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Cu-based functional materials are excellent candidates for the elimination of iodine anions. However, the low utilization rate of Cu and its unsatisfactory adsorption performance limit its large-scale practical applications. This paper proposes a co-gelation method to obtain Cu/Al

The present study was conducted to evaluate the influence of Glycyrrhiza uralensis (G. uralensis) extracts on the growth performance, histological structure, immune response and disease resistance against Flavobacterium columnare (F. columnare) of yellow catfish. Fish were fed with two different diets, i.e., basal diet as control group (CG) and diet containing G. uralensis extracts as experimental group (GG). After 60 days feeding, growth performance of GG fish was significantly improved, with increased WG and SGR but decreased FCR compared to CG fish. Fish were then challenged with F. columnare for two times, as fish showed rare mortality after the first infection. GG fish showed significantly lower cumulative mortality during F. cloumnare infection than CG fish after 21 days infection (dpi). Epithelial cell exfoliation and obvious cellular vacuolization in the skin and congestion of gill lamellae were detected in CG fish, while GG fish showed increased width of epidermis and mucous cells number in skin, and increased length of secondary lamina in gill. GG fish also exhibited higher enzyme activity of lysozyme in serum and mRNA expression of lysozyme in head kidney than CG fish at most time points post infection. G. uralensis extracts supplementation also induced earlier serum anti-oxidative responses, with increased superoxide dismutase activity and total antioxidant capacity in GG fish at 1 dpi. Compared to CG fish, GG fish showed increased expression level of genes involved in TLRs-NFκB signaling (TLR2, TLR3, TLR5, TLR9, Myd88, and p65NFκB), resulting in higher expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β and IL-8) in the head kidney post infection. However, these genes showed deviation in the gill of GG fish, which increased at some time points but decreased at other time points. Moreover, G. uralensis extracts supplementation also significantly unregulated the expression levels of IgM and IgD in head kidney, and the expression levels of IgM in the gill of yellow catfish, suggesting the elevated humoral immune response during F. columnare infection. All these results contributed to the elevated disease resistance ability against F. cloumnare infection of yellow catfish after dietary G. uralensis extracts supplementation.

Background Currently, there are no known reports on the aetiology of local giant cell tumour (GCT) recurrence in the proximal fibula following en bloc resection. We analysed 21 cases of proximal fibular GCT, focusing on the presence of residual bone in the tibiofibular joint, its causes and its impact on postoperative recurrence. Methods We retrospectively analysed 21 cases with proximal fibular GCT occurring between 2000 and 2017. Results There were 14 males and 7 females. The average patient age was 25.0 years. Seventeen patients were diagnosed and treated at our facility, while 4 were referred after local recurrence. Six patients presented with residual bone fragments in the tibiofibular joint during their first month of follow-up. Patients with residual bone fragments had a higher local recurrence rate (83.3%) than those without (0%, p = 0.0003). Upon further analysis, patients with a preoperative Campanacci grade III tumour (p = 0.0055) and pathological fractures (p = 0.0109) were at a higher risk of exhibiting postoperative residual bone fragments. Conclusions The presence of residual bone fragments in the tibiofibular joint was the main cause of postoperative local recurrence. The presence of residual bone fragments may be related to the preoperative Campanacci grade and pathological fractures. Therefore, close attention should be paid to postoperative follow-up examinations, and if recurrence is suspected, surgical resection should be planned.

This paper addresses the inability of the strapdown seeker to indirectly measure line-of-sight (LOS) rate and the strongly nonlinear relative motion equations of missile and target. Strong tracking theory is combined with cubature Kalman filter (CKF), and a novel nonlinear filter for LOS rate estimation is presented; this filter is called the strong tracking CKF (STCKF). On the basis of the relative motion relationship of missile and target, the LOS rate reconstruction model is derived. Then, the STCKF algorithm is proposed by introducing a suboptimal fading factor into the predicted error covariance of the CKF. Finally, the validity and feasibility of the proposed algorithm are verified by simulation. Simulation results show that the proposed STCKF maintains the strong tracking ability for abrupt state changes. A comparison with CKF shows that STCKF can improve the LOS rate estimation precision for a strapdown seeker with better robustness and adaptability.

The information fusion algorithm based on extended Kalman filter is widely used in the field of information fusion because of its relatively simple algorithm and solid theoretical foundation. This paper uses the advantages of neural networks and their advantages in solving nonlinear and time-varying systems to improve the traditional extended Kalman filtering method, improve the speed and accuracy of filtering, and improve the quality of active and passive data fusion.

Background The tumor suppressor role of tissue factor pathway inhibitor 2 (TFPI-2) has been reported in various tumors. The present study aimed to improve the understanding of the oncogenic properties of TFPI-2 in gastric cancer. Methods Relative expression of TFPI-2 was determined by a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and western blotting, respectively. Cell viability was measured via a cell counting kit-8 assay and proliferation was evaluated by a colony formation assay. Cell apoptosis was assessed with a caspase-3 activity kit and invasion was evaluated by a transwell chamber assay. The methylation level of TFPI-2 promoter was assayed by methylation-specific PCR. The regulatory effect of miR-27a-3p on TFPI-2 was analyzed with a luciferase reporter assay. The direct association between miR-27a-3p and TFPI-2 was shown by biotin-labelling pulldown. Results TFPI-2 was down-regulated in gastric cancer, which associated with an unfavorable prognosis clinically. Ectopic introduction of TFPI-2 greatly compromised cell viability, colony formation and invasive capacity, and also induced cell apoptosis simultaneously. The promoter region of TFPI-2 was extensively methylated in gastric cancer tissues compared to normal tissues, suggesting the epigenetic inhibition of TFPI-2 expression. We further identified that TFPI-2 functioned as sponge RNA against miR-27a-3p. Most importantly, miR-27a-3p-specific inhibitor significantly exerted a tumor suppressor function akin to TFPI-2 itself, and the anti-tumoral activities were completely abolished by TFPI-2 knockdown. Conclusions We found that the epigenetically suppressed TFPI-2 compromised sponging effects with respect to miR-27a-3p in gastric cancer, which consequently and mechanistically contributed to the tumor biology of gastric cancer.

Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) are the digital equivalent of paper records, which include treatment and medical history about a patient. At present, the main research goal of Chinese EMRS is to accurately recognize the body parts, drugs, illnesses and other information in the Chinese medical process. Implementing EMRs can boost both the quality and safety of patient care. In Chinese EMRs, how to accurately recognize named entities is important because it is useful to predict the disease risk, therapeutic method and recovery probability. This paper proposes a novel deep learning framework, which uses character-word joint embedding and combines different feature information based on the dictionary. Compared with the predecessors, we incorporate word-level information based on the basic Bi-LSTM model. In addition, we propose an improved n-gram feature encoding method and compare it with PDET feature and PIET feature. Our experimental results demonstrate that our proposed model performs the best in predicting named entities in Chinese EMRs.

The pulp and paper industry has polluted a large amount of water, and it has the traits of high concentration and wide coverage, which can be said to be one of the most serious polluting sectors in China. With the rapid development of the paper industry, the treatment of its wastewater has also attracted the attention of many departments. The treatment of industrial wastes from the paper industry has always been concerned by researchers, and it has many treatment methods which has its own advantages and disadvantages. This paper discusses different common methods and combination techniques and their application in treatment of industrial wastes from the paper industry.

Electro-Sorption Technology (EST) is also known as Capacitive Deionization (CDI). It originated in the late 1990s. Electro-Sorption desalination technology is a new water treatment technology that uses the phenomenon of ions and charged particles adsorbed on the surface of charged electrode to enrich and concentrate dissolved salts and other charged substances in the water on the surface of electrode to realize water purification/desalination. As a new water treatment technology, Electro-Sorption technology (EST) has the characteristics of low inlet water quality, reliable operation, low energy consumption, convenient operation, high water yield and low comprehensive operation cost. The electrode material with high activity is the key to obtain its high performance. According to different water quality conditions, the electrode material which is good for ion adsorption in solution should be studied. The application of this low-energy water purification technology in real life has become a new research hotspot.

Several methods of starch wastewater treatment in recent years, including physical method, physical-chemical process, biological method and combined process method, were reviewed. The advantages and disadvantages of these methods are analyzed, and the development and research direction of these methods are prospected.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the anticancer effect of resibufogenin in gastric carcinoma cells through the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT)/glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) signaling pathway. MGC-803 cells were treated with 0, 1, 2, 4 and 8 µM resibufogenin for 12, 24 and 48 h. Cell viability and apoptosis were measured using an MTT assay and annexin V staining. Caspase-3 and caspase-8 activity were identified using caspase-3 and caspase-8 activity kits and a variety of protein expression [B cell lymphoma (Bcl)-2, Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax), cyclin D1, cyclin E, PI3K, phosphorylated AKT, phosphorylated GSK3β and β-catenin] were quantified using western blot analysis. It was revealed that resibufogenin effectively inhibited cell proliferation, and induced apoptosis and caspase-3 and caspase-8 activity in MGC-803 cells. Furthermore, treatment with resibufogenin effectively increased Bax/Bcl-2 expression, and suppressed cyclin D1, cyclin E, PI3K, phosphorylated AKT, phosphorylated GSK3β and β-catenin protein expression in MGC-803 cells. These results suggest that the anticancer effect of resibufogenin induces gastric carcinoma cell death through the PI3K/AKT/GSK3β signaling pathway, offering a novel view of the mechanism by which resibufogenin functions as an agent to treat gastric carcinoma.

This study analyzes the effects of disturbance rejection and radome error on the stability of guidance systems. First, disturbance rejection rate transfer function (DRRTF) models are established. Second, the Lyapunov stability of a proportional navigation guidance system is proposed. The passivity theorems are introduced for the analysis of the Lyapunov stability of the nonlinear time-varying system. Finally, the influence of the different DRRTF models on the stability of the guidance system is analyzed by mathematical simulations. The simulation results indicate that the stable boundary of the guidance system varies and its tolerance to disturbance differs significantly for various disturbance torque types and radome slope.

An accurate understanding of the characteristics of battery heat generation is essential to the development and success of thermal management systems for electric vehicles. In this study, a calorimeter capable of measuring the heat generation rates of a prismatic battery is developed and verified by using a controllable electric heater. The heat generation rates of a prismatic A123 LiFePO 4 battery is measured for discharge rates ranging from 0.25C to 3C and operating temperature ranging from −10 °C to 40 °C. At low rates of discharge the heat generation is not significant, even becoming endothermic at the battery operating temperatures of 30 °C and 40 °C. Heat of mixing is observed to be a non-negligible component of total heat generation at discharge rates as low as 0.25C for all tested battery operating temperatures. A double plateau in battery discharge curve is observed for operating temperatures of 30 °C and 40 °C. The developed experimental facility can be used for the characterization of heat generation for any prismatic battery, regardless of chemistries.

It is imperative to determine accurately battery discharge characteristics at various battery operating temperatures, which vary significantly over the vehicle lifetime and which strongly impact the performance, driving range and durability of batteries used in electric vehicles. In this study, an experimental facility has been developed to measure the battery discharge characteristics accurately through precise control of operating temperatures utilizing a water–ethylene glycol solution in a constant temperature thermal bath. The results show a maximum variation of 0.3 °C temporally and 0.4 °C spatially in battery temperature throughout the discharge tests at a 3C discharge rate, in contrast to 13.1 °C temperature change temporally and 4.3 °C spatially when using the conventional air convection temperature control method under the same test conditions. The new method of battery temperature control developed in this study yields more accurate battery discharge characterization due to both the elimination of state-of-charge drift caused by spatial variations in battery temperature, and inaccurate discharge characteristics due to battery heat up at various discharge and ambient conditions.

Study design: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Background: Anchor screw fixation and mini-plate fixation are widely used in unilateral open-door laminoplasty. There is a great controversy over the preferred fixation method. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical outcomes between anchor screw fixation and mini-plate fixation for the treatment of multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy (MCSM). Methods: Related studies that compared the clinical effectiveness of anchor screw fixation and mini-plate fixation in cervical laminoplasty for the treatment of MCSM were acquired by a comprehensive search in PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane library, CNKI, VIP, and WANFANG up to March, 2018. Included studies were evaluated according to eligibility criteria. The main end points included: preoperative Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) scores, postoperative JOA scores, JOA scores improvement rate, preoperative and postoperative cervical range of motion (ROM), preoperative and postoperative cervical curvature index (CCI), lamina open angle, operation time, blood loss, C5 nerve palsy rate and axial symptoms rate. Results: Papers in English and Chinese were searched for the initial review, but only 12 articles in Chinese were included in this meta-analysis. All of the selected studies were of high quality as indicated by the Newcastle–Ottawa scale (NOS). Among 809 patients, 372 underwent anchor screw fixation and 437 underwent mini-plate fixation. The results of this meta-analysis indicated that no significant difference was found in preoperative JOA score, JOA scores improvement rate, preoperative CCI, preoperative ROM, C5 palsy rate and blood loss. However, compared with mini-plate fixation, anchor screw fixation patients showed higher axial symptoms rate [RR = 1.75, 95% CI (1.31, 2.35), P

Telescopic mechanism has lots of merits and is used in devices and equipment long before the appearance of robots. This paper explores the merits of telescopic mechanism and designs a cable-driven multi-stage telescopic arm with only one actuated degree of freedom (DOF) for mobile surveillance robots. We use pulleys and cables as the transmission system and use a DC motor together with harmonic drive as the actuation system. We analyze the integration of pulleys and cables to reduce cost and carry out numerical analysis by simulation and prototyping. The results show that our arm is fast, portable, stable and has low cost. We expect it to be widely employed for camera lifting tasks in mobile surveillance systems without significantly increasing costs. We also expect its general usage as an arm to support various end-effectors.