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This study aimed to examine the inhibitory effects of Euonymine on in-stent restenosis (ISR) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL)-induced proliferation, migration, and pro-apoptotic of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in vitro, and its potential mechanisms. Euonymine is a monomer component extracted from Tripterygium hypoglaucum (Levl) Hutch. Using in vitro models of rabbit carotid balloon injury and porcine atherosclerotic coronary implantation, we confirmed that Euonymine inhibited ISR after PCI. Furthermore, Euonymine inhibited VSMC phenotypic transformation by targeting AKT1 to regulate the PTEN/AKT1/m TOR signaling pathway, with exertion of anti-proliferative, anti-migratory, and pro-apoptotic effects on ox-LDL-induced cell injury model. Additionally, the study demonstrated that Euonymine induced apoptosis of VSMCs via the p38MAPK-related mitochondria-dependent apoptotic pathway. Collectively, these findings indicated that Euonymine drug-eluting stents inhibited ISR after PCI by targeting AKT1 and p38MAPK to enhance the contractile phenotype of VSMCs to prevent intimal hyperplasia development. This provides insights into a potential therapeutic strategy involving the beneficial effect of Euonymine drug-eluting stent on ISR. O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=116 SRC="FIGDIR/small/466441v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (34K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1582ef9org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@73e133org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1c5f318org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@daca49_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

Alpelisib selectively inhibits the p110α catalytic subunit of PI3Kα and is approved for treatment of breast cancers harboring canonical PIK3CA mutations. In head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), 63% of PIK3CA mutations occur at canonical hotspots. The oncogenic role of the remaining 37% of PIK3CA noncanonical mutations is incompletely understood. We report a patient with HNSCC with a noncanonical PIK3CA mutation (Q75E) who exhibited a durable (12 months) response to alpelisib in a phase II clinical trial. Characterization of all 32 noncanonical PIK3CA mutations found in HNSCC using several functional and phenotypic assays revealed that the majority (69%) were activating, including Q75E. The oncogenic impact of these mutations was validated in 4 cellular models, demonstrating that their activity was lineage independent. Further, alpelisib exhibited antitumor effects in a xenograft derived from a patient with HNSCC containing an activating noncanonical PIK3CA mutation. Structural analyses revealed plausible mechanisms for the functional phenotypes of the majority of the noncanonical PIK3CA mutations. Collectively, these findings highlight the importance of characterizing the function of noncanonical PIK3CA mutations and suggest that patients with HNSCC whose tumors harbor activating noncanonical PIK3CA mutations may benefit from treatment with PI3Kα inhibitors.

In this paper, a time-domain signal processing method is proposed to extract the real-time time-varying cable frequency. The proposed conjugate-pair decomposition (CPD) method uses empirical mode decomposition (EMD) to obtain intrinsic mode functions (IMFs), and then the instantaneous frequency can be extracted by post-processing the conjugate-pair of IMFs. Several numerical simulations and a composite cable-stayed bridge experiment are used to validate the accuracy and capability of the proposed method for tracking time-varying cable frequency. Moreover, the proposed method may be further used to assess cable fatigue damage.

Toxoplasma gondii is an opportunistic protozoan that can infect host to cause toxoplasmosis. We have previously reported that resveratrol (RSV) has protective effects against liver damage in T. gondii infected mice. However, the effect of RSV on lung injury caused by T. gondii infection and its mechanism of action remain unclear.In this work, we studied the protective effects of RSV on lung injury caused by T. gondii infection and explored the underlying mechanism.Molecular docking and localized surface plasmon resonance assay were used to detect the molecular interactions between RSV and target proteins. In vitro, the anti-T. gondii effects and potential anti-inflammatory mechanisms of RSV were investigated by quantitative competitive-PCR, RT-PCR, ELISA, Western blotting and immunofluorescence using RAW 264.7 cells infected with tachyzoites of T. gondii RH strain. In vivo, the effects of RSV on lung injury caused by T. gondii infection were assessed by observing pathological changes and the expression of inflammatory factors of lung.RSV inhibited T. gondii loads and T. gondii-derived heat shock protein 70 (T.g.HSP70) expression in RAW 264.7 cells and lung tissues. Moreover, RSV interacts with T.g.HSP70 and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), respectively, and interferes with the interaction between T.g.HSP70 and TLR4. It also inhibited the overproduction of inducible nitric oxide synthase, TNF-α and high mobility group protein 1 (HMGB1) by down-regulating TLR4/nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway, which is consistent with the effect of TLR4 inhibitor CLI-095. In vivo, RSV improved the pathological lung damage produced by T. gondii infection, as well as decreased the number of inflammatory cells in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and the release of HMGB1 and TNF-α.These findings indicate that RSV can inhibit the proliferation of T. gondii and T.g.HSP70 expression both in vitro and in vivo. RSV can inhibit excessive inflammatory response by intervening T.g.HSP70 and HMGB1 mediated TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway activation, thereby ameliorating lung injury caused by T. gondii infection. The present study provides new data that may be useful for the development of RSV as a new agent for the treatment of lung damage caused by T. gondii infection.

The aim is to achieve the targeting function of Aptamer 21-2 (Apt) by modifying glycyrrhizic acid (GA) to obtain Apt-GA and by delivering it through mesoporous silica in μm-size (μmS). Moreover, it is planned to induce synergistic effects of the novel amorphous preparation of Apt-GA with curcumin (Cur) in the treatment of psoriasis. UV/vis spectrophotometric analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were performed to demonstrate the linkage of Apt and GA. The replacement of GA with Apt-GA in GA-Cur-μmS did not make a difference in the amorphous state, but showed superior fluorescence of Cur in the inflamed dermis similar to psoriatic induced by imiquimod. Consequently, compared to GA-Cur-μmS and Apt, Apt-GA-Cur-μmS exhibited less pronounced psoriatic characteristics in vivo, including Psoriasis Area and Severity Index, histological image, immunohistochemistry and immuno-fluorescence labeling neutrophils. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay showed a similar phenomenon that less IL-17A was observed after treatment with Apt-GA-Cur-μmS than with GA-Cur-μmS or Apt. Our finding suggests that this novel Apt delivery system achieved the Apt targeting function in the dermis by taking advantage of GA and μmS, and exhibited synergistic anti-psoriatic effect by co-delivering curcumin.

Cardiac hypertrophy is a common myocardial structural abnormality which may cause heart failure. Many studies have shown that cardiac hypertrophy can be induced by hyperthyroidism. Ligand-gated potassium channels have been reported to be involved in various biological processes in the cardiovascular system, such as GPCR coupled K(ACh) and metabolism sensor K(ATP) channel. It is unclear whether the gene expression of K(ACh) and K(ATP) was altered in hyperthyroid rabbit atria. We aimed to investigate the expression of K(ACh) and K(ATP) genes in rabbit atria in our experimental model. We established an effective hyperthyroidism-induced cardiac hypertrophy animal model through an injection of T4. H&E staining and RT-PCR were used to observe the histomorphological damages and alteration of gene expression. The results showed that the heart weight, heart rate significantly increased in T4-treated rabbits. The systolic pressure increased from 115.60 mmHg to 152.6 mmHg in T4-treated rabbits. The expression of K(ACh) and K(ATP) genes was decreased in the atria of hyperthyroidism-induced cardiac hypertrophied rabbits. These findings indicated that the decreased gene expression of K(ACh) and K(ATP) may be related to hyperthyroidism-induced cardiac hypertrophy and atrial fibrillation.

Background The study sought to compare Coronary Artery Disease Reporting and Data System (CAD-RADS) classification with traditional coronary artery disease (CAD) classifications and Duke Prognostic CAD Index for predicting the risk of all-cause mortality in patients with suspected CAD. Methods 9625 consecutive suspected CAD patients were assessed by coronary CTA for CAD-RADS classification, traditional CAD classifications and Duke Prognostic CAD Index. Kaplan–Meier and multivariable Cox models were used to estimate all-cause mortality. Discriminatory ability of classifications was assessed using time dependent receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves and The Hosmer–Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test was employed to evaluate calibration. Results A total of 540 patients died from all causes with a median follow-up of 4.3 ± 2.1 years. Kaplan–Meier survival curves showed the cumulative events increased significantly associated with CAD-RADS, three traditional CAD classifications and Duke Prognostic CAD Index. In multivariate Cox regressions, the risk for the all-cause death increased from HR 0.861 (95% CI 0.420–1.764) for CAD-RADS 1 to HR 2.761 (95% CI 1.961–3.887) for CAD-RADS 4B&5, using CAD-RADS 0 as the reference group. The relative HRs for all-cause death increased proportionally with the grades of the three traditional CAD classifications and Duke Prognostic CAD Index. The area under the time dependent ROC curve for prediction of all-cause death was 0.7917, 0.7805, 0.7991for CAD-RADS in 1 year, 3 year, 5 year, respectively, which was non-inferior to the traditional CAD classifications and Duke Prognostic CAD Index. Conclusions The CAD-RADS classification provided important prognostic information for patients with suspected CAD with noninvasive evaluation, which was non-inferior than Duke Prognostic CAD Index and traditional stenosis-based grading schemes in prognostic value of all-cause mortality. Traditional and simplest CAD classification should be preferable, given the more number of groups and complexity of CAD-RADS and Duke prognostic index, without using more time consuming classification.

Mapping protein interactions driving cancer Cancer is a genetic disease, and much cancer research is focused on identifying carcinogenic mutations and determining how they relate to disease progression. Three papers demonstrate how mutations are processed through networks of protein interactions to promote cancer (see the Perspective by Cheng and Jackson). Swaney et al . focus on head and neck cancer and identify cancer-enriched interactions, demonstrating how point mutant–dependent interactions of PIK3CA, a kinase frequently mutated in human cancers, are predictive of drug response. Kim et al . focus on breast cancer and identify two proteins functionally connected to the tumor-suppressor gene BRCA1 and two proteins that regulate PIK3CA. Zheng et al . developed a statistical model that identifies protein networks that are under mutation pressure across different cancer types, including a complex bringing together PIK3CA with actomyosin proteins. These papers provide a resource that will be helpful in interpreting cancer genomic data. —VV

Women’s political participation was initiated as an instrument for gender equality yet now is under research scrutiny. Due to gender quotas and other institutionalization of women’s political inclusion, Rwanda has the highest number of women in its parliament – 67%. But is women’s political participation a real tool for gender equality, or is it one that through the artificial guise of women’s political representation sets up an exclusive political space? Apart from women who work in political institutions, who else are participating in politics and how and where are they engaging with politics? Feminists should claim back this discussion, reject neoliberal approach to ‘empower’ women and propose a more distributive and collective agenda. As part of my PhD project regarding women’s (dis)engagement with politics in Rwanda, female vendors drew my attention during my fieldwork in Rwanda. In Rwanda, female vendors are among the groups who are the ‘furthest’ to participate and influence the political decision-making process, yet are heavily influenced by various political policies on a daily base. For example, the by-law forbidding street vendors was initiated in 2015 and further enforced in 2017 was designed to punish street vendors because they build “unfair competition for customers with legitimate businesses paying rent and taxes” . Consequently, many female vendors face a great deal of violence by local forces. Using feminist ethnography as the methodology, I choose visual methods to tell the stories of female vendors. That is, the photography project is designed to elicit stories of ‘what happened when’, and to encourage participants to ‘remember’ past events, and past dynamics on the street, as well as to express their own opinions and ideas. My task is to reconstruct the process of female street vendor’s engagement with politics and in doing so deconstruct the fake formal image of female political participation in Rwanda.

Gas–liquid–liquid three-phase flow systems have unique advantages of controlling reagent manipulation and improving reaction performance. However, there remains a lack of insight into the dynamics and controllability of water droplet fusion assisted by gas bubbles, particularly scaling laws for use in the design and operation of complex multiphase flow processes. In the present work, a microfluidic reactor with three T-junctions was employed to sequentially generate gas bubbles and then fuse two dispersed water droplets. The formation of the dispersed phase was divided into multiple stages, and the bubble/droplet size was correlated with operating parameters. The formation of the second dispersed droplet at the third T-junction was accompanied by the fusion of the two dispersed water droplets that were formed. It revealed a two-stage process (i.e. drainage and fusion) for the two droplets to fuse while becoming mature by breaking-up with the secondary water supply stream. In addition, a droplet contact model was employed to understand the influence on the process stability and uniformity of the merged/fused droplets by varying the surfactant concentration (in oil), the viscosity of the water phase, and the flow rates of different fluids. The study provides a deeper understanding of the droplet fusion characteristics on gas–liquid–liquid three-phase flow in microreactors for a wide range of applications.

Reliable communication between the primary and the secondary side is a challenge for simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) system. Considering many factors, such as cost, device size, and transmission efficiency, the SWIPT system transferring multiple frequencies with a single inductive link is an effective scheme to integrate reverse data communication. However, those SWIPT systems change power transfer frequency or power carrier amplitude while transferring information, then information cannot be transmitted when the inverter does not work, which reduces the reliability of communication. To solve this problem, this paper proposes an idea of establishing an independent information transfer channel, the power and information transmits at different frequencies. The information transmitted in the reverse direction no longer flows through the primary side inverter. It is guided to an independent channel after being transmitted to the primary side through the common inductive link. Its equivalent circuit model is provided to analyze the transfer gain, power transfer performance, and the relationship between the information coupling circuit and information transfer characteristics. Finally, a SWIPT prototype is built to validate the proposed SWIPT system.

Inductive pulsed power supply (IPPS) is considered as an alternative to capacitive one due to its higher energy density. An opening switch is necessary for an IPPS because it interrupts the charging circuit and transfers the stored energy to the load. A major technical challenge inherent to the IPPS is the overvoltage across the opening switch, i.e., the open-circuit voltage. Moreover, obtaining a larger current, especially with a steeper rising edge, will further increase the open-circuit voltage. A novel IPPS based on a three-winding pulse transformer, consisting of two primary windings and one secondary winding, is presented in this article to improve the output current and reduce the open-circuit voltage. The two primary inductors adopted a parallel switching scheme, namely, series charging and parallel discharging. Its working principle is analyzed first in detail. The theoretical analysis and simulation results have verified the superiority of the novel IPPS in improving the output current and reducing the open-circuit voltage.

To improve the fault-tolerant operation capability of bidirectional voltage source converter (BVSC), an improved model predictive current control (IMPCC) for fault-tolerant BVSC, is proposed with balanced DC-link capacitor voltage under unbalanced grid voltage. The proposed method can maintain continuous operation even if power device faults and unbalanced grid voltage faults occur together. A current predictive model of the fault-tolerant BVSC is established. By using grid voltages and 90° lagging signals in the αβ stationary coordinate system, the reference current calculation method is designed for BVSC to eliminate power ripple under unbalanced grid voltage, which can avoid the complex positive and negative sequence extraction. DC-link split capacitor voltage balancing is achieved by the improved cost function. Based on the current predictive model and improved cost function, the optimal space voltage vectors are selected for fault-tolerant BVSC. Compared to the existing predictive methods, the proposed IMPCC can balance DC-link capacitor voltage and eliminate the power ripples for fault-tolerant BVSC under unbalanced grid with simple implementation. The experimental results validate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.

This paper presents a double-vector-based model predictive control method for three-phase grid-connected AC/DC converters. The conventional model predictive control (MPC) presents high steady-state ripples due to the application of only one voltage vector during one control period. To reduce the current ripples, a new MPC method is proposed. Double-voltage vectors are selected and applied it each control period in the proposed method. To reduce the calculation burden, the duration time of each voltage vector is calculated based on the principle of modulated MPC. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the proposed double-voltage vector-based MPC strategy is analyzed in theory for the first time. Then, it is further verified by comparative experiment studies.

An efficient approach for lead extraction from waste funnel glass through the lead smelting process has been proposed. To clarify the effect of funnel glass addition on the degradation of magnesia-chromite refractories by ZnO-containing fayalite slag, the corrosion behavior of magnesia-chromite refractories in lead smelting slags with different funnel glass additions from 0wt% to 40wt% was tested. Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) was used to acquire the microstructural information of the worn refractory samples. Experimental results showed that the corrosion of magnesia-chromite refractory consisted predominantly of the dissolution of MgO into slag. ZnO and FeO reacted with periclase and chromite to form (Zn,Fe,Mg)O solid solution and (Zn,Fe,Mg)(Fe,Al,Cr)2O4 spinel, respectively. With the addition of funnel glass, the solubility of MgO increased whereas ZnO levels remained stable, thereby resulting in a reduced Mg content and an elevated Zn and Fe content in the (Zn,Fe,Mg)O solid solution and the (Zn,Fe,Mg)(Fe,Al,Cr)2O4 spinel. Considering the stability of the (Zn,Fe,Mg)O solid solution layer and the penetration depth of the slag, the optimal funnel glass addition for lead smelting was found to be 20wt%.

The effect of temperature on leaching behavior of copper minerals with different occurrence states in complex copper oxide ores was carried out by phase analysis means of XRD, optical microscopy and SEM−EDS. The results indicated that at ambient temperature, the easily leached copper oxide minerals were completely dissolved, while the bonded copper minerals were insoluble. At lukewarm temperature of 40 °C, it was mainly the dissolution of copper in isomorphism state. With increasing temperature to 60 °C, the copper leaching rate in the adsorbed state was significantly accelerated. In addition, when the temperature increased to 80 °C, the isomorphic copper was completely leached, leaving 11.2% adsorbed copper un-leached. However, the copper in feldspar−quartz−copper−iron colloid state was not dissolved throughout the leaching process. Overall, the leaching rates of copper in different copper minerals decreased in the order: malachite, pseudo-malachite > chrysocolla > copper-bearing chlorite > copper-bearing muscovite > copper-bearing biotite > copper-bearing limonite > feldspar−quartz−copper−iron colloid.

A new and efficient additive, triethanolamine (TEA), was used on pure gold leaching in a thiosulfate-copper-ammonia system. An appropriate TEA concentration enhanced the gold dissolution rate and reduced thiosulfate consumption. The beneficial effect became most pronounced in the case of MTEA:Mcopper = 1:1, where the gold dissolution rate increased by approximately 50% and thiosulfate consumption decreased by approximately 10%. The possible mechanisms of TEA are as follows: TEA combines with cupric and ammonia, which enhances the catalytic oxidation ability of Cu(II). Meanwhile, TEA can reduce the consumption of thiosulfate caused by the oxidation of Cu(II) and hence decreases the formation of passivation layers on the gold surface. Furthermore, the deprotonated ethanolic oxygen atoms of [Cu(NH3)x(TEA)y] act as bridging ligands, which could form an “electronic bridge” that benefits the electron transfer from Au0 to Cu2+. In addition, the actual main reaction complex in the cupric-ammonia-TEA complex ([Cu(NH3)x(TEA)y]) was [Cu(NH3)3TEA]2+.

To observe the clinical efficacy of grain-sized moxibustion in treating chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and its effect on quality of life (QOL). Eighty NSCLC patients admitted to the Inpatient Department of Zhejiang Cancer Hospital between September 2016 and March 2018 were recruited and divided into an observation group and a control group by random number method, with 40 cases in each group. The two groups both received chemotherapy with paclitaxel plus cisplatin (TP regimen). The control group received oral administration of leucogen tablets starting from the first day of chemotherapy, 20 mg each time, three times a day, for consecutive 14 d; the observation group was additionally given grain-sized moxibustion, once a day, five days per week at a two-day interval, until the fourteenth day. The myelosuppression severity was observed and compared between the two groups prior to chemotherapy, at the 3rd, 7th and 14th days of chemotherapy; the QOL in the two groups was evaluated before chemotherapy, at the 14th and 21st days of chemotherapy. Regarding myelosuppression, the peripheral blood indicators increased significantly at the 3rd day of chemotherapy in both groups (P

One of the biggest hurdles for the development of metabolism-targeted therapies is to identify the responsive tumor subsets. However, the metabolic vulnerabilities for most human cancers remain unclear. Establishing the link between metabolic signatures and the oncogenic alterations of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK), the most well-defined cancer genotypes, may precisely direct metabolic intervention to a broad patient population. By integrating metabolomics and transcriptomics, we herein show that oncogenic RTK activation causes distinct metabolic preference. Specifically, EGFR activation branches glycolysis to the serine synthesis for nucleotide biosynthesis and redox homeostasis, whereas FGFR activation recycles lactate to fuel oxidative phosphorylation for energy generation. Genetic alterations of EGFR and FGFR stratify the responsive tumors to pharmacological inhibitors that target serine synthesis and lactate fluxes, respectively. Together, this study provides the molecular link between cancer genotypes and metabolic dependency, providing basis for patient stratification in metabolism-targeted therapies., Cancer subtypes may have distinct metabolic vulnerabilities that can be exploited for therapeutic interventions. Here, the authors show that in lung cancer, genetic activation of distinct oncogenic receptor tyrosine kinases results in unique metabolic liabilities and, in particular, EGFR aberrant cancers rely on the serine biosynthetic pathway while FGFR aberrant cancers rely on glycolysis.

To reduce the common-mode voltage (CMV) and eliminate the CMV spikes for two-level voltage source inverters (2L-VSIs), an improved model predictive control (MPC) based CMV reduction method is proposed in this paper considering dead-time effects. First, an improved voltage vector (VV) preselection strategy is proposed to reduce the CMV spikes caused by the dead time. Second, a new hybrid VV preselection strategy based on a delay compensation strategy and a modified current sector division strategy is proposed to completely eliminate the CMV spikes. As the proposed hybrid VV preselection based MPC strategy makes full use of the six nonzero VVs of the 2L-VSI, the current total harmonic distortions and ripples are reduced. The simulation and experiments are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.

BACKGROUND Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-independent Cushing’s syndrome (CS) is mostly due to unilateral tumors, with bilateral tumors rarely reported. Its common causes include primary pigmented nodular adrenocortical disease, ACTH-independent macronodular adrenal hyperplasia, and bilateral adrenocortical adenomas (BAAs) or carcinomas. BAAs causing ACTH-independent CS are rare; up to now, fewer than 40 BAA cases have been reported. The accurate diagnosis and evaluation of BAAs are critical for determining optimal treatment options. Adrenal vein sampling (AVS) is a good way to diagnose ACTH-independent CS. CASE SUMMARY A 31-year-old woman had a typical appearance of CS. The oral glucose tolerance test showed impaired glucose tolerance and obviously increased insulin and C-peptide levels. Her baseline serum cortisol and urine free cortisol were elevated and did not show either a circadian rhythm or suppression with dexamethasone administration. The peripheral 1-deamino-8-D-arginine-vasopressin (DDVAP) stimulation test showed a delay of the peak level, which was 1.05 times as high as the baseline level. Bilateral AVS results suggested the possibility of BAAs. Abdominal computed tomography showed bilateral adrenal adenomas with atrophic adrenal glands (right: 3.1 cm × 2.0 cm × 1.9 cm; left: 2.2 cm × 1.9 cm × 2.1 cm). Magnetic resonance imaging of the pituitary gland demonstrated normal findings. A left adenomectomy by retroperitoneoscopy was performed first, followed by resection of the right-side adrenal mass 3 mo later. Biopsy results of both adenomas showed cortical tumors. Evaluations of ACTH and cortisol showed a significant decrease after left adenomectomy but could still not be suppressed, and the circadian rhythm was absent. Following bilateral adenomectomy, this patient has been administered with prednisone until now, all of her symptoms were alleviated, and she had normal blood pressure without edema in either of her lower extremities. CONCLUSION BAAs causing ACTH-independent CS are rare. AVS is of great significance for obtaining information on the functional state of BAAs before surgery.

BACKGROUND Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) plays an important role in the differentiation of malignant and benign breast lesions. PURPOSE To investigate the utility of various diffusion parameters obtained from monoexponential, biexponential, and stretched-exponential DWI models in the differential diagnosis of breast lesions. STUDY TYPE Prospective. POPULATION Sixty-one patients (age range: 25-68 years old; mean age: 46 years old) with 31 malignant lesions, 42 benign lesions, and 28 normal breast tissues diagnosed initially by clinical palpation, ultrasonography, or conventional mammography were enrolled in the study from January to September 2016. FIELD STRENGTH 3.0T MR scanner, T1 WI, T2 WI, DWI (conventional and multi-b values), dynamic contrast-enhanced. ASSESSMENT The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) was calculated by monoexponential analysis. The diffusion coefficient (ADCslow ), pseudodiffusion coefficient (ADCfast ), and perfusion fraction (f) were calculated using the biexponential model. The distributed diffusion coefficient (DDC) and water molecular diffusion heterogeneity index (α) were obtained using a stretched-exponential model. All parameters were compared for malignant tumors, benign tumors, and normal breast tissues. A receiver operating characteristic curve was used to compare the ability of these parameters, in order to differentiate benign and malignant breast lesions. STATISTICAL TESTS All statistical analyses were performed using statistical software (SPSS). RESULTS ADC, ADCslow , f, DDC, and α values were significantly lower in malignant tumors when compared with normal breast tissues and benign tumors (P

In this paper, a fixed-time salvo attack guidance scheme with impact angle constraint on maneuvering target is proposed for multiple missiles by using the cooperative control strategy. A fixed-time extended state observer is introduced to accurately estimate the target accelerations. The proposed guidance scheme is divided into parts, that is, the guidance law on the normal direction of the line of sight (LOS) and that along the LOS direction, of which the former one ensures the LOS angle converge to the desired value in fixed-time, and the latter one ensures the relative range consensus error converges to origin in fixed time, so as to achieve the salvo attack. Simulation results are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.

Ya-Nan Jin, Hao Feng, Zhen-Yuan Wang, Jie Li Department of Anesthesiology, Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Jie LiDepartment of Anesthesiology, Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 13621288322Fax +86 10 51718475Email lijie1988@email.cnObjective: This study aimed to investigate the risk factors for hypotension in patients undergoing laparoscopic hiatal hernia repair.Methods: The clinical data of patients who underwent laparoscopic repair of a hiatal hernia in the Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital of Capital Medical University between February 2018 and January 2021 were retrospectively collected, and their perioperative data were obtained by querying the electronic medical record system. The patients were divided into two groups—a hypotension group and a normal group—based on the occurrence of intraoperative hypotension, which was defined as a mean arterial pressure < 65 mmHg and lasting ≥ 1 minute during the operation. The variables with a P value ≤ 0.1 in univariate regression analysis and clinically considered relevant variables were included in multivariate regression analysis in order to screen the risk factors for hypotension in these patients.Results: A total of 114 patients were included in the analysis. The incidence of hypotension was 54.4%. Old age was identified as the only risk factor for hypotension during hiatal hernia surgery.Conclusion: Old age is the only risk factor for intraoperative hypotension in patients undergoing laparoscopic hiatal hernia repair.Keywords: hiatal hernia, hypotension, risk factors

This paper proposes a new extended stateobserver-based sliding mode control strategy with prescribed finite-time convergence. Firstly, a novel prescribed finite-time extended state observer is designed, which estimates the disturbance accurately within a prescribed finite time and effectively solves peaking value problem. Secondly, a new type of second-order prescribed finite-time sliding mode controller is designed to ensure system states converge within a prescribed finite time. Then, the proposed control strategy is applied to the design of partial integrated guidance and control with two-loop controller structure. Finally, the validity of the proposed methodology is verified through numerical simulation.

Conventional hydrodesulfurization technology was limited to treat aromatic heterocyclic sulfur compounds in ultralow-sulfur diesel. Extractive desulfurization (EDS) using ionic liquid (IL) exhibited good performance to address these issues, except for its long extraction time (15–40 min). To address this, microreactor was adopted to intensify the IL-based EDS, where dibenzothiophene was extracted from model diesel (MD) as the continuous phase to 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate as the dispersed phase under segmented flow (which appeared preferably at capillary numbers lower than 0.01). The effects of temperature, residence time and flow rate ratio on the desulfurization efficiency were investigated. The extraction equilibration time could be shortened from more than 15 min in conventional batch extractors to 120 s in microreactors. The extraction process was modeled according to the two-film model applied within a unit cell of the segmented flow, where the mass transfer resistance was considered primarily on the film side of the IL droplet. The mechanism for the improved EDS performance at higher temperatures or larger IL to MD flow ratios was investigated and validated, which was related to the significant increase in the diffusion coefficient or the specific interfacial area. These findings may shed important insights into the precise manipulation of IL-based EDS for a better process design and reactor optimization.

Based on the MAIAC AOD and PM

Background: The imbalance of child health services caused by the huge income gap between urban and rural residents and uncoordinated regional development has become increasingly prominent. This article analyzes the basic situation and equity of child care services in China from 2010 to 2019.Methods: Evaluate the equity of child health services by concentration index.Results: From 2010 to 2019, neonatal visit rate and system management rate of under-three children in Chinese child health service projects showed an upward trend, and the perinatal mortality rate decreased. The perinatal mortality rate is the highest in the western region, and the level of child health services in the central region is lower than the national average, but the gap between regions has gradually decreased. Child health services concentrate in provinces with high economic levels, and the perinatal mortality rate is the most unfair. Conclusion: The decline in the mortality rate of under-five children is related to the improvement in the child health services. We should improve the health services of perinatal infants and pay attention to the health of children aged 1 to 4 years. The fairness of child health service is affected by the two-child policy. We should rationally allocate resources and strengthen support for the central and western regions.

Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is an obligate intracellular parasite that can cause liver diseases in the host, including hepatitis and hepatomegaly. High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is the main inflammatory mediator causing cell injury or necrosis. HMGB1 binds to toll like receptor 4 (TLR4), then activates the nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling pathway, which promotes the release of inflammatory factors. Our previous studies showed that HMGB1 mediated TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway plays an important role in liver injury induced by T. gondii infection. Resveratrol (RSV) is a small polyphenol, which has anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-T. gondii effect. However, the effect of RSV on liver injury caused by T. gondii infection is unclear. This study used the RH strain tachyzoites of T. gondii to infect murine liver line, NCTC-1469 cells to establish an in vitro model and acute infection of mice for the in vivo model to explore the protective effect of RSV on liver injury induced by T. gondii infection. The results showed that RSV inhibited the proliferation of T. gondii in the liver, reduced the alanine aminotransferase/aspartate aminotransferase levels and pathological liver damage. Additionally, RSV inhibited the production of tumor necrosis factor-α, inducible nitric oxide synthase and HMGB1 by interfering with the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. These results indicate that RSV can protect liver injury caused by T. gondii infection by intervening in the HMGB1/TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. This study will provide a theoretical basis for RSV treatment of T. gondii infection induced liver injury.

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) have central roles in intercellular communication1,2. Structural studies have revealed how GPCRs can activate G proteins. However, whether this mechanism is conserved among all classes of GPCR remains unknown. Here we report the structure of the class-C heterodimeric GABAB receptor, which is activated by the inhibitory transmitter GABA, in its active form complexed with Gi1 protein. We found that a single G protein interacts with the GB2 subunit of the GABAB receptor at a site that mainly involves intracellular loop 2 on the side of the transmembrane domain. This is in contrast to the G protein binding in a central cavity, as has been observed with other classes of GPCR. This binding mode results from the active form of the transmembrane domain of this GABAB receptor being different from that of other GPCRs, as it shows no outside movement of transmembrane helix 6. Our work also provides details of the inter- and intra-subunit changes that link agonist binding to G-protein activation in this heterodimeric complex. Cryo-electron microscopy structure of heterodimeric GABAB receptor in complex with Gi1 protein reveals that the mode of G-protein binding in this class-C G-protein-coupled receptor differs from that of other classes.