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// Yaxiong Zhang 1, 2, 3, * , Jin Sheng 1, 2, 3, * , Yunpeng Yang 1, 2, 3, * , Wenfeng Fang 1, 2, 3 , Shiyang Kang 2, 3, 4 , Yang He 5 , Shaodong Hong 1, 2, 3 , Jianhua Zhan 1, 2, 3 , Yuanyuan Zhao 1, 2, 3 , Cong Xue 1, 2, 3 , Yuxiang Ma 1, 2, 3 , Ting Zhou 1, 2, 3 , Shuxiang Ma 1, 2, 3 , Fangfang Gao 1, 2, 3 , Tao Qin 1, 2, 3 , Zhihuang Hu 1, 2, 3 , Ying Tian 1, 2, 3 , Xue Hou 1, 2, 3 , Yan Huang 1, 2, 3 , Ningning Zhou 1, 2, 3 , Hongyun Zhao 1, 2, 3 , Li Zhang 1, 2, 3 1 Department of Medical Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China 2 State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangzhou, China 3 Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, China 4 Department of Anesthesiology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China 5 Lau Luen Hung Private Medical Center, the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China * These authors have contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Li Zhang, e-mail: zhangli6@mail.sysu.edu.cn Keywords: EGFR-TKI, NSCLC, gefitinib, erlotinib, afatinib Received: January 21, 2016 Accepted: February 18, 2016 Published: February 25, 2016 ABSTRACT Background: To answer which epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) is the best choice for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) EGFR mutants. Results: 16 phase III randomized trials involving 2962 advanced NSCLC EGFR mutants were enrolled. Multiple treatment comparisons showed different EGFR-TKIs shared equivalent curative effect in terms of all outcome measures among the overall, chemo-naive and previously treated patients. Rank probabilities showed that erlotinib and afatinib had potentially better efficacy compared with gefitinib in both of the overall and chemo-naive patients. Potentially survival benefit of erlotinib was also observed in previously treated patients compared with gefitinib. Additionally, EGFR-TKI showed numerically greater survival benefit in 19 Del compared with chemotherapy, while it was opposite in 21 L858R. Furthermore, afatinib, erlotinib and gefitinib had high, moderate and low risk of rash & diarrhea, respectively, while the occurrence of elevated liver transaminase was more common in gefitinib. Methods: Data of objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and adverse events were extracted from included studies. Efficacy and toxicity of all included treatments were integrated by network meta-analyses. Conclusion: Our study indicated a high efficacy-high toxicity pattern of afatinib, a high efficacy-moderate toxicity pattern of erlotinib and a medium efficacy-moderate toxicity pattern of gefitinib. Recommended EGFR-TKI should be suggested according to patients’ tolerability and therapeutic efficacy in clinical practice. Moreover, the treatment for advanced EGFR-positive NSCLC might be different between 19 Del and 21 L858R.

High-density plasmonic Ag nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) have been synthesized on a three-dimensional framework of natural basil seeds as the inexpensive substrates for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The Ag-NPs decorated basil seeds (denoted as Ag-NPs@basil-seeds) are dipped into the analyte solution for rapid detection of methyl parathion in orange juice. Alternatively, they are incorporated into a microfluidic chip for online measurement of melamine in milk. The porous basil seeds can absorb trace melamine into the micro-cavity in the seeds, which load the melamine molecules into the gap where high-density “hot spots” appear under laser excitation. Hence the Ag-NPs@basil-seeds not only separate and pre-concentrate the trace analyte but also expose the analyte into the strong plasmonic field. This unique feature can eliminate the pre-treatment of analyte prior to SERS detection, and improve the sensitivity of the sensor.

We report a cheap synthetic approach to large-area ordered Ag nanodendrite cluster arrays as effective surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates, on a Zn plate coated with periodical porous photoresist via galvanic replacement reaction of Zn and AgNO3 in aqueous solution. Due to the geometrical confinement of the porous photoresist template coated on the Zn plate, the well-positioned Ag nanodendrite clusters are distributed on the Zn plate in ordered arrays. It is demonstrated that citric acid is essential to the formation of the nanodendrite cluster arrays. The resultant Ag nanodendrite cluster arrays not only have high SERS-activity to rhodamine 6G with good signal reproducibility but also can identify thiram (a widely-used pesticide) even at 0.1 μM level, showing potential in SERS-based detection of pesticide remnants in the environment.

A high free radical density polytriphenylamine derivative, poly(1-N,1-N,4-N-triphenyl-4-N-[4-(N-[4-(N-phenylanilino)phenyl]anilino)phenyl]benzene-1,4-diamine) (PFTP) has been synthesized and investigated as the cathode material of organic free radical batteries for the first time. The molecular structure, thermal-stability, morphology, spectral characteristics and electrochemical properties of the prepared polymer were characterized by Raman spectroscopy (RS), electron spin resonance (ESR), pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS), MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), ultraviolet visible spectroscopy (UV-vis), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Also, the charge–discharge properties of the prepared polymers were studied by galvanostatic charge–discharge testing. Compared to PTPA, it was found that PFTP not only had improved thermal stability and morphology, but also exhibited obvious four-electron redox characteristics. At a discharge current of 20 mA g−1, the PFTP electrode presented a multi-stage discharge platform and an improved discharge capacity of 74.2 mA h g−1 compared to PTPA, which could be attributed to the high free radical density and the improved morphology of the obtained novel polymer. The above exploratory work made it promising to design the multi-electron redox centers of the polytriphenylamine-based polymer to obtain improved electrochemical performance.

This report presents a simple and inexpensive fabrication approach to a flexible transparent composite film as a "cut-and-paste" surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate for in situ detection of organic pollutants. First, a self-assembled monolayer of Ag-nanocubes (Ag-NCs) is obtained at the air/water interface. Then, the Ag-NC monolayer is retrieved onto a flexible transparent polyethylene (PE) film to achieve an Ag-NC@PE composite film as a flexible SERS substrate. As the Ag-NCs in the monolayer are closely and uniformly packed on the PE film, the Ag-NC@PE composite film shows high SERS-activity with good signal homogeneity and reproducibility. Furthermore, the flexible transparent Ag-NC@PE composite film is "cut into" small pieces and directly "pasted" onto contaminated fruits for in situ SERS detection, as a result 10 nM thiram, 1 μM 4-polychlorinated biphenyl and 10 nM methyl parathion contaminants on oranges are detected, respectively. Therefore the Ag-NC@PE composite film is an inexpensive and effective SERS substrate for rapid in situ detection of organic pollutants in aqueous solutions, on fruits and other solid objects.

The influence of high-frequency vibration parallel to the sliding direction on friction force was analyzed by taking dry sliding friction pair of polymer composite and metal as the object of the research. A model of friction reduction with in-plane high-frequency vibration was proposed. The friction coefficient as a function of scale and direction of relative sliding velocity was discussed. The friction coefficient as a function of the amplitude of in-plane vibration velocity and sliding velocity was experimentally studied with a self-developed high-frequency vibration tribometer. The experimental results are in agreement with theoretical predictions. The results show that in-plane high-frequency vibration has obvious effect on reducing friction force under certain conditions.

Microwave-assisted hydrothermal liquefaction (MW-HTL) is a promising technology for the production of biocrude from biomass that usually consists of saccharide, lipid, protein and lignin. A few attempts have been recently made to study the MW-HTL of biomass, however exploration on biocrude formation under MW irradiation presents a gap in the research. MW-HTL of biomass model components and their mixtures were carried out, and it was found that saccharide and lipid interacted synergistically to produce higher volumes of biocrude under MW irradiation, while the antagonistic interaction was observed for protein-lipid and lignin-lipid. The influence of microwave and conventional heating on the yield/quality of biocrude was also compared by HTL of model components (individual, binary, ternary and quaternary mixtures) and actual feedstocks. The results of this comparison revealed that the influence of heating method depends on the nature of feedstock, for instance, MW irradiation led to a lower biocrude yield for saccharide, comparable biocrude yield for protein and lignin, and higher biocrude yield for lipids than conventional heating. HTL of Chlorella sp. microalgae under MW irradiation produced more biocrude than conventional heating, but HTL of spent coffee grounds and sawdust was not affected by different heating methods. The heating method also had negligible influence on the chemical composition of the resulting biocrude. Principle component analysis of the vast dataset obtained in this study also suggested that the influence of the selected heating method was highly associated with the substrates, however there is no certain preference on one heating method over the other.

Aim Tumor metastasis is the leading cause of death in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC), in which epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT) plays a vital role. However, the exact mechanisms of this process remain largely unknown. The aim of the present study was to determine the role of phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) in CRC metastasis by regulating EMT. Main methods Wound healing assays and Transwell matrix assays were used to evaluate the potential of PEITC to inhibit CRC cells invasion and migration in vitro. Western blotting, light microscopy and immunofluorescence assays were used to detect the occurrence of EMT. Luciferase activity assay, real time-PCR and western blotting were used to investigate TGF-β1/Smad signaling activity. Key findings We observed that PEITC, an isothiocyanate compound from crucifer with chemopreventive potential, inhibited the invasion and migration of CRC cells. Moreover, we showed that PEITC regulated the EMT of CRC cells. Additionally, we demonstrated that PEITC blocked the activation of the TGF-β1/Smad pathway and significantly suppressed TGF-β1-induced EMT. Significance Our results suggested that PEITC plays a crucial role in inhibiting the invasion and migration of CRC cells by regulating TGF-β1-induced EMT. The results of the present study provide a theoretical basis for the use of PEITC to treat CRC.

e21103 Background: Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a type of aggressive malignancy with poor prognosis, accounting for 15% of lung cancers. Intratumoral heterogeneity (ITH) has been investigated in lung adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma, but its role in SCLC still remains unclear. Exploring ITH and tumor evolution of SCLC is essential for its treatment and prognosis. Methods: 102 multi-regional tumor tissues were collected from 34 operative SCLC patients (pts) before systemic therapy during Sep. 2009 to Sep.2018 from Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center. All of the enrolled cases were confirmed as SCLC by immunohistochemistry. We performed whole-exome sequencing (WES) of all the tumor tissues and assessed the ITH using clonal and subclonal somatic mutations or copy number variants. ITH was defined as the proportion of subclonal genetic alterations of all. The relationship between ITH and overall survival (OS) was also explored. Results: Among the enrolled 34 SCLC pts, the median age was 64 year. 28 pts had the smoking history. 23 pts received adjuvant therapy after surgery. Stage I-II and III-IV pts accounted for 50% respectively. The most frequent mutated genes were TP53 (88%), RB1 (70%), TTN (68%), TCEB3CL (65%), MUC16 (56%), and all of them were clonal. The median overall ITH was 0.36 (ranging from 0 to 1), while the mutational ITH and the CNV ITH were 0.50 (0.22 to 1) and 0.49 (0.22 to 1). Univariate analysis revealed that postoperative treatment (HR = 0.27, 0.07-0.97, p= 0.006) and higher CNV ITH (HR = 0.28, 0.08-0.99, p= 0.009) were significant positive predictors of OS, while higher mutational heterogeneity was not associated with OS (HR = 3.34, 0.91-12.25, p= 0.21) significantly. Conclusions: TP53, RB1, TTN, TCEB3CL and MUC16 were probably clonal mutations as early events in SCLC evolution. CNV ITH might be a prognostic predictor in SCLC, which should be verified in a large-sample cohort.

In China, parents who have lost their only child and remained childless are labelled Shidu () parents. Previous research suggests high levels of psychological distress in this population, yet little is known regarding the prevalence of prolonged grief disorder (PGD) based on the new ICD-11 formulation. The present study examined prevalence rates and associated factors of prolonged grief disorder in this population. 1030 Chinese Shidu parents (381 male, 643 female) who were recruited through convenient sampling completed questionnaires assessing grief severity. Multiple linear regression models were used to examine socio-demographic, loss-related and self-reported number of chronic physical conditions associated with PGD symptoms. Results showed prevalence rate was 35.5% based on the ICD-11 PGD criteria, which was almost twice as that of Prigerson et al. (2009) criteria. Younger age of parents, being a mother, living in a rural place, lower monthly income per capital, shorter time since loss and more comorbid chronic physical conditions were related to severer PGD symptoms. The present findings revealed high rates of PGD experienced by Chinese Shidu parents and identified key risk factors which can be used for future prevention or intervention designs in this population.

For improving wear resistance of PTFE-based material and performances of ultrasonic motors, 1-Dimple and 3-Dimple textures were fabricated on stator surface based on observations of transfer material. The worn surface and wear debris were observed to investigate the effect of textures on wear behavior. Meanwhile, performances of the motor were tested. The wear rate of PTFE material sliding against 3-Dimple stator decreased by 52.5%, the average speed of the motor was improved by 20.6%, and the maximum efficiency of 3-Dimple stator reached 32.7%. The beneficial effect of dimples was to make the contact surface discontinuous, thereby reducing the adhesion force between stator and PTFE material, which prevented severe adhesive wear of PTFE-based material and improved the motor performances.

Summary Background Platinum-based doublet chemotherapy regimens, preferentially gemcitabine plus cisplatin, are generally considered the first-line standard of care for patients with recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma. However, no consensus has been reached regarding treatment following progression after first-line therapy. Camrelizumab (SHR-1210) is a humanised anti-programmed death-1 (anti PD-1) antibody. We present safety and preliminary antitumour activity of camrelizumab alone as second-line therapy in patients with recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma and combined with gemcitabine and cisplatin as first-line therapy in this patient population. Methods We report the results from two single-arm, phase 1 trials. Both trials included patients aged 18–70 years with histologically or cytologically confirmed nasopharyngeal carcinoma and confirmed metastatic disease or locoreginal recurrence, and an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 or 1. Patients who received at least one previous line of treatment were enrolled at five academic hospitals in China into the dose-escalation and expansion trial to receive camrelizumab monotherapy intravenously at escalating doses of 1 mg/kg, 3 mg/kg, and 10 mg/kg, and a bridging dose of 200 mg per dose once every 2 weeks (monotherapy trial). Treatment-naive patients were enrolled from a single centre in China to receive six cycles of camrelizumab 200 mg (day 1), gemcitabine 1 g/m2 (days 1 and 8), and cisplatin 80 mg/m2 (day 1) every 3 weeks followed by camrelizumab 200 mg maintenance once every 3 weeks (combination trial). The primary endpoint of both trials was the safety and tolerability of the study treatment. Analyses were done per protocol. Both trials are registered with ClinicalTrials.gov , number NCT02721589 (camrelizumab monotherapy trial) and NCT03121716 (camrelizumab combination trial). Both trials are ongoing, but are no longer enrolling patients. Findings In the camrelizumab monotherapy trial, between March 31, 2016, and Sept 20, 2017, 121 patients were assessed for eligibility, of whom 93 patients were enrolled across the dose-escalation and expansion cohorts and received at least one dose of camrelizumab (safety population). 15 (16%) of 93 patients had treatment-related adverse events of grade 3 or 4, the most common of which were elevated conjugated bilirubin concentration (three [3%] of 93 patients), stomatitis, anaemia, and increased concentrations of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and total bilirubin, each of which occurred in two (2%) patients. Eight (9%) patients had a treatment-related serious adverse event. No dose-limiting toxic effects were observed during the dose-escalation phase. 31 (34%; 95% CI 24–44) of 91 evaluable patients on camrelizumab monotherapy had an overall response with a median follow-up of 9·9 months (IQR 8·1–11·7). In the camrelizumab combination trial, between April 18, 2017, and Aug 15, 2017, 24 patients were assessed for eligibility, of whom 23 patients were enrolled and treated (safety population). 20 (87%) of 23 patients had grade 3 or 4 treatment-related adverse events: neutropenia (13 [57%] of 23 patients), anaemia (11 [48%] patients), leucopenia (11 [48%] patients), thrombocytopenia (seven [30%] patients), oedema (two [9%] patients), hyponatraemia (two [9%] patients), hypochloraemia (one [4%] patients), and rash (one [4%] patient). Two patients had treatment-related serious adverse events. No treatment-related deaths occurred in these trials. 20 (91% [95% CI 72–97]) of 22 evaluable patients had an overall response with a median follow-up time of 10·2 months (IQR 9·7–10·8). Interpretation Camrelizumab is a well tolerated, potential treatment option for patients with recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The combination of camrelizumab plus gemcitabine and cisplatin has a manageable toxicity profile and promising preliminary antitumour activity for this disease in treatment-naive patients. Randomised controlled trials are needed to further establish the role of immune checkpoint inhibition for nasopharyngeal carcinomas. Funding Hengrui Medicine Co, Chinese National Natural Science Foundation project, Science and Technology Program of Guangdong, Pearl River Nova Program of Guangzhou.

Bereavement may trigger different psychological outcomes, such as prolonged grief disorder or post-traumatic growth. The relationship between these two outcomes and potential precipitators remain unknown. The current study aimed to identify classes of Chinese bereaved individuals based on prolonged grief symptoms and post-traumatic growth and to examine predictors for these classes. We used data from 273 Chinese individuals who lost a relative due to disease (92.3%), accident (4.4%) and other reasons (1.8%). Latent class analysis revealed three classes: a resilient class, a growth class, and a combined grief/growth class. A higher level of functional impairment was found for the combined grief/growth class than for the other two classes. Membership in the combined grief/growth class was significantly predicted by the younger age of the deceased and the death of a parent, child or spouse. Subjective closeness with the deceased and gender were marginally significant predictors. When the four variables were included in the multinomial regression analysis, death of a parent, child or spouse significantly predicted the membership to the combined grief/growth class. These findings provide valuable information for the development of tailored interventions that may build on the bereaved individuals' personal strengths.

Big data has been studied extensively in recent years. With the increase in data size, data quality becomes a priority. Evaluation of data quality is important for data management, which influences data analysis and decision making. Data validity is an important aspect of data quality evaluation. Based on 3V properties of big data, dimensions that have a major influence on data validity in a big data environment are analyzed. Each data validity dimension is analyzed qualitatively using medium logic. The measuring of medium truth degree is used to propose models to measure single and multiple dimensions of big data validity. The validity evaluation method based on medium logic is more reasonable and scientific than general methods.

Background: Along with the implementation of the one-child policy in China, a special group of bereaved parents called ‘shiduer’ (失独者), meaning parents bereaved by the loss of their only child, emerged. Although previous research has examined the physical and psychological health of this population, individual differences in physical and psychological outcomes are still not well understood. Objective: This study aimed to identify heterogenous subgroups of Chinese bereaved parents who lost their only child based on the physical and psychological health of this population as well as the predictive factors of each subgroup. Method: Latent profile analysis was used to explore underlying patterns of physical and psychological indicators including subjective physical health, negative psychological outcomes (i.e. depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and prolonged grief disorder) and positive psychological outcomes (i.e. post-traumatic growth) among a sample of Chinese bereaved parents who lost their only child (N = 536). A three-step approach was used to examine the effects of covariates including quality of spousal relationship and recruitment channels on psychological and physical outcomes. Results: A three-profile model identified severity-based groupings of a ‘resilient’ subgroup (n = 153), a ‘coping’ subgroup (n = 338) and a ‘dysfunctional’ subgroup (n = 45). Less satisfaction with spousal relationship and recruitment from institutions in the community and online self-help groups (vs. offline support groups) are associated with the membership of the ‘coping’ or ‘dysfunctional’ subgroup compared to the ‘resilient’ subgroup. Conclusions: There is heterogeneity regarding the physical and psychological health of Chinese parents after losing their only child. The predictive effects of the quality of spousal relationship and the recruitment channels could provide directions for professional intervention.

The mixed powder method and covering method were adopted to prepare a composite that has hydrogen storage properties. In the experimental process, the alloy phases Mg2Ni and NiTi generated regularly; the penetration of the hydrogen atoms to the material was considered as the adsorption of the material to the hydrogen atoms; the original thermodynamic equation was edited; the crystal phases were optimized by adjusting the parameters about the material composition and gas concentration, so that providing advantageous channels of the hydrogen atoms in and out to improve the hydrogen storage properties. The results showed that integer multiples adjustment to trace element Ti could make hydrogen storage properties maximizing optimize and have controllability for the capacity and rate of hydrogen storage according to the newly editing equation. The innovation was to edit out equation that can improve the hydrogen storage properties through adjusting three parameters of trace element Ti, adsorption and penetration to find the most optimal condition improving the hydrogen storage properties.

MIKCC-type MADS-box (MIKCC) genes encode transcription factors that have crucial roles in controlling floral organogenesis and flowering time in plants. Although this gene family has been well characterized in many plant species, its evolutionary and comprehensive functional analysis in rose is lacking. In this study, 58 non-redundant MIKCC uni-transcripts were extensively identified from rose transcriptomes. Phylogenetic analysis placed these genes into 12 clades with their Arabidopsis and strawberry counterparts, and revealed that ABCDE model (including AP1/FUL, AP3/PI, AG, and SEP clades), and SOC1 and AGL6 clade genes have remarkably expanded in Rosa chinensis, whereas genes from the FLC and AGL17 clades were undetectable. Sequence alignments suggest that the AP3/PI clade may contribute to more specific functions in rose due to a high variation of amino acid residues within its MADS-box domains. A comparative analysis of gene expression in specific floral organ differentiation stages and floral organs between R. chinensis cv. Old Blush and the closely related mutant genotype R. chinensis cv. Viridiflora (floral organs mutated into leaf-like structures) further revealed the roles of ABCDE model genes during floral organogenesis in rose. Analysis of co-expression networks provided an overview of the regulatory mechanisms of rose MIKCC genes and shed light on both the prominent roles of AP3/PI clade genes in floral organogenesis and the roles of RcAGL19, RcAGL24, and RcSOC1 in regulating floral transition in rose. Our analyses provide an overall insight of MIKCC genes in rose and their potential roles in floral organogenesis., Genetics: How to build a rose Roses have been prized throughout history for their beauty and now we’re closer to understanding the genetics underpinning their appearance. MIKCc genes encode transcription factors and have long been implicated in flower organ development; they fall into five classes, the precise combination of which underpins the type of flower that develops. Changquan Wang at Nanjing Agricultural University in China and colleagues compared MIKCc gene transcripts from roses with those from Arabidopsis and strawberries, identifying certain genes that were remarkably expanded, and others that were missing. They also compared MIKCc genes from Old Blush roses with those from their mutant relative Viridiflora, pinpointing specific genes which appeared altered. Further characterization of such genes may enable a better understanding of why rose flowers differ and aid the design of even more beautiful varieties.

Nowadays, 10Gbps and higher speed network devices have become ubiquitous. These devices typically exploit multiple CPU cores to process packets to avoid overwhelming a single CPU core. The involving of multiple cores, however, brings tricky parallel programming issues. One of them is the miscount in statistical counter, which is the algorithm that has been widely used in high-speed network devices to track fundamental information such as the number of packets received and transmitted. As a result, modern high-speed network devices merely provides weak consistency guarantee on the counting results it returns; that is, the returned results may be inaccurate. This paper first analyses the miscount issue in modern high-speed network devices. Then we present ECCount, a novel counting algorithm which (1) is competitive to the best known solutions in performance, and (2) provides strong consistency guarantee in counting results returned. Experiments show that it takes ECCount 10ns and 1,500ns to perform an update operation and a read operation, respectively. And the counting results returned are accurate.

Pharmacists are integral members of the multidisciplinary team for critically ill patients. Multiple nonrandomized controlled studies have evaluated the outcomes of pharmacist interventions in the intensive care unit (ICU). This systematic review focuses on controlled clinical trials evaluating the effect of pharmacist intervention on medication errors (MEs) in ICU settings. Two independent reviewers searched Medline, Embase, and Cochrane databases. The inclusion criteria were nonrandomized controlled studies that evaluated the effect of pharmacist services vs no intervention on ME rates in ICU settings. Four studies were included in the meta-analysis. Results suggest that pharmacist intervention has no significant contribution to reducing general MEs, although pharmacist intervention may significantly reduce preventable adverse drug events and prescribing errors. This meta-analysis highlights the need for high-quality studies to examine the effect of the critical care pharmacist.

Perpetual blooming is one of the most important biological and economical traits in modern rose, while the genetic basis underlining the control of this trait is poorly investigated. With an aim in dissecting the genetic determinism of perpetual blooming, we developed six rose populations (OB, W, F1, F2, BC1OB and BC1W) derived from a WOB population [interspecific diploid hybridization between Rosa chinensis ‘Old Blush’ (OB) and R. wichuriana ‘Basye’s Thornless’ (W)]. Perpetual blooming is absent both in a F1 population with 296 individuals and a BC1W population (W as the backcross parent) with 150 individuals. However, the perpetual blooming trait showed a typical 3:1 segregation in a backcross population BC1OB with OB as the backcross parent. In this population with 300 individuals, 83 plants had the perpetual blooming phenotype while the other 217 featured non-perpetual blooming, indicating that the perpetual blooming trait is very likely controlled by two recessive genes in R. chinensis (rpb1 and rpb2). These genetic data suggest that the inheritance of rose perpetual blooming may be controlled by a complex mechanism.

// Qi Chen 1, 2, 3 , Qi Quan 1, 2, 3 , Lingyu Ding 1, 2, 3 , Xiangchan Hong 1, 2, 3 , Ningning Zhou 1, 2, 3 , Ying Liang 1, 2, 3 , Haiying Wu 1, 2, 3 1 State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangzhou, China 2 Department of Oncology, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China 3 Collaborative Innovation Center of Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China Correspondence to: Haiying Wu, e-mail: chenqi4608@163.com Keywords: non-small-cell lung cancer, acquired resistance, continuation of epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors, beyond PD, local treatment Received: April 21, 2015 Accepted: June 26, 2015 Published: July 09, 2015 ABSTRACT Objectives: Patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) develop acquired resistance to epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR TKIs) after tumor regression. No approved targeted therapies are currently available after initial EGFR TKI treatment. This study investigated the efficacy of continuing EGFR TKI therapy with local treatments for patients with NSCLC and local progression or minimal/slow progression on TKI therapy. Materials and Methods: Fifty-five patients with NSCLC treated with EGFR TKIs and developed acquired resistance to the drug were included. Initial response to target therapy, median progression free survival (PFS1), progression pattern, and first progression site were assessed. Median progression free survival to physician assessment progression (PFS2) and difference between PFS1 and PFS2 (PFS difference) were also recorded. Results and Conclusion: PFS1 was 11.2 months, PFS2 was 20.3 months, and PFS difference was 8.3 months. Nineteen patients (34.5%) who manifested progression received local therapy, and 16 (28.6%) underwent rebiopsy after progression with six positive EGFR T790M mutations detected. Cox proportional hazards regression model showed that only the first line of treatment was significantly correlated with PFS difference. NSCLC patients with acquired resistance to EGFR TKIs could benefit from the same TKI therapy through months to years of disease control.

Aiming at the instability of traditional color feature tracking algorithm in some complex scenes, an object tracking algorithm with integrating color and contour features is proposed. The algorithm still uses the traditional particle filter to predict the target, but in iteration every time, when searching the best position of the target, the color and contour information of the target can be adaptively combined. Experiments show that it shows good effectiveness and robustness compared with the traditional algorithms when the target is interfered between similar colors or the target is partially obscured.

The visual background extraction algorithm (ViBe) uses the first frame of the video as the initial frame to initialize the background model. If the initial frame of the background model has a moving object or the state of the moving object changes (from still to motion or from motion to still) or the update rate of the background model is not synchronized with the background variability, there will be false target which is known as ghost. Aiming at this problem, a discriminant method based on histogram similarity measure of foreground region and neighborhood background region is proposed. The algorithm can detect ghost regions from the moving area. The experimental results show that compared with the traditional algorithm, the improved algorithm can effectively remove the ghost of foreground detection, and the detection of the object is more accurate.

Rose has emerged as a model ornamental plant for studies of flower development, senescence, and morphology, as well as the metabolism of floral fragrances and colors. Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) has long been used in functional genomics studies of rose by vacuum infiltration of cuttings or seedlings with an Agrobacterium suspension carrying TRV-derived vectors. However, VIGS in rose flowers remains a challenge because of its low efficiency and long time to establish silencing. Here we present a novel and rapid VIGS method that can be used to analyze gene function in rose, called 'graft-accelerated VIGS', where axillary sprouts are cut from the rose plant and vacuum infiltrated with Agrobacterium. The inoculated scions are then grafted back onto the plants to flower and silencing phenotypes can be observed within 5 weeks, post-infiltration. Using this new method, we successfully silenced expression of the RhDFR1, RhAG, and RhNUDX1 in rose flowers, and affected their color, petal number, as well as fragrance, respectively. This grafting method will facilitate high-throughput functional analysis of genes in rose flowers. Importantly, it may also be applied to other woody species that are not currently amenable to VIGS by conventional leaf or plantlet/seedling infiltration methods.

Temporal coordination neural modeling with Cognition between arm movement and grasping movement for gesture tracking is one of the most challenging problems in human-computer interaction. Taking into account the temporal coordination control mechanism between arm extensions and grasping during the 3D hand gesture tracking, this paper studies the properties of cognitive psychology of arm movement in hand tracking. Based on the classic arm extension and grasping neural models, this paper firstly studies the visual channel of arm movement. Then according to the characteristics of the visual channel, this paper constructs the self-organizing neural network model and cerebellar control model which is compatible with visual coordination. The simulation results show that the proposed model can effectively improve the coordination control mechanism and accuracy between arm movement and grasping.

Background: Advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 19 deletion (19 Del) and exon 21 L858R mutation (L858R) might be distinct diseases. Therefore, it is necessary to take EGFR mutation subgroups into consideration for making choices of subsequent treatment after tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) failure. Patients and methods: 174 patients who developed to EGFR-TKI failure were categorized into three cohorts of dramatic progression, gradual progression and local progression. Chi-square was used to compare the distribution of failure modes between 19 Del and L858R. Kaplan-Meier method and Cox Regression were performed for analyses of survival in different subsequent treatments. Results: The distribution of EGFR-TKI failure modes showed no significant difference between 19 Del and L858R. Patients in gradual progression had a longer progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) compared with other failure modes in whole population, 19 Del cohort and L858R cohort. 19 Del patients with dramatic progression would obtain survival benefit from chemotherapy, while those with gradual progression got no survival benefit neither from chemotherapy nor previous TKI continuation. However, patients with dramatic or gradual progression would benefit from previous TKI continuation in L858R cohort. Conclusion: For advanced EGFR-positive NSCLC patients with acquired resistance to EGFR-TKI, subsequent treatment should be personalized according to EGFR-TKI failure modes & EGFR mutation subtypes.

The improvement of the capacity and rate of hydrogen absorption/desorption at the same time had been focus hydrogen storage field. A new method was proposed to prepare a new type sintered body with a special layer structure due to the crystal structure of the sintered body distinguish with a powder and alloy. Therefore, the sintered body not only effectively overcame the inconvenience from the powder on storage aspect, but also avoided negative factors of small surface area. The sintered body had a foam structure whose surface area was large, which provided a strong chemical channel for the physical absorption and chemical diffusion by generating hydrogen absorption phase Mg 2 Ni and catalytic phase NiTi, so that great improved the property of hydrogen absorption/desorption. The capacity of hydrogen absorption/desorption reach to 3% within 3 min and the highest capacity reach to 5.26% within 16 min; hydrogen desorption process was completed within 30 min and the released capacity was about 2%.

Similarity measure plays an important role in many image processing fields. This paper introduces the medium mathematic systems, and establishes a novel image medium similarity measure between two pixels and that of between two image sets based on the measure of medium truth degree. Moreover, an image edge detection algorithm, an image matching algorithm and an image medium fidelity measure method governed by the medium similarity measure are discussed in this paper. Experimental results show that the proposed similarity measure is effective.

All-solid W-type index fluorotellurite fibers (AWFTFs) with near-zero-flattened dispersion profiles are designed for optical frequency comb (OFC) generation. The fiber core and cladding materials are ${{\rm TeO}_2} {\text - } {{\rm BaF}_2} {\text - } {{\rm Y}_2}{{\rm O}_3}$TeO2-BaF2-Y2O3 (TBY) and fluoroaluminate glasses. Those two glasses have large refractive index contrast as well as similar thermal expansion coefficients and softening temperatures. The zero-dispersion wavelength of the TBY glass is about 2517 nm. By introducing fluoroaluminate glasses with relatively low refractive index as the cladding material and controlling the core diameter, the zero-dispersion wavelength of the fiber is shifted from 2517 nm to the wavelength region of 1500-1600 nm. Furthermore, two layers of thin annular glasses including a fluoroaluminate-glass-based inter-layer and a TBY-glass-based outer layer are added around the fiber core, which makes the fiber have a flat dispersion profile in the wavelength range of 1500-1600 nm. By optimizing the parameters (the core diameter, the thickness of the thin annular glass, etc.) of AWFTFs, the fiber with the chromatic dispersion value between $ - {0.2}$-0.2 and 0.35 ps/nm/km in the wavelength range of 1500-1600 nm is achieved. To investigate the application of the AWFTFs for OFC generation via cascaded four-wave mixing, we perform numerical simulations. The simulated results show that flat-top OFC spectrum expanding from 1450 to 1700 nm with tunable mode spacing from 25 to 100 GHz can be generated in 2 m long fiber by using a 1550 nm laser with a pulse width of 0.825 ps and a peak power of 60 W as the pump source.

We demonstrated that gold nanowires (GNWs), as a new kind of saturable absorber (SA), could be used to construct all-fiber passively Q-switched thulium-doped fiber lasers (TDFL). The GNWs were mixed with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) to form the GNWs-PVP SA film. It exhibited a broad absorption band covered from 300 nm to 2500 nm, which was induced by the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorption of GNWs. When the GNWs-PVP SA film was inserted into the TDFL cavity pumped by a 1570 nm fiber laser, a stable passively Q-switched laser at ∼1940nm was obtained when the threshold of pump power exceeded ∼800 mW. Furthermore, ∼2.4 µs pulses with a repetition rate of 52.75 kHz were also obtained at the pump power of ∼1500 mW.

This study mainly deals with the preparation of MgO/B2O3 coatings by plasma spraying on the SUS304 surface and the effects of heat-resistant. The power materials of low thermal conductivity were selected to control the heat divergent performance of high temperature parts. The reticular micro-structure between the cover thermal layer and the substrate was prepared by using the plasma spraying method. The powder mixture of MgO and B2O3 were selected as spraying materials and the SUS304 was used as the substrate material. The MgO/B2O3 coating was prepared on the surface of the SUS304 to provide better cover thermal performance. The properties of the microstructures and the morphologies were studied by Optical Microscope, Scanning Electron Microscope, Electron Probe Microanalyzer, and X-ray Diffraction. The results showed that the cover thermal performance has been improved.

Background Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting remain among the most feared adverse effects for cancer patients. Aim The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a combination of aprepitant, palonosetron and dexamethasone as antiemetic prophylaxis in patients receiving multiple-day cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Methods Forty-one solid cancer patients received aprepitant, palonosetron and dexa- methasone during a 3-day cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Primary end-point was complete response in the overall phase (day 1 until 5 days after the end of chemotherapy). Results Aprepitant in combination with palonosetron and dexamethasone was safe, with hiccups (31.7%), fatigue (17.1%), headache (14.6%) and constipation (12.2%) the most common treatment-related adverse events, mostly mild. Complete response was seen in 58.5% of patients in the overall phase. In 23 patients receiving aprepitant in combination with palonosetron and dexamethasone more than one cycle (range: 2–5 cycles), the cumulative emetic protection rate after five cycles was 0.82. Conclusion This study shows aprepitant in combination with palonosetron and dex-amethasone is safe and effectively controls chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in patients undergoing 3-day cisplatin-based chemotherapy, moreover, the efficacy is maintained during multiple cycles.

The tribological behavior of stator friction material and rotor in the traveling wave ultrasonic motor (TWUSM) shows some particularities because of the applied way and the special contact between stator and rotor. In this investigation, the tribological behavior of carbon fiber-reinforced polytetrafluoroethylene composite, which is used as stator friction material, sliding against an anodized aluminum rotor in a TWUSM is reported. The performances of TWUSM were tested, and the surface topography was examined in different stages. The results shown that the speed of USM remained stable at 120 r/min after 60 h of operating and the holding torque and stall torque tended to stabilize after 100 h. Moreover, the fluctuation of roughness of friction material was small, while the surface roughness of rotor decreased 28.8% after 10 h of operating. Both the roughness of friction material and rotor tended to stabilize after 100 h of operating. The wear mechanisms of stator friction material in steady wear stage were found to be adhesive wear and plastic deformation, which was quite different from that of rotor friction material. The wear rate of friction material decreased with time, and wear 1 μm of height required approximately 68 h. The surface topography of rotor changed little, and the wear height after 200 h of operating was less than 2 μm.

Mixed noise composed by Gaussian noise and Salt-Pepper noise is an ever-present noise model in the image. This paper proposes an adaptive image mixed removal algorithm based on measure of medium truth degree(MMTD). According to the feature and density of noise, it adaptively alters the detection window size. Then it defines the predicates and establishes the relation between gray level and truth interval of predicates. Finally, uses the distance ratio function to measure the similarity degree between the considered pixel and the normal pixel in the detection window and to remove the noise pixel. By sample simulation and classic PSNR evaluation, it shows the adaptive image mixed noise removal algorithm (AdpMMTD) brings about a good performance in removing mixed noise and preserving fine details.

Background Neurokinin-1 receptor antagonists (NK-1RAs) are widely used for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) control in patients with highly emetogenic chemotherapy (HEC) and/or moderately emetogenic chemotherapy (MEC). Whether the efficacy and toxicity of antiemesis are different among various NK-1RA-based triple regimens is unknown. Methods Data of complete responses (CRs) in the acute, delayed, and overall phases and treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) were extracted from electronic databases. Efficacy and toxicity were integrated by pairwise and network meta-analyses. Results Thirty-six trials involving 18 889 patients using triple regimens (NK-1RA+serotonin receptor antagonists [5HT3RA] + dexamethasone) or duplex regimen (5HT3RA+dexamethasone) to control CINV were included in the analysis. Different NK-1RA-based triple regimens shared equivalent effect on CRs. In patients with HEC, almost all triple regimens showed statistically significantly higher CRs than duplex regimen (odds ratio [OR]duplex/triple = 0.47-0.66). However, in patients with MEC, only aprepitant-based triple regimen showed better effect than duplex regimen statistically significantly in CRs (ORduplex/triple = 0.52, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.34 to 0.68). No statistically significant difference of TRAEs was found among different triple regimens. Palonosetron-based triple regimens were equivalent to first-generation 5HT3RAs-based triple regimens for CRs. Moreover, different doses of dexamethasone plus NK-1RA and 5HT3RA showed no statistically significant difference in CRs. Conclusions Different NK-1RAs-based triple regimens shared equivalent effect on CINV control. Various triple regimens had superior antiemetic effect than duplex regimen in patients with HEC. Only aprepitant-based triple regimen showed better CINV control compared with duplex regimen in patients receiving MEC. Palonosetron and first-generation 5HT3RAs might share equivalent CINV control in the combination of NK-1RAs and dexamethasone. Lower doses of dexamethasone might be applied when used with NK-1RAs and 5HT3RAs.

Many studies have used behavioural experiments to show an attentional bias towards sleep-related stimuli in people with insomnia disorder. A measurement of event-related potential is needed to investigate the cognitive processing mechanism of the attentional process. The present study used the emotional Stroop paradigm and event-related potentials to measure attentional bias towards sleep-negative, sleep-positive and sleep-unrelated neutral words. The study comprised 16 participants with insomnia disorder and 15 participants who were good sleepers. Behavioural data indicated that there was a significant interference effect of sleep-positive words between the insomnia group and the good sleepers, and a marginally significant interference effect from sleep-negative words between groups. In the insomnia group, event-related potential data showed that sleep-negative words elicited higher amplitudes of P1 and N1 components than did sleep-positive and sleep-unrelated words. Our results provide evidence for the early cognitive processing of sleep-negative stimuli, which suggests that the psychological treatment of insomnia could benefit from addressing early hypervigilance towards these stimuli.

This study proposes a traveling wave ultrasonic motor with a metal/polymer-matrix material compound stator. The stator is composed of a metal ring and polymer-matrix teeth. The resonance frequency of the stator with different structural dimensions was analyzed by the finite element method. From the results, the structure parameters of the metal ring were obtained. The effects of the density and elastic modulus of the tooth material on the resonance frequency were also investigated. A viscoelastic contact model was built to explore the contact state between the compound stator and rotor. Considering the density, elastic modulus and tribological properties, the tooth material was prepared by a molding process. The load?torque and efficiency?torque characteristics of the motor with different tooth thicknesses were measured under different preloads using a preload controlled ultrasonic motor test device. The maximum no-load speed of the motor was about 85 r min?1 with a tooth thickness of 3 mm and a preload of 100 N, the maximum stall torque of the motor was about 0.5 N??m with a tooth thickness of 4 mm and a preload of 125 N, and a maximum efficiency of about 5.5% occurred with a tooth thickness of 4 mm, a preload of 100 N and a torque of 0.3 N??m. The main merits of the proposed ultrasonic motor are low cost, light weight, high processing efficiency and long life.

The characteristics of ultrasonic motor strongly depend on the properties of stator/rotor contact interface which are affected by ambient environment. With the developed apparatus, load properties of two ring type traveling wave ultrasonic motors in atmosphere, low vacuum and high vacuum were studied, respectively. Wear of friction material, variations of vacuum degree and the temperature of motor during the experiment were also measured. The results show that load properties of motor A in vacuum were poorer than those in atmosphere, when load torque M(f) was less than 0.55 N m. Compared to motor A, load properties of motor B were affected a little by environmental pressure. Wear of friction material in vacuum was more severe than wear in atmosphere. The temperature of motor in vacuum rose more quickly than it in atmosphere and had not reached equilibrium in 2 h experiment. However, the temperature of motor in atmosphere had reached equilibrium in about forth minutes. Furthermore, outgas was also observed during experiment under vacuum conditions.

Under atmosphere and vacuum cycle condition, characteristics of a disc-type traveling wave ultrasonic motor (TWUSM) are tested, variations of rotation speed with time and load are also obtained. Two vacuum conditions used are low vacuum of 2 Pa and high vacuum of 5 × 10−3 Pa. The lower the environment pressure is, the smaller the rotation speed of TWUSM. And load characteristics of TWUSM in vacuum are poorer than that in atmosphere. Then, using polyfluortetraethylene (PTFE) composite and p-hydroxybenzoic acid polymer (Ekonol) composite as friction materials, load characteristics of TWUSM are compared. As a result, the load characteristics of Ekonol composite are better than the former one, which can hold bigger torque with higher speed. Both principle of ultrasonic motor and knowledge of tribology are applied to analyze the reason that stall torque of TWUSM in vacuum is smaller than in atmosphere.

Au@TiO2 core–shell hollow microspheres with multiple nanocores and porous shells have been synthesized by a simple and effective hydrothermal method using TiF4 as TiO2 precursor. The size of micros...

Au@TiO2 core–shell hollow nanoparticles were prepared by a simple hydrothermal method without surfactants or templates. The core–shell structure materials were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and specific surface area of the test (BET). The catalytic activity was tested in a stainless reactor with a fixed bed and connected with a gas chromatograph. The results show that the microstructure, crystallography, and morphology were correlated with the hydrothermal reaction time and temperature, and the properties of the solvent. The crystallinity degree of TiO2 and the particle size increased with the reaction time and temperature. Particles with different morphologies can be obtained when using different solvents. The size of microsphere can be controlled easily by changing the amount of TiF4. This material exhibited the complete CO conversion temperature to be about 130 °C and no deactivation was observed after 1,000 min reaction.

Bevacizumab (Bev), a monoclonal antibody against vascular endothelial growth factor, when combined with standard first-line chemotherapy, shows impressive clinical benefit in advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (ns-NSCLC). Our study aims to investigate whether the addition of Bev to pemetrexed improves progression-free survival (PFS) in advanced ns-NSCLC patients after the failure of at least one prior chemotherapy regimens. Patients with locally advanced, recurrent, or metastatic ns-NSCLC, after failure of platinum-based therapy, with a performance status 0 to 2, were eligible. Patients received 500 mg/m2 of pemetrexed intravenously (IV) day 1 with vitamin B12, folic acid, and dexamethasone and Bev 7.5 mg/kg IV day 1 of a 21-day cycle until unacceptable toxicity, disease progression or the patient requested therapy discontinuation. The primary end point was PFS. Between December 2011 and October 2013, 33 patients were enrolled, with median age of 55 years and 36.4 % men. Twenty-three patients (69.7 %) had received two or more prior regimens, and 28 patients (84.8 %) had received chemotherapy containing pemetrexed. The median number of the protocol regimens was 4. Median PFS was 4.37 months (95 % CI 2.64–6.09 months). Median overall survival (OS) was 15.83 months (95 % CI 10.52–21.15 months). Overall response rates were 6.45 %. Disease control rate was 54.84 %. No new safety signals were detected. No patient experienced drug-related deaths. The combination of Bev and pemetrexed every 21 days is effective in ns-NSCLC patients who failed of prior therapies with improved PFS. Toxicities are similar with historical data of these two agents and are tolerable. Our results may provide more a regimen containing Bev and pemetrexed for Chinese clinical practice in previously treated ns-NSCLC.

This study mainly deals with the preparation of MgO/B2O3 coatings by plasma spraying on the SUS304 surface and the effects of heat-resistant. The power materials of low thermal conductivity were selected to control the heat divergent performance of high temperature parts. The reticular micro-structure between the cover thermal layer and the substrate was prepared by using the plasma spraying method. The powder mixture of MgO and B2O3 were selected as spraying materials and the SUS304 was used as the substrate material. The MgO/B2O3 coating was prepared on the surface of the SUS304 to provide better cover thermal performance. The properties of the microstructures and the morphologies were studied by Optical Microscope, Scanning Electron Microscope, Electron Probe Microanalyzer, and X-ray Diffraction. The results showed that the cover thermal performance has been improved.

Image segmentation plays an important role in medical image processing. Fuzzy c-means (FCM) is one of the popular clustering algorithms for medical image segmentation. But FCM is highly vulnerable to noise due to not considering the spatial information in image segmentation. This paper introduces medium mathematics system which is employed to process fuzzy information for image segmentation. It establishes the medium similarity measure based on the measure of medium truth degree (MMTD) and uses the correlation of the pixel and its neighbors to define the medium membership function. An improved FCM medical image segmentation algorithm based on MMTD which takes some spatial features into account is proposed in this paper. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm is more antinoise than the standard FCM, with more certainty and less fuzziness. This will lead to its practicable and effective applications in medical image segmentation.