Search

The study was conducted to investigate the correlation between the ultrasonographic appearance of a thyroid nodule and the BRAF V600E mutation. Patients with thyroid nodules (n = 186), for which BRAF V600E testing and cytopathology analysis were performed, and who underwent subsequent surgery for nodule resection were enrolled in this study. For each patient, color Doppler ultrasonography was performed to observe the variables of the nodules. The nodules were then characterized using the thyroid imaging reporting and data system classification TI-RADS. Furthermore, the ultrasonographic appearance of the control group, encompassing patients with nodular thyroid goiters, and the case group, encompassing patients with papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC), was statically analyzed. Similarly, a statistical analysis of the ultrasonographic appearance of the BRAF V600E-positive and BRAF V600E-negative subgroups was also performed. The accuracy was significantly different for the corresponding values when color Doppler ultrasonography, BRAF V600E testing, or cytopathology alone was used for diagnosis. There were significant differences in the ultrasonographic appearance variables between the control and case groups. Comparing with the BRAF V600E-negative subgroup of the case group, the ultrasonographic appearances of the BRAF V600E-positive subgroup showed less circumscribed and more irregularly shaped nodules, with significantly different aspect ratios of >1. The combination of BRAF V600E testing and color Doppler ultrasonography or cytopathology improved the accuracy of the PTMC diagnose. We found that the ultrasonographic appearance of thyroid nodules was related to PTMC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. A majority of relapse cases have been reported in colorectal cancer patients due to cancer stem cell progenitors. The factors responsible for chemoresistance have yet to be discovered and investigated as CSCs have reported escaping from chemotherapy's killing action. Objective. In this study, we have investigated the effects of HIF-1α and TGF-β2 in hypoxia conditions on the expression of GLI2, which is a potential factor for causing chemoresistance. Material and Methods. Colorectal samples of treated patients were collected from the Hospital Biological Sample Library. Culture of patient-derived TSs and fibroblasts was performed. The collected patient samples and cells were used for immunohistochemistry, quantitative PCR, and western blotting studies which were performed. Results. It was reported that HIF-1α (hypoxia-inducible factor) and TGF-β2 secreted from cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) synergistically work to express GLI2 in cancer stem cells. Hence, it increased the stemness as well as resistance to chemotherapy. Conclusion. The HIF-1α/TGF-β2-mediated GLI2 signaling was responsible for causing chemoresistance in the hypoxia environment. High expressions of HIF1α/TGF-β2/GLI2 cause the relapsing of colorectal cancer, thus making this a potential biomarker for identifying the relapse and resistance in patients. The study uncovers the mechanism involved in sternness and chemotherapy resistance which will help in targeted treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a complex disease caused by the disturbance of genetic and environmental factors. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) play a vital role in the genetic dissection of complex diseases. In-depth analysis of SNP-related information could recognize disease-associated biomarkers and further uncover the genetic mechanism of complex diseases. Risk-related variants might act on the disease by affecting gene expression and gene function. Through integrating SNP disease association study and expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analysis, as well as functional enrichment of containing known causal genes, four risk SNPs and four corresponding susceptibility genes were identified utilizing next-generation sequencing (NGS) data of COPD. Of the four risk SNPs, one could be found in the SNPedia database that stored disease-related SNPs and has been linked to a disease in the literature. Four genes showed significant differences from the perspective of normal/disease or variant/nonvariant samples, as well as the high performance of sample classification. It is speculated that the four susceptibility genes could be used as biomarkers of COPD. Furthermore, three of our susceptibility genes have been confirmed in the literature to be associated with COPD. Among them, two genes had an impact on the significance of expression correlation of known causal genes they interact with, respectively. Overall, this research may present novel insights into the diagnosis and pathogenesis of COPD and susceptibility gene identification of other complex diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As bacterial resistance is becoming increasingly serious, the development of antibacterial nanomaterials is an effective method of solving this problem. Gold nanoparticles have good stability and excellent biocompatibility and are easily modified, and their antibacterial properties can be enhanced by changing their structure and size or adding ingredients. Gold nanoparticles are also excellent drug carriers that can improve the antibacterial effects of loaded antibacterial drugs. After being modified and combined with other antibacterial drugs, gold nanoparticles can also play a better antibacterial role for effective antibacterial strategies against some resistant bacteria. Gold nanoparticles have photothermal effects, and modified gold nanoparticles can be a good medium for photothermal treatments to kill bacteria. By adding functionally modified gold nanoparticles, many materials can obtain much needed antibacterial properties. Gold nanoparticles can also be combined with cations, low-temperature plasma, various surface ligands, and other potential antibacterial agents. In short, the antibacterial characteristics of functionalized gold nanoparticles demonstrate that they have considerable practical application value and provide more ideas to solve antibacterial problems. At the same time, the application of gold nanoparticles in oral biology is also increasing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

License plate restriction (LPR) policy presents the most straightforward way to reduce road traffic and emissions worldwide. However, in practice, it has aroused great controversy. This policy broke the original structure of the urban transportation mode, which needed some matching strategies to adapt to this change. Investigating this travel demand change is a challenging task because it is greatly influenced by features of the local built environment. Fourteen variables from four dimensions, location, land-use diversity, distance to transit, and street design, are used to depict the built environment; moreover, the severe collinearity underlies these feature variables. To solve the multicollinearity among the variables and high-dimensional problem, this study utilizes two different penalization-based regression models, the LASSO (least absolute shrinkage and selection operator) and Elastic Net regression algorithms, to achieve the variable selection and explore the impacts of the built environment on the change of travel demand triggered by the LPR policy. Travel demand changes are assessed by the relative variation in taxi ridership in each traffic analysis zone based on the taxi GPS data. Built environment variables are measured using the transportation network data and the Baidu Map Service points of interest (POI) data. The results show that regions with a higher level of public transportation service and a higher degree of the land mix have a stronger resilience to the vehicle restriction policy. Besides, the contribution rate of public transportation is stable as a whole, while the contribution rate of richness depends on specific types of land use. The conclusions in this study can provide in-depth insights into the influence of the LPR policy and underpin traffic complementary policies to ensure the effectiveness of LPR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays an important role in the invasion and metastasis of colorectal cancer, which is mediated by FAK and EGF. However, whether FAK participates in EMT in colorectal cancer cells through the EGF/EGFR signaling pathway remains unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the effector mechanisms of FAK in the process of EGF-induced EMT in colorectal cancer cells and to determine whether miR-217 is involved in this process. Caco-2 cancer cells were routinely cultured with and without treatment with 100 ng/mL EGF, and changes in cell morphology were observed using an inverted microscope. In addition, a transwell assay was used to detect cell migration under the condition of EGF treatment. The expression of FAK, pFAK, E-cadherin, vimentin, and β actin was assessed by western blotting, and the expression of miR-217 was assessed using real-time PCR. We found that EGF induced EMT in colorectal cancer cells and enhanced cell migration and invasion ability. Moreover, FAK was involved in the EGF-induced EMT of colorectal cancer cells. EGF upregulated the expression of E-cadherin in colorectal cancer cells by activating FAK, and miR-217 was found to participate in EGF-induced EMT in colorectal cancer cells. Our findings indicate that EGF induces EMT in colorectal cancer cells by activating FAK, and miR-217 is involved in the EGF/FAK/E-cadherin signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Nurses play an important role in caring for dying patients. However, little is known about the attitude towards death of the registered nurses in China. Materials and Methods. A knowledge, attitude, and the practice (KAP) survey using standardized questionnaires was conducted at eight teaching hospitals in Jiangsu Province, China. In total, 366 nursing interns were recruited and 357 turned in valid response. Data about the interns' demographic characteristics and their attitudes to death in five domains, including fear of death, death avoidance, natural acceptance, approach acceptance, and escape acceptance, were collected. Results. Compared to the norms, the nursing interns had statistically significantly higher scores in the domains death avoidance, approach acceptance, and fear of death (14.9 vs. 11.1, 26.2 vs. 24.2, and 20.3 vs. 19.0, respectively); however, statistically significantly lower scores were in the domains natural acceptance and escape acceptance (18.4 vs. 22.0, and 13.6 vs. 15.1, respectively). Religious belief, experience of a deceased relative in family, death education, and family atmosphere of discussing death are positively associated with one or more domains of attitude towards death. Conclusion. The positive attitude towards death and death education before clinical practice are helpful for nursing interns when they care for dying patients. In general, the scores of attitude towards death are at a moderate level in the surveyed Chinese nursing interns. The death education for nursing students needs to be reinforced in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim. This study investigated the associations among early pregnancy vitamin D concentrations, seasonality, and vitamin D metabolic gene variants and how these variables related alone and in interaction with the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Methods. Research participants were women from the Ma'anshan birth cohort study in China. The overall study included 3110 women to explore the association between early pregnancy vitamin D concentrations and the risk of GDM. In the current analysis, a nested case-control study of 274 GDM cases and 380 controls was conducted to investigate seven vitamin D metabolic gene variants and the risk of GDM. Vitamin D concentrations were measured by radioimmunoassay. Genotypes were determined by improved multiple ligase detection reaction. Interactions between genetic variants and vitamin D as predictors of the risk of GDM were evaluated by a pair-wise analysis under a multiplicative interaction model. Results. Vitamin D concentrations were not significantly associated with the risk of GDM (OR=0.79, 95% CI=0.55-1.13) after adjusting for seasonality. Fall-winter conceptions had a 37% decreased risk of GDM compared with spring-summer conceptions (OR=0.63, 95% CI=0.49-0.81), independent of vitamin D concentrations. Two VDR gene variants rs1544410 (OR=2.03, 95% CI=1.17-3.51 for CT versus CC) and rs731236 (OR=2.42, 95% CI=1.29-4.55 for GA versus AA) were significantly associated with the risk of GDM. No interactions among genetic variants and vitamin D concentrations were detected. Conclusion. Early pregnancy vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency was not significantly associated with the risk of GDM. The results of this study emphasize the importance of genetic variants in VDR and conception season as factors that affect the risk of GDM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury will cause additional death of cardiomyocytes in ischaemic heart disease. Recent studies revealed that renalase was involved in the I/R injury. So, the myocardial tissue-specific knockdown mouse models were needed for the investigations of renalase. To establish the mouse models, intramyocardial injection of siRNAs targeting renalase was performed in mice. The wild distribution and high transfection efficiency of the siRNAs were approved. And the renalase expression was efficiently suppressed in myocardial tissue. Compared with the high cost, time consumption, and genetic compensation risk of the Cre/loxP technology, RNA interference (RNAi) technology is much cheaper and less time-consuming. Among the RNAi technologies, injection of siRNAs is safer than virus. And considering the properties of the I/R injury mouse models, the efficiency and durability of injection with siRNAs are acceptable for the studies. Altogether, intramyocardial injection of siRNAs targeting renalase is an economical, safe, and efficient method to establish myocardial tissue-specific renalase knockdown mouse models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study further explores the multinomial probit-based integrated choice and latent variable (ICLV) models. The LDLT matrix-based analytic approximation methods, including Mendell and Elston (ME) method, bivariate ME (BME) method, and two-variate bivariate screening (TVBS) method, were adapted to calculate the multivariate cumulative normal distribution (MVNCD) function in the ICLV model because of the better performances in accuracy and computational time. Integrated with the composite marginal likelihood (CML) estimation approach, the ICLV model based on high-dimensional integration can be estimated accurately within a reasonable time. In this study, some three-alternative and four-alternative ICLV models are simulated to examine their abilities to recover model parameters. It is found that the parameter estimates and standard error estimates are acceptable for both models and the computational time is expected to decrease using tensor data structures on the TensorFlow platform. For the four-alternative ICLV models, the TVBS method has the highest level of accuracy. The BME method is also a good alternative to TVBS if computational time is of great concern. The application of the automatic differentiation (AD) technique in the model can free researchers from coding analytical gradients of log-likelihood functions and thereby greatly reduce the workload of researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and respirable particulate matter (PM10) are two major air pollutants with toxic effects on the cardiovascular system. Hypertension, as a chronic noncommunicable cardiovascular disease, is also a risk factor for several diseases. We applied generalized linear models with a quasi-Poisson link to assess the effect of air pollution exposure on the number of daily admissions for patients with hypertension. In addition, we established a two-pollutant model to evaluate PM2.5 and PM10 hazard effect stability by adjusting the other gaseous pollutants. Results showed that during the study period, 24 h mean concentrations of ambient PM2.5 and PM10 at 38.17 and 59.84 μg/m3, respectively, and a total of 2,611 hypertension hospital admissions were recorded. Air pollution concentrations significantly affected the number of hospitalizations for hypertension approximately 2 months after exposure. For each 10 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 and PM10 in single-pollutant models, the number of hospitalizations for hypertension increased by 7.92% (95% CI: 5.48% to 10.42%) and 4.46% (95% CI: 2.86% to 5.65%), respectively, at the lag day with the strongest effect. NO2, O3, CO, and SO2 had different significant effects on the number of hospitalizations over the same time period, and PM2.5 and PM10 still showed robust significant effects after adjustment of gas pollutants through a two-pollutant model. These findings may contribute to a better understanding of the health effects of ambient particulate matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. Segmentation of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is crucial; however, manual segmentation is subjective and time-consuming. Accurate and automatic lesion contouring for HCC is desirable in clinical practice. In response to this need, our study introduced a segmentation approach for HCC combining deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs) and radiologist intervention in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We sought to design a segmentation method with a deep learning method that automatically segments using manual location information for moderately experienced radiologists. In addition, we verified the viability of this method to assist radiologists in accurate and fast lesion segmentation. Method. In our study, we developed a semiautomatic approach for segmenting HCC using DCNN in conjunction with radiologist intervention in dual-phase gadolinium-ethoxybenzyl-diethylenetriamine penta-acetic acid- (Gd-EOB-DTPA-) enhanced MRI. We developed a DCNN and deep fusion network (DFN) trained on full-size images, namely, DCNN-F and DFN-F. Furthermore, DFN was applied to the image blocks containing tumor lesions that were roughly contoured by a radiologist with 10 years of experience in abdominal MRI, and this method was named DFN-R. Another radiologist with five years of experience (moderate experience) performed tumor lesion contouring for comparison with our proposed methods. The ground truth image was contoured by an experienced radiologist and reviewed by an independent experienced radiologist. Results. The mean DSC of DCNN-F, DFN-F, and DFN-R was 0.69 ± 0.20 (median, 0.72), 0.74 ± 0.21 (median, 0.77), and 0.83 ± 0.13 (median, 0.88), respectively. The mean DSC of the segmentation by the radiologist with moderate experience was 0.79 ± 0.11 (median, 0.83), which was lower than the performance of DFN-R. Conclusions. Deep learning using dual-phase MRI shows great potential for HCC lesion segmentation. The radiologist-aided semiautomated method (DFN-R) achieved improved performance compared to manual contouring by the radiologist with moderate experience, although the difference was not statistically significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bus transit is one of the main transfer modes at high-speed railway (HSR) stations. Performing a scientific and reasonable evaluation of the present bus traffic transfer service is highly significant for improving the efficiency of the HSR and increasing the use of the system. This paper focuses on the passengers’ transfer experience and proposes a methodology to evaluate current bus traffic transfer service. Factors that affect passenger satisfaction during the bus transfer process at HSR stations based on the passengers’ perceptions are analyzed by convenience, comfort, safety, service, and economy. A structural equation model (SEM) is developed as an evaluation approach to explore the correlations of bus transfer service, passenger perceived value, and passenger satisfaction. To calibrate the model, a questionnaire survey of passengers transferring to a bus was conducted at Xi’anbei Railway Station. This paper analyzes the relationships between observed variables and latent variables in the measured model, the influences of exogenous variables on endogenous variables in the structural model, and the impact of the passengers’ socioeconomic attributes on passenger satisfaction. Analysis results of the SEM show that economy and convenience are the critical influential indicators of passenger satisfaction, among which bus fare preferential policy and transfer distance are the most significant factors. The findings can provide helpful information for planners and managers to improve the services of existing HSR stations and to guide the planning of new ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the operation and maintenance requirements of the fault location of high-temperature superconducting cables, a fault location method of high-temperature superconducting cables based on the improved time-frequency domain reflection method and EEMD noise reduction is proposed. Considering the cross-term interference problem in the traditional time-frequency domain reflection method, this paper introduces the affine transformation to project the time-frequency distribution of the self-term and the cross term and further highlights the characteristic differences between the two through coordinate transformation, and the particle swarm algorithm is employed to solve the optimal stagger angle of the affine transformation. The unscented particle filter is adopted to separate the cross term, and EEMD noise reduction is introduced to solve the signal noise problem. Finally, two software programs, PSCAD and MATLAB, are employed for joint simulation to build a model of high-temperature superconducting cable. The simulation example shows that the proposed method in this paper can eliminate the cross-term interference of the traditional time-frequency domain reflection method, effectively locate the fault of the high-temperature superconducting cable, and improve the positioning accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RMT-150B rock mechanics and split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) devices were adopted to investigate the physical and mechanical properties, energy dissipation, and failure modes of argillaceous sandstone after different high temperatures under air-dried and saturation states. In addition, SEM and EDS tests were conducted to investigate its microstructure characteristics. Results showed that both the P-wave velocity and density of argillaceous sandstone specimen decreased with the increase of high temperature, while its porosity increased. Compared with static stress-strain curves, there was no obvious compaction stage for dynamic stress-strain curves, and the decrease rate of dynamic curves after peak strain was obviously slow compared with static curves. Both the static and dynamic strengths of argillaceous sandstone specimens decreased with increasing temperature, and the critical temperature point for the strength of argillaceous sandstone was 400°C. At the same temperature, the specific energy absorption under air-dried state was generally smaller compared with that under saturated state. Both the strain rate and temperature showed significant effect on the failure mode. After 100∼1000°C heat treatment, the granular crystals of the clastic structure gradually became larger, and both the number and average size of the original pores decreased, resulting in the deterioration of mechanical properties of argillaceous sandstone specimen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Open laminectomy has been regarded as the standard surgical procedure for lumbar lateral recess stenosis during the last decades. Although percutaneous endoscopic lumbar decompression has led to successful results comparable with open decompression, its application in LSS with is still challenging and technically demanding. Here, we report the surgical procedure and preliminary clinical outcomes of transforaminal percutaneous endoscopic lumbar decompression (PELD) by using flexible burr for lumbar lateral recess stenosis. Method. A retrospective study was performed for the patients with lumbar lateral recess stenosis receiving PELD by using flexible burr. The indications of surgery were moderate to severe stenosis, persistent neurological symptoms, and failure of conservative treatment. The patients with mechanical back pain, more than grade I spondylolisthesis, or radiographic signs of instability were not included. Before the operation, the transforaminal epidural lidocaine injections were carried out to make the diagnosis more precise and accurate. Radiologic findings were investigated, and visual analog scale (VAS) for back and leg pain, Oswestry Disability Index, and modified Macnab criteria were analyzed at the different time of preoperation, postoperation, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months. Results. The follow-up period was 12 months. The mean VAS scores for back and leg pain immediately improved from 7.9 ± 1.2 to 2.8± 1.3, 2.4 ± 1.0, and 2.3 ± 1.0, respectively. The mean visual analog scale scores (VAS) for back pain and leg pain were significantly improved after PELD. The preoperative ODI dropped from 69.1 ± 7.3 to 25.9 ± 8.7, 25.0± 6.9, and 24.7 ± 6.4, respectively. The final outcome was excellent in 39.6%, good in 47.9%, fair in 8.3%, and poor in 4.17%. 87.5% of excellent-to-good ratio was achieved on the basis of Macnab criteria at postoperative 12 months. The complications were limited to transient postoperative dysesthesia (one case), temporary pain aggravation (six cases), and neck pain during the operation (one case). Conclusion. This observation suggests that the clinical outcomes of PELD for lateral recess stenosis were excellent or showed good results. This minimally invasive technique would be helpful in choosing a surgical method for lateral recess stenosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We presented a novel workflow for detecting distribution patterns in cell populations based on single-cell transcriptome study. With the fast adoption of single-cell analysis, a challenge to researchers is how to effectively extract gene features to meaningfully separate the cell population. Considering that coexpressed genes are often functionally or structurally related and the number of coexpressed modules is much smaller than the number of genes, our workflow uses gene coexpression modules as features instead of individual genes. Thus, when the coexpressed modules are summarized into eigengenes, not only can we interactively explore the distribution of cells but also we can promptly interpret the gene features. The interactive visualization is aided by a novel application of spatial statistical analysis to the scatter plots using a clustering index parameter. This parameter helps to highlight interesting 2D patterns in the scatter plot matrix (SPLOM). We demonstrated the effectiveness of the workflow using two large single-cell studies. In the Allen Brain scRNA-seq dataset, the visual analytics suggested a new hypothesis such as the involvement of glutamate metabolism in the separation of the brain cells. In a large glioblastoma study, a sample with a unique cell migration related signature was identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coordinatively controlling the engine and several motor/generators (MGs) during a dynamic process is a challenging problem because they are coupled together by the electromechanical transmission (EMT) system and all of them have strong nonlinear characteristics. We develop a novel nonlinear optimal control approach based on the multiobjective dynamic optimization model of the hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), which is equipped with an EMT system. In this approach, the current states of the components are obtained by using the state observation algorithm based on Kalman filtering; the future states of the components and the feasible region of the control variables are estimated by using the dynamic prediction algorithm based on the nonlinear model of the EMT system. Then, the control variables are achieved by using the optimal decision algorithm based on the hierarchical optimization and nonlinear programming, and the influence of the model error and the external disturbance are modified by using the feedback compensation algorithm. The simulation results illustrate the efficiency of the proposed control approach, and the test results verify its real-time performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]