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Background: MicroRNAs can regulates tumor metastasis either as an oncomiR or suppressor miRNA. Here, we investigate the role of miR-224 in lymphatic metastasis of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: The expression of miR-224 was demonstrated by a validation cohort of 156 lung cancer patients (77 cases with lymphatic metastasis) by q-PCR. In vitro and in vivo experiments were performed to study the malignant phenotype after upregulation and inhibition of miR-224 expression. Furthermore, the direct target genes of miR-224 were determined by a luciferase reporter assay. Results: miR-224 was identified as a high expression miRNA in the tumor tissues with lymphatic metastasis) with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.57. Forced expression of miR-224 in H1299 cells promoted not only the cell viability, plate clone formation, migration and invasion in vitro, but also tumor growth and lung metastasis in vivo. Consistently, inhibition of miR-224 suppressed the malignant characters both in vitro and in vivo. Molecular mechanism research suggested that miR-422a targeted the ANGPTL1 as a novel tumor suppressor.Conclusions: The present study demonstrates that miR-224 is a potential marker for the prediction of lymphatic metastasis of NSCLC. And application of miR-224 may help for prophylactic intervention of NSCLC in clinical practice.

Background Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is a highly prevalent hip disease among children. However, its pathogenesis remains unclear. MicroRNAs (miRNA) are important regulators of cartilage development. In a previous study, high-throughput miRNA sequencing of tissue samples from an animal model of DDH showed a low level of miR-1-3p in the cartilage of the acetabular roof (ARC), but its role in DDH pathogenesis was not addressed. Therefore, our aim here was to investigate the effects of miR-1-3p in the ARC. Methods The diagnosis of acetabular dysplasia was confirmed with X-ray examination, while imaging and HE staining were conducted to further evaluate the ARC thickness in each animal model. FISH was employed to verify miR-1-3p expression in the ARC and chondrocytes. The miR-1-3p target genes were predicted by a bioinformatics database. A dual-luciferase reporter assay was used to confirm the targeting relationship between miR-1-3p and SOX9. The gene expression of miR-1-3p, SOX9, RUNX2 and collagen type X was evaluated by qPCR analysis. The protein expression of SOX9, RUNX2 and collagen type X was detected by western blot analysis. The levels of SOX9, RUNX2, and collagen type X in the ARC were further assessed via immunohistochemistry analysis. Finally, Alizarin Red S staining was used to observe the mineralized nodules produced by the chondrocytes. Results We observed low expression of miR-1-3p in the ARC of animals with DDH. SOX9 is a miR-1-3p target gene. Using miR-1-3p silencing technology in vitro, we demonstrated significantly reduced chondrocyte-generated mineralized nodules compared to those of the control. We also confirmed that with miR-1-3p silencing, SOX9 expression was upregulated, whereas the expression of genes associated with endochondral osteogenesis such as RUNX2 and collagen type X was downregulated. To confirm the involvement of miR-1-3p silencing in abnormal ossification through SOX9, we also performed a rescue experiment in which SOX9 silencing restored the low expression of RUNX2 and collagen type X produced by downregulated miR-1-3p expression. Finally, the elevated SOX9 levels and reduced RUNX2 and collagen type X levels in the ARC of rabbits with DDH were also verified using immunohistochemistry, RT-PCR, and western blots. Conclusion The relatively low expression of miR-1-3p in the ARC may be the cause of abnormal endochondral ossification in the acetabular roof of animals with DDH.

ObjectiveIdiopathic short stature (ISS), an endocrine-related disease, is difficult to diagnose. Previous studies have shown that many children with some inflammation-related diseases often have short stature, but whether inflammation is the underlying mechanism of ISS has not been studied. Here, we attempt to explore the role of inflammation in the occurrence and development of ISS and to demonstrate an available clinical diagnostic model of ISS.MethodsFrozen serum samples were collected from ISS patients (n = 4) and control individuals (n = 4). Isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) combined with LC-MS/MS analysis were applied to quantitative proteomics analysis. To assess clusters of potentially interacting proteins, functional enrichment (GO and KEGG) and protein-protein interaction network analyses were performed, and the crucial proteins were detected by Molecular Complex Detection (MCODE). Furthermore, serum levels of two selected proteins were measured by ELISA between ISS patients (n = 80) and controls (n = 80). In addition, experimentsin vitrowere used to further explore the effects of crucial proteins on endochondral ossification.ResultsA total of 437 proteins were quantified, and 84 DEPs (60 upregulated and 24 downregulated) were identified between patients with ISS and controls. Functional enrichment analysis showed that the DEPs were primarily enriched in blood microparticle, acute inflammatory response, protein activation cascade, collagen-containing extracellular matrix, platelet degranulation, etc. According to the results of top 10 fold change DEPs and MCODE analysis, C1QA and C1QB were selected to further experiment. The expression levels of C1QA and C1QB were validated in serum samples. Based on the logistic regression analysis and ROC curve analysis, we constructed a novel diagnostic model by serum levels of C1QA and C1QB with a specificity of 91.2% and a sensitivity of 75% (AUC = 0.900, p ConclusionOur study is the first to demonstrate the significant role of inflammation in the development of ISS. In addition, we identify C1QA and C1QB as novel serum biomarkers for the diagnosis of ISS.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is characterized by a high rate of incidence and recurrence, and resistance to chemotherapy may aggravate the poor prognosis of HCC patients. Sorafenib resistance is a conundrum to the treatment of advanced/recurrent HCC. Therefore, studies on the molecular pathogenesis of HCC and the resistance to sorafenib are of great interest. Here, we report that GINS1 was highly expressed in HCC tumors, associated with tumor grades, and predicted poor patient survival using Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases exploration. Cell cycle, cell proliferation assay and in vivo xenograft mouse model indicated that knocking down GINS1 induced in G1/S phase cell cycle arrest and decreased tumor cells proliferation in vitro and in vivo. Spheroid formation assay results showed that GINS1 promoted the stem cell activity of HCC tumor cells. Furthermore, GEO database (GSE17112) analysis showed that HRAS oncogenic gene set was enriched in GINS1 high-expressed cancer cells, and quantitative real-time PCR, and Western blot results proved that GINS1 enhanced HCC progression through regulating HRAS signaling pathway. Moreover, knocking down endogenous GINS1 with shGINS1 increased the sensitivity of HCC cells to sorafenib, and restoring HRAS or stem associated pathway partly recovered the sorafenib resistance. Overall, the collective findings highlight GINS1 functions in hepatocarcinogenesis and sorafenib resistance, and indicate its potential use of GINS1 in drug-resistant HCC.

Objective The complete view of the nerve root, including the extraforaminal zone, can be displayed by coronal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of three-dimensional (3D) fast-field echo with water-selective excitation (CMRI). However, its sensitivity, specificity, and reliability for the diagnosis of extraforaminal lumbar disc herniation are unclear. We compared the sensitivity, specificity, and reliability of conventional MRI, CMRI, and 3D MRI for the identification of extraforaminal lumbar disc herniation. Methods This study involved 140 patients (68 with extraforaminal lumbar disc herniation and 72 with paramedian disc herniation). Their mean age was 44.57 ± 14.59 years. Conventional MRI, CMRI, and 3D MRI of all patients were evaluated by five experts. The reliability, sensitivity, and specificity of the three imaging techniques for identification of extraforaminal lumbar disc herniation were compared using kappa statistics and the chi-squared test. Results CMRI showed higher agreement (0.843) than conventional MRI (0.671) and 3D MRI (0.771) for the identification of extraforaminal lumbar disc herniation. CMRI demonstrated higher sensitivity (95.6% vs. 91.2%) than conventional MRI (85.3% vs. 70.6%) and 3D MRI (92.6% vs. 86.7%) regardless of whether performed by junior or senior surgeons. Conclusions CMRI is helpful for identification of extraforaminal disc herniation by junior and senior orthopedic surgeons.

// Jianyong Xiao 1, * , Guangxian Zhang 1, * , Bin Li 2 , Yingya Wu 1 , Xijuan Liu 1 , Yuhui Tan 1 , Biaoyan Du 2 1 Department of Biochemistry, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510006, China 2 Department of Pathology, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510006, China * These authors contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Biaoyan Du, email: biaoyandu@163.com Yuhui Tan, email: yuhuitan@yeah.net Keywords: dioscin, melanoma, bystander effect, suicide gene, connexin Received: August 04, 2016 Accepted: November 15, 2016 Published: November 26, 2016 ABSTRACT Suicide gene therapy is a promising strategy against melanoma. However, the low efficiency of the gene transfer technique can limit its application. Our preliminary data showed that dioscin, a glucoside saponin, could upregulate the expression of connexins Cx26 and Cx43, major components of gap junctions, in melanoma cells. We hypothesized that dioscin may increase the bystander effect of herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase/ganciclovir (HSV-tk/GCV) through increasing the formation of gap junctions. Further analysis showed that dioscin indeed could increase the gap junctional intercellular communication in B16 melanoma cells, resulting in more efficient GCV-induced bystander killing in B16 tk cells. By contrast, overexpression of dominant negative Cx43 impaired the cell-cell communication of B16 cells and subsequently weakened the bystander effect of HSV-tk/GCV gene therapy. In vivo , combination treatment with dioscin and GCV of tumor-bearing mice with 30% positive B16 tk cells and 70% wild-type B16 cells caused a significant reduction in tumor volume and weight compared to treatment with GCV or dioscin alone. Taken together, these results demonstrated that dioscin could augment the bystander effect of the HSV-tk/GCV system through increasing connexin-mediated gap junction coupling.

// Na Li 1, * , Qi-Yue Zhang 1, * , Jian-Ling Zou 1 , Zhong-Wu Li 2 , Tian-Tian Tian 1 , Bin Dong 2 , Xi-Juan Liu 3 , Sai Ge 1 , Yan Zhu 1 , Jing Gao 1 , Lin Shen 1 1 Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing, China 2 Department of Pathology, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing, China 3 Central Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing, China * These authors contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Lin Shen, e-mail: lin100@medmail.com.cn Jing Gao, e-mail: gaojing_pumc@163.com Keywords: miR-215, gastric cancer, malignant progression, RUNX1 Received: July 02, 2015 Accepted: November 29, 2015 Published: December 23, 2015 ABSTRACT Objective: miR-215 was reported to be downregulated and functioned as a tumor suppressor in several cancers. In contrast, miR-215 was preferentially upregulated in gastric cancer (GC) according to our data. Thus, we studied the potential biological function of miR-215 in GC. Methods: miR-215 expression was measured in 77 paired GC tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues. Biological functions of miR-215 were analyzed using cell viability, colony formation, migration, invasion, cell cycle, apoptosis and luciferase assays as well as via tumorigenicity and metastasis analysis. Results: miR-215 was significantly upregulated in 7 GC cell lines and 77 GC tissues compared to adjacent non-tumor tissues ( P < 0.05), and miR-215 expression was greater in advanced GC (stage III/IV; P < 0.05). Ectopic expression of miR-215 in GES-1 and HGC-27 cells (low miR-215 expression) promoted cell growth, migration, invasion, and metastasis, and these were reversed in NCI-N87 cells (high miR-215 expression) after miR-215 downregulation. Potential target genes of miR-215 were predicted and RUNX1, a transcription factor and a tumor suppressor, was confirmed to be potential target according to luciferase studies. RUNX1 was downregulated in GC tissues compared to adjacent non-tumor tissues ( P < 0.05), and RUNX1 reversed partial function of miR-215 in vitro . Conclusion: miR-215 promotes malignant progression of GC by targeting RUNX1, and RUNX1 can partially reverse miR-215 effects.

This study develops a model for early warning of snow-caused livestock disasters on a county basis and proposes a method of qualitative risk assessment of snow disasters at 500 m resolution for pastoral areas on the Tibetan Plateau (TP). Data used for the model development include remote sensing data, statistical data of weather, livestock, and social economy, and 45 typical snow disaster cases from 2000 to 2010. The principal component analysis (PCA) approach is used to choose 7 crucial factors that contribute over 85% of information for early warning snow disasters on the TP. They are mean annual probability of snow disaster, number of snow-covered days, livestock stocking rate, continual days of mean daily temperature below −10 °C, grassland burial index, rate of snow-covered grassland, and per livestock gross domestic product. The chosen 411 cases from 2008 to 2010 are used to validate the prediction results from the developed early warning model, with an overall accuracy of 85.64% in predicting snow disasters and no disasters. This suggests that the early warning approach developed in the study has operational potential for predicting snow disasters on the TP.

Unprotected and excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation is the primary risk factor for skin cancer. Promoting sun safety practices to children and adolescents who recreate outdoors has the potential to reduce skin cancer occurrence later in life. Go Sun Smart (GSS), a sun safety program for employees and guests of ski areas was distributed to determine if an enhanced disseminations strategy was more effective than a basic dissemination strategy at reaching parents at ski and snowboard schools. On-site observations of GSS use and surveys of 909 parents/caregivers with children enrolled in ski and snowboard schools were conducted and analyzed using techniques for clustered designs. No differences were identified by dissemination strategy. Greater implementation of GSS was associated with greater parental recall of materials but not greater sun protection practices. Greater recall of messages, regardless of level of implementation, resulted in greater sun protection practices for children. GSS effectiveness trial’s favorable findings may have been successfully translated to ski and snowboard school across the North American ski industry. Ski areas that used more of the program materials appeared to reach parents with sun safety advice and thus convinced them to take more precautions for their children. Sun safety need not be at odds with children’s outdoor recreation activities.

There are no reports on the morphologic features of the entire pelvis in the subgroup of dislocation of hips according to the classification system of Tönnis. In addition, the correlation of excessive medial rotation of the lower pelvis with the increased acetabular anteversion was uncertain in the children with unilateral developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH).In the study, 74 patients with unilateral DDH and 31 subjects of normal control were involved, and the images of three-dimensional computed tomography (3D-CT) were retrospectively reconstructed to compare the acetabular anteversion angle (AA), the rotational angle of the upper pelvis (URA), and the rotational angle of the lower pelvis (LRA). The correlation of the AA with LRA was analyzed.In the group of grade II and IV, though the LRA was increased on the dislocated side as compared with the unaffected side (P0.05), the URA did not differ between the two sides (P0.05). There was positive correlation between AA and LRA on the dislocated side in the group of grade II, III, and IV.The excessive medial rotation of whole pelvis on the dislocated side was not universally presented in unilateral DDH. The excessive medial rotational deformity of the lower pelvis could induce increased acetabular anteversion. An individualized treatment plan based on the accurate assessment of morphologic features of the whole pelvis and the exact understanding for underlying causes of acetabular anteversion through 3D-CT should be considered to avoid complications during surgery.

Objective On 12 May 2008, the Wenchuan earthquake, registering 8 on the Richter scale, hit the Sichuan province, China. Management of the rescue efforts and characteristics of casualties were studied. Methods This is an observational descriptive study. Data were gathered from health services reports from the day of the earthquake on 12 May to 8 September 2008, as well as from field research. Information on the types of injuries from other studies of this earthquake was also reviewed. Results Casualties were concentrated in the hardest-hit areas of the province, and the number of deaths in those areas accounted for 77.10% of the total. Within the first 7 days, the types of injuries reported were mainly within the trauma/wound category (74.1–98.6%). After the seventh day, acute upper-respiratory-tract infections were the leading problem. Rescue forces included local, regional, military and foreign health personnel. The rescue work followed the principle of ‘centralising the wounded, the experts, the resources, and the treatment,’ and a three-level medical evacuation system was established. Conclusions The Wenchuan medical rescue effort presented several problems. The experience is reflected in these points: (1) establish an effective command and communication centre to ensure that medical rescue resources are deployed in time; (2) treat the wounded within the first 7 days; (3) prepare healthcare resources for both surgical and general medicine services; (4) establish contingency rescue plans with a coordinated effort; (5) insist on the principles of triage and adopt flexible evacuation and transfer methods.

This article presents a methodology for evaluating life safety risks due to lack of visibility in road tunnel fires. The methodology considers three realistic fire scenarios that involve smoke spread, occupant evacuation, and the reliability of fire suppression systems. The three fire scenarios represent three variations of fire growth rates. The road tunnel, in this study, is assumed to have two traffic tubes, a longitudinal ventilation system, and emergency exits and escape routes. The Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) software is used to model smoke spread and the time available for evacuation, based on a visibility limit when occupants cannot find their way to the emergency exits. A simple evacuation model is used to estimate the time required for occupants upwind of the fire to egress through the emergency exits. Vehicles downwind of the fire are assumed to continue moving and exit the tunnel safely. In two of the three fire scenarios, conditions in the tunnel become untenable rapidly, not allowing sufficient time for the occupants to egress safely. A simple risk assessment is used to estimate the number of fatalities, based on the number of occupants who are trapped in untenable conditions in the tunnel. The assessment indicates that a reliable fire suppression system could prevent heavy casualties in a tunnel fire.

STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective hospital-based study. OBJECTIVES: Traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) is considered to be an important public health problem worldwide. Only a few studies concerning the regional epidemiological characteristics of TSCI have been published in China. The purpose is to evaluate the epidemiological characteristics of TSCI in Heilongjiang province in northeast China. SETTING: The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University and the Fifth Hospital of Harbin City, Heilongjiang province. METHODS: Information of 232 patients who suffered from TSCI was gathered from their charts between January 2009 and December 2013. Information on sociodemographic variables was collected from each chart, including the patient's age, sex, occupation, injury time, causes and extent of injury. RESULTS: The average age of patients with TSCI was 45.35±14.35 years. The male/female ratio was 4:1. The incidence of TSCI increased gradually with age and peaked in the 46- to 60-year-old age category. The most common occupation was farm laborer (35.34%). Motor vehicle collisions, followed by falls, were found to be the leading cause of TSCI. Furthermore, the majority of TSCI patients (76.29%) suffered a cervical injury. CONCLUSION: The present study reveals that TSCI is an issue in the province, and it should not be ignored. Our results provide preliminary evidence and theoretical basis for developing an integrated control program for TSCI.Spinal Cord advance online publication, 26 July 2016; doi:10.1038/sc.2016.92. Language: en

Self-inflicted head and neck gunshot wounds are a common modality of suicide in the USA. This study reviewed all self-inflicted head and neck gunshot wound patients with complete records (n=157) treated at a tertiary centre between 2002 and 2012 inclusive. The associations between mortality and patient/clinical variables were evaluated with the χ(2) test or Fisher's exact test for statistical difference testing. Outcomes recorded were death (n=92, 59%), discharge to long-term care/rehabilitation (n=58, 37%), and discharge home (n=7, 4%). The majority of patients were male (86.6%) and single/separated/divorced (55.5%). The mortality rate by site, in descending order, was temporal 82%, frontal scalp 69%, submental/intraoral 30%, and neck 25%. Involvement of the central nervous system (n=127) resulted in a 70% mortality, but a lower mortality was observed among patients with an avulsion injury (P=0.025). A tracheostomy within 24h of admission was statistically associated with improved survival (P

Five fire scenarios have been simulated with the CFD model Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) to analyse the performance-based fire safety design of a 2935 m-long railway tunnel. The influence of tunnel longitudinal ventilation fan activation time, fire size and the type of burning materials on tunnel tenability was investigated based on variations of two primary scenarios: Scenario #1 assumed a 15 MW fire at the front end of a train, and Scenario #2 assumed a 15 MW fire at the rear of a train. In both scenarios the burning material was assumed to be predominantly polyurethane, and tunnel fans were assumed to activate 901 seconds after fire initiation. Scenario #3 was a variation of Scenario #1 with the dominant burning material changed to wood; Scenario #4 was a variation of Scenario #2 which assumed that fans activated 180 seconds after fire initiation; and Scenario #5 was a 6 MW fire, which was scaled down from the 15 MW fire of Scenario #1.For all of the scenarios, a reversible bi-directional venti...

The propagation and flow properties (temperature and velocity) of the ceiling jet front generated by a fire is essential for the prediction of detection response times and also important for the prediction of smoke filling in spaces having large floor area (for example 5000 m2) especially if the ceiling height is not large (for example less than 4 m). This paper develops a correlation based on experimental data in time-square growing fires to relate with time the distance the ceiling jet front has traveled. The correlation is in a form that can be applied to all growing fires including power law growing fires and is validated by comparison with existing experimental data for the initial development of steady fires and with CFD simulations. Moreover, generalized temperature rise and velocity histories near the front are proposed based on existing experiments in time square growing fires.

STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to systematically review the literature for pediatric cases of spinal cord injuries without radiologic abnormality (SCIWORA) to investigate any possible relationship between initial neurologic impairment and eventual neurologic status. SETTING: A university department of orthopedics. METHODS: Following the preferred reporting items for systemic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines for systematic review, the databases of PubMed and OvidSP were electronically searched for articles that use individuals under 18 years old, have trauma resulting in spinal cord injury and have no fractures or dislocations on radiographs. When available, the patients' age, sex, mechanism of injury and spinal cord level were recorded. Individuals with cervical injury, who had specific information on cervical level and mechanism of injury, were recorded as well. Patients who reported specific magnetic resonance imaging findings and the time from the injury were also reported. When possible, the American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS) was determined initially after the injury and then at last follow-up. RESULTS: A total of 433 pediatric patients were identified with SCIWORA. The most prevalent mechanism of injury was sports-related injury cases (39.83%) followed by fall (24.18%) and motor vehicle-related (23.18%) injuries. The mean improvement recorded for all patients was 0.89 AIS grades. CONCLUSION: The most common mechanism of injury was sports-related and cervical injury, which occurred more frequently than other levels. Initial AIS grade A showed poorer outcomes in the pediatric population compared with the adult population. Initial presentation of D showed the highest likelihood of no permanent neurologic impairment (AIS of E).Spinal Cord advance online publication, 14 July 2015; doi:10.1038/sc.2015.110. Language: en

It is known that suicide rates for Caucasians are higher than those for African-Americans. However, there has been little research examining whether risk factors associated with suicide differ by race, when the effects of age, gender, and educational-occupational status are taken into account. A matched case-control study was constructed from the 1986 National Mortality Followback Survey to address such concerns. Cases included all individuals aged between 25 and 64 years dying from suicide. Controls were those who died of natural causes, who were frequency matched to cases by age and gender. The study results for Caucasians indicate that those who had at least a high school education were more likely to commit suicide [odds ratio (OR) = 1.91; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.37-2.67] than those who had less than a high school education; those who were heavy drinkers were more likely to commit suicide (OR = 1.64; 95% CI = 1.16-2.33) than those who were light or moderate drinkers; those who lived alone were more likely to commit suicide (OR = 1.72; 95% CI = 1.28-2.30) than those who lived with others, those who had blue-collar occupations were more likely to commit suicide (OR = 1.79; 95% CI = 1.33-2.42) than those who had white-collar occupations, and those who had used mental health services were more likely to commit suicide (OR = 3.07; 95% CI = 2.34-4.01) than those who had not used them. For African-Americans, use of mental health services was the only factor significantly associated with suicide (OR = 4.56 95% CI = 1.69-12.29).

At present, the indications for femoral derotational osteotomy remain controversial due to the inconsistent findings in femoral neck anteversion in developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). Moreover, combined anteversion is not assessed in unilateral DDH using three dimensional-CT. Therefore, the purposes of our study were to observe whether the femoral neck anteversion (FA), acetabular anteversion (AA) and combined anteversion (CA) on the dislocated hips were universally presented in unilateral DDH according to the classification system of Tönnis.Sixty-two patients with unilateral dislocation of hip were involved in the study, including 54 females and eight males with a mean age of 21.63 months (range, 18-48 months). The FA, AA and CA were measured and compared between the dislocated hips and the unaffected hips.Although no significant difference was observed in FA between the dislocated hips and the unaffected hips (P = 0.067, 0.132, respectively) in Tönnis II and III type, FA was obviously increased on the dislocated hips compared with the unaffected hips in Tönnis IV type. Increased AA on the dislocated hips was a universal finding in Tönnis II, III and IV types. Meanwhile, a wide safe range of CA from 24° to 62° was demonstrated on the unaffected hips.Femoral derotational osteotomy seems not to be necessary in Tönnis II and III types in unilateral DDH. Femoral derotational osteotomy should be considered in DDH, especially in Tönnis IV type, if the CA is still above 62° and the hip joints present instability in operation after abnormal acetabular anteversion, acetabular index and acetabular coverage of the femoral head are recovered to normal range through pelvic osteotomy.

This paper puts forward a task-driven knowledge reuse framework for complex product design process. Domain ontology is used in the framework, which is fundamental for customization of the systems developed under this framework. The task representation model, as part of the domain ontology, is discussed in this paper; then a mechanism of sharing knowledge among instances of the same task class or between tasks which have some special relationships is discussed. The algorithm for generating knowledge learning schedule is also given based on the task relationship and the dependency of knowledge items. Through this framework, the task instances containing historical experiences of input and output can be stored and retrieved seamlessly during the execution of tasks without manual efforts.

Software Product Line (SPL) Engineering analyzes and applies various existing software modules from different systems in a domain for software mass customization. Feature models are often used to represent all of the product configurations in an SPL in terms of features. A main challenge in SPLs is how to select a good feature set to achieve customer requirements, subject to the constraints of feature model as well as the resource constraints. To solve it, this paper presents an approach to formalize the feature selection problem using 0-1 programming. Moreover we document the problem formalization in canonical form. Our approach makes it possible that most existing techniques for 0-1 programming can be used directly to deal with the feature selection problem in SPLs, which provides a new perspective to solve the problem and improve the efficiency.

The process planning task for given design requirements in layer-based additive manufacturing can be greatly improved by referencing a previously developed process plan along with manufacturing rules. In this paper, an ontology based knowledge modeling and reuse strategy toward process planning in additive manufacturing was proposed. Knowledge modeling included creating a design feature ontology that was used as a common information model both in CAD and process planning, representation of manufacturing rules that describe the principle and characteristics for selecting manufacturing variables. A case study of an attenuator housing illustrates the brief process of the proposed approach.

Redesigns of mechanical products depend much on reuse of existing design knowledge in an enterprise's database. An ontology based knowledge modeling approach and reuse strategy towards redesign process was proposed in this paper. According to the nature of redesign process of mechanical products and the characteristics of knowledge reuse during it, the redesign activities are classified into two basic types in the approach: structure redesign and parametric redesign. The relations between the concept nodes (structure or parameters) and its linkage knowledge (design cases, design rules, design criteria, and handbooks) are represented in the ontology model. Through locating the linkage knowledge according to the current scenario of redesign iteration, irrelevant knowledge items would thus be avoided in knowledge retrieval and the effectiveness and efficiency of knowledge reuse could be improved. A case of the redesign of a thread rolling board illustrates the proposed approach via adopting the approach in different redesign situation including both parametric redesign and structure redesign.

The state of art of the knowledge reuse and the categorizing of design knowledge are discussed in this paper. The concept of “multi-style knowledge” is proposed to describe the different knowledge during the design process of digital product. In addition, the method of knowledge fusion based on domain ontology is given after the study on knowledge integration. At last, the application of this method is interpreted by case study via knowledge reuse in the digital design process of a screw-rolling machine.

The integration of business process management (BPM) and knowledge management (KM) is both an opportunity and challenge for many large enterprises. However, comprehensive research and a cogent framework have not been proposed for service-oriented integration of BPM and KM, which were proposed independently. This paper focuses on the integration issue of knowledge and business processes. An integration model based on task space, process space and knowledge space is introduced. Four types of key functions of the integration model are described and fulfilled. Then, a service-oriented implementation framework based on the integration model is proposed. The main service workflow and various kinds of services involved are explained. A knowledge supply system for business problem solving and a case study are presented to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed integration model and framework.

Currently, ontology based information management systems have drawn great attentions. However, one of the challenges is how to manage the evolution of the ontology. If ontology evolution was not considered beforehand in the modeling phase of the system, then it may cause potential inconsistencies among the components of the ontology and the dependent applications. Besides the evolution of an ontology may interfere with the running of its dependent applications. Hence, in this paper the approaches of maintaining the consistency and keeping the continuousness of the dependent applications during the evolution are analyzed. Firstly, a virtual space based framework is put forward and most of the changes are to be made in the virtual space. Then two types of property changes are analyzed and solutions for processing them are given in detail. Besides, a register record approach is addressed for checking the dependency between the applications and the ontology schema.

The metrics model was proposed to record a design process from five aspects (product metric component, organization metric component, resource metric component, activity metric component and checking metric component) that are indivisible in a design process and relevant to each other in the model. By providing a rather full and detailed record of tracks of design process, the model enable us to recognize and measure a design process thoroughly and thus form a case-base of finished design projects. These cases then give us some guidance to optimize the upcoming project.

To investigate the effects of vehicle impact velocity and front-end structure on the dynamic responses of child pedestrians, an extensive parametric study was carried out using two child mathematical models at 6 and 15 years old. The effect of the vehicle impact velocity was studied at 30, 40, and 50 km/h in terms of the head linear velocity, impact angle, and head angular velocity as well as various injury parameters concerning the head, chest, pelvis, and lower extremities. The variation of vehicle front-end shape was determined according to the shape corridors of modern vehicles, while the stiffness characteristics of the bumper, hood edge, and hood were varied within stiffness corridors obtained from dynamic component tests. The simulation results show that the vehicle impact speed is of great importance on the kinematics and resulting injury severity of child pedestrians. A significant reduction in all injury parameters can be achieved as the vehicle impact speed decreases to 30 km/h. The head and lower extremities of children are at higher injury risks than other body regions. Older children are exposed to higher injury risks to the head and lower leg, whereas younger ones sustain more severe impact loads to the pelvis and upper leg. The results from factorial analysis indicate that the hood-edge height has a significant effect on the kinematics and head impact responses of children. A higher hood edge could reduce the severity of head impact for younger children, but aggravate the risks of head injury for older ones. A significant interaction exists between the bumper height and the hood-edge height on the head impact responses of younger child. Nevertheless, improving the energy absorption performance of the hood seems effective for mitigating the severity of head injuries for children.

Background Few published studies describe the complete injury profile of recruits in the basic military training in China. Aims/Objectives/Purpose To estimate the incidence rate of injuries among recruits in the basic military training (including training and non-training injuries) and to identify risk factors related to the occurrence of injuries. Methods A total of 1389 recruits were selected at random using two-stage sampling at six army camps and were prospectively followed from December 2010 to February 2011. Injury information was collected by the physicians. Incidence rate ratio (IRR) was used to measure the impact of factors based on two-level Poisson regression. Results/Outcomes In total, 130 injuries, 121 injured recruits were registered. The injury incidence rate was 9.4%, consisting of 20% non-training injuries. Injuries highly occurred at the fifth, sixth and ninth week. The most common injuries were sprain/strain/rub, accounting for 65.4% of all injuries. The majority of injury body was lower extremity, constituting 61.5% of all injuries. Fifty-three percent of training injuries occurred at physical training. Recruits from urban areas and who self-reported intolerable training intensity had high injury risk (IRR=1.51, 95% CI 1.02 to 2.22; IRR=2.32, 95% CI 1.46 to 3.70) compared to those from rural areas and who reported tolerable training intensity. Significance/Contribution to the Field In addition to training injuries, non-training injuries also cannot be neglected for injury prevention among recruits in the basic military training in China. Attention should be paid to recruits from urban areas and who reported intolerable training intensity, so as to prevent injuries among recruits in China.

Tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH), the rate limiting enzyme in serotonin biosynthesis, is one of the most important regulating factors in the serotonergic system. Recently, polymorphisms of the TPH gene have been identified as being associated with suicide, but the evidence is inconsistent. To investigate the role in suicide of one of the isoforms, TPH1, we examined the association of five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the promoter region and in intron 7 of the TPH1 gene based on a sample from the Chinese population of 810 subjects, of whom 329 had made no suicide attempts (NSA), 297 had made suicide attempts (SA), and 184 were healthy subjects (HS). In this study, we observed statistically significant differences between NSA and HS subjects in allele distributions on one marker, −6526A (p = 0.0329; odds ratio (OR) 1.36; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01 to 1.81). No significant difference in genotype distribution or allele frequencies of other polymorphisms was found between the suicide victims and the controls. The overall haplotype frequency was significantly different between cases and healthy controls (p = 0.000024 NSA v HS; p

Background To investigate the in vitro and in vivo antitumor activity of dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor BEZ235 (NVP-BEZ235) in HER2-positive gastric cancer. Methods HER2-positive breast cancer cell line (BT474), HER2-positive (NCI-N87 and SNU216), and HER2-negative (MKN45) gastric cancer cell lines were used in this study. Cell viability, cell cycle, and HER2 downstream signaling pathways were analyzed using the MTS assay, flow cytometry, and western blotting, respectively. For the in vivo experiments, HER2-positive gastric cancer patient-derived xenografts were treated with BEZ235 to assess its antitumor activity. Results The sensitivity of trastuzumab in BT474 cells was higher than that for NCI-N87 and SNU216 cells, which may be partially attributed to continuously active HER2 downstream signaling pathway. BEZ235 inhibited the proliferation of NCI-N87 and SNU216 cells in vitro in a dose-dependent manner by inducing the cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase. BEZ235 demonstrated greater inhibitory effects than trastuzumab, a unique targeted drug, in both the in vitro and in vivo set of experiments. Additionally, our results indicate that BEZ235 displayed some synergism with trastuzumab. BEZ235 exhibited its antitumor activity in gastric cancer by inhibiting important HER2 downstream signaling pathways, as indicated by the inhibition of phosphorylated AKT and S6. Conclusion The present study has demonstrated, for the first time, the antitumor activity of BEZ235 against HER2-positive gastric cancer in patient-derived xenografts, as well its synergistic interaction with trastuzumab. These important findings can be utilized to facilitate the design of future clinical trials. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-015-1900-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.