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In order to identify and classify the abnormal structures in coal-bearing strata more accurately, a POA−ELM model based on the pelican optimization algorithm (POA) and the extreme learning machine (ELM) is proposed. The performance of extreme learning machine is unstable because the input weights and hidden layer bias are generated randomly. The POA can be used to optimize the input weights and hidden layer bias of extreme learning machine, so as to improve the performance of extreme learning machine model. The POA−ELM model is applied to identify and classify the abnormal structures in coal-bearing strata. Firstly, three coal-bearing strata simulation models of small fault, scour zone and collapse column are established with the COMSOL Multiphysics5.5. The Ricker wave is the source signal. The in-seam wave signals are collected by wave transmission method, and the in-seam wave data set is established. Then the z-score method is used to standardize the in-seam wave data and the principal component analysis (PCA) is used to reduce the dimension. Secondly, the POA is used to optimize the extreme learning machine, and the POA−ELM classification model is constructed with MATLAB. The POA−ELM model is used to classify small fault, scour zone and collapse column. The classification performance of ELM and POA−ELM is evaluated and compared by cross-validation method and evaluation indices such as accuracy, precision and recall rate. The results show that the POA can effectively optimize the ELM, and the POA−ELM model has higher classification accuracy and better stability. The classification accuracy of POA−ELM for abnormal structures can reach more than 99%. Thirdly, in order to verify the classification effect of POA−ELM in practical applications, after wavelet de-noising, z-score standardization and PCA dimensionality reduction, the real fault in-seam wave data are used as the test set and imported into the POA−ELM model for classification. The results show that the identification accuracy of POA−ELM model for real fault can reach more than 97%. Finally, based on the same data set, the classification effects of POA−ELM, ELM, support vector machine (SVM) and BP neural network are compared. The results show that the identification and classification accuracy of POA−ELM model is the highest. Through research and analysis, the POA can effectively optimize the ELM, and the POA−ELM model can accurately classify different geological structures and effectively identify real faults, which is better than other methods.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic and progressive respiratory disease. Transcription factor T-bet is involved in the inflammatory response and lung function changes of COPD, which is expected to become a new target for the prevention and treatment of COPD. It might provide a new idea for the targeted research of COPD.

In order to evaluate the applicability of 110Cr13S oil casing steel in offshore oil and gas field development projects，the corrosion behavior of 110Cr13S steel in simulated high temperature，high pressure，CO2 and H2S coexisting corrosion environments under well of deep water oil and gas fields was studied using exposure corrosion tests，in-situ electrochemical tests，stress corrosion tests.Scanning electron microscopy，energy spectrometer，electrochemical workstation，slow strain rate tensile testing machine were used to study the corrosion morphology，corrosion product composition，electrochemical behavior and slow strain rate tensile curves of 110Cr13S oil casing steel under the conditions of 129.5 ℃，H2S partial pressure of 358 Pa and CO2 partial pressure of 2.754 MPa.Results showed that the average corrosion rate of 110Cr13S steel was 0.004 4 mm/a under the simulated deep sea oil and gas field well conditions，and a dense and complete passivation film was formed on the surface of the sample，which presented good corrosion resistance and excellent resistance to sulfide stress corrosion cracking.Therefore，110Cr13S oil casing steel was suitable for selecting oil casing materials for oil and gas well development under conditions of deep water，high temperature，high pressure，CO2 and H2S coexisting conditions.

近年新加坡與韓國高等教育在世界大學排名表現卓越，兩國紛紛邀請世界優秀大學至國內設校，並透過彈性的高等教育人事制度，有效吸引國際優秀人才。本研究以個案研究法進行研究，並以新加坡兩所大學、韓國五所大學進行多重個案研究，系統化比較分析新加坡及韓國高等教育人事制度，並以大學教師待遇與兼職制度為例進行分析。研究結果顯示，在大學教師薪資待遇及留才政策方面，新加坡大學之薪資待遇具高度彈性，韓國則依國家法令實施，此外，彈性之競爭性薪資待遇結構有效增進兩國高等教育機構留才與攬才之競爭力。在大學教師兼職制度方面，新加坡與韓國在兼職定義、法規規範等各方面皆有不同之作法，對於違規兼職的法律效果亦有不同。本研究綜合研究結果提出三點結論：一、新加坡與韓國高等教育機構在人事制度規範上具有相當之自主性；二、彈性的高等教育機構人事制度有助於大學留才與攬才；三、多元的津貼補助有助於提升高等教育機構競爭力。最後，本研究提出建議，供作臺灣在高等教育人事制度方面，留才、育才及攬才之可行制度與策略，以及制度改革之參據。 Research Motives and Purposes Singapore and South Korea, two of the four Asian tigers (in addition to Hong Kong and Taiwan), both have gross domestic products (GDPs) per capita higher than that of Taiwan. In world university rankings, the higher education institutions of South Korea and Singapore exhibit strong performance, reflecting their high competitiveness and ability to attract outstanding talent. The compensation package is the key to an organization’s recruitment and retention of talent, and is it also an essential motivating factor for employees to stay in the organization. Therefore, the compensation package provided by South Korean and Singaporean universities must be sufficiently attractive for attracting the aforementioned outstanding talent. Accordingly, this study investigated the influence of the personnel system regulations, the compensation package, and talent retention policies of South Korea and Singapore governments on their universities’ ability to attract and retain talent as well as on the competitiveness of the universities. Through a systematic comparison and analysis of the personnel systems of Singaporean and South Korean universities and by taking the compensation package and part-time employment systems of their university faculty as examples, this study provides references for Taiwanese higher education institutions that can be used to formulate feasible personnel systems and human resource strategies to promote the retention, cultivation, and recruitment of talent. Research Methods This study adopted the multiple-case design and recruited cases from South Korea and Singapore. Specifically, this study focused on the analysis of university faculty’s compensation package and part-time employment systems in South Korea and Singapore. The cases recruited in this study were from two universities in Singapore, including National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University and five universities in South Korea, including Pusan National University, Seoul National University, the University of Seoul, Korea University, and Sungkyunkwan University. The study also examined relevant regulations and documents of these univerisities for data triangulation. Research Results Regarding the university faculty’s compensation package in Singapore and South Korea, the results of this study demonstrate the following: 1. The university faculty’s compensation package in Singapore are highly flexible, whereas those of university faculty in South Korea are set in accordance with national laws and regulations. 2. A flexible and competitive compensation package can effectively promote the retention and recruitment of talent in higher-education institutions. Regarding regulations of the part-time employment of university faculty in Singapore and South Korea, the results demonstrate the following: 1. Higher education institutions have lenient definitions and regulations of the part-time employment of university faculty. 2. Higher education institutions are flexible about the competent authorities responsible for the approval of part-time work and about the relevant criteria. 3. The basic principle of part-time employment regulations in higher education institutions is to avoid conflicts of interest in all aspects, including the scope and criteria of part-time work institutions, the part-time work in for-profit or overseas institutions, and the termination of part-time work. 4. Higher education institutions adopt relatively lenient regulations regarding the scope of part-time employment in other institutions and the legal consequences of illegal part-time work. Conclusions and Suggestions By analyzing the faculty’s compensation package, talent retention policies, and the faculty’s part-time employment policies at two universities in Singapore and five universities in South Korea, this study comes to the following three conclusions: 1. Higher education institutions in Singapore and South Korea enjoy considerable autonomy regarding personnel system regulations. The Singapore government does not place excessive constraints or regulations on the personnel systems of higher education institutions; the universities are permitted to formulate such regulations on their own with a high degree of flexibility. Although South Korea has enacted a fundamental law to regulate relevant matters, the regulations established therein are lenient. In other words, national and public universities are permitted to formulate regulations flexibly within the constraints set by the law, thus enabling universities to maintain considerable autonomy. 2. Flexible personnel systems at higher education institutions promote the retention and recruitment of talent. The highly flexible and performance-oriented compensation package adopted by Singaporean universities effectively promote the retention and recruitment of outstanding faculty. South Korean higher education institutions employ competitive compensation package for part-time faculty, and their compensation package are determined by their performance and rankings. This enables the institutions to attract outstanding talent, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of higher education nationwide. 3. Diverse types of allowances and subsidies help attract and retain talent, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of higher-education institutions. The case study of the two aforementioned Singaporean universities revealed that both universities provide different types of subsidies and allowances for faculty from other countries. In addition to the basic salary, the aforementioned South Korean universities offer various types of nonfixed compensation for faculty. In particular, private universities are highly flexible in providing nonfixed compensation. Nonfixed allowances and subsidies help universities effectively retain talent. Based on the research results, this study proposes two suggestions for the reference of domestic law authorities in formulating regulations of the personnel systems of Taiwanese higher education institutions, as follows: 1. Encouraging faculty to take part-time jobs that are consistent with their regular work and the universities’ interests. The Singaporean government does not impose explicit and compulsory regulations on the part-time employed of faculty employed by higher education institutions, and Singaporean universities are permitted to manage such matters independently. Although South Korea regulates the part-time employment of university faculty, the government allows for moderate flexibility instead of prohibiting part-time employment altogether. South Korean universities are permitted to formulate flexible regulations of part-time employment. We suggest that Taiwan government learn from the practices of Singapore and South Korea governments, allowing for greater flexibility for faculty wanting to work part-time as long as their part-time jobs are consistent with their regular work and the universities’ interests. The power of regulating part-time employment among university faculty can be granted to universities, so that faculty may work part time in industries and create benefits from industry-academia cooperation. 2. Providing flexible and competitive compensation package for university faculty. The performance-oriented compensation package of Singaporean universities motivate university faculty to strive for better performance to obtain higher compensation package. South Korean universities offer nonfixed compensation to enhance the competitiveness of their employees, thus effectively attracting outstanding talent. We suggest that Taiwan government develop more flexible compensation package for university faculty to enable universities to offer more attractive compensation packages as a strategy to recruit outstanding talent, thereby enhancing the international competitiveness of Taiwanese universities.

Objective: To investigate the gut microbiota distribution and antibiotic resistant genes (ARGs) carrying- status in the girls with precocious puberty (PP). Methods: A total of 29 girls were enrolled in the study, including 21 girls with precocious puberty (PP) [11 girls with central precocious puberty (CPP group), 10 girls with premature thelarche (PT group)], and 8 age-matched healthy girls (NC group). The fecal samples were analyzed to explore difference in composition of gut microbiota and ARGs numbers between the PP (CPP+PT) and NC groups using shotgun metagenomic sequencing. Results: The composition and abundance of gut microbiota in the PP girls were different from the NC girls. The relative abundances of top three gut microbiota in CPP, PT and NC girls were 50.03%, 37.73% and 67.61% for Firmicutes, 33.00%, 43.26% and 10.32% for Bacteroidetes, and 4.26%, 4.22% and 11.16% for Actinobacteria. Compared with the NC girls, the PP girls had a significantly higher abundance of Bacteroidetes (P=0.034) and much lower abundance of Firmicutes (P=0.006) and Actinobacteria (P

Aiming at the security and efficiency of commuter vehicles accessing services from road side unit (RSU) in Internet of vehicles (IoV), a two-stage authentication and key agreement protocol was proposed. In the initial authentication phase, the three independent session keys, negotiated among the vehicle, the RSU, and the trusted authority (TA), were utilized to safeguard the privacy of transmitted data between two entities from interception by third-party entities. In the fast authentication phase, the vehicle and RSU utilized the vehicle's travel schedule to reach the high-efficiency mutual-authentication. The vehicle anonymity and anonymous traceability were supported by the protocol, and the privacy leakage such as commuting routes was prevented. Additionally, the security of the protocol was proven by a random oracle. In a typical commuting scenario, the simulation results show that the protocol outcomes a reduction in computation overhead by 59.35% and communication overhead by 44.21%, compared to existing similar literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing inspiration from the morphological characteristics of the creatures in nature, imitating and learning from the excellent aerodynamic shape to obtain better flight performance is the basic idea of the design of morphological bionic aircraft.This paper introduces the development background of morphological bionic aircraft, and analyzes two research process of morphological bionic aircraft "top-down" and "bottom-up";According to the categories of bird-like aircraft, fish-like aircraft and other bionic aircraft, the current development status is introduced respectively.The key technologies such as the extraction method of shape features, the method of solving problems in aircraft design process referring to the excellent biological characteristics, identification of aerodynamic parameters of bionic aircraft and other key technologies, and the inspection method of morphological bionic result are explored, and the future development trend of the morphological bionic aircraft is summarized.The content of this article is of certain reference significance for the design of morphological bionic aircraft.

Objective To explore the mediating role of medical staff's autonomous motivation in the association between job requirements and job performance and to provide countermeasures and suggestions for improving medical staff's job performance. Methods By the convenience sampling method, 901 medical staff from 6 hospitals in Hangzhou were surveyed with the job demand scale, the autonomous motivation scale, and the job performance scale. The structural equation model was used to analyze the direct and indirect effects of job demand and autonomous motivation on job performance. Results Finally, 813 valid questionnaires were collected, with an effective recovery rate of 90.2%. In terms of job performance, the married medical staff scored higher, while those without a professional title or with working time less than 5 years scored lower (P < 0.05). The job requirements had a direct impact on job performance (β = 0.30, P < 0.01), which was indirectly affected through autonomous motivation (β = 0.069, P < 0.01), and the indirect effect percentage was 18.70%. Conclusions Autonomous motivation had a positive mediating effect on the association between job demands and job performance. Hospital managers should pay more attention to the working feelings of medical staff and give targeted guidance to medical staff with different levels of motivation to improve their autonomous motivation and, furthermore, to improve their work performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: The current treatment of ovarian cancer is surgery and adjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy. However, relapse and drug resistance are common. We have demonstrated the platelet-activating factor receptor (PAFR) is highly expressed in epithelial ovarian cancer, promoting ovarian cancer cell proliferation and invasion. The objective was to explore the effect of PAFR expression on cisplatin (CDDP) in ovarian cancer cells to provide novel theoretical basis for ovarian cancer therapy. Methods: The upregulation of PAFR in CDDP-treated ovarian cancer cells was observed using Western blot and real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RTFQ-PCR). The role of nuclear factor Kappa-B (NF-κB)/p65 and hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) in modulating PAFR expression was assessed using Western blot, siRNA and immunofluorescence. The effect of PAFR on CDDP sensitivity was observed using a pharmacological inhibitor and siRNA knockdown. Results: CDDP induced dose- and timedependent upregulation of PAFR in two ovarian cancer cell lines (P<0.01). The downregulation of PAFR by CDDP correlated with the inhibitions of NF-κB and HIF-1α which were accumulated by CDDP in the nucleus. Inhibition of PAFR expression by PAFR specific small molecule antagonist WEB2086 or RNA interference could significantly improve the sensitivity of ovarian cancer cells to CDDP. The cell proliferation ability decreased significantly (P<0.01), while the apoptotic rate increased significantly (P<0.01). Increased expression of PAFR activated downstream AKT and ERK pathways in CDDP-treated cells. Conclusion: CDDP induces upregulation of PAFR by accumulating NF-κB and HIF-1α in the nucleus. PAFR inhibition may modulate the CDDP sensitivity in ovarian cancer cells, which is a novel and promising therapeutic target for sensitizing ovarian cancer cells to CDDP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is still controversy on the clinical efficacy of small-window craniotomy (SWCT) for acute epidural hematoma with concurrent early-phase cerebral herniation. This study compared multiple surgical and prognostic parameters of SWCT versus ordinary large-window craniotomy (LWCT), which aimed at providing evidences for surgical decision. Compared with LWCT (N = 51), SWCT (N = 44) displayed shortened average operation time (P = 0.000), reduced intraoperative blood loss (P = 0.000) and lessened intraoperative blood transfusion (P = 0.031). Moreover, there was no differences of postoperative residual hematoma (P = 0.141), postoperative palinesthesia time (P = 0.201), the ratio of postoperative secondary ischemia (P = 0.865) or cerebral edema (P = 0.879), and 6-month Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) score (P = 0.603) between the two surgical approaches. Results suggested that, for patients with acute epidural hematoma and concurrent early-phase cerebral herniation, SWCT could effectively evacuate hematoma and relief brain herniation without significant differences of effect and prognosis from LWCT. In addition, SWCT has several advantages such as significantly reduced operation time, intraoperative blood loss and blood transfusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute ischemic stroke which has the high mobidity, disability rate and mortality is one of the most serious diseases threatening mankind. Endovascular therapy is difinite. Slection of patient, therapeutic time window and device is closely associated with the prognosis. This paper reviews the issues mentioned above. DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1672-6731.2017.09.013

Objective: To explore the effects of core-binding factor α1 (Cbfα-1) gene silenced by siRNA on osteogenic differentiation and calcification of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) induced by high phosphate in vitro., Methods: VSMC were cultured in vitro and passaged 3 to 8 times. Four pairs of Cbfα-1 siRNA were designed and synthesized. Transfection was performed with cationic lipid vectors (Lipofectamine 2000). Transfection conditions were optimized by the FAM fluorescent labeling-siRNA to screen effective siRNA sequences by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). After transfection with effective siRNA sequences, VSMCs were divided into 4 groups: (1) normal phosphate (Pi 1.3 mmol/L); (2) high phosphate (Pi 2.6 mmol/L); (3) siRNA transfection: high phosphate+Cbfα-1-siRNA; (4) negative transfection control: high phosphate+negative control siRNA. Cbfα-1 and osteopontin (OPN) mRNA and protein expression were detected by RT-PCR and Western blotting. Calcium deposition was visualized by Alizarin stain method., Results: The transfection efficiency was around 55% with a concentration of Cbfα-1 siRNA 100 nmol/L and Lipo 8 µl/ well. Cbfα-1 siRNA 1952 was chosen as the effective sequence with a suppression ratio up to 81.8%. At 24 and 48 h post-transfection, the expression of Cbfα-1 mRNA was significantly lower in siRNA transfection group than that in high phosphate group (0.335 ± 0.059 vs 0.714 ± 0.106, 0.574 ± 0.036 vs 0.726 ± 0.086, all P < 0.01) . At 48 and 72 h post-transfection, the expression of Cbfα-1 protein in siRNA transfection group was significantly lower than that in high phosphate group (both P < 0.01) . While Cbfα-1 gene was silenced by siRNA in siRNA transfection group, the mRNA and protein expression of OPN significantly declined (all P < 0.05) and calcium deposition in cell layers decreased., Conclusions: Cbfα-1 siRNA can effectively inhibit the expression of Cbfα-1 mRNA and protein in VSMC and thus suppress the transformation of VSMC into osteoblast-like cells and calcification induced by high phosphate. Cbfα-1 may become a potential therapeutic target in vascular calcification of chronic kidney disease.

Objective: To explore the changes of sublingual microcirculation in elderly patients with severe sepsis/septic shock., Methods: Twenty-three patients with sepsis, 10 patients without sepsis and 10 healthy elderly patients were enrolled. Sublingual microcirculation was evaluated by sidestream darkfield (SDF) imaging. And the 28-day mortality rates of all septic patients were recorded., Results: Compared with the healthy group, all elderly patients had significant sublingual microcirculation dysfunctions. Compared with the severe septic and nonseptic patients, perfused vessel density (PDV) , proportion of perfused vessels (PPV) and microvascular flow index (MFI) of septic shocks were significantly lower. Compared with the severe septic patients, PDV, PPV and MFI instead of lactate and MAP of septic shocks were significantly lower from Day 1 to Day 3. The values of PDV, PPV, MFI and lactate but not MAP of the surviving septic patients were significantly higher than those of the deceased ones., Conclusions: The elderly patients with septic shock have severe sublingual microcirculatory alterations. And these abnormalities are more marked in septic shock patients. Nonsurvivors showed more severe alterations than survivors. Microcirculatory alterations may be measured to guide the therapy.

Objective: To investigate the mortality and predictors of outcome of children with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU)., Methods: ARDS cases were selected from the 12 018 patients admitted in 25 pediatric intensive care units in China from January 1 to December 31, 2004, aged 29 days to 14 years, using the Chinese Pediatric Critical Index of Severity (PCIS) and American Guidelines for Admission and Discharge Policies for PICU. ARDS was diagnosed according to the 1994 American-European Consensus Conference criteria., Results: 105 of the 12 018 patients (1.44%) were diagnosed as with ARDS. The overall mortality of ARDS was 61.0% (64/105), 9 times as high as that of the 7269 severe cases in PICU. Logistic regression analysis showed that infiltration shadows in 2 - 3 quadrants, pediatric critical illness score (PCIS), and partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2) at the onset of ARDS were independently associated with the mortality., Conclusion: ARDS has a high risk of death, and the infiltration shadows in 2-3 quadrants, PCIS, and PaCO2 are independently associated with mortality.

Objective: To investigate the expression profile of integrin genes in heart of septic rat and relevant mechanisms responsible for sepsis-induced heart injury., Methods: Twelve 3-month-old male Wistar rats were randomized to 2 equal groups, sepsis model group (CLP group) undergoing ligation and perforation with needle of the distal caecum so as to establish sepsis model, and sham operation group (Sham group), undergoing sham operation only serve as controls. Twenty-four later the hearts of rats were rapidly excised. After determination of the hemodynamic parameters by using Langendorff apparatus, the isolated hearts were cut into 2 parts vertically to undergo histopathological examination and analysis of the expression of integrin genes by oligonucleotide microarrays respectively., Results: No overt pathological changes were detected in the hearts of septic rats, however, the cardiac output, stroke volume, heart rate, left ventricular developed pressure, left ventricular end-diastolic pressure, and maximum rate of left ventricular pressure rise of the CLP group were 29.4+/-3.3 ml/min, 0.12+/-0.01 ml, 256+/-6 bpm, 75.6+/-4.9 mm Hg, 7.5+/-0.3 mm Hg, and 2167+/-159 mm Hg/s respectively, all significantly than those of the Sham group (57.8+/-2.4 ml/min, 0.18+/-0.01 ml, 302+/-12 bpm, 90.0+/-2.7 mmHg, 8.0+/-0.3 mmHg. and 2601+/-34 mmHg/s respectively, all P<0.01). Microarray analysis showed that 20 out of 24 integrin genes were up-regulated by more than 2 times in the septic rat heart, among which the integrin alphaV and beta2 genes were upregulated and the expression of integrin beta1 gene was relatively insufficient., Conclusion: Maladjustment in expression of integrin genes is present in the septic rat heart. Up-regulation of integrin alphaV and beta2 genes may accelerate the heart injury mediated by inflammatory mediators, and the relatively insufficient expression of integrin beta1 gene may contribute to cardiac dysfunction.