Fatigue Performance Prediction of RC Beams Based on Optimized Machine Learning Technology

The development of fatigue damage in reinforced concrete (RC) beams is affected by various factors such as repetitive loads and material properties, and there exists a complex nonlinear mapping relationship between their fatigue performance and each factor. To this end, a fatigue performance prediction model for RC beams was proposed based on the deep belief network (DBN) optimized by particle swarm optimization (PSO). The original database of fatigue loading tests was established by conducting fatigue loading tests on RC beams. The mid-span deflection, reinforcement strain, and concrete strain during fatigue loading of RC beams were predicted and evaluated. The fatigue performance prediction results of the RC beam based on the PSO-DBN model were compared with those of the single DBN model and the BP model. The models were evaluated using the R² coefficient, mean absolute percentage error, mean absolute error, and root mean square error. The results showed that the fatigue performance prediction model of RC beams based on PSO-DBN is more accurate and efficient.

Prediction of nitrogen excretion from data on dairy cows fed a wide range of diets compiled in an intercontinental database: A meta-analysis

Manure nitrogen (N) from cattle contributes to nitrous oxide and ammonia emissions and nitrate leaching. Measurement of manure N outputs on dairy farms is laborious, expensive, and impractical at large scales; therefore, models are needed to predict N excreted in urine and feces. Building robust prediction models requires extensive data from animals under different management systems worldwide. Thus, the study objectives were (1) to collate an international database of N excretion in feces and urine based on individual lactating dairy cow data from different continents; (2) to determine the suitability of key variables for predicting fecal, urinary, and total manure N excretion; and (3) to develop robust and reliable N excretion prediction models based on individual data from lactating dairy cows consuming various diets. A raw data set was created based on 5,483 individual cow observations, with 5,420 fecal N excretion and 3,621 urine N excretion measurements collected from 162 in vivo experiments conducted by 22 research institutes mostly located in Europe (n = 14) and North America (n = 5). A sequential approach was taken in developing models with increasing complexity by incrementally adding variables that had a significant individual effect on fecal, urinary, or total manure N excretion. Nitrogen excretion was predicted by fitting linear mixed models including experiment as a random effect. Simple models requiring dry matter intake (DMI) or N intake performed better for predicting fecal N excretion than simple models using diet nutrient composition or milk performance parameters. Simple models based on N intake performed better for urinary and total manure N excretion than those based on DMI, but simple models using milk urea N (MUN) and N intake performed even better for urinary N excretion. The full model predicting fecal N excretion had similar performance to simple models based on DMI but included several independent variables (DMI, diet crude protein content, diet neutral detergent fiber content, milk protein), depending on the location, and had root mean square prediction errors as a fraction of the observed mean values of 19.1% for intercontinental, 19.8% for European, and 17.7% for North American data sets. Complex total manure N excretion models based on N intake and MUN led to prediction errors of about 13.0% to 14.0%, which were comparable to models based on N intake alone. Intercepts and slopes of variables in optimal prediction equations developed on intercontinental, European, and North American bases differed from each other, and therefore region-specific models are preferred to predict N excretion. In conclusion, region-specific models that include information on DMI or N intake and MUN are required for good prediction of fecal, urinary, and total manure N excretion. In absence of intake data, region-specific complex equations using easily and routinely measured variables to predict fecal, urinary, or total manure N excretion may be used, but these equations have lower performance than equations based on intake.

Ectopic expression of BrIQD35 promotes drought stress tolerance in Nicotiana benthamiana

The plant IQD gene family is responsive to a variety of stresses. In this study, we studied the structural features and functions of the gene BrIQD35 in Chinese cabbage, a member of the IQD gene family. BrIQD35 was cloned and shown to contain an IQ motif. Transient expression of BrIQD35 indicated that it was localized on the plasma membrane and was significantly upregulated under drought and salt stress in Chinese cabbage. To further identify the function of BrIQD35, it was heterologously overexpressed in Nicotiana benthamiana. Although there was no significant difference between BrIQD35-overexpressed and wild-type (WT) plants under salt stress, WT N. benthamiana showed more wilting than the BrIQD35-overexpressed plants under drought stress. Since the IQ motif has been annotated as a CaM binding site, yeast two-hybrid assays were used to explore the interaction between BrIQD35 and CaM. The results indicated that BrIQD35 interacts weakly with CaMb, but not with CaMa, suggesting that BrIQD35 may function through the Ca2+ -CaMb pathway. The findings reveal a novel gene involved in drought tolerance, which is important for plant breeding and quality improvement for Chinese cabbage.

Susceptibility-weighted imaging cannot distinguish radionecrosis from recurrence in brain metastases after radiotherapy: a comparison with high-grade gliomas

AIM

To explore the efficiency of susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) in the differential diagnosis of recurrence from radionecrosis in brain metastases (BM) and in high-grade gliomas (HGG).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

From September 2016 to November 2018, 56 patients with BM and 42 patients with HGG were included in this retrospective study. BM and HGG were assigned to the recurrence and radionecrosis groups according to their histopathology or follow-up results. The proportion of dark signal intensity (proDSI), which was defined as the area of dark signal on SWI or the enhancing area on contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging (T1WI), was calculated for each patient. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Tukey's honestly significant difference test was used for the repeat multiple comparisons. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to validate the diagnostic performance.

RESULTS

For HGG, the proDSI in the recurrence group was significantly lower than that in the radionecrosis group (0.13 ± 0.05 versus 0.43 ± 0.11, p<0.001); however, for BM, no statistical difference was found between groups (0.49 ± 0.09 versus 0.46 ± 0.08, p=0.26). proDSI had the best diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.76-0.98; sensitivity = 0.87; specificity = 0.88) for HGG, when a cut-off value of 0.21 was selected.

CONCLUSIONS

Semi-quantitative analysis using SWI is feasible for the differential diagnosis between recurrence and radionecrosis in HGG, but is not feasible in BM. Semi-quantitative assessment based on SWI should interpreted with caution in BM after radiotherapy in clinical practice.

[Analysis of 2 diagnostic criteria of echocardiography for coronary artery aneurysm in Kawasaki disease]

Objective: To analyze the difference between Z score and previous criteria in the diagnosis characteristics of coronary artery aneurysm (CAA) in Kawasaki disease, and to investigate the clinical distribution of Kawasaki disease CAA in the Z score group. Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed the clinical and echocardiographic data of 2 419 children with Kawasaki disease in Shenzhen Children's Hospital from January 2009 to December 2019. The traditional criteria and Z score criteria were used to diagnose CAA, and the differences of diagnostic efficiency between the 2 diagnostic methods were analyzed. The clinical distribution characteristics of CAA in children with Kawasaki disease were analyzed by grouping their sex, clinical classification (complete Kawasaki disease, incomplete Kawasaki disease) the sensitivity to intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) (IVIG-sensitive Kawasaki disease,IVIG-unresponsive Kawasaki disease). And the course of the disease (≤6 weeks, >6-8 weeks, >8 weeks to 6 months) etc. The χ² test or Kruskal-Wallis test was used for comparison between the groups, and the Kappa test was used for consistency evaluation. Results: Among the 2 419 children with Kawasaki disease, 1 558 were males and 861 were females. The age of onset was 1.8 (1.0, 3.2) years. The rate of CAA by Z score criteria was higher than that by traditional method (21.9% (529/2 419) vs. 13.9% (336/2 419), χ²=1 074.94, P<0.001). Compared to the traditional method, the Z score criteria found higher rate of CAA in male patients, patients with incomplete Kawasaki disease, and IVIG-unresponsive patients (25.2% (392/1 558) vs. 16.0% (249/1 558), (32.7% (166/507) vs. 19.5% (99/507), 30.5% (95/312) vs. 24.0% (75/312), χ²=694.05, 216.19, 184.37, all P<0.001). The Z score criteria was consistent with the traditional method in diagnosing CAA (κ=0.642,P<0.001). Moreover, in the Z score criteria, the rate of CAA in males (25.2%, 392/1 558) was higher than that in females (15.9%, 137/861), higher in incomplete Kawasaki cases (32.7%, 166/507) than that in complete Kawasaki case (19.0%, 363/1 912), and higher in IVIG-unresponsive cases (30.4%, 95/312) than that in IVIG-sensitive cases (20.6%, 434/2 107), with statistically significant differences (χ²=27.76, 44.38, 15.43, all P<0.001). Coronary Z score of course ≤ 6 weeks was greater than that of course between>6-8 weeks and >8 weeks to 6 months (1.3 (0.7, 2.3) vs. 0.7 (0.3, 1.4), 0.7 (0.3, 1.3), Z=20.65, 13.70, both P<0.001). Conclusions: The rate of CAA in Kawasaki disease by Z score criteria is higher than that by traditional method. In the Z score group, most CAA occur within 6 weeks of the course of the disease, and the rate of CAA in male, incomplete Kawasaki disease, and IVIG-unresponsive is higher.

Exosomal LncRNA RP5-977B1 as a novel minimally invasive biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the world. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for 85% of all lung cancer cases. For lack of conveniently sensitive and specific biomarkers, the majority of patients are in the late stage at initial diagnosis. Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs), a novel type of non-coding RNA, have recently been recognized as critical factors in tumor initiation and progression, but the role of exosomal LncRNAs has not been thoroughly excavated in NSCLC yet.

METHODS

We isolated exosomes from the serum of patients with NSCLC and healthy controls. Exosome RNA deep sequencing was subsequently performed to detect differentially expressed exosomal LncRNAs. qRT-PCR assay was then utilized to validate dysregulated LncRNAs in both testing and multicentric validation cohort. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to detect the diagnostic capability of exosomal biomarkers. Furthermore, Kaplan-Meier analysis was applied to evaluate the prognostic values of these molecules.

RESULTS

On the basis of analysis, we found that novel exosomal LncRNA RP5-977B1 exhibited higher levels in NSCLC than that in the healthy controls. The area under the curve (AUC) value of exosomal RP5-977B1 was 0.8899 and superior to conventional biomarkers CEA and CYFRA21-1 both in testing and multicentric validation cohort. Interestingly, the diagnostic capability of exosomal RP5-977B1 was also validated in early-stage patients with NSCLC. Furthermore, high expression of exosomal RP5-977B1was closely related with worse prognosis in NSCLC (P = 0.036).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggested that exosomal RP5-977B1 might serve as a novel "liquid biopsy" diagnostic and prognostic biomarker to monitor NSCLC and improve possible therapy.

[Research advances on application of botulinum toxin type A in scar prevention and treatment]

The wound healing time, tension of wound edge, proliferation of fibroblast, and extracellular matrix deposition are the important factors of scar formation, and botulinum toxin type A can regulate the above. Prevention and treatment of scar with botulinum toxin type A is one of the hot topics of clinical research in recent years. This paper briefly reviews researches by scholars at home and abroad on the mechanism, clinical application, complications, and adverse effects of botulinum toxin type A in scar prevention and treatment.

Numerical Investigation of Interlaminar Stress of CRTS II Slab Ballastless Track Induced by Creep and Shrinkage of Concrete

The secondary development of ABAQUS was carried out to calculate the shrinkage and creep of concrete, and a finite element model of the China Railway Track System (CRTS) II slab ballastless track was established. Then, the interlaminar stress of CRTS II slab ballastless track at different ages of the track slab during laying (AOTSL) caused by concrete shrinkage and creep was studied. The obtained results showed that the stress redistribution occurred in the sliding layer, which resulted in the generation of a gap. Although the gap length was slightly reduced due to the shear cogging, the sliding layer at the slab edge is more prone to produce gaps. Under the effect of shrinkage and creep of the ballastless track, large additional shear stress, up to 0.676 MPa, was induced at the interface between CA mortar and the track slab. Meanwhile, the appearance of additional vertical and lateral forces of the shear cogging was caused by the shrinkage and creep of the ballastless track. Additionally, by further analysis, the recommended AOTSL ranges from 120 days to 180 days.

[Evaluation of the perioperative period and long-term outcomes of minimally invasive LTE and minimally invasive CTLE esophagectomy for stage Ⅰ-Ⅲ cervical esophageal carcinoma based on propensity score matching analysis]

Objective: To evaluate the perioperative period and long-term effects of minimally invasive gasless laparoscopic transhiatal esophagectomy (LTE) and minimally invasive combined thoracoscopic and laparoscopic esophagectomy (CTLE) for stageⅠ-Ⅲ cervical esophageal cancer. Methods: The clinical data of 158 consecutive patients with cervical esophageal cancer stageⅠto Ⅲ who underwent minimally invasive CTLE or LTE esophagectomy in the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Beijing Tongren Hospital from January 2008 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. A total of 40 pairs of cases were matched (40 cases of CTLE and 40 cases of LTE surgery) after using the propensity score matching analysis which aimed to balance the influence of confounding factors between groups, including 43 males and 37 females, aged 51 to 81 (62.5±7.0) years old. The perioperative variables and long-term outcomes of the two groups were compared. Results: The operation time ((148.0±31.3) min vs (201.3±48.3) min), intraoperative blood loss ((192.6±77.9) ml vs (387.8±112.4) ml), ICU monitoring time (0 day vs 1 day), and the complication rates of postoperative pneumonia (0 vs 15%) and arrhythmia (2.5% vs 20%) were lower in the LTE group than that of in the CTLE group(all P<0.05). The number of lymph node dissections in the CTLE group was higher than that of in the LTE group (21.2±6.1 vs 12.9±4.3, P<0.001). The 3-and 5-year overall survival (OS) rate and disease-free survival (DFS) rate in the LTE group (OS: 53.53% and 34.27%, DFS: 43.62% and 24.89%, respectively) and the CTLE group (OS: 59.48% and 37.29%, DFS: 49.12% and 28.82%, respectively) had no statistical differences (all P>0.05). Conclusion: The LTE group has advantages in reducing operation time, intraoperative bleeding, ICU monitoring time, postoperative incidence of pneumonia and arrhythmia, and its long-term prognosis is comparable to that of the CTLE group.

CircFOXP1: A novel serum diagnostic biomarker for non-small cell lung cancer

Background

Emerging evidence suggests that circular RNAs (circRNAs) were aberrantly expressed in the patients of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study aims to evaluate the diagnostic value of potential serum biomarker in circRNAs.

Methods

Serum circRNAs were extracted and purified by RNA isolated kit and identified by quantitative real time-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay. We then performed a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve to estimate the diagnostic efficacy. The relationship between circRNA and clinic characteristics of patients was analyzed by SPSS 25.0. Univariate and multivariate analyses were also used to evaluate its diagnostic capability. The mechanism of circFOXP1 was further excavated by bioinformatics analysis.

Results

By performing qRT-PCR assay, we identified that circFOXP1 (hsa_circ_0008234) and conventional tumor markers (carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and cytokeratin fragment 21–1 (CYFRA21-1)) were all significantly overexpressed in the serum of patients with NSCLC when compared with healthy controls ( P < 0.05). While the ROC curves analysis demonstrated that area under the curve of circFOXP1 was obviously superior to CEA and CYFRA21-1, which exerted more diagnostic advantage. Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that serum circFOXP1 was an independent diagnostic molecule, and was significantly correlated with T stage and lymphatic metastasis in NSCLC ( P < 0.05). Mechanistically, circFOXP1 might target hsa-miR-370-3p and hsa-miR-18a-5p, and be involved in vascular endothelial growth factor signaling pathways to regulate proliferative and metastasis processes.

Conclusion

Our results highlight the preferable diagnostic potential of serum circFOXP1 in NSCLC.

TREATMENT OF SECONDARY LOWER LIMB LYMPHEDEMA AFTER GYNECOLOGIC CANCER WITH COMPLEX DECONGESTIVE THERAPY

Secondary lower extremity lymphedema is a common complication of treatment for gynecological cancers. Conservative therapy plays an important role in the treatment of patients with secondary lower extremity lymphedema; in particular, complex decongestive therapy (CDT) has been recognized as an effective nonoperative technique for these patients. But CDT therapy for secondary lower extremity lymphedema remains a problem in China because this technique and its effectiveness have not achieved widespread use and popularity. Our goal was to assess effects of CDT in patients with secondary lower limb lymphedema after treatment for gynecological cancers. The retrospective study consisted of 60 patients who were treated with 20 sessions of CDT. Assessments included objective changes in limb circumference, degree of LE, imaging features, and incidence of erysipelas before and after CDT treatment. We found that CDT can effectively improve lymph stasis and promote backflow, and decrease circumference, interstitial fluid content, and incidence of erysipelas of lymphedematous lower limb. Our results demonstrate that CDT is an effective treatment method for patients with secondary lower limb lymphedema following treatment for gynecologic cancers. This technique should be more widely utilized and popularized in China to improve the quality of life of millions of patients with secondary lower limb lymphedema.

A high precision phase measurement system implemented in FPGA with phase interpolator

High precision timing distribution is crucial to many large scale cosmology and particle physics experiments. Besides the space and energy information, the accurate timing provides an extra dimension for physics event reconstruction. In the timing distribution system, accurate clock phase measurement is an indispensable tool to monitor the phase drift and to achieve accurate phase adjustment. This paper introduces a novel phase measurement method implemented in the Xilinx Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). It uses the dedicated phase interpolator in the multi-gigabit transceiver. A design based on this method is implemented within the Kintex Ultrascale series FPGA. The preliminary test result shows that a sub-picosecond level precision is achieved. With this system, the nonlinearity of the phase adjustment in the Xilinx transceiver is measured.

[Association between serum uric acid to creatinine ratio and metabolic syndrome based on community residents in Chashan town, Dongguan city]

Objective: To analyze the association between serum uric acid to creatinine ratio (SUA/Cr) and metabolic syndrome among community residents in Chashan town, Dongguan city. Methods: Participants were from the prospective cohort study of chronic diseases in natural populations in South China conducted in Chashan town, Dongguan city from 2018 to 2019. A total of 11 334 participants with complete data were included by using convenient sampling method. Demographic characteristics, lifestyle and health status were collected through questionnaire and physical examination. The venous blood of the subjects was collected to detect the levels of serum uric acid, creatinine and blood lipid. All participants were divided into four groups (Q1-Q4) according to the quartile of SUA/Cr level. The relationship between SUA/Cr and metabolic syndrome and its components (abdominal obesity, high triglyceride, low level of high density lipoprotein cholesterol, hypertension and abnormal glucose metabolism) were analyzed by using logistic regression model. Results: The mean age of 11 334 participants was (49.52±10.02) years. Male participants accounted for 44.2% (5 015/11 334). The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 31.2% (3 532/11 334), and the level of SUA/Cr was 5.17±1.53. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in group Q1-Q4 was 22.3% (631/2 834), 26.5% (752/2 833), 34.9% (988/2 833) and 41.0% (1 161/2 834), respectively. After adjusting for relevant confounding factors, the result of logistic regression model showed that compared with group Q1, the risk of metabolic syndrome in group Q2-Q4 was significantly higher, with OR (95%CI) values about 1.41 (1.23-1.60), 2.19 (1.93-2.49) and 3.01 (2.65-3.42) respectively. The risk of each component of metabolic syndrome in group Q2-Q4 was higher (P_trend<0.001). The SUA/Cr level of participants with normal uric acid level was significantly positively correlated with metabolic syndrome. The risk of metabolic syndrome increased with the increase of SUA/Cr level, but there was the same trend without significant differences in patients with hyperuricemia (P_interaction=0.008). Conclusion: There is a positive correlation between SUA/Cr level and the risk of metabolic syndrome among community residents in Chashan town, Dongguan city.