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To address cruise companies' revenue loss caused by over-reliance on indirect channels for ticket distribution, we design a dual-channel pricing policy that includes dynamic horizontal and vertical pricing regimes aiming to maximizing cruise companies' revenue. In the horizontal pricing regime, cruise companies and travel agencies offer uniform prices to consumers dynamically. In the vertical pricing regime, cruise companies provide dynamic commissions to travel agencies based on their sales performances. In view of the dynamic customer arrivals and uncertain demand, we model the dynamic dual-channel pricing decisions as a Markov decision process, and solve the model by means of a reinforcement learning method. Our computational results show that dual-channel pricing policies generated by our method outperform the classic Expected Marginal Seat Revenue method, which has been widely used in similar industries such as airlines for revenue management. In addition to the various features of dual-channel in ticket distribution, our model also takes into account customers' onboard consumptions, which is a critical source of revenue in cruise industry but has never been considered in the literature. As a result, our model and computational results provide insightful implications for cruise revenue management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In general, the adsorption/desorption of free and adsorbed gas in coal will cause the coal matrix swelling/shrinkage. However, there is no constant conclusion on how the coal deforms under the two types of gas under different temperature and pressure conditions. Herein, a self-developed constant-temperature adsorption/desorption and deformation test system is used to monitor the axial and radial deformations of coal caused by the adsorption of different gases. The effects of effective stress and gas-self adsorption on the deformation in the process of expansion of gas adsorbed–coal are studied. The results showed that at the initial stage of gas adsorption by coal, the axial deformation of coal exceeds the radial deformation. Under the same injection pressure, the volumetric strain caused by injecting He and CH4 into coal first increases and then decreases with increasing temperature. During the CH4adsorption of coal, the volumetric strain of coal caused by effective stress exceeds that caused by adsorption stress. With increasing injection pressure, coal deformations caused by adsorption stress varied insignificantly. At a constant temperature, the CH4 adsorption stress increases slightly with increasing injection pressure. Under a constant injection pressure, the decrease in the CH4 adsorption stress is large when the temperature rises from 40°C to 60°C and is small when the temperature rises from 60°C to 80°C. The effect of temperature on the CH4 adsorption stress is more significant than that of the injection pressure. Finally, the ratio of volumetric strain caused by adsorption stress to that caused by effective stress decreases with increasing temperature, and it is approximately constant at temperatures between 60°C and 80°C. In general, the volume deformation caused by adsorption stress is mainly affected when the temperature is <60°C; thus, 60°C can be regarded as the threshold temperature at which the gas adsorption of coal is significantly changed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the problem of finite-time H ∞ control for switched systems under a dynamic event-triggered mechanism. In order to avoid frequent switching phenomenon and exclude Zeno behavior, discrete state information is used to construct a state-dependent switching law and a dynamic event-triggered mechanism. The event-triggered condition only needs to be detected at the sampled instants, so the data transmission pressure is greatly relieved. By introducing a delay-dependent Lyapunov function with the internal dynamic variable, a criterion is established to achieve the finite-time H ∞ performance. A set of dynamic event-triggered controllers and a state-dependent switching law are co-designed to reach desired behavior. An application example of the switched RLC system is offered to demonstrate the advantages of the acquired method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the severity of college student's mental health has increased, with depression being the most prominent. This study's primary purpose was to explore (1) whether the perceived stress of COVID-19 was associated with depression through sequential mediation of mindfulness and dysexecutive function and also (2) the temporal association among mindfulness, dysexecutive function and depression. Methods: We performed two studies to evaluate dysexecutive function as a mechanism through which mindfulness impacts depression under the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic. Study 1 used a sequential mediation model to test the mediating role of mindfulness and dysexecutive function between the perceived stress of COVID-19 and depression based on 1,665 emerging adults. Study 2 used a random-effect, cross-lagged panel model (RE-CLPM) to test the directionality among mindfulness, dysexecutive function, and depression based on 370 emerging adults. Results: The cross-sectional study showed that perceived stress of COVID-19 was positively associated with depression through the sequential mediation of mindfulness and dysexecutive function (effect: 0.08, 95%CI = [0.07, 0.10]), also through the mediation of mindfulness (effect: 0.05, 95%CI = [0.03, 0.06]) and dysexecutive function (effect: 0.08, 95%CI = [0.06, 0.10]) separately. The RE-CLPM study indicated that dysexecutive function mediates the reciprocal relation between mindfulness and depression at the within-person level. Conclusion: These results suggest that dysexecutive function is an intermediate psychological mechanism that exacerbates depression under pandemic-related stress. Mindfulness can predict dysexecutive function and subsequently improve depression. As depression under pandemic-related stress can weaken the mindful state, long-term mindfulness practices are needed to maintain mental health during COVID-19. Dysexecutive function is a potential cognitive risk factor of depression under pandemic stress using cross-sectional data. The random effect cross-lagged panel model (RE-CLPM) demonstrated temporal association among mindfulness, dysexecutive functions, and depression. Long-term mindfulness practices are needed to maintain mental health under COVID-19 stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maritime transportation is important, not only for its contribution to global trade, but also for its potential role in our common effort to curb the global environmental problems and make the world's economic development sustainable. An interesting finding is that shipping firms are more likely to adopt proactive GSCM strategies, which contradicts the findings of most management studies that reactive firms outnumber proactive and leading companies. All sample firms were clustered into "the leaders", "proactive firms", and "reactive firms" according to their level of GSCM strategy adoption. [Extracted from the article]

Objective: This study aimed to summarize the current evidence-based approach to perioperative enteral nutritional (EN) program for gastric cancer (GC) surgery and to develop a staged and operable EN management scheme based on the evidence to provide clinical guidance for improving perioperative EN management in patients with GC. Methods: First, we synthesized expert consensuses, systematic reviews, and guidelines related to GC patients who had undergone surgery, based on a review of the literature and expert meetings. Subsequently, after carefully evaluating and selecting relevant EN management data, we created a preliminary draft of a perioperative EN program. Following Delphi expert consultations, the final version of the perioperative EN program was constructed after revision. Results: After two rounds of consultation, the expert opinions tended to be consistent. The expert positive coefficient was 1.00, and the expert authority coefficient was 0.90. After the second round of consultation, the coefficient of variation of the importance score ranged from 0.05 to 0.20, and the coefficient of variation of the feasibility score ranged from 0.09 to 0.23. The Kendall harmony coefficients were 0.338 and 0.392, and the difference between them was statistically significant (p < 0.001). The final practice plan includes 4 first-level, 16 s-level, and 64 third-level items. Conclusions: The perioperative EN program constructed in this study is comprehensive in content, feasible, and evidence-based, and can provide insights for clinical improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The boiler equipment should be able to adapt to the load requirements and overcome the interference of various external conditions. By establishing a one-dimensional single-channel general numerical calculation model suitable for flow instability analysis of ultra-supercritical boilers at 700 °C, the rules of flow in the tubes are calculated. The 7th loop and the 22nd loop of the boiler water wall are selected as typical loops, and the dynamic characteristics of the two loops are calculated. The results show that after applying different multiples of heat flux disturbance, regardless of whether metal heat storage is considered, the inlet and outlet mass flow rates of the two circuits show inverse dynamic responses and eventually return to a steady state. When considering heat storage, it takes about 63 s for the 7th loop to return to stability. The recovery and stabilization time of the 22nd loop is about 60 s. Metal thermal storage has a positive effect on the settling time of the pipe section after heat flux disturbance. And when the maximum heat flux disturbance is applied, the maximum wall temperatures of the two loops are 443.9 °C and 446.5 °C, and the boiler can operate safely and stably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CAR-T is emerging as an effective treatment strategy for hematologic malignancies, however its effectiveness for treating solid tumors, such as Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is limited. Here, we screened a variety of CAR-T cells that target c-Met to investigate their potential to induce HCC cell death in vitro. Human T cells were transduced to express CARs by lentiviral vector transfection. c-Met expression in human HCC cell lines and CARs expression were monitored by flow cytometry. Tumor cell killing was evaluated by Luciferase Assay System Kit. The concentrations of cytokine were tested by Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Knock down and overexpression studies targeting c-Met were conducted to assess the targeting specificity of CARs. We found that CAR T cells expressing a minimal amino-terminal polypeptide sequence comprising the first kringle (kringle 1) domain (denoted as NK1 CAR-T cells), efficiently killed HCC cell lines that expressed high levels of the HGF receptor c-Met. Furthermore, we report that while NK1 CAR-T cells were efficient at targeting SMMC7221 cells for destruction, and its potency was significantly attenuated in parallel experiments with cells stably expressing short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) that suppressed c-Met expression. Correspondingly, overexpression of c-Met in the embryonic kidney cell line HEK293T led to their enhanced killing by NK1 CAR-T cells. Our studies demonstrate that a minimal amino-terminal polypeptide sequence comprising the kirngle1 domain of HGF is highly relevant to the design of effective CAR-T cell therapies that kill HCC cells expressing high levels of c-Met. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We sequenced a chronic obstructive pulmonary diseaseRattus norvegicusC57CE strain mitochondrial genome for the first time (GenBank Accession No. KM114607). Its mitogenome was 16,307 bp and coding 13 protein–coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, 22 transfer RNA genes. This genome will provide definite information for genetic perspective into this disease. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, the event-triggered exponential filtering problem is addressed for a class of networked linear switched systems via mode-dependent average dwell time (MDADT) technique. An event-triggered communication mechanism is designed to enhance the resource utilisation in transmission and save the communication cost of systems as well. Then, the filtering error system is reconstructed as a switched time-delay system with bounded disturbance by virtue of the input delay system approach. By applying the mode-dependent Lyapunov functional approach, some interesting results with MDADT technique are derived to ensure the exponential stability and a prescribed disturbance rejection level. Further, some sufficient conditions for switched systems with average dwell time (ADT) are also presented as byproduct. An event-triggered exponential filter is presented by solving some convex optimisation problems. The efficiency of the presented results is verified through a numerical example and a PWM-driven boost converter systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tayuan plutons located at the boundary of the Erguna and Xing'an blocks expose a coexisting mafic-felsic association that is made of monzogranite and gabbro-monzodiorite as well as subordinate quartz monzonite. LA-ICP-MS U-Pb zircon dating revealed a synchronous emplacement of the monzogranite (314-317 Ma), gabbro (308-315 Ma), and quartz monzonite (310 ± 3 Ma). The majority of these intrusions are characterized by an enrichment in light rare earth elements relative to heavy rare earth elements and a depletion of high strength field elements (e.g. Nb, Ta, Ti). Zircons from the gabbro and monzogranite have εHf(t) values of 1.1-9.6 and −3.0-3.3, respectively. Geochemical data show that the gabbro-monzodiorite may have been generated by the melting of a fluid-metasomatized lithospheric mantle, while the monzogranite may have been formed by a partial melting of the Mesoproterozoic crust. The quartz monzonite has similar whole-rock geochemical and Hf isotopic compositions to those of the gabbros and could have been produced from the same mantle source as that from which the gabbros were extracted. The Tayuan plutonic rocks have high contents of K2O and total alkalis and show a northwestward polarity like that of the continental margin plutonic rocks along the Hegenshan-Heihe suture zone. Combined with data from published studies, our data indicate that the Tayuan intrusive rocks were generated by the northwestward subduction of the Hegenshan-Heihe Oceanic plate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the relationships between the Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score and ascites fluid lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level, and prognosis in patients with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (MPeM). Methods: A total of 125 patients with MPeM were selected for the study using a pathological screening method. Once the diagnosis is established, before the treatment their clinical characteristics and nutritional evaluations were recorded including CONUT score and ascites LDH level. The associations between CONUT, ascites LDH, and other clinicopathological features including body mass index, asbestos exposure, pathological type, and treatment method were analyzed. Prognostic parameters predicting overall survival (OS) were analyzed by Cox regression. Results: High CONUT score, high ascites LDH level were positively associated with poor prognosis in patients with MPeM according to univariate analyses (P < 0.001, P < 0.001, respectively), and CONUT score and ascites LDH were independent predictors of a poor prognosis according to multivariate analysis. When the CONUT score is greater than 3 and the ascites LHD is greater than 474 IU/l, it indicates a poor prognosis. Conclusions: CONUT score and ascites LDH are important factors influencing the prognosis of MPeM patients and should thus be considered in clinical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the degradation activity of the manganese ABC transporter, vegetative catalase 1 and acetoin dehydrogenase E1 from Bacillus subtilis YB1, the proteins were prokaryotically expressed and purified. Assay results showed that the three enzymes were able to degrade nicosulfuron (2- (4,6-dimethoxypyrimidine-2-pyrimidinylcarbamoylaminosulfonyl) -N,N-dimethylnicotinamide), with vegetative catalase 1 exhibiting the highest activity. To further examine the degradation pathway, the degradation products of the three enzymes and the YB1 strain were detected by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry(LC-MS). The nicosulfuron degradation products of the three enzymes were consistent with those of the YB1 strain, indicating the presence of two pathways: one due to cleavage of sulfonylurea bridges and ring-opening of 1-(4,6-dimethoxy-pyrimidin-2-yl)-3-(2-methyliminomethanesulfonyl-acetyl)-ureaas the pyrimidine ring, yielding the product; and the another due to cleavage of a sulfonylurea bridge, yielding 4,6-dihydroxy pyrimidine (111 m/z), 2-ylamine −4,6-dimethoxy pyrimidine and ((4-(dimethycarbamoyl)pyridine-2-yl)sulfonyl)carbamic acid as products, which were further degraded to 4,6-dihydroxy pyrimidine and N,N-dimethyl-2-sulfamoyl-isonicotinamide. The above results reveal a major contribution of extracellular enzymes to the degradation of nicosulfuron by the YB1 strain. Our data help in elucidation of the mechanism of nicosulfuron bio-degradation and may facilitate the construction of engineered strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has been continuously implementing the open-door policy for past 15 years ever since it joined the World Trade Organization, which escalated international trade and demand for shipping. Compared with the other major importing countries in the world, China’s importing tariff is relatively low. Under the Belt and Road initiatives, more Free Trade Agreements to be concluded and more Free Trade Zones to be established, it is expected that the effective import tariff rate may continue to decrease in the future. This study analyses the impact of further reduction in Chinese import tariff rate on major economic indicators using a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model and based on the Chinese macro-economic data of 2012. The model results show that, with a balanced international payment, such a reduction can increase GDP, resident consumption, both imports and exports, and reduce GDP price, trade surplus, and government revenue. The results ease the concern that further import tariff reduction may harm the domestic production. Rather, it points out that there are still rooms to improve national economy and increase the consumer utility by trade liberation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emergency cesarean section is one of the most critical methods in the treatment of high-risk emergency obstetric cases. The aim of this study was to explore the clinical effect of constructing a Rapid Response Team (RRT) in emergency cesarean section. This is a pre- and post-implementation study. The patients who underwent emergency cesarean section were retrospectively analyzed and divided into an experimental group and a control group. There were 52 patients (June–December 2020) in the control group who underwent routine emergency cesarean section without an RRT, and 51 patients (January–June 2021) in the experimental group who underwent emergency cesarean section with an RRT. The operation time indexes (DOI, decision-to-operating room interval; O-I, operating room-to-incision interval; DII, decision-to-incision interval; I-D, incision-to-delivery interval; DDI, decision-to-delivery interval), DDI pass rate, neonatal Apgar score and maternal complications in the two groups were compared. Moreover, the management time trends (DOI, DII, and DDI) in the experimental group were analyzed. The DDI, DII, DOI, and O-I of the experimental group were shorter than those of the control group, and the differences were significant (p < 0.05). The DDI pass rate in the experimental group was higher than that in the control group, and the difference was significant (p < 0.01). The 1-min Apgar score of the experimental group was higher than that of the control group (p < 0.05). The key intervals of emergency cesarean section in the experimental group leveled off after approximately 3 to 4 months. In the face of emergency situations, the implementation of an emergency cesarean section RRT can improve delivery intervals for emergency cesarean and would be conducive to maternal and infant safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reduce CO2 emissions from shipping activities to, from, and within the European Union (EU) area, a system of monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) of CO2 emissions from ships are implemented in 2015 by the EU. Although the MRV records in 2018 and 2019 have been published, there are scarce studies on the MRV system especially from a quantitative perspective, which restrains the potential of the MRV. To bridge this gap, this paper first analyzes and compares MRV records in 2018 and 2019, and then develops machine learning models for annual average fuel consumption prediction for each ship type combining ship features from an external database. The performance of the prediction models is accurate, with the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) on the test set no more than 12% and the average R-squared of all the models at 0.78. Based on the analysis and prediction results, model meanings, implications, and extensions are thoroughly discussed. This study is a pioneer to analyze the emission reports in the MRV system from a quantitative perspective. It also develops the first fuel consumption prediction models from a macro perspective using the MRV data. It can contribute to the promotion of green shipping strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aliphatic hydroxamic acids (HA) with varying numbers of carbon atoms, C2, C6, C8, C10, C12 and C17, and corresponding Fe(II), Fe(III), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes have been synthesized and characterized by various methods, including structural determination by single crystal X-ray diffraction and theoretical calculations. The biological activities of HA and their complexes have been assessed on a panel of pathogens, including eight bacteria strains and one fungus. The C12 aliphatic HA displayed the lowest minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) towards several microbial strains and a selective antifungal activity. This antifungal selectivity was further improved considering the Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes of C12 HA showed higher IC50 values, thus less impact on the SiHa human cell line viability. This work warrants further investigation to understand the underlying mechanism of action and potential biological applications of HA and the derived metal complexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Yi-Qi Cong-Ming (YQCM) decoction has been widely used to prevent age-related hearing loss (ARHL), the most prevalent neurodegenerative disease in the elderly. Objective: To explore the mechanism of YQCM decoction in the treatment of ARHL. Materials and methods: The chemical constituents of YQCM were screened from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database. Potential targets of YQCM against ARHL were predicted by DrugBank, GeneCards, and OMIM database. Protein-protein network and enrichment analysis were used for exploring possible molecular mechanisms. Molecular docking and an in vitro model of ARHL by exposing auditory cells with 100 μM H2O2 for 3 h were applied. Cell viability and mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨM) were detected by CCK-8 and high-content analysis. γH2AX and cleaved caspase-3 were detected by Western blot. Results: The main compounds have good affinities with hub targets, especially AKT1, PTGS2, and CASP3. GO and KEGG analysis showed that the main biological process and key targets were related to negative regulation of the apoptotic process. H2O2 treatment could reduce the cell viability by 68% and impaired ΔΨM, while 90 μg/mL YQCM pre-treatment could restore the cell viability by 97.45% and increase ΔΨM (2-fold higher). YQCM pre-treatment also reduced γH2AX and cleaved caspase-3 protein levels. Conclusions: Our study suggested that YQCM prevents ARHL by modulating the apoptosis process in auditory hair cells. Moreover, this study proved that bioinformatics analysis combined with molecular docking and cell model is a promising method to explore other possible pharmacological interventions of ARHL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A numerical study is conducted to investigate heat transfer characteristics of supercritical water flowing upward in an inclined smooth tube under uniform heating conditions. In this study, model verification was performed under the conditions of low heat flux and high heat flux to ensure the accuracy of experimental data. Inner wall temperature and heat flux distribute non-uniformly on the circumference due to the influence of natural convection. The increase of heat flux enhances the non-uniform circumferential distribution, while the increase of mass flux reduces the non-uniform circumferential distribution. Heat transfer of upward vertical and inclined flows is compared under low and high heat flux conditions. Radial distributions of fluid temperature, density, specific heat capacity, velocity, and turbulent kinetic energy are presented and analyzed. The analysis shows that the increase of heat flux reduces radial turbulence and heat-absorbing capacity of the boundary fluid, while increases radial temperature and density gradient. Three dimensionless buoyancy parameters are used to evaluate the buoyancy effect of inclined flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the problem of the input-to-state practical stability for switched affine systems with time-varying delay and essentially bounded exogenous disturbance. The presence of affine terms makes switched systems have multiple switched equilibria and brings further difficulties in the stability analysis, control synthesis and avoiding Zeno behaviours compared with the non-affine switched systems. To overcome these difficulties, first, a convex combination approach is employed to acquire a set of attainable equilibria limited by the system matrix, the delay term matrix, and affine terms. Second, a mode-dependent event-triggered mechanism with sampled-data information is established, which not only ignores Zeno behaviour but also effectively reduces network resource waste. An input-to-state practical stability criterion is proposed for the closed-loop system by converting the event-triggered control system into a time-delay system and introducing a less conservative time-dependent Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional. Moreover, a sampled-data switching law and a set of executable controllers are also co-designed. Finally, an application example of the flyback DC–DC converter demonstrates the efficiency of the proposed result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Few data are available on the influence of a colonoscope length for trainees, which could affect both the duration of training and colonoscopy quality. We conducted this study to validate which scope needs more duration for training to reach technical competence and to shows better quality indicators during diagnostic colonoscopy. Materials and methods. We conducted a prospective randomly assigned study from April 2010 to February 2011 at Asan Medical Center. Among the 1329 patients enrolled, 1200 colonoscopies were analyzed. We compared cecal intubation rate, adenoma detection rate, cecal intubation time (<20 min), and withdrawal time between the trainees using the intermediate-length colonoscope and those using long-length colonoscope. Results. Trainees who used the long-length colonoscope showed a higher overall cecal intubation rate (88.2% vs. 81.0%, p = 0.001) and adenoma detection rate (49.7% vs. 34.2%, p < 0.001) than those using the intermediate-length colonoscope. The successful cecal intubation rate improved significantly and reached the requisite standard of competence (>90%) after 90 procedures in the long-length colonoscope group. However, the trainees using the intermediate-length colonoscope reached the requisite standard of competence after 150 procedures. Logistic regression analysis revealed that prolonged cecal intubation was associated with the use of the intermediate-length colonoscope, poor colon preparation, a small number of esophagastroduodenoscopy or sigmoidoscopy procedures conducted, and pain during procedures. Conclusions. During the same training period, use of the long-length colonoscope in trainee was better in terms of reaching competency and quality indicators, and was less painful for the patients during colonoscopic procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The active lateral suspension (ALS) of a train consists of either active or semi-active technologies. However, such an active system on a real railway vehicle is not easy to test because of cost and time. In this study, a hardware-in-the-loop simulation (HILS) system is developed to test the ALS. To this end, the dynamic model of a railway vehicle is equipped with the actuator, two bogies and four-wheel sets, and the ALS is used. The proposed HILS system consists of an alternating current servo motor connected to a ball-screw mechanism and a digital control system. The digital control system implements the dynamic model and the control algorithm. The design and manufacture of the HILS system are explained in detail. Both the passive damper and the magneto-rheological (MR) fluid damper are tested using the HILS system, where the sky-hook control algorithm was applied for the MR fluid damper. Experimental results show that the proposed HILS system can be effectively used for the performance estimation of the ALS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the changes in amplitude-integrated electroencephalography (aEEG), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), and S100B in neonates with brain injury induced by neonatal hyperbilirubinemia (NHB). 67 neonates with brain injury induced by NHB admitted to our hospital from March 2016 to October 2018 were included in a brain injury group (BIG), and 82 neonates with NHB but without brain injury in our hospital during the same period were included in a non-BIG. The two groups were compared regarding the rates of normal and abnormal aEEG results. The proportion of normal aEEG results in the BIG was significantly lower than that in the non-BIG, and the proportion of moderately and severely abnormal aEEG results in the BIG were both significantly higher than those in the non-BIG. The BIG showed significantly higher NSE and S100B levels than those of the non-BIG. The ROC curve for predicting prognosis showed that the AUC of aEEG, NSE, S100B, and the combined detection are 0.780, 0.754, 0.743, 0.788. The AUC > 0.700 indicated a good predictive value for the prognosis. The combination of aEEG, NSE, and S100B has good value in diagnosing injury induced by NHB and can predict prognosis moderately well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intestinal fatty-acid binding protein (I-FABP, also called FABP2) is involved in the uptake of dietary fatty acids in the intestine, and its binding specificity is only with long-chain fatty acid. In this study, sequences of 4 exons in pigeon FABP2 were successfully amplified. The encoded protein had a molecular weight of 15.13 kDa and the theoretical pI was 6.75. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that the protein was predicted to contain 10 potential phosphorylation sites and did not contain signal peptide structure. The evolutionary analysis suggested the amino acid sequence of pigeon FABP2 was closest to the mallard (Nippoia nippon) homologs. Meanwhile the expression of FABP2 mRNA in different ages and tissues we conducted. It showed that the expression of the FABP2 gene was the highest in the liver, followed by the small intestine and adipose tissue, while lowest in the breast muscle. Also, the expression level in the gizzard was gradually increased with aging. Our results may serve as reference to better studies of the functional characterization and structure of the FABP2 in pigeon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel biosensor was prepared by using gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) signal amplification technology combined with liquid crystal biosensor to detect Cecropin B (CB). The surface of the substrate was modified with (3-aminopropyl)-triethoxysilane/N,N-dimethyl-N-octadecyl-(3-aminopropyl)-trimethoxysilyl chloride (APTES/DMOAP), glutaraldehyde (GA) as crosslinking, the AuNPs and Cecropin B antibody (anti-CB) complex could be fixed on the basal surface. CB and anti-CB can bind to make the liquid crystal (LC) changes in a vertical orientation, so as to achieve the purpose of testing. The volume of AuNPs is much larger than that of CB and anti-CB, thus AuNPs can play the role of signal amplification. Compared to the experiments without nano-gold amplification, our method has a lower detection limit. Finally, the limit of CB detection could be as low as 1.49 × 10−2 ng/mL. This method has the advantages of good specificity, high sensitivity, low detection limit and simple operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to model the complex relationship among the traffic characteristics (i.e. traffic flow, traffic speed, traffic density), environmental conditions (i.e. darkness condition, weather condition and traffic lane width) and frequency of ship collisions in the Yangtze River estuary areas. Taking into account the effects of ship approach angle, ship type, relative speed and darkness condition on the capability of ship collision avoidance, a dynamic ship domain model has been presented to measure ship collision frequency. Considering the big variation associated with the collision frequency, the measured ship collision frequency is further modeled as a loglogistic-distributed function of traffic characteristics and environmental conditions. Results show that the collision frequency is greater for (i) the bigger traffic flow; (ii) the bigger traffic density; (iii) the narrower traffic lane width; and (iv) the adverse weather condition. The darkness condition is the influencing factor that produces the biggest effect on the ship collision frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes the almost output regulation model reference adaptive control problem for switched systems with parametric uncertainties and multiple types of disturbances. By the almost output regulation model reference adaptive control strategy, the parametric uncertainties are suppressed and the multiple types of disturbances are rejected, simultaneously. In order to improve the transient performance of switched systems, the combined model reference adaptive control strategy is applied. A key point is to set up the almost output regulation model reference adaptive control strategy to achieve the tracking and the disturbance rejection performance. First, we design a switched identification model to estimate the plant uncertain parameters, by which more accurate plant parameters will be obtained. Secondly, based on the switched identification model, controllers with combined adaptive laws and a state-dependent switching law are designed to solve the almost output regulation model reference adaptive control problem for switched systems. Finally, a sufficient condition is given, which guarantees that the problem of the almost output regulation model reference adaptive control for switched systems is solvable in spite of the problem of almost output regulation model reference adaptive control for each subsystem is not solvable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the output-feedback fault-tolerant tracking control problem for a class of uncertain nonlinear switched systems with nonlinear faults and strict-feedback form, where the faults which are nonaffine occur on the actuator. As a kind of specialised function approximating tool, fuzzy logic systems (FLSs), are employed to approximate the unknown smooth nonlinear functions. A switched fuzzy observer is designed to address the problem of unmeasurable states, filtered signals are used to address algebraic loop problem and the average dwell time (ADT) method is further utilised to prove the stability of the resulting closed-loop systems under a type of slowly switching signals. Based on the backstepping recursive design technique and Lyapunov function method, an adaptive fuzzy output-feedback control scheme is developed. The developed control method can ensure all the signals are semi-globally uniformly ultimately bounded (SGUUB) and the system output tracks the reference signal tightly even if unknown fault occurs. A simulation carried on an example demonstrates the validity of the obtained control scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To map sand grain size distribution using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) digital cameras, we conducted experiments for six sand classes with the UAV images acquired at six different heights. We used the maximum likelihood classification and the Grey Level Co-occurrence Matrix texture indices on the images and evaluated classification accuracy under each flight height/image resolution. The image at the spatial resolution of 1.23 mm can effectively separate all six classes. The image of lower resolutions were only effective for coarser classes with an overall accuracy of 83.92% or better: the 2.48 mm pixel size was good for the four classes coarser than medium sand; 3.78 mm was good for the three classes coarser than coarse sand; 4.89 and 5.42 mm were good for the two coarsest classes of sand and gravel. This research is the first comprehensive study to test different UAV survey quality control parameters for sand classification, which could serve as a guidance for UAV survey parameter selection such as flight height and quality of digital cameras. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics and clinical course of Asian elderly-onset Crohn’s disease (EOCD) patients in a large well-defined cohort of South Korean IBD patients. Materials and methods: From the Asan inflammatory bowel disease registry, we identified 29 EOCD patients (diagnosed with CD in age of 60 years or over) out of 2989 CD patients (1.0%). After excluding two patients with unclear data, 27 EOCD were matched with 108 young-onset CD (YOCD) and 108 middle age-onset CD (MOCD) for the interval from symptom onset to diagnosis (±3 years) and follow-up duration (±3 years). Results: Females were predominant in the EOCD group (59.3%) compared to MOCD (31.5%) and YOCD (29.6%) groups (p = .012). In EOCD group, terminal ileal location was the most common (63.0%) at diagnosis, whereas ileocolonic location in other groups (57.4% in MOCD and 78.7% in YOCD, respectively) (p < .001). Patients with perianal fistula at CD diagnosis were less common (14.8% in EOCD vs. 28.7% in MOCD vs. 49.1% in YOCD, p < .001). During follow-up, thiopurines were used less frequently in the EOCD group (48.1% in EOCD vs. 87.0% in MOCD vs. 89.8% in YOCD, p < .001), but the risk for intestinal resection was comparable among three groups (p = .583). Conclusions: EOCD may have a better clinical course than MOCD and YOCD, as demonstrated by the similar risk for intestinal resection despite the less frequent use of thiopurines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotion is widely agreed to have two dimensions, valence and arousal. Few studies have explored the effect of emotion on conflict adaptation by considering both of these, which could have dissociate influence. The present study aimed to fill the gap as to whether emotional valence and arousal would exert dissociable influence on conflict adaptation. In the experiments, we included positive, neutral, and negative conditions, with comparable arousal between positive and negative conditions. Both positive and negative conditions have higher arousal than neutral ones. In Experiment 1, by using a two-colour-word Flanker task, we found that conflict adaptation was enhanced in both positive and negative contexts compared to a neutral context. Furthermore, this effect still existed when controlling stimulus–response repetitions in Experiment 2, which used a four-colour-word Flanker task. The findings suggest emotional arousal enhances conflict adaptation, regardless of emotional valence. Thus, future studies should consider emotional arousal when studying the effect of emotion on conflict adaptation. Moreover, the unique role of the emotional context in conflict-driven cognitive control is emphasised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:Large-scale studies regarding the long-term efficacy of infliximab (IFX) treatment in non-Caucasian patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) are lacking. Study:We analyzed the long-term outcomes of IFX in 195 Korean UC patients who received scheduled IFX treatments at Asan Medical Center. IFX failure was defined as IFX discontinuation due to colectomy or non-response to IFX, and additionally UC-related hospitalization or a need for rescue corticosteroids during the course of IFX. Results:Between December 2006 and October 2016, a total of 3101 infusions of IFX were administered to 195 patients over a median period of 21 months. At the end of the follow-up, 86 patients (44.1%) were still receiving IFX without failure. IFX was stopped in 73 (37.4%) patients due to colectomy (23 patients, 11.8%), non-response to IFX (35 patients, 17.9%) or other reasons such as adverse events or patients’ preferences (15 patients, 7.7%). An additional 36 (18.5%) patients experienced IFX failure during follow-up due to a need for rescue corticosteroids (13 patients, 6.7%), UC-related hospitalization (8 patients, 4.1%), or both (15 patients, 7.7%). The survival free of IFX failure was 58.1% at 1 year, 50.7% at 3 years and 44.8% at 5 years. In a multivariate regression analysis, cytomegalovirus colitis within 3 months before IFX initiation was a predictor of IFX failure (hazard ratio 1.57; 95% confidence interval 1.04–2.37;p = .032). Conclusions:The long-term efficacy of IFX in a large, real-life cohort of Korean UC patients appears to be comparable to that in previously published Western studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An investigation on the structural, electronic, thermodynamic, and mechanical properties of octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX)/2-methylpyridine-N-oxide (MPNO) cocrystal was carried out from 0 to 100 GPa by using a dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DFT-D) method. Our calculated crystal structure is in excellent agreement with experimental results at ambient pressure. Based on the analysis of lattice parameters, lattice angles, bond lengths, bond angles, and dihedral angles under high pressure, we observe that HMX molecules in the cocrystal bulk are seriously distorted but MPNO molecules remain relatively unchanged. Hydrogen bond lengths are greatly shortened under high pressure. In addition, with the increase in pressure, the bandgap decreases gradually. However, it increases suddenly at 70 GPa. Some important hydrogen bonds between HMX and MPNO are also observed in the density of states spectrum. According to the thermodynamic analysis, this cocrystal is more easily prepared under low pressure. Finally, we characterized its mechanical properties and the results show that this cocrystal is malleable in nature. We expect that this research can provide a fundamental basis for further HMX cocrystal design and preparation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Late Triassic–Early Jurassic intrusions of the Erguna Block, Northeast China, are located along the southern margin of the Mongol–Okhotsk orogenic belt. They comprise granodiorite, monzogranite, syenogranite, and lesser gabbro–diorite, of adakitic and calc­alkaline affinity. The adakite-like and calc­alkaline granites share similar light rare earth elements (LREE) characteristics; however, their heavy rare earth elements (HREE) trends differ from one another. The relative abundances of HREE in the calc­alkaline granites are relatively consistent and are similar to those of intrusive rocks formed from dehydration melting of garnet-free amphibolitic source rocks at relatively low pressures. In contrast, the adakite-like granites show more prominent HREE fractionation trends, indicating that they crystallized at higher pressures, where garnet in the source rocks was stable. At least two isotopically distinct sources were involved in the petrogenesis of the granites, but the extent to which they contributed varies between plutons. Most intrusions have incorporated an isotopically primitive component, possibly juvenile mafic crust. The other sources include a small proportion of old continental crustal material and isotopically evolved wall rocks. The gabbro–diorites have high MgO contents (>7 wt.%), a high Mg#(>0.6), and show moderate LREE and HREE fractionation, indicating they formed from the melting of subducted metasomatized lithospheric mantle. All of the intrusions in the study area are characterized by a relative enrichment in large ion lithophile elements (LILE) and depletion in high field strength elements (HFSE), indicating they were emplaced in an Andean-type active continental margin setting related to southward subduction of the Mongol–Okhotsk oceanic plate. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

1. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of quercetin on the pharmacokinetics of cefprozil. The secondary objective was to evaluate the safety of the combined use of cefprozil and quercetin. 2. An open-label, two-period, crossover phase I trial among 24 Han Chinese male subjects was conducted. Participants were given 500 mg of quercetin orally once daily for 15 d followed by single dose of cefprozil (500 mg) on day 15. Serum concentrations of cefprozil were then measured in all participants on day 15. A 15-d washout period was then assigned after which a 500 mg dose of cefprozil was administered and measured in the serum on day 36. 3. All subjects completed the trial, and no serious adverse events were reported. We measured mean serum concentrations of cefprozil in the presence and absence of quercetin in all participants. The maximum serum concentration of cefprozil in the presence of quercetin was 8.18 ug/ml (95% CI: 7.55–8.81) versus a maximum cefprozil concentration of 8.35 ug/ml (95% CI: 7.51–9.19) in the absence of quercetin. We conclude that the concurrent use of quercetin has no substantial effect on serum concentrations of orally administered cefprozil. 4. Co-administration of quercetin showed no statistically significant effects on the pharmacokinetics of cefprozil in healthy Chinese subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanomaterial pollution and the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are global public health and environmental concerns. Whether nanomaterials could aid the transfer of ARGs released from dead bacteria into live bacteria to cause spread of ARGs is still unknown. Here, we demonstrated that nano-Al2O3could significantly promote plasmid-mediated ARGs transformation into Gram-negativeEscherichia colistrains and into Gram-positiveStaphylococcus aureus; however, bulk Al2O3did not have this effect. Under suitable conditions, 7.4 × 106transformants ofE. coliand 2.9 × 105transformants ofS. aureuswere obtained from 100 ng of a pBR322-based plasmid when bacteria were treated with nano-Al2O3. Nanoparticles concentrations, plasmid concentrations, bacterial concentrations, interaction time between the nanomaterial and bacterial cells and the vortexing time affected the transformation efficiency. We also explored the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon. Using fluorescencein situhybridization and scanning electron microscopy, we found that nano-Al2O3damaged the cell membrane to produce pores, through which plasmid could enter bacterial cells. Results from reactive oxygen species (ROS) assays, genome-wide expression microarray profiling and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reactions suggested that intracellular ROS damaged the cell membrane, and that an SOS response promoted plasmid transformation. Our results indicated the environmental and health risk resulting from nanomaterials helping sensitive bacteria to obtain antibiotic resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Effective building/house energy management has been considered as an efficient way to mitigate the fluctuation of renewable energy in power distribution system. This article studies the operation scheduling problem for microgrid with high penetration of solar power and thermostatically controlled loads. Based on the established photovolaic model and thermostatically controlled load model, an optimal operation strategy for microgird is proposed. The scheme is based on the rolling horizon optimization strategy, where the control window continues to proceed with the update of real-time information, aiming to minimize the total operation costs over the current control window. Differential evolution algorithm is used to solve the proposed model, and the simulation results validate the efficiency of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guided bone regeneration (GBR) is a technique where a barrier membrane is placed over the bone defect to prevent cell growth from the connective tissue and epithelium. Titanium (Ti) has excellent mechanical properties and is one of the most frequently used materials in implant dentistry. This study examined how graphene oxide (GO)-coated Ti (GO-Ti) membranes can enhance the osteogenesis of MC3T3-E1 preosteoblasts and promote new bone formation for potential applications to GBR. The physicochemical properties of GO-Ti membranes were characterized by atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and contact angle measurements. The cellular behaviors of MC3T3-E1 preosteoblasts on GO-Ti membranes were examined by cell counting kit-8 and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity assays. The effects of GO-Ti membranes on bone regeneration were evaluated by implanting them into rat calvarial defects. GO was coated uniformly on Ti substrates, which allowed a decrease in surface roughness and contact. GO-Ti membranes stimulated significantly ALP activity without interfering with their proliferation. Furthermore, GO-Ti membranes enhanced new bone formation significantly in full-thickness calvarial defects without inflammatory responses. Therefore, this suggests that GO-Ti membranes can be applied effectively to GBR because these graphene-coated Ti membranes have potent effects on stimulating osteogenic differentiation and exhibit superior bioactivity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Previous studies have shown that negative emotional distracters impair conscious inhibitory control. Recent research has shown that inhibitory control can be triggered unconsciously; therefore, in Experiment 1, we aimed to investigate whether negative emotional distracters affect unconscious inhibitory control. Furthermore, in Experiment 2, we examined whether fearful and disgusting distracters have differential effects on unconscious inhibitory control. Participants were instructed to perform a masked Go/No-Go task superimposed on a negative or neutral image cue (Experiment 1) or on a fearful, disgusting or neutral image cue (Experiment 2). Results showed that negative emotional distracters impaired unconscious inhibitory control; furthermore, disgusting distracters impeded unconscious inhibitory control when compared to fearful ones. This study is the first to provide evidence that fear and disgust may affect unconscious inhibitory control differently. These results expand the understanding of the relationship between emotions and inhibitory control. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

BackgroundThe impact of genetic variation in thethiopurine S-methyltransferase (TPMT)gene on thiopurine-induced leukopenia has been well demonstrated. Although xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH)is the second major contributor to azathioprine breakdown, polymorphisms inXDHhave rarely been studied in IBD patients. We aim to access association betweenXDHvariants and thiopurine-induced leukopenia by gene–gene interaction in a Crohn’s disease (CD) population.StudyA total of 964 CD patients treated with thiopurines were recruited from a tertiary referral center. The association between fourXDHvariants (p.Gly172Arg, p.Asn1109Thr, p.Arg149Cys, and p.Thr910Lys) and thiopurine-induced leukopenia was analyzed in cases with early leukopenia (n = 66), late leukopenia (n = 264), and in controls without leukopenia (n = 632). Three non-synonymous SNPs, which we previously reported association with thiopurine-induced leukopenia,NUDT15(p.Arg139Cys),SUCLA2(p.Ser199Thr), andTPMT *3Cwere selected for epistasis analysis with theXDHvariants.ResultsThere was no significant association for two variants ofXDHand thiopurine-induced leukopenia. In the epistasis analysis, onlyXDH(p.Asn1109Thr) *SUCLA2(p.Ser199Thr) showed a statistically significant association with early leukopenia [odds ratio (OR) = 0.16;p = 0.03]. After genotype stratification, a positive association on the background ofSUCLA2wild-type (199Ser) between theXDH(p.Asn1109Thr) and early leukopenia (OR = 4.39;p = 0.01) was detected.ConclusionGenes associated with thiopurine-induced leukopenia can act in a complex interactive manner. Further studies are warranted to explore the mechanisms underlying the effects of the combination ofXDH(p.Asn1109Thr) andSUCLA2(199Ser) on thiopurine-induced leukopenia. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The potential risks of nano-materials and the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have become two major global public concerns. Studies have confirmed that nano-alumina can promote the spread of ARGs mediated by plasmids. Nano-titanium dioxide (TiO2), an excellent photocatalytic nano-material, has been widely used and is often present in aqueous environments. At various nano-material concentrations, bacterial density, matting time, and matting temperature, nano-TiO2 can significantly promote the conjugation of RP4 plasmid in Escherichia coli. We developed a mathematical model to quantitatively describe the conjugation process and used this model to evaluate the effects of nano-TiO2 on the spread of ARGs. We obtained analytical solutions for total and resistant bacteria, which were enumerated by the abundance of genetic loci unique to the plasmid and the chromosome using qPCR. Our results showed that the mathematic model was able to fit the experimental data well and can be used to quantitatively evaluate the effects of nano-TiO2. According to our model, the presence of nano-TiO2 decreased the bacterial growth rate from 0.0360 to 0.0323 min−1 and increased the conjugative transfer rate from 6.69 × 10−12 to 3.93 × 10−10 mL cell−1 min−1. These results indicate that nano-TiO2 inhibited bacterial growth and promoted conjugation simultaneously. The data for morphology and mRNA expression also demonstrated this phenomenon. Our results confirm that environmental nano-TiO2 may cause the spread of ARGs and thus poses an environmental risk. In addition, we provide a potential method for monitoring changes in ARGs that result from conjugation and evaluating the effects of antimicrobial substances on ARG expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. To investigate the optimal cut-off of the maximum standard uptake value (SUVmax) for the detection of colorectal neoplasms and to suggest those for whom further colonoscopy is recommended among patients with incidental colonic uptake on positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT). Materials and methods. In 306 patients who underwent colonoscopy within 3 months of receiving PET-CT between January and December 2009, measurements of the per-patient and per-lesion diagnostic performance of PET-CT for the detection of colonic neoplasms were obtained. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to identify the SUVmax that provided a high probability of diagnosing malignancy and high-grade dysplasia. Results. The per-patient and per-lesion PET-CT detection sensitivities for malignancies were 93.3% (28/30; 95% confidence interval (CI) 76.5% to 98.9%) and 93.5% (29/31, 95% CI 77.2% to 98.9%), respectively; the sensitivities for high-grade dysplasia were both 90.0% (9/10; 95% CI 54.1% to 99.5%). As a criterion to specifically detect both malignancy and high-grade dysplasia on focal uptake, a SUVmax greater than 2.5 yielded a 92.3% per-lesion sensitivity and a 42.9% per-lesion positive predictive value (PPV). In the ROC curve analysis, a cut-off value of SUVmax = 5.8 was established, at which the sensitivity, PPV and positive likelihood ratio for diagnosing malignancy and high-grade dysplasia were 71.8% (28/39; 95% CI 54.9% to 84.5%), 84.8% (28/33; 95% CI 67.3% to 94.3%) and 6.9, respectively. Conclusion. The optimal cut-off value to identify a malignancy or high-grade dysplasia was SUVmax = 5.8. However, to avoid missing a malignancy or high-grade dysplasia, a colonoscopy should be performed above a SUVmax = 2.5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Goals. The purpose of this study is to investigate the learning curve for colonoscopic polypectomy (CP) by trainee endoscopists. Background. The amount of training required to achieve technical competence for CP is uncertain. Study. The CP times and en bloc resection rates of three experienced colonoscopists were obtained from 240 procedures. These data were compared to those of three gastroenterology trainees who performed 750 CP procedures. A trainee procedure was deemed to be a success if en bloc resection was obtained and the CP time was within twice the median CP time of the experienced colonoscopists. Trainees were deemed to be technically competent when they achieved a CP success rate of greater than or equal to 80%. Results. The median CP times and en bloc resection rates for the experienced colonoscopists and trainees were 79 s (range, 20-301 s) and 99.6% (239/240), and 118 s (range, 36-1051 s) and 95.6% (717/750), respectively. The trainee success rate of CP was 72% (540/750). The success rate of the procedure was associated with increased trainee experience ( p = 0.003) and reached 80% after 250 procedures. The CP time significantly decreased ( p < 0.001) and en bloc resection rate significantly increased ( p = 0.011) as trainee experience accumulated. The level of experience was an independent predictor for successful CP. Conclusions. The achievement of technical competence with CP was associated with an accumulation of approximately 250 procedures. These findings suggest that dedicated education and training programs for CP are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Limited data are available on the incidence and risk factors of colorectal cancer (CRC) in Asian patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Material and methods. Information on 5212 Korean patients with IBD (2414 with Crohn's disease [CD] and 2798 with ulcerative colitis [UC]) was retrieved from the IBD registry of Asan Medical Center. Data on CRC incidence for the entire Korean population were derived from the Korean Statistical Information Service. Results. During 39,951 person-years of follow-up (17,679 for CD and 22,272 for UC), 30 patients (12 with CD and 18 with UC) developed CRC. The standardized incidence ratio (SIR) of CRC was 6.0 (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.10-10.48) for CD and 1.68 (95% CI, 1.00-2.66) for UC; it was 9.69 (95% CI, 5.01-16.93) for CD with colonic involvement and 4.31 (95% CI, 2.46-7.00) for extensive UC. The SIR was also increased in patients diagnosed with IBD at younger than 30 years old. CRC location was the low rectum in 11 of 12 CD patients (91.7%). The cumulative probability of rectal cancer was higher in CD patients with a perianal fistula than in those without a perianal fistula ( p = 0.02). Conclusions. A high prevalence of perianal fistulas in Korean CD patients may be the cause of the predominance of low rectal cancer in this population and the higher SIR of CRC in Koreans than in Westerners. In contrast, the SIR of CRC in Korean UC patients may be similar to that in Western UC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract—This article presents a stator and rotor current observer for a doubly fed induction generator. First, the dynamic models of the wind turbine drive train are presented, and the vector control strategies of a doubly fed induction generator for the rotor-side and grid-side converters are described. A stator and rotor current observer model, which is based on the state–space models of doubly fed induction generators, is then derived by using the stator and rotor voltage signals as inputs. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed current observer, its dynamic performance is simulated using a MATLAB/Simulink software platform under the conditions of active power change of doubly fed induction generators and grid voltage dip fault. Furthermore, the robustness of the proposed current observer is investigated when the doubly fed induction generator rotor resistance is changed. Results show that the proposed observer has good coherence and robustness with the current sensor output when the doubly fed induction generator is in dynamic and transient responses. Compared with the referenced bilinear observer, the proposed observer has better fault-tolerant ability when the fault in the observed current sensor occurs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Three new phenolic constituents 1–3 were obtained from the 95% ethanol extract of the roots of Phyllodium pulchellum (Leguminosae). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analyses, such as NMR, UV, IR, HR-ESI-MS, and CD. Furthermore, in an in vitro bioassay, all compounds were tested for inhibitory effects against the proliferation of acetaldehyde-stimulated HSC-T6 cells, and compound 3 exhibited potent inhibitory activity with the IC50 value of 7.6 μM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]