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To describe a feasible surgical technique for patients with renal cell carcinoma associated with a supradiaphragmatic tumor thrombus that avoids cardiopulmonary bypass procedure.We retrospectively analyzed 2 cases with right kidney tumor and tumor thrombus above the diaphragm treated in April and August, 2015. The two patients were both female, aged 73 and 67 years. The tumor sizes of right kidneys were 7.0 cm×6.3 cm×5.7 cm and 8.7 cm×7.0 cm×5.2 cm, and the tumor thrombuses were 1.3 cm and 1.8 cm above the diaphragm. The second patient had synchronous metastasis in right adrenal gland , and the tumor thrombus arose from the adrenal vein but not the renal vein. Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) was used to assess real-time mobility of the thrombus. A modified chevron incision was used, the right kidney was mobilized laterally and posteriorly, and the renal artery was identified, ligated, and divided. The infradiaphragmatic inferior vena cava (IVC) was exposed and isolated by mobilizing the liver off the diaphragm or to the left (piggyback liver mobilization, case 2). The central diaphragm tendon was dissected or incised in the midline until the supradiaphragmatic intrapericardial IVC was identified and gently pulled beneath the diaphragm and into the abdomen. The tumor thrombus was then "milked" downward out of the intrapericardial IVC under the guidance of TEE. The distal and proximal IVC to the tumor thrombus, porta hepatis, and left renal vein were clamped. Tumor thrombus was removed from the IVC. The IVC was sutured and vascular clamps were placed below the major hepatic veins. Pringle's maneuver was then released and hepatic blood drainage was permitted during closure of the remaining IVC. Related literature was reviewed.Complete resection was successful through the transabdominal approach without CBP in both patients. Estimated blood loss was 1 500 mL and 2 000 mL, and 1 200 mL and 800 mL of blood were transfused. The postoperative courses were uneventful. Both patients subsequently underwent tyrosine-kinase inhibitor therapy. Both patients were alive without tumor recurrence or new metastasis during the follow-up of 6 months and 9 months.In selected cases, renal cell carcinoma extending into the IVC above the diaphragm can be resected without sternotomy, CBP or DHCA.

BACKGROUND Electroacupuncture (EA) has been shown to be effective in reducing symptoms in patients with functional dyspepsia (FD). However, its mechanisms remain largely unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate mechanisms of the prokinetic effects of EA in a rodent model of FD. METHODS A FD model was established by neonatal treatment of iodoacetamide (IA). Eight weeks later, the rats were implanted with electrodes in the stomach for the measurement of gastric slow waves (GSW) and electrodes into acupoints ST36 for EA. Autonomic functions were assessed by the spectral analysis of heart rate variability. KEY RESULTS (i) The IA-treated rats ("FD" rats) showed increased dysrhythmia in both fasting and fed states (P

Ferroptosis is a form of programmed cell death pathogenic to several acute and chronic diseases and executed via oxygenation of polyunsaturated phosphatidylethanolamines (PE) by 15-lipoxygenases (15-LO) that normally use free polyunsaturated fatty acids as substrates. Mechanisms of the altered 15-LO substrate specificity are enigmatic. We sought a common ferroptosis regulator for 15LO. We discovered that PEBP1, a scaffold protein inhibitor of protein kinase cascades, complexes with two 15LO isoforms, 15LO1 and 15LO2, and changes their substrate competence to generate hydroperoxy-PE. Inadequate reduction of hydroperoxy-PE due to insufficiency or dysfunction of a selenoperoxidase, GPX4, leads to ferroptosis. We demonstrated the importance of PEBP1-dependent regulatory mechanisms of ferroptotic death in airway epithelial cells in asthma, kidney epithelial cells in renal failure and cortical and hippocampal neurons in brain trauma. As master regulators of ferroptotic cell death with profound implications for human disease, PEBP1/15LO complexes represent a new target for drug discovery.

In this study, we aimed to investigate the underlying mechanisms of MGP downregulation in chemoresistant ER+ breast cancer cells and its association with survival outcomes in breast cancer patients.Microarray data of dysregulated genes in chemoresistant ER+ breast cancer cells were searched in GEO datasets. MGP expression in breast cancer patients and its DNA methylation status were analyzed in TCGA database. MGP promoter methylation was assessed using Methylation-Specific PCR (MSP) assay. The association between MGP expression and survival outcomes in different sub-types of breast cancer patients after systemic therapy was analyzed by data mining in Kaplan Meier plotter and in Breast Cancer Gene-Expression Miner Version 4.0 (bc-GenExMiner 4.0).MGP is significantly downregulated in MCF-7/ADR cells compared to the parental MCF-7 cells. MCF-7/ADR cells had a significantly higher level of methylation in MGP promoter than MCF-7 cells. Demethylation treatment significantly restored MGP expression at both mRNA and protein levels. High MGP expression is associated with better relapse-free survival (RFS) in luminal A and luminal B breast cancer patients, but the association was not observed in HER2+ and basal-like subtype breast cancer patients. High MGP expression was associated with significantly lower risk of any event (AE) and also lower risk of metastatic relapse (MR). Survival curve showed that high MGP expression was associated to both better AE-free survival and MR-free survival.MGP is downregulated due to promoter hypermethylation in chemoresistant ER+ breast cancer cells. High MGP expression may predict better survival outcomes among ER+ breast cancer patients.

Upper urinary tract calculi with infection is a quite difficult acute urologic emergency. And what is more, upper urinary tract obstruction after radical cystectomy following urinary diversion may be fatal in the vulnerable patients with this kind of situation. Postoperative anatomy and other factors affect the upper urinary tract calculi, and urinary tract infection greatly increased the risk. But it is particularly difficult to handle with patients with poor general condition and septic shock treatment, so how to optimize the selection program is worth further studying. A 65-year-old man was admitted to hospital for combining with renal and ureteral calculi after radical cystectomy (Bricker) in March 2017. The patient underwent transurethral resection of bladder tumor in the outer court because of the discovery of bladder tumor one year before, The postoperative pathology was high-grade papillary urothelial carcinoma and he underwent regular irrigation of the bladder. Because of tumor recurrence, he came to Peking University Third Hospital for further treatment in August 2016, and the examination of urinary tract CT indicated bladder cancer; for bilateral multiple renal pelvis and renal calices calculi, he was given laparoscopic radical cystectomy. After four months, due to sudden chill fever, he was hospitalized. After definite diagnosis, anti-inflammatory treatment combined with left nephrostomy was given. The two-stage lithotripsy was performed. After expansion of the original left renal fistula to 24 F(1 F=0.33 mm), 24 F sheath was inducted into the kidney. We introduced a flexible ureteroscopy into the channel down to the ureteral obstruction, where we found a 1 cm oval black brown stone obstructed. A guide wire was inducted through the stones down to ileal conduit in the right lower quadrant. Through the ureteroscopy, we made ureteral calculi broken into powder, and replaced the residual stones into the renal pelvis. Then we used the nephroscopy for lithotropsy in the pelvis, and finally we introduced a flexible cystoscopy for the residual stone. The operation was successful, the operation time was 181 min, and intraoperative bleeding was 10 mL. After operation, no residual stones were found in kidney, ureter, bladder (KUB) plain films. No operation complications were related to the urinary tract. Therefore, multiple endoscopy with combination therapy of upper urinary tract calculi following urinary diversion is safe and effective, and the reasonable choice with the advantages of each instrument can improve the stone clearance rate and shorten the operation time. This can be used as a useful complement to traditional treatment.

Testicular mixed germ cell tumor is mixed with embryonal carcinoma, choriocarcinoma, yolk sac tumor, teratoma, seminoma and other two or more components of the testicular tumor, the clinical is relatively rare and high degree of malignancy, this article will summarize its clinical features and optimize its treatment.A retrospective analysis of the clinical data of 22 patients with testicular tumor mixed germ cell in Peking University Third Hospital from May 1994 to November 2016 was conducted using a combination of statistical analysis and discussion of the relevant literature.The mean age of the 22 patients was (30.8±10.4) years and the rate of cryptorchidism was 13.6%. The maximum diameter of the tumor was (5.1±2.7 ) cm. The pathological results suggested that 12 cases (54.5%) contained two different germ cell tumor components, 7 cases (31.8%) contained 3 different tumor components, 2 cases (9.2%) contained 4 different tumor components, and 1 case (4.5%) contained 5 different tumor components. Tumor constituent analysis included yolk sac tumors(16 cases, 72.7%), mature teratoma (7 cases, 31.8%), immature teratoma (5 cases, 22.7%), embryonal carcinoma (17 cases, 77.3%) , choriocarcinoma (4 cases, 18.1%) and seminoma (6 cases, 27.3%). American Joint Committee of Cancer tumor staging indicated 19 cases of stage I a tumor, 2 cases of stage IIa tumor and 1 case of stage IIIa tumor. The mean values of human chorionic gonadotropin, alpha-fetoprotein and lactate dehydrogenase were 414.50 MIU/mL, 242.95 μg/L, 196.95 U/L (preoperative) and 17.20 MIU /mL, 90.20 μg/L, 183.70 U/L (postoperative within a year), and the comparison of the P values between the preoperative and the postoperative within a year were 0.079, 0.043 and 0.624. Fourteen patients underwent retroperitoneal lymph nodes dissection. Most patients lived with long-term survival (94.4%) after operation.Comprehensive treatment of radical orchiectomy with retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy combined with necessary radiotherapy or chemotherapy might help to control the tumor and achieve long-term survival for most patients with testicular mixed germ cell tumor.

To study the safety and efficacy of simultaneous completion of colorectal cancer resection and liver metastasis resection by total laparoscopy.In the observation group, 40 patients with colorectal cancer combined with liver metastasis (CRCLM) were selected to receive total laparoscopic surgery. At the same time, 40 cases were selected for laparoscopic resection of colorectal cancer and hepatic resection as control group.The outcomes of the two methods in the treatment of CRCLM were compared. The results showed that the difference in surgery time between the two groups was not statistically significant (p0.05). The blood loss, drainage tube retention time and anal exhaust recovery time in the observation group were significantly less than those in control group (p0.05). No significant difference in completion rate was found between the two groups (p0.05); the prevalence rate of complications in the observation group was significantly lower than that in control group (p0.05). No significant differences in the median survival period and the survival rate at 1 year, 2 years and 3 years after surgery were found between the two groups (p0.05).The outcomes of total laparoscopy in the treatment of CRCLM are not inferior to open surgery.

An integrated direct carbon solid oxide fuel cell is studied with an in situ catalytic steam gasification of carbon by ceria, which can significantly improve the power density of the single cell. Using normal bubbling of the carrier nitrogen gas in temperature-controlled water bath, the carbon gasification can be realized easily and further improved by addition of the catalyst (Ce, Ca, K). A peak power density as high as 213 mW cm–2, which is 3/4 of that in hydrogen fuel for the same cell, could be achieved via this approach. These results demonstrate this system highly promising for practical applications.

Homologous recombination is a conserved pathway for repairing double-stranded breaks, which are processed to yield single-stranded DNA overhangs that serve as platforms for presynaptic-complex assembly. Here we use single-molecule imaging to reveal the interplay between Saccharomyces cerevisiae RPA, Rad52 and Rad51 during presynaptic-complex assembly. We show that Rad52 binds RPA-ssDNA and suppresses RPA turnover, highlighting an unanticipated regulatory influence on protein dynamics. Rad51 binding extends the ssDNA, and Rad52-RPA clusters remain interspersed along the presynaptic complex. These clusters promote additional binding of RPA and Rad52. Our work illustrates the spatial and temporal progression of the association of RPA and Rad52 with the presynaptic complex and reveals a new RPA-Rad52-Rad51-ssDNA intermediate, with implications for how the activities of Rad52 and RPA are coordinated with Rad51 during the later stages of recombination.

Bismuth antimony tellurium is one of the most important tellurium-based materials for high-efficient thermoelectric application. In this paper, ion beam sputtering was used to deposit Bi 2 Te 3 and Sb 2 Te 3 bilayer thin films on borosilicate substrates at room-temperature. Then the bismuth antimony tellurium thin films were synthesized via post thermal treatment of the Bi 2 Te 3 and Sb 2 Te 3 bilayer thin films. The effect of annealing temperature and compositions on the thermoelectric properties of the thin films was investigated. After the thin films were annealed from 150 °C to 350 °C for 1 h in the high vacuum condition, the Seebeck coefficient changed from a negative sign to a positive sign. The X-ray diffraction results showed that the synthesized tellurium-based thermoelectric thin film exhibited various alloys phases, which contributed different thermoelectricity conductivity to the synthesized thin film. The overall Seebeck coefficient of the synthesized thin film changed from negative sign to positive sign, which was due to the change of the primary phase of the tellurium-based materials at different annealing conditions. Similarly, the thermoelectric properties of the films were also associated with the grown phase. High-quality thin film with the Seebeck coefficient of 240 μV K − 1 and the power factor of 2.67 × 10 − 3 Wm − 1 K − 2 showed a single Bi 0.5 Sb 1.5 Te 3 phase when the Sb/Te thin film sputtering time was 40 min.

The liquid fragility which describes the temperature dependence of relaxation can be derived from the kinetic characteristics of glass transition for metallic glasses (MGs). We summarize and assess the models to predict fragility index (m) by differential scanning calorimetry analyses for six selected MGs. It is found that the kinetic glass transition behaviors are valid to predict liquid fragility for MGs. Particularly, a concise model based on the activation energy for glass transition, which can be estimated from the heating rate dependence of glass transition temperature, is introduced and exhibits well prediction of m for the relatively strong MGs (m ≤ 52 in this paper). With some of the models, the calculations of m show the apparent heating rate dependence, and thus should be carefully considered. However, the approach derived from heat capacity and enthalpy of fusion seems to fail to predict m for MGs.

The Yb doped Ge-rich (Pb 1− x Yb x Te) 0.15 (GeTe) 0.85 composites with x = 0, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15 and 0.20 were prepared by melting, solutioning and quenching, followed by a spark plasma sintering (SPS). The SPS-treated (Pb 1− x Yb x Te) 0.15 (GeTe) 0.85 sample separates into a two-phase mixture with minor NaCl-type structure PbTe-based precipitates and the rhombohedral GeTe-based matrix based on the Spinodal decomposition in the PbTe–GeTe pseudo-binary system, leading to reduce its thermal conductivity. The Yb atoms prefer in PbTe-based phase. All samples show p-type conduction. The thermoelectric properties of the composites can be enhanced by proper Yb doping due to its further reducing the thermal conductivity and increasing the Seebeck coefficient although also increasing slightly the electrical resistivity of the composite. The (Pb 1− x Yb x Te) 0.15 (GeTe) 0.85 composite with Yb content x = 0.1 show relative low resistivity of 7.36 × 10 −6 Ω m, relative high Seebeck coefficient of 141 × 10 −6 V K −1 , lowest thermal conductivity of 1.4 W m −1 K −1 and the maximum ZT of 1.4 at 723 K, which is much higher than that of pure GeTe, PbTe or PbTe–GeTe alloys.

The compound YbAl3 exhibits a very high power factor but also rather a large thermal conductivity, leading to a low figure of merit. The second phase Yb5Sb3 was introduced in the YbAl3 matrix to reduce its thermal conductivity. The composites (YbAl3)1−x(Yb5Sb3)x with x = 0, 0.01, 0.05, 0.10, and 0.20 were synthesized by high frequency induction melting, annealing treatment, and spark plasma sintering. The thermoelectric properties of the composites were evaluated. The composites are of n-type conduction. The pure YbAl3 obtained in this work shows a high power factor of 11,500 μW m−1 K−2 but also a high thermal conductivity of 19.6 W m−1 K−1. However, the existence of Yb5Sb3 compound in the YbAl3 matrix enhances the electrical resistivity and the absolute Seebeck coefficient of the composite, but significantly reduces its thermal conductivity in the temperature range considered, thereby enhancing the figure of merit. The highest ZT value of 0.23 may be obtained in the sample (YbAl3)0.95(Yb5Sb3)0.05 at room temperature, which is apparently higher than that of pure YbAl3.

Erosion rate studies conducted in volcanic islands bring key information about landscape dynamics and also for risk assessment and management policies. In this study we discuss how inadequate characterization of soils in volcanic island could lead to an underestimation of cosmogenic 3He erosion rates inferred from river sediments. Measurements in the Matatia basin (Tahiti) show that detrital olivine provides an average erosion rate of 252±37 t/km2/yr in good agreement with the erosion rate of 310±9t/km2/yr inferred from initial topography reconstruction. Additional measurements along the river allowed us to locate the zones of fastest erosional. However, soils olivine abundance measurements in the Matatia basin are planned in order to better constrain erosion rates inferred from cosmogenic 3He measurements in detrital olivine, and in order to quantify catastrophic erosion processes like landslide, rock falls etc.

Lignocellulose represents a key sustainable source of biomass for transformation into biofuels and bio-based products. Unfortunately, the recalcitrance of lignocellulosic biomass poses a major challenge for its sustainable and cost-effective utilization. Overcoming the recalcitrance is therefore an important priority for the development of the lignocellulosic biorefinery. In this work, the ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate, was selected from five ionic liquid candidates for treating rice straw and the potential of accelerating enzymatic hydrolysis. The yield of reducing sugars from rice straw pretreated with this ionic liquid at 120°C for 12 h reached 70.5% after being hydrolyzed enzymatically for 48 h, which was 7-fold higher than that of untreated rice straw and the 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate could still be recyclable. The chemical structure and crystalline form of rice straw before and after dissolution were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction...

Chemotherapy is an extremely important therapeutic strategy in cancers, but chemo-resistance remains one of the key causal factors in cancer death and has confused worldwide scientists and oncologists longtime (Wang et al, 2010). As we know, the majority of tumours responds well initially to chemotherapy, but eventually develops resistance following treatment (Wendt et al, 2010). Chemotherapy agents can facilitate the phenotypic transformation in residual surviving cancer cells into a highly mobile and resistive phenotype (Dean et al, 2005; Ranganathan et al, 2006). Insight into the molecular mechanism by which tumours overcome the toxicity of drugs is a critical step in preventing or reversing chemo-resistance. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small 20–23 nucleotide non-coding RNAs that act as important gene regulators in human genomes and their aberrant expression may promote not only tumorigenesis but also tumour aggressiveness (Chang et al, 2011). Recently, the association between miRNA expression and chemo-sensitivity in cancer is closely noticed, which is regarded for predicting chemo-sensitivity in cancers. Indeed, some miRNAs have been found to predict sensitivity to anticancer treatment, such as Let-7g and miR-181b that are strongly associated with response to 5-fluorouracil-based antimetabolite S-1 (Nakajima et al, 2006). Functional studies show that such miRNAs can modulate chemo-sensitivity, for instance, miR-21 inhibition increases sensitivity to gemcitabine in cholangiocarcinoma cell (Meng et al, 2006), miR-34 restoration in p53-deficient human gastric cancer cells induces increased chemo-sensitivity (Kim et al, 2011). In addition, chemotherapy also inversely alters miRNA expression and mediates the drug sensitivity in cancer cells in turn. For example, cis-platinum significantly reduces miR-30a expression in cancer cells which in turn strongly inhibits cis-platinum-induced apoptosis (Zou et al, 2012). Thus, there is a complicated regulating feedback loop between miRNA and chemo-resistance in cancers. Anyway, it could be believed that a break of such a loop would not only overcome cancer chemo-resistance but also provide important new therapeutic targets. However, miRNAs regulating drug sensitivity are varied in different kinds of cancer and different anticancer agents. Therefore, the identification of the role of a specific miRNA modulating a specific anticancer drug in a specific cancer has a clinical significance. Cervical cancer is the third most common gynaecologic cancer in women worldwide (Wilson et al, 2004). Chemotherapy is merely a complemented treatment to surgery or radiation therapy for the cancer due to its insensitivity to anticancer drugs (Kim et al, 2011). Although cervical cancer screening has been globally popularised, there still are large numbers of advanced diseases, especially in developing countries including China. Paclitaxel combined with platinum chemotherapy is a recommended therapeutic regimen for advanced cervical cancer by authorised professional organisations in the world, but the 5-year survival rate is only 30–60% (Yavas and Yavas, 2012). Thus, it is significant to identify a novel therapeutic target that has a key role in regulating cervical cancer cells to chemo-sensitivity for improving the prognosis of cervical cancer patients. In this study, we first used high-throughput miRNA expression analysis to reveal miRNAs associated with chemo-sensitivity using cervical squamous cell carcinoma tissues treated with chemotherapeutic agent paclitaxel. Among 21 differentially expressed miRNAs, miR-375 showed consistent higher expression levels across paclitaxel-treated cervical cells and tissues, suggesting that miR-375 may be contribute to paclitaxel chemo-resistance. Then, the role of miR-375 in paclitaxel chemo-sensitivity was explored in cervical cancer tissues, cells, and mouse models.

Breast cancer, which derives from the epithelium of the mammary glands, is one of the most common cancers diagnosed in women globally. To date, the authors of many studies have reported that the deregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) plays a crucial role in the occurrence, development, and metastasis of tumors. Here, we discovered that miR-660-5p was upregulated in the breast cancer cell lines MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 compared with that in the normal control cell line CCD-1095Sk. We then inhibited the expression of miR-660-5p to investigate its biological function in cancer development, progression, and metastasis. We determined the changes in the levels of expression of transcription factor CP2 (TFCP2) and CDKN1A to further clarify the specific mechanism involved. The results showed that downregulation of miR-660-5p significantly suppressed the proliferation, migration, and invasion of MCF7 breast cancer cell. Moreover, inhibition of miR-660-5p promoted cell cycle G1 arrest and reduced apoptosis in breast cancer cells. The specific mechanism studies confirmed that TFCP2 was a direct downstream target of miR-660-5p. Aberrant expression of miR-660-5p repressed TFCP2 expression, whereas inhibition of miR-660-5p decreased TFCP2 protein expression, which is a vital factor in the downstream signaling pathway. In conclusion, miR-660-5p can regulate the proliferation, migration, and invasion of human breast cancer cells, and is a novel potential therapeutic target for the clinical treatment of breast cancer.

We revisit the celebrated Wilemski-Fixman (WF) treatment for the looping time of a free-draining polymer. The WF theory introduces a sink term into the Fokker-Planck equation for the $3(N+1)$-dimensional Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process of the polymer dynamics, which accounts for the appropriate boundary condition due to the formation of a loop. The assumption for WF theory is considerably relaxed. A perturbation method approach is developed that justifies and generalizes the previous results using either a Delta sink or a Heaviside sink. For both types of sinks, we show that under the condition of a small dimensionless $\epsilon$, the ratio of capture radius to the Kuhn length, we are able to systematically produce all known analytical and asymptotic results obtained by other methods. This includes most notably the transition regime between the $N^2$ scaling of Doi, and $N\sqrt{N}/\epsilon$ scaling of Szabo, Schulten, and Schulten. The mathematical issue at play is the non-uniform convergence of $\epsilon\to 0$ and $N\to\infty$, the latter being an inherent part of the theory of a Gaussian polymer. Our analysis yields a novel term in the analytical expression for the looping time with small $\epsilon$, which is previously unknown. Monte Carlo numerical simulations corroborate the analytical findings. The systematic method developed here can be applied to other systems modeled by multi-dimensional Smoluchowski equations., Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures

To find the underlying cause of noncompaction of the ventricular myocardium (NVM), three Chinese families with probands who presented this problem were studied. After the family members were evaluated by echocardiography, the gene G4.5 (taffazin) was scanned by sequencing. Although X-linked inheritance could not be ruled out, NVM were thought to have a vague rule of inheritance in our data from 8 patients and 28 family members. We also did not identify any mutations in G4.5 in all samples. Our data suggest that other genes are responsible for the familial form of this disease.

Imetelstat (GRN163L) is a specific telomerase inhibitor that has demonstrated clinical activity in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) and in patients with solid tumors. The antitumor effects were associated with the development of thrombocytopenia, one of the common side effects observed in patients treated with imetelstat. The events underlying these adverse effects are not apparent. In this report, we investigated the potential mechanisms that account for imetelstat's beneficial effects in MPN patients and the manner by which imetelstat treatment leads to a reduction in platelet numbers. Using a well-established system of ex vivo megakaryopoiesis, we demonstrated that imetelestat treatment affects normal megakaryocyte (MK) development by exclusively delaying maturation of MK precursor cells. By contrast, additional stages along MPN MK development were affected by imetelstat resulting in reduced numbers of assayable colony-forming unit MK and impaired MK maturation. In addition, treatment with imetelstat inhibited the secretion of fibrogenic growth factors by malignant but not by normal MK. Our results indicate that the delay observed in normal MK maturation may account for imetelstat-induced thrombocytopenia, while the more global effects of imetelstat on several stages along the hierarchy of MPN megakaryopoiesis may be responsible for the favorable clinical outcomes reported in MPN patients.

BACKGROUND Errors directly causing serious harm are rare during pediatric trauma resuscitation, limiting the use of adverse outcome analysis for performance improvement in this setting. Errors not causing harm because of mitigation or chance may have similar causation and are more frequent than those causing adverse outcomes. Analyzing these error types is an alternative to adverse outcome analysis. The purpose of this study was to identify errors of any type during pediatric trauma resuscitation and evaluate team responses to their occurrence. METHODS Errors identified using video analysis were classified as errors of omission or commission and selection errors using input from trauma experts. The responses to error types and error frequency based on patient and event features were compared. RESULTS Thirty-nine resuscitations were reviewed, identifying 337 errors (range, 2-26 per resuscitation). The most common errors were related to cervical spine stabilization (n = 93, 27.6%). Errors of omission (n = 135) and commission (n = 106) were more common than errors of selection (n = 96). Although 35.9% of all errors were acknowledged and compensation occurred after 43.6%, no response (acknowledgement or compensation) was observed after 51.3% of errors. Errors of omission and commission were more often acknowledged (40.7% and 39.6% vs. 25.0%, p = 0.03 and p = 0.04, respectively) and compensated for (50.4% and 47.2% vs. 29.2%, p = 0.004 and p = 0.01, respectively) than selection errors. Response differences between errors of omission and commission were not observed. The number of errors and the number of high-risk errors that occurred did not differ based on patient or event features. CONCLUSIONS Errors are common during pediatric trauma resuscitation. Teams did not respond to most errors, although differences in team response were observed between error types. Determining causation of errors may be an approach for identifying latent safety threats contributing to adverse outcomes during pediatric trauma resuscitation. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Therapeutic study, level III.

In urban rail transit systems, passengers take a portion of paths (which are called efficient paths) into consideration and ultimately choose one route from them. The correctness of alternative efficient paths has a direct impact on the final result of the passenger assignment model, which plays a key role in urban rail transit planning and operation. The criteria of path selection mainly influence the validity of efficient paths. In this study, alternative efficient path sets under different criteria are investigated based on the route choices of urban rail transit passengers in Shanghai, China, which is derived from mobile phone data. By changing threshold values, two types of risks are analysed to illustrate the difference between alternative and actual efficient path sets. The paper further proposes two optimization methods with the objectives of minimizing the sum of two types of risks. The first one is adopting threshold combination, while the second one is adjusting the limit of interchange times according to the shortest path’s interchange times. Experiments show that no matter how much the limit of interchange times is, the performance of alternative efficient path sets under threshold combination is better than the ones under a single threshold (such as absolute and relative threshold). The result also shows that the second method can obviously prevent inefficient paths from entering alternative sets.

A feasible design of balun filter is implemented using a circular sector patch element with simplicity in design and fabrication. In order to further improve bandpass filtering properties and compress the circuit size simultaneously, complementary split ring resonators are introduced on the patch element. For demonstration, two patch balun filters operating at different frequencies are fabricated and measured to validate the feasibility of the presented structures. The results of the measurement match the simulation results well.

To evaluate the value of parameters derived from intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in differentiating histopathological subtypes of renal cell carcinoma (RCC).Between May 2014 and December 2015, a total of 69 patients who were surgically and pathologically diagnosed as renal cell carcinoma were recruited for the study. We examined 61 clear cell RCC (ccRCC), and 8 non-clear cell carcinoma (non-ccRCC, including 7 chromophobe RCC and 1 papillary RCC). All the ccRCC were divided into well differentiated group (n=46), moderately differentiated group (n=8), and poorly differentiated group (n=7). In addition to routine renal magnetic resonance imaging examination performed on a 3.0-Tesla MR system, all patients were imaged with axial intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted imaging. Using biexponential model, we calculated the diffusion coefficient (D), pseudodiffusion coefficient (D(*)), and perfusion fraction (f).The D and f values of the ccRCC were higher (each P0.05) than that for non-ccRCC [D (1.29±0.30)×10(-3)mm(2)/s, D(*) (42.92±20.21)×10(-3)mm(2)/s, and f (35.71±6.61)% versus D (0.78±0.23)×10(-3)mm(2)/s, D(*) (32.60±11.33)×10(-3)mm(2)/s, and f (21.52±8.44)% ]. In the well differentiated group of ccRCC, we found D of (1.36±0.29)×10(-3)mm(2)/s, D(*) (38.39±18.51)×10(-3)mm(2)/s, and f (36.40±6.96)%. The D, D(*,) f values of moderately differentiated lesions were (1.10±0.24)×10(-3)mm(2)/s, (59.90±20.23)×10(-3) mm(2)/s, and (32.88±4.02)%, respectively, those of the poorly differentiated group were (1.03±0.16)×10(-3)mm(2)/s, (53.28±18.74)×10(-3)mm(2)/s, and (34.42±6.21)%. The well differentiated group of ccRCC showed a higher D value than the moderately differentiated and poorly differentiated groups (each P0.05). D(*) values were significantly lower for the well differentiated group than for the moderately differentiated group (P0.05). The sensitivity and specificity of D values were 90.2% and 87.5% when focusing on the differentiation of ccRCC. For the diagnosis of ccRCC, the sensitivity and specificity of f values were 98.4% and 75.0%, respectively.IVIM-DWI can provide certain reliable value in evaluating pathological subtype and differentiation degree of renal cell carcinomas. D and f values are useful to distinguish ccRCC from non-ccRCC. D value is also promising for estimating the differentiation degree of ccRCC, and to indicate the biological behavior of RCC.

The aim of the present study is to investigate the differential expression of Beclin1, HMGB1, p62, survivin, ERCC1 and BRCA1 protein in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) and to evaluate the relationship between autophagy and platinum resistance of EOC patients during platinum-based chemotherapy with the protein expression.Expression of Beclin1, HMGB1, p62, survivin, ERCC1 and BRCA1 were detected with immunohistochemistry in 60 patients, including 39 with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), 13 benign epithelial ovarian tumor tissue (BET) and 8 borderline ovarian tumor tissue.Beclin, p62 and ERCC1 expression was significantly higher in the EOC than the BET (p0.05). No statistical significance was detected with HMGB1 or survivin expression among BET, borderline tumor and EOC (p0.05). BRCA1 expression was lower in EOC than BET (p0.05). The expression of Beclin, p62 and survivin significantly correlated with FIGO stage (p0.05), while the expression of HMGB1 correlated with pathological type. For platinum-sensitive EOC patients, positive expression of Beclin1 and BRCA1 was lower, and positive P62 expression was higher than in platinum-resistant patients (p0.05). BRCA1 expression was negatively correlated with Beclin1 and p62 expression (p0.05).Inhibition of expression of beclin1 may suppress autophagy to enhance the efficiency of platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer. HMGB1, survivin and p62 are implicated in the development of ovarian cancer. ERCC1 might be a potential predictive marker for neoadjuvant treatment in the early stage of ovarian cancer, and BRCA1, Beclin1 and p62 as a biomarker to predict platinum resistance and prognosis of epithelial ovarian cancer.

In this paper, a novel patch based balun with compact size is presented. This balun consists of a simple square patch etched by a pair of asymmetric slots. The unbalanced input port is orthogonally arranged in-between two balanced output ports along the patch. Asymmetrical width and length of the cross-loaded slots perturb the field of the patch and prolong the flow of the current path for miniaturization, simultaneously. For demonstration, a prototype balun is designed and fabricated at 2.4 GHz. Measured results achieve a good performance with an amplitude imbalance smaller than 0.7 dB and a phase difference of 180°±10° with a fractional bandwidth of 8.3%.

In this study, we describe the complete mitochondrial genomes of Gyrodactylus brachymystacis and Gyrodactylus parvae infecting rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and the invasive topmouth gudgeon (Pseudorasbora parva), respectively. The two circular genomes have a common genome organization found in other Gyrodactylus species. Comparative analyses of mitochondrial genomes from six Gyrodactylus species were carried out to determine base composition, codon usage, transfer RNA and ribosomal RNA genes, major non-coding regions, and nucleotide diversity within the genus. We also provide the first universal models of the secondary structures of rrnS and rrnL for this group thereby promoting utilization of these genetic markers. Universal primers provided herein can be used to obtain more mitochondrial information for pathogen identification and may reveal different levels of molecular phylogenetic inferences for this lineage.

Cardiac ankyrin repeat protein (CARP) is a nuclear transcriptional co-factor that has additional functions in the myoplasm as a component of the muscle sarcomere. Previous studies have demonstrated increased expression of CARP in cardiovascular diseases, however, its role in cardiomyocyte apoptosis is unclear and controversial. In the present study, we investigated possible roles of CARP in hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) -induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis and the underlying mechanisms. Neonatal mouse ventricular cardiomyocytes were isolated and infected with adenovirus encoding Flag-tagged CARP (Ad-CARP) and lentivirus encoding CARP targeted shRNA (sh-CARP), respectively. Cardiomyocyte apoptosis induced by exposure to H/R conditions was evaluated by TUNEL staining and western blot analysis of cleaved caspase-3. The results showed that H/R-induced apoptosis was significantly decreased in Ad-CARP cardiomyocytes and increased in sh-CARP cardiomyocytes, suggesting a protective anti-apoptosis role for CARP. Interestingly, over-expressed CARP was mainly distributed in the nucleus, consistent with its role in regulating transcriptional activity. qPCR analysis showed that Bcl-2 transcripts were significantly increased in Ad-CARP cardiomyocytes. ChIP and co-IP assays confirmed the binding of CARP to the Bcl-2 promoter through interaction with transcription factor GATA4. Collectively, our results suggest that CARP can protect against H/R induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis, possibly through increasing anti-apoptosis Bcl-2 gene expression.

This study evaluates the feasibility of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC–ToF MS) for the determination of the 15 + 1 EU PAHs in sediments. Experimental variables affecting the injection, chromatographic separation and analytical detection of the analytes have systematically been optimised. Under finally proposed conditions, a satisfactory resolution among critical pairs/groups of PAHs, including benz[a]anthracene, cyclopenta[cd]pyrene and chrysene, the three benzofluoranthene isomers, indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene from dibenz[a,h]anthracene (DahA), and DahA from dibenz[a,c]anthracene, has been achieved using DB-5 × BPX-50 as column combination with a run time of 1 h. The feasibility of the method for the analysis of real-life samples has been demonstrated by accurate determination of relevant target PAHs in the certified harbour sediment BCR-535 (deviations among certified concentration values and those calculated using the proposed method lower than 3%); and by successful application to sediments sampled from a relevant protected area located in the South of Spain. The low methodological limits of detection (LODs) obtained for most of the targeted PAHs (in the 5.7–60 μg/kg range, as calculated for real samples) guarantied accurate quantification of the target compounds at the low levels expected in these types of pristine matrices. The strong retention experienced by the heaviest dibenzopyrene isomers included in the study resulted in relatively high LODs for these analytes; nevertheless, these compounds were detected at concentration levels above the corresponding LOD in some of the analysed sediments. In addition, the enhanced identification power provided by GC × GC–ToF MS for the identification of non-target analytes allowed the tentative identification of a group of polynuclear aromatic thiophenes in some of the test samples. Finally, the potential of the use of normalised bubble plots for the fast screening of the potential PAH sources has been demonstrated., Authors thank MICINN (projects CTQ-2006-14993/BQU and AGL2009-11909) and CM (program S-2009/AGR-1464) for financial support.

A compact antenna for eight-band LTE/WWAN operation internal mobile phone has been proposed in the paper. The proposed antenna is a three-dimensional structure, having a small size 15 × 40 × 3.8 mm3 on the top of the system circuit board. The designed antenna is formed by a T-shaped monopole with two stubs, a coupling strip, shorting strip and branch strip. It can generate two wide operating bands, including not only GSM1800/1900/UMTS2100/ LTE2300/2500 (1710–2690 MHz) but also LTE700/GSM850/900 (698–960 MHz). Based on the system ground plane of the antenna, the desired lower band can be achieved by the coupling strip and shorting strip, meanwhile, optimizing the two stubs of the T-shaped monopole can adjust the lower bandwidth accordingly. While the upper band can be obtained by the branch strip and T-shaped monopole with two stubs. Detailed operating principle and main parameters of the proposed antenna are also studied and discussed in this article. Finally, the simulated and measured results, ...

China is home to the world's second largest electric power industry, and has plans to modernize its power network into a robust and efficient grid. Short-circuit fault current control becomes increasingly important to the power grid modernization process. Superconducting fault current limiters (SFCLs) may contribute significantly to the solution to the fault current problem. This paper discusses the demands and challenges in the application of SFCLs to Chinese power grids, from the perspective of the present situation and taking into consideration future developments of the electric power industry. Technical and economical comparisons with conventional fault current control technologies are presented

Transparent conductive oxides based on ZnO are promising materials for application in thin-film solar photovoltaic cells. Al-doped ZnO thin films with a large area of 1 m × 1.5 m were prepared by magnetic sputtering on glass substrate using a ceramic target (98 wt. % ZnO, 2 wt. % Al 2 O 3 ) in different Ar+H2 ambient at different substrate temperature. SiO 2 layer with a thickness of 20 nm was deposited as a resistant layer. To investigate the influence of H2-flow on the properties of AZO films, H 2 -flow rate was changed during the growth process with a fixed Ar-flow rate. The effect of the substrate temperature and the H2-flow rate on the structure, electrical and optical properties was studied. In order to enhance light scattering and absorption inside the cell, suitable surface texture is needed. The influence of wet chemical etching on surface roughness and haze of AZO were also investigated.