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One organic compound [HMCA]2 (1) and two novel cobalt complexes [Co(MCA)(bipy)(H2O)]·(H2O) (2), [Co2(MCA)2(Phen)3]·3(H2O) (3) are synthesized by a solvothermal approach and are structurally determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Compound 1 exhibits a two-dimensional structure by hydrogen bond and π. . .π stacking interaction. The complexes exhibit a three-dimensional and one-dimensional metal-organic framework. Solid-state photoluminescence spectrums reveal that they show blue emission bands at 449 nm, and theoretical calculation results of time-dependent density functional theory show that all belong to ligand-to-ligand charge transfer. Solid-state diffuse reflectance spectrums reveal the presence of a narrow optical band gap of 1.72 and 1.60 eV in the complexes 2 and 3, respectively.

Purpose: To evaluate the degree of gastric, enteric, colonic, and rectal filling in multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) whole gastroenterography. Methods: In this prospective study involving 124 patients, 78 and 46 patients underwent MDCT whole gastroenterography using positive and neutral oral contrast agents, respectively. The degree of filling of the stomach, small and large bowel, was qualitatively analyzed by experienced radiologists using a 3-point scoring system. Results: The majority of patients received a score of ≥2 for small intestine filling using both positive and neutral contrast agents (90.5% and 78.2%, respectively), and 80% of the cases had an optimal filling of the colorectal segments. Only ≤5.1% had a score of 0 for the analyzed segments of the colorectum. Positive and neutral contrast agents were associated with similar degree of filling in the stomach and colon segments without a significant difference in the extent of contrast agent filling ( P > .05). Conclusions: Multidetector computed tomography whole gastroenterography was found to be a simple, safe, noninvasive, painless, and effective modality for the diagnosis of stomach and bowel complications in clinical settings.

The electron beam-current density at a target greatly affects imaging intensity and contrast when using a low-energy nano-focus X-ray source. This paper proposes a new electron gun comprising a 10-keV nano-focus X-ray source with a single-pole magnetic lens to improve its effective brightness and beam-current density. After analyzing the effect of the electric field on the extended Schottky emission, we first optimized the anode with high effective brightness and a fine virtual spot with enough intensity for nano-focus X-ray imaging. High effective beam-current density was then obtained by optimizing the position, geometry and electrical supplies of the single-pole magnetic lens. The effective brightness of this electron gun is 1.70 × 108 A•cm−2•sr−1, and the nano-focus X-ray source has a spot size of 41 nm when its tube current is 2 μ A. This electron gun achieves higher beam current density (1.6 × 105A•cm−2), and its collimated landing beam efficiently transports the beam current in the X-ray source.

BACKGROUND Gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) is one of the most important laboratory tests for the evaluation of liver damage. Through a long-term clinical observation of patients with secondary asymptomatic choledocholithiasis, we found that most patients had abnormal GGT serum levels. AIM To investigate the combination of serum GGT and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in predicting the diagnosis of asymptomatic choledocholithiasis secondary to cholecystolithiasis. METHODS In this retrospective cohort study, the clinical data of 829 patients with cholecystolithiasis admitted to the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical College from August 2014 to August 2017 were collected. Among these patients, 151 patients had secondary asymptomatic choledocholithiasis and served as the observation group, and the remaining 678 cholecystolithiasis patients served as the control group. Serum liver function indexes were detected in both groups, and the receiver operating characteristic (commonly known as ROC) curves were constructed for markers showing statistical significances. The cutoff value, sensitivity, and specificity of each marker were calculated according to the ROC curves. RESULTS The overall incidence of asymptomatic choledocholithiasis secondary to cholecystolithiasis was 18.2%. The results of liver function indexes including serum aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, direct bilirubin and total bilirubin levels showed no significant differences between the two groups (P > 0.05). However, the serum GGT and ALP levels were significantly higher in the observation group than in the control group (P < 0.05). The ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve was 0.881 (95%CI: 0.830-0.932), 0.647 (95%CI: 0.583-0.711) and 0.923 (95%CI: 0.892-0.953) for GGT, ALP, and GGT + ALP, respectively. The corresponding cut-off values of GGT and ALP were 95.5 U/L and 151.5 U/L, sensitivity were 90.8% and 65.1%, and specificity were 83.6% and 59.8%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of GGT + ALP were 93.5% and 85.1%, respectively. CONCLUSION An abnormally elevated serum GGT level has an important value in the diagnosis of asymptomatic choledocholithiasis secondary to cholecystolithiasis. The combination of serum GGT and ALP has better diagnostic performance. As a convenient, rapid and inexpensive test, it should be applied in secondary asymptomatic choledocholithiasis routine screening.

Background To investigated the effect of earthworm extract (EE) on deep second-degree burn wound healing process. Methods A burn wound model was created on the mice's skin and was subject to different treatments: the control group received no treatment; the Jingwanhong (JWH: a well-established, widely used external ointment for treating burn wounds) group was treated with 0.1 g of JWH cream and spray it on the wound surface; the EE group was treated with 0.1 mL of EE solution. All the mice were sacrificed at 3, 7, 11, and 15 days after injury (n=6/group/time point). Macroscopic observation, wound healing rate (WHR), wound healing time (WHT), water content (WC), hydroxyproline (Hyp) content, histological, and hematological analyses were performed at the burn wound sites. Results Better, faster burn wound healing in the JWH and EE groups than the control group at 15 days after injury were detected at the wound sites. Compared to the control group, the EE group had higher WHR, shorter WHT, lower WC, higher Hyp content, more fibroblasts, fibrocytes, and capillary endothelial cells; in addition, they showed greater capillary endothelial cell grouping at the wound sites during the healing process. This group also showed more platelets, white blood cells (WBCs), and neutrophilic granulocytes in serum at the early stages after burn injury. Conclusions EE could effectively promote skin wound healing by decreasing edema, suppressing fibrosis, activating angiogenesis and epithelial regeneration, inhibiting scar formation, and reducing the risk of infection. Thus, it could be made into a promising healing agent for burn wound.

AIM To investigate the diagnostic value of abnormal serum carbohydrate antigen 199 (CA199) level in acute cholangitis secondary to choledocholithiasis. METHODS In this retrospective cohort study, the clinical data of 727 patients with choledocholithiasis admitted to the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical College from June 2011 to June 2017 were collected. Among these patients, 258 patients had secondary acute cholangitis and served as observation group, and the remaining 569 choledocholithiasis patients served as the control group. Serum liver function indexes and tumor markers were detected in both groups, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed for markers showing statistical significances. The cutoff value, sensitivity, and specificity of each marker were calculated according to the ROC curves. RESULTS The results of liver function tests showed no significant differences between the two groups (P > 0.05). Tumor markers including serum CA125, CA153, carcinoembryonic antigen, and alpha fetoprotein levels were also not significantly different (P > 0.05); however, the serum CA199 level was significantly higher in the observation group than in the control group (P < 0.05). The ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve was 0.885 (95%CI: 0.841-0.929) for CA199, and the cutoff value of 52.5 kU/L had the highest diagnostic accuracy, with a sensitivity of 86.8% and a specificity of 81.6%. CONCLUSION Abnormally elevated serum CA199 level has an important value in the diagnosis of acute cholangitis secondary to choledocholithiasis. It may be a specific inflammatory marker for acute cholangitis.

Purpose This study aims to compare the diagnostic performance of two imaging methods for thyroid nodules ≤1.0 cm and reduce unnecessary overdiagnosis. Methods A retrospective study was conducted on 80 patients with pathologically confirmed solitary thyroid micronodules underwent both high-resolution ultrasound (HRUS) and High b-value (2000 s/mm2) diffusion weighted imaging (DWI). Intra- and interobserver agreement (Intraclass correlation coefficient) was followed by Kruskal-Wallis test to detect whether the quantitative apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and thyroid nodule subgroups were related. Cohen's kappa analysis was applied to assess the interobserver consistency of DWI and HRUS characteristics. The receiver operating characteristic curves were adopted for evaluating the diagnostic performance of thyroid malignancy. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the two imaging methods were compared using the McNemar’s test and Kappa test. Results A total of 80 patients were included, consisting of 43 malignant and 37 benign micronodules. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of DWI combined with rADC (ADCmin to ADCn ratio) for the diagnosis of thyroid micronodules were 83.7%, 89.2% and 86.3%, respectively. The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.91 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.84–0.97). The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of HRUS diagnosis were 100%, 62.16% and 82.5%, respectively. Conclusion High b-value DWI is superior to HRUS for evaluating the diagnostic performance of solid thyroid micronodules. DWI and its ADC quantitative analysis could be added to the evaluation of thyroid micronodules to improve the specificity of diagnosis, reduce overdiagnosis and avoid unnecessary biopsies or surgeries.

// Ying-Li Lin 1, * , Yan-Ling Wang 2, * , Xing-Li Fu 3 , Wen-Ping Li 4 , Yu-Hao Wang 5 , Jian-Guo Ma 4 1 Department of Urology, Xuzhou Cancer Hospital, Affiliated Xuzhou Hospital of Jiangsu University, Xuzhou, 221000, Jiangsu, China 2 Department of Anesthesiology, Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510630, Guangdong, China 3 Health Science Center, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212000, Jiangsu, China 4 Department of Urology, Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, 050051, Hebei, China 5 Department of Clinical Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210000, Jiangsu, China * These authors contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Jian-Guo Ma, email: mjg2014sjz@163.com Keywords: bladder cancer, biomarker, protocadherin7, PCDH7, prognosis Received: December 04, 2015 Accepted: February 23, 2016 Published: April 07, 2016 ABSTRACT Bladder cancer is a heterogeneous disease with outcome difficult to predict, and novel predictive biomarkers are needed. PCDH7, a member of protocadherins family, functions as tumor suppressor in several human cancers. The human PCDH7 gene is localized in chromosome 4p15, which is often inactivated in human cancers, including bladder cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of PCDH7 expression in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). PCDH7 expression was examined using immunohistochemical staining in 199 primary NMIBC tissues and 25 normal bladder epithelial tissues. Then the relationship between PCDH7 expression and clinicopathologic features was evaluated. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox analysis was used to evaluate the correlation between PCDH7 expression and prognosis. PCDH7 expression in NMIBC tissues was significantly lower than that in normal bladder epithelial tissues ( P < 0.001). Low PCDH7 expression correlated with advanced grade ( P = 0.021) and larger tumor size ( P = 0.044). Moreover, patients with low PCDH7 expression have shorter recurrence-free survival ( P < 0.001), progression-free survival ( P = 0.007) and overall survival ( P = 0.011) than patients with high PCDH7 expression. Low PCDH7 expression is an independent predictor of recurrence-free survival (multivariate Cox analysis: P = 0.007), progression-free survival (multivariate Cox analysis: P = 0.014) and overall survival (multivariate Cox analysis: P = 0.004). The findings indicate that low PCDH7 expression is a potential prognostic biomarker for primary NMIBC.

BACKGROUND Prostate cancer is a heterogeneous malignancy with outcome difficult to predict. Currently, there is an urgent need to identify novel biomarkers that can accurately predict patient outcome and improve the treatment strategy. The aim of this study was to investigate the methylation status of PCDH10 in serum of prostate cancer patients and its potential relevance to clinicopathological features and prognosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS The methylation status of PCDH10 in serum of 171 primary prostate cancer patients and 65 controls was evaluated by methylation-specific PCR (MSP), after which the relationship between PCDH10 methylation and clinicopathologic features was evaluated. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox analysis were used to evaluate the correlation between PCDH10 methylation and prognosis. RESULTS PCDH10 methylation occurred frequently in serum of prostate cancer patients. Moreover, PCDH10 methylation was significantly associated with higher preoperative PSA level, advanced clinical stage, higher Gleason score, lymph node metastasis, and biochemical recurrence (BCR). In addition, patients with methylated PCDH10 had shorter BCR-free survival and overall survival than patients with unmethylated PCDH10. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards model analysis indicated that PCDH10 methylation in serum is an independent predictor of worse BCR-free survival and overall survival. CONCLUSIONS PCDH10 methylation in serum is a potential prognostic biomarker for prostate cancer.

This letter presents design of a K-band high power high efficiency monolithic GaAs power oscillators using class-E load network with finite dc-feed inductance. To further extend the operation frequency up to millimeter-wave band with high efficiency, the core transistor is operated in the saturated region with overdriven condition to obtain the bifurcated current waveform. The proposed power oscillator is fabricated using a 0.15- $\mu \text {m}$ GaAs pseudomorphic high-electron mobility transistor process, and it features a tuning range from 23.5 to 24.5 GHz, a peak efficiency of 19%, a maximum output power of 21 dBm, and a phase noise of −106.3 dBc/Hz at 1-MHz offset.

PPFIA family members and ALG3 play important roles in tumorigenesis and tumor progression. However, the exact roles of distinct PPFIA family members and ALG3 in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remain unclear. We studied the mRNA expressions of PPFIA family members and ALG3 in a variety of tumor types compared with the normal controls using the Oncomine database along with meta-analyses of their expressions in HNSCC cancer cell line. The mRNA expressions of PPFIA family members and ALG3 in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma cell line and normal laryngeal cell line were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Based on the cBioportal database, we further studied mRNA expression alterations and co-occurrence relationships of the PPFIA family members and ALG3 in HNSCC. The relationship between PPFIA1 and ALG3 mRNA expression alterations and prognoses in patients with HNSCC was explored. We found that PPFIA1 and ALG3 were distinctively overexpressed at the mRNA level in HNSCC tissues compared with normal tissues, they had a significant co-occurrence relationship, their mRNA expressions were significantly higher than other PPFIA family members in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma cell line, and their mRNA expressions were also significantly higher in laryngeal carcinoma cell line than in normal laryngeal cell line. Patients without both PPFIA1 and ALG3 mRNA expression alterations had better overall survival and disease/progression-free survival compared with patients with both PPFIA1 and ALG3 alterations. Based on these findings, PPFIA1 and ALG3 may play roles in oncogene expression in HNSCC. Their combined overexpression is significantly associated with poor survival outcomes. The relationship between them and the mechanism of action in head and neck cancers deserve further investigation.

Chronic nonhealing wounds pose a significant challenge to healthcare system because of its tremendous utilization of resources and time to heal. It has a well-deserved reputation for reducing the quality of life for those affected and represent a substantial economic burden to the healthcare system overall. Earthworms are used as a traditional Chinese medicine, and have been applied pharmacologically and clinically since a long time in China. However, there is paucity in data regarding its wound healing effects. Therefore, we investigated the effect of earthworm extract (EE) on skin wound healing process. The obtained data showed that EE has healing effects on local wound of mice. It decreased the wound healing time and reduced the ill-effects of inflammation as determined by macroscopic, histopathologic, hematologic, and immunohistochemistry parameters. The potential mechanism could be accelerated hydroxyproline and transforming growth factor-β secretion—thus increasing the synthesis of collagen, promoting blood capillary, and fibroblast proliferation. It could accelerate the removal of necrotic tissue and foreign bodies by speeding up the generation of interleukin-6, white blood cells, and platelets. It thus enhances immunity, reduces the risk of infection, and promotes wound healing. All in all, the obtained data demonstrated that EE improves quality of healing and could be used as a propitious wound healing agent.

Active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) as an alternative to classical PID control to solving control problems, has gained significant traction these years. With its simple tuning method, robustness against process parameter variations and ability of disturbance rejection, we tried it in our homemade fast atomic force microscope (AFM). Experiments are carried out in contact mode on standard optical grating sample with 50Hz line rate. The results show that ADRC can reject external disturbances well, and can reduce system vibrations obviously.

Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) is a well-known technique to extract common features from a pair of multivariate data. In uncertain data stream situations, however, it does not extract useful features because of the existence of data uncertainty which is widespread in a variety of applications. This paper describes an uncertain CCA method called UCCA for feature extraction from uncertain multidimensional data streams. By using the information of uncertainty, UCCA can well represent an uncertain linear structure in the projected space. The approach is tested on a variety of real datasets and its effectiveness in terms of multi-view classification based on dimensionality reduction is validated.

The low-frequency error (LFE) of star tracker is the most critical problems in the high accuracy attitude determination for the satellite. In this paper a novel approach is proposed to identify and compensate the attitude measurement LFE of the star trackers. The main difficulty in the attitude LFE identification is to distinguish the attitude LFE from the attitude motion. To overcome this difficulty, the gyro data, which is sensitive to the attitude motion, was used to fit the measurement attitude data to obtain the reference attitude. It is shown that, the LFE can be identified by comparing the measurement attitude and the reference attitude. The attitude LFE repeated feature is characterized well by the proposed method. By utilizing the orbital repeated feature, the LFE of the star trackers can be estimated. Finally, a LFE compensation strategy is presented base on the LFE estimation results. The validity and efficiency of the proposed approach are demonstrated by the relative Euler angle results from two test star trackers on-board the STECE satellite.

Objective To investigate the clinical significance of cadherin 13 ( CDH13) gene promoter methylation in the serum of patients with prostate cancer. Methods This prospective study examined the methylation status of CDH13 in serum samples obtained from patients with primary prostate cancer and age-matched control subjects, using methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction. Associations between methylation status of CDH13 and various clinicopathological features and patient survival were evaluated. Results A total of 98 patients with prostate cancer and 47 control subjects were enrolled in the study. CDH13 promoter methylation was detected in 44 out of 98 (44.9%) patients with prostate cancer; no methylation was found in control subjects. Methylation of CDH13 was significantly associated with an increased Gleason score, an advanced tumour stage, and a high prostate-specific antigen level. CDH13 methylation was associated with a worse survival outcome and a relative risk of death of 6.132 (95% confidence interval: 3.160, 12.187). Conclusions Promoter methylation of CDH13 occurred frequently in the serum of patients with prostate cancer, was associated with an increased risk of death, and may become a useful independent predictor of a poor prognosis.

Inverted pendulum system is the ideal study object of nonlinear system. The ADRC has good estimate for disturbances, strong robustness and using static decoupling instead of dynamical decoupling. The one-level inverted pendulum system can be regarded as composing of the pendulum angel system and the cart position system. The former is faster and the later is slower. The synthesized ADRC for one-level inverted pendulum system is built through combination of separating and assembling to reduce difficulty in optimizing ADRC parameters of the inverted pendulum system. The synthesized controller is simulated by Matlab under different parameters of the inverted pendulum. Simulation results show that the pendulum angle and the cart position are well controlled.

BACKGROUND Protocadherin8 has been demonstrated to play critical roles in initiation and progression of several human cancers. It is frequently inactivated by promoter methylation in cancers and may be used as a potential biomarker. However, the methylation status of protocadherin8 and its clinical significance in prostate cancer remains largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical significance of protocadherin8 methylation in early-stage prostate cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS The promoter methylation status of protocadherin8 in 162 prostate cancer tissues and 47 normal prostate tissues was examined using methylation-specific PCR (MSP). Subsequently, the relationships between protocadherin8 methylation and clinicopathological features of prostate cancer patients and biochemical recurrence-free survival of patients were analyzed. RESULTS We found that protocadherin8 methylation occurred frequently in prostate cancer tissues but not in normal prostate tissues. Moreover, protocadherin8 methylation was significantly associated with advanced pathologic stage, higher level of preoperative prostate specific antigen (PSA), higher Gleason score, positive lymph node metastasis, and biochemical recurrence. In addition, patients with protocadherin8 methylated have shorter biochemical recurrence-free survival time than patients without. Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that protocadherin8 methylation was an independent predictor of biochemical recurrence-free survival in prostate cancer patients. CONCLUSIONS Promoter methylation of protocadherin8 is a frequent event in prostate cancer, and might be used as an independent prognostic factor for biochemical recurrence-free survival in patients with prostate cancer.

This letter presents a 2.5 GHz high efficiency high power low phase noise monolithic microwave power oscillator using 0.5- $\mu{\rm m}$ GaAs enhancement- and depletion-mode pseudomorphic high-electron mobility transistor process. The class-E load network with finite dc-feed inductance is adopted in the power oscillators to achieve high efficiency. The shunt capacitance and load resistance of the class-E network can be larger than those of the class-E load network with the large dc-feed inductance. With a dc supply voltage of 4 V, the proposed power oscillator demonstrates a peak efficiency of 53%, a maximum output power of 24.8 dBm, and a minimum phase noise of $-$ 127 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset frequency.

Ossifying fibroma is a rare benign tumor of the nasal cavity and the paranasal sinus, and is easily misdiagnosed. In the present study, we report the clinical data in the case of a 46-year-old female patient, treated due to 5-day forehead swelling accompanied by dizziness. CT examination revealed dilation of the right frontal sinus, bone wall integration, dense masses in the cavity, multiple punctate calcification foci internally and no nasal obstruction, nasal mucus or epistaxis. After hospitalization, a right frontal sinus fenestration and tumor resection plus nasofrontal duct reconstruction combined with nasal endoscopic frontal recess open surgery was conducted under general anesthesia. Following the tumor resection, the frontal sinus bone lamella was reset and fixed with a titanium bone fixation set. The postoperative pathological diagnosis was of ossifying fibroma. At the postoperative 5-year follow-up there was no tumor recurrence and nasal endoscopy revealed an unobstructed nasofrontal duct opening.

MicroRNA-32 (miR-32) is associated with tumor progression and poor prognosis in certain malignant tumors. However, the function and clinical relevance of miR-32 in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not yet been elucidated. The present study aimed to investigate the expression and prognostic value of miR-32 from liver samples in patients with HCC. The expression of miR-32 was analyzed in HCC and healthy tissues using Gene Expression Omnibus datasets. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to analyze the levels of miR-32 mRNA in 154 HCC liver samples, 33 of which were paired with adjacent non-tumor tissues. The overall survival (OS) rate in patients with HCC was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, and the factors that may affect the prognosis and survival of patients with HCC were analyzed using univariate (log-rank test) and multivariate Cox proportional hazard models. The present results demonstrated that miR-32 expression levels were significantly upregulated in HCC liver biopsies compared with normal tissues (P

The railway double-track continuous bridge vertical load-carrying frequency is calculated with the vehicle-bridge system mode1. When two lines with 20 same high-speed passenger vehicles are traveling on the 3×64 m through stud welding railway steel truss bridge from both ends, it is analyzed that the vehicle parameters how to influence the bridge vertical load-carrying frequency. The bridge vertical load-carrying frequency is influenced by the unsprung mass of each wheel-set of the vehicle, the suspension spring stiffness, the vehicle length and the mass of the vehicle. But it is independent of the speed of the train．It is shown that the bridge vertical load-carrying frequency is the vehicle-bridge system natural frequency, it is only depend on its natural parameters.

When two lines with 20 same high-speed passenger vehicles are traveling on the 40 m+4×72 m+40 m party pre-stressed concrete continuous box-girder bridge from both ends, this bridge vertical load-carrying frequency is calculated with the vehicle-bridge system mode1. When the vehicle parameters, such as the unsprung mass of each wheel-set of the vehicle, the suspension spring stiffness, the vehicle length and the mass of the vehicle, are changed, the bridge vertical load-carrying frequencies are changed too. But when the train speed is changed, the bridge vertical load-carrying frequencies aren’t changed. It is shown that the bridge vertical load-carrying frequency is the vehicle-bridge system natural frequency, it is only depend on its natural parameters.

In this paper, the vehicle-bridge lateral vibration mechanism was analyzed; the vehicle-bridge vibration model was built and the lateral reinforcement schemes of open steel plate bridges were designed. Numbers of analysis were carried out for the lateral vibration of 40m deck steel plate bridges before and after reinforcement, under input of random artificial hunting waves and track irregularity. The results showed that, the frequency of hunting motion is approaching loaded frequency of the girder. The larger lateral amplitude appears on the bridge when the hunting wavelength is around 8~9m and the velocity of the train is around 55~70km/h. The wavelength is longer, the resonant velocity of the bridge is higher.

The railway double-track continuous bridge vertical load-carrying frequency is theoretical derived with the vehicle-bridge system mode1. The vertical load-carrying frequencies of the3×64 m through stud welding railway steel truss bridge are calculated, when two trains with 20 same high-speed passenger vehicles are traveling on the bridge from both ends. The change regularity of this double-track continuous bridge vertical load-carrying natural frequency with two trains on it is similar with the single-track simply supported bridge and this bridge vertical load-carrying natural frequency only one train on it. This bridge vertical load-carrying frequency when two train on it is smaller than that only train on it. The maximum deviation percentage between the vertical load-carrying natural frequency and the vertical natural frequency is 6.0452%. The vertical load-carrying frequency can be replaced by the average value.

In this paper, the vehicle-bridge transverse vibration mechanism was analyzed; the vehicle-bridge vibration model was built and the transverse reinforcement schemes of open steel plate bridges were designed. Numbers of analysis were carried out for the transverse vibration of 40m deck steel plate bridges before and after reinforced, under input of random artificial hunting waves and track irregularity. The results show that when the hunting wavelength is 8.5m and the velocity of the train is around 50.4~75.6, the transverse amplitudes decrease differently after reinforcement. The effectiveness of various reinforcement types is evaluated by using the computer simulation programs.

The railway double-track continuous bridge vertical load-carrying frequency is theoretical derived with the vehicle-bridge system mode1. The vertical load-carrying frequencies of the 40 m+4×72 m+40 m party pre-stressed concrete continuous box-girder bridge are calculated, when two trains with 20 same high-speed passenger vehicles are traveling on the bridge from both ends. The change regularity of this double-track continuous bridge vertical load-carrying natural frequency with two trains on it is similar with that of the single-track simply supported bridge and this bridge as one train on it. This bridge vertical load-carrying frequency when two trains on it is smaller than that only train on it. The maximum deviation percentage between the vertical load-carrying natural frequency and the vertical natural frequency is 1.17837%.This bridge vertical load-carrying frequency can be replaced by its natural frequency, and there isn’t obvious error. If the vertical load-carrying frequency should be calculated, it can be replaced by the average value.

A new objective lens model including magnetic pole pieces, coil windings, magnetic circuit as well as the assembling clearance between the pole piece and magnetic circuit is developed to obtain high simulation precision. The calculation is based on the second-order finite element method (SOFEM) with the measured B – H magnetization curves of the lens materials. The magnetic pole pieces and magnetic circuit are firstly optimized to reduce the lens saturation and obtain minimum spherical aberration coefficient, then modified to release the magnetic flux leakage caused by the increased clearance. In the end, an example is given for a 200 kV TEM with the point resolution of 0.25 nm and off-axis aberration coefficients at the image plane are calculated for dynamic correction. Results show that the magnetic circuit is unsaturated and the saturated area is only 0.8×4.8 mm 2 around the lower pole piece with a maximum magnetic flux density of 2.537 T. This model can reduce the magnetic flux leakage and obtain the point resolution with smaller excitation. The calculation also shows that the off-axis aberrations require correcting dynamically to acquire fine image quality under low system magnification.

The epidermal growth-factor receptor (EGFR) and its ligands have been recognized as critical factors in the pathophysiology of tumorigenesis. Overexpression of the EGFR plays a significant role in the tumor progression of a wide variety of solid human cancers. Therefore, the EGFR represents an attractive target for the design of novel diagnostic and therapeutic agents for cancer. Cetuximab (C225, Erbitux) was the first monoclonal antibody targeted against the ligand-binding site of EGFR approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of patients with EGFR-expressing, metastatic colorectal carcinoma, although clinical trials showed variability in the response to this treatment. The aim of this study involved using cetuximab to design a positron emission tomography (PET) agent to image the overexpression of EGFR in tumors. Cetuximab was conjugated with the chelator, DOTA, for radiolabeling with the positron-emitter, 64Cu (T(1/2) = 12.7 hours). 64Cu-DOTA-cetuximab showed high binding affinity to EGFR-positive A431 cells (K(D) of 0.28 nM). Both biodistribution and microPET imaging studies with 64Cu-DOTA-cetuximab demonstrated greater uptake at 24 hours postinjection in EGFR-positive A431 tumors (18.49% +/- 6.50% injected dose per gram [ID/g]), compared to EGFR-negative MDA-MB-435 tumors (2.60% +/- 0.35% ID/g). A431 tumor uptake at 24 hours was blocked with unlabeled cetuximab (10.69% +/- 2.72% ID/g), suggesting that the tumor uptake was receptor mediated. Metabolism experiments in vivo showed that 64Cu-DOTA-cetuximab was relatively stable in the blood of tumor-bearing mice; however, there was significant metabolism in the liver and tumors. 64Cu-DOTA-cetuximab is a potential agent for imaging EGFR-positive tumors in humans.

Two pre-lens deflectors were optimized to reduce the deflection chromatic aberration in a focused ion optical column. Correction principles of the dynamic focus lens and stigmator were researched in detail. The deflection field curvature, astigmatism and distortion can be eliminated by superposing suitable signals on the objective lens and deflectors, which effectively reduces the complexity of the ion optical column. The optical properties of the two deflectors with dynamic correction were simulated and their power supply circuit was built based on superposition theory of electric signals. When the beam current is 1 nA, the pre-lens deflectors can obtain nanometer-scale focused ion beam at the corner of 0.2×0.2 mm2.

BACKGROUND Heat shock protein 27 (HSP 27) is known as a mediator in immune response and has been recently found to be expressed in prostate cancer. This study aimed to investigate the role of HSP27 in inflammatory BPH. MATERIAL AND METHODS Hospitalized BPH patients who received TURP were divided into 4 groups by the presence and degrees of chronic inflammation: non-inflammatory BPH (NI BPH), mild-inflammatory BPH (MI BPH), moderate-inflammatory BPH (MOI BPH), and severe-inflammatory BPH (SI BPH). Expressions of HSP 27, TNF-α, IL-6, and CD3 in prostate tissues and serum of patients were detected by immunohistochemistry and ELISA. RESULTS Expression of HSP27 in BPH with histological inflammation was significantly higher than in non-inflammatory BPH. In inflammatory BPH groups, HSP27 expression gradually increased along with increasing inflammation. There was a significant correlation between the expression of TNF-α, IL-6, CD3 and HSP27 among different inflammatory BPH groups. CONCLUSIONS HSP27 expression level is associated with the degree of chronic inflammation in BPH and may participate in the pathological process in inflammatory BPH.

Oculomotor nerve schwannoma is an extremely rare tumor. Only less than 40 cases have been reported in the literature. We report the case of a small oculomotor nerve schwannoma arising from the prepontine cistern in a 30-year-old man with a long-time ophthalmoplegic migraine. The spatial relationship of the tumor, oculomotor nerve, and surrounding arteries was clearly demonstrated by using three three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging sequences.

To explore the altered different expression of miRNAs and the mechanisms underlying the relapse and metastasis of pancreatic cancer. The most differentially expressed miRNAs were analyzed by gene ontology (GO) term analysis, Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis and protein interaction analysis. The potentially regulated target genes of the most differentially expressed miRNAs were also analyzed further by GO term analysis and KEGG pathway analysis, and quantitated by qRT-PCR. In total, we found 12 miRNAs displayed at least a 30-fold increase or decrease in expression of carcinoma and relapse vs. para-carcinoma human pancreatic cancer (C/R vs. P). In addition, our study found that pancreatic cancer was related to pathways in cancer, including Jak-STAT signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway and PPAR signaling pathway. The differential expressed miRNAs and their predicted target genes that involved in Jak-STAT signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway and PPAR signaling pathway indicating their potential roles in pancreatic carcinogenesis and progress.

Objectives This study retrospectively evaluated the prognostic significance of downregulated protocadherin-10 ( PCDH10) gene expression in bladder cancer. Methods To evaluate the prognostic significance of downregulated PCDH10 protein levels, immunohistochemistry was used to assess the level of PCDH10 protein in surgically-resected formalin-fixed, paraffin wax-embedded transitional cell carcinoma specimens. Relationships between PCDH10 protein levels, clinicopathological characteristics and overall survival were also evaluated. Results A total of 105 bladder transitional cell carcinoma specimens and 33 normal bladder epithelial samples were investigated using immunohistochemical staining. PCDH10 protein levels were downregulated in 63.8% (67/105) of bladder cancer specimens compared with control samples. Downregulated levels of PCDH10 were significantly associated with advanced stage, higher grade, larger tumour size, nonpapillary shape, tumour recurrence and decreased overall survival rates. Multivariate analysis indicated that downregulated PCDH10 levels were independently associated with decreased overall survival and had a relative risk of death of 4.571. Conclusions Downregulated PCDH10 levels correlated with malignant behaviour and poor overall survival in patients with bladder cancer. Downregulated PCDH10 levels might be useful as a prognostic biomarker for bladder cancer.

BACKGROUND Prostate cancer is a one of the most common malignant diseases in men worldwide. Now it is a challenge to identify patients at higher risk for relapse and progression after surgery, and more novel prognostic biomarkers are needed. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of protocadherin17 (PCDH17) methylation in serum and its predictive value for biochemical recurrence (BCR) after radical prostatectomy. MATERIAL AND METHODS We evaluated the methylation status of PCDH17 in serum samples of 167 early-stage prostate cancer patients and 44 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) using methylation-specific PCR (MSP), and then evaluated the relationship between PCDH17 methylation and clinicopathologic features. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox analysis were used to evaluate its predictive value for BCR. RESULTS The ratio of PCDH17 methylation in prostate cancer patients was higher than in patients with BPH. Moreover, PCDH17 methylation was significantly associated with advanced pathological stage, higher Gleason score, higher preoperative PSA levels, and BCR. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis indicated that patients with methylated PCDH17 had shorter BCR-free survival time compared to patients with unmethylated PCDH17. Cox regression analysis indicated that PCDH17 methylation was an independent predictive factor for the BCR of patients after radical prostatectomy. CONCLUSIONS PCDH17 methylation in serum is a frequent event in early-stage prostate cancer, and it is an independent predictor of BCR after radical prostatectomy.

H-cadherin, functions as a tumor suppressor, is frequently silenced by promoter methylation in human cancers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of using H-cadherin methylation in tumor tissues as a potential biomarker in patients with bladder transitional cell carcinoma (TCC).We examined the methylation status of H-cadherin in 133 primary bladder TCC samples and 43 normal bladder epithelial tissues using methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (MSP) and then analyzed the associations between H-cadherin methylation and clinicopathologic features as well as patients' outcome.H-cadherin methylation was detected in 47 (35.3%) bladder TCC samples, but not found in controls (P = 0.0000). Moreover, H-cadherin methylation was significantly associated with advanced stage (P = 0.0006), high grade (P = 0.0165), larger tumor size (P = 0.0225), tumor recurrence (P = 0.0106), and poor prognosis (P = 0.0000). In addition, multivariate analysis indicated that H-cadherin methylation is independently associated with poor outcome and had a relative risk of death of 3.832 (P = 0.0071, 95% confidence interval: 1.443-10.176).The results suggest that H-cadherin methylation may be used as a potential biomarker for the malignancy of bladder TCC and as an independent prognostic biomarker in patients with bladder TCC.

Multiple SAR images of the same area from slightly different slant angles show relative spectral shifts, which is used to improve the slant range resolution by combining their spectra. In the paper, an optimization modal, which maximizes the combined image's amplitude, is proposed to estimate the spectral shift. Simulated data show that the proposed estimation method is more precise than the interferometric method if the two images satisfy the coherence to some extent.

Three dimension modeling is used to design an E×B mass separator. After the perpendicular separating principle and basic properties are analyzed in three dimensions, an E×B model is built and optimized to obtain a homogeneous field with negligible fringing. An example of 30keV Si+ ions is given to show its mass resolution, ion motion trajectory, and achromatic aberration in both collimated and crossover modes. Results show that the improved separator can operate in both modes in a nanometer optical column, but has better performance using a crossover mode.

Background PCDH8 is a novel tumor suppressor gene, and frequently inactivated by promoter methylation in human cancers. However, there is little information regarding PCDH8 methylation in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). The aim of this study was to investigate the methylation status of PCDH8 in NMIBC and its clinical significance. Methods The methylation status of PCDH8 in 233 NMIBC tissues and 43 normal bladder epithelial tissues was examined by methylation-specific PCR (MSP), and then analyzed the correlations between PCDH8 methylation and clinicopatholocial features. Subsequently, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Multivariate Cox proportional hazard model analysis was used to investigate the correlation between PCDH8 methylation and prognosis of patients with NMIBC. Results PCDH8 methylation occurred frequently in NMIBC tissues than those in normal bladder epithelial tissues. In addition, PCDH8 methylation significantly correlated with advanced stage, high grade, larger tumor size, tumor recurrence and progression in NMIBC. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed that patients with PCDH8 methylated have shorter recurrence-free survival, progression-free survival and five-year overall survival than patients with PCDH8 unmethylated. Multivariate analysis suggested that PCDH8 methylation was an independent prognostic biomarker for recurrence-free survival, progression-free survival and five-year overall survival simultaneously. Conclusions PCDH8 methylation may be associated with tumor progression and poor prognosis in NMIBC and may be used as a potential biomarker to predict the prognosis of patients with NMIBC.