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BackgroundPleomorphic adenoma (PA), often with the benign-like imaging appearances similar to Warthin tumor (WT), however, is a potentially malignant tumor with a high recurrence rate. It is worse that pathological fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is difficult to distinguish PA and WT for inexperienced pathologists. This study employed deep learning (DL) technology, which effectively utilized ultrasound images, to provide a reliable approach for discriminating PA from WT.Methods488 surgically confirmed patients, including 266 with PA and 222 with WT, were enrolled in this study. Two experienced ultrasound physicians independently evaluated all images to differentiate between PA and WT. The diagnostic performance of preoperative FNAC was also evaluated. During the DL study, all ultrasound images were randomly divided into training (70%), validation (20%), and test (10%) sets. Furthermore, ultrasound images that could not be diagnosed by FNAC were also randomly allocated to training (60%), validation (20%), and test (20%) sets. Five DL models were developed to classify ultrasound images as PA or WT. The robustness of these models was assessed using five-fold cross-validation. The Gradient-weighted Class Activation Mapping (Grad-CAM) technique was employed to visualize the region of interest in the DL models.ResultsIn Grad-CAM analysis, the DL models accurately identified the mass as the region of interest. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of the two ultrasound physicians were 0.351 and 0.598, and FNAC achieved an AUROC of only 0.721. Meanwhile, for DL models, the AUROC value for discriminating between PA and WT in the test set was from 0.828 to 0.908. ResNet50 demonstrated the optimal performance with an AUROC of 0.908, an accuracy of 0.833, a sensitivity of 0.736, and a specificity of 0.904. In the test set of cases that FNAC failed to provide a diagnosis, DenseNet121 demonstrated the optimal performance with an AUROC of 0.897, an accuracy of 0.806, a sensitivity of 0.789, and a specificity of 0.824.ConclusionFor the discrimination of PA and WT, DL models are superior to ultrasound and FNAC, thereby facilitating surgeons in making informed decisions regarding the most appropriate surgical approach.

Abstract Purpose The overall response of cisplatin-based chemotherapy in bladder urothelial carcinoma (BUC) remains unsatisfactory due to the complex pathological subtypes, genomic difference, and drug resistance. The genes that associated with cisplatin resistance remain unclear. Herein, we aimed to identify the cisplatin resistance associated genes in BUC. Experimental design The cytotoxicity of cisplatin was evaluated in six bladder cancer cell lines to compare their responses to cisplatin. The T24 cancer cells exhibited the lowest sensitivity to cisplatin and was therefore selected to explore the mechanisms of drug resistance. We performed genome-wide CRISPR screening in T24 cancer cells in vitro, and identified that the gene heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein U (HNRNPU) was the top candidate gene related to cisplatin resistance. Epigenetic and transcriptional profiles of HNRNPU-depleted cells after cisplatin treatment were analyzed to investigate the relationship between HNRNPU and cisplatin resistance. In vivo experiments were also performed to demonstrate the function of HNRNPU depletion in cisplatin sensitivity. Results Significant correlation was found between HNRNPU expression level and sensitivity to cisplatin in bladder cancer cell lines. In the high HNRNPU expressing T24 cancer cells, knockout of HNRNPU inhibited cell proliferation, invasion, and migration. In addition, loss of HNRNPU promoted apoptosis and S-phase arrest in the T24 cells treated with cisplatin. Data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) demonstrated that HNRNPU expression was significantly higher in tumor tissues than in normal tissues. High HNRNPU level was negatively correlated with patient survival. Transcriptomic profiling analysis showed that knockout of HNRNPU enhanced cisplatin sensitivity by regulating DNA damage repair genes. Furthermore, it was found that HNRNPU regulates chemosensitivity by affecting the expression of neurofibromin 1 (NF1). Conclusions Our study demonstrated that HNRNPU expression is associated with cisplatin sensitivity in bladder urothelial carcinoma cells. Inhibition of HNRNPU could be a potential therapy for cisplatin-resistant bladder cancer.

Clear‐cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most prevalent renal malignancy. The pathogenesis of the disease is currently poorly understood, and the prognosis is poor. Therefore, in this study, we focused on exploring and identifying genes and signal transduction pathways that are closely related to ccRCC. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were analyzed using the renal cell oncogene expression profiles GSE100666 and GSE68417. DAVID evaluation of gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses was used. We constructed a protein–protein interaction (PPI) network of DEGS using Cytoscape software and analyzed the submodules with the CytoHubba plugin. Finally, we performed western blot, immunohistochemistry, and PCR validation by collecting tissues, and also utilized cells for in vitro functional analysis of ceruloplasmin (CP). In total, 202 DEGs (52 upregulated and 150 downregulated genes) were identified. Upregulated DEGs are significantly rich in angiogenesis, cell adhesion, and response to hypoxia, whereas downregulated DEGs are involved in intracellular pH regulation, excretion, coagulation, and chloride transmembrane transport. We selected the interactions of the top 20 hub genes provided by the PPI network, all of which are involved in important physiological pathways in vivo, such as complement and coagulation cascades. Tissue protein assays demonstrated that renal cancer highly expressed CP, while in vitro experiments showed that CP could promote the invasion of renal cancer cells. Our study suggests that ALB, C3, LOX, HRG, CXCR4, GPC3, SLC12A3, CP, and CASR may be involved in the development of ccRCC, and is expected to provide theoretical support for future studies on the diagnosis and targeted therapy of ccRCC.

As a debris-flow control and mitigation countermeasure, flexible net barriers can effectively mitigate debris flows. The control and interception characteristics of flexible net barrier play an important role in engineering design. Many influencing factors exist in debris-flow flexible net barrier control and interception processes. In order to explore the most important factors, a flume-based experimental study was carried out by selecting the four main factors, i.e., the flume slope, debris flow bulk density, net barrier interval and relative volume. The purpose of the study is to analyze the influencing degree of the four factors. Moreover, the debris-flow interception ratio, blocking ratio, velocity reduction ratio and bulk density attenuation ratio are taken as the evaluation index. Based on the theory of orthogonal experimental design, the experiment results were analyzed in detail by range analysis and variance analysis. The research results indicated the following: in regard to the interception ratio, blocking ratio, and velocity reduction ratio, the net barrier interval exerted the most notable impact, followed by the bulk density. In regard to the bulk density attenuation ratio, the flume slope and bulk density were the first and second most important influencing factors, respectively. The form of interception ratio with maximum value was as follows: the flume slope was 9°, the net barrier interval was 18 mm, the bulk density was 21 kN/m3 and the relative volume was 2/3. The form of blocking ratio with minimum value was as follows: the flume slope was 6°, the net barrier interval was 50 mm, the bulk density was 12 kN/m3 and the relative volume was 1/2. The form of velocity reduction ratio with maximum value was as follows: the flume slope was 12°, the net barrier interval was 18 mm, the bulk density was 17 kN/m3 and the relative volume was 1. The form of bulk density attenuation ratio with maximum value was as follows: the flume slope was 12°, the net barrier interval was 30 mm, the bulk density was 17 kN/m3 and the relative volume was 1/3.

BackgroundFirst-line surveillance on hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected populations with B-mode ultrasound is relatively limited to identifying hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) without elevated α-fetoprotein (AFP). To improve the present HCC surveillance strategy, the state of the art of artificial intelligence (AI), a deep learning (DL) approach, is proposed to assist in the diagnosis of a focal liver lesion (FLL) in HBV-infected liver background.MethodsOur proposed deep learning model was based on B-mode ultrasound images of surgery that proved 209 HCC and 198 focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) cases with 413 lesions. The model cohort and test cohort were set at a ratio of 3:1, in which the test cohort was composed of AFP-negative HBV-infected cases. Four additional deep learning models (MobileNet, Resnet50, DenseNet121, and InceptionV3) were also constructed as comparative baselines. To evaluate the models in terms of diagnostic power, sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, confusion matrix, F1-score, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) were calculated in the test cohort.ResultsThe AUC of our model, Xception, achieved 93.68% in the test cohort, superior to other baselines (89.06%, 85.67%, 83.94%, and 78.13% respectively for MobileNet, Resnet50, DenseNet121, and InceptionV3). In terms of diagnostic power, our model showed sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and F1-score of 96.08%, 76.92%, 86.41%, and 87.50%, respectively, and PPV, NPV, FPR, and FNR calculated from the confusion matrix were respectively 80.33%, 95.24%, 23.08%, and 3.92% in identifying AFP-negative HCC from HBV-infected FLL cases. Satisfactory robustness of our proposed model was shown based on 5-fold cross-validation performed among the models above.ConclusionsOur DL approach has great potential to assist B-mode ultrasound in identifying AFP-negative HCC from FLL found in surveillance of HBV-infected patients.

Compared with debris flows in other areas, debris flows in scenic areas not only seriously threaten residents, tourists, roads, walkways, and other infrastructure, but also cause considerable damage to the landscapes and ecosystems of these areas. Extreme rainfall events in the future will increase the complexities and challenges involved in debris flow control in scenic areas. Currently, the systematic planning of the entire scenic area is not considered in the treatment of debris flows. It is not possible to realize the rapid planning of any debris flow gully control project in a scenic area and to quantify the volume of debris flow material retained by each engineering structure. Based on field investigations and data collected from debris flow control projects in gullies in Jiuzhaigou Valley, China, an engineering planning method for debris flow control projects in scenic areas is herein proposed, and the challenges confronting existing control projects in scenic areas are discussed. Moreover, based on the example of Jiuzhaigou Valley, corresponding control engineering schemes for debris flow gullies in Xiajijie Lake Gully, Zhuozhui Gully, Xuan Gully, Pingshitou Gully, and West-Zhuozhui Gully are formulated. Four control modes for debris flow disasters in scenic areas are proposed, namely, “blocking + deposit stopping,” “deposit stopping,” “blocking,” and “drainage + deposit stopping,” which provide a systematic control strategy for post-earthquake debris flow disaster management in Jiuzhaigou Valley and other similar scenic areas.

Background: This study aimed to assess the relationship between dyslipidemia (DL) risk and health-related physical fitness (HPF) and evaluated the prognostic value of HPF for risk of DL. Methods: A total of 776 university staff members were recruited, of which 407 were females, and 369 males. Blood samples and HPF tests were collected from all participants after 12 h fasting. Results: The prevalence of DL was 41.77% and 51.49% in female and male university staff members, respectively, and there was no significant difference between genders (χ2 = 2.687, p = 0.101). According to the logistic regression analysis, age, male sex, GLU, hypertension, BMI, BF, WHtR, and LAP were significant risk factors for DL (p < 0.05), VCI and, SAR were significant protective factors for DL (p < 0.05), and SMI, GS, and VG were not significantly associated with the risk of DL. The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) analysis indicated that, LAP (AUC: 0.730, 95CI%: 0.697–0.762), WHtR (AUC: 0.626, 95CI%: 0.590–0.660), and BMI (AUC: 0.599, 95CI%: 0.563–0.634) are valid predictors of DL, and LAP and WHtR perform better than BMI (Z = 8.074, p < 0.001) in predicting DL in male and female university staff members. Conclusion: The risk of DL is significantly related to body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, and flexibility. LAP and WHtR perform better than BMI in predicting risk of DL in male and female university staff members.

On 8 August 2017, an Ms 7.0 earthquake struck Jiuzhaigou Valley, triggering abundant landslides and providing a huge source of material for potential debris flows. After the earthquake debris flows were triggered by heavy rainfall, causing traffic disruption and serious property losses. This study aims to describe the debris flow events in Zechawa Gully, calculate the peak discharges of the debris flows, characterize the debris flow disasters, propose mitigation countermeasures to control these disasters and analyse the effectiveness of countermeasures that were implemented in May 2019. The results showed the following: (1) The frequency of the debris flows in Zechawa Gully with small- and medium-scale will increase due to the influence of the Ms 7.0 Jiuzhaigou earthquake. (2) An accurate debris flow peak discharge can be obtained by comparing the calculated results of four different methods. (3) The failure of a check dam in the channel had an amplification effect on the peak discharge, resulting in a destructive debris flow event on 4 August 2016. Due to the disaster risk posed by dam failure, both blocking and deposit stopping measures should be adopted for debris flow mitigation. (4) Optimized engineering countermeasures with blocking and deposit stopping measures were proposed and implemented in May 2019 based on the debris flow disaster characteristics of Zechawa Gully, and the reconstructed engineering projects were effective in controlling a post-earthquake debris flow disaster on 21 June 2019.

High pressure in situ Fourier transfer infrared/near infrared technology (HP FTIR/NIR) along with theoretical calculation of density functional theory (DFT) method was employed. The solvation behaviors and the free radical homopolymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA), methacrylate acid (MAA), trifluoromethyl methacrylate (MTFMA) and trifluoromethyl methacrylate acid (TFMAA) in scCO2 were systematically investigated. Interestingly, the previously proposed mechanism of intermolecular-interaction dynamically-induced solvation effect (IDISE) of monomer in scCO2 is expected to be well verified/corroborated in view that the predicted solubility order of the monomers in scCO2 via DFT calculation is ideally consistent with that observed via HP FTIR/NIR. It is shown that MMA and MAA can be easily polymerized, while the free radical polymerizability of MTFMA is considerably poor and TFMAA cannot be polymerized via the free radical initiators. The α trifluoromethyl group (−CF3) may effectively enhance the intermolecular hydrogen bonding and restrain the diffusion of the monomer in scCO2. More importantly, the strong electron-withdrawing inductive effect of −CF3 to C=C may distinctly decrease the atomic charge of the carbon atom in the methylene (=CH2). These two factors are believed to be predominantly responsible for the significant decline of the free radical polymerizability of MTFMA and the other alkyl 2-trifluoromethacrylates in scCO2.

Increasing concerns about the potentially negative impacts of chemical production on sustainable development of the overall environment have spurred numerous attempts to seek greener reaction mediums, recyclable catalysts, and high-efficiency procedures. Herein, a cyclometalated Ir complex with a pyrene tag was successfully immobilized onto multiwalled carbon nanotubes via π-π stacking interactions, through which an easily reusable Ir catalyst was constructed. The immobilization process was effectively monitored by using a fluorescence spectroscopy technique, and the immobilized Ir catalyst was well characterized and evaluated. It is found that the immobilized Ir catalyst exerts activity comparable to that of the corresponding homogeneous Ir catalyst for the dehydrogenation of indolines in an aqueous solution. More importantly, the catalyst could be recycled seven times without obvious loss of the Ir-active center and noticeable decrease in the yield of the targeted product. Additionally, the observed slight deactivation of the catalyst during the recycle is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Numerous case-control studies have been performed to investigate the association between three cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) polymorphisms (rs20417 (-765G > C), rs689466 (-1195G > A), and rs5275 (8473 T > C)) and the risk of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). However, the results were inconsistent. Therefore, we conducted this meta-analysis to investigate the association.Methods: We searched in PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science up to January 20, 2015 (last updated on May 12, 2016). Two independent reviewers extracted the data. Odds ratios (ORs) with their 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the association. All statistical analyses were performed using the Review Manager (RevMan) 5.2 software.Results: Finally 8 case-control studies were included in this meta-analysis. For unadjusted data, an association with increased risk was observed in three genetic models in COX-2 rs689466 polymorphism; however, COX-2 rs5275 and rs20417 polymorphisms were not related to HNSCC risk in this study. The pooled results from adjusted data all revealed non-significant association between these three polymorphisms and risk of HNSCC. We also found a similar result in the subgroup analyses, based on both unadjusted data and adjusted data.Conclusion: Current results suggest that COX-2 rs689466, rs5275, and rs20417 polymorphisms are not associated with HNSCC. Further large and well-designed studies are necessary to validate this association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-speed diffuse flow is a commonly complex process in tunnels with full-section aerators and lateral expansion walls. The transformation of pressure is prone to produce cavitation on the lateral expansion walls downstream of an aerator. The expansion threatens the stability of the structure and can cause damage. In this paper, the diffuse flows downstream of a radial sluice and full-section aerator were studied by combining a realizable k - ε turbulent model with a mixture multiphase model. Hydraulic characteristics such as pressure distribution and cavitation were investigated. The relationship among pressure, cavitation index, lateral divergence angle α, and Froude number F were proposed. Empirical formulas were presented to calculate and evaluate the pressure and cavitation index on side walls. The calculated results agree well with the physical model. With decrease in divergence angle, pressure increases gradually so that the flow cavitation index increases as well. Profiles of gate openings demonstrated gradual improvement in pressure and cavitation index with an increase in the magnitude of the gate opening. The studies showed that the degree of gate opening has a great effect on the pressure and flow cavitation index of side walls. The lateral expansion and partial gate-opening increased the risk of cavitation erosion on side walls downstream of the radial sluice. Research results provided a reference for optimizing the design of similar engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vanadium-containingtitanosilicates and V-containing SBA-15 catalystsfor oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of n-butane atlower temperatures and with lower vanadia contents were contrastivelystudied. The catalysts were investigated by various techniques, namely,N2adsorption–desorption, SAXS, TEM, FT-IR, XRD,XRF, H2-TPR, O2-TPD, and XPS, in relation totheir performance for the ODH of n-butane. Resultsreveal that titanosilicate materials synthesized exhibit mesoporousstructure, high BET specific surface area, and high total pore volume.H2-TPR, O2-TPD, and XPS results show that latticeoxygen exists in the surface of the V-containing titanosilicate catalystsand enhances the reducibility of vanadia-based catalysts with increasingTiO2loadings. The V-containing titanosilicate catalystsexhibit much higher catalytic activity for the ODH of n-butane than that of V-containing SBA-15 at a significantly lowertemperature of 460 °C, which indicates that lattice oxygen inthe catalyst plays an important role in the activation of n-butane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The typical polymerization process in supercritical fluids (SCFs) was improved through modifying the reaction system and designing and using sampling tubes. The efficacy of the newly developed procedure was demonstrated by the free radical homopolymerization of 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate (TFEMA) and coplymerization of TFEMA and N-vinylpyrrolidone (NVP) in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO 2). Results indicate that the newly developed procedure has the characteristics of minimum loss of reactants and polymerization starting at the desired temperature and pressure. Furthermore, the polymerization process can be well tracked by analyzing the reaction mixtures online sampled from the reactor at certain reaction times by FT-IR, 1H NMR, and GPC. The reaction time and the product properties can be optimized based on the tracking results. For the first time, block copolymers by free radical polymerization in scCO 2was successfully synthesized by sequential addition of TFEMA and methyl methacrylate (MMA) into the reactor at different reaction stages. The synthesized polymers were characterized by FT-IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, GPC, TGA, and DSC, respectively. It was proved that the losing of monomer, pollution to the environment, and distribution of the molecular weight of the synthesized polymers decreased while the yield of product, the reproducibility, and the controllability of polymerization increased after improvement of the polymerization process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the study "Design of Sediment Traps with Open Check Dams. I: Hydraulic and Deposition Processes," by Piton and Alain Recking. The authors conducted expiremental studies on the deposition slope upstream of a check dam. The study proposed a theoretical calculation method which considers gully slope and internal friction angle of the debris flow.

A review of the article "Chute Aerators. I: Air Transport Characteristics," by Michael Pfister and Willi H. Hager, in the June 2010 issue is presented.

The stomachs of the yellow-billed grosbeaks were examined by means of light microscopy. The mucous membrane of the proventriculus presented many folds and sulci. The sulci were lined by simple columnar cells with basal nuclei and clear acidophilic cytoplasm. The proventriculus glands were constituted by many round or elliptical glandular lobules. The sulci and the collecting duct of compound tubular glands showed an intense positive reaction in PAS and AB stain. The gizzard was characterized by an internal abrasionresistant lining cuticle and a thick muscular layer. The cuticle, gizzard glands and muscular layer in two sides were thicker than those in the cranial and caudal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]