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Background: Gabapentin, originally an antiepileptic agent, was found to have anti-cancer activity on multiple cancer cells. However, its effects on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and associated molecular mechanisms are unclear. Objectives: In this study, we investigated the anti-cancer effects of gabapentin against HCC cells in vitro and in vivo. Methods: Human HCC cells were inoculated with various levels of gabapentin for 24 and 48 h. We utilized the MTT assay to detect the proliferation of HCC cells after gabapentin treatment. The effect of gabapentin on the migration of HCC cells was detected by transwell migration assay. We established a model of subcutaneously transplanted HCC in nude mice and observed the impact of gabapentin on HCC cell tumorigenicity in vivo. The changes in RNA expression in gabapentin-treated HCC cells were evaluated by RNA sequencing analysis, and the results were analyzed and further validated by qRT-PCR. Results: Gabapentin significantly inhibited the proliferation of a variety of human HCC cells in a time- and dose-dependent approach. After treatment with 10 mM gabapentin for 12 h, the transendothelial migration of HCC cells via membrane remarkably reduced. Three weeks after the hypodermic transplanting of HCC in nude mice with Huh7 cell line, the gabapentin-treated group had a dramatic decrease in mean tumor volume and weight relative to the controls. Relative to the normal Huh7 cell line, the results of RNA sequencing of Huh7 cells treated with gabapentin for 24 h showed the differential enrichment of genes involved in "energy metabolism", "cancers", "signal transduction", and "folding, sorting, and degradation". The genes CDH11 and ARHGAP15 related to cell migration were further verified by qRT-PCR. Conclusions: Our results suggested that gabapentin has an inhibitory effect on the growth, migration, and tumor formation of hepatoma cells, and the mechanism of gabapentin’s inhibition on HCC cells may be related to some signaling pathways, which will lay a foundation for the future studies on branched-chain aminotransferase 1 (BCAT1) as a target for HCC treatment.

To obtain the cross sections of the 9Be(d, t)8Be reaction, a thick beryllium target was bombarded with a deuteron beam from 78 to 100 keV, with an energy step of 2 keV. The charged particles emitted from the d-9Be interaction were accumulated, and the cross sections were deduced from the thick-target yields of emitted tritium. The present work, in conjunction with the data reported in the high-energy region, extended the directly measured values of cross section to 65 keV in the center-of-mass system, thereby filling in the nuclear data gap in the low-energy region.

Mycoses are common in HIV/AIDS patients, vary from superficial mycoses to deep mycoses. Although most of the superficial mycoses are mild, deep mycoses are fatal. Specific mucocutaneous manifestations of fungal infection may provide important diagnostic clues for HIV infection and evaluate individual immune status. In this chapter, authors present a variety of fungal infection cases in HIV/AIDS patients, such as candidiasis, cryptococcosis, talaromycosis, histoplasmosis, tinea corporis, tinea cruris, tinea manuum, tinea pedis, and onychomycosis. The purpose is to review the manifestations of mycoses in HIV/AIDS patients with typical or atypical mucocutaneous lesions and with misdiagnosed cases, providing references for diagnosis and differential diagnosis of relevant diseases.

This paper investigates the influence of tip corona of free linear particle on the partial discharge pattern. The reduced scale apparatus of 126 kV GIS is set up in the laboratory. Linear particles with the same radii, same length and different tip radii are respectively placed in the experimental tank. The discharge signal, ultrasonic signal and movement track of linear particles were recorded and observed. The results indicate that: 1) Movement behavior of linear particles without corona on the tip mainly pass through four kinds of states with the increase of the applied voltage: static standing, jumping with a small height, jumping with a big height and jumping to high voltage electrode. As for the linear particles with corona on the tip, it only jumps with a small height rather than jumps to high voltage electrode. 2) In the low voltage, the V-ϕ ultrasonic signal scatter plot and q-ϕ discharge pulse signal scatter plot of both kinds of the linear particles with and without corona on the tip have strong phase correlation. Among them, the phase correlation of the discharge signals and the ultrasonic signals of the particles without corona on the tip decreases with the increase of the applied voltage, while the phase correlation of that of the particles with corona on the tip always keeps strong with the increase of the applied voltage. By analyzing the effect of tip corona on the particle motion and discharge characteristics, the discharge characteristic spectrum of linear particle with tip corona is obtained, which can provide important reference for pattern recognition of particle.

Wei-Jia Zhao,1,* Gui-Qi Zhu,2,* Yi-Ming Wu,3,* Wen-Wen Wang,4 Bing-Long Bai1 1Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325000, People’s Republic of China; 2Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, People’s Republic of China; State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Urology, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325000, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Oncology, The Affiliated Wuxi No.2 People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi 214000, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Bing-Long BaiDepartment of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325000, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-577-64056912Fax +86-577-64043181Email baibinglong@gmail.comWen-Wen WangDepartment of Oncology, The Affiliated Wuxi No.2 People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi 214000, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-577-54021976Fax +86-510-14047581Email www0228@126.comPurpose: Controversies exist for which treatment is optimal for early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC): radiofrequency ablation (RFA), surgical resection (SR), or transplantation (LT). We compared outcomes between treatments as first-line therapy for HCC patients measuring up to 5 cm or different cancer risk groups.Patients and methods: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database was retrieved for HCC patients treated with RFA, SR, or LT between 2004 and 2015. The effects of three treatments were compared using propensity score, inverse probability of treatment weights adjustment, and instrumental variable analysis for overall survival (OS) and competing risks regression models for disease-specific survival (DSS). We also evaluated whether the effect of treatments varied according to baseline clinical characteristics by locally weighted regression method.Results: Of 7664 patients, RFA and SR yielded worse OS (HR 1.67, CI 1.43–1.70, P1) for different tumor sizes measuring up to 5 cm and may be an appropriate first-line treatment. Additionally, RFA has more survival benefits compared with SR (HR 0.83, CI 0.53–1.25) for those patients with low tumor risk and good general health condition (without any prognostic risk factors). However, those patients with a predicted 5-year overall mortality risk >30% seem to benefit more for SR than RFA.Conclusion: Due to a shortage of donors, RFA and SR can be applied as either primary management of HCC or as a bridging therapy for LT. Furthermore, SR is an effective option for patients with different HCC tumor size. However, RFA could achieve comparable survival benefits with SR for patients without any risk factors.Keywords: hepatocellular carcinoma, outcomes, radiofrequency ablation, surgical resection, transplantation, propensity score, PS

Dynamin-1-like protein (DNM1L) encodes a member of the dynamin superfamily of GTPases. It mediates mitochondrial and peroxisomal division and is involved in the regulation of apoptosis. However, its role in gastric cancer remains unclear. MKN-45 gastric cancer cells were transfected with short hairpin RNA (shRNA) to suppress DNM1L expression. MTT, flow cytometry, and Transwell assays were used to detect the changes in cell proliferation, apoptosis, and invasion, respectively. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect DNM1L expression in gastric adenocarcinoma specimens, and the association of DNM1L expression with clinicopathological features and prognosis was analyzed. After the suppression of endogenous DNM1L expression in MKN-45 cells with shRNA, cell proliferation and invasion rates were significantly reduced, whereas apoptosis was significantly increased (all P

A challenging problem in the numerical simulation of a self-contacted elastic rod is the change of topological structure during the contacting process. In this article, a numerical approach is introduced to simulate a self-contacted Cosserat rod. By introducing the angular velocity and Euler parameters as the state variables, an improved Lagrange equation is introduced. A finite element method is built to deal with the simplified model, and numerical examples are given.

In the last few years, in order to solve the problems of traditional delivery mode in construction industry, such as over budget, project delay and so on, Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) as an effective solution has become a hot spot in China and abroad. IPD with special implementation of process has many advantages compared with the traditional delivery mode. In this paper, the modeling strategy of BIM in IPD project is proposed, and the application of BIM in all stages of IPD on basis of engineering project is analyzed. The study provides foundation for the further collaboration application of IPD with BIM.

This paper focuses on studying new energy–work relationship numerical integration schemes of mechanico-electrical systems. The single-stage numerical integration scheme, multi-stage scheme, and parallel composition numerical integration scheme are presented. The method is constructed by a parallel connection of n multi-stage schemes of order 2 and its order of accuracy is 2n. This work also shows that the connection between the change of energy and work of dissipative force is a discrete analogue of the usual case, and further that the error of the schemes becomes smaller when taking a larger number of stages. Finally, an applied example is discussed to illustrate these results.

Based on the property of the discrete model entirely inheriting the symmetry of the continuous system, we present a method to construct exact solutions with continuous groups of transformations in discrete nonconservative systems. The Noether’s identity of the discrete nonconservative system is obtained. The symmetric discrete Lagrangian and symmetric discrete nonconservative forces are defined for the system. Generalized quasi-extremal equations of discrete nonconservative systems are presented. Discrete conserved quantities are derived with symmetries associated with the continuous system. We have also found that the existence of the one-parameter symmetry group provides a reduction to a conserved quantity; but the existence of a two-parameter symmetry group makes it possible to obtain an exact solution for a discrete nonconservative system. Several examples are discussed to illustrate these results.

A computational technique is proposed for the Galerkin discretization of axially moving strings with geometric nonlinearity. The Galerkin discretization is based on the eigenfunctions of stationary strings. The discretized equations are simplified by regrouping nonlinear terms to reduce the computation work. The scheme can be easily implemented in the practical programming. Numerical results show the effectiveness of the technique. The results also highlight the feature of Galerkin's discretization of gyroscopic continua that the term number in Galerkin's discretization should be even. The technique is generalized from elastic strings to viscoelastic strings.

A numerical method is proposed to simulate the transverse vibrations of a viscoelastic moving string constituted by an integral law. In the numerical computation, the Galerkin method based on the Hermite functions is applied to discretize the state variables, and the Runge-Kutta method is applied to solve the resulting differential-integral equation system. A linear iterative process is designed to compute the integral terms at each time step, which makes the numerical method more efficient and accurate. As examples, nonlinear parametric vibrations of an axially moving viscoelastic string are analyzed.

The MRI technique has been used in diagnosis of manganism in humans and non-human primates. This cross-sectional study was designed to explore whether the pallidal signal intensity in T1-weighted MRI correlated with Mn levels in the blood compartment among Mn-exposed workers and to understand to what extent the MRI signal could reflect Mn exposure. A group of 18 randomly selected male Mn-exposed workers of which 13 were smelting workers with high exposure (mean of airborne Mn in work place: 1.26 mg/m3; range: 0.31–2.93 mg/m3), and 5 power distribution control workers with low exposure (0.66 mg/m3 and 0.23–0.77 mg/m3) from a ferroalloy factory, and another group of 9 male subjects as controls from a non-smelting factory who were office or cafeteria workers (0.01 mg/m3 and 0–0.03 mg/m3) were recruited for neurological tests, MRI examination, and analysis of Mn in whole blood (MnB), plasma (MnP) or red blood cells (MnRBC). No clinical symptoms and signs of manganism were observed among these workers. MRI data showed average increases of 7.4% (p < 0.05) and 16.1% (p < 0.01) in pallidal index (PI) among low- and high-exposed workers, respectively, as compared to controls. Fourteen out of 18 Mn-exposed workers (78%) had intensified PI values, while this proportion was even higher (85%) among the high Mn-exposed workers. Among exposed workers, the PI values were significantly associated with MnRBC (r = 0.55, p = 0.02). Our data suggest that the workers exposed to airborne Mn, but without clinical symptoms, display an exposure-related, intensified MRI signal. The MRI, as well as MnRBC, may be useful in early diagnosis of Mn exposure.

Free nonlinear transverse vibration is investigated for an axially moving beam modeled by an integro-partial-differential equation. Based on the equation, a conserved quantity is defined and confirmed for axially moving beams with pinned or clamped ends. The conserved quantity is applied to demonstrate the Lyapunov stability of the straight equilibrium configuration in transverse nonlinear of beam with a low axial speed.

The energetics and the stability of free transverse vibration of an axially moving string are investigated based on the Kirchhoff nonlinear model. The model is derived in a physically meaningful manner. The time-rate of the total mechanical energy associated with the vibration is calculated to show that the energy is not conserved. It is proved that there exists a conserved quantity that remains a constant during the nonlinear vibration. The conserved quantity is applied to verify the Lyapunov stability of the axially moving Kirchhoff string.

This paper deals with the transverse vibration of an initially stressed moving viscoelastic string obeying a fractional differentiation constitutive law. The governing equation is derived from Newtonian second law of motion, and reduced to a set of non-linear differential–integral equations based on Galerkin's truncation. A numerical approach is proposed to solve numerically the differential–integral equation through developing an approximate expression of the fractional derivatives involved. Some numerical examples are presented to highlight the effects of viscoelastic parameters and frequencies of parametric excitations on the transient responses of the axially moving string.

Variations of the signal intensities in the magnetic resonance (MR) T(1)-weighted image (T(1)WI) of globus pallidus among manganese(Mn)-exposed workers were explored to provide a scientific basis for exposed biomarker of manganese-injured central nervous system (CNS).The brain MR T(1) and T(2) WI in eighteen male asymptomatic Mn-exposed, eight manganism and nine healthy control workers were examined routinely by adopting a 1.5 Tesla signal superconducting system. The SIGP and the signal intensity in frontal white matter (SIFWM) in the same side were determined, then pallidal index (PI) was calculated. Concentration of MnO(2) in workplaces and content of manganese in red blood cell (MnRBC) among workers were respectively determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrophotometry (ICP-AES). The follow-up investigation in the eight high Mn-exposed workers was made one year later.The results showed that the median of air MnO(2) in smelting workplace was 0.64 mg/m(3)(0.07 - 5.40 mg/m(3)), which were respective 0.56 mg/m(3)(0.09 - 1.71 mg/m(3)) in power distribution room (low Mn-exposure) and 0.89 mg/m(3) (0.07 - 5.40 mg/m(3)) in furnace (high Mn-exposure). PI in the Mn-exposed and high Mn-exposed workers were both higher than those of the manganism and control workers(116.4 +/- 8.2, 119.0 +/- 7.9, 105.3 +/- 8.4 and 102.2 +/- 1.5, respectively. Mn vs control, t' = 7.146, P = 0.000; Mn vs manganism, t = 3.181, P = 0.004. High Mn-exposure vs control, t' = 7.446, P = 0.000; high Mn-exposure vs manganism, t = 3.763, P = 0.001). The increased signal in T(1)WI of globus pallidus was observed in Mn-exposed workers, especially in high Mn-exposed workers. The content of manganese in red blood cell of Mn-exposed and control workers was significantly higher than those of the manganism workers [(151.6 +/- 40.5) ng/ml, (149.2 +/- 21.3) ng/ml, (154.5 +/- 46.6) ng/ml, (144.4 +/- 14.2) ng/ml, (20.8 +/- 7.4) ng/ml respectively. The difference was significant in statistics. Manganism vs control, t = 20.206, P = 0.000; manganism vs Mn, t' = 13.144, P = 0.000; manganism vs low and high Mn, t' = 12.964, 9.957, respectively, P = 0.000]. Only a decreased median of air MnO(2) in furnace was found one year later (0.89, 0.31 mg/m(3), Z = -2.142, P = 0.032). The difference was significant in statistics.Our data suggests that SIGP of MR T(1)WI among workers was obviously increased by manganese-exposure. PI may be taken as the signal of CNS injury which was induced by manganese-exposure.

To establish an analysical method for the quantitative determination of 18 kinds of organophosphate pesticide residues in Flos Lonicerae.The pesticides in samples were extracted with acetone by Ultrasonic wave Assistant Extraction (UAE), purified by Solid-Phase Extraction (SPE). Using PFPD detecter gas chromatography with HP-1701 column.All 18 pesticides were separated well in 30 minutes. The detection limits was 4.0-18.0 microg x kg(-1). The range of recovery and RSD were 83.64%-88.65% and 2.8%-6.0%, respectively. And it met the requirements of pesticide multi-residues analysis.