSwNP. Sinonasal polyp tissue and peripheral blood specimens were obtained from 37 patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (22 patients with bilateral nasal polyps, 15 without nasal polyps) and 12 normal subjects for comparative negative controls. Tissue specimens were assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the most common staphylococcal exotoxins (A–D) and toxic shock syndrome toxin type 1. Fresh tissue and blood samples were analyzed by flow cytometry to determine the expression of TCRBV. In the CRSwNP subjects 12 of 22 samples (54.54%) demonstrated reactivity for at least 1 staphylococcal exotoxin, while 2 of the 12 were positive for 2 toxins. There were no positive results in the CRS without nasal polyps or control groups. There was a clear trend of increased TCRBV expression in the ELISA-positive group both for tissue and blood specimens. Staphylococcal superantigens were present in the nasal cavity of patients with CRSwNP with a high percentage of TCRBV, which suggests the possibility of superantigens as etiological agents of CRSwNP.

A previous study found that the antidepressant-like effects of ethanolic extracts from Hemerocallis citrina are predominantly related to the flavonoid, hesperidin. The study herein aimed to explore the antidepressant-like mechanism of hesperidin in mice induced by chronic mild stress (CMS). The results indicated that hesperidin reversed the reduction of sucrose preference and the elevation of immobility time in mice induced by CMS. In addition, the increase in serum corticosterone levels and decrease in hippocampal extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in CMS mice were also ameliorated by hesperidin treatment. In contrast, improvement by hesperidin was suppressed by pretreatment with ERK inhibitor SL327. Taken together, our findings confirmed the antidepressant-like effect of hesperidin and indicated that hesperidin-induced BDNF up-regulation was mediated in an ERK-dependent manner.

The centromere is responsible for the correct inheritance of eukaryotic chromosomes during cell division. Centromere protein B (CENP‑B) and its 17 base pair binding site (CENP‑B box), which appears at regular intervals in centromeric α-satellite DNA (α-satDNA), are important for the assembly of the centromere components. Therefore, it is conceivable that CENP-B box mutations may induce errors in cell division. However, the association between the deoxynucleotide alterations of the CENP‑B box and the extra chromosome 21 (Chr21) present in patients with Down syndrome (DS) remains to be elucidated. The mutational spectrum of the α‑satDNA, including 4 functional CENP‑B boxes in Chr21 from 127 DS and 100 healthy children were analyzed by direct sequencing. The de novo occurrences of mutations within CENP‑B boxes in patients with DS were excluded. The prevalence of 6 novel mutations (g.661delC, g.1035_1036insA, g.1076_1077insC, g.670T>G, g.1239A>T, g.1343T>C) and 3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (g.727C/T, g.863A/C, g.1264C/G) were not significantly different between DS and controls (P>0.05). However, g.525C/G (P=0.01), g.601T/C (P=0.00000002), g.1279A/G (P=0.002), g.1294C/T (P=0.0006) and g.1302 G/T (P=0.004) were significantly associated with the prevalence of DS (P

Excessive release of high mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) protein from ischemic cardiomyocytes activates inflammatory cascades and enhances myocardial injury after reperfusion. Here we report evidence that electroacupuncture of mice at Neiguan acupoints can inhibit the up-regulation of cardiac HMGB1 following myocardial ischemia and attenuate the associated inflammatory responses and myocardial injury during reperfusion. These benefits of electroacupuncture were partially reversed by administering recombinant HMGB1 to the mice and further potentiated by administering anti-HMGB1 antibody. Electroacupuncture-induced inhibition of HMGB1 release was markedly reduced by unilateral vagotomy or administration of nicotinic receptor antagonist, but not by chemical sympathectomy. The cholinesterase inhibitor neostigmine mimicked the effects of electroacupuncture on HMGB1 release and myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury. Culture experiments with isolated neonatal cardiomyocytes showed that acetylcholine, but not noradrenaline, inhibited hypoxia-induced release of HMGB1 via a α7nAchR-dependent pathway. These results suggest that electroacupuncture acts via the vagal nerve and its nicotinic receptor-mediated signaling to inhibit HMGB1 release from ischemic cardiomyocytes. This helps attenuate pro-inflammatory responses and myocardial injury during reperfusion.

This study aimed to investigate alterations in the alertness-related network in patients with right temporal lobe epilepsy (rTLE) and explore the functional mechanisms of impaired alertness.We recruited twenty patients with rTLE and eighteen matched healthy controls. All participants took a neuropsychological attention network test (ANT) and underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scanning. We extracted the alertness-related network using multiple independent component analysis (MICA). Subsequently, we compared the intergroup differences in functional connectivity (FC) of this network. Then, the neuropsychological data were correlated to voxels that showed significant FC differences in patients and controls.The alertness-related network extracted from the patients was similar to that of the controls, covering the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, middle frontal gyrus, parietal lobe, part of the temporal lobe, and left posterior lobe of the cerebellum (p0.05). Compared to controls, patients with rTLE exhibited decreased FC values in the right inferior parietal lobe (IPL) and angular gyrus (p0.05). Additionally, increased FC was shown in the right inferior frontal gyrus, Rolandic operculum, middle frontal gyrus, dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus, cuneus, and superior occipital gyrus (p0.05). Behaviorally, patients with rTLE exhibited longer reaction times (RT) in the no cue (t=-2.07, p0.05) and double cue (t=-2.28, p0.05) conditions. However, the alertness effect in patients did not significantly differ from that of controls. Moreover, the alertness effect was negatively correlated with the mean Z-value in the right cuneus, which showed increased FC (r=-0.556, p=0.013) in patients with rTLE. There was no significant correlation in the control group.Our results demonstrated that alterations in the alertness-related network may contribute to the alertness impairment exhibited by patients with rTLE. Our study may provide new insights into the mechanisms of alertness impairments in rTLE.

Gypenosides have been reported to produce neuroprotective effects and increase monoamine neurotransmitter levels in the brain. Considering that depression is involved in monoamine reduction, this study evaluated the antidepressant-like effects of gypenosides in mice exposed to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS). The sucrose preference test and forced swimming test were performed after administration of gypenosides (at 25, 50, or 100 mg/kg) for 4 weeks. Hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its downstream targets were analyzed by western blot. Additionally, hippocampal neuronal proliferation was measured by immunohistochemistry. Four-week treatment with fluoxetine (20 mg/kg) and gypenosides (at either 50 or 100 mg/kg) increased sucrose preference and decreased the immobility time in mice exposed to CUMS. In addition, gypenosides (at either 50 or 100 mg/kg) also increased BDNF expression and neuronal proliferation in the hippocampus of CUMS animals. Further, we showed that treating CUMS mice with K252a, which is an inhibitor of the BDNF receptor TrkB, blocked the effects of gypenosides (100 mg/kg), including behavioral improvements, neuronal proliferation, and up-regulation of p-TrkB, p-ERK, and p-Akt proteins. This study demonstrates that gypenosides exhibit antidepressant-like effects in mice, which may be mediated by activation of the BDNF-ERK/Akt signaling pathway in the hippocampus.

To relieve the stress on drivers and reduce the risk of accidents, researchers have carried out a lot of research work on autonomous vehicles. One of the key issues of autonomous vehicles research is to apply cognitive science and knowledge (including the bionics, Rough Set theory or fuzzy mathematics) to study the driver tactical level decision-making process based on multi-sensor information fusion. The algorithm of bio-inspired cognitive and decision making under complex dynamic environment has been established. The results show that the drivers’ experience knowledge about uncertainty can be effectively expressed, and the driving tactical level decision-making can be simulated and confirmed.

This study describes the development of novel protocols extending the real-time ultrasonic reflectometry(UTDR) for the detection of membrane fouling in hollow fiber module during ultrafiltration(UF) of oily water treatment. A specially designed acoustic sensor with a frequency of 2.5 MHz was used. The hollow fiber membranes used were polysulphone(PSf) UF membranes with MWCO 40 kDa. The wastewaters with three different oily concentrations of 100, 500 and 1 000 mg/L were investigated. Diesel oil was utilized as the primary foulant. The results show that the permeate flux declines with operation time and its value becomes lower with the increase of the oily concentration in wastewater. It is found that ultrasonic measurement can detect the fouling and cleaning processes. A new signal analysis protocol—ultrasonic reflected energy was developed. Ultrasonic reflected energy obtained indicates the deposition of oily layer as a function of operation time and its removal after cleaning. The overall flux decline is reasonably correlated with the changes in ultrasonic reflected energy. This research provides the evidence that the ultrasonic reflectometry technique is capable of monitoring membrane fouling and cleaning in hollow fiber modules.