Search

Abstract Background Chondrosarcoma (CHS), a bone malignancy, poses a significant challenge due to its heterogeneous nature and resistance to conventional treatments. There is a clear need for advanced prognostic instruments that can integrate multiple prognostic factors to deliver personalized survival predictions for individual patients. This study aimed to develop a novel prediction tool based on recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) to improve the estimation of overall survival for patients with CHS. Methods Data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database were analyzed, including demographic, clinical, and treatment details of patients diagnosed between 2000 and 2018. Using C5.0 algorithm, decision trees were created to predict survival probabilities at 12, 24, 60, and 120 months. The performance of the models was assessed through confusion scatter plot, accuracy rate, receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve, and area under ROC curve (AUC). Results The study identified tumor histology, surgery, age, visceral (brain/liver/lung) metastasis, chemotherapy, tumor grade, and sex as critical predictors. Decision trees revealed distinct patterns for survival prediction at each time point. The models showed high accuracy (82.40%–89.09% in training group, and 82.16%–88.74% in test group) and discriminatory power (AUC: 0.806–0.894 in training group, and 0.808–0.882 in test group) in both training and testing datasets. An interactive web‐based shiny APP (URL: https://yangxg1209.shinyapps.io/chondrosarcoma_survival_prediction/) was developed, simplifying the survival prediction process for clinicians. Conclusions This study successfully employed RPA to develop a user‐friendly tool for personalized survival predictions in CHS. The decision tree models demonstrated robust predictive capabilities, with the interactive application facilitating clinical decision‐making. Future prospective studies are recommended to validate these findings and further refine the predictive model.

Abstract Cirsium japonicum contains a variety of medicinal components with good clinical efficacy. With the rapid changes in global climate, it is increasingly important to study the distribution of species habitats and the factors influencing their adaptability. Utilizing the MaxEnt model, we forecasted the present and future distribution regions of suitable habitats for C. japonicum under various climate scenarios. The outcome showed that under the current climate, the total suitable area of C. japonicum is 2,303,624 km2 and the highly suitable area is 79,117 km2. The distribution of C. japonicum is significantly influenced by key environmental factors such as temperature annual range, precipitation of the driest month, and precipitation of the wettest month. In light of future climate change, the suitable habitat for C. japonicum is anticipated to progressively relocate toward the western and northern regions, leading to an expansion in the total suitable area. These findings offer valuable insights into the conservation, sustainable utilization, and standardized cultivation of wild C. japonicum resources.

Abstract Due to extraordinary electronic and optoelectronic properties, large‐scale single‐crystal two‐dimensional (2D) semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) monolayers have gained significant interest in the development of profit‐making cutting‐edge nano and atomic‐scale devices. To explore the remarkable properties of single‐crystal 2D monolayers, many strategies are proposed to achieve ultra‐thin functional devices. Despite substantial attempts, the controllable growth of high‐quality single‐crystal 2D monolayer still needs to be improved. The quality of the 2D monolayer strongly depends on the underlying substrates primarily responsible for the formation of grain boundaries during the growth process. To restrain the grain boundaries, the epitaxial growth process plays a crucial role and becomes ideal if an appropriate single crystal substrate is selected. Therefore, this perspective focuses on the latest advances in the growth of large‐scale single‐crystal 2D TMD monolayers in the light of enhancing their industrial applicability. In the end, recent progress and challenges of 2D TMD materials for various potential applications are highlighted.

Abstract Background Non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type of lung cancer with high morbidity and mortality. The role of dysregulated circular RNAs (circRNAs) in human diseases are receiving more and more attention. In this study, we focused on the role and mechanism of circPKM2 in the progression of NSCLC. Methods The expression levels of circPKM2, microRNA‐1298‐5p (miR‐1298‐5p) and metadherin (MTDH) in NSCLC were measured by real‐time quantitative PCR (qRT‐PCR) or Western blot. Cell counting kit‐8 (CCK‐8), colony formation, 5‐ethynyl‐2′‐deoxyuridine (EdU) staining, flow cytometry, transwell and tube formation assays were conducted to evaluate the effects of circPKM2 on malignant phenotypes of NSCLC. Western blot was used to measure related marker protein levels. Results CircPKM2 and MTDH were highly expressed in NSCLC tissues and cells, while miR‐1298‐5p was downregulated. CircPKM2 knockdown effectively suppressed cell proliferation, migration, invasion and tube formation whereas induced apoptosis in vitro. CircPKM2 had a potential targeting site with miR‐1298‐5p and negatively regulated the expression of miR‐1298‐5p. MiR‐1298‐5p inhibitor reversed the effect of circPKM2 knockdown on the progression of NSCLC. CircPKM2 induced MTDH expression via sponging miR‐1298‐5p to promote the progression of NSCLC. MiR‐1298‐5p directly targeted MTDH, and the addition of MTDH partially attenuated the inhibition of miR‐1298‐5p on the progression of NSCLC. In addition, the downregulation of circPKM2 significantly slowed down the growth of xenograft tumors in vivo. Conclusion Our findings demonstrated that circPKM2 mediated NSCLC progression via regulating miR‐1298‐5p/MTDH axis, providing a novel therapeutic target for NSCLC.

Abstract Aim To evaluate role function and job satisfaction, determine their relationship, and explore the factors influencing job satisfaction among community nurses in China. Design Cross‐sectional study. Methods This study was conducted between March and June 2020 on a cluster random sampling of 302 community nurses from 24 community health centres and stations in Xi'an, China. Self‐reported data were collected using the Demographics Questionnaire, Role Function of Community Nurses Questionnaire, and Job Satisfaction of Community Nurses Scale. Descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression analyses were performed to analyse data. Results Community nurses' main role function was organiser and manager (M = 2.56, SD = 0.987) and coordinator (M = 2.43, SD = 0.971). The lowest job satisfaction was for salary and benefits (M = 3.12, SD = 0.891) and personal development (M = 3.65, SD = 0.738). A positive correlation was found between the roles of caregiver, educator, navigator, and salary and benefits (p

Context. Ferroptosis is known to influence the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis. Astragalus and Panax notoginseng are used to treat pulmonary fibrosis; however, the therapeutic mechanisms require further elucidation. Objective. To investigate the mechanism through which Astragalus and Panax notoginseng decoction (APD) facilitates the treatment of ferroptosis-mediated pulmonary fibrosis. Materials and Methods. First, the electromedical measurement systems were used to measure respiratory function in mice; the lungs were then collected for histological staining. Potential pharmacologic targets were predicted via network pharmacology. Finally, tests including immunohistochemistry, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and western blotting were used to evaluate the relative expression levels of collagen, transforming growth factor β, α-smooth muscle actin, hydroxyproline, and ferroptosis-related genes (GPX4, SLC7A11, ACSL4, and PTGS2) and candidates involved in the mediation of pathways associated with ferroptosis (Hif-1α and EGFR). Results. APD prevented the occurrence of restrictive ventilation dysfunction induced by ferroptosis. Extracellular matrix and collagen fiber deposition were significantly reduced when the APD group compared with the model group; furthermore, ferroptosis was attenuated, expression of PTGS2 and ACSL4 increased, and expression of GPX4 and SLC7A11 decreased. In the APD group, the candidates related to the mediation of ferroptosis (Hif-1α and EGFR) decreased compared with the model group. Discussion and Conclusions. APD may ameliorate restrictive ventilatory dysfunction through the inhibition of ferroptosis. This was achieved through the attenuation of collagen deposition and inflammatory recruitment in pulmonary fibrosis. The underlying mechanisms might involve Hif-1α and EGFR.

Abstract Purpose We aimed to develop and prospectively validate a risk score model to guide individualized concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) for patients with stage II nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in intensity‐modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) era. Materials and Methods In total, 1220 patients who received CCRT or IMRT alone were enrolled in this study, including a training cohort (n = 719), a validation cohort (n = 307), and a prospective test cohort (n = 194). Patients were stratified into different risk groups by a risk score model based on independent prognostic factors, which were developed in the training cohort. Survival rates were compared by the log‐rank test. The validation and prospective test cohorts were used for validation. Results Total tumor volume, Epstein–Barr virus DNA, and lactate dehydrogenase were independent risk factors for failure‐free survival (FFS, all p

Abstract Rapidly obtaining accurate dense disparity maps has been the focus of stereo matching research. At present, approaches that achieve superior disparity maps require a large amount of computation, which is not suitable for practical applications. To address this issue, this paper proposes an efficient local matching method based on an adaptive exponentially weighted moving average filter and simple linear iterative clustering segmentation algorithm. First, an effective matching cost is introduced to adaptively integrate absolute intensity difference with Census transform, which is robust against texture free and luminance variate. Following this, during the cost aggregation, the exponentially weighted moving average filter and the SLIC segmentation are combined to handle the problems of computing consumption and adaptive expansion of the cost aggregation window. Finally, the dense disparity map is obtained by a winner‐takes‐all approach and disparity refinement. To demonstrate its efficiency and validity, the method is quantitatively tested and compared to existing approaches on the Middlebury benchmark. The results show that it has a non‐occlusion accuracy of 90.66% and an average runtime of 7.01 s on the 2014 Middlebury dataset. Compared with existing competitive methods, the proposed method achieves superior matching results with a lower time cost.

Abstract Potential mechanisms of depression involving herbal medicines and their specific compounds include elevated 5‐HT level and downstream BDNF pathway. To identify potentially new combined therapeutic strategies, 3,6'‐disinapoylsucrose (DISS) and tenuifoliside A (TFSA) have been observed to show antidepressant‐like effects and its related 5‐HT‐BDNF pathway. We have tried to investigate whether combined administration of DISS and TFSA exerted more effective in the treatment of depression, as assessed through tail suspension test (TST) and forced swimming test (FST). In addition, we also analyzed the expression of three important proteins, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) response element binding (CREB), brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and cAMP‐regulated transcriptional coactivators (CRTC1), which have been shown to be involved in the regulation of the neurotrophic factors in the hippocampus. The DISS and TFSA separately, both at a dose of 5 mg/kg each, displayed small effect in the immobility time. However, combined treatment of these two in multiple doses exhibited better effect. Moreover, combined treatment of DISS and TFSA also demonstrated enhanced levels of 5‐hydroxytryptamine (5‐HT), and stronger increase in the phosphorylation levels of CREB, BDNF, and CRTC1 proteins in the hippocampus. Overall, our results indicated that coadministration of these two oligosaccharide esters at low dose may induce more pronounced antidepressant activity, in comparison with individual treatment even at high dosage. Thus, the antidepressant properties of both these compounds can be attributed to their ability to influence 5‐HT and BDNF pathway, and thereby suggesting that this combination strategy can definitely act as alternative therapy for depression disorder with very limited side effects.

Abstract Increasing circRNAs have attracted a lot of attention because of their significant biological effects in many diseases. It has been reported that circ_0008305 can modulate lung cancer progression. However, the association between circ_0008305 and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) needs to be well explored. In this current research, we studied the molecular function and potential mechanism of circ_0008305 in HCC progression. First, it was demonstrated that circ_0008305 was greatly increased in HCC tissues and cells. Moreover, we observed silencing circ_0008305 markedly repressed HCC cells in vitro growth and reduced tumor growth in vivo. Additionally, it was identified that circ_0008305 can act as a sponge of miR‐660 while miR‐660 targeted Bcl‐2‐associated athanogene 5 (BAG5). BAG5 belongs to a member of BAG family and it is involved in multiple diseases. We reported that circ_0008305 contributed to the inhibition of miR‐660, which resulted in an upregulated expression of BAG5 in HCC. Subsequently, rescue assays were conducted and it was indicated that loss of BAG5 reversed the effects of miR‐660 inhibitors on HCC partially. To sum up, it was illustrated by our study that circ_0008305‐mediated miR‐660‐5p/BAG5 axis triggered HCC progression, which could provide a novel insight on the underlying mechanism of HCC progression.

When the government decides to use the public-private partnership (PPP) in projects, such as infrastructure construction, selecting a private-sector partner that meets the project's needs is one of the key factors for successful implementation, but this is ignored in existing research. On this basis, this paper proposes a GRA-VIKOR method based on the combined weight of the improved CRITIC-entropy weight method (EWM). The traditional CRITIC method is improved by combining it with EWM. The combined weights are measured, which reduces the limitations of the single weight. Considering the inherent correlation of evaluation indicators, the VIKOR method is combined with the grey relational analysis (GRA), which makes the results of the selection assessment more reasonable. This paper carries out a case study of the first inland navigation PPP project in China. Through preliminary tracking studies, it tests the effectiveness of the proposed method, the superiority of which is demonstrated by comparing the evaluation results with those of the traditional GRA methods, VIKOR, and TOPSIS.

Abstract The thermal‐hydraulic performance of printed circuit heat exchanger (PCHE) through an experimental vaporization process of supercritical nitrogen was investigated. The inlet temperature of supercritical nitrogen was controlled between 113 K and 129 K, while its pressure was controlled between 4.5 MPa and 6 MPa. The mass of supercritical nitrogen corresponds to the turbulent state on the cold side of PCHE, which was maintained at 299.94 kg/h. A numerical processing of the same supercritical nitrogen flow through a single channel of PCHE cold side was presented. The numerical results were validated by comparison with the experimental data. Both experimental and numerical results showed that the increased inlet supercritical nitrogen pressure improved the heat transfer performance and pressure drop decreased with increasing the pressure at the PCHE cold side. Furthermore, the Fanning friction coefficient (f) and the Nusselt number (Nu) of supercritical nitrogen flow obtained by numerical simulation and empirical correlation were compared.

In this paper, the stochastic resonance (SR) phenomenon of four kinds of noises (the white noise, the harmonic noise, the asymmetric dichotomous noise, and the Lévy noise) in underdamped bistable systems is studied. By applying theory of stochastic differential equations to the numerical simulation of stochastic resonance problem, we simulate and analyze the system responses and pay close attention to stochastic control in the proposed systems. Then, the factors of influence to the SR are investigated by the Euler-Maruyama algorithm, Milstein algorithm, and fourth-order Runge-Kutta algorithm, respectively. The results show that the SR phenomenon can be generated in the proposed system under certain conditions by adjusting the parameters of the control effect with different noises. We also found that the type of the noise has little effect on the resonance peak of the output power spectrum density, which is not observed in conventional harmonic systems driven by multiplicative noise with only an overdamped term. Therefore, the conclusion of this paper can provide experimental basis for the further study of stochastic resonance.

To study the lateral deformation characteristics of coal under different confining pressures, coal compression experiments with confining pressures of 0 MPa, 3 MPa, 5 MPa, and 7 MPa were conducted under the same loading rate by using the TAW-2000 electrohydraulic servo rock mechanics experimental machine. The results of the study showed the following: at the initial stage of loading, the lateral strain of coal was about 12.22%–46.9% of the axial strain at the elastic deformation stage and 41.18%–64.96% of the axial strain at the inelastic deformation to peak stress stage. Compared with the experiment under 0 MPa confining pressure, the growth rate of the lateral strain of the coal under 3 MPa, 5 MPa, and 7 MPa confining pressures was much smaller than that of the corresponding axial strain. When the coal was damaged under different confining pressures, the lateral strain was maintained at about 0.6 × 10−2. Based on the field verification, we proposed that the lateral strain during the coal failure and the nonlinear region of the lateral axis ratio changing with time can be used as potential parameters for predicting the coal failure.

Acute lung injury (ALI)/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is characterized by pulmonary microvascular endothelial barrier dysfunction. Mesenchymal stem cell-secreted hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) has positive effects of lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-) induced pulmonary endothelial barrier. Studies have exhibited the mammalian TORC1 (mTORC1) signaling is of potent angiogenesis effects. The mTOR protein kinase has two distinct multiprotein complexes mTORC1 and mTORC2 that regulate different branches of the mTOR network. However, detailed mTORC2 mechanisms of HGF protective effects remain poorly defined. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine whether mTORC2 mediated protective effects of MSC-secreted HGF against LPS-induced pulmonary microvascular endothelial barrier dysfunction activated like mTORC1 activation. We introduced MSC-PMVEC coculture transwell system and recombinant murine HGF on LPS-induced endothelial cell barrier dysfunction in vitro and then explored potential mechanisms by lentivirus vector-mediated HGF, mTORC1 (raptor), and mTORC2 (rictor) gene knockdown modification. Endothelial paracellular and transcellular permeability, adherent junction protein (VE-Cadherin), cell proliferation, apoptosis, and mTOR-associated proteins were tested. These revealed that HGF could promote quick reestablishment of adherent junction VE-cadherin and decrease endothelial paracellular and transcellular permeability during LSP-induced endothelial dysfunction with the involvement of mTORC2 (rictor) and mTORC1 (raptor) pathways. Raptor and rictor knockdown in LPS-induced PMEVECs with stimulation of HGF increased apoptosis ratio, activated Cleaved-Caspase-3 expression, and downregulated cell proliferation. Moreover, mTORC2/Akt but not mTORC2/PKC had significance on HGF endothelial protective effects. Taken together, these highlight activation mTORC2 pathway could also contribute to vascular endothelial barrier recovery by MSC-secreted HGF in LPS stimulation.

Evaluation of rock mass quality is of great significance to the design and construction of geotechnical engineering. In order to evaluate the quality of engineering rock mass scientifically and deal with the fuzzy information in the rock mass quality evaluation reasonably, a model for evaluation of rock mass quality based on unascertained measure and intuitionistic fuzzy sets (UM-IFS) was proposed. First, the membership of rock mass quality evaluation index was determined by the single index measure function of unascertained measure (UM) theory. Based on the intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IFS) theory, the single index measure evaluation matrix based on IFS (IFS-single index measure evaluation matrix) was obtained. By synthesizing various subjective and objective weighting methods, the range of index weight was determined, and the index weight vector based on IFS (IFS-index weight vector) was constructed. Then, the IFS-single index measure evaluation matrix and the IFS-index weight vector were used to calculate the scores of rock mass samples and evaluate rock mass quality. Finally, fuzzy analysis was performed on the weight of rock mass quality evaluation index. The established model for evaluation of rock mass quality was applied to the underground engineering rock mass in Guangzhou pumped storage power plant, and the evaluation results were compared with the other 4 effective models for rock mass quality evaluation. The results show that rock mass quality evaluation based on UM-IFS is consistent with the actual situation, and the fuzziness of evaluation index weight has no obvious correlation with its value.

Background. Previous studies have suggested that Fetuin-B seems to be a secreted adipokine related to metabolic diseases. However, the results have been inconsistent. Here, our objective is to investigate the changes in circulating Fetuin-B levels in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and analyze the association of Fetuin-B and insulin resistance (IR). Methods. The current study is comprised of a cross-sectional study and a series of interventional studies. Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp (EHC) were engaged to assess glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity. Serum Fetuin-B levels were determined by ELISA. Results. Serum Fetuin-B and TNF-α levels were markedly increased in women with PCOS compared to healthy women. Circulating Fetuin-B was positively associated with body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, the percentage of body fat (FAT%), systolic blood pressure, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting blood glucose, 2 h blood glucose after glucose overload, fasting insulin, 2 h insulin after glucose overload, HOMA-insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), the area under the curve for insulin (AUCi), AUCg, and TNF-α, while negatively associated with M value and follicular stimulating hormone (FSH). During the EHC, Fetuin-B levels were found to be significantly increased in PCOS women. After a glucose challenge, serum Fetuin-B levels in healthy women were significantly increased. Lipid infusion reduced serum Fetuin-B levels in 30 healthy subjects. After six months of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) intervention, serum Fetuin-B concentrations in PCOS women markedly decreased following ameliorated IR. Conclusion. Our results indicate that Fetuin-B may be a biomarker of IR in individuals with PCOS. This trial is registered with ChiCTR-IIR-16007901.

Modern cities form city networks through complex social ties. City network research is widely applied to guide regional planning, infrastructure construction, and resource allocation. China put forward the Yellow River Basin Development Strategy in 2019, but no research has been conducted on regional social connections among cities. Based on the gravity model modified by two-way “time distance” between cities, this is the first study to empirically examine the intensity and structure of the entire city network in the Yellow River basin using the social network analysis method and ArcGIS software. The connection rules of the cross-city transfer of city officials in the basin are also investigated to illustrate the official ties between cities. The results suggest that the intensity of two-way connections between cities is generally low in the Yellow River basin and there is a positive correlation between city network development level and regional economic development level. The development gap between cities on the north and south banks is larger than that between the east and west regions, and some cities in the middle and upper reaches of the river are marginalized in the network. The status of the central cities in the Yellow River basin is distinct, but their connecting and leading abilities are not strong, showing an inverted T-shaped spatial distribution. The subgroups of city networks have strong internal connections, while the connection among subgroups is weak and the development shows a partitioned and fragmented pattern, making it difficult to form linkages among the upper, middle, and lower reaches. The “beaded chain” spatial development strategy can be adopted in the river basin planning, giving priority to strengthening the links within subgroups of cities and among adjacent subgroups, building central city chains, and reinforcing the overall basin management.

An innovative cellular concrete procured with sat-SAP (superabsorbent polymer) is introduced. Combined with BFRP bars, this concrete may play a role as protective structures in marine applications. Eight BFRP-reinforced cellular concrete slabs (BSs) and three steel-reinforced normal concrete slabs (SPs) are exposed to simulated blast loadings in a shock tube device. Low-modulus cellular concrete and BFRP bars cause BSs to exhibit distinctive behaviours compared to those of SPs. BSs, which are more flexible at the same reinforcement ratio, have more intensive vibrations and larger deformations compared to SPs under various blast loadings. In addition to the porous structure of cellular concrete, BSs demonstrate better wave-attenuating and energy-absorbing abilities. More severe damage such as cracks, deflections, and breaches is observed for BSs. In the current research, a comprehensively superior blast resistance can be achieved through improving reinforcement ratio to promote serviceability.

In order to study the effect of cement-sand ratio on the dynamic mechanical properties of the full tailings cemented backfilling, three sets of full tailings cemented backfilling specimens with different cement-sand ratios were prefabricated. The uniaxial impact of the prefabricated specimens was performed by the Ф50 mm SHPB test system. Test results showed that full tailings cemented backfilling had strong reflection and damping effects on elastic wave propagation. At lower strain rates, specimens presented strength hardening, and at higher strain rates, the test specimens presented rapid-softening strength; the strength-hardened specimen reached the peak stress at 40 μs, and the softening specimen reached the peak stress at about 18 μs; with the increase of strain rate, dynamic compressive strength, growth factor of dynamic strength, peak strain, and dynamic-static strain ratio of specimens increased totally. When the cement-sand ratio increased, ultimate dynamic compressive strength, limit dynamic strength growth factor, and ultimate peak strain of the specimen were higher; at the same strain rate, with the increase of cement content, the dynamic compressive strength, dynamic strength growth factor, and dynamic-static strain ratio of the test piece all decreased. The failure mode of the specimen was crushing failure. Under the same strain rate, when the cement content decreased, there was a higher damage degree of specimens.

Objective. To investigate the association between the hypertriglyceridemic waist (HTGW) phenotype and prediabetes in Chinese adults aged 40 years and older. Methods. 12757 adults (4101 men and 8656 women) without diabetes or cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, free of using lipid-modified agents, were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. The HTGW phenotype was defined as elevated serum triglyceride concentrations and enlarged waist circumference. A two-hour post 75 g oral glucose tolerance test was performed in all participants. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship of the HTGW phenotype with prediabetes. Results. Individuals with the HTGW phenotype had a higher adjusted odds ratio (OR: 1.70; 95% CI: 1.48–1.95) of prediabetes than those without the phenotype. There existed a strong relationship of the HTGW phenotype with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) (OR: 1.83; 95% CI: 1.57–2.13), but not with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) (OR: 0.87; 95% CI: 0.65–1.17). Only women with the HTGW phenotype are significantly associated with the combined IFG and IGT (OR: 1.83; 95% CI: 1.28–2.62). Conclusions. The HTGW phenotype was a useful risk indicator and a practical screening tool to benefit in the early diagnosis and intervention for prediabetes, particularly for IGT and the combined IFG and IGT.

Alcohol abuse is a major social problem, which has caused a lot of damages or hidden dangers to the individual and the society. In this paper, with random factors of alcoholism considered in mortality rate of compartment populations, we formulate a stochastic alcoholism model according to compartment theory of infectious disease. Based on this model, we investigate the long-term stochastic dynamics behaviors of two equilibria of the corresponding deterministic model and point out the effect of random disturbance on the stability of the system. We find that when R0≤1, we get the estimation between the trajectory of stochastic system and E0=(Π/μs,0,0,0) in the average in time with respect to the disturbance intensity, while when R0>1, stochastic system is ergodic and has the unique stationary distribution. Finally, we carry out numerical simulations to support the corresponding theoretical results.

Based on classical Lie Group method, we construct a class of explicit solutions of two-dimensional ideal incompressible magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) equation by its infinitesimal generator. Via these explicit solutions we study the uniqueness and stability of initial-boundary problem on MHD.

The important role of ephrinB2-EphB4 signaling pathway in bone remodeling has been well established. However, it is still unclear whether this bidirectional signaling also has effects on the regenerative processes of bone defects created in an inflammatory microenvironment. In this study, an experimental animal model of bone defects treated with lentiviruses was prepared and an inflammatory microenvironment was established. Expression levels of bone marker genes were monitored in the newly formed bone tissue using quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and western blot. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining and histomorphometric analysis were also performed to evaluate bone healing processes. Compared with the pLenti6.3-ctrl group, the pLenti6.3-ephb4siRNA group exhibited lower expression levels of bone formation marker genes and a higher level of NFATc1 in the new bone tissue. In addition, the newly formed bone was thinner and the number of giant osteoclasts was higher in the pLenti6.3-ephb4siRNA group than that in the pLenti6.3-ctrl group. In contrast, there was no significant difference between the pLenti6.3-efnb2siRNA group and the pLenti6.3-ctrl group. In conclusion, EphB4 plays an irreplaceable role in bone regeneration in an inflammatory microenvironment, whereas the functional loss of ephrinB2 can be effectively compensated, most possibly by other ephrins with similar chemical structures.