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This study aims to provide a medical information management system using multi-source heterogeneous big data to improve medical service quality and efficiency, with a motivation on its potential in medical insurance DRG payment. The system framework uses Back Propagation Neural Network (BPNN) technology to efficiently process and analyze multi-source medical data. Comparative experiments and parameter adjustments evaluated the system’s performance. Results show that the BPNN model achieved excellent accuracy (92.5%), recall (93%), and F1 value (92.8%) on the test data set, outperforming other models such as PSO(88%), CNN(89%), and RNN(90%). The system’s response speed was also significantly improved, with an average response time of 0.38 seconds, compared to 0.89 seconds for traditional systems. A 72-hour stability test confirmed the system’s reliability and ability to meet user needs. The proposed system demonstrates improved performance and user experience, making it a promising solution for medical information management and DRG payment applications.

PurposeOur purpose was to investigate the influence of atlas library size and CT cross-slice number on the accuracy and efficiency of the atlas-based auto-segmentation (ABAS) method for the automatic contouring of clinical treatment volume (CTV) and organs at risk (OARs) during cervical cancer radiotherapy.MethodsOf 140 cervical cancer patients, contours from 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, and 120 patients were selected incrementally to create six atlas library groups in ABAS. Another 20 tested patients were automatically contoured with the ABAS method and manually contoured by the same professional oncologist. Contours included CTV, bladder, rectum, femoral head-L, femoral head-R, and spinal cord. The CT cross-slice numbers of the 20 tested patients included 61, 65, 72, 75, 81, and 84. The index of dice similarity coefficients (DSCs) and Hausdorff distance (HD) were used to assess the consistency between ABAS automatic contouring and manual contouring. The randomized block analysis of variance and paired t-test were used for statistical analysis.ResultsThe mean DSC values of “CTV, bladder, femoral head, and spinal cord” were all larger than 0.8. The femoral head and spinal cord showed a high degree of agreement between ABAS automatic contouring and manual contouring, with a mean DC >0.80 and HD

Ferroptosis is a type of cell death accompanied by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation, thus stimulating ferroptosis may be a potential strategy for treating gastric cancer, therapeutic agents against which are urgently required. Jiyuan oridonin A (JDA) is a natural compound isolated from Jiyuan Rabdosia rubescens with anti-tumor activity, unclear anti-tumor mechanisms and limited water solubility hamper its clinical application. Here, we showed a2, a new JDA derivative, inhibited the growth of gastric cancer cells. Subsequently, we discovered for the first time that a2 induced ferroptosis. Importantly, compound a2 decreased GPX4 expression and overexpressing GPX4 antagonized the anti-proliferative activity of a2. Furthermore, we demonstrated that a2 caused ferrous iron accumulation through the autophagy pathway, prevention of which rescued a2 induced ferrous iron elevation and cell growth inhibition. Moreover, a2 exhibited more potent anti-cancer activity than 5-fluorouracil in gastric cancer cell line-derived xenograft mice models. Patient-derived tumor xenograft models from different patients displayed varied sensitivity to a2, and GPX4 downregulation indicated the sensitivity of tumors to a2. Finally, a2 exhibited well pharmacokinetic characteristics. Overall, our data suggest that inducing ferroptosis is the major mechanism mediating anti-tumor activity of a2, and a2 will hopefully serve as a promising compound for gastric cancer treatment.

Endophytic fungi are promising producers of bioactive small molecules. Bioinformatic analysis of the genome of an endophytic fungus Penicillium dangeardii revealed 43 biosynthetic gene clusters, exhibited its strong ability to produce numbers of secondary metabolites. However, this strain mainly produce rubratoxins alone with high yield in varied culture conditions, suggested most gene clusters are silent. Efforts for mining the cryptic gene clusters in P. dangeardii, including epigenetic regulation and one-strain-many-compounds (OSMAC) approach were failed probably due to the high yield of rubratoxins. A metabolic shunting strategy by deleting the key gene for rubratoxins biosynthesis combining with optimization of culture condition successfully activated multiple silent genes encoding for other polyketide synthases (PKSs), and led to the trace compounds detectable. As a result, a total of 23 new compounds including azaphilone monomers, dimers, trimers with unprecedented polycyclic bridged heterocycle and spiral structures, as well as siderophores were identified. Some compounds showed significant cytotoxicities, anti-inflammatory or antioxidant activities. The attractive dual PKSs gene clusters for azaphilones biosynthesis were mined by bioinformatic analysis and overexpression of a pathway specific transcription factor. Our work therefor provides an efficient approach to mine the chemical diversity of endophytic fungi.

New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-1 (NDM-1) is capable of hydrolyzing nearly all β-lactam antibiotics, posing an emerging threat to public health. There are currently less effective treatment options for treating NDM-1 positive “superbug”, and no promising NDM-1 inhibitors were used in clinical practice. In this study, structure–activity relationship based on thiosemicarbazone derivatives was systematically characterized and their potential activities combined with meropenem (MEM) were evaluated. Compounds 19bg and 19bh exhibited excellent activity against 10 NDM-positive isolate clinical isolates in reversing MEM resistance. Further studies demonstrated compounds 19bg and 19bh were uncompetitive NDM-1 inhibitors with Ki = 0.63 and 0.44 μmol/L, respectively. Molecular docking speculated that compounds 19bg and 19bh were most likely to bind in the allosteric pocket which would affect the catalytic effect of NDM-1 on the substrate meropenem. Toxicity evaluation experiment showed that no hemolysis activities even at concentrations of 1000 mg/mL against red blood cells. In vivo experimental results showed combination of MEM and compound 19bh was markedly effective in treating infections caused by NDM-1 positive strain and prolonging the survival time of sepsis mice. Our finding showed that compound 19bh might be a promising lead in developing new inhibitor to treat NDM-1 producing superbug.

The EtOH extracts of the whole plants of Euphorbia helioscopia afforded 17 new jatrophane diterpenoid esters, helioscopianoids A–Q (117), along with eight known compounds (18–25). Their structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic methods and Mo2(OAc)4-induced ECD analysis, and the structures of compounds 1, 2, and 7 were confirmed by X-ray crystallography. Compounds 1–17 were evaluated for inhibitory effects on P-glycoprotein (P-gp) in an adriamycin (ADM)-resistant human breast adenocarcinoma cell line (MCF-7/ADR) and neuroprotective effects against serum deprivation-induced and rotenone-induced PC12 cell damage. Compounds 8 and 16 increased the accumulation of ADM in MCF-7/ADR cells by approximately 3-fold at a concentration of 20 μmol/L. Compound 8 could attenuate rotenone-induced PC12 cell damage, and compounds 2, 8, and 12 showed neuroprotective activities against serum deprivation-induced PC12 cell damage. KEY WORDS: Euphorbia helioscopia, Jatrophanes, Helioscopianoids A–Q, P-glycoprotein (ABCB1) inhibitory activity, Neuroprotective effect

ZnS is a promising photocatalyst in water purification, whereas its low photon efficiency and poor visible-light response restrict its application. Constructing composites may help solve these problems. In this work, Ag2O was introduced to ZnS for the first time based on their energy band characteristics to form a novel ZnS/Ag2O composite photocatalyst. In the model reaction of degrading methylene blue, the as-designed catalyst exhibited high catalytic activity among a series of ZnS-based composite photocatalysts under similar conditions. The catalytic rate constant was up to 0.138 min−1, which is 27.4- and 15.6-times higher than those of ZnS and Ag2O. This composite degraded 92.4% methylene blue in 50 min, while the ratios were 31.9% and 68.8% for ZnS and Ag2O. Catalytic mechanism study based on photoluminescence and radical-scavenging experiments revealed that the enhanced photocatalytic activity was attributed to the composite structure of ZnS/Ag2O. The structure not only facilitated the separation and transmission of photogenerated carriers but also extended the light response range of the catalyst. The as-designed ZnS/Ag2O composite is promising in degrading organic pollutants in water.

The O + O2 isotope exchange reactions play an important role in determining the oxygen isotopic composition of a number of trace gases in the atmosphere, and their temperature dependence and kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) provide important constraints on our understanding of the origin and mechanism of these and other unusual oxygen KIEs important in the atmosphere. This work reports a quantum dynamics study of the title reactions on the newly constructed Dawes-Lolur-Li-Jiang-Guo (DLLJG) potential energy surface (PES). The thermal reaction rate coefficients of both the 18O + 32O2 and 16O + 36O2 reactions obtained using the DLLJG PES exhibit a clear negative temperature dependence, in sharp contrast with the positive temperature dependence obtained using the earlier modified Siebert-Schinke-Bittererova (mSSB) PES. In addition, the calculated KIE shows an improved agreement with the experiment. These results strongly support the absence of the "reef" structure in the entrance/exit channels of the DLLJG PES, which is present in the mSSB PES. The quantum dynamics results on both PESs attribute the marked KIE to strong near-threshold reactive resonances, presumably stemming from the mass differences and/or zero point energy difference between the diatomic reactant and product. The accurate characterization of the reactivity for these near-thermoneutral reactions immediately above the reaction threshold is important for correct characterization of the thermal reaction rate coefficients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming has become an issue of increasing worldwide concern. At present, the most direct way to solve this problem is to control carbon emissions. In our paper, carbon tax policy is injected into a two-stage supply chain consisting of one manufacturer and two retailers. We establish six game models according to the relationship (competitive or cooperative) between the retailers and three power structures (manufacturer Stackelberg (MS), retailer Stackelberg (RS), and vertical Nash (VN)) between the two retailers and the manufacturer. We then adopt the inverse induction method to derive optimal pricing decisions for each model. Optimal profits for supply chain members are obtained. Finally, we analyse: i) the effects of competition and cooperation between the two retailers on equilibrium results; ii) the effects of the three possible power structures existing between the manufacturer and the two retailers on equilibrium results; and especially iii) the effect of the carbon tax rate on pricing decision and the profits of the supply chain. We find that the different power structure and the horizontal relationship between the two retailers have important influence on equilibrium results. Further, the change of carbon tax rate have different influence on pricing under the different power structure and the horizontal relationship between the two retailers. When the government adjusts the carbon tax rate, it should fully consider the different power structure and the horizontal relationship for two-stage supply chain consisting of one manufacturer and two retailers. Although the implementation of the carbon tax policy reduces the corporate profits, it reduces the total carbon emission. The carbon tax policy is helpful to build an environment-friendly and resource-conserving society.

Background: Increasing evidence indicates that radioresistance remains a major problem in the treatment of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). This study was designed to investigate the expression of microRNA-381 (miR-381) and its function in the radioresistance of ESCC. Methods: In this study, miR-381 expression was first detected in ESCC cell lines and tissue samples by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Then, the effects of miR-381 expression on growth, apoptosis, and radiosensitivity of ESCC cells were analyzed by MTT, colony formation, and flow cytometry, respectively. Dual-luciferase reporter assays were performed to validate the regulation of a putative target of miR-381, in corroboration with qRT-PCR and Western blotting assays. Results: ESCC cell lines or tissues were found to express significantly lower miR-381 than normal esophageal epithelial cells or adjacent normal tissues, respectively. Ectopic expression of miR-381 in ESCC cell lines blocked proliferation, reduced colony formation, enhanced apoptosis, and increased radiosensitivity by enhancing irradiation-induced apoptosis. In addition, dual-luciferase reporter assays showed that miR-381 binds to the 3'-untranslated region of X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP), suggesting that XIAP should be a direct target of miR-381. Re-expression of miR-381 suppressed XIAP protein expression in ESCC cells, and the effects of miR-381 upregulation on ESCC cells were found to be similar with silencing of XIAP. In addition, XIAP mRNA expression significantly increased in ESCC tissues and was inversely correlated with miR-381 expression. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that miR-381/XIAP pathway contributed to the growth inhibition, increase in apoptosis, and enhancement of radiosensitivity in ESCC cells Therefore, miR-381 may be a potential therapeutic target in human ESCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A queueing-inventory system with server’s vacations and impatient customers is investigated. Continuous review s,S policy is considered for the queueing-inventory system. The server leaves for a vacation once the inventory is zero. The customer arrived waits for service with a probability p or is lost forever with a probability 1−p when the server is off due to a vacation. Customers are impatient during period when the customer is waiting for service in the queue or when the server is off due to a vacation. The matrix geometric solution of the steady-state probability is obtained using the method of truncated approximation. Furthermore, some performance measures are obtained using the steady-state probability. Finally, the effect of system parameters on the performance measures, the optimal policy and the optimal cost are presented by numerical examples.

The FH2- anion has a stable structure that resembles a configuration in the vicinity of the transition state for neutral reaction F + H2 → HF + H. Electron photodetachment spectra of the FH2- anion reveal the neutral reaction dynamics in the critical transition-state region. Accurate quantum dynamics simulations of the photodetachment spectra using highly accurate new ab initio potential energy surfaces for both anionic and neutral FH2 are performed and compared with all available experimental results. The results provide reliable interpretations for the experimental observations of FH2- photoelectron detachment and reveal a detailed picture of the molecular dynamics around the transition state of the F + H2 reaction. The latest high-resolution photoelectron detachment spectra [Kim et al. Science, 2015, 349, 510-513] confirm the high accuracy of our new potential energy surface for describing the resonance-enhanced reactivity of the neutral F + H2 reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The random uncertain multi-state system is defined as a multi-state system consisting of multi-state components whose performance rates and the corresponding state probabilities are presented as uncertain variables. Reliability assessment of random multi-state systems with enough samples based on probability theory has been widely investigated. Nevertheless, in some real-world applications, only a few or even no samples are available to estimate the state probabilities and performance rates of multi-state components or systems. To overcome the problem, by joint employment of probability theory and uncertainty theory, the reliability of a random uncertain multi-state system is analyzed in this paper. The state probabilities and performance rates of multi-state components are considered as uncertain variables. The uncertain universal generating function is introduced to evaluate the state probabilities and performance rates of the random uncertain multi-state systems. The uncertainty distributions, inverse uncertainty distributions, expected values and variances of the state probabilities, and performance rates for the system are discussed. An assessment technique for system reliability is proposed to compute the system reliability under the crisp user demand. A numerical example is presented to illustrate how to assess the state probabilities, performance rates, and reliability of the system.

This paper extends the concept of availability equivalence from general binary system to discrete multistate system with different performance rates. It considers a repairable discrete multistate parallel-series system with different performance rates. The system availability is defined as the ability of the system to satisfy consumer demand. The universal generating function technique is adopted to derive the availability of both original and improved systems according to factor method and standby redundancy method. Two types of availability equivalence factors of the system are analyzed. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the theoretical results obtained in this paper.

This paper considers a repairable multistate series-parallel system (RMSSPS) with fuzzy parameters. It is assumed that the system components are independent, and their state transition rates and performance rates are fuzzy values. The fuzzy universal generating function technique is adopted to determine fuzzy state probability and fuzzy performance rate of the system. On the basis of α-cut approach and the extension principle, parametric programming technique is employed to obtain the α-cuts of some indices for the system. The system fuzzy availability is defined as the ability of the system to satisfy fuzzy consumer demand. A special assessment approach is developed for evaluating the fuzzy steady-state availability of the system with the fuzzy demand. A flow transmission system with three components is presented to demonstrate the validity of the proposed method.

We consider an M/M/c queueing system with impatient customers and a synchronous vacation policy, where customer impatience is due to the servers’ vacation. Whenever a system becomes empty, all the servers take a vacation. If the system is still empty, when the vacation ends, all the servers take another vacation; otherwise, they return to serve the queue. We develop the balance equations for the steady-state probabilities and solve the equations by using the probability generating function method. We obtain explicit expressions of some important performance measures by means of the two indexes. Based on these, we obtain some results about limiting behavior for some performance measures. We derive closed-form expressions of some important performance measures for two special cases. Finally, some numerical results are also presented.

One new building block of tigogenyl glycoside with orthogonal protective groups has been efficiently synthesized. Using the building block as the key synthon, a small library of saponins with branched sugar moieties was built in an efficient way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three representative spirostanol saponins that have typical structure of the sugar moiety, diosgenyl 2,3-di-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-β-D-glucopyranoside, diosgenyl 2,4-di-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-β-D-glucopyranoside (dioscin), and diosgenyl 2,6-di-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-β-D-glucopyranoside, were synthesized in a facile way. An approach to selectively mask the C3-hydroxyl of diosgenyl 4,6-O-benzylidene β-D-glucopyranoside was described. A procedure using cerium(IV) ammonium nitrate for selective removal of tert-butyldimethylsilyl group while retaining levulinyl group is afforded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]