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Objective To investigate the associations of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genetic variants with SLE susceptibility, glucocorticoid (GC) efficacy and prognosis. Methods Our study was done in two stages. First, we performed whole mitochondrial genome sequencing in 100 patients and 100 controls to initially screen potential mtDNA variants associated with disease and GC efficacy. Then, we validated the results in an independent set of samples. In total, 605 SLE patients and 604 normal controls were included in our two-stage study. A two-stage efficacy study was conducted in 512 patients treated with GCs for 12 weeks. We also explored the association between mtDNA variants and SLE prognosis. Results In the combined sample, four mtDNA variants (A4833G, T5108C, G14569A, CA514-515-) were associated with SLE susceptibility (all PBH Conclusion We identified novel mtDNA genetic variants that were associated with SLE susceptibility, GC efficacy, and prognosis. Interactions between mtDNA variants and environmental factors were related to SLE risk and GC efficacy. Our findings provide important information for future understanding of the occurrence and development of SLE.

Background Fungal rhinosinusitis is an infectious and/or allergic disease caused by fungi in the sinus and nasal cavity. Due to the warm and humid climate in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the incidence of fungal rhinosinusitis is higher than that in other provinces. However, its physiological mechanism is not yet clear. Not every patient colonized by fungi develops a fungal infection. To a large extent, the immune status of the patient determines the nature of fungal disease in the nasal passages. The pathologic process of progression from harmless fungal colonization to fungal rhinosinusitis is unclear and has not been reported. Case summury We report two patients, one who developed fungal rhinosinusitis 1.5 years after surgery performed to treat an inverted papilloma, and the other with a history of hypertension and cerebral infarction. Both patients recovered from their surgeries. An average time of 2.5 years elapsed from the development of maxillary sinus cysts to the development of fungal rhinosinusitis. Conclusion According to these case reports, we speculate that the progression of fungal rhinosinusitis from harmless colonization to disease onset requires approximately one to three years and that the length of the process may be related to underlying diseases, surgical treatment, deficient autoimmune status, and abuse of hormone antibiotics and hormones. Additional data are needed to conduct relevant studies to appropriately prevent and treat fungal rhinosinusitis.

Mitochondrial dysfunction has been proven to play a critical role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. The phenomenon of intercellular mitochondrial transfer has been discovered in the cardiovascular system. Studies have shown that cell-to-cell mitochondrial transfer plays an essential role in regulating cardiovascular system development and maintaining normal tissue homeostasis under physiological conditions. In pathological conditions, damaged cells transfer dysfunctional mitochondria toward recipient cells to ask for help and take up exogenous functional mitochondria to alleviate injury. In this review, we summarized the mechanism of mitochondrial transfer in the cardiovascular system and outlined the fate and functional role of donor mitochondria. We also discussed the advantage and challenges of mitochondrial transfer strategies, including cell-based mitochondrial transplantation, extracellular vesicle-based mitochondrial transplantation, and naked mitochondrial transplantation, for the treatment of cardiovascular disorders. We hope this review will provide perspectives on mitochondrial-targeted therapeutics in cardiovascular diseases.

Xue-Ping Zhang,1,* Xin-Chang Lu,2,* Lin-Lin Wang,1 Jie-Qin Wei,3 Jing Yan,1 Xiao-Ning Shao,1 Ying-Yu Che,1 Jing-Liang Cheng1 1Department of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Radiology, The First People’s Hospital of Nanning, Nanning, 530000, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Jing-Liang ChengDepartment of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, No. 1 Jianshe East Road, Erqi District, Zhengzhou, 450052, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 13603863860Email chengjingliang1868@163.comObjective: The majority of giant cell tumors of bone (GCTB) occur in adult patients, especially between the ages of 20 and 40. This study aims to investigate the imaging features of GCTBs in pediatric patients and compare their characteristics with adult cases.Methods: Fifty-seven cases of patients aged 18 years old or younger were retrospectively analyzed, accounting for 12.8% of GCTBs in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from 2001 to 2019. One hundred twenty-six adult patients (19 years of age and older) with GCTB occurring in long tubular bones were also included in this study. The following clinical information was identified from the medical records: age, sex, and follow-up data. Imaging features were reviewed by two musculoskeletal radiologists. Patient characteristics and imaging features between the two groups were compared.Results: A total of 57 patients (32 females, 25 males) were included in the study. The patients’ ages ranged from 9 to 18 (median = 17 y). The majority of tumors occurred in tubular bones (n = 38, 66.7%) and the pelvis (n = 8, 14.0%). Imaging features were identified in GCTB cases occurring in the long tubular bones. Compared with adult GCTB patients, pediatric GCTB patients had a larger superior–inferior (SI) diameter (P = 0.005) and smaller left-to-right diameter/SI diameter ratio (P = 0.001). Epiphyseal involvement was relatively less common in pediatric patients with GCTBs than in adult patients (P = 0.009). The median age of patients without epiphyseal involvement was lower than the median age of patients with epiphyseal involvement (11 vs 17 y).Conclusion: GCTB in the pediatric age group is rare. This study has found that, in pediatric patients with GCTBs, the epiphysis is relatively less involved, and the tumor is more likely to grow longitudinally. These findings are helpful in the diagnosis of GCTBs in the pediatric population.Keywords: giant cell tumors of bone, pediatric, diagnosis, CT, magnetic resonance imaging

Background Systemic lupus erythematosus is a heterogeneous autoimmune disease characterized by multi‐system injuries and overproduction of autoantibodies. There are many genetic studies on SLE, but no report has considered the relationship between cytoplasmic dynein and SLE susceptibility. Objectives Our study intends to investigate whether DYNC1H1 gene SNP/CNV is related to SLE susceptibility, GCs efficacy, HRQOL, anxiety, and depression in Chinese SLE patients. Methods A total of 502 cases and 544 healthy controls were recruited into the case‐control study, and 472 subjects from the case group were followed up for 12 weeks to evaluate GCs efficacy, HRQOL, anxiety, and depression. Multiplex SNaPshot technique was applied to genotype the seven SNPs of DYNC1H1, and AccuCopyTM method was conducted to quantify the copy number of DYNC1H1. Anxiety and depression were evaluated using HAMA and HAMD‐24 scales, respectively. The SF‐36 scale was used to assess HRQOL. Results The significant association between SNP rs1190606 and SLE susceptibility was displayed in the dominant model (PBH = 0.004) as well as its allele model (PBH = 0.004). We also found that SNP rs2273440 was related to photosensitization symptom in SLE patients (PBH = 0.032). In the follow‐up study, SNP rs11160668 was connected with the improvement of BP in male patients (PBH = 0.011). However, no association of DYNC1H1 gene with GCs efficacy, anxiety, and depression was found. No CNV in DYNC1H1 was detected. Conclusions The study suggests that DYNC1H1 gene polymorphisms may have an effect on SLE susceptibility and BP improvement of HRQOL in Chinese SLE patients., In allele analysis, the frequency of allele G of rs1190606 in SLE patients was significantly higher than that in controls (39.14% vs 31.89%; P = 5.30×10‐4, PBH = 0.004). In genetic polymorphism analysis, rs1190606 was associated with the susceptibility of SLE (dominant model: Padj = 5.75×10‐4, PBH = 0.004).

T cells participate in the repair process and immune response in the CNS post‐traumatic injury and play both a beneficial and harmful role. Together with nerve cells and other immune cells, they form a microenvironment in the CNS post‐traumatic injury. The repair of traumatic CNS injury is a long‐term process. T cells contribute to the repair of the injury site to influence the recovery. Recently, with the advance of new techniques, such as mass spectrometry‐based flow cytometry, modern live‐cell imaging, etc, research focusing on T cells is becoming one of the valuable directions for the future therapy of traumatic CNS injury. In this review, we summarized the infiltration, contribution and regulation of T cells in post‐traumatic injury, discussed the clinical significance and predicted the future research direction., The dynamic infiltration and the contribution of T cells in the CNS post‐traumatic injury. CD8+ T cells mediate neuronal apoptosis. Th1 cells and Th17 cells play pro‐inflammatory roles, while Th2 cells and Treg cells play anti‐inflammatory roles.

Background Blood physiology is difficult to be understood and remembered for biomedical engineering students by traditional teaching method. In this study, we aim to know whether situated learning was helpful for students learning the key points of theoretical knowledge in blood physiology. Methods In the study group (2019), 51 sophomores were randomly divided into two smaller teams. Team A was provided with the script of wisdom tooth extraction, which contains the knowledge of hemostasis and coagulation. Team B was provided with a script of rescue in the intensive care unit, which contains the knowledge of blood type and blood transfusion. In the control group(2018), 52 sophomores participated in traditional lectures given by the teacher with the aid of PowerPoint slides. After class, students from both groups completed the theoretical test, and their test scores were compared. In addition, we designed a questionnaire to get feedback from the study group. Results The theoretical test showed the scores in the study group were higher than those in the control group(2018). The questionnaire analysis showed the positive role of situated learning in learning the key points. Conclusions To sum up, situated learning makes easy learning for undergraduate in blood physiology.

The central nervous system (CNS) post-traumatic injury can cause severe nerve damage with devastating consequences. However, its pathophysiological mechanisms remain vague. There is still an urgent need for more effective treatments. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are non-coding RNAs that can form covalently closed RNA circles. Through second-generation sequencing technology, microarray analysis, bioinformatics, and other technologies, recent studies have shown that a number of circRNAs are differentially expressed after traumatic brain injury (TBI) or spinal cord injury (SCI). These circRNAs play important roles in the proliferation, inflammation, and apoptosis in CNS post-traumatic injury. In this review, we summarize the expression and functions of circRNAs in CNS in recent studies, as well as the circRNA–miRNA–mRNA interaction networks. The potential clinical value of circRNAs as a therapeutic target is also discussed.

To explore a nursing method which for suitable for neonatal nasal continuous positive airway pressure to prevent neonatal nasal injury. 106 newborns treated with nasal continuous positive airway pressure admitted in our hospital from January 2020 to October 2020 were selected as the study subjects and divided into observation group (n=53) and control group (n=53) according to the randomized control principle, in which the control group of neonates used U-shaped nasal plugs during transnasal continuous positive airway pressure ventilation, while the observation group cut the hydrocolloid dressing into a bunny shape, punched holes according to the size of the children’s nostrils and pasted them on the children’s nose before using the nasal congestion. Choose the appropriate nasal congestion and fix it properly. Compare the total nasal continuous positive airway pressure treatment time, nasolabial fold and septum skin damage and their incidence and parents’ satisfaction with nursing services between the two groups. There was no statistically significant difference in the time of nasal continuous positive airway pressure treatment and arterial blood gas arterial oxygen partial pressure, carbon dioxide partial pressure and pH value after 12- 24 h of nasal continuous positive airway pressure treatment between the two groups (p>0.05); compared with the control group, the incidence of nasolabial sulcus skin injury and nasal septum skin injury in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group and the difference was statistically significant (p

Recent studies have predicted that magnetic EuCd2As2 can host several different topological states depending on its magnetic order, including a single pair of Weyl points. Here we report on the bulk properties and band inversion induced by pressure in the non-magnetic analogs AECd2As2 (AE = Ca, Sr, Ba) as studied with density functional theory calculations. Under ambient pressure we find these compounds are narrow band gap semiconductors, in agreement with experiment. The size of the band gap is dictated by both the increasing ionicity across the AE series which tends to increase the band gap, as well as the larger nearest neighbor Cd-As distance from increasing atomic size which can decrease the band gap because the conduction band edge is an anti-bonding state derived mostly from Cd 5s orbitals. The combination of these two competing effects results in a non-monotonic change of the band gap size across the AE series with SrCd2As2 having the smallest band gap among the three compounds. The application of negative pressure reduces this band gap and causes the band inversion between the Cd 5s and As 4p orbitals along the ${\Gamma}$-A direction to induce a pair of Dirac points. The topological nature of the Dirac points is then confirmed by finding the closed Fermi arcs on the (10-10) surface., Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures

Lots of studies have demonstrated that anterior cingulate cortex plays important roles in the pain perception and pain modulation. The present study explored the role of mu-opioid receptor in nociceptive modulation in anterior cingulate cortex of rats with neuropathic pain. Neuropathic pain model was set up by chronic constriction injury of the left sciatic nerve of rats. The hindpaw withdrawal latency to thermal and mechanical stimulation, by hot plate and Randall Selitto Test respectively, was used to evaluate the rat’s responses to noxious stimulation. Results showed that intra-anterior cingulate cortex injection of morphine could induce the antinociception dose-dependently. By intra-anterior cingulate cortex injection of opioid receptor antagonist, the morphine-induced antinociception could be attenuated by naloxone, as well as much significantly by the selective mu-opioid receptor antagonist β-funaltrexamine, indicating that mu-opioid receptor is involved in the morphine-induced antinociception in anterior cingulate cortex of rats with neuropathic pain. The morphine-induced antinociception was much more decreased in rats with neuropathic pain than that in normal rats, and there was a significant decrease in mu-opioid receptor messenger RNA levels in anterior cingulate cortex of rats with neuropathic pain, indicating that there may be a down-regulation in mu-opioid receptor expression in anterior cingulate cortex of rats with neuropathic pain. To further confirm the role of mu-opioid receptor in morphine-induced antinociception in anterior cingulate cortex, normal rats were received intra-anterior cingulate cortex administration of small interfering RNA targeting mu-opioid receptor and it was found that there was a down-regulation in mu-opioid receptor messenger RNA levels, as well as a down-regulation in mu-opioid receptor expression in anterior cingulate cortex tested by real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. Furthermore, the morphine-induced antinociceptive effect decreased significantly in rats with small interfering RNA targeting mu-opioid receptor, which indicated that knockdown mu-opioid receptor in anterior cingulate cortex could also attenuate morphine-induced antinociceptive effect. These results strongly suggest that mu-opioid receptor plays a significant role in nociceptive modulation in anterior cingulate cortex of rats.

Researches have shown that calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) plays a pivotal role in pain modulation. Nociceptive information from the periphery is relayed from parabrachial nucleus (PBN) to brain regions implicated involved in pain. This study investigated the effects and mechanisms of CGRP and CGRP receptors in pain regulation in the PBN of naive and neuropathic pain rats. Chronic sciatic nerve ligation was used to model neuropathic pain, CGRP and CGRP 8-37 were injected into the PBN of the rats, and calcitonin receptor-like receptor (CLR), a main structure of CGRP receptor, was knocked down by lentivirus-coated CLR siRNA. The hot plate test (HPT) and the Randall Selitto Test (RST) was used to determine the latency of the rat hindpaw response. The expression of CLR was detected with RT-PCR and western blotting. We found that intra-PBN injecting of CGRP induced an obvious anti-nociceptive effect in naive and neuropathic pain rats in a dose-dependent manner, the CGRP-induced antinociception was significantly reduced after injection of CGRP 8-37, Moreover, the mRNA and protein levels of CLR, in PBN decreased significantly and the antinociception CGRP-induced was also significantly lower in neuropathic pain rats than that in naive rats. Knockdown CLR in PBN decreased the expression of CLR and the antinociception induced by CGRP was observably decreased. Our results demonstrate that CGRP induced antinociception in PBN of naive or neuropathic pain rats, CGRP receptor mediates this effect. Neuropathic pain induced decreases in the expression of CGRP receptor, as well as in CGRP-induced antinociception in PBN.

It is known that calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) plays a key role in pain modulation in the brain. There are high expressions of CGRP and CGRP receptor in anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), an important brain structure in pain modulation. The present study explored the role and mechanisms of CGRP and CGRP receptor in nociceptive modulation in ACC in naïve rats and inflammatory rats. Administration of different does of CGRP in ACC induced significant antinociception in a dose-dependent manner in both naïve rats and rats with inflammatory pain. The CGRP-induced antinociception was attenuated by injection of the CGRP receptor antagonist CGRP8-37 in ACC. Interestingly, both CGRP-induced antinociception and CGRP receptor expression decreased in ACC in rats with inflammatory pain compared with naïve rats. Knockdown of CGRP receptor in ACC by siRNA targeting to CGRP receptor attenuated both the CGRP receptor expression and the CGRP-induced antinociception significantly in rats. These findings demonstrate that CGRP and CGRP receptor participate in nociceptive modulation in ACC in rats, inhibiting CGRP receptor expression induces decrease in CGRP-induced antinociception in ACC.

Swarm intelligence algorithm is a general term for a class of intelligent groups with self-organized behavior. A novel Artificial Bee Colony algorithm is introduced in this paper, named Bee Spices Transition with Rapid Global Optimization Algorithm (BSTRGOA). The contribution of BSTRGOA algorithm consists of two parts. First, the evolution strategy of bee species balances the global exploration ability and the local search ability. Second, the fast search mechanism of global optimization is proposed. It reinforces global learning of the colony. The BSTRGOA algorithm is experimented with the CEC 2017 benchmark functions. It shows the BSTRGOA algorithm can effectively improve the convergence speed and optimization accuracy. And the BSTRGOA algorithm has a good performance in solving the problem of multi-dimensional function optimization. In addition, BSTRGOA algorithm is also applicable to dynamic economic scheduling analysis, and the conclusion also shows it can significantly improve the time efficiency.

OBJECTIVE: To summarize clinical experience on the diagnosis and treatment for malignancy originating from the dacryocyst. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed clinicopathological data from 12 cases that were diagnosed with malignancy originating from the dacryocyst by histopathological examination in our hospital from 2007 to 2017. RESULTS: Of the 12 cases with malignancy originating from the dacryocyst, 7 were male and 5 were female, with a mean age of 53 years (range, 4–81). Clinical manifestations included a mass in the dacryocyst area in 12 cases, epiphora in 9 cases, pyoid tears in 2 cases, bloody tears in 3 cases, and redness and swelling in the dacryocyst area in 2 cases. Lymphoma occurred in six cases, malignant melanoma in three cases, embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma in one case, and squamous cell carcinoma in two cases. CONCLUSIONS: Misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis readily occur for malignancy originating from the dacryocyst because its clinical manifestations are diverse. For the suspected patients, it is necessary to perform related examinations. Individualized treatment should be adopted based on pathological types and specific conditions.

A novel substrate surface treatment by NH3 plasma is introduced in KrF (248 nm) lithography module for 28-nm SRAM with embedded SiGe source/drain. The surface treatment is demonstrated to be able to effectively modulate the photoresist profile from undercut to footing by simply changing the NH3 plasma treatment time. It is revealed that the amino related hydrolysis reaction significantly affects the KrF photoresist development.

Summary: Lumbar laminectomy often results in failed back surgery syndrome. Most scholars support the three-dimensional theory of adhesion: Fibrosis surrounding the epidural tissues is based on the injured sacrospinalis behind, fibrous rings and posterior longitudinal ligaments. Approaches including using the minimally invasive technique, drugs, biomaterial and nonbiomaterial barriers to prevent the postoperative epidural adhesion were intensively investigated. Nevertheless, the results are far from satisfactory. Our review is based on various implant biomaterials that are used in clinical applications or are under study. We show the advantages and disadvantages of each method. The summary will help us to figure out ideas towards new techniques.The translational potential of this article: This review summarises recent biomaterials-related clinical and basic research that focuses on prevention of epidural adhesion after lumbar laminectomy. We also propose a novel possible translational method where a soft scaffold acts as a physical barrier in the early stage, engineered adipose tissue acts as a biobarrier in the later stage in the application of biomaterials and adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells are used for prevention of epidural adhesion. Keywords: Adhesion, Biomaterials, Fibrosis, Implant, Laminectomy

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) continues to be one of the major causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide, and brain metastases are the major cause of death in NSCLC patients. With recent advances in understanding the underlying molecular mechanism of NSCLC development and progression, mutations in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) have been recognized as a key predictor of therapeutic sensitivity to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Using EGFR-TKI alone or in combination with standard treatments such as whole-brain radiotherapy and surgery has been an effective strategy for the management of brain metastasis. Particularly, a newer generation of EGFR-TKIs, including osimertinib and AZD3759, has been developed. These new EGFR-TKIs can cross the blood-brain barrier and potentially treat EGFR-TKI resistance and improve prognosis. In this article, current progress and outcomes of clinical trials on the use of EGFR-TKIs for treating NSCLC patients with brain metastasis will be reviewed.

Chemotherapy has limited efficacy in the treatment of advanced and metastatic pancreatic cancer (PC), and has serious side effects. The development of novel effective agents, especially targeted therapy, is essential for patients with PC. We present a 58-year-old Chinese woman initially diagnosed with locally advanced PC. As the disease progressed to Stage IV, the patient was unable to tolerate chemotherapy after the fourth-line treatment. She was then treated with apatinib, a novel and highly selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 and achieved a progression-free-survival of 7 mo. All drug-related side effects were well controlled with medication. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of PC which responded to apatinib. Considering this remarkable response, apatinib may be a promising agent in the treatment of PC. We also reviewed the literature on chemotherapy and targeted therapy, especially the anti-angiogenesis therapy for patients with PC, and investigated the effect of apatinib in other solid tumors as well.

Berberine, the major constituent alkaloid originally from the famous Chinese herb Huanglian (Coptis chinensis), has been shown to exert antidepressant-like effects in rodents. However, it is still not clear the involvement of neuro-inflammation suppression in the effects of berberine. The purpose of this study was to determine whether berberine affects the neuro-inflammation system in mice induced by chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS). Berberine was orally administrated in normal or CUMS mice for successive four weeks. Behavioral evaluation showed that berberine prevented the depressive deficits both in sucrose preference test and novelty-suppressed feeding test. The elevation of hippocampal pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), as well as the activation of microglia were decreased by berberine. In addition, chronic berberine treatment inhibited nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) signaling pathway as the phosphorylated proteins of NF-κB, IκB kinase (IKK)α and IKKβ in the hippocampus were suppressed after berberine administration. Furthermore, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), one downstream target of NF-κB signaling pathway was also inhibited by berberine. In conclusion, these findings suggest that administration of berberine could prevent depressive-like behaviors in CUMS mice by suppressing neuro-inflammation in the hippocampus.

This paper mainly studies the wave-free characteristic of heave motion of a sandglass-type floating body to overcome the limitations of traditional ship-type and cylindrical floating, production, storage and offloading units. In the first instance, the theoretical and numerical methods are used to determine the added mass and damping wherein the heave motion can be decoupled. The existence of wave-free characteristic of heave motion is theoretically and numerically verified. Moreover, the heaving quadratic transfer function of second-order wave drift force is calculated and its performance has been discussed. Finally, the relationship between wave-free frequency and wave spectrum is selected as the design principle of the shape parameters. On this basis, some experiments of new sandglass-type and cylindrical models are carried out, which coincide with the numerical predictions very well and show that the new design based on wave-free frequency can significantly improve the heave motion performance.

Background Jiangtang decoction (JTD) is a China patented drug which contains Euphorbia humifusa Willd, Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, Astragalus mongholicus Bunge, Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge, and Coptis chinensis Franch. For decades, it has also been used clinically to treat diabetic nephropathy (DN) effectively; however, the associated mechanisms remain unknown. Thus, the present study aimed to examine the protective efficacy of JTD in DN and elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms. Methods A diabetic model using KK-Ay mice received a daily administration of JTD for 12 weeks. Body weight, blood glucose, triglycerides (TGs), total cholesterol (TC), urea nitrogen (UN), creatinine (Cr), and microalbumin/urine creatinine (MA/UCREA) was measured every 4 weeks. Furthermore, on the day of the sacrifice, blood, urine, and kidneys were collected to assess renal function according to general parameters. Pathological staining was performed to evaluate the protective renal effect of JTD. In addition, the levels of inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-α [TNF-α], interleukin [IL]-6 and intercellular adhesion molecule [ICAM]-1), insulin receptor substrate [IRS]-1, advanced glycation end products [AGEs], and receptor of glycation end products [RAGE] were assessed. Finally, the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) signaling pathway and involvement of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) was further analyzed. Results After 12 weeks of metformin and JTD administration, the mice exhibited a significant amelioration in glucose and lipid metabolism dysfunction, reduced morphological changes in the renal tissue, decreased urinary albumin excretion, and normalized creatinine clearance. JTD treatment also reduced the accumulation of AGEs and RAGE, up-regulated IRS-1, and increased the phosphorylation of both PI3K (p85) and Akt, indicating that the activation of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway was involved. Additionally, JTD administration reduced the elevated levels of renal inflammatory mediators and decreased the phosphorylation of NF-κB p65. Conclusions These results demonstrate that JTD might reduce inflammation in DN through the PI3K/Akt and NF-κB signaling pathways. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13020-017-0134-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanospheres with excellent sensing ability towards formaldehyde were successfully synthesized using a single-capillary electrospinning method. Structural and electrical characteristics of the as-synthesized ZnO nanospheres were systematically investigated. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) images clearly display a novel structure of ZnO with pores distributed on the surface of the nanospheres. The results demonstrate that the ZnO nanospheres possess excellent formaldehyde gas-sensing properties. At room temperature, the response of ZnO nanospheres to formaldehyde with concentration of 100 ppm is determined to be 126.3. In addition, the ZnO nanosphere sensors exhibit short response time of 30 s and short recovery time of 2 s. These excellent gas-sensing properties make the ZnO nanospheres a promising material for the application in environmental monitoring devices.

Strain describes the deformation of a material as a result of applied stress. It has been widely employed to probe transport properties of materials, ranging from semiconductors to correlated materials. In order to understand, and eventually control, transport behavior under strain, it is important to quantify the effects of strain on the electronic bandstructure, carrier density, and mobility. Here, we demonstrate that much information can be obtained by exploring magnetoelastoresistance (MER), which refers to magnetic field-driven changes of the elastoresistance. We use this powerful approach to study the combined effect of strain and magnetic fields on the semimetallic transition metal dichalcogenide [Formula: see text]. We discover that WTe(2) shows a large and temperature-nonmonotonic elastoresistance, driven by uniaxial stress, that can be tuned by magnetic field. Using first-principle and analytical low-energy model calculations, we provide a semiquantitative understanding of our experimental observations. We show that in [Formula: see text] , the strain-induced change of the carrier density dominates the observed elastoresistance. In addition, the change of the mobilities can be directly accessed by using MER. Our analysis also reveals the importance of a heavy-hole band near the Fermi level on the elastoresistance at intermediate temperatures. Systematic understanding of strain effects in single crystals of correlated materials is important for future applications, such as strain tuning of bulk phases and fabrication of devices controlled by strain.

In this paper, the influence of the second-order slowly varying loads on the estimation of deck wetness is studied. A series of experiments related to classic cylindrical and new sandglass-type Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading Unit (FPSO) models are conducted. Due to the distinctive configuration design, the sand glass type FPSO model exhibits more excellent deck wetness performance than the cylindrical one in irregular waves. Based on wave potential theory, the first-order wave loads and the full quadratic transfer functions of second-order slowly varying loads are obtained by the frequency-domain numerical boundary element method. On this basis, the traditional spectral analysis only accounting for the first-order wave loads and time-domain numerical simulation considering both the first-order wave loads and nonlinear second-order slowly varying wave loads are employed to predict the numbers of occurrence of deck wetness per hour of the two floating models, respectively. By comparing the results of the two methods with experimental data, the shortcomings of traditional method based on linear response theory emerge and it is of great significance to consider the second-order slowly drift motion response in the analysis of deck wetness of the new sandglass-type FPSO.

In this paper, a new concept of sandglass-type floating body, which can overcome the performance limitations of traditional ship-type and cylindrical FDPSO (floating drilling production storage and offloading), is proposed as research subject. In the general design of dynamic positioning systems, it is adequate to deal with a three-degree of freedom problem in the horizontal plane. However, the new floating body with small water-plane area and low metacentric height may cause an unintentional coupling phenomenon between the pitch and surge motions by the thruster system. Therefore, first by numerical boundary element method (BEM) based on wave potential theory and experiments, the pitch motion characteristic of the sandglass-type model is studied and meanwhile the numerical method of this paper is validated. Furthermore, two dynamics models with and without consideration for the additional pitch moment by the thruster systems are introduced and numerically simulated, which can show the problem of pitch motion induced by the positioning thrusters. Then by the mass-spring-damper systems with two-degree of freedom, the influence of additional pitch moment by the thrusters on the pitch and surge motion performances is theoretically analyzed. Finally, based on the essential reason of pitch motion problem, a control law considering pitch inertia effect has been used and proven to be effective to decrease the pitch motion response.

In order to solve the performance limitations of traditional ship-type and cylindrical FPSO, this paper describes a new concept of sandglass-type floating body. In order to verify the performance advantages of the new concept of design, a series of tests with the sandglass-type and cylindrical floating models were carried out, which include free decay, regular and irregular wave experiments. Finally, the characteristic of natural period, viscous damping and motion response for the new sandglass-type model was studied. By comparing the experimental results of the two floating models, some useful conclusions can be made as follows: the design of sandglass-type shape floating body can significantly improve the heave motion performance of FPSO and can be considered as an attractive alternative system in deep water for offshore petroleum exploration.

In order to solve the performance limitations of traditional ship-type and cylindrical FPSO, this paper presents a new concept of sandglass-type FPSO. For the new sandglass-type floating model, firstly by using classic boundary element method based on wave potential theory, the effects of shape parameters on motion performance of sandglass-type model are studied. Then the wave frequency versus minimum heave motion RAO is selected as the critical design parameter to control heave motion of new floating model, and its convenient engineering estimation expression is theoretically and mathematically deduced. Furthermore, on this basis the design guideline for sandglass shape is analyzed and proposed. Next according to the information of a cylindrical FPSO, a sandglass-type floating model with the same basic function has been designed. Finally, by analyzing the numerical solution and experimental data, the numerical boundary element method and design guideline in this paper can be validated to be effective and accurate. Furthermore, it can be found that the sandglass-type design can obviously improve the hydrodynamic performance of FPSO. Thus this paper can provide an innovative engineering platform and a design proposal for the development of ocean oil and gas exploitation.

Low-rank representation (LRR) has recently attracted a great deal of attention due to its pleasing efficacy in exploring low-dimensional subspace structures embedded in data. However, conventional LRR methods simply use Euclidean distance to measure the similarity of samples, ignoring the dynamic structure information of data. Meanwhile, recent studies have shown that a probabilistically motivated distance measurement (called effective distance) can model the dynamic structure information of data. In this paper, we propose an effective distance based LRR (EDLRR)method for representation learning. The proposed EDLRR method can not only represent the dynamic structure of data, but also capture the geometric information in the inherent nonlinear data. Our method mainly uses Effective Distance Computation and Effective Distance based Low-Rank Representation. We evaluate our method on datasets in the task of image classification, with results demonstrating the effectiveness of the method.

In order to solve the limitations of the hydrodynamic performance of traditional ship-type and cylindrical FDPSO (floating, drilling, production, storage and offloading unit), this paper proposes a new concept of sandglass-type FDPSO. For the new floating model, by using classic boundary element method, the characteristic of its heave motion response can be studied. Then based on the wave potential theory, engineering estimation expressions of heave motion performance are theoretically and mathematically deduced to summarise the design guidelines and schemes for sandglass-type floating body. Furthermore, according to the information of a ship-type FDPSO named as MPF, a sandglass-type floating body of new FDPSO with the same basic function has been designed. Finally, compared with ship-type, cylindrical and semi-submersible floating body, the design guideline in this paper can be validated to be effective and rational. New sandglass-type design can significantly improve the hydrodynamic performance of FDPS...

This paper takes the presented concept of sandglass-type floating body as the research object. The shape of new sandglass-type floating body has extended oblique characteristic, which may result in special performance and the problem of pitch (or roll) motion. From the experimental tests, it can be found that its pitch natural frequency is small and the second order slowly varying pitch motion in irregular wave is significant, which may cause an unintentional interaction between the pitch and surge motions. Additionally, the floating body with small-waterplane-area and low metacentric height may have obvious mean pitch angle with wind moment under harsh sea condition. To solve the above two problems, numerical simulations have been conducted with two sea conditions. Lastly, based on the existing technique, the problems are solved and the positioning accuracy can be satisfied well for the harsher sea condition.Copyright © 2017 by ASME

Background Ongoing improvements in technique and instruments for video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) have made minimally-invasive uniportal VATS lobectomy a reality. However, the outcomes of the procedure are still under investigation, and at present, uniportal VATS lobectomy is performed infrequently at most hospitals. We have therefore reviewed our outcomes with this procedure in an attempt to validate its safety, efficacy, and feasibility. Methods We retrospectively analyzed and compared perioperative data for patients who underwent uniportal, two-port, and traditional three-port VATS lobectomy between January 2015 and December 2015 at our hospital. Results Among 257 patients who had successful VATS lobectomy during the study period, 73 underwent uniportal VATS, 86 underwent two-port VATS, and 98 underwent traditional three-port VATS. There were no surgical or 30-day postoperative mortalities, and no significant differences in operative times, blood loss, number of lymph nodes retrieved and nodal stations explored, drainage times, length of hospital stay, or postoperative complications among the three groups. The visual analogue scale (VAS) pain scores were significantly lower in the uniportal VATS group after surgery (P

Experiment analyzed the main factors that affect the performance of Online Sequential Extreme Learning Machine (OS-ELM). And the experimental comparison show that the OS-ELM in classification performance is better than the support vector machine (SVM) and extreme learning machine (ELM). But there still is not a stable network output now. For this aspect, this article presents the optimization algorithm of integrated Ensemble of online sequential extreme learning machine (EOS-ELM). The algorithm using a limited number of sample data has been applied to transformer fault diagnosis. The time of training and testing can be shortened and the classification accuracy can be improved. The experimental results show that the OS-ELM has better performance in response to online monitoring and real-time data processing.

In order to improve the ability of independent planning for AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle), a new method of motion planning based on SBMPC (Sampling Based Model Predictive Control) is proposed, which is combined with model predictive control theory. Input sampling is directly made in control variable space, and sampling data is substituted into the predictive model of AUV motion. Then surge velocity and yaw angular rate in next sampling time are obtained through calculations. If predictive states are evaluated according to the performance index previously defined, optimal prediction of AUV states in next sampling can be used to realize motion planning optimization. Effects of three sampling methods (viz. uniform sampling, Halton sampling and CVT sampling) on motion planning performance are also compared in simulations. Statistical analysis demonstrates that CVT sampling points has the most uniform coverage in two-dimensional plane when amount of sampling points is the same for three methods. Simulation results show that it is effective and feasible to plan a route for AUV by using CVT sampling and rolling optimization of MPC (Model Predictive Control).

Background Root avulsion of the brachial plexus causes an oxidative stress reaction in the spinal cord and induces dramatic spinal motoneuron death, while EGb761 is a natural free radical cleaning agent. This study was designed to investigate the protective effects of intraperitoneally injected EGb761 against neural damage following brachial root avulsion. Methods The effect of EGb761 on avulsion-induced motoneuron injury was studied in 26 total groups of (n) rats, treated as follows. Animals in singular number groups received EGb761(50 mg/kg.d) and those in complex number groups received normal saline solution (i.p.), serving as controls. Groups 1-8 were used for the determination of nitric oxide (NO) levels in the serum and injured spinal cord at the 5 d, 2 w, 4 w, and 6 w time points. Groups 9-16 were used for determination of constitutive nitric oxide synthase (cNOS) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) levels in injured spinal cord at the 5 d, 2 w, 4 w, and 6 w time points. Groups 17-26 were used for determination of the number of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS)-positive and surviving motoneurons in injured C7 ventral horn at the 5 d, 2 w, 4 w, 6 w and 8 w time points. Results Compared to control groups, the EGb761 treatment group not only had significant decreased levels of NO in serum at 2 w and 6 w after avulsion, but also had reduced levels of NO specifically in the spinal cord at 2 w, 4 w and 6 w. The cNOS activity in the spinal cord was also significant decreased at 2 w and 4 w, while the iNOS activity in injured C6-T1 spinal segments was reduced at 2 w, 4 w and 6 w. All together, the percentages of NADPH-d positive motoneurons in an injured C7 segment were down-regulated and the number of surviving motoneurons in injured C7 ventral horn was increased at 2 w, 4 w, 6 w and 8 w in treated versus untreated animals. Conclusions Intraperitoneal administration of EGb761 after root avulsion of the brachial plexus exerted protective effects by decreasing the level of NO in spinal cord and serum and the activity of cNOS and iNOS, easing the delayed motoneurons death. EGb761 should be considered in the treatment of brachial plexus nerve injuries.

Background: Physical illness is linked with an increased risk of suicide; however, evidence from China is limited. Aims: To assess the influence of physical illness on risk of suicide among rural residents of China, and to examine the differences in the characteristics of people completing suicide with physical illness from those without physical illness. Method: In all, 200 suicide cases and 200 control subjects, 1:1 pair-matched on sex and age, were included from 25 townships of three randomly selected counties in Shandong Province, China. One informant for each suicide or control subject was interviewed to collect data on the physical health condition and psychological and sociodemographic status. Results: The prevalence of physical illness in suicide cases (63.0%) was significantly higher than that in paired controls (41.0%; χ2 = 19.39, p < .001). Compared with suicide cases without physical illness, people who were physically ill and completed suicide were generally older, less educated, had lower family income, and reported a mental disorder less often. Physical illness denoted a significant risk factor for suicide with an associated odds ratio of 3.23 (95% CI: 1.85–5.62) after adjusted for important covariates. The elevated risk of suicide increased progressively with the number of comorbid illnesses. Cancer, stroke, and a group of illnesses comprising dementia, hemiplegia, and encephalatrophy had a particularly strong effect among the commonly reported diagnoses in this study population. Conclusion: Physical illness is an important risk factor for suicide in rural residents of China. Efforts for suicide prevention are needed and should be integrated with national strategies of health care in rural China.

Civil aviation accident Human Factors analysis models were investigated in the article, mainly on the famous SHELL model and Reason model. Both the advantages and disadvantages of the models were fully discussed. After then, a new civil aviation accident Human Factors analysis model named O-SHELL was designed, which is the development of the SHELL model and Reason model. The O-SHELL model has the same systematic structure as the SHELL model, and also emphasizes the organizer’s responsibilities like the Reason model. With the advantages of the two successful models and with out their disadvantages, the O-SHELL model makes the civil aviation accident Human Factors analysis become more systematic and clearly.

X-linked hyper-IgM syndrome (XHIGM) is one type of primary immunodeficiency diseases, resulting from defects in the CD40 ligand/CD40 signaling pathways. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical and molecular features of 20 Chinese patients diagnosed and followed up in hospitals affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from 1999 to 2013. The median onset age of these patients was 8.5 months (range: 20 days–21 months). Half of them had positive family histories, with a shorter diagnosis lag. The most common symptoms were recurrent sinopulmonary infections (18 patients, 90%), neutropenia (14 patients, 70%), oral ulcer (13 patients, 65%), and protracted diarrhea (13 patients, 65%). Six patients had BCGitis. Six patients received hematopoietic stem cell transplantations and four of them had immune reconstructions and clinical remissions. Eighteen unique mutations inCD40Lgene were identified in these 20 patients from 19 unrelated families, with 12 novel mutations. We compared with reported mutation results and used bioinformatics software to predict the effects of mutations on the target protein. These mutations reflected the heterogeneity ofCD40Lgene and expanded our understanding of XHIGM.

Background: Accumulating evidence has highlighted the crucial role of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the tumorigenesis of gastric cancer (GC), which is the most common gastrointestinal malignancy. The present study aimed to identify the capacity of lncRNA LINC01419 (LINC01419) in GC progression, with the potential mechanism explored. Methods: Highly expressed lncRNAs were identified by in silico analysis, with the LINC01419 expression in GC tissues measured using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). The GC cells were subsequently transfected with siRNA against LINC01419 or Rapamycin (the inhibitor of the mTOR pathway), or both, in order to measure cell migration and invasion in vitro as well as tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. Moreover, the expression of PI3K/Akt1/mTOR pathway-associated factors was determined. Results: LINC01419, highly expressed in GC samples of the Gene Expression Omnibus database, was observed to be markedly upregulated in GC tissues. Moreover, LINC01419 silencing, or PI3K/Akt1/mTOR pathway inhibition, exhibited an inhibitory role in GC cell migration and invasion in vitro, coupled with promoted cell autophagy in vitro, and inhibited tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. It was also revealed that LINC01419 silencing blocked the PI3K/Akt1/mTOR pathway, as proved by decreased extents of Akt1 and mTOR phosphorylation. Conclusions: In conclusion, LINC01419 inhibition may suppress GC cell invasion and migration, and promote autophagy via inhibition of the PI3K/Akt1/mTOR pathway. This provides significant theoretical basis and possibilities for further elucidation of the molecular mechanism of GC and finding new molecular-targeted therapeutic regimens.

This paper takes the industry chain correlated theories as the instruction, and takes qualitative analysis primarily with quantitative analysis as auxiliary, and it mainly conducts the research from the following three aspects to the Internet of things industry: the composition of the industry chain of the Internet of things, obstacles existed in the industry chain of the Internet of things, and the method to remove barriers existed in the industry chain of the Internet of things. By the above analysis, this paper makes a more completely detailed study on the industry chain of the Internet of things and then makes some recommendations for the development of industry chain and the entire industry of the Internet of things.

The ectoenzyme CD39 hydrolyzes extracellular adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP), which possesses pro-inflammatory properties. However, the role of CD39 in allergic asthma has not been fully elucidated. A total of 18 patients with persistent asthma who were allergic to house dust mites and 19 healthy volunteers were enrolled in this study. The expression of CD39, GATA3, RAR-related orphan receptor γ (ROR-γt) and forkhead box P3 (FoxP3) mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was determined by SYBR-Green I quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The cytokines interleukin (IL)-4, IL-17A, transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) and DP.sIgE were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Our data demonstrated that the expression of CD39 mRNA in PBMCs from asthmatic patients was significantly lower compared to that in normal controls [(1.49±0.59)×10−3 vs. (2.17±0.77)×10−3, respectively; P

Mining abandoned lands had become a new problem encountered in the process of urbanization in China. This article described a research of typical case, which took Nanjing city as the study space, and abandoned lands of open-pit mines as the study type. With an site investigation and data analysis, this research focused on the following four aspects: hierarchical size, mining methods, location distribution, and reuse situation. Working over the characteristics of current situation, this article pointed out existing problems and set goals. Then two advices were given to the further reuse work of open-pit mines abandoned lands in Nanjing. The first one is implementation by sorting and in batches, and the second one is economic measures combined effectively.

Three maintenance structures of avionics were investigated in the article, including centralized intermediated repair concept, three-level maintenance structure, and the two-level maintenance structure. Both the advantages and disadvantages of these three maintenance structures were fully discussed, especially the potential in civil UAS maintenance. The investigation result shows that the two-level maintenance structure is the best choice for the civil unmanned aircraft maintenance at present. Key technologies of the two-level maintenance structure used for civil UAS were also discussed in this article. The advisements were given in these discussions.

An new color image fusion method is presented based on dual-tree complex wavelet transform (DT-CWT) and Lαβ space for visual and infrared night image fusion. The color transfer technology is conducted to colorize the gray-scale visual image based on Lαβ space and the three component values of L, α and β can be gained. The appropriate dynamic range of gray image in Lα β space is proposed, and the reason of oversaturated colors is analyzed. The DT-CWT is applied in gray image fusion processing because of it's properties: shift invariance, directional selectivity, in order to obtaining exact position and clear image presentation. The different fusion rule is used aiming at high and low frequency components. The weighted average method is employed to low frequency part, and the high frequency parts are of selection greater local energy. The component L of colorized visual image is replaced by the gray-scale fused image. And the color fusion image is obtained by from Lα β to RGB(R: red, G: green, B:blue). The experiment results indicate that the proposed algorithm can achieve three requirements: detectability of the target, clear details and natural colors.

There is tight relation between innovation and quality competitiveness which is discussed in this paper. Nowadays we attach importance to improving product quality under the international economic integration situation. In this paper we present and discuss the innovation how to enhance quality competiveness of new products. Then it is analyzed how innovation has effect on product quality competitiveness and how the contribution rate is calculated making use of mathematical tools. At the same time, the necessity and feasibility of sifting innovation is also explained according to the product-forming process. To sum up according to the study on product quality competitiveness based on innovation, it should be greatly practical, strategic and economic significance for enterprises to set up a system of product innovation management oriented quality.

The coal seam floor water inrush risk assessment is the basis and foundation of inrush water disaster prevention[1-, this paper uses five figure double coefficient method evaluating NO.16 coalseam floor water inrush risk of Xin'an Coal Mine. Contour figure of the destroyed floor protection layer depth, the floor protection layer thickness, the head above seam floor, the effective protection layer thickness, and evaluation figure of mining above aquifer which can guide coal production were drawn to given the security zone within mining area and ensure safe mining.

The saucer-shaped aircraft is a novel aircraft adopting blend-wing-body configuration. The linear perturbation theory based on the classic flight dynamics was used to analyze the longitudinal, lateral and directional flight qualities of the saucer-shaped aircraft under low speed conditions. The flight qualities were given. Meanwhile the aerodynamic characteristics of the saucer-shaped aircraft, the conventional aircraft and the flying wing aircraft were also contrasted to discuss their similarities and differences. The results show that the saucer-shaped aircraft has stable longitudinal mode, rollover mode and Dutch roll mode. The spiral mode is unstable. The saucer-shaped aircraft exhibits superior flight qualities and excellent comprehensive performances.

The present study was designed to investigate the effect of thymosin α1 (Tα1) administration in infective recipients of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for hematologic malignancies. Eight patients were enrolled in our study, including seven allo-HSCT patients and one auto-HSCT patient. These patients were allocated randomly into the treatment group (four cases) and control group (four cases). Tα1 was used in the treatment group to test its effectiveness in infection control. The concentrations of cytokines IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, and IL-12 were observed, and the levels of CD3(+), CD4(+), and CD8(+) T cells, as well as of CD4(+)/CD8(+) and CD4(+)/CD25(+) regulatory T cell (Treg) were measured. When Tα1 was administered for 2 weeks, the concentrations of these cytokines were increased after 1 month in the treatment group. Interestingly, the levels of IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-10, and IL-12 were increased in the treatment group more than those in the control group, whereas there were no significant differences between the treatment and control group in the levels of CD3(+), CD4(+), and CD8(+) T cells, or in CD4(+)/CD8(+) or CD4(+)/CD25(+) Treg cells. Notably, Tα1 administration did not cause acute or chronic graft versus host disease (GVHD). We conclude that Tα1 administration is safe and may impact favorably on immune function, and that it may improve resistance to infection and induce immunotolerance without GVHD.