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Cronkhite-Canada syndrome (CCS) is a rare disease that is characterized by multiple gastrointestinal polyps and ectodermal abnormalities. This study aimed to improve the understanding of CCS by presenting our patient data.Clinical features, treatment, and outcomes of four CCS patients at a single medical center were retrospectively analyzed.The age of the patients ranged from 32 to 61 years (mean: 49.5 years), including three men and one woman. All the patients presented with gastrointestinal symptoms, ectodermal abnormalities, and multiple gastrointestinal polyps. Two patients showed abnormal immune indices. Three patients underwent magnetic resonance enterography, and the typical manifestations of small intestine involvement were diffuse wall thickening, high signal intensity on diffusion-weighted imaging, obvious enhancement, and multiple small nodular enhancements of the small intestine. The main histological manifestations were chronic inflammation and hyperplastic, adenomatoid, and hamartomatoid polyps. Eosinophilic infiltration was observed in two patients. One patient had rectal adenocarcinoma at the time of diagnosis. All the four patients received prednisone at a dose of 0.75-1 mg/kg/day, and had their gastrointestinal symptoms gradually resolved (including two with ectodermal abnormality and endoscopic remission). Two patients are currently receiving low-dose prednisone (2.5-5 mg/day) with no recurrence after a 1.5- and 6-year follow-up periods, respectively.Magnetic resonance enterography has the potential to evaluate small-intestinal lesions in CCSs. Long-term therapy with low doses of prednisone may be beneficial in maintaining remission.

The key role of circular RNA (circRNA) in the malignant progression of cancers has been demonstrated. However, the role of circRNA midline-1 (circMID1) in prostate cancer (PCa) progression has not been clarified. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure relative expression. Function analysis was performed using EdU staining, colony formation assay, flow cytometry, wound healing assay, transwell assay and cell glycolysis detection. The protein levels were detected by Western blot analysis. RNA pull-down assay, dual-luciferase reporter assay and RIP assay were performed to verify RNA interaction. Animal experiments were utilized to explore the effects of circMID1 knockdown on PCa tumorigenesis in vivo. Our results showed that circMID1 was upregulated in PCa tissues and cells and its knockdown inhibited PCa cell proliferation, migration, invasion and glycolysis in vitro, as well as PCa tumorigenesis in vivo. IGF1R and YTHDC2 were highly expressed in PCa tissues and cells, and their expression was positively regulated by circMID1. IGF1R and YTHDC2 overexpression reversed the inhibitory effect of circMID1 silencing on PCa cell progression. In terms of mechanism, circMID1 could sponge miR-330-3p and miR-330-3p could target IGF1R and YTHDC2. Functional experiments showed that circMID1 sponged miR-330-3p to regulate PCa progression via the YTHDC2/IGF1R/AKT axis. In conclusion, our data confirmed that circMID1 might play a pro-cancer role in PCa, which promoted PCa progression through regulating the miR-330-3p/YTHDC2/IGF1R/AKT axis.

This paper focuses on the problem of exponential stabilisation for nonlinear partial differential equation (PDE) systems by designing sampled-data static output feedback controller. First, the nonl...

Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, several countries have made great efforts to develop space remote sensing for building a high-resolution earth observation system. Under the great attention of the government and the guidance of the major scientific and technological project of the high-resolution earth observation system, China has made continuous breakthroughs and progress in high-resolution remote sensing imaging technology. The development of domestic high-resolution remote sensing satellites shows a vigorous trend, and consequently, a relatively stable and perfect high-resolution earth observation system has been formed. The development of high-resolution remote sensing satellites has greatly promoted and enriched modern mapping technologies and methods. In this paper, the de velopment status, along with mapping modes and applications of China’s high-resolution remote sensing satellites are reviewed, and the development trend in high-resolution earth observation system for global and ground control-free mapping is discussed, providing a reference for the subsequent development of high-resolution remote sensing satellites in China.

Background Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most prevalent kind of kidney cancer. At present, the most efficient treatment mean is surgery. 40% patients with clear cell RCC (ccRCC) relapse after surgery. Identifying novel therapeutic markers and spots for early detection and treatment of RCC is necessary. Methods qRT-PCR was utilized to quantify circZFR and miR-206 expression in CAKI-1 and ACHN cells. Cell viability was detected by CCK-8 assay. Colony formation capacity was measured by colony formation assay. Transwell assay was utilized to investigate migration and invasion capacity. Expression of migration and apoptosis-associated proteins was quantified by Western blot. Results As a result, circZFR was highly expressed in RCC tissues and cells. Si-circZFR suppressed cell growth, migration and invasion of experimental cells. In addition, knockdown of circZFR upregulated miR-206 expression. Moreover, the antigrowth, antimigrating and anti-invasive effects of si-circZFR were attenuated when downregulating miR-206. Furthermore, Met is the target gene of miR-206 in experimental cells. The suppression on these signaling pathways was acted by targeting miR-206/Met axis. Conclusion The results demonstrated si-circZFR inhibited cell growth, migration and invasion in experimental cells by up-regulating of miR-206. Furthermore, si-circZFR suppressed Wnt/β-catenin and PI3K/AKT pathways via targeting miR-206/Met axis.

Satellite jitter is a very important factor that affects the sensor orientation of ZiYuan-3 imagery based on a rational function model (RFM). The conventional affine transformation model is unable to compensate such periodic jitters. The sensor orientation accuracy is thereby worse than expected. To eliminate the influence of jitters and improve the orientation accuracy, a feasible jitter compensation method for ZiYuan-3 imagery based on object point coincidence is presented in this study. In this method, no actual ground control points (AGCPs) are required to estimate the jitter compensation parameters. First, numerous virtual object points are projected onto the image by using the RFM. Then, the residual errors between the image-space coordinates of the projected and corresponding points are used to detect the satellite jitters. Finally, two sinusoidal functions are used to model and compensate the jitters. Experimental results of the three ZiYuan-3 satellite images show that before the jitter compensation, the residual errors of the independent check points obviously show a sinusoidal pattern. These periodic errors cannot be effectively compensated by the affine transformation model even if the number of AGCPs is increased from 4 to 16. After the jitters are compensated with the estimated sinusoidal coefficients, the influence of jitters can be eliminated. The sensor orientation accuracies of the three images reach 0.852 pixels, 0.798 pixels, and 0.921 pixels, which are respectively 49.7%, 55.1%, 65.7% better than those achieved before the jitter compensation.

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of quercetin on the triglyceride (TG) content through the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) signalling pathway in broiler hepatocytes. The trial included the following five groups: control, DMSO control, 5 mg/L quercetin, 10 mg/L quercetin and 20 mg/L quercetin. Compared with the control group, the PPARα protein content was significantly increased at 24 h in the groups that received quercetin at 5, 10 and 20 mg/L (p

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can place an immense psychological strain on the infected patient. The psychological distress can linger after the initial recovery from the infection. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and predictors of provisional post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in patients with cured COVID-2019. Methods: The baseline survey was conducted from 10 to 25 February 2020 in patients with COVID-19 in a designated hospital. Demographic and clinical characteristics were acquired, and depression and anxiety levels were assessed, using the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire and 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale, respectively. A follow-up survey was conducted 1 month post-discharge. PTSD symptoms were measured by the Impact of Event Scale-6 (IES-6) and patients’ perception of supportive care during hospitalization was investigated using a self-developed questionnaire. Results: In total, 114 patients completed both the baseline and follow-up surveys. Of these, 41 (36.0%) met the cut-off score for provisional PTSD diagnosis according to the IES-6. Female gender [odds ratio (OR) = 4.69, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.54–14.37], educational level of high school or below (OR = 15.49, 95% CI 1.13–212.71), higher anxiety levels (OR = 1.34, 95% CI 1.12–1.61) and lower perceptions of emotional support during hospitalization (OR = 0.41, 95% CI 0.17–0.96) predicted a higher risk for provisional PTSD. Conclusions: PTSD is commonly seen in patients with COVID-19 1 month post-discharge. Female patients, and patients with lower educational levels, higher anxiety levels and lower perceptions of emotional support during hospitalization may be more likely to develop PTSD in the near future. Enhancing emotional support during hospitalization could help to prevent PTSD in patients with COVID-19., HIGHLIGHTS More than one-third ofpatients met the diagnostic criteria of probable PTSD 1 month post-discharge.Providing timely emotional support during hospitaliza-tion may be one of the key measures for preventing PTSD in patients with COVID-19.

Very high-resolution satellite image matching is a challenging task due to local distortion, repetitive structures, intensity changes and low efficiency. In this letter, a novel approach based on the block and octave constraint scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) is proposed for very high-resolution satellite image matching. Details regarding multi-thread processing are provided. First, the corresponding matching block is observed using rational function model (RFM) prediction. The RFM prediction can provide a geometric constraint. In each block matching, keypoints are classified with the feature octave. The keypoints are matched in the group with the same feature octave. The block and octave constraint can narrow the keypoints search scope and be helpful for acquiring additional matches. Since blocks are independent, each corresponding block matching is parallelized to realize multi-thread processing with open multi-processing (OpenMP). Experiments are designed to test the matching performan...

The GaoFen1 (GF1) optical remote sensing satellite is the first in China’s series of high-resolution civilian satellites and is equipped with four wide field of view (WFV) cameras. High accuracy image mosaicking depends on the geometrical quality of the stitched satellite imagery. This letter proposes a high accuracy image mosaicking approach based on combining multiple WFV cameras into a big virtual camera (BVC). In this method, a BVC is created according to the rigorous imaging model of a single camera, from which a final stitched image and corresponding high accuracy rational function model (RFM) can be obtained simultaneously. WFV images from GF1 and reference digital elevation models from ZiYuan3 are used to validate the proposed method. The experimental results validate that seamless mosaicking can be achieved directly from the geometrical relationship of the imaging model of the BVC and WFV camera. The proposed method is able to maintain the absolute and relative internal positioning accura...

Since the twenty-first century, with the rapid development of high-resolution earth observation satellites, the earth observation satellite system has developed from the initial single satellite observation model to the current satellite constellation formed by light and small satellites observation model. All-weather and all-directional fine earth observation can now be realized. In the future, the satellite constellation, communication satellites, navigation satellites, and aircrafts are linked through dynamic linking network to form an air-space information network to realize real-time services of intelligent air-space information. To further enhance the perception, cognition, and quick response ability of the network, we propose the concept and model of the Earth Observation Brain (EOB) − the intelligent earth system based on events perception in this paper. Then, some key technologies needed to be solved in the EOB are also described. An application example is illustrated to show the process of perception and cognition in the primary stage of the EOB. In the future, EOB can observe what change of what object, the when and where to push these right information to mobile terminal of right people at the right time and right place. Global users can obtain any data, information, and knowledge in real-time through the EOB.

Satellite jitter is an important factor that affects the geometric accuracy of high-resolution satellite imagery. However, it is often ignored when there are no high frequency and accurate attitude observations. This letter proposes a jitter detection and compensation method using multispectral imagery, which can improve the band-to-band registration accuracy and eliminate image distortion caused by satellite jitter only using image data. In the method, a jitter detection and compensation model is built to estimate the periodic distortion from band-to-band registration error of multispectral imagery. Both simulation data and Ziyuan-3 (ZY-3) satellite multispectral images were used to validate the presented method. In the experiment of ZY-3, the band-to-band registration accuracy of the compensated image is improved to 0.05 pixels in both across and along track directions and the distortions across and along the track are both supressed to less than 0.2 pixels as determined from the known positions...

In aerial images, near-specular and specular reflection often appear in water bodies. They often lead to irregular brightness or color changes in water bodies and even produce hot spots, harmful to radiometric normalization. Therefore, water bodies must be eliminated when calculating radiometric differences during radiometric normalization of aerial images. In this paper, a simple method to detect water bodies in aerial images based on texture features is presented, an improved seeded region growing (SRG) method. A texture feature is calculated using the relative standard deviation index (RSDI) and a coarse-to-fine procedure is employed. The proposed method includes a multiple partition strategy and a refinement in gradient image that improves the reliability and accuracy of water body detection. By fusing water bodies detected in multiple images, hot spots in these water bodies are also detected. Experiments validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.

The purpose of this research aimed at preparing gastro-floating sustained-release tablets of troxipide and a further study on in vitro release and in vivo bioavailability. Under the circumstances of direct powder compression, the floating tablets were successfully prepared with HPMC as main matrix material, Carbopol as assistant matrix material, octadecanol as floating agent and sodium bicarbonate as foaming agent to float by gas-forming. The floating time and accumulative release amount as evaluation indexes were utilized to perform pre-experiment screening and single-factor test, respectively, while central composite design response surface method was applied for formulation optimization, followed by in vivo pharmacokinetic study in beagles after oral administration for floating tablets and commercial tablets used as the control. The results indicated that the floating sustained-release tablets held a better capability for floating and drug release and more satisfactory pharmacokinetic parameters, such as a lower Cmax, a prolonged Tmax, but an equivalent bioavailability calculated by AUC0-24 compared to commercial tablets. So a conclusion was finally drawn that the floating sustained-release tablets possessing a good release property could be suitable for demands of design.

Objective. To study the effect of application of the medical record copy flow reforger in medical record management. Method. Selecting 101,305 (46,048 copies in 2011 and 55,257 copies in 2012) medical records copied one year before and after the implementation of the medical record copy flow reforger, comparing and analyzing the statistical data of waiting time of applicants, satisfaction of applicants, rate of awareness of copy knowledge in applicants, time spent by staff in searching for and copying medical records, and copying workload before and after the implementation of the medical record copy flow reforger, by using SPSS17.0 software. Results. The satisfaction of the medical record copy applicant is significantly improved (X2 is equal to 10.47, P is less than 0.01) after the implementation of the medical record copy flow reforger than that before the implementation, the rate of awareness of copy knowledge awareness in applicants is significantly improved (X2 is equal to 23.2, P is less tha...

The launching of CBERS-01 (China Brazil Earth Resource Satellite) in 1999, China’s first land observation satellite, signifies an unprecedented milestone in Chinese satellite remote sensing history. Since then, a large number of applications have been developed that drew upon solely CBERS-01 and other Chinese land observation satellites. The application development evolves from one satellite to multiple satellites, from one series of satellites to multiple series, from scientific research to industrial applications. Six aspects of the Chinese land observation satellite program are discussed in this paper: development status, data sharing and distribution, satellite calibration, industrial data applications, future prospects, and conclusion.

The purpose of this study was to investigate preparation, characterization and tumor-targeted effect of pH-sensitive niosomes, composed of a nonionic surfactant mixed with cholesteryl hemisuccinate (CHEMS), a derivative of cholesterol (CHOL), as a pH-sensitive molecule. CHEMS was synthesized with CHOL and succinic acid, the structure of which was analyzed by Mass spectrometry (MS) and ¹H Nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) spectrum. Niosomes were prepared via film hydration-probe ultrasound method. Both normal niosomes and pH-sensitive niosomes showed spherical morphology under transmission electron microscope (TEM) with a average particle sizes of 172 ± 6.2 nm and 153 ± 4.7 nm, respectively. The thermotropic behavior, structure changes and interaction of 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu) with other materials were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and the disappearance of the melting peak of drug revealed the fact that drug was encapsulated in niosomes. Bulk-equilibrium reverse-dialysis method was chosen to investigate the behavior of drug release from normal niosomes and pH-sensitive niosomes in different pH medium, and the results showed that the noisome containing CHEMS had a pH-sensitive property. Tumor-targeted effect was proved by the fact that pH-sensitive niosomes showed a remarkable high concentration in tumor site of the mice transplanted with tumor cell.

In this study, low molecular weight chitosan coated liposomes (LCHL) were designed and prepared for ocular drug delivery, the coating mechanism was studied, and in vitro and in vivo characterization was conducted. The effects of molecular weight and concentration of low molecular weight chitosan on the liposomal coating were studied. The numeric relations between coating variables and coating efficiency were established using a mathematical model. Morphology of LCHL was examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Cytotoxicity and cell internalization of FITC-BSA labeled LCHL in a rabbit conjunctival epithelium (RCE) cell line were studied. Cyclosporin A (CsA) was encapsulated as a model drug, and in vitro drug release and in vivo drug absorption were investigated. LCHL demonstrated low toxicity to RCE cells. In vitro drug release measurement showed that LCHL had a delayed release profile compared with non-coated liposomes. In vivo study in rabbits showed that the concentrations of CsA in cornea, conjunctiva, and sclera were remarkably increased by LCHL. In conclusion, LCHL might be a potential ocular drug carrier with characteristics such as prolonged drug retention, enhanced drug permeation, and biocompatibility.

Multi-component and multiphase fluid flows exist in many industrial processes. The phase distribution and interfaces in an aqueous-based process or multiphase flow carries significant information about the processes. Due to the correlation of the multiphase and independency of each phase, the correct measuring of multiphase flow, in the terms of concentration, disperse interface, local velocity and mass flow rate, are of extremely challenged tasks. In 1990s, electrical capacitance tomography was originally developed for oil-water two-phase flow, then electrical resistance tomography was introduced from medical research to process engineering. Significant progress has been made during the past decade and now the technology has been proved as a powerful tool for mapping the concentration and velocity distributions of the second phase in two-phase flows, where electrical impedance differences between the two-phase fluids exist. Previous and current work on electrical resistance tomography by the aut...

Electrical resistance tomography (ERT) techniques under development appear to offer exciting possibilities for future non-intrusive, full-field measurement of gas-liquid and miscible liquid mixing characteristics. A 'full’ 3-D electrical resistance tomographic analysis composed of a 3-D image reconstruction algorithm and a 3-D sensing strategy is being developed at UMIST to overcome the problem of using only a 2-D analysis for inherent 3-D problems. A diagonal sensor excitation and measurement protocol is being examined for the sensing strategy. The image reconstruction algorithm is based on the Newton-Gauss method together with a variant of Occam's regularisation. Experiments were conducted on a 2.7 m3 mixing vessel. The vessel is represented by a 3-D finite element model with 1536 voxels for an initial test with 4 sensing planes. A total 3969 voltage measurements can be obtained from the diagonal strategy from which only 2016 are independent measurements. Some initial results are presented with...

The effects of electrode configuration and design are investigated using a grouped node finite element method (FEM). An estimated expression for an appropriate experimental/actual electrode-angle β is given for an electrode system modelled with grouped-node FEM or single-node FEM. Analyses and methods for reducing sensor noise are discussed in practical terms. Examples of ERT sensors for different applications are given, which comprise from one to eight sensing planes sized from 6 to 1500 mm in diameter. A novel image reconstruction method based on the sensitivity theorem is presented. The capabilities of ERT and its data interpretation and image processing are discussed for pipelines, hydrocyclones and mixing vessels.

A large-scale electrical tomography system has been designed and set-up at UMIST to study imperfect mixing and improve the design of stirred vessels and their impeller configuration at plant-scale. The sensing system was constructed with 8-planes of sensing rings, each containing 16-electrodes and installed into a 2.7 m3 polypropylene vessel fitted with a standard Rushton turbine. Images were reconstructed using the sensitivity theorem algorithms. Some illustrative results for pseudo-stationary gas-liquid mixing and unsteady semi-batch mixing of miscible fluids are reported. Issues related to qualitative and quantitative reconstruction in 2-D and 3-D are discussed.