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1. It was hypothesised that a circular RIPK2 (circRIPK2) highly expressed in chicken macrophages plays an important role during bacterial infection. 2. After PCR amplification, Sanger sequencing and RNase R exonuclease treatment of chicken macrophages, it was found that circRIPK2 was a stable circular RNA, which was formed by reverse splicing of exons 4 to 9 of the RIPK2. 3. The circRIPK2 can promote the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced cellular injury by reducing cell viability and increasing the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and apoptosis genes. 4. Six miRNAs were identified as interacting with circRIPK2, potentially targeting 1,817 genes, which were significantly enriched in the Wnt signalling pathway, adherens junction and NOD-like receptor signalling pathway. 5. This study provides better understanding of the function of circRIPK2, which may prove a potential biomarker and indicate potential targets for the treatment of bacterial infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. This research aim was to evaluates the role of the pre-ablation neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) as predictors of distant metastases in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). Methods. A retrospective analysis was given to 140 patients with DTC who received 131I remnant ablation after surgery. The patients were divided into two groups based on the existence of distant metastasis. Results. The two groups showed no significant difference in age, gender, WBCs, neutrophils, monocytes, eosinophils, basophils and whether the tumor was multifocal. In the univariate analysis, significant differences were found in tumor size (p=0.021), lymphocyte (p=0.012), NLR (p=0.027), and LMR (p=0.007). According to the ROC curves, NLR had an AUC of 0.612 ± 0.097 with a cut-off value of 1.845, sensitivity of 60.0%, and specificity of 66.2% (p=0.027). LMR had an AUC of 0.638 ± 0.095 with a cutoff value of 4.630, sensitivity of 84.6%, and specificity of 35.4% (p=0.007). In the multivariate analysis, larger tumor size (OR=5.246, 95% CI 1.269-10.907, p=0.009) and higher NLR (OR=2.087, 95% CI 0.977-4.459, p=0.034) were statistically significant for distant metastases. Conclusion. This research reveals that pre-ablation NLR and tumor size are significantly statistically correlated with distant metastases in patients with DTC [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During ischemic heart failure (IHF), cardiac muscle contraction is typically impaired, though the molecular changes within the myocardium are not fully understood. Thus, we aimed to characterize the biophysical properties of cardiac myosin in IHF. Cardiac tissue was harvested from 10 age-matched males, either with a history of IHF or nonfailing (NF) controls that had no history of structural or functional cardiac abnormalities. Clinical measures before cardiac biopsy demonstrated significant differences in measures of ejection fraction and left ventricular dimensions. Myofibrils and myosin were extracted from left ventricular free wall cardiac samples. There were no changes in myofibrillar ATPase activity or calcium sensitivity between groups. Using isolated myosin, we found a 15% reduction in the IHF group in actin sliding velocity in the in vitro motility assay, which was observed in the absence of a myosin isoform shift. Oxidative damage (carbonylation) of isolated myosin was compared, in which there were no significant differences between groups. Synthetic thick filaments were formed from purified myosin and the ATPase activity was similar in both basal and actin-activated conditions (20 mM actin). Correlation analysis and Deming linear regression were performed between all studied parameters, in which we found statistically significant correlations between clinical measures of contractility with molecular measures of sliding velocity and ELC carbonylation. Our data indicate that subtle deficits in myosin mechanochemical properties are associated with reduced contractile function and pathological remodeling of the heart, suggesting that the myosin motor may be an effective pharmacological intervention in ischemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A marked transition in depositional signatures within the second rift phase (RP2, 38–33.9 Ma) in the Lufeng Sag, a proximal domain on the northern continental margin of the South China Sea (SCS) has been previously documented. This study integrates seismic data, fault paleo-throw, strain and depth-to-detachment to demonstrate the structural variability in time and space during the early to late stage of RP2 in the Lufeng Sag and investigates the rifting transition and its relationship with rifting processes on the northern SCS margin. The results indicate that extensional deformation transferred from south to north within the Lufeng Sag during RP2 and the rifting in the South Sub-sag was weaker than in the North Sub-sag during both the early and late stages. This structural variability may be related to the basement uplift in the southeast caused by the remote effect of plate movement and magmatic underplating under the Dongsha Uplift. A change of basin geometry from wedge-shaped to nearly tabular, strongly reduced paleo-throws and strains, and sharply increased depth-to-detachment from the early to late stage indicates the premature decay of rifting before the breakup of the SCS. This transition may be influenced by the opening of the Northeast Sub-basin of the SCS at ca 37 Ma, where extensional strain sharply concentrated, and led to the waned rifting of the Lufeng Sag. The study thus provides new insights into rifting processes along the northern SCS margin that can be applied to similar basins elsewhere. Basin geometry, fault paleo-throw, strain and depth-to-detachment analysis demonstrate a weakened rifting in the Lufeng Sag (38–33.9 Ma). Structural variability between the South and North sub-sags may be caused by the remote effect of plate movement and magmatic underplating during the Dongsha Uplift. Structural transitions in the Lufeng Sag indicate a premature decay of rifting before the breakup of the SCS, which was caused by thermal subsidence and regional plate subduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an ignored physical property, the metal magnetic memory signal has the potential for non-destructive testing in the future. To get the variation characteristic of magnetic signals under different loads, the normal components of surface spontaneous magnetic signals Hp(y) of the Q235 I-steel column were measured online. In this paper, the variation law of Hp(y) with stress was investigated in the position of the point of contraflexure and stress concentration. The physical mechanism between its magnetic property and mechanical property was established at the elastic and plastic stages. Experimental results show that Hp(y) reaches the extreme value in the position of stress concentration, where the magnetic field gradient K presents the zero-crossing phenomenon along with the peak–peak value phenomenon on the left and right sides. In the position of the point of contraflexure, when the Hp(y) curve reaches the extreme value, the corresponding equivalent uniaxial stress σeq is 54 MPa, which is in good agreement with the Jiles–Atherton (J–A) model. Characteristic parameters Kmax, ζ, and η can reflect the extent of damage of the specimen. In the position of stress concentration, Hp(y) values decrease sharply at the early plastic stage. The analysis shows that the distribution regularity of Hp(y) at the elastic stage is in good agreement with the J–A model. The modified J–A model is consistent with the experimental results at the plastic stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is an effective treatment for various types of hereditary hematologic disease, hematological malignancy, primary immunodeficiency and metabolic disease. Thyroid dysfunction is a common complication of HSCT, which situation is mainly manifested as hypothyroidism and rarely as hyperthyroidism. This report presents a 28-yearold man who developed hyperthyroidism 9 years after sibling allogeneic HSCT, which was most likely caused by chronic GVHD. In the meantime, the patient also suffered from liver dysfunction and pancytopenia, for which he was inappropriate to take antithyroid drugs (ATD) for treatment of hyperthyroidism. The patient was orally administered 259 MBq 131I, an individualized dose. The symptoms of hyperthyroidism were mitigated by 131I treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In lung cancer radiation therapy, clinicians must outline the gross tumor volume (GTV) precisely on the planning computed tomography (pCT) for accurate radiation dose delivery. However, due to the limited contrast between tumor and normal tissues in lung parenchyma, accurate delineation of tumor boundaries is difficult leading to large inter-observer variation. In this study, we develop an anatomy-guided lung GTV deep segmentation model using a training cohort of multi-center datasets. The quantitative segmentation performance is evaluated on an independent dataset, where the inter-observer delineation variation is also assessed. We collected and curated four publicly available lung datasets with GTV annotations (Lung-PET-CT-Dx, LIDC-IDRI, NSCLC-Radiogenomics and RIDER-CT) for deep learning model development. A total of 871 CT scans of patients, who were diagnosed with T1-T4 NSCLC, were available for training after data curation. The GTV annotations of primary tumor were examined and edited by two experienced radiation oncologists following the RTOG 1106 protocol. An anatomy-guided deep learning model was proposed, which consisted two deep networks. The first deep network used CT scan as input and segmented 4 anatomic organs (airway, heart, pulmonary artery and pulmonary vein), while the second deep network took both CT scan and these pre-segmented 4 organs as input and segmented the lung GTV. With the help of anatomic priors from 4 pre-segmented organs, the second deep network could more easily locate the GTV. We used nnUNet as the deep segmentation network. For evaluation, we used NSCLC-Radiomics as the testing dataset, which contains 20 CT scans each annotated by 5 radiation oncologists. The auto-segmented GTV were compared against each of the manual GTV reference. Inter-observer variation was also assessed using the 5 manual GTV references. The proposed anatomic-guided lung GTV segmentation model achieved a mean Dice score of 82.4% and 95% Hausdorff distance (HD95) of 6.9mm when averaged cross 20 patients and 5 GTV references (Table 1), which outperformed the basic deep GTV segmentation model by markedly reducing 19.4% HD95 error. The performance of proposed model was also comparable to the inter-observer variation (Dice score: 82.4% vs. 81.9%, HD95 6.9 vs. 6.4mm), indicating that our model had similar reproducibility as human observers. We developed and tested an anatomy-guided deep learning model for segmenting GTV in NSCLC patients. The model achieves high quantitative segmentation performance, which is comparable to the human observer variation. It can be potentially used in radiotherapy practice to improve GTV delineation consistency and reduce workloads of radiation oncologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A towed Overhauser marine geomagnetic magnetometer used for weak magnetic anomaly detection in severe ocean conditions is studied to investigate means to reduce the negative effect of dynamic behavior and magnetic noise associated with ocean waves. For the dynamic effect, a continuous polarization workflow is proposed to enhance the free-induction-decay signal, and then, a multi-angle pickup coil and a self-tracking programmable amplifier are used to further reduce the adverse effect caused by uncontrollable changes in the towfish attitude on the signal quality. Furthermore, to achieve adaptive suppression of magnetic noise in different ocean conditions and areas, a modified adaptive Kalman algorithm is assessed. In addition, an optimized Overhauser sensor and a towfish were developed. Overall, the experimental results show that the sensor can effectively suppress the dynamic effect and magnetic noise. Regarding the magnetic sensitivity, uncertainty and range are 12 pT/Hz1/2@1Hz and 0.21 nT and 20 000 nT–100 000 nT, respectively. Moreover, underwater testing was performed to verify the function and the detection of the magnetic anomaly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oat seed with dormancy characteristics, which can germinate after one season or one year, are used to build and maintain vegetation to protect soils from been damaged by desertification in Northern China. The aim of this study was to estimate the effects of endogenous and exogenous GA3 and ABA on oat seed (var. Baiyan 7) germination. The results showed that seeds without peel hull had lower endogenous ABA content and the ratio of ABA/GA3 than seeds with peel hull. The best GA3 treatment duration for milky ripe, wax ripe, full ripe seeds were 60 min or 120 min, 60 min and 30 min, respectively. Seed germination rate, germination potential and germination index increased before they declined with the increasing of GA3 concentrations. The best GA3 concentration treatment was 100 mg/l, while the turning point was 200 mg/l. The dormancy rate of low temperature storage seeds were higher than those of room temperature storage seeds at each storage time, and both decreased with the increase of the storage time. For the seeds which were new or stored for 1-2 months, the germination rates were enhanced significantly by exogenous GA3. For the seeds that had been stored for over three months, GA3 treatment had no effect on germination rate. Germination rate decreased with the increase of ABA concentrations. The most inhibitive effect, which leaded to a seed germination reduction by 37.7% and 4.0%, appeared, when the concentration of ABA was 500 mg/L and 1000 mg/l, respectively. GA3 could abate the effect which ABA inhibited seed germination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of chemical, plasma, and reactive ion etching (RIE) treatments on the adhesion of Cu and Cr/Cu to the multifunctional polymer were investigated. The adhesion was measured with the newly developed pull test. The polymer surfaces were characterized by the x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and surface free energy measurement. The failure modes were examined with the scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy. It was found that the adhesion of Cu and Cr/Cu to the highly functional photoresist was poor, regardless of the chemical, plasma, and reactive ion etching treatment with either O[sub 2] or CF[sub 4] used. However, the RIE pretreatment with the gas mixture (O[sub 2]+CF[sub 4]) of the photoresist surface increased the adhesion of sputtered Cr/Cu to the photoresist remarkably, and the failure mode was cohesive within the photoresist. Furthermore, the RIE pretreatment with pure oxygen gave rise to the needle-like surface together with virtually no introduced reactive functional groups, whereas the RIE with O[sub 2]-rich gas mixture of O[sub 2] + CF[sub 4] resulted in the relative smooth polymer surfaces and the newly formed C=O/O-C-O and O-C=O functionalities were incorporated on the treated surface with the increased polar surface free energy. The adhesion mechanism based on the experimental adhesion results and the surface characterizations of the polymer is proposed and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tectono-stratigraphic analysis of the Eocene PY4 Sag, Pearl River Mouth Basin, reveals that the evolution of normal faulting exerted an important control on the basin infill patterns. Seismic, well log and core data jointly indicate the Eocene Wenchang Formation can be subdivided into four thirdorder sequences that are related to early rift (WSQ1), rift climax (WSQ2-3) and late rift (WSQ4) stages. During the early rift stage, the PY4 Sag was defined by three, small-sized depocentres; it was related to low tectonic subsidence and likely overfilled by footwall-derived fan-delta deposits. The isolated depocentres coalesced and formed a larger and more uniform depocentre during the rift climax stage. Significantly increased tectonic subsidence during the rift climax WSQ2 sub-stage gave rise to prominent deep lake deposition including nearshore subaqueous fans, turbidite fan deposits and good source rocks. Two sediment infill patterns adjacent to boundary fault are developed during the rift climax WSQ3 sub-stage: (i) a more likely sediment balance-filled pattern controlled by the low-angled fault and (ii) a sediment under-filled pattern adjacent to the relatively high-angle boundary fault. The late rift stage was characterised by a waned displacement on the NE-striking fault but an increase in displacement on E-striking rift-related faults; this non-synchronous faulting has led to the sediment overfilled pattern observed in the South Sub-sag but a more sediment balance-fill on the South-western Slope. The variability in the basin infill patterns is suggested to have resulted from the different fault displacement patterns, which are closely linked to the boundary fault angles and possible stress field transitions during the basin evolution. This study may provide potential implications for basin infill evaluations in the Eocene Pearl River Mouth Basin and other similar rift systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combining stellar atmospheric parameters, such as effective temperature, surface gravity, and metallicity, with barycentric radial velocity data provides insight into the chemo-dynamics of the Milky Way and our local Galactic environment. We analyse 3075 stars with spectroscopic data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III MARVELS radial velocity survey and present atmospheric parameters for 2343 dwarf stars using the spectral indices method, a modified version of the equivalent width method. We present barycentric radial velocities for a sample of 2610 stars with a median uncertainty of 0.3 km s−1. We determine stellar ages using two independent methods and calculate ages for 2335 stars with a maximum-likelihood isochronal age-dating method and for 2194 stars with a Bayesian age-dating method. Using previously published parallax data, we compute Galactic orbits and space velocities for 2504 stars to explore stellar populations based on kinematic and age parameters. This study combines good ages and exquisite velocities to explore local chemo-kinematics of the Milky Way, which complements many of the recent studies of giant stars with the APOGEE survey, and we find our results to be in agreement with current chemo-dynamical models of the Milky Way. Particularly, we find from our metallicity distributions and velocity–age relations of a kinematically defined thin disc that the metal-rich end has stars of all ages, even after we clean the sample of highly eccentric stars, suggesting that radial migration plays a key role in the metallicity scatter of the thin disc. All stellar parameters and kinematic data derived in this work are catalogued and published online in machine-readable form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bacterial diversity and community structure involved in Chinese sauerkraut is one of the most important factors shaping the final characteristics of traditional foods. In this research, Lactobacillus casei 11MZ-5-1 was applied in Chinese sauerkraut fermentation as a starter culture. Illumina Miseq sequencing analysis was used to reveal the bacterial diversity and community structure during Chinese sauerkraut fermentation. A total of 177 283 high-quality reads of 16S rRNA V4 regions were obtained. The inoculation of L. casei 11MZ-5-1 decreased considerably the bacterial richness and bacterial diversity. This inoculum led to the replacement of Lactococcus by Lactobacillus. The levels of Pseudomonas and Enterobacter bacteria decreased. These findings reveal the evolution of important bacterial groups that are involved in fermentation and will facilitate improvements in the Chinese sauerkraut fermentation process. Significance and Impact of the Study This research thoroughly revealed the effects of Lactobacillus casei 11MZ-5-1 starter cultures on bacterial communities during Chinese sauerkraut fermentation. Illumina Miseq sequencing was effective technique to monitor the bacterial diversity and community structure. The inoculation of L. casei 11MZ-5-1 led to the decline of bacterial richness and diversity together with a consistent predominance of Lactobacillus during spontaneous fermentation. The result collectively suggested L. casei 11MZ-5-1 is a promising starter in Chinese sauerkraut manufacturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structural evolution and stratigraphic architecture of the Southern Lufeng Depression in the Pearl River Mouth Basin, South China Sea show two second-order sequences (SSQ1 and SSQ2) and nine third-order sequences (WSQ1-5 and ESQ1-4) within the Eocene rift-related successions. Based on integrated interpretations of seismic reflections, well logs and core data, five distinct tectono-stratigraphic patterns are identified: (1) the initial synrift-I sequence (WSQ1) of low tectonic subsidence, overfilled by alluvial fan or fan-delta deposits and volcanic deposits, with no clear systems tracts; (2) the climax synrift-I sequences (WSQ2–4) developed in response to rapid tectonic subsidence, generally consisting of a low-stand systems tract (LST), transgressive systems tract (TST) and high-stand systems tract (HST); (3) the late synrift-I sequence (WSQ5) characterised by a decreased tectonic subsidence rate, dominated by braided delta, deep and shallow lacustrine sediments, mainly constructed by TST and HST; (4) the early synrift-II sequences (ESQ1–2) rapidly filled by braided deltaic sandstone and mainly composed of TST and HST with less common LST units; and (5) the late synrift-II sequences (ESQ3–4), which are totally filled by braided deltaic system in a shallow-water lake setting, presenting typical imbricate clinoforms or sub-parallel seismic configurations, consisting of only TST and HST components. During the climax stage of synrift-I development, the depositional setting changed from a prominent shallow lake (WSQ2) to a deep-lucustrine with turbiditic deposits (WSQ3) and finally dominated by mostly braided deltaic-shallow lacustrine deposits (WSQ4); the HST occupies an increasing proportion from early to late. Furthermore, the stratigraphic patterns, especially LST units of the climax synrift-I stage, are significantly influenced by topographic variations and slope-break belt types in the hanging dip-slope. This study reveals that the spatial and temporal evolution of lacustrine depositional and stratigraphic patterns were significantly controlled by the interplay of tectonic subsidence and sediment supply, and provides a fundamental basis for predicting the favourable reservoirs and geometry of source rocks related to the general variability of Eocene rift-related tectonic subsidence in the Southern Lufeng Depression of the Pearl River Mouth Basin. Furthermore, the topographic responses of differential active fault-stepped patterns associated with magma intrusions, highlight the variability of relevant sequence architectures in the hanging dip-slope in lacustrine rift basins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transportation of newly hatched chicks from the hatchery to the farm is inevitable, especially for parent stock and grandsire parent stock chicks. However, the possible effects of transport stress in the newly hatched chicks are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to determine the adaptive responses to transport stress by activing the nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)-induced antioxidant defense. One hundred twenty newly hatched chicks were divided into 3 groups (control group, transport group, and simulation transport group) for 2, 4, and 8 h of real or simulated transportation. Transport stress could cause oxidative stress in the cerebrum of newly hatched chicks by increasing lipid peroxidation and production of free radicals and decreasing the activities of antioxidant enzymes and the glutathione:oxidized glutathione ratio. Transport stress activated the Nrf2 signaling pathway and triggered the transcription of antioxidant parameters. However, transport stress-induced cerebrum oxidative stress was not mitigated by activating the Nrf2 antioxidant defense response in newly hatched chicks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Tacrolimus is an immunosuppressive medication for organ transplantation. FOXP3 + T regulatory cells (Tregs) play roles in suppression of rejection and induction of graft tolerance. This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between the polymorphism of FOXP3 and the blood level of tacrolimus in renal transplant recipients. Methods This retrospective study included 100 renal transplant recipients receiving tacrolimus treatment and 100 healthy control subjects. Genotyping for FOXP3 rs3761547 AA, AG, GG, rs3761548 AA, AC, CC and rs223236 AA, AG, GG was performed. Concentrations of tacrolimus, creatinine, and urea nitrogen levels in blood were measured. Results Frequencies of genotypes of FOXP3 rs3761548 AA, AC, and CC, rs3761547 AA, AG, GG and rs 223236 AA, AG, GG in renal transplant recipients were similar to those in normal people. The blood level of tacrolimus in recipients with rs3761548 CC was significantly higher than that in recipients with rs3761548 AA and AC ( P < .001). No difference in the blood level of tacrolimus was found in recipients with different genotypes of rs3761547 and rs223236. Compared to rs3761548 AA and AC groups, there was no difference of Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) glomerular filtration rate and the level of blood urea nitrogen before transplantation; however, these 2 parameters were significantly improved after transplantation in the rs3761548 CC group. The level of tacrolimus was correlated positively with MDRD glomerular filtration rate and negatively with the blood urea nitrogen level in recipients with rs3761548 CC genotype after transplantation. Conclusions Our study identified a new relationship between FOXP3 rs3761548 and the blood level of tacrolimus. These results suggest that the polymorphism of FOXP3 may affect tacrolimus pharmacokinetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organs at risk (OARs) segmentation is an essential process in head and neck (H&N) cancer radiotherapy. We have reported high automated segmentation geometric accuracy of Stratified Learning and Neural Architecture Search method in terms of Dice Score (DSC) from our previous study. In this study, we would evaluate the dosimetric influence of our automated approach before integrating this method into the clinical workflow. To measure the dosimetric effects brought by the OARs' variance, the intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) dose plans of 10 head and neck cancer patients were replanned using the original tumor target volumes and three substitute OAR contours permutations (deep learning generated stratified organs at risk segmentation (SOARS), SOARS revised by physician (SOARS-revised), and OAR delineated from scratch by physician (human reader)). We further examined the clinical dosimetric accuracy and the clinical reference OAR contours were overlaid on top of each replanned dose grid to evaluate the dosimetric differences. After replanning, SOARS and SOARS-revised contours have slightly smaller Diff (max dose) as compared to human reader contours (3.4%, 3.5% vs. 4.1%). For the Diff (mean dose), human reader, SOARS, SOARS-revised achieves similar results, i.e., 5.3%, 5.0%, and 5.0%, respectively. However, more OARs from the human reader have dose variations larger than 10% or 20% as compared to SOARS and SOARS-revised. Overall, our results indicate that using OAR contours from human reader, SOARS, and SOARS-revised lead to generally comparable dose accuracy in clinical practice. SOAR-related OAR contours have fewer OARs with dose error larger than 10% or 20%. This study further validates the clinical applicability of a deep learning based automated H&N OAR segmentation method by comparing dosimetry of plans using OAR contours generated automatically and by a human reader to the gold standard contours. The dose variations calculated after planning on automated segmentation contours are less than 5%. Our proposed automated H&N OAR segmentation method not only achieves high geometric accuracy but also helps deliver treatment beams with little variances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supervised deep learning based automated delineating studies often rely on human experts for providing gold-standard contours and evaluating the contours delineated by deep learning models. Hence, the degree of intra-observer variation may affect the quality of deep learning-based delineating research. This study aims to evaluate the intra-observer variation in the contour reviewing process. We used 30 testing patients from an institution and enrolled a senior radiation oncologist who has initially delineated the contours of head and neck OARs of these patients as gold-standard. The testing treatment plan of each patient is composed of 13 head and neck OARs randomly selected organs from three sources: gold-standard, deep learning generated OAR contours and delineation by another radiation oncologist. The real contouring source for each OAR was kept unknown to this physician, and the physician had to decide if a particular OAR on each patient's treatment plan requires revision or not. The physician's decision on each OAR presented was then recorded and analyzed. 15% gold-standard contours required further editing, reflecting the intra-observer variation in deciding whether the revision of an OAR is needed. For deep learning generated contours, 43% requires revision, which is slightly higher than that in the earlier unblind assessment by this physician, where 37% deep learning generated contours required revision among the 13 OARs. However, since the number of deep learning generated contours requiring revision from two times study is close, it indicates that our intra-observer variation is within a small range. Moreover, compared with deep learning generated contours, a noticeable higher number of another human reader's contours requires revision (55% vs 43% of deep learning generated contours), reflecting that deep learning generated contours' quality is generally better than the human reader's in the blind assessment. This study has demonstrated that inherent intra-observer variation exists in a deep learning based automated delineating study. The observer disapproves 15% of own contouring in the blind reviewing experiment. Deep learning generated OAR contours remain comparable editing rate in the blind process and are of better quality than another human reader's manual contours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schistosomiasis caused by Schistosoma japonicum is a severe parasitic disease in The People's Republic of China and imposed considerable burden on human and domestic animal health and socioeconomic development. The significant achievement in schistosomiasis control has been made in last 60 years. Oncomelania hupensis as the only intermediate host of S. japonicum plays a key role in disease transmission. The habitat complexity of the snails challenges to effective control. In this review we share the experiences in control and research of O. hupensis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Upper extremity hemiplegia is a common consequence of unilateral cortical stroke. Understanding the role of the unaffected cerebral hemisphere in the motor recovery process has been encouraged, in part, by the presence of ipsilateral corticospinal projections (iCSP). We examined the neuroplastic response of the iCSP from the contralesional primary motor cortex (cM1) hand/arm area to spinal levels C5-T1 after spontaneous long-term recovery from isolated frontal lobe injury and isolated frontoparietal injury. High-resolution tract tracing, stereological, and behavioral methodologies were applied. Recovery from frontal motor injury resulted in enhanced numbers of terminal labeled boutons in the iCSP from cM1 compared with controls. Increases occurred in lamina VIII and the adjacent ventral sectors of lamina VII, which are involved in axial/proximal limb sensorimotor processing. Larger frontal lobe lesions were associated with greater numbers of terminal boutons than smaller frontal lobe lesions. In contrast, frontoparietal injury blocked this response; total bouton number was similar to controls, demonstrating that disruption of somatosensory input to one hemisphere has a suppressive effect on the iCSP from the nonlesioned hemisphere. However, compared with controls, elevated bouton numbers occurred in lamina VIII, at the expense of lamina VII bouton labeling. Lamina IX boutons were also elevated in two frontoparietal lesion cases with extensive cortical injury. Because laminae VIII and IX collectively harbor axial, proximal, and distal motoneurons, therapeutic intervention targeting the ipsilateral corticospinal linkage from cM1 may promote proximal, and possibly distal, upper-limb motor recovery following frontal and frontoparietal injury. J. Comp. Neurol. 524:380-407, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical studies have revealed that dust grains are usually moving fast through the turbulent interstellar gas, which could have significant effects upon interstellar chemistry by modifying grain accretion. This effect is investigated in this work on the basis of numerical gas-grain chemical modelling. Major features of the grain motion effect in the typical environment of dark clouds (DC) can be summarized as follows: (1) decrease of gas-phase (both neutral and ionic) abundances and increase of surface abundances by up to 2-3 orders of magnitude; (2) shifts of the existing chemical jumps to earlier evolution ages for gas-phase species and to later ages for surface species by factors of about 10; (3) a few exceptional cases in which some species turn out to be insensitive to this effect and some other species can show opposite behaviours too. These effects usually begin to emerge from a typical DC model age of about 105 yr. The grain motion in a typical cold neutral medium (CNM) can help overcome the Coulomb repulsive barrier to enable effective accretion of cations on to positively charged grains. As a result, the grain motion greatly enhances the abundances of some gas-phase and surface species by factors up to 2-6 or more orders of magnitude in the CNM model. The grain motion effect in a typical molecular cloud (MC) is intermediate between that of the DC and CNM models, but with weaker strength. The grain motion is found to be important to consider in chemical simulations of typical interstellar medium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a modified interdigital coupling structure by using quarter- and half-wave resonators alternately, and a narrowband bandpass filter operating at X-band has been designed proving the feasibility of the proposed structure. The weak coupling required for narrowband filter is realized by arranging five quarter- and half-wave resonators alternately. In this article, simulated and measured result for a narrowband filter with fifth-order Chebyshev response is proposed. The filter is fabricated on 0.508-mm-thick Rogers RO4350B (Chandler, AZ, USA) with dielectric constant 3.66 using standard photolithography technique. Configurations produce very small and compact filter size, at 28.30 × 10.63 mm2. The simulated frequency responses have demonstrated a good narrowband property from 9.84 to 10.25 GHz (3-dB bandwidth), which is a fractional bandwidth of 4.1% at the center frequency, 10 GHz. The measured passband insertion loss is less than 4.56 dB and the passband return loss is better than –14.68 dB. Very small and compact filter is achieved where measured results show good agreement with the simulated responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Concurrent damage to the lateral frontal and parietal cortex is common following middle cerebral artery infarction, leading to upper extremity paresis, paresthesia, and sensory loss. Motor recovery is often poor, and the mechanisms that support or impede this process are unclear. Since the medial wall of the cerebral hemisphere is commonly spared following stroke, we investigated the spontaneous long-term (6 and 12 month) effects of lateral frontoparietal injury (F2P2 lesion) on the terminal distribution of the corticospinal projection (CSP) from intact, ipsilesional supplementary motor cortex (M2) at spinal levels C5 to T1. Isolated injury to the frontoparietal arm/hand region resulted in a significant loss of contralateral corticospinal boutons from M2 compared with controls. Specifically, reductions occurred in the medial and lateral parts of lamina VII and the dorsal quadrants of lamina IX. There were no statistical differences in the ipsilateral CSP. Contrary to isolated lateral frontal motor injury (F2 lesion), which results in substantial increases in contralateral M2 labeling in laminae VII and IX (McNeal et al. [2010] J. Comp. Neurol. 518:586-621), the added effect of adjacent parietal cortex injury to the frontal motor lesion (F2P2 lesion) not only impedes a favorable compensatory neuroplastic response but results in a substantial loss of M2 CSP terminals. This dramatic reversal of the CSP response suggests a critical trophic role for cortical somatosensory influence on spared ipsilesional frontal corticospinal projections, and that restoration of a favorable compensatory response will require therapeutic intervention. J. Comp. Neurol. 523:669-697, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT A hybrid frequency-time domain method for predicting multiaxial fatigue life under random loading is developed on the basis of combination of the frequency domain and time domain analysis. The critical damage point of the structure is determined by the frequency domain equivalent stress method. Then, the fatigue life prediction is made in time domain by generating random load-time histories from the power spectral density of the critical point. The method is validated with the random vibration fatigue test of 7075-T6 aluminium alloy. It has been shown that the results of fatigue life calculated by hybrid method are well correlated with the experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to investigate the physical and chemical properties of massive star-forming cores in the early stages, we analyse the excitation and abundance of four organic species, CH3OH, CH3OCH3, HCOOCH3 and CH3CH2CN, towards 29 extended green object (EGO) cloud cores that were observed by our previous single-dish spectral line survey. The EGO cloud cores are found to have similar methanol J3-J2 rotation temperatures of ~44 K, a typical linear size of ~0.036 pc and a typical beam-averaged methanol abundance of several 10-9 (the beam-corrected value could reach several 10-7). The abundances of the latter three species, normalized by that of methanol, are also found to be correlated across a large variety of clouds such as EGO cloud cores, hot corinos, massive hot cores and Galactic Centre clouds. The chemical properties of the EGO cloud cores lie between those of hot cores and hot corinos. However, the abundances and abundance ratios of the four species cannot be explained satisfactorily by recent chemical models, either among EGO cloud cores or among the various types of cloud core from literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have performed detailed ac susceptibility measurements to investigate the vortex dynamics in a Ca10(Pt3As8)[(Fe1-xPtx)2As2]5 single crystal as a function of temperature, frequency, ac amplitude, and dc field. The field dependence of the activation energy U is derived in the framework of thermally activated flux creep theory, yielding a power law dependence of U ~ Hɑ with ɑ ≈ -1.0 for H above 0.30 T, while below 0.3 T U is independent of the field. The activation energy reaches 104K at low fields, suggesting strong pinning in the material. The nonlinear function of the activation energy vs. the current density is determined, which shows logarithmic dependence U(J) ∞ lnJ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four surfactant-type octamolybdates were synthesized, characterized, and then used as effective catalysts associated with H2O2as oxidant in the acidic ionic liquid, which has been found suitable for deep removal of organic sulfur in fuels. Under the favorable conditions, the sulfur removal could reach almost 100%, which was much better than desulfurization performance by the simple extraction with acidic ionic liquid. Moreover, this acidic ionic liquid can be recycled six times by distillation without obviously decrease in activity. Meanwhile, the mechanism of oxidation desulfurization was also elaborated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The catalytic oxidation desulfurization system is composed of Na2WO4.2H2O, H2O2, acidic ionic liquid, and phase transfer catalyst has been found suitable for deep removal of organic sulfur in fuels. Under the optimal conditions, the desulfurization efficiency is virtually 100%. Moreover, this acidic ionic liquid can be recycled five times without obviously decrease in activity. Meanwhile, the mechanism of oxidation desulfurization was also elaborated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the temperature dependence of the lower critical field Hc1(T) of a high-quality FeSe single crystal under static magnetic fields H parallel to the c axis. The temperature dependence of the first vortex penetration field has been experimentally obtained by two independent methods and the corresponding Hc1(T) was deduced by taking into account demagnetization factors. A pronounced change in the Hc1(T) curvature is observed, which is attributed to anisotopic s-wave or multiband superconductivity. The London penetration depth λab(T) calculated from the lower critical field does not follow an exponential behavior at low temperatures, as it would be expected for a fully gapped clean s-wave superconductor. Using either a two-band model with s-wave-like gaps of magnitudes Δ1=0.41±0.1 meV and Δ2=3.33±0.25 meV or a single anisotropic s-wave order parameter, the temperature dependence of the lower critical field Hc1(T) can be well described. These observations clearly show that the superconducting energy gap in FeSe is nodeless. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have used the ac magnetic susceptibility to investigate the vortex state in an optimally doped p-type Ba0.5K0.5Fe2As2 single crystal under various ac and dc fields. A peak effect is observed in the temperature dependence of the in-phase ac susceptibility, indicating an order-disorder transition on the vortex phase diagram. The peak effect displays an anomalous history effect compared with other type-II superconductors, which we ascribe to the strong pinning existing in the material. We observe the development of a small dissipation peak at the temperature Tp2 slightly below the peak effect region. Similar to the peak effect boundary, Tp2 delimits a region in the H-T phase diagram which is independent on the ac field amplitude. We argue that this small peak may arise from the softening of the vortex lattice, leading to a collective pinning of the whole vortex lattice. This effect assists and further enhances the peak effect occurring in the Ba0.5K0.5Fe2As2 superconductor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intermediate state of a type-I superconductor Pb film is studied by a scanning Hall probe and scanning ac-susceptibility microscopies under static and oscillating applied magnetic fields. The structure of the typical flux patterns during magnetic field penetration/expulsion shows a strong hysteresis. Under the action of an ac field, the multiply quantized flux tubes in a type-I superconductor reveal a dynamical reordering similar to what is observed in the Campbell regime for vortices in a type-II superconductor. Most strikingly, after shaking, higher density flux tube patterns demonstrate a reorganization from a superheated metastable tubular pattern to a stable stripe pattern. We provide direct experimental evidence that the flux reorganization behavior is a dynamical transition. The local distribution of the potentials providing pinning to intermediate state patterns is mapped out, which is, as far as we know, the first direct visualization of confinement of intermediate state domains by pinning centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Ex vivo expansion of CD34+ cells has become critically important in order to obtain sufficient haematopoietic stem cells for clinical application. Among major regulators involved in ex vivo expansion, telomerase activity and apoptosis have been revealed to be closely linked to cell cycle progression. However, all exact roles remain to be elucidated. Here, change in telomerase activity and level of apoptosis in cord blood ( CB) CD34+ cells were evaluated together with specific cell population growth rate during ex vivo culture. Materials and methods CD34+ cells isolated from human CB were expanded ex vivo over a 28-day period. Besides monitoring cell proliferation kinetics of the CD34+ cells, changes in telomerase activity and apoptotic levels were investigated. Several relevant genes were quantified by qRT-PCR during the culture period. Results Significant elevation of telomerase activity had close relationship to activation of CB CD34+ cell expansion. Peak apoptotic level was accompanied by a remarkable decline in cell-specific growth rate, and apoptotic level of differentiated CD34- population was significantly higher than that of the CD34+ population. Conclusion Although telomerase activity was activated during the culture, expansion of CB CD34+ cells seemed to be more susceptible to apoptotic suppression when cultured ex vivo, which implied that apoptosis may serve as a rate-limiting factor involved in controlling expansion efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An iterative interference alignment (IA) algorithm for the multi-user multi-input multi-output interference channel is proposed, which optimises on the Grassmann manifold to improve the performance of conventional interference subspace (ISS) alignment algorithm without the assumption of channel reciprocity. The proposed algorithm combines the extreme eigenvalues method and the modified steepest descent method on the Grassmann manifold to minimise the distances not only between the ISS and the subspace spanned by interference, but also between the desired signal subspace and the subspace spanned by useful signal. Utilising the subspace optimisation above, both the interference and useful signal are aligned to their respective subspaces. Numerical results show that the proposed algorithm can significantly improve the sum rate of interference channel. Moreover, by properly choosing the attenuation factor of step size, the proposed algorithm can achieve an effective tradeoff between sum rate performance and convergence speed, which gives the IA scheme more design flexibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We report a detailed study of in-plane lower critical field Hc 1(T) and penetration depth λab (T) of the Lu2Fe3Si5 superconductor. Two pronounced changes of the Hc 1 curvature are observed on the Hc 1(T) curve around 0.4Tc and 0.65Tc , respectively, which are attributed to the two-band nature of superconductivity in Lu2Fe3Si5. The penetration depth of λab (T) follows a power law (∼Tn ) below 0.4Tc , with n =2.5 close to the values reported for the FeAs-pnictides, suggesting possible s±-wave pairing in Lu2Fe3Si5. Temperature dependence of Hc 1 can be well fitted by the two-gap BCS model in the full temperature region using two superconducting gaps Δ 1 =0.19±0.1meV and Δ 2 =1.02±0.1meV. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The authors selected 28 representative cores from Changqing low-permeability oilfield to conduct core displacement experiment using simulated oil and formation water, and analyzed the data with a dimensionless analysis method. The results shows that non-Darcy flow does exist in low-permeability reservoirs, and it depends not only on the level of permeability, but also on the combined effect of displacing fluid, porous media, and external force. The rules and judgment criteria of fluid flow in low-permeability reservoirs were proposed, which can provide theoretical basis for well-testing interpretation and productivity evaluation in low-permeability reservoirs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Ex vivo expansion is a feasible strategy, which may overcome limitation of the very low frequency of haematopoietic stem/progenitor cells, in umbilical cord blood (UCB). However, both quality of cells and safety of expanded population are critical issues to be addressed for their clinical application. Hence, in this study, we evaluated genetic stability of UCB-derived CD34+ cells during ex vivo culture, based on karyotype analysis, as well as its effect on cell proliferation characteristics. Materials and methods: CD34+ cells were isolated from human UCB samples by immunomagnetic separation and were expanded ex vivo over a 28-day period. Expansion of total nucleate cells, CD34+ cells and CD34+ CD38− cells was investigated. Karyotype analysis of the expanded cells from six randomly selected UCB samples was performed to evaluate their genetic stability. Results: Chromosomal abnormality of expanded cells mainly appeared by day 14, but was seldom sustained until day 28. None of the chromosomal abnormal samples displayed neoplastic proliferation, and expanded cells with altered chromosomes did not show obvious transformation phenomena according to soft agar assay. Conclusions: Ex vivo expansion could lead to occurrence of chromosomal abnormality, although here it did not produce excessive proliferative advantage of the expended cells. Importantly, chromosomal alteration seemed not to be inheritable and unlikely to result in malignant transformation. However, further in-depth evaluation of potential clinical risks of chromosomal abnormality is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Empagliflozin improves cardiovascular outcomes in patients with heart failure, patients with type 2 diabetes who are at high cardiovascular risk, and patients with chronic kidney disease. The safety and efficacy of empagliflozin in patients who have had acute myocardial infarction are unknown. METHODS In this event-driven, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, we assigned, in a 1:1 ratio, patients who had been hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction and were at risk for heart failure to receive empagliflozin at a dose of 10 mg daily or placebo in addition to standard care within 14 days after admission. The primary end point was a composite of hospitalization for heart failure or death from any cause as assessed in a time-to-first-event analysis. RESULTS A total of 3260 patients were assigned to receive empagliflozin and 3262 to receive placebo. During a median follow-up of 17.9 months, a first hospitalization for heart failure or death from any cause occurred in 267 patients (8.2%) in the empagliflozin group and in 298 patients (9.1%) in the placebo group, with incidence rates of 5.9 and 6.6 events, respectively, per 100 patient-years (hazard ratio, 0.90; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.76 to 1.06; P=0.21). With respect to the individual components of the primary end point, a first hospitalization for heart failure occurred in 118 patients (3.6%) in the empagliflozin group and in 153 patients (4.7%) in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.60 to 0.98), and death from any cause occurred in 169 (5.2%) and 178 (5.5%), respectively (hazard ratio, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.78 to 1.19). Adverse events were consistent with the known safety profile of empagliflozin and were similar in the two trial groups. CONCLUSIONS Among patients at increased risk for heart failure after acute myocardial infarction, treatment with empagliflozin did not lead to a significantly lower risk of a first hospitalization for heart failure or death from any cause than placebo. (Funded by Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly; EMPACT-MI ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04509674.) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses the problem of time and frequency offset estimation in the case of the delays, and the frequency offsets of all the transmitter/receiver pairs are different for distributed multiple-input multiple-output orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MIMO–OFDM) systems. A new training structure is designed and an efficient time and frequency offset estimator is proposed. With the symmetric conjugate property of the preamble, the timing metric proposed has an impulse shape, making the time offset estimation accurate. Using the repetition property of the preamble, iterative frequency offset estimation algorithm proposed can acquire a high precision and a wide estimation range. To distinguish different transmit antennas, the preamble is weighted by pseudo-noise (PN) sequences with low cross-correlations. The analysis and the simulation results show that the proposed estimator offers an accurate estimation on the different time delays and frequency offsets caused by the distributed transmitters of the MIMO–OFDM system. This is a situation that the conventional estimators cannot handle as far. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Thalidomide has been shown to have anti-angiogenic effects in pre-clinical models as well as a significant antitumor effect in hematologic tumors. However, the effects of thalidomide on oral pre-malignant lesions and oral carcinogenesis remain unexplored. The authors aimed to investigate the chemopreventive effect of thalidomide on 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-induced oral carcinogenesis in hamsters with respect to angiogenesis. Methods: Seventy male Syrian golden hamsters were randomly divided into five groups, with two of 20 and three of 10. DMBA solution (0.5% in acetone) was applied topically to the left cheek pouch of male Syrian golden hamsters in group A and B, while animals in group C were painted with acetone, three times a week for 6 weeks. For the next 18 weeks, animals in group B and D received thalidomide daily (40 mg/kg body weight/day) by gavage, animals in group A and C received same volume of saline. Animals in group E received no treatment and served as blank control. At the end of the experiment, animals were killed and tissue samples were collected for examinations. Results: Thalidomide significantly decreased the squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) incidence from 57.9 to 11.8%; angiogenesis was inhibited in dysplasia and SCC. The gene expression of vascular endothelium growth factor and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α was downregulated. Conclusions: Thalidomide has inhibitory effect against the malignant transformation of oral pre-cancerous lesion and angiogenesis during oral carcinogenesis. Such inhibition is related to its modulation of TNF-α. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was designed to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of Triterpenoic Acids from Eriobotrya japonica (Thunb.) Lindl. (TAL) on chronic bronchitis (CB) in rats. CB model was established by combination of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG, 5 mg/kg, injected through the caudal vein) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 1 g/L, injected through endotracheal intubation). Rats with CB model were treated with TAL (50, 150 and 450 mg/kg) for 3 weeks. The leukocytes in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were counted after Wright staining, the levels of cytokine tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin (IL)-8, and IL-10 in the supernatants of lung homogenate were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the protein expression of nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) on bronchial epithelium were tested by immunohistochemical staining. As compared to the normal and sham groups, the total number of leukocyte, the differential counts of neutrophils and alveolar macrophage (AM) in BALF, the levels of TNF-alpha and IL-8 in the supernatants of lung homogenate, and the expression of NF-kappaB and ICAM-1 on bronchial epithelium in CB rats were significantly increased, while the level of IL-10 was decreased. TAL (50, 150 and 450 mg/kg) attenuated these alterations in model CB rats, which indicates that TAL has anti-inflammatory effect in the rats with CB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AIMS: To analyse the clinicopathological characteristics of the expression of cadherin-17 (CDH17) and caudal-related homeobox transcription factor (CDX2) in human gastric carcinoma, and to evaluate the clinical significance of these two markers in the histological classification and prognosis of gastric carcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: CDH17, CDX2 protein expression in paraffin-embedded specimens gathered from 166 patients with gastric carcinoma were detected by immunohistochemistry. The association of CDH17, CDX2 protein expression with the clinicopathological characteristics, and with the prognosis of gastric carcinoma were subsequently assessed. RESULTS: CDH17, nucleus and cytoplasm CDX2 expression were positively expressed in 101/166 (60.8%), 59/166 (35.5%) and 57/166 (34.3%) gastric carcinoma patients, respectively. The expression of both CDH17 and CDX2 is associated with the intestinal-type gastric carcinoma (P<0.01). Positive expression of CDH17 was significantly associated with the depth of gastric wall invasion (P=0.04), lymph node metastasis (P<0.01) and stages of gastric carcinoma (P=0.01). Positive expression of CDX2 in the nucleus was mainly found in male patients (P=0.02), in early stage (P=0.01) and medullary-type gastric carcinoma (P=0.02). There was a negative association between nuclear CDX2 expression and lymph node metastasis of gastric carcinoma (P<0.01). The combined expression of CDH17 and CDX2 was significantly lower in diffuse-type carcinoma than intestinal- or mixed-type carcinoma (P<0.01 and P=0.01, respectively). The patients with CDH17 expression associated with poor prognosis of gastric carcinoma (P<0.01), as opposed to patients with CDX2 expression (P<0.01). The survival rate of patients with CDH17+/CDX2- expression was the lowest (P<0.01), and conjoined expressions of CDH17+/CDX2- and CDH17+/CDX2+ were independent prognostic indicators of gastric carcinoma (both P<0.01). CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the expression of CDH17 or CDX2 may be an important feature of gastric carcinoma. A combined detection of CDH17/CDX2 co-expression may benefit us in predicting the prognosis of gastric carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The primate facial nucleus is a prominent brainstem structure that is composed of cell bodies giving rise to axons forming the facial nerve. It is musculotopically organized, but we know little about the morphological features of its motor neurons. Using the Lucifer Yellow intracellular filling method, we examined 11 morphological parameters of motor neurons innervating the monkey orbicularis oculi (OO) muscle, which plays an important role in eyelid closure and voluntary and emotional facial expressions. All somata were multipolar and remained confined to the intermediate subnucleus, as did the majority of its aspiny dendritic branches. We found a mean maximal cell diameter of 54 μm in the transverse dimension, cell diameter of 60 μm in the rostrocaudal dimension, somal surface area of 17,500 μm2 and somal volume of 55,643 μm3. Eight neurons were used in the analysis of dendritic parameters based upon complete filling of the distal segments of the dendritic tree. We found a mean number of 16 dendritic segments, an average dendritic length of 1036 μm, diameter of 7 μm, surface area of 12,757 μm2 and total volume of 16,923 μm3. Quantitative analysis of the dendritic branch segments demonstrated that the average number, diameter and volume gradually diminished from proximal to distal segments. A Sholl analysis revealed that the highest number of dendritic intersections occurred 60 μm distal to the somal center with a gradual reduction of intersections occurring distally. These observations advance our understanding of the morphological organization of the primate facial nucleus and provide structural features for comparative studies, interpreting afferent influence on OO function and for designing studies pinpointing structural alterations in OO motor neurons that may accompany disorders affecting facial movement. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A novel low-complexity scheme of Turbo Trellis-coded modulation (TCM) iterative equalisation and decoding is presented, which serially concatenates a soft-input–soft-output equaliser and symbol-by-symbol Turbo TCM (TTCM) decoder through an iterative process in order to realise iterative equalisation and decoding process. This scheme can not only improve the bandwidth efficiency, but also reduce the intersymbol interference. The equaliser with maximum a posteriori is replaced with linear one based on minimum mean-square error at the receiver so that the complexity of the system can be reduced greatly. Computer simulation results show that the novel low-complexity receiver on fading channels can achieve comparable performance with TTCM on Gaussian channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To study whether emergent intracoronary autologous bone marrow cell transplantation (BMT) is applicable for the treatment of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). METHODS: 20 patients admitted within 24 h after the onset of a first AMI were randomly allocated to receive intracoronary autologous BMT (n = 10) or bone marrow supernatant (controls, n = 10) immediately after primary percutaneous coronary intervention. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular end diastolic internal diameter (LVDd) and myocardial perfusion defect scores were examined respectively by echocardiography and single-photon emission computed tomography at one week and six months after AMI. RESULTS: From one week to six months after AMI, LVEF was enhanced from mean 53.8 (SD 9.2)% to 58.6 (9.9)% (p < 0.05) in the BMT group but was unchanged in the control group (58.2 (7.5)% v 56.3 (3.5)%, p > 0.05); LVDd remained unchanged (52.5 (2.8) v 52.1 (3.2) mm, p > 0.05) in the BMT group but was significantly enlarged in the control group (50.4 (6.0) v 55.2 (7.1) mm, p < 0.05). Additionally, myocardial perfusion defect scores decreased from 21 (11) to 13 (10) (p < 0.01) in the BMT group but were unchanged in the control group (20 (14) v 17 (15), p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Emergent intracoronary transplantation of bone marrow mononuclear cells after AMI is practicable, and it improved cardiac function, prevented myocardial remodelling and increased myocardial perfusion at six months' follow up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To study whether emergent intracoronary autologous bone marrow cell transplantation (BMT) is applicable for the treatment of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Methods: 20 patients admitted within 24 h after the onset of a first AMI were randomly allocated to receive intracoronary autologous BMT (n = 10) or bone marrow supernatant (controls, n = 10) immediately alter primary percutaneous coronary intervention. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular end diastolic internal diameter (LVDd) and myocardial perfusion defect scores were examined respectively by echocardiography and single-photon emission computed tomography at one week and six months after AMI. Results: From one week to six months after AMI, LVEF was enhanced from mean 53.8 (SD 9.2)% to 58.6 (9.9)% (p <0.05) in the BMT group but was unchanged in the control group (58.2 (7.5)% v56.3 (3.5)%, p > 0.05); LVDd remained unchanged (52.5 (2.8) v 52.1(3.2) mm, p > 0.05) in the BMT group but was significantly enlarged in the control group (50.4 (6.0) v 55.2 (7.1) mm, p < 0.05). Additionally, myocardial perfusion defect scores decreased from 21(11) to 13 (10) (p < 0.01) in the BMT group but were unchanged in the control group (20 (14) v 17(15), p > 0.05). Conclusion: Emergent intracoronary transplantation of bone marrow mononuclear cells after AMI is practicable, and it improved cardiac function, prevented myocardial remodelling and increased myocardial perfusion at six months' follow up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effect of doping with alloying element Zr on the structure, the electrical resistivity and the strength of deformation-processed Cu-Fe in-situ composites were studied respectively by scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electronic microscope (TEM), material test system (MTS) and resistance measuring apparatus. The experimental results show that the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and the conductivity of Cu-11.5% Fe-Zr wire cold drawn to the drawing strain η = 7.57 with intermediate heat treatments were observed to be 824 MPa and 61.4% IACS respectively, and those of Cu-11.5% Fe were 752 MPa and 64.6% IACS. Doping Zr can improve the thermal stability of Cu-Fe composites. The strength of Cu-Fe-Zr wire does not drop more rapidly at higher annealing temperatures (above 300°C) than that of Cu-Fe wire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Atomic force microscopy (AFM) combined with nanoindentation technique was used to definitely, site-specifically, test the nanomechanical properties, including nanohardness and elastic modulus, of the isolated domains within single enamel, the prisms and the surrounding sheaths, of mature human maxillary third molars. In this way, it is for the first time that evident differences of nanomechanical properties were revealed between these domains. The nanohardness and elastic modulus of the sheaths were about 73.6% and 52.7% lower than those of the prisms, respectively. Measuring the residual impressions with AFM supported the similar conclusion. The variations of mechanical properties in these domains are considered to be mainly relative to their different component and fibrils arrangement. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We investigate Cr filaments in heavily drawn Cu–10 wt.%Cr–3 wt.%Ag in situ composite wires as a function of temperature and time. The filaments undergo a capillarity-driven shape change from a bamboo morphology with grain boundary grooves to complete spherodization. We interpret the results in terms of analytical models. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]