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Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are widely applied for service provisioning in many domains such as topographic mapping and traffic monitoring. These applications are complicated with huge computational resources and extremely low latency requirements. However, the moderate computational capability and limited energy restrict the local data processing for the UAV. Fortunately, this impediment may be mitigated by utilizing wireless power transfer (WPT), and employing the multi-access edge computing (MEC) paradigm for offloading demanding computational tasks from the UAV via wireless communications. Particularly, the offloaded information may become compromising by the eavesdropper (Eve) when UAVs offload the computational tasks to MEC servers. To address this issue, a UAV-MEC system (UMEC) with energy harvesting is studied, where the full-duplex protocol is considered to realize simultaneously receiving confidential data from the UAV and broadcasting the control instructions. It is worth noting that, in our proposed scheme, these control instructions also serve as the artificial interference to confuse the Eve. To improve the energy efficiency for offloading, the computational communication resource allocation is optimized to minimize the energy-consumption for UAV with the consumed and harvested energy. Specially, the worst case secrecy offloading rate and computation-latency constraint are considered, to further enhance the reliability and security of the proposed system. Since the objective optimization problem is non-convex, we convert it into a convex one by analytical means. The semi-closed form expressions of the offloading time, offloading data size and transmit power are respectively derived. Moreover, the conditions of non-offloading, partial, and full offloading are also discussed from a physical perspective. With the specific conditions of activating abovementioned three offloading options, numerical results verify the performance of our proposed offloading strategy in various scenarios, and show the superiority of our offloading strategy with existing works in terms of the offloading capacity and energy efficiency.

In recent years, many target detection methods based on tensor representation theory have been proposed and achieved good results for hyperspectral images (HSIs). However, these methods still have some deficiencies. For example, 3-D hyperspectral data are first transformed into 1-D vectors in these methods, which may destroy the spatial structure of HSI data and reduce the detection performance. Besides, when the number of training samples is small, the results of the target detection method usually become worse. To solve these problems, a hyperspectral target detection method based on nonlocal self-similarity and rank-1 tensor is proposed in this article. First, different from these traditional tensor representation-based methods, the third-order tensor data are directly used as the input of the proposed method to preserve the spatial information and structure of an HSI. Second, the tensor blocks related to the class are constructed by using the nonlocal self-similarity of HSI data. Finally, by taking advantage of rank-1 canonical decomposition attribute, the process of tensor operation can be simplified, and the number of training samples can be reduced. The proposed method is compared with six state-of-the-art hyperspectral target detection methods on four HSI data sets. The experimental results show that the proposed method can have better target detection results than other compared methods, especially in the case of fewer training samples.

OBJECTIVE A retrospective study was conducted to analyze which translational therapy, palliative chemotherapy and surgery is the best treatment for locally advanced and advanced pancreatic cancer, and to screen out the dominant population for the best treatment. PATIENTS AND METHODS A total of 83 patients with pancreatic cancer, including locally advanced and advanced pancreatic cancer, who had lost the opportunity for radical surgery and were admitted to Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital between January 2015 and July 2021 were collected. A total of 39 patients received palliative chemotherapy, 25 patients received conversion therapy and 19 patients tried surgery at the first visit. We conducted survival follow-up and prognostic evaluation of 83 patients. RESULTS The median overall survival (mOS) and median progression-free survival (mPFS) of 25 pancreatic cancer patients who received conversion therapy were longer than those of pancreatic cancer patients who received palliative chemotherapy (mOS: 16 months vs. 9 months, P = 0.001; mPFS: 11 months vs. 7.5 months, P = 0.038) and surgery (mOS: 16 months vs. 9 months, P = 0.018; mPFS: 11 months vs. 5.5 months, P < 0.001). Multivariate and Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that age, distant metastasis, and the degree of CA199 declined after chemotherapy were independent factors affecting overall survival (OS) of pancreatic cancer patients who received conversion therapy. CONCLUSIONS Conversion therapy can improve OS and progression-free survival in patients with locally advanced or advanced pancreatic cancer to a certain extent. Some patients with advanced pancreatic cancer have surprising results after receiving conversion therapy.

Cetuximab is the first-line treatment for advanced metastatic colon cancer. But cetuximab can cause electrolyte disturbances, including hypomagnesemia and hypokalemia. Among them, hypokalemia is often caused by hypomagnesemia, not directly caused by cetuximab. This article reports two cases of refractory hypokalemia caused by cetuximab without hypomagnesemia. The two patients had no abnormalities in serum potassium before cetuximab treatment. The occurrence of hypokalemia was clearly correlated with the cetuximab, and they were significantly improved after stopping or reducing the dose. At the same time, the appearance of hypokalemia is significantly related to the efficacy of cetuximab. They have received 37 and 35 cycles of cetuximab-related therapy, with condition stable periods of 12.8 and 15.1 months, respectively. Obviously, our report refutes the above view. In our opinion, hypokalemia, a side effect of cetuximab, may be directly caused by it, rather than secondary to hypomagnesemia. Similar to hypomagnesemia, the appearance of hypokalemia often indicates a better curative effect of cetuximab.

Pancreatic cancer is digestive cancer with limited therapeutic options and a poor outcome. Pancreatic cancer has a high mortality rate, with a 5-year survival rate of less than 5%. The median survival after metastasis of the disease is less than 6 months. Studies have revealed that the standard treatment, including palliative chemotherapy or immunotherapy, is not significantly effective for pancreatic cancer. Herein, we report a case of pancreatic cancer who benefited from a combination of anti-PD-1 immunotherapy and chemotherapy.

Flexible and durable electrically driven heaters (EDHs) was prepared by using silver nanowire/polydopamine modified cotton fabric (AgNW/PDA-C) as Joule heat generator and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as stretchable matrix.The electric property of the EDHs was investigated, and it can show excellent electrical property and stability. The EDHs can be seen from the SEM morphology that cotton fabric was well protected by the PDMS and has good conductive network. The EDHs also exhibit excellent electrothermal performance under applied voltage. At low-voltages, it can quickly reach satisfactory steady-state temperatures that meet the needs of wearables. By improving the electrothermal model, it can be verified that there is a quadratic function relationship between electric power and steady-state temperature. Under cyclic voltage and bending tests, the EDHs can well maintain steady-state temperature and exhibit excellent dynamic and static electrothermal performance.

BackgroundsAs a new oral chemotherapy drug, TAS-102 is currently recommended as the third-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Recently, studies have reported the efficacy of TAS-102 combined with bevacizumab in colon cancer patients after standard treatment fails. Here, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of TAS-102 combined with bevacizumab versus TAS-102 as a single agent by a systematic review and a meta-analysis.MethodsPubMed, Web of Science and Cochrane libraries were searched. Studies involving bevacizumab combined with TAS-102 in mCRC were included. Study characteristics (author, year of publication, country et al.), efficacy (disease control rate(DCR), progression-free survival(PFS), overall survival(OS)) and adverse effects were extract from studies. Forest plots were created based on Cox model analysis.ResultsAfter screening 550 studies, a total of 3 studies were included, which compared the safety and effectiveness of TAS-102 with or without bevacizumab. Analysis based on Cox regression showed that the combined treatment group had advantages in 6-month (OR= 2.93, 95% CI: 1.72 to 5.00, PConclusionBevacizumab combined with TAS-102 could improve the prognosis of patients with mCRC who have failed standard treatment. In terms of side effects, the addition of bevacizumab did not increase serious adverse reactions, but the occurrence of thrombocytopenia was worth noting.

Antisense oligonucleotide (AO) therapy has been the specific treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, with ongoing clinical trials. However, therapeutic applications of AOs remain limited, particularly because of the lack of efficient cellular delivery methods imperative for achieving efficacy. In this study, we investigated a few aminoglycosides (AGs) for their potential to improve the delivery of antisense phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomer (PMO) both in vitro and in vivo. AGs had lower cytotoxicity compared with Endoporter, the currently most effective delivery reagent for PMO in vitro, and improved efficiency in PMO delivery 9- to 15-fold over PMO alone. Significant enhancement in systemic PMO-targeted dystrophin exon 23 skipping was observed in mdx mice, up to a 6-fold increase with AG3 (kanamycin) and AG7 (sisomicin) compared with PMO only. No muscle damage could be detected clearly with the test dosages. These results establish AGs as PMO delivery-enhancing agents for treating muscular dystrophy or other diseases., Graphical Abstract

Aims To evaluate the therapeutic benefits of Hesperidin (Hes) using an imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasis-like mouse model and human immortalized keratinocytes (HaCaT) cells stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Methods Mice were treated with IMQ and orally administered Hes (125–500 mg/kg/day), methotrexate (MTX) 1 mg/kg/day or distilled water. HaCaT cells were stimulated with LPS (1 μg/mL) and relevant indices were measured after administration with different concentrations of Hes (5–20 μg/mL) for 24 h. Inflammatory skin lesions in IMQ mice were evaluated using the psoriasis area severity index (PASI) and pathological staining. Proteins in the IRS-1/ERK1/2 pathway and inflammatory factors were assessed using western blotting or quantitative real-time PCR. In addition, factors related to IRS-1 secretion levels were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Extracellular flux (XF) analysis was used to assess cellular metabolic levels. Key findings Hes significantly improved psoriasis-like skin lesions of IMQ-treated mice and inhibited LPS-induced HaCaT cell proliferation. In addition, Hes remarkably decreased PASI scores, reduced epidermal thickness, decreased proliferation and differentiation of epidermal cells, inhibited mRNA expression of inflammatory factors, reduced local skin lesions and serum insulin and glucose levels. Furthermore, Hes modulated the secretion levels of serum Leptin, Adiponectin and Resistin, and inhibited the activation of the IRS-1/ERK1/2 signaling pathway and regulated HaCaT cells metabolism. Significance This study demonstrated that Hes administration could have significant therapeutic value for the prevention and clinical treatment of psoriasis.

Objective: A retrospective study of the real world was conducted to analyze whether patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer (URPC) can benefit from conversion therapy, and to screen out pancreatic cancer patients who are suitable for conversion therapy.Patients and Methods: Inquired about patients with URPC who visited Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital from January 2015 to April 2021. We selected 25 patients with URPC who underwent conversion therapy, and 19 patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) who directly underwent surgery to conducted a retrospective analysis. Results: The median overall survival (OS) of 25 patients with URPC who received conversion therapy was 28 months (95%CI: 15.46-40.54 months), and the median progression-free survival (PFS) was 12 months (95%CI: 9.26-14.74 months). The curative resection (R0) rate was 84% (22/25).Conclusions: Conversion therapy improves the R0 rate of patients with URPC, and prolongs OS and PFS.

In recent years, many target detection methods for hyperspectral images based on sparse representation (SR) theory have been proposed and achieved good results. However, these methods still have some deficiencies. Specifically, these methods usually give the same weight to the pixels in the neighborhood when they use the spatial information, and obtain the spectral average features to replace the spectral features of the central pixel. However, the influence of each pixel in the neighborhood of the central pixel may be different. In addition, when the dictionary learning method is used for target detection, its performance depends on the constructed dictionary. To solve these problems, an innovative target detection method based on spatial-spectral joint weighted dictionary learning with an online updating mechanism is proposed. First of all, different from traditional SR method, this method integrates the spatial adaptive neighborhood information into the sparse coding stage to realize the spatial-spectral weighted joint SR. Second, the online dictionary updating mechanism and a two-step optimization method are used together to update the dictionary and sparse coding coefficients alternately, which can learn the optimal dictionary set in real time. The experimental results show that the proposed method has better performance when compared with four state-of-the-art dictionary learning-based methods for hyperspectral target detection.

Background Pancreatic cancer has a high incidence and mortality. Most patients are in an advanced stage at the time of initial diagnosis and cannot be cured by a single surgery. The ASCO clinical practice guideline emphasized the overall management and multidisciplinary comprehensive treatment which put forward the concept of conversion therapy. In this paper, the real-world observation and study were carried out to explore the conversion effect of chemotherapy in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer and their long-term survival. Methods The subjects of this study are advanced pancreatic cancer patients who visited the oncology department of Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital from 2015 to 2019. Collected and summarized the cases, and selected 5 representative patients for analysis, all of them received standard treatment (FOLFIRINOX, AS, AG, or GS). The progress, clinical evaluation, adverse reactions, and prognosis of these patients after conversion therapy were analyzed and discussed in conjunction with relevant literature. Results Five patients with advanced pancreatic cancer received conversion therapy with an average survival time of 29.8 months, two of them received surgical treatment, and postoperative evaluations were pathological complete response (pCR). The tolerance of chemotherapy was good in five patients, and no serious adverse reactions of grade 3 or 4 occurred. Conclusion Conversion therapy for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer strives for surgical opportunities of radical resection, prolongs survival and improves quality of life.

This article is an interview with the leading French translator, Prof. Noel Dutrait, about his translation of translation of modern Chinese literature in France

Video description is to convert rich information of video data into text information, Which has been attracting broad research attention in the Artificial Intelligence Community. Deep learning has given computers a strong understanding of one-dimensional picture data and two-dimensional video data. However, In real application scenarios, it still faces the problem of insufficient robustness. For example, the generated text information is unreasonable, the scene information and semantic information rich in video data cannot be extracted effectively. GAN (Generative Adversarial Nets) is a model that generates data using countermeasures, in recent years, which is widely used in text generation, dialogue system, image synthesis, etc. However, there has not been much effort on exploring GAN for Video description. In this paper, we design a new discriminant network on the basis of the traditional text description. In addition, we add the long-short Time memory networks into the model to minimize the loss of information in the encoding or decoding process, so as to generate more reasonable sentences. Experimental results demonstrate that our proposed model exceeds most video description methods in public datasets.

Gastric cancer is a common digestive tract tumor and the second most prevalent cancer. The prognosis of advanced gastric cancer is poor. Conversion therapy can reduce tumor burden, downgrade tumor, and increase the possibility of complete resection, thus prolonging the survival time of patients with gastric cancer. In conversion therapy, chemotherapy and targeted therapy are the main methods of medical treatment, which can control tumor growth and recurrence. As an antiangiogenic targeted drug, apatinib is widely used in the third-line treatment of advanced gastric cancer. Recent studies have shown that it may be of great help in rapid reduction of tumor stage and improvement of prognosis in conversion therapy. This study reported three cases of gastric cancer complicated with multiple abdominal and retroperitoneal lymph node metastases. After receiving apatinib combined with SOX regimen for four cycles, computed tomography showed that the focus and lymph node metastasis were reduced after treatment, and primary tumors were resected. Postoperative pathology result showed that the patients got R0 resection. After radical surgery, the maintenance therapy including apatinib was given. The progression-free survival time was more than 10 months. Apatinib combined with SOX regimen as a conversion therapy for advanced gastric adenocarcinoma increases the possibility of successful surgical resection, which might prolong the survival time of patients.

Evolution of crystalline quality of AlN via high-temperature (HT) annealing induced by different sapphire pretreatments is investigated. It is found that after HT annealing at 1700 °C for one hour, an AlN film grown on a nitridation treated sapphire substrate presents a much lower threading dislocation density (TDD) than that grown on an alumination treated one, indicating that the combination of nitridation and HT annealing is a more effective approach to achieve high quality AlN. It is verified that the much greater grain density of the nucleation layer induced by nitridation can produce more columns with much smaller sizes so that they can more easily rotate during the HT annealing to reduce the TDD more effectively. A deep ultraviolet light-emitting diode (285 nm) with an output power over 10 mW has been demonstrated on a HT annealed AlN template with sapphire substrate nitridation pretreatment, showing great potential for applications.

Growth behaviors of AlN on hexagonal configuration hole-type and truncated-cone-pillar-type nano-patterned sapphire substrates (NPSSs) have been investigated. It is found that threading dislocation density (TDD) of AlN grown on the hole-type NPSS reaches 4.87 × 108 cm−2, which is over one order of magnitude lower than the value 6.63 × 109 cm−2 on the pillar-type one with the same period and mesa width. It is verified that the TDD of AlN grown on NPSSs is greatly dominated by the area ratio of the coalescence zones and thus the NPSS pattern with a small coalescence area (SCA) ratio is the preferred choice for high-quality AlN epitaxy. Benefiting from the low-TDD AlN grown on the hole-type NPSS with an SCA, the internal quantum efficiency of the 281 nm AlGaN-based multiple quantum wells has reached 73.9% at 300 K.

In this work, a novel strategy for high-quality AlN templates epitaxy on sapphire substrates with sputtered buffer layers combined with a low- and high-temperature alteration technique is proposed. The best full width at half maximum values for (0002) and (1 1 ¯ 02) reflections are 207 and 377 arcsec, respectively. Investigations indicate the joint effect of growth mode control and sputtered buffer layer results in the improvement of AlN crystalline quality. Firstly, threading dislocations density can be significantly decreased due to the alteration from three-dimensional to two-dimensional growth mode. Moreover, the graded composition of AlON layer in the sputtered buffer layer is believed to alleviate lattice mismatch between sapphire substrates and AlN, which also contributes to low dislocations density in AlN templates.

Obesity-related renal disease is related to caloric excess promoting deleterious cellular responses. However, a full understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in progressive kidney disease, as well as a therapeutic strategy, is still absent. Fisetin (FIS), as a natural flavonoid, possesses various bioactivities in a number of disease models. However, its role in obesity-associated kidney injury is still unclear and requires elucidation. In our study, an obesity animal model was established using C57BL/6 mice fed with a normal chow diet (NCD) or high fat diet (HFD) for 16 weeks with or without FIS administration (20, 40 or 80 mg kg-1). Our results indicated that chronic HFD feeding led to a significant body weight gain in mice compared to the normal control group, accompanied by a marked insulin resistance and glucose intolerance, whereas FIS treatment exerted prominently protective effects. In addition, FIS significantly attenuated HFD-induced histological alterations in renal tissue samples. Moreover, FIS treatment down-regulated expression of kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1), and up-regulated nephrin and podocin expression levels in the kidneys of HFD-fed mice, improving their renal dysfunction. After HFD feeding, mice treated with FIS exhibited a decrease in phosphorylated IRS1Ser307, and an increase in phosphorylated glycogen synthase kinase 1 (IRS1Tyr608), AKT, forkhead box protein O1 (FOXO1) and glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3β. Furthermore, FIS administration markedly restrained the inflammatory response in the kidneys of HFD-challenged mice, as evidenced by the reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6), IL-1β and IL-18, which was attributed to the blockage of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) signaling. Importantly, FIS-treated obese mice exerted a remarkable decrease in RIP3 expressions in the kidneys compared to obese mice in the absence of FIS, along with an evident reduction in the NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3), an apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a Caspase recruitment domain (ASC) and Caspase-1. The protective effects of FIS against HFD-induced renal injury were verified in vitro using palmitate (PAL)-treated HK2 cells, an immortalized proximal tubule epithelial cell line from the adult human kidney. In summary, our results supported the notion that FIS functions as a promising agent to improve insulin resistance and inflammatory response against metabolic stress-induced renal injury.

This paper sheds considerable light on the potential of using cast steel technology for seismic-resistant H-beam to tubular column joints. The considered cast modular joint was an integral assembly of joint zone, beam linking zone, and column linking zone, and the joint geometry was carefully designed to overcome some fracture-related issues that conventional joints may have. The research commenced with a set of tensile and cyclic coupon tests for a comprehensive understanding of the material properties of the entire cast modular joint at different key locations, where the material generally showed sufficient ductility, pronounced strain hardening, consistent yield and ultimate strengths, and plump hysteretic response. The following sub-frame tests covered two types of cast modular joints (Type-A and Type-B) with two column load ratios for each joint type. Each specimen represented a typical sub-frame consisting of a cast modular joint and connecting beams and columns. All the specimens exhibited good ductility and energy dissipation ability. No facture was observed at the welding zone which was relocated away from the column face, and as a result, ductile fracture was delayed to occur within the cast modular joint at very large drifts. Moreover, the shear deformation of the panel zone was sufficiently mobilised, and the energy dissipation mechanism of the sub-frame was featured by a combined action of panel zone in shear and beam section in flexural yielding. The codified design expressions for the strength and stiffness of the specimens were also revisited, and design comments were finally made.

The advancement of science and technology and the advent of a new era have made my country's medical education field show more vigorous vitality in the continuous development of the times. Therefore, how to improve the medical education reform in colleges and universities under the current social background has become a problem that needs to be solved by people. From different angles, the author looks for specific ways to promote reforms in an orderly manner, hoping to provide references for other medical educators.

Patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer account for a large proportion of patients with pancreatic cancer. According to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines, the patients with good performance status can undergo chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy. However, a growing number of clinical studies suggested that aggressive surgical treatment after chemotherapy may lead to longer survival. In this case series, we report the effect of conversion therapy in four patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer who visited Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital from January 2015 to October 2020. The clinical evaluation and prognosis of these patients after conversion therapy were analyzed and discussed in conjunction with relevant literature. The median overall survival time of the patients was 21.5 months. One patient who underwent surgery after chemotherapy achieved R0 resection. Another patient gave up the opportunity of surgery in the process of conversion therapy, but has been living with the tumor since. Taken together, the patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer can benefit from conversion therapy in achieving R0 resection or long-term survival if surgery is not implemented.

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) face many security challenges in their applications. In order to improve the security of WSNs, a trust security algorithm based on nodes behavior analysis and cloud model is proposed. According to the behavior characteristics of the conventional attacks, three kinds of trust factors are defined and introduced to the trust security algorithm: the transmission rate factor, the spatial correlation factor and the replay attack factor. The cloud model is used to judge the security status of the nodes according to these three trust factors. In the comprehensive calculation of the trust value, the time attenuation factor and the strategy for excluding the impersonation factor by historical evaluations are introduced. Moreover, the influence of the impersonation factor is further excluded by considering the acceptance domain of the trust distribution, and the defamatory nodes could get punished finally. Simulation experiments show that the proposed algorithm can detect the malicious nodes, identify the impersonation nodes, and resist on impersonation attacks effectively.

The relationship between scientific research and teaching is a focal point in the development of higher education. In different environments, the relationship between scientific research and teaching has different characteristics. With the continuous development of society and economy, the teaching and research in universities are facing new demands. The former elite education model is facing unprecedented challenges, and the relationship between teaching and research is being re-examined. At present, the research on the relationship between scientific research and teaching is mainly based on questionnaires. This paper USES big data analysis to design a model of the relationship between teaching and scientific research, and further empirical analysis of the relationship between the two. The aim is to deal with the relationship between teachers’ teaching ability and scientific research output correctly, promote the coordinated development of scientific research and teaching, provide a more favorable environment for the benign development of higher education, and further promote the development of colleges and universities in China.

A set of online particle detection devices was developed for the quick and accurate assessment of particle size and concentration in high-pressure natural gas that can be applied at any pressure below 10 MPa. In actual site tests with P=3.42 and 2.36 MPa, the online tested results of particle size and concentration are generally smaller compared to those of the offline gathered under atmospheric conditions. That is mainly due to the detection performance degradation of an optical particle counter caused by gas pressure change leading to the refractive index change of the sounding medium with which the optical paths of the incident light and scattering light are altered. Aiming to solve this problem, an analysis of the dynamic change of optical measurement volume of the optical detection system with gas pressure was conducted based on the gas state parameters and geometric optics theory, and a dynamic model of both was established that can be accompanied by a particle size modification method based on light scattering theory. After a correction of tested results, the deviations in median diameter and concentration between the modified online and offline test results were within an acceptable range. Therefore, the proposed modification is a feasible and reliable approach to enhance online particle detection.

The feasibility of three-dimensional (3D) printing technology combined with minimally invasive surgery in the treatment of pubic rami fractures was explored. From August 2015 to October 2017, a series of 30 patients who underwent surgical stabilization of their anterior pelvic ring (all utilizing the 3D printing technology) by one surgeon at a single hospital were studied. The minimally invasive incisions were made through anterior inferior cilia spine and pubic nodule. Data collected included the operative duration, the blood loss, the damage of the important tissue, the biographic union and the recovery of the function after the operation. Measurements on inlet and outlet pelvic cardiograph were made immediately post-operation and at all follow-up clinic visits. The scores of reduction and function were measured during follow-up. Results showed that the wounds of 30 patients were healed in the first stage, and there was no injury of important structures such as blood vessels and nerves. According to the Matta criteria, excellent effectiveness was obtained in 22 cases and good in 8 cases. According to the functional evaluation criteria of Majeed, excellent effectiveness was obtained in 21 cases and good in 9 cases. It was suggested that the 3D printing technology assisted by minimally invasive surgery can better evaluate the pelvic fracture before operation, which was helpful in plate modeling, and can shorten surgery duration and reduce intraoperative blood loss and complications. The positioning accuracy was improved, and better surgical result was finally achieved.

The control of stress, growth mode, and morphology in n-Al0.5Ga0.5N grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) were systematically investigated. A 2-μm-thick completely relaxed n-Al0.5Ga0.5N was obtained by adjusting the structure of AlN/Al0.5Ga0.5N superlattices. N-Al0.5Ga0.5N showed an excellent 2D growth at a growth rate of 0.55 µm/h. An almost pit-free surface was realized by lowering the V/III ratio. Finally, the electron concentration and mobility of the optimized n-Al0.5Ga0.5N reached up to 4.2×1018 cm−3 and 48.2 cm2/(V s), respectively. The MQWs grown on the optimized n-Al0.5Ga0.5N demonstrated an outstanding internal quantum efficiency of 47% at 283 nm.

Dystrophin exon skipping in mdx mice has been the key model for the development of antisense therapy in vivo. Evaluation of exon skipping in this model involves the following two aspects: (1) efficiency and accuracy of exon skipping and levels of dystrophin expression determined by RT-PCR, immunochemistry, and western blotting; (2) therapeutic effects on muscle pathology and functions assessed by histology and functional assays including grip strength measurement, treadmill test, echocardiogram, and hemodynamics for cardiac functions. Here we describe some key considerations and the essential methodologies in detail for exon skipping in mdx mice.

// Yanlu Xiong 1, * , Tao Wang 1, * , Mingxing Wang 1 , Jinbo Zhao 1 , Xiaofei Li 1 , Zhipei Zhang 1 , Yongsheng Zhou 3 , Jiabao Liu 3 , Lintao Jia 2 and Yong Han 1 1 Department of Thoracic Surgery, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China 2 State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China 3 Department of Neurobiology and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China * These authors contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Yong Han, email: hanyong_td@163.com Lintao Jia, email: jialth@fmmu.edu.cn Keywords: lncRNA; NSCLC; biomarker; prognosis; malignancy Received: July 13, 2017 Accepted: November 14, 2017 Published: January 04, 2018 ABSTRACT Objectives: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is associated with high morbidity and mortality, leading the understanding the pathogenesis paramount. Recent studies suggest that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an important role in NSCLC. We conducted a systematic review to examine the relationship between lncRNAs and NSCLC. Materials and Methods: We calculated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to estimate overall survival (OS), and odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs to assess clinicopathological parameters. Also, pooled sensitivity and specificity values were used to measure the diagnostic value of lncRNAs for NSCLC. Finally, we summarized the molecular mechanisms underlying the activity of lncRNAs in NSCLC. Results: We found that high expression of oncogenic lncRNAs was associated with a poor prognosis (OS: HR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.14–1.22) and poor clinicopathological characteristics (tumor size: OR, 2.74 or 2.04; 95% CI, 1.66–4.52 or 1.09–3.79 based on the two classification criterias; lymph node metastasis: OR, 3.30; 95% Cl, 2.42–4.49), Also, high expression of tumor-suppressor lncRNAs was correlated with longer survival times (OS: HR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.44–0.66) and improved clinical characteristics (tumor size: OR, 0.33 or 0.28; 95% CI, 0.14–0.75 or 0.18–0.45; lymph node metastasis: OR, 0.37; 95% Cl, 0.26–0.52). Furthermore, we found that lncRNAs could be used as serum biomarkers of NSCLC (sensitivity: 0.81; 95% CI, 0.72–0.87; specificity: 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73–0.90). Finally, lncRNAs regulated expression of key proteins, thereby mediating development of a malignant phenotype. Conclusions: lncRNAs have significant clinical value in NSCLC and could function as novel predictors of disease and/or as therapeutic targets.

// Mingxing Wang 1, * , Wanjun Li 2, * , Xuemei Xing 3, * , Dan Zhang 4 , Jie Lei 1 and Guoyin Li 2, 5 1 Department of Thoracic Surgery, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China 2 Department of Pathology, Hanzhong 3201 Hospital Affiliated to Xi’anJiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China 3 Department of Clinical Laboratory, Hanzhong 3201 Hospital Affiliated to Xi’anJiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China 4 Department of Oncology, Hanzhong 3201 Hospital Affiliated to Xi’anJiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China 5 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China * These authors are co-first authors Correspondence to: Jie Lei, email: leijiemd@163.com Guoyin Li, email: guoyin0604@163.com Keywords: NSCLC, BRCA1 and STMN, chemotherapy, prognosis Received: April 03, 2017 Accepted: August 08, 2017 Published: September 08, 2017 ABSTRACT Objective: In this study, we aimed to investigate the predictive effect of BRCA1 , STMN1 , MAPT and TUBB3 on the prognosis of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: Seventy NSCLC patients who received platinum-based chemotherapy from June 2009 to July 2011 were enrolled. The protein and mRNA levels of BRCA1 , STMN1 , MAPT and TUBB3 were determined. Survival time of the patients with NSCLC was also calculated. Results: High expression of BRCA1 or low expression of STMN1 was associated with a better prognosis in NSCLC patients ( p 0.05). Furthermore, patients with high expression of BRCA1 and low expression of STMN1 have lived longer ( p

A kind of joining method for magnesium alloys, rotation friction pressing riveting (RFPR), is proposed in this paper. In RFPR operation, a rivet with a plug rotating at high speed is brought to contact with the riveted sheets, generating frictional heat between the rivet and riveted sheets, which softens the sheet materials and enables the rivet to be drilled into the sheets under reduced force. When fully inserted, the rivet is stopped rotating, and the plug is immediately pressed into the shank of the rivet by a punch. The expansive deformation of the rivet shank occurs under the action of the plug, thereby forming a mechanical interlock between the rivet and the sheets to fasten the sheets together. The studies show that RFPR of AZ31 magnesium alloy sheet can be carried out at ambient temperature, and provides the joints with superior shear strength and fatigue property when compared with self-piercing riveting (SPR). The effects of the operating parameters of RFPR process on the quality of the joints were investigated in the study. The results shows that while the rivet rotation speed little affects the shear strength of RFPR joints, the punch pressure has a significant influence on the mechanical properties of the RFPR joints. A numerical analysis was also performed to understand the effect of the punch pressure on the interlock between the rivet and the sheets, and the stress and strain distribution inside the sheet materials around the rivet. The results show that the interlock increased with the punch pressure and there is residual compressive stress inside the sheet materials, which seems to explain the good fatigue property of RFPR joints observed.

AlGaN-based deep-ultraviolet light emitting diodes adopting an embedded delta-AlGaN thin layer with an Al composition higher than that in conventional barriers have been investigated. The experimental result shows that when the current is below 250 mA, the maximum of the external quantum efficiency and light output power for the proposed structure reach severally 1.38% and 10.1 mW, which are enhanced significantly by 160% and 197%, respectively, compared to the conventional ones, showing a tremendous improvement. We attribute that to the inserted delta-thin layer's modulation effect on the energy band, namely, accelerating holes to cross the high barrier with very large kinetic energy, thus increasing the hole injection into the active regions. Meanwhile, the electron concentration within the active regions is enhanced as well because of the accompanying additional effect of the delta-AlGaN thin layer being an electron barrier to block electrons escaping from the active region.AlGaN-based deep-ultraviolet light emitting diodes adopting an embedded delta-AlGaN thin layer with an Al composition higher than that in conventional barriers have been investigated. The experimental result shows that when the current is below 250 mA, the maximum of the external quantum efficiency and light output power for the proposed structure reach severally 1.38% and 10.1 mW, which are enhanced significantly by 160% and 197%, respectively, compared to the conventional ones, showing a tremendous improvement. We attribute that to the inserted delta-thin layer's modulation effect on the energy band, namely, accelerating holes to cross the high barrier with very large kinetic energy, thus increasing the hole injection into the active regions. Meanwhile, the electron concentration within the active regions is enhanced as well because of the accompanying additional effect of the delta-AlGaN thin layer being an electron barrier to block electrons escaping from the active region.

To study the impacts of emission controls on aerosol physical and chemical properties, real-time measurements of size-resolved aerosol number concentration and chemical composition were conducted in urban Beijing during the 2014 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in a period that a series of measures, for example shutting down or halting production from factories and power plants, and restricting the number of vehicles on the roads were implemented in Beijing and surrounding regions. Significantly, reductions in particle mass concentration (55% for PM2.5 and 48% for PM10) were observed during the APEC summit. A clear decrease in secondary inorganic aerosols (SIA), such as sulphate, nitrate and ammonium, was found during APEC, with the reduction ranged from 65.7 to 72.2% for PM1, in which sulphate showed the largest decrease compared with periods before APEC. As a comparison, organics showed a much smaller decrease of 44.3% for PM1 during APEC. These changes were mainly caused by large reductions in accumulation mode particles, which decreased by 36% compared with 19% for Aitken mode particles. The results from the positive matrix factorization (PMF) of particle number concentration indicate that regionally transported aerosols showed significant decreases (70%), similar to those of SIA during APEC, whereas primary factors from traffic and local combustion sources presented much smaller decreases, with the reduction ranged from 4 to 40%. The elevated contributions of these sources indicated the presence of strong local source emissions. The changes in particle chemical composition, size distribution and sources during the evolution of pollution episodes with and without emission controls are further illustrated. Our results highlight the importance of regional atmospheric transport in the formation of severe pollution episodes in Beijing, indicating that reducing the precursors of secondary aerosol over regional scales represent the key steps to reduce the urban particulate pollution. However, stricter emission controls on local source emissions are needed to further mitigate air pollution in Beijing.

With the increase of the Web applications, efficient and reliable test has become a practical necessary to improve the reliability of Web applications. Due to the dynamic and uncertain characteristics of Web applications, traditional testing methods are hard to make good performance. Agent could be adapted in the distributed environment which are intelligent and initiative. An adaptive Web application testing framework based on Multi-Agent collaboration theory (ATFBMA) is proposed in this paper. ATFBMA satisfies the dynamics and uncertainties of the adaptive Web application testing. Meanwhile, layered and role-divided Multi-Agent architecture is constructed. Agents are divided into different roles depending on the responsibilities and capabilities. The architecture supports the test requirements of function and structure, and improves test efficiency through the division and distribution of test tasks. A user management system is used to verify the practicality and intelligence of ATFBMAC.

We report epitaxial growth of AlN films with atomically flat surface on nano-patterned sapphire substrates (NPSS) prepared by nano-imprint lithography. The crystalline quality can be greatly improved by using the optimized 1-μm-period NPSS. The X-ray diffraction ω-scan full width at half maximum values for (0002) and (10"Equation missing"2) reflections are 171 and 205 arcsec, respectively. The optimized NPSS contribute to eliminating almost entirely the threading dislocations (TDs) originating from the AlN/sapphire interface via bending the dislocations by image force from the void sidewalls before coalescence. In addition, reducing the misorientations of the adjacent regions during coalescence adopting the low lateral growth rate is also essential for decreasing TDs in the upper AlN epilayer.

Staggered AlGaN quantum wells (QWs) are designed to enhance the transverse-electric (TE) polarized optical emission in deep ultraviolet (DUV) light- emitting diodes (LED). The optical polarization properties of the conventional and staggered AlGaN QWs are investigated by a theoretical model based on the k·p method as well as polarized photoluminescence (PL) measurements. Based on an analysis of the valence subbands and momentum matrix elements, it is found that AlGaN QWs with step-function-like Al content in QWs offers much stronger TE polarized emission in comparison to that from conventional AlGaN QWs. Experimental results show that the degree of the PL polarization at room temperature can be enhanced from 20.8% of conventional AlGaN QWs to 40.2% of staggered AlGaN QWs grown by MOCVD, which is in good agreement with the theoretical simulation. It suggests that polarization band engineering via staggered AlGaN QWs can be well applied in high efficiency AlGaN-based DUV LEDs.

With the aim to achieve fast and accurate online measurement of particle size and concentration in different high-pressure gas, the application of an optical particle counter (OPC) is extended from atmospheric pressure to high-pressure conditions (more than 2 MPa). But with the increase of the gas pressure, the performance of the OPC is reduced, resulting in the error of the tested particle size. In order to resolve this problem, an optimization model of optical window thickness is established for the optical sensor of the OPC based on the geometric optics theory. The effects of gas pressure, temperature, and medium on the optimized model are analyzed, which are helpful to improve the accuracy of the optical sensor. Finally, the feasibility, reliability, and accuracy of the method are verified through experiments.

Method of drain bias sweeping is reported to reduce the gate-induced drain leakage (GIDL) current but with other electrical parameters unaffected for p-type polycrystalline silicon thin-film transistors. It is proposed to be due to local electron trapping in the gate oxide near the drain after drain-bias sweeping such that the gate bias effect is screened. The effects of drain bias sweeping can be achieved equivalently by a DC bias stress. It is further proposed that pulsed drain bias sweeping is a most reliable method to achieve suppressed GIDL current and unaffected subthreshold and on-state characteristics.

Based on the Pao-Sah model, and the assumption of Gaussian and exponential distribution for the density of states respectively for the deep and tail traps in the band gap, a unified drain current is derived, which can fit experimental IV characteristics at different temperatures for both a-InGaZnO TFTs and poly-Si TFTs based on different technologies, with a set of model parameters independent of temperature.

Reduction in the off-state leakage current of p-type low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin-film transistors (TFTs) after negative bias sweeping is observed and reported in this paper. It is found that the subthreshold and on-state characteristics of poly-Si TFTs are almost unaffected. Electron trapping locally in the gate oxide near the drain during negative biasing is proposed to be the underlying mechanism. The most effective bias for leakage current suppression locates in the region that kink effect occurs.

High energy efficiency and lower delay of data delivery are the most critical and fundamental requirements for wireless sensor networks (WSNs). In this paper, EEGDF, as a novel energy efficient geography-based data forwarding algorithm, is proposed to prolong WSN lifetime and reduce multi-hop delay. Firstly, by utilizing dual radio channel cooperation of node and probability-based cooperation listening in each listening cycle of network, EEGDF can guarantee coherence of local connectivity degree of nodes, and reduce energy consumption of nodes in WSN. Secondly, by adopting the scheme of cost function and priority based on location information and quality of link, EEGDF can disperse the competition among the candidate forwarder nodes and select the optimal forwarder node to reduce delay and control overhead. Our simulation results show that EEGD outperforms GeRaF in terms of energy consumption, multi-hop delay, data delivery rate and balancing residual energy among the network nodes.

The objective of to develop high refractive index (HRI) chemical amplified resists (CAR), which are composed of HRI photoacid generator (PAG) bound polymer resists, and incorporate HRI nanoparticles into the polymer matrix. Therefore, this new series of nanocomposite resists should be effective for 193 nm immersion lithography with high RI, to obtain feature sizes down to 32 nm or lower.

Chemically amplified resists (CAR) have successfully facilitated the development of deep ultra-violet (DUV) and 193 nm lithography techniques for more than two decades due to their acid-catalyzed deprotection scheme that enhances their photospeed. This acid-catalyzed mechanism provides a method for amplifying the initial chemical reactions caused by interaction of radiation with the resist film, thus making each interaction event between radiation and resist more productive. However, when switching from low energy photolysis to high energy radiolysis, changes in the manner in which the radiation interacts with the resist material can alter the acid generation efficiency and mechanism of PAG excitation. In high energy radiation cases where the radiation energy exceeds the ionization potential of the PAG and the polymer resin, the radiation absorption in the resist film becomes non-selective. The ratio of PAG excited by direct excitation as compared to polymer or matrix sensitization pathways can shift heavily in favor of matrix sensitization in such high energy exposure cases. Such sensitization pathways may become a potential method for enhancing resist sensitivity under high energy radiation through careful selection of matrix and PAG materials. A better understanding and study the efficiency of acid generation through direct and indirect PAG excitation pathways and the effect of PAG and matrix structure on these pathways would be extremely valuable for the design of future high sensitivity resist materials. In this work, the acid generation of typical ionic (onium salt) and non-ionic PAGs under DUV (248 nm) and electron-beam exposure in polymer film have been studied. The effect of PAG type and structure on its acid generation under photolysis and radiolysis has been determined. The effect of polymer resin structure on PAG photoacid generation under photolysis and radiolysis has also been investigated. Concepts for PAG and polymer design for producing enhanced sensitivity resists for excitational and ionizational exposure is discussed.

A new series of methacrylate substituted benzene sulfonic photoacid generators (PAGs) and a perfluoro alkanesulfonic PAG, bound polymeric resists based on hydroxystyrene (HS) and 2-ethyl-2-adamantyl methacrylate (EA) were prepared and characterized. The acid yield of these PAG bound polymer resists was among the range of 54-81% under deep ultraviolet exposure (254 nm) that agrees well with the electron withdrawing effect of the substituents on the PAG anion for enhancing acid generation efficiency. The intrinsic lithography performance of these polymer-bound PAG resists showed sub-50 nm half-pitch resolution and < 5 nm LER (3σ).

Substantially improved photoresist material designs, which can provide higher photosensitivity and precise critical dimension and edge roughness control, will be required to enable the application of next generation lithography technology to the production of future sub-65 nm node IC device generations. The development and characterization of novel material platforms that solve the aforementioned basic problems with chemically amplified resists (CARs) is essential and is already one of the major subjects of modern lithography research. In that regard, we have pursued development of a variety of 193 nm and EUV CARs that contain photoacid generator (PAG) units covalently bonded directly to the resin polymer backbone. However, the detailed structure-property relationships that result from this direct attachment of the PAG functional group to the polymer have previously not yet been rigorously characterized. In this work, the lithographic properties of a polymer-bound PAG CAR (GBLMA-co-EAMA-co-F4-MBS.TPS) and its blended-PAG analog resist (GBLMA-co-EAMA blend F4-IBBS.TPS) were studied and compared. The direct incorporation of PAG functionality into the resist polymer, where the resulting photoacid remains bound to the polymer, showed improved photosensitivity, resolution, and lower LER as compared with the analogous blended-PAG resist. The improved resolution and LER were expected due to the restricted photoacid diffusion and uniform PAG distribution provided by direct incorporation of the PAG into the polymer backbone to make a single-component resist material. The ability to load higher levels of PAG into the resist provided by this PAG incorporation into the polymer, as compared to the low PAG concentrations attainable by traditional blending approaches, overcomes the sensitivity loss that should result from reduction in photoacid diffusivity and concomitant smaller acid-catalytic chain lengths. In fact, the polymer-bound PAG resist achieves a faster photospeed than the blended-PAG analog material under DUV radiation in the case of the materials reported here while still providing all of the aforementioned improvements such as the improved line edge roughness.

A series of new anionic PAGs, as well as PAG bound polymers designed for use in 193 nm photoresist materials have been synthesized and characterized. These novel materials provide optical transparency at 193 nm and also etch resistance. The fluorine substituted PAG bound polymer and PAG blend resist provided 110 nm (220 nm pitch) line/space at 11.5, 13.0 mJ/cm2, and 80 nm isolated features at 3, 1 mJ/cm2, respectively. The LER (3s) results showed the fluorinated PAG bound polymer have LER values 6.7 nm and 6.8 nm for isolated 80 nm and dense 110 nm lines respectively, which were lower than the PAG Blend polymers

A new series of anionic photoacid generators (PAGs), and corresponding polymers were prepared. The thermostability of PAG bound polymers was superior to PAG blend polymers. PAG incorporated into the polymer main chain showed improved resolution when compared with the PAG blend polymers. This was demonstrated by Extreme Ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) results: the fluorine PAG bound polymer resist gave 45 nm (1:1), 35 nm (1:2), 30 nm (1:3) and 20 nm (1:4) Line/Space as well as the 50 nm (1:1),30 nm (1:2) elbow patterns.

Current resist materials suffer from a number of problems which must be addressed to allow continued scaling of memory and logic devices. The incompatibility of the photoacid generator (PAG) and the polymer matrix is addressed in this study. This incompatibility leads to lowered acid generation efficiency, non-uniform acid distribution and migration, and phase separation. These issues ultimately lead to undesirable, premature and non-uniform deprotection reactions in the chemically amplified resist. To alleviate these problems, it is proposed that PAG units be incorporated in the resist chain to make a one-component resist, rather than blending monomeric PAG with the resist polymer. Also, polymer bound PAG resists exhibit higher stability, lower outgassing, and lower line edge roughness (LER) than corresponding resists. The polymer bound PAG resists, poly (γ-butyrolactone methacrylate-co-2-ethyl-2-adamantyl methacrylate-co-PAG), were synthesized using free radical polymerization. PAG incorporated resists, as well as PAG blended resists were exposed using the 193 nm ASML 5500/9xx optical lithography system, with 0.63 NA. Exposed wafers were evaluated using SEM. The triflate PAG incorporated resists provided 110 nm (220 nm pitch) line space features, and 80 nm isolated features. The PAG blended resists provided 130 nm (260 nm pitch) line space features. The associated photospeed for the 110 nm line space features was 8.2 mJ/cm 2 , which is within road map standards.

A new series of anionic photoacid generators (PAGs), and corresponding polymers were prepared. The thermostability of PAG bound polymers was superior to PAG blend polymers. PAG incorporated into the polymer main chain may improve acid diffusion compared with the PAG blend polymers, which was demonstrated by Extreme Ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) results: the fluorine PAG bound polymer resist gave 45 nm (1:1), 35 nm (1:2), 30 nm (1:3) and 20 nm (1:4) Line/Space as well as 50 nm (1:1) elbow patterned, showed better resolution than the blend sample.

Three research projects on a greenhouse gas emissions inventory in China have been completed in the past three years: the Asian Development Bank project, National Response Strategy for Global Climate Change: China; the World Bank/Global Environment Facility project, China: Issues and Options in Greenhouse Gas Emissions Control; and the China Science and Technology Commission—Environment Canada project, Beijing’s GHG Emission and Preliminary Control Measures. Both the Asian Development Bank and World Bank projects estimated China’s greenhouse gas emissions in 1990, while the Beijing project estimated the greenhouse gas emissions of Beijing in 1991. Emissions from energy and industry sources are entirely based on the three existing studies, which had small variations in their results. In the Asian Development Bank and World Bank studies of China’s 1990 data, carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels combustion were estimated to be between 2,255 and 2,380Tg CO2. From industrial processes, carbon dioxide emissions from cement production were estimated to be between 93.5 and 106.3 Tg CO2. Methane emissions from energy production and consumption activities were estimated to be between 8.20 and 19.37 Tg CH4. To reduce uncertainties, emissions from non-energy sources were combined with a more robust approach, especially for methane emissions from flooded rice fields. Methods for calculating methane emissions from rice fields and carbon dioxide absorption by forests in China were based on current studies in China. Emissions from non-energy sources were evaluated for methane released from domestic livestock, manure management, and flooded rice fields, and from uptake of carbon dioxide by forests. From the World Bank and Asian Development Bank studies, methane emissions from domestic livestock, manure, and rice fields were 6.2–5.5 Tg CH4, 2.7–3.0 Tg CH4, and 11.9–15.0 Tg CH4, respectively. Forests were found to be a net sink of carbon.