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Background Immune indicators are routinely used for the detection of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), but these are not utilized as a reference indicator to assess prognosis in MDS-related prognostic evaluation systems, such as the World Health Organizational prognostic scoring system, the international prostate symptom score, and the revised international prostate symptom score. Methods We examined immune indicators, including cluster of differentiation (CD)3, CD4, CD8, CD56, CD19, interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, tumor necrosis factor-a, and interferon-γ in 155 newly diagnosed MDS patients. We also conducted a correlation analysis with clinical indices. Results IL-4 was found to be a predictor of survival in these 155 patients using the receiver operating characteristic curve, with 5.155 as the cut-off point. Patients with serum IL-4 levels ≥ 5.155 had a lower overall survival (OS) than those with IL-45.155 at diagnosis. Furthermore, multivariate analysis revealed that IL-4 levels > 5.155 were an independent predictor of OS (hazard ratio: 0.237; 95% confidence interval, 0.114–0.779; P = 0.013). In addition, serum IL-4 expression in the three different scoring systems showed significant differences in the survival of medium- to high-risk MDS patients (P = 0.014, P P Conclusions According to our study, IL-4 levels at the time of diagnosis can predict MDS prognosis in patients as a simple index reflecting host systemic immunity.

Cytokinesis, as the final step of cell division, plays an important role in fungal growth and proliferation. In the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans, defective cytokinesis is able to induce abnormal multinuclear or nonnucleated cells and then result in reduced hyphal growth and abolished sporulation. Previous studies have reported that a conserved contractile actin ring (CAR) protein complex and the septation initiation network (SIN) signaling kinase cascade are required for cytokinesis and septation; however, little is known about the role(s) of scaffold proteins involved in these two important cellular processes. In this study, we show that a septum-localized scaffold protein paxillin B (PaxB) is essential for cytokinesis/septation in A. nidulans. The septation defects observed in a paxB deletion strain resemble those caused by the absence of another identified scaffold protein, α-actinin (AcnA). Deletion of α-actinin (AcnA) leads to undetectable PaxB at the septation site, whereas deletion of paxB does not affect the localization of α-actinin at septa. However, deletion of either α-actinin (acnA) or paxB causes the actin ring to disappear at septation sites during cytokinesis. Notably, overexpression of α-actinin acnA partially rescues the septum defects of the paxB mutant but not vice versa, suggesting AcnA may play a dominant role over that of PaxB for cytokinesis and septation. In addition, PaxB and α-actinin affect the septal dynamic localization of MobA, a conserved component of the SIN pathway, suggesting they may affect the SIN protein complex function at septa. Protein pull-down assays combined with liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry identification indicate that α-actinin AcnA and PaxB likely do not directly interact, but presumably belong to an actin cytoskeleton protein network that is required for the assembly and contraction of the CAR. Taken together, findings in this study provide novel insights into the roles of conserved scaffold proteins during fungal septation in A. nidulans.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the effect of dexmedetomidine on perioperative stress response and immune function in patients with tumors. Methods: Sixty patients who underwent selective radical gastrectomy for cancer were randomly divided into 3 groups: remifentanil group (group R), dexmedetomidine group (group D), and sufentanil group (group S). Remifentanil, dexmedetomidine, and sufentanil were used as general anesthetics. Endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation were performed after the spontaneous respiration disappeared. Then, the data were recorded, and blood samples were collected at all time points. Results: The heart rate significantly increased ( P < 0.05) at T1 in group S, and both heart rate and mean arterial pressure significantly increased ( P < 0.05) in group R when compared to group D. The heart rate significantly increased ( P < 0.05) at T2 in group S and group R. Furthermore, the heart rate significantly increased ( P < 0.05) at T3 and T4 in group S and group R. Intra-group comparison: The heart rate at T1–T4 and mean arterial pressure at T1–T4 significantly increased ( P < 0.05) in group S, and the heart rate at T1 and T4, and mean arterial pressure at T2–T4 significantly increased ( P < 0.05) in group R when compared to T0. The serum IL-6, IFN-γ, and β-EP significantly increased ( P < 0.05) at T0’ in group S and group R when compared to group D. Blood glucose, and serum IL-10, IFN-γ, and β-EP significantly increased ( P < 0.05), while IL-18 significantly decreased ( P < 0.05) at T1’ in group S and group R. Conclusion: Continuous infusion of dexmedetomidine in combination with the inhalation of sevoflurane is superior to sevoflurane + remifentanil or sufentanil in patients undergoing tumor surgery.

A genome-wide association study identified GAB2 rs2373115 to be associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk in European population. However, inconsistent results are reported in East Asian population. Here, we performed an updated analysis using 65,704 samples including 20,982 AD cases and 44,722 controls. First, we investigated the GAB2 rs2373115 variant in Asian population using 3974 AD cases and 7568 controls. To further evaluate the effect of rs2373115 in different populations, we selected 17,008 AD cases and 37,154 controls in European population. We used three genetic models, and found no significant heterogeneity in Asian population. A fixed effect model analysis showed no significant association between rs2373115 and AD in Asian population. There was no significant heterogeneity in the pooled East Asian and European populations. The fixed effect model analysis again showed no significant association between rs2373115 and AD in these pooled populations. Taken together, these findings suggest that GAB2 rs2373115 may contribute to AD susceptibility only in European population but not in East Asian population.

Data mining is carried out by using the borrowing records of readers in the existing library information system. The classification numbers and titles of books borrowed by readers are calculated by TF-IDF algorithm to represent the personalized features of readers. The titles of push books are segmented into bibliographic features by the function of word segmentation. According to the corresponding algorithm, the characteristics of readers and bibliographic features are screened and judged, and the selected books are personalized for readers. The experimental results show that the bibliographic push service model of university library based on data mining has a good application effect.

Firefly algorithm (FA) is a global optimization algorithm with simple, less parameter and faster convergence speed. However, the FA is easy to fall into local optimum, and the solution accuracy of the FA is lower. In order to overcome these problems. An improved Firefly algorithm hybrid with Fireworks (FWFA) is proposed in this paper. Because the local search ability of the fireworks algorithm’s search strategy is strong, we introduce the fireworks algorithm neighborhood search operator of the fireworks algorithm into the firefly algorithm to improve the local search ability of the Firefly algorithm. Through the simulation and analysis of 28 benchmark functions, verify the effectiveness and reliability of the new algorithm. The experimental results show that the new algorithm has excellent search ability in solving unimodal functions and multimodal functions.

Approximate backbone subsection optimization algorithm is proposed to solve the traveling salesman problem, for the precision accuracy of the basic ant colony algorithm for solving the larger traveling salesman problem is low. First, traveling salesman problem approximate backbone is obtained by the ant colony algorithm, and then the original traveling salesman problem is sectioned based on the approximate backbone. Then the ant colony optimization algorithm is applied to solve the subsections to improve the precision accuracy of the global optimal solution. The experimental results show that the algorithm is more precision accuracy than the basic ant colony algorithms in the solution of the typical traveling salesman problem.

X gas field shows a large scale of proven unexploited reserves, however, most of them are characterized by low gas well production, rapid pressure decline, small well control reserves and poor economic benefits. How to economically and orderly develop and utilize these reserves is a difficult problem. By establishing an evaluation system for the existing developed blocks of X gas field, applying the method of multiple regression, establishing a comprehensive evaluation and scoring formula for development effect, taking the proven index data of the development block into the formula for calculating, the comprehensive evaluation score of development and utilization of un exploited reserves blocks, queuing the blocks with productivity and reserves in the new area.This method will provide technical reference for the next development and utilization of X gas field.

In the era of big data, knowledge storage and access are growing rapidly. As centers of network information in universities, libraries are important supports for teaching and researching. Combined actual situation of university libraries with information security issues, the paper puts forward three main methods to ensure. They are reliable technologies, advanced equipment and effective managements. Teachers and students will be taught how to using and not being deceived by false information as well.

It is one of the basic and essential ability of university students to use computers and Internet to solve the problems of learning, living and working. University students are becoming the main victims of all kinds of security incidents due to the long time online, the large absolute number of Internet users, less social experience and the weak information security awareness. Some of them lose their money and some even lose their lives. University students should be taught the knowledge of information security so that they can deal with the increasingly serious forms of security to protect individual, social and national security. This paper discusses practical experience and exploration in the process of education from educational targets, forms of education, educational contents and assessment methods in information security.

The two-regime method (TRM) has been recently developed for optimizing stochastic reaction-diffusion simulations. It is a multiscale (hybrid) algorithm which uses stochastic reaction-diffusion models with different levels of detail in different parts of the computational domain. The coupling condition on the interface between different modelling regimes of the TRM was previously derived for one-dimensional models. In this paper, the TRM is generalized to higher dimensional reaction-diffusion systems. Coupling Brownian dynamics models with compartment-based models on regular (square) two-dimensional lattices is studied in detail. In this case, the interface between different modelling regimes contain either flat parts or right-angled corners. Both cases are studied in the paper. For flat interfaces, it is shown that the one-dimensional theory can be used along the line perpendicular to the TRM interface. In the direction tangential to the interface, two choices of the TRM parameters are presented. Their applicability depends on the compartment size and the time step used in the molecular-based regime. The two-dimensional generalization of the TRM is also discussed in the case of corners.

Morphogen gradients induce sharply defined domains of gene expression in a concentration-dependent manner, yet how cells interpret these signals in the face of spatial and temporal noise remains unclear. Using fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) and phasor analysis to measure endogenous retinoic acid (RA) directly in vivo, we have investigated the amplitude of noise in RA signaling, and how modulation of this noise affects patterning of hindbrain segments (rhombomeres) in the zebrafish embryo. We demonstrate that RA forms a noisy gradient during critical stages of hindbrain patterning and that cells use distinct intracellular binding proteins to attenuate noise in RA levels. Increasing noise disrupts sharpening of rhombomere boundaries and proper patterning of the hindbrain. These findings reveal novel cellular mechanisms of noise regulation, which are likely to play important roles in other aspects of physiology and disease. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.14034.001, eLife digest Animal cells need to be able to communicate with each other so that they can work together in tissues and organs. To do so, cells release signaling molecules that can move around within a tissue and be detected by receptors on other cells. We tend to assume that the signaling molecules are evenly distributed across a tissue and affect all the receiving cells in the same way. However, random variations (noise) that affect how many of these molecules are produced, how they move through the space between cells and how they bind to receptors makes the reality much more complex. Cells responding to the signal somehow can ignore this noise and establish sharp boundaries between different cell types so that neighboring cells have distinct roles in the tissue. Few studies have attempted to measure such noise or address how cells manage to respond to noisy signals in a consistent manner. Retinoic acid is a signaling molecule that plays an important role in the development of the brain in animal embryos. It forms a gradient along the body of the embryo from the head end to the tail end, but it has proved difficult to measure this gradient directly. Sosnik et al. exploited the fact that this molecule is weakly fluorescent and used microscopy to directly detect it in zebrafish embryos. The experiments show that retinoic acid forms a gradient in the embryos, with high levels at the tail end and lower levels at the head end. Sosnik et al. also found that there is a large amount of noise in the retinoic acid gradient. Two cells in the same position can have very different retinoic acid levels, and the levels in a particular cell can vary from one minute to the next. The experiments also show that proteins that interact with retinoic acid help to reduce noise within a cell. This noise reduction is important for sharpening the boundaries between different brain regions in the embryo to allow the brain to develop normally. A future challenge will be to see if similar retinoic acid gradients and noise control occur in other tissues, and if the noise has any positive role to play in development. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.14034.002

How to choose the computational compartment or cell size for the stochastic simulation of a reaction-diffusion system is still an open problem, and a number of criteria have been suggested. A generalized measure of the noise for finite-dimensional systems based on the largest eigenvalue of the covariance matrix of the number of molecules of all species has been suggested as a measure of the overall fluctuations in a multivariate system, and we apply it here to a discretized reaction-diffusion system. We show that for a broad class of first-order reaction networks this measure converges to the square root of the reciprocal of the smallest mean species number in a compartment at the steady state. We show that a suitably re-normalized measure stabilizes as the volume of a cell approaches zero, which leads to a criterion for the maximum volume of the compartments in a computational grid. We then derive a new criterion based on the sensitivity of the entire network, not just of the fastest step, that predicts a grid size that assures that the concentrations of all species converge to a spatially-uniform solution. This criterion applies for all orders of reactions and for reaction rate functions derived from singular perturbation or other reduction methods, and encompasses both diffusing and non-diffusing species. We show that this predicts the maximal allowable volume found in a linear problem, and we illustrate our results with an example motivated by anterior-posterior pattern formation in Drosophila, and with several other examples.

CuO hierarchical nanosheets have been successfully prepared by a facile solution-phase method. The experimental conditions are very mild: near-neutral pH (7.5) and near-room temperature (30 °C). SEM and TEM images show that the as-synthesized CuO nanosheets are composed of numerous tiny nanoparticles. The growth mechanism is discussed by monitoring the whole growth stages via time-dependent SEM examinations. UV–vis spectrum is used to estimate the band gap energy of the hierarchical structures, and the result shows that the calculated band gap energy is ∼ 1.94 eV.

This paper presents a mathematical model of the fault component network for systems with series compensation devices, when the three-phase short circuit occurs. After the transient electromagnetic torque is calculated, the initial amplitude and attenuation coefficient of transient electromagnetic torque are derived. Based on the first standard model of IEEE, Simulation analysis have been done under the situation of different fault locations and whether the fault circuit contains series compensated capacitors. Simulation results are consistent with previous calculation results.

In order to analysis the impact of governor parameters on the performance of primary frequency regulation, this paper built a closed loop speed regulating system model formed by turbine and generator, which is closer to the practical system. The paper simplify the high-order system in engineering by applying the conception of closed loop dominant pole. The influences of the changing of some parameters on the speed-regulating performance were intuitively present by using the performance analysis approximation method of root locus in control theory, it is pointed out the influence of the important parameters of governor control on performance of speed control system. Finally, the theory analysis is verified by the simulation results.

Different from energy harvesting which generates dynamic energy supplies, the mobile charger is able to provide stable and reliable energy supply for sensor nodes, and thus enables sustainable system operations. While previous mobile charging protocols either focus on the charger travel distance or the charging delay of sensor nodes, in this work we propose a novel Energy Synchronized Charging (ESync) protocol, which simultaneously reduces both of them. Observing the limitation of the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP)-based solutions when nodes energy consumptions are diverse, we construct a set of nested TSP tours based on their energy consumptions, and only nodes with low remaining energy are involved in each charging round. Furthermore, we propose the concept of energy synchronization to synchronize the charging re- quests sequence of nodes with their sequence on the TSP tours. Experiment and simulation demonstrate ESync can reduce charger travel distance and nodes charging delay by about 30% and 40% respectively.

In this paper, a simplified Universal Serial Bus (USB) transceiver is designed, which is special used for mobile terminals such as smart mobile phone, IPad, smart sensor, and so on. The transceiver includes functions such as data serialization, bit stuffing, NRZI encoding and NRZI decoding, bit unstuffing, deserialization. The transceiver is designed and implemented with Verilog HDL in Modelsim. And the transceiver has been verified with FPGA and synthesized using 0.18um 1P6M CMOS process technology. The simulation and FPGA results show that the transceiver satisfies all design specification and can be used as an IP core for smart mobile terminals. DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/telkomnika.v12i6.5441 Full Text: PDF

For condensing turbine, steam exhaust point is in wet steam area. The exhaust steam humidity of steam turbine is difficult to get due to lacking of effective measuring method. Calculation of exhaust steam humidity has always been one of the key parts of the analysis of thermal power units. The main factors affecting exhaust steam humidity are turbine load and turbine exhaust pressure etc, and they are of non-linearity. This paper develops a calculation method to calculate exhaust steam humidity based on BP neural network. Taking a N1000-25/600/600 ultra-supercritical (USC) steam turbine as an example, the exhaust steam humidity is calculated and the results show that the method has a good accuracy to meet the needs of the engineering application.

Pattern formation in development is a complex process which involves spatially distributed signals called morphogens that influence gene expression and thus the phenotypic identity of cells. Usually different cell types are spatially segregated, and the boundary between them may be determined by a threshold value of some state variable. The question arises as to how sensitive the location of such a boundary is to variations in properties, such as parameter values, that characterize the system. Here, we analyse both deterministic and stochastic reaction-diffusion models of pattern formation with a view towards understanding how the signalling scheme used for patterning affects the variability of boundary determination between cell types in a developing tissue.

Fluctuations in morphogens often lead to gene expression domains with rough boundaries during development. A mechanism is described whereby intracellular noise can help coordinate cellular decisions during patterning and thereby sharpen expression boundaries., Fluorescent in situ hybridization reveals rough edges around gene expression domains during development of rhombomeres in the zebrafish hindbrain, in which cells co-express hoxb1a and krox20 on either side of a future boundary, and these domains sharpen within a few hours. Computational analysis of stochastic models demonstrates that the initial rough boundaries are caused by stochastic fluctuations in the morphogen, retinoic acid, which patterns the expression domains. Noise in gene expression induces switching between expression of one gene or the other to narrow the transition zone and enable sharpening of boundaries., Morphogens provide positional information for spatial patterns of gene expression during development. However, stochastic effects such as local fluctuations in morphogen concentration and noise in signal transduction make it difficult for cells to respond to their positions accurately enough to generate sharp boundaries between gene expression domains. During development of rhombomeres in the zebrafish hindbrain, the morphogen retinoic acid (RA) induces expression of hoxb1a in rhombomere 4 (r4) and krox20 in r3 and r5. Fluorescent in situ hybridization reveals rough edges around these gene expression domains, in which cells co-express hoxb1a and krox20 on either side of the boundary, and these sharpen within a few hours. Computational analysis of spatial stochastic models shows, surprisingly, that noise in hoxb1a/krox20 expression actually promotes sharpening of boundaries between adjacent segments. In particular, fluctuations in RA initially induce a rough boundary that requires noise in hoxb1a/krox20 expression to sharpen. This finding suggests a novel noise attenuation mechanism that relies on intracellular noise to induce switching and coordinate cellular decisions during developmental patterning.

Biological systems are often subject to external noise from signal stimuli and environmental perturbations, as well as noises in the intracellular signal transduction pathway. Can different stochastic fluctuations interact to give rise to new emerging behaviors? How can a system reduce noise effects while still being capable of detecting changes in the input signal? Here, we study analytically and computationally the role of nonlinear feedback systems in controlling external noise with the presence of large internal noise. In addition to noise attenuation, we analyze derivatives of Fano factor to study systems' capability of differentiating signal inputs. We find effects of internal noise and external noise may be separated in one slow positive feedback loop system; in particular, the slow loop can decrease external noise and increase robustness of signaling with respect to fluctuations in rate constants, while maintaining the signal output specific to the input. For two feedback loops, we demonstrate that the influence of external noise mainly depends on how the fast loop responds to fluctuations in the input and the slow loop plays a limited role in determining the signal precision. Furthermore, in a dual loop system of one positive feedback and one negative feedback, a slower positive feedback always leads to better noise attenuation; in contrast, a slower negative feedback may not be more beneficial. Our results reveal interesting stochastic effects for systems containing both extrinsic and intrinsic noises, suggesting novel noise filtering strategies in inherently stochastic systems.

Positional information derived from local morphogen concentration plays an important role in patterning. A key question is how morphogen diffusion and gene expression regulation shape positional information into an appropriate profile with suitably low noise. We address this question using a model system — the C. elegans germ line — whose regulatory network has been well characterized genetically but whose spatiotemporal dynamics are poorly understood. We show that diffusion within the germline syncytium is a critical control of stem cell differentiation, and that semi-permeable diffusion barriers present at key locations make it possible — in combination with a feedback loop in the germline regulatory network — for mitotic zone size to be robust against spatial noise in Notch signaling. Spatial averaging within compartments defined by diffusion barriers is an advantageous patterning strategy, which attenuates noise while still allowing for sharp transitions between compartments. This strategy could apply to other organs.