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Bistable composite structures have a wide application prospect in the design of deformable structures. In this study, the snap behaviors of unsymmetric cross-ply bistable composites with different thicknesses are investigated. Besides the experiments, the relationships between load and displacement during the snap process are also analyzed by finite element (FE) methods. The load-displacement curves of composite shell with four layers and two layers are completely different. The results of the two-layer cylindrical shell with resin layer are in good agreement with the experimental results. The resin layer has great influence on the snap behaviors of the two-layer bistable cylindrical shell, although it has little effect on the four-layer cylindrical shell. So it cannot be ignored in the analyzing of two-layer bistable shell. The cause of experimental errors is also analyzed. The research results of this paper have reference value for the engineering design of bistable composite structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) is a ship that excavates sediments from the sea bottom while sailing. Soil properties have a strong effect on the dredging process. The parameter with the greatest importance is the real-time soil grain diameter dm. This, however, cannot be directly measured by available sensors. In this paper, an alternative method is proposed to solve this problem. A new estimation method is developed on the basis of an existing sedimentation model and measuring system data. The loading process with several grain diameters is simulated to perform a sensitivity analysis of soil type. Simulation results show that the dredging efficiency is strongly affected by fine soil. This soil-related estimation problem is solved with a continuous-discrete feedback particle filter (CD-FPF), which is a recently developed filter for a CD time system. For comparison, a bootstrap particle filter (BPF) is also used to simulate the steplike changes in dm in both the no-overflow and constantvolume loading phases. The results show that the CD-FPF outperforms the BPF in terms of accuracy and applicability. Thus, it is recommended to be applied in the estimator of artificial intelligence (AI) dredging systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In free Galerkin methods, the weight function is very important. Through Gauss function, this article uses the truncated Gauss function as the weight function, combining with least square approximation method to solve one-dimensional partial differential equations. The results show that the method is feasible and the calculation accuracy has been significantly improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical expertise, patient preference, and the best evidence are the three elements of evidence-based medicine. Based on high-level and high-quality evidence, qualitative and quantitative analysis of the prescribing decisions of physicians is beneficial to improving clinical efficacy. A mature methodological system is available for the retrieval, analysis, summary, evaluation, and recommendation of the evidence, but there are still few studies on physicians' prescribing decisions. How to analyze the trend of physicians' prescribing decisions based on the priority ranking in addition and subtraction of prescriptions? Analytic hierarchy process(AHP) is a method for decision making, which arranges the elements of the decision problem into overall goal, criteria, and operational sub-criteria, and uses the matrix eigenvector method to solve the problem. This study aims to analyze the priority of physicians' prescribing decisions for diabetes mellitus with deficiency of both Qi and Yin based on AHP. To be specific, a database of diabetes mellitus cases with deficiency of both Qi and Yin was established and AHP was used to yield the priority ranking of Chinese patent medicine prescriptions in specific clinical scenarios. In the selected cases of diabetes mellitus with deficiency of both Qi and Yin, Xiaoke Pills was the best prescription for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus(deficiency of both Qi and Yin)(normalized=0.388), followed by Liuwei Dihuang Pills(normalized=0.269), Qishen Capsules(normalized=0.230), and Shengmai Injection(normalized=0.113). According to the analysis the available data, for type 2 diabetes mellitus(deficiency of both Qi and Yin), Xiaoke Pills was the most effective prescription in specific scenarios. When the physicians' prescribing decisions are consistent with the evidence, quantitative analysis of physicians' cognition will boost the evidence-based medical decision-making. However, the research results are also affected by the quality of literature, evidence level and priority, which are thus have some limitations. It is recommended that further small data research based on individual cases be carried out to lay a evidence-based basis for the clinical decision-making of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Urinary metabolomics combined with histological progression were utilized to evaluate the therapeutic effect of Scutellariae Radix decoction and baicalin on hepatic fibrosis (HF) and explore their mechanisms, intervention targets and metabolic pathways. HF rat model was established through subcutaneous injection of CCl₄ for 8 weeks. Meanwhile, different doses of Scutellariae Radix decoction and baicalin were administered. Histomorphology of liver tissue was observed and scored by HE and Masson. Urinary metabonomic analysis based on UPLC-Q-TOF-MS was made for the changes of urinary potential biomarkers among different groups at different time points of HF. Finally, it was found that Scutellariae Radix decoction could improve HF by regulating L-tryptophan, 3-methyldioxyindole, 5-hydroxyindoleacetylglycine, kynurenic acid, 4-(2-amino-3-hydroxyphenyl)-2,4-dioxobutanoic acid, methylmalonic acid and L-leucine. However, baicalin could improve HF by regulating L-tryptophan, 3-methyldioxyindole, 5-hydroxyindoleacetylglycine, 4-(2-amino-3-hydroxyphenyl)-2,4-dioxobutanoic acid, kynurenic acid, and methylmalonic acid. These metabolites involved in tryptophan metabolism and valine, leucine and isoleucine degradation pathways. These results indicated that Scutellariae Radix had the multi-target and multi-pathway characteristics in the treatment of HF. Additionally, low-dose Scutellariae Radix decoction and baicalin are showed better efficacies, with no statistically significant difference between them in histomorphology., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.)

Aim: To explore risk factors of lymphatic metastasis (LM) in gallbladder cancer, and their potential to complement unsatisfactory radiological detection., Methods: Radiological detection of LM by computed tomography (CT) was reported to fail in more than 60% of patients with pathological LM. In order to find risk factors highly suggestive of LM other than radiological manifestations, the documents of 63 patients were analyzed statistically. Except for 4 patients having T1a disease, in whom cholecystectomy is enough for radical resection, 59 patients underwent lymphadenectomy with at least 3 lymph nodes dissected. Fifty point eight percent (32/63) of patients were found to have LM during pathological examination. The median number of dissected lymph nodes was 6 (range 3-20)., Results: Only 31.3% (10/32) of patients with LM were detected by CT. Through multivariate analysis, two risk factors of LM were discovered as age < 60 years (OR = 6.24; P < 0.01) and carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9 elevation (OR = 5.70; P < 0.05). By analysis of patients with pathological LM but failed to be detected by CT, 81.8% (18/22) of patients had at least one risk factor, including 31.3% (10/32) who had the risk factor of age < 60 years, and 37.5% (12/32) who had the risk factor of CA 19-9 elevation. Besides, among patients with LM (n = 32), those whose age were younger than 60 years (OR = 3.41; P < 0.05) were more likely to have 3 or more positive lymph nodes., Conclusion: Age < 60 years and CA 19-9 elevation could complement radiological detection of LM. Patients aged < 60 years are at higher risk of multiple positive nodes.