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The cause of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is controversial, local hypoxia and inflammation being the main two possibilities proposed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and BPH.The study cohort comprised men from January 2016 to December 2020 in our Sleep Center. These patients were classified into four groups (no, mild, moderate, severe OSA) by apnea-hypopnea indexes (AHI). Logistic regression was used to identify independent risk factors for BPH, after which participants were stratified into younger (age ≤ 40 years) and older groups (age 40 years) for further analysis.The study cohort comprised 467 patients including 135 younger subjects and 332 older subjects. The prevalence of BPH in the above listed AHI categories was 37.5%, 55.0%, 62.9%, and 52.3%, respectively (p = 0.075). Logistic regression analysis of all patients identified age as a risk factor for BPH (p 0.001). Stratified analysis according to AHI category found a prevalence of BPH of 0.0%, 13.0%, 33.3%, and 43.9%, respectively, in younger group (p = 0.006), and 52.2%, 71.9%, 71.1%, and 56.3%, respectively, in older group (p = 0.038). Logistic regression analysis found age and AHI were independent risk factors for BPH in younger group (both p 0.05), whereas only age was identified as a risk factor for BPH in older group (p 0.001).Age is an independent risk factor for BPH in men with OSA. AHI is also an independent risk factor for BPH in younger men, suggesting that OSA may affect development of BPH in younger men.

Ji-Feng Feng,1 Jian-Ming Zhao,2 Xun Yang,1 Liang Wang1 1Department of Thoracic Oncological Surgery, Institute of Cancer Research and Basic Medical Sciences of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Cancer Hospital of University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Thoracic Surgery, Jinhua Guangfu Hospital, Jinghua, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Ji-Feng Feng; Liang Wang Email fengjif@163.com; drwang_liang@126.comBackground: Esophageal basaloid squamous cell carcinoma (EBSCC) is a rare malignancy. Serum apolipoprotein A-I (APO A-I) has proved to be a potentially useful prognostic indicator in various cancers. However, no studies have analyzed the prognostic significance of serum APO A-I in patients with EBSCC. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic impact of preoperative serum APO A-I in patients with EBSCC.Methods: Between 2007 and 2018, a retrospective study of 4050 patients with resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) including the levels of preoperative serum lipids was conducted and evaluated. The best cut-off values of the preoperative serum lipids were evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Kaplan–Meier analyses and Cox regression analyses were analyzed the overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS). A prediction model of nomogram was developed to predict individual OS and RFS in EBSCC.Results: There were 53 patients enrolled in the study, which accounted for 1.31% (53/4050) of all primary ESCC. The best cut-off point was 1.305 g/L for serum APO A-I according to the ROC curve. Patients with lower levels of serum preoperative APO A-I were associated with worse RFS (16.1% vs 54.5%, P = 0.006) and OS (29.0% vs 63.6%, P = 0.010). The results indicated that serum APO A-I serves as an independent predictor in patients with EBSCC regarding OS [hazard ratio (HR): 0.352; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.154– 0.808; P = 0.014] and RFS (HR: 0.397; 95% CI: 0.185– 0.850; P = 0.017).Conclusion: Preoperative serum APO A-I is an independent predictor regarding OS and RFS in EBSCC. As far as we know, this is the first study in EBSCC to explore the serum APO A-I in patients with EBSCC.Keywords: esophageal basaloid squamous cell carcinoma, EBSCC, apolipoprotein A-I, APO A-I, recurrence-free survival, RFS, overall survival, OS, prognosis

We aimed to examine the influence of sleep disturbances on the risk of oligo/astheno/teratozoospermia (OAT) in men attending an infertility clinic.We consecutively enrolled men attending an infertility clinic from July 2020 to June 2021. Semen parameters were obtained at initial presentation, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Epworth Sleepiness Scale score, and the STOP-BANG Questionnair were completed to assess sleep quality. Embryo outcomes were evaluated after infertility treatment.Of 466 men enrolled, 119 had OAT (OAT group) and 347 had normozoospermia (NS group). There were no differences between the two groups regarding Epworth Sleepiness Scale and STOP-BANG Questionnaire scores. The prevalence of poor sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score ≥ 5) in the OAT group was significantly higher than that in the NS group (42% vs. 29%, p = 0.009). A higher rate of poor subjective sleep quality was observed in the OAT group compared with the NS group (p = 0.005) and Pearson's correlations revealed a negative relationship between subjective sleep quality and semen quality. Logistic regression found that subjective sleep quality was independently associated with an increased risk of OAT (adjusted odds ratio = 0.610, p = 0.007).Men with OAT attending an infertility clinic exhibited poor subjective sleep quality. Improving sleep disturbances may be a target intervention to reduce the risk of OAT. This possibility warrants further investigation.

Background Hypoxia in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients during sleep may have an effect on bone metabolism. Few data regarding evaluation of bone metabolism in young individuals diagnosed with OSA. In this study, we aim to identify the association between bone mineral density and OSA in young men (≤ 40 years old of age). Methods Consecutive male subjects who underwent polysomnography were enrolled. Serum calcium, 25-hydroxyvitamin-D3, β-isomerized form C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen, osteocalcin and procollagen type 1 N-propeptide were measured in all participants, and bone mineral density (BMD) at lumbar spine (L1-L4), femoral neck and hip total were determined by dual energy X-ray absorption (DXA). Results The population consisted of 85 subjects (mean age 35.53 years). The BMD at lumbar spine (L1-L4) in moderate OSA patients was higher than control and severe OSA group significantly (p = 0.036). After adjustment for confounding factors, stepwise multiple linear regression analyses showed LaSO2 (β = 0.340, p = 0.008) as an independent explanatory variable for Lumbar L1–L4 BMD, LaSO2 (β = 0.304, p = 0.037), BMI (β = 0.393, p = 0.008) for femur neck BMD and BMI (β = 0.720, p = 0.002) for hip total BMD. Conclusions. Our finding indicated that there was a relationship between OSA and bone metabolism in younger men, and moderate OSA-related hypoxia positively related with BMD. This study also showed that different degrees of recurrent hypoxia had different effects on bone metabolism, a finding that required further investigation.

BackgroundNaples prognostic score (NPS) serves as a new prognostic index based on nutritional and inflammatory status in recent years. The aim of the current study was to explore the prognostic effect of NPS and to develop and validate a reliable nomogram based on NPS for individual cancer-specific survival (CSS) prediction in patients with resected ESCC without neoadjuvant therapy.MethodsThe clinical data for 287 (Jan. 2010 to Jun. 2012, Training sets) and 118 (Jan. 2015 to Dec 2015, Validation sets) consecutive resected ESCC cases were retrospectively analyzed. Two NPS models based on the different cut-off values of parameters were compared. Cut-off values in model 1 were derived from previous published studies, while cut-off values in model 2 were obtained in this study based on receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. The relationships between NPS and clinical characteristics and CSS were analyzed. The prediction model of nomogram was developed with independent prognostic factors in the training sets and was validated in the validation sets.ResultsThe 5-year CSS for NPS 0, 1 and 2 were 61.9%, 34.6% and 13.4% in model 1 and 75.0%, 42.4% and 13.0% in model 2, respectively (PConclusionThe current study confirmed that NPS was still a useful independent prognostic score in patients with resected ESCC. The NPS-based nomogram was successfully developed and validated, which may contribute to individual CSS prediction for resected ESCC patients.

Ji-Feng Feng,1,2 Jian-Ming Zhao,3 Sheng Chen,1 Qi-Xun Chen1,2 1Department of Thoracic Oncological Surgery, Institute of Cancer Research and Basic Medical Sciences of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Cancer Hospital of University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou, 310022, People’s Republic of China; 2Key Laboratory Diagnosis and Treatment Technology on Thoracic Oncology, Hangzhou, 310022, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Thoracic Surgery, Jinhua Guangfu Hospital, Jinghua, 321001, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Ji-Feng FengDepartment of Thoracic Oncological Surgery, Institute of Cancer Research and Basic Medical Sciences of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Cancer Hospital of University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, No. 38 Guangji Road, Hangzhou, 310022, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail Fengjf@zjcc.org.cnBackground: The lung immune prognostic index (LIPI), a novel index combined with serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and derived neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (dNLR), is recently proposed to predict prognosis in lung cancer. The LIPI is not a unique indicator for lung cancer. However, the prognostic role of LIPI has not yet been evaluated in extra-pulmonary cancer. The aim of this study was to determine whether LIPI is still a useful prognostic indicator for patients with resected esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).Methods: The clinical data including preoperative laboratory results for 361 consecutive resected ESCC cases from 2007 to 2010 were retrospectively analyzed. A LIPI based on serum LDH and dNLR was conducted, characterizing into 3 groups (LIPI 0, 1 and 2). The association between LIPI and cancer-specific survival (CSS) was analyzed according to the Kaplan–Meier method and Cox regression analysis with hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). A nomogram model was conducted by R 3.6.0 software.Results: In this study, 220 (60.9%), 100 (27.7%) and 41 (11.4%) patients had a LIPI of 0, 1 and 2, respectively. The 5-year CSS for LIPI 0, 1 and 2 was 40.9%, 19.0% and 9.8%, respectively (P< 0.001). Subgroup analysis based on TNM stage revealed that HALP was also significantly related to CSS in any stage (TNM I: P=0.002; TNM II: P=0.009; TNM III: P=0.031). The LIPI serves as an independent predictor regarding CSS in multivariate analyses in patients with resected ESCC. Compared to LIPI 0, LIPI 1 and 2 had an HR of 1.419 (95% CI: 1.063– 1.895, P=0.018) and 2.064 (95% CI: 1.403– 3.036, P< 0.001) regarding CSS, respectively. A nomogram was also developed in individualized CSS prediction based on LIPI in patients with resected ESCC.Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first study to explore the association between LIPI and prognosis in patients with extra-pulmonary cancer. The LIPI, combined with LDH and dNLR, is still a potential independent prognostic marker in patients with resected ESCC.Keywords: esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, lung immune prognostic index, lactate dehydrogenase, derived neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, prognosis

The dynamic response characteristics of an earth-rock fill dam on a deep overburden are the focus of seismic research. In particular, evaluating the influence of the earthquake safety of the dam. A dynamic response analysis of earth-rock fill dam on a deep overburden based on viscoelastic boundary conditions was used to study the influence of boundary conditions (including fixed boundary conditions and viscoelastic boundary conditions). The results show that the fixed boundary condition greatly improves the dynamic response level of the dam during an earthquake and has no obvious influence on the distribution of the acceleration response in the dam and the foundation. The difference in the calculation results under the two boundary conditions is related to the seismic input characteristics and dynamic deformation characteristics of the soil material. An analysis of the acceleration response spectrum shows that the influence of the boundary conditions on the calculation results is limited to the magnitude level of the acceleration response, while the spectral characteristics of the vibration of the dam and the foundation do not have a significant impact. '''Key words:''' deep overburden; earth-rock fill dam; seismic response analysis; boundary conditions; comparative analysis

Dynamic response characteristics and antiseismic performance of the structures which were constructed on the super-deep overburden layer are affected obviously by the seismic motion characteristics of the super-deep overburden layer foundation. In this paper, the seismic motion characteristics of horizontally stratified super-deep overburdenIn this paper, the seismic motion characteristics of horizontally stratified super-deep overburden based on the research results of on-site in situ tests and indoor material property tests, the horizontal shear layer method that can consider the nonlinear characteristics of dynamic soil deformation and the characteristics of seismic wave propagation in the soil is used to study the characteristics of ground motions of super-deep and thick overburden level of an earth-rock dam in China. The influence law of input ground motion characteristics and input ground motion position on seismic response analysis results of overburden ground is studied. Taking the uniform overburden layer model as an example, the coupling influence analysis of soil layer thickness and shear velocity on ground motion response are carried out, and the coupling influence law is proposed. The study shows that the seismic motion propagating characteristics of the earthquake in super-deep overburden layer is involved, inputting location of the seismic motion affects the results of ground seismic response greatly; super-deep overburden layer thickness and the soil shear wave velocity on influence law of ground motion characteristics have coupling. When the shear wave velocity of the soil layer is constant, the surface acceleration response has an inflection point with the change of the soil layer thickness; when the thickness of overburden is constant, the surface acceleration response also has an inflection point with the change of shear wave velocity of the soil layer; these inflexion values are influenced by both soil thickness and shear wave velocity.

In view of the rail surface crack, The Alternating Current Field Measurement (ACFM) technology is easy to produce signal distortion at high speed. Based on the ACFM technology, this paper studies the influence of probe scanning speed, crack length and depth on the detection signal. Combined with the optical moving rail device and ACFM detector, a rail dynamic scanning platform is built. The scanning speed of the probe is controlled by changing the moving speed of the rail, and then the influence of the speed on the magnetic response is explored. The detection results show that: with the increase of the speed, the abnormal variables of Bx and Bz signals decrease gradually. When the speed increases to 100 mm/s, defects are missed; under the same length and width, the abnormal variables of Bx and Bz signals increase with the increase of the defect depth. Under the same depth and width, the abnormal variables of Bx and Bz signals increase with the increase of the defect length.

To clarify how to arrive at earthquake ground motion parameters for use in evaluating the high rockfill dams during seismic loading conditions, as well as to evaluate reasonably the seismic response of dams subjected to strong earthquake, the differences of design response spectra determined by scenario earthquake and uniform hazard spectra theory are investigated in detail. Coupled with the safety evaluation of the Houziyan concrete-faced rockfill dam (CFRD) with a height of 200 m located in meizoseismal regions, comprehensive comparisons of key safety evaluation indices are performed using input motions determined from the abovementioned two design response spectra. The key safety evaluation indices include dynamic response acceleration, permanent deformation, safety of the impervious body, safety factor, and sliding displacement of the potential failure sliding body. Additionally, the ultimate seismic capability of the high CFRD is discussed based on the two response spectra. More considerable results can be achieved and offered to the engineers for the seismic design. It is obvious that the uniform hazard spectra, which are used to adopt in the safety evaluation of high CFRD, typically result in conservative evaluations and unnecessary economic cost for seismic design and reinforcements.

Objectives Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the current gold-standard treatment for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and upper airway anatomy plays an increasingly important role in evaluating the efficacy of CPAP therapy. The aim of this observational study was to investigate the influence of upper airway anatomy on CPAP titration in OSA patients assessed by computed tomography (CT) during Müller's maneuver. Methods Consecutive patients under investigation for OSA by undergoing polysomnography and CT scan of the upper airway while awake were enrolled. Successful full-night manual titration was performed to determine the optimal CPAP pressure level for OSA patients in supine position using a nasal mask. Results A total of 157 subjects (134 males and 23 females) were included. Both apnea–hypopnea index (AHI) and LaSO2 significantly correlated with CPAP titration level, upper airway length (UAL), distance from mandibular plane to hyoid bone (MPH), and neck circumference (all p

Gravel materials are widely used in dam engineering in western China due to their excellent engineering characteristics such as high compaction density, high shear strength and strong water permeability. The compaction standard of gravel materials is evaluated by the relative density index. Therefore, after a reasonable compaction standard is determined, the next most critical link is the control of construction filling quality. Based on the results of field rolling tests, this paper analyzes the basic influence laws of gravel content, paving thickness, rolling times and water content on the compaction dry density and relative density of gravel materials, and studies the basic compaction characteristics of gravel materials, and determines the construction compaction parameters based on satisfying the design compaction standard. By controlling the gradation, rolling parameters and water content of dam construction gravel materials, the filling quality of dam construction can meet the design compaction standard, so as to ensure the safety and stability of dams.

The quantum theory of concerted electronic and nuclear fluxes (CENFs) during coherent periodic tunnelling from reactants (R) to products (P) and back to R in molecules with asymmetric double-well potentials is developed. The results are deduced from the solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation as a coherent superposition of two eigenstates; here, these are the two states of the lowest tunnelling doublet. This allows the periodic time evolutions of the resulting electronic and nuclear probability densities (EPDs and NPDs) as well as the CENFs to be expressed in terms of simple sinusodial functions. These analytical results reveal various phenomena during coherent tunnelling in asymmetric double-well potentials, e.g., all EPDs and NPDs as well as all CENFs are synchronous. Distortion of the symmetric reference to a system with an asymmetric double-well potential breaks the spatial symmetry of the EPDs and NPDs, but, surprisingly, the symmetry of the CENFs is conserved. Exemplary application to the Cope rearrangement of semibullvalene shows that tunnelling of the ideal symmetric system can be suppressed by asymmetries induced by rather small external electric fields. The amplitude for the half tunnelling, half nontunnelling border is as low as 0.218 × 10(-8) V/cm. At the same time, the delocalized eigenstates of the symmetric reference, which can be regarded as Schrödinger's cat-type states representing R and P with equal probabilities, get localized at one or the other minima of the asymmetric double-well potential, representing either R or P.

Lead-acid batteries are widely used in all walks of life, the State-of-Charge is the most important part of the battery management system. On account of the strong coupling, multivariable, nonlinear characteristics of the batteries, this paper adopts the LS-SVM method to predict remaining battery capacity. The nonlinear POLYnomial (POLY) kernel is employed to design the LS-SVM. Aiming at predigesting the hardware requirement of the LS-SVM application, this paper uses the deduced induction of the input vector to simplify the POLY kernel, greatly reducing the memory capacity of the practical application. At last, simulation on MATLAB was done to verify the validity of the proposed model, the simulation results show that the LS-SVM based on the simplified PLOY kernel is applicable to battery SOC estimation, and the estimation error can be controlled within 5%.

Based on the detailed in-situ investigations and analyses of earthquake-induced damage of Zipingpu CFRD (Concrete Faced Rock-fill Dam) after the ‘5.12’ Wenchuan earthquake in China, some available guidelines and experiences for seismic design of CFRD with the height above 200 m which will be built in high seismicity area can be obtained. As we know, the Zipingpu CFRD subjected to the strong earthquake with magnitude of IX suffers a little damage and operates well after repair, it is proved that reasonable seismic design can prevent the CFRD dams from severe damage or collapse during strong earthquake. The key parts of seismic design for CFRD located high seismic area mainly contain that: 1) protection of dam crest and slopes, 2) improving tensile and compressive strength of vertical joints, 3) seismic design of horizontal construction joint, 4) reducing earthquake-induced deformation, etc.

Purpose Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is suggested as a potential risk factor of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, the underlying mechanism is still far from clear. The aim of this observational study was to investigate the influence of OSA-related hypoxia on severity of liver injury in patients with NAFLD. Methods Consecutive patients with ultrasound-diagnosed NAFLD who underwent standard polysomnography were enrolled. Fasting blood samples were obtained from all patients for biological profile measurements, and demographic data were collected. Subjects were divided into control, moderate, and severe groups. Results A total of 85 subjects with 73 males and 12 females were included (mean age, 44.67 ± 1.28 years; mean body mass index, 27.28 ± 0.33 kg/m2). Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), ALT/AST, gamma glutamyltransferase, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol, fasting glucose, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein significantly increased with the aggravation of OSA. In multivariate analysis, oxygen desaturation index was the major contributing factor for elevated ALT (β = 0.435, p = 0.000), average O2 saturation was the major independent predictor of elevated AST (β = −0.269, p = 0.020). Conclusions OSA-related hypoxia was independently associated with the biochemical evidence of liver injury in the presence of NAFLD.

Client puzzles, a type of cryptographic puzzle, have been proposed and developed by many scholars to guarantee network security. In this paper, we proposed C2Puzzle, a novel computational client puzzle. By using the iterative algorithm, C2Puzzle successfully combined the basic principles of prime factorization and discrete logarithm problem. We show that, C2Puzzle has the visible security advantages, and the adjustability of puzzle difficulty is in fine granularity.

The system of the private scientific and technological enterprise software developers survival state evaluation is relatively insufficient, with only a few records. For this reason, the paper sets up a dynamic model of private scientific and technological enterprise's software developers survival state evaluation by combining the career cycle with the static model of survival state evaluation, and investigates and evaluates 407 software developers of the private scientific and technological enterprise from five cities. Results show that, the evaluation model is more operational and practicable.

The large-scale models of core rock-fill dam were constructed firstly, and the model dams were vibrated on large shaking table. In this paper, the dynamic analysis methods of earth-rock fill dam were verified base on the results of large-scale shaking model test, including the equivalent linear analysis method base on equivalent linear visco-elastic model and the effective stress analysis method of earth-rock fill dam. Study results show that: the value of natural vibration frequency of model dam which was calculated though characteristic value method using maximum dynamic shear modulus is close to the value which obtained from shaking model test; the acceleration response of the model dam under earthquake were simulated well by the equivalent linear analysis method base on equivalent linear visco-elastic model, and the calculated acceleration response values of model dam are close to the experiment results; because the finite element method (FEM) base on continuum media theory can not well reflect the loosening phenomenon of soil in vibration, the calculated acceleration response values are lower than experiment results; the effective stress analysis method of earth-rock fill dam can consider the dissipation and diffusion of dynamic pore water pressure during earthquake, and the calculated acceleration response values of model dam are close to the experiment results when the reservoir before dam was full of water.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this observational study was to investigate the relationship between upper-airway configuration assessed by CT imaging during the Muller maneuver state and the severity of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). METHODS: A total of 358 snoring subjects who underwent standard polysomnography and upper-airway configuration by using CT imaging were enrolled. According to the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), subjects were classified into 4 groups: snoring group (simple snoring), AHI < 5; mild OSAS, 5 ≤ AHI < 15; moderate OSAS, 15 ≤ AHI < 30; and severe OSAS, AHI ≥ 30. We also divided the upper airway into 3 parts, named the nasopharynx, oropharynx, and hypopharynx, from the CT scan and evaluated the minimal cross-sectional area (mCSA) and the shape of each airway level and calculated upper-airway length and distance from mandibular plane to hyoid bone (MPH). RESULTS: Multivariate logistic stepwise regression analysis identified body mass index (BMI), mCSA of nasopharynx, upper-airway length, and MPH as risk factors for the severity of OSAS. When subdivided for BMI and sex, upper-airway length was a risk factor for OSAS in non-obese (BMI < 27 kg/m2) and male subjects, and MPH was a risk factor only in obese (BMI ≥ 27 kg/m2) subjects. Meanwhile, mCSA of nasopharynx was significantly associated with the severity of OSAS independent of BMI. CONCLUSIONS: Subjects with severe OSAS have more significant abnormalities of the upper airway. Obesity, mCSA of nasopharynx, upper-airway length, and MPH may contribute to the severity of OSAS. Obesity and sex should be taken into account when evaluating the abnormalities of upper-airway anatomy in snorers and patients with OSAS.

The relationship between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is gaining increased attention. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship of OSA with NAFLD defined by an elevated fatty liver index (FLI).A total of 319 consecutive patients who underwent standard polysomnography were enrolled. Fasting blood samples were obtained from all patients for biological profile measurements, and demographic data were collected. Values of FLI were determined and assessed as predictors of the presence of NAFLD, as measured by ultrasound. The discriminative ability of FLI was estimated on the basis of the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve.An FLI of 60 achieved the highest diagnostic accuracy and yielded an area under the receiver operator characteristic curve of 0.822 (95% confidence interval: 0.729-0.916) in the detection of NAFLD. Patients with an FLI of 60 or higher had a significantly lower lowest O2 saturation (73 vs. 83%, P0.001), a lower mean nocturnal oxygen saturation (93 vs. 95%, P0.001), a higher apnea-hypopnea index (39.7 vs. 18.4, P0.001), a higher oxygen desaturation index (39 vs. 10.6, P0.001), and a higher percentage of sleep time spent with SpO2 less than 90% (4.63 vs. 0.92%, P0.001) compared with those with FLI less than 60. In multivariate analysis, the presence of OSA was independently associated with elevated FLI after adjusting for confounding factors (odds ratio: 5.141, 95% confidence interval: 1.414-18.696, P=0.013).Our results suggest a positive association between the severity of OSA and NAFLD defined by an elevated FLI, which may serve as a good biomarker for detecting NAFLD in OSA patients.

In this paper, we focuses on combustion characteristics of the mixed gas of methane/air in the ring porous medium burner using numerical simulating method. The influencing factors of combustion, such as different methane/air ratio, the velocity of flow and heat loss of internal and external wall, are discussed, and it is shown that the ring porous medium burners have some advantages different from straight or rectangular porous media burners. Due to annular asymmetric structure, the temperature distribution of ring porous media burners are more uniform, and are no unfavorable phenomena such as the local high temperature and the hot spots. The simulation results for annular porous medium provides important theoretical basis for the development of new porous medium burners.

For the flaw of safety evaluation system using safety factor as control index, seismic permanent deformation is used to evaluate the safety of earth rock fill dam. In this study, the seismic deformation of Zipingpu dam after Wenchuan earthquake is measured and analysis. The deformation in the middle of the riverbed on the crest is the largest. The deformation in the left dam abutment is smaller than that in the right. The seismic permanent deformation on the crest grows rapidly in the first three days, and then develops slowly. The results show that deformation grows along the height of dam with the relation of exponential or power function.

The volatile oil of leaves and barks of Calycopteris floribunda was examined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). 52 volatile chemical components in leaves were identified. The antimicrobial assay of oils in the leaves and barks was carried out by disk diffusion method in vitro. The major components (mass fraction) in leaves are caryophyllene oxide (13.79%), n-hexadecanoic acid (11.91%) and β-caryophyllene (10.45%). Ten constituents are identified accounting for about 99.98% of the total volatile oil in the bark. Among these components, n-hexadecanoic acid (59.18%), linolic acid (12.70%) and butyl octyl phthalate (8.21%) are the major constituents. The oils exhibit strong antimicrobial activity and display more potent against bacteria than fungi.

Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), which is commonly considered a cardinal sign of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), may lead to an increased rate of metabolic syndrome (MetS), and be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the role of EDS in MetS and its components by researching severe OSA patients.The records of 175 consecutive patients who underwent standard polysomnography and diagnosed severe OSA were included. Subjective daytime sleepiness was assessed using the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS). Fasting glucose, lipids, insulin and polysomnography parameters were measured. A metabolic score was counted as the total number of the positive diagnostic criteria of MetS for each subject, which indicated the level of metabolic disorder.The prevalence of central obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, low high density lipoprotein-cholesterol and MetS (78.2% vs 28.6%) was significantly higher among EDS group compared with control group. Compared with non-EDS patients, patients with EDS showed significantly higher metabolic score (3.22 ± 0.94 vs 1.96 ± 1.06). After adjustment for confounders, ESS score, log insulin and age significantly predicted the metabolic score (β = 0.567, P = 0.000; β = 0.197, P = 0.001 and β = 0.118, P = 0.048, respectively).EDS was independently correlated with the sum of metabolic components in severe OSA patients. Our study suggested that EDS might be a potentially useful clinical marker to identify patients with severe OSA at risk of MetS.

Background Lung ischemia–reperfusion injury (LIRI) may occur in the region of the affected lung after reperfusion therapy. Inhaled NO may be useful in treating acute and chronic pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) due to the biological effect property of NO. Methods A PTE canine model was established through selectively embolizing blood clots to an intended right lower lobar pulmonary artery. PaO2/FiO2, the mPAP and PVR were investigated at the time points of 2, 4, 6 hours after inhaled NO. Masson’s trichrome stain, apoptotic pneumocytes and lung sample ultrastructure were also investigated among different groups. Results The PaO2/FiO2 in the Inhaled NO group increased significantly when compared with the Reperfusion group at time points of 4 and 6 hours after reperfusion, mPAP decreased significantly at point of 2 hours and the PVR decreased significantly at point of 6 hours after reperfusion. The amounts of apoptotic type II pneumocytes in the lower lobar lung have negative correlation trend with the arterial blood PaO2/FiO2 in Reperfusion group and Inhaled NO group. Inhaled nitric oxide given at 20 ppm for 6 hours can significantly alleviate the LIRI in the model. Conclusions Dramatic physiological improvements are seen during the therapeutic use of inhaled NO in pulmonary thromboembolism canine model. Inhaled NO may be useful in treating LIRI in acute or chronic PTE by alleviating apoptotic type II pneumocytes. This potential application warrants further investigation.

To evaluate the relationship between high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) level and the severity of obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) in non-obese patients.A total of 65 patients with suspected OSAHS were recruited. Those with a history of cardiovascular or cerebrovascular events, arterial hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes mellitus and smoking were excluded. All subjects were examined by polysomnography. Subjects with an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) ≥ 5 were considered to have OSAHS. They were divided into mild, moderate and severe OSAHS groups and those with an AHI5 were accepted into the control group. The serum level of hs-CRP, a biomarker for cardiovascular disease, was measured with peripheral venous blood samples.There were 53 males and 12 females with a mean age 44.3 ± 12.2 years and a body mass index (BMI)25 kg/m(2). The serum levels of hs-CRP were significantly higher in OSAHS patients than those of the controls (geometric mean [95% confidence interval] 0.416 [0.288-0.600] vs 0.749 [0.559-1.003] mg/L, P0.05). Mean levels of hs-CRP did not differ between the group with mild-to-moderate OSAHS and the control group. However, the severe OSAHS group had a higher level of hs-CRP than the control group (P = 0.004). A significant positive relationship existed between hs-CRP and AHI (r = 0.407, P = 0.001) . According to stepwise multivariate analysis, only AHI was a reliable predictor for elevated serum level of hs-CRP among all these related factors (R(2) = 0.166, P = 0.001).The severity of OSAHS is associated with an elevated serum level of hs-CRP in non-obese patients.

To analyze the effects of long term nasal continuous positive airway pressure on the blood pressure of patients with OSAHS.From April 1997 to October 2008, 2898 patients from the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University who complained snore during sleeping were studied. Nine hundred eighty cases were diagnosed as OSAHS with hypertension, and these patients were randomly divided into 2 groups: one group was treated with antihypertensive drugs and nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP), while the other group only received antihypertensive drugs. The polysomnography (PSG) was recorded during sleeping and the blood pressure was remeasured after 6 months or more. All patients were followed up for 5 years to observe the long-term effects of nCPAP or drugs.Systolic and diastolic blood pressure in the nCPAP group significantly decreased after 6 months [(125 ± 16) mm Hg (1 mm Hg = 0.133 kPa) vs (136 ± 19) mm Hg, (83 ± 10) mm Hg vs (95 ± 15) mm Hg, P0.05], and the decreasing extent of blood pressure in nCPAP group was more notable than antihypertensive drug group [decreasing extent of systolic blood pressure:(10 ± 11) mm Hg vs (4 ± 11) mm Hg; decreasing extent of diastolic blood pressure: (11 ± 7) mm Hg vs (6 ± 7) mm Hg; P0.05]. The total effective rate in nCPAP group was significantly higher than that in antihypertensive drug group (90% vs 38%, P0.01). One hundred and eighty three cases in nCPAP group and 157 cases in antihypertensive drug group completed the 5-year follow-up and the blood pressure was controlled within the normal range. Some patients could gradually reduce or stop the use of antihypertensive drugs and the blood pressure didn't appear to rebound. The number of antihypertensive drugs in the nCPAP group was significantly fewer as compared to the antihypertensive drugs group after 2, 3, 4 and 5 years' follow-up.nCPAP is a safe and effective treatment for high blood pressure in patients with OSAHS.

Magic square and stream cipher issues are both interesting and well‐tried topics. In this paper, we are proposing a new scheme which streams cipher applications for random access files based on the magic square method. There are two thresholds required to secure our data, if using only decrypts by the stream cipher. It isn’t to recovery original source. On other hand, we improve the model of cipher stream to strengthen and defend efficiently; it also was its own high speed and calculates to most parts of the key stream generator.

3D data registration and classifier are two important components in face recognition system. Aiming at the current methods' handicaps such as slow convergence and easiness of getting into local optimization, this paper presents a novel face recognition method using filled function, one of the effective deterministic methods. It gives a modified concept of filled function based on Ge, and proposes a more practicable one-parameter filled function. Then it works out an improved ICP 3D data registration algorithm and an improved BP neural network classifier, both combining filled function method. The filled function method can find a lower minimizer by leaving the minimizer previously found. By repeating these processes, a global minimizer is obtained. Experiments show that this face recognition method decreases the amount of calculation, improves the accuracy of recognition precision and has an actual recognition effect.

This paper presents an evolutionary approach to dynamic enterprise process modeling and its supporting development environment. A dynamic enterprise process collaborative modeling framework is proposed for enterprise process evolution. Zero-time enterprise modeling using components assembly technologies and layered complex enterprise processes modeling approaches are discussed. Based on an autonomous agent development environment, an agent-based enterprise collaborative modeling environment was implemented which had integrated some of software resource agents wrapped from the main function modules of EPMS (enterprise process modeling system) to validate the proposed evolutionary approach.

This paper presents an evolutionary approach supporting enterprise process modeling using intelligent agent technology. In this paper, an evolutionary enterprise process modeling methodology was presented from the concepts of enterprise process evolution, zero-time enterprise modeling technology to complex enterprise modeling. Based on an autonomous agent development environment, an agent-based enterprise collaborative modeling environment was implemented in which integrated some of software resource agents wrapped from the main function modules of EPMS (enterprise process modeling system).

The paper presents a flexible business application system development platform called FADP, which contains an enterprise process modeling system (EPMS) and an application system building environment (ASBE). System architecture and the key technologies of FADP are presented, including zero-time enterprise modeling based on components assembly techniques, zero-time enterprise model optimization based on dynamic process optimization techniques, component model-driven code generation (i.e., zero-time system construction), and cooperative work based on process model with flexible scheduling strategies. The proposed platform supports business process evolution in an enterprise's lifecycle.

The paper introduces an adaptive business system development platform called FADP, which contains an enterprise process modeling system EPMS and an information system building system ISBS. It discusses key techniques and implementation, such as zero-time enterprise modeling based on model components assembly technique, zero-time enterprise model optimizing based on process dynamic optimizing technique, component-based code generation from process model (i.e., zero-time system construction), and cooperate work based on process model with flexible schedule strategy.

A systematic investigation is carried out on the optimization of diffraction efficiency (DE) of only methylene blue sensitized gelatin (MBG) holograms. The influence of the following factors on DE are studied: the concentration of methylene blue (Cm), the concentration of ammonium dichromate solution (Ca), swelling temperature (Ts), exposure (E) and the relative humidity of air (RH). This study shows that under the condition of Cm-0.009%; Ca- 5%; Ts within 35 - 45 degree(s)C; E-150 mJ/cm2; RH within 45 - 65%, an optimum DE of over 80%, even 90% can be achieved in MBG holograms. In our experiments we find that a moderate DE(35%) is obtained without dichromate solution in post- processing. In order to know the role which the condition of bathing the plate in a dichromate solution plays and the photo-chemical mechanism of forming the interference pattern in the films, the X-ray spectra are made, the Cr3+ ligands are not found; this means that the quantity of Cr3+ ligands is too small to measure, even if its is existing in the processed film. These results can not be interpreted with the normal photo-chemical mechanism of forming the holograms.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.