Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a malignant epithelial tumor originating in the nasopharynx and has a high incidence in Southeast Asia and North Africa. To develop these comprehensive guidelines ...for the diagnosis and management of NPC, the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology (CSCO) arranged a multi‐disciplinary team comprising of experts from all sub‐specialties of NPC to write, discuss, and revise the guidelines. Based on the findings of evidence‐based medicine in China and abroad, domestic experts have iteratively developed these guidelines to provide proper management of NPC. Overall, the guidelines describe the screening, clinical and pathological diagnosis, staging and risk assessment, therapies, and follow‐up of NPC, which aim to improve the management of NPC.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
The aim of this note is to study quantum robust optimal control problem for a class of linear quantum systems with uncertainties. It is shown that such problem can be converted into a mixed linear ...quadratic Gaussian (LQG) and <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">H^{\infty }</tex-math></inline-formula> quantum control problem. A physical model described by complex quantum stochastic differential equations (CQSDEs) is presented for the quantum system with uncertainties. The quantum system described by CQSDEs is called a complex quantum system in terms of annihilation and creation operators 1. For an uncertain quantum system, we build a connection with a scaled linear system without uncertainty. The desired quantum robust optimal control results are derived based on the connection. We provide one numerical procedure for quantum robust optimal controller synthesis and then provide an example. The resulting controller presents robustness and optimal performance.
Due to climate warming, tannin-rich Rhizophora mangle migrates into tannin-poor salt marshes, where the tannins interfere with the biogeochemistry in the soil. Changes in biogeochemistry are likely ...associated with changes in microbial communities. This was studied in microcosms filled with salt marsh soil and amended with leaf powder, crude condensed tannins, purified condensed tannins (PCT), all from senescent R. mangle leaves, or with tannic acid. Size and composition of the microbial communities were determined by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, high-throughput sequencing and real-time PCR based on the 16S and 18S rRNA genes. Compared with the control, the 16S rRNA gene abundance was lowered by PCT, while the 18S rRNA gene abundance was enhanced by all treatments. The treatments also affected the composition of the 16S rRNA and 18S rRNA gene assemblies, but the effects on the 18S rRNA gene were greater. The composition of the 18S rRNA gene, but not of the 16S rRNA gene, was significantly correlated with the mineralization of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus. Distinctive microbial groups emerged during the different treatments. This study revealed that migration of mangroves may affect both the prokaryotic and the eukaryotic communities in salt marsh soils, but that the effects on the eukaryotes will likely be greater.
A solid-state electrolyte with a wide electrochemical window, high Li-ion conductivity, and anti-dendritic growth properties are required for high-energy-density solid-state batteries. Here, we ...reported a polyglycol oxide-based solid electrolyte constructed by incorporating a deep eutectic solvent within a dual crosslinked network. The combination of
N
-methylurea shielding the active ether group in the polyglycol chain and the quadruple hydrogen bond interactions result in the formation of an all solid polyglycol oxide-based electrolyte (ASPE) with an electrochemical window of 5.2 V. The newly developed ASPE demonstrates high ionic conductivity, uniform Li deposition, and high Li plating/stripping efficiencies. Facile
in situ
polymerization applications of ASPE in Li-LiFePO
4
, Li-LiCoO
2
, and Li-Li
1.2
Ni
0.13
Co
0.13
Mn
0.54
O
2
batteries further show the diversity of the ASPE and its ability to achieve a high Coulombic efficiency and long life. Our finding deviates from the conventional wisdom of designing polymer electrolytes, demonstrating a promising direction for safe, high-energy, and long-life solid-state Li metal batteries.
Bi-functional
N
-methylurea molecules participate in co-solvating the Li
+
ions enhancing the ionic conductivity, and deactivate the non-solvating polymer ethereal groups through the amide acceptor, providing a wide electrochemical window.
Data on the Likert scale are ubiquitous in medical research, including randomized trials. Statistical analysis of such data may be conducted using the means of raw scores or the rank information of ...the scores. In the context of parallel‐group randomized trials, we quantify treatment effects by the probability that a subject in the treatment group has a better score than (or a win over) a subject in the control group. Asymptotic parametric and nonparametric confidence intervals for this win probability and associated sample size formulas are derived for studies with only follow‐up scores, and those with both baseline and follow‐up measurements. We assessed the performance of both the parametric and nonparametric approaches using simulation studies based on real studies with Likert item and Likert scale data. The simulation results demonstrate that even without baseline adjustment, the parametric methods did not perform well, in terms of bias, interval coverage percentage, balance of tail error, and assurance of achieving a pre‐specified precision. In contrast, the nonparametric approach performed very well for both the unadjusted and adjusted win probability. We illustrate the methods with two examples: one using Likert item data and the other using Like scale data. We conclude that non‐parametric methods are preferable for two‐group randomization trials with Likert data. Illustrative SAS code for the nonparametric approach using existing procedures is provided.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Summary
Citrate is a common primary metabolite which often characterizes fruit flavour. The key regulators of citrate accumulation in fruit and vegetables are poorly understood. We systematically ...analysed the dynamic profiles of organic acid components during the development of kiwifruit (Actinidia spp.). Citrate continuously accumulated so that it became the predominate contributor to total acidity at harvest. Based on a co‐expression network analysis using different kiwifruit cultivars, an Al‐ACTIVATED MALATE TRANSPORTER gene (AcALMT1) was identified as a candidate responsible for citrate accumulation. Electrophysiological assays using expression of this gene in Xenopus oocytes revealed that AcALMT1 functions as a citrate transporter. Additionally, transient overexpression of AcALMT1 in kiwifruit significantly increased citrate content, while tissues showing higher AcALMT1 expression accumulated more citrate. The expression of AcALMT1 was highly correlated with 17 transcription factor candidates. However, dual‐luciferase and EMSA assays indicated that only the NAC transcription factor, AcNAC1, activated AcALMT1 expression via direct binding to its promoter. Targeted CRISPR‐Cas9‐induced mutagenesis of AcNAC1 in kiwifruit resulted in dramatic declines in citrate levels while malate and quinate levels were not substantially affected. Our findings show that transcriptional regulation of a major citrate transporter, by a NAC transcription factor, is responsible for citrate accumulation in kiwifruit, which has broad implications for other fruits and vegetables.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
We developed a neural network based approach to identify urban tree species at the individual tree level from lidar and hyperspectral imagery. This approach is capable of modeling the characteristics ...of multiple spectral signatures within each species using an internally unsupervised
engine, and is able to catch spectral differences between species using an externally supervised system. To generate a species-level map for an urban forest with high spatial heterogeneity and species diversity, we conducted a treetop-based species identification. This can avoid the problems
of double-sided illumination, shadow, and mixed pixels, encountered in the crown-based species classification. The study indicates lidar data in conjunction with hyperspectral imagery are not only capable of detecting individual trees and estimating their tree metrics, but also identifying
their species types using the developed algorithm. The integration of these two data sources has great potential to take the place of traditional field surveys.
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is the major public health problem worldwide. In clinical practice, serological and molecular assays are the most commonly used diagnostic methods to detect HBV ...infection in clinical practices.
Here we present a rapid and sensitive recombinase aided amplification assay (RAA) to detect HBV at 39.0 °C for 30 min without DNA extraction from serum samples. The analytical sensitivity of RAA assay was 100 copies per reaction and showed no cross reaction with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV). The universality of RAA assay was validated by testing of 41 archived serum samples with predefined HBV genotypes (B, C and D).
A total of 130 archived suspected HBV infected serum samples were detected by commercial qPCR with DNA extraction and RAA assay without DNA extraction (heat-treatment). Compared with qPCR assay as a reference, the RAA assay obtained 95.7% sensitivity and 100% specificity and a kappa value of 0.818.
We developed a rapid, convenient, highly sensitive and specific method to detect HBV without DNA extraction in clinical samples. This RAA method of HBV detection is very suitable for clinical testing.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
In this letter, an adaptive decoding algorithm with a variable sliding window for joint source-channel coding (JSCC) scheme based on double spatially coupled low-density parity-check (DSC-LDPC) codes ...is investigated. For the traditional sliding window decoding (SWD) algorithm, one or more errors occurring in a decoding window may affect the decoding of the next window, which will trigger error propagation. To mitigate the effects, a window extension algorithm based on average log-likelihood ratios (LLRs) will be proposed, but the implement of extension implies higher decoding complexity. In order to trade-off the error rate performance and complexity, the source and channel threshold that determines the window extension are analyzed. In the simulation, the proposed SWD algorithm with acceptable complexity has better error rate performance in the water fall region and the error floor region.
The presence of estrogens residues in dairy products is a growing concern due to their potential health risk. Herein, in this study, we have developed a membrane-protected magnetic solid-phase ...extraction (MP-MSPE) method that utilized a magnetic adsorbent (Fe
O
@COF-LZU1) with in-situ growth for the efficient extraction of estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), and estriol (E3). When combined with HPLC-FLD, this method allows for the efficient detection of estrogens in dairy products. The stability of the MP-MSPE was improved by the presence of a dialysis membrane, which remained a high extraction efficiency (90 %) even after ten reuse cycles. The hydrogen bonding, π-π interactions and pore size effect contribute to the excellent adsorption of three estrogens onto Fe
O
@COF-LZU1. Under optimal conditions, the method exhibits a low detection limit (0.01-0.15 μg L
), wide linear range (0.1-800 μg L
), and favorable recoveries (77.3 %-109.4 %) at three concentration levels (10, 50 and 100 μg L
). This proposed method is characterized by its simplicity, high efficiency and eco-friendliness, making it a promising approach for extracting estrogens from dairy products.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
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