To explore health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and identify its associated variables in Chinese patients with Philadelphia-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) .
In this cross-sectional ...study, anonymous questionnaires were distributed to adult patients with MPNs to assess symptom burden measured by MPN-10 and HRQoL measured by Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) .
The data from 1405 respondents with MPNs, including 645 (45.9%) with essential thrombocythemia (ET) , 297 (21.1%) with polycythemia vera (PV) , and 463 (33.0%) with myelofibrosis (MF) , were analyzed. 646 (46.0%) respondents were male. The median age was 56 (range, 18-99) years. The mean MPN-10 scores were 13.0±12.7, 15.0±14.7, and 21.0±16.6 (
<0.001) , and the physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) scores were 48.0±8.5, 47.0±9.0, and 42.0±10.0 (
<0.001) and 51.0±
Considering that existing theories consider runway lights as markers, neglecting their roles as lighting devices that increase sky background luminance and thus affect runway visual range (RVR) ...measurements, the actual values of sky background luminance observed by pilots during take-off are calculated and compared with the instrumental RVR measurements in this paper. The RVR measurement errors due to the installation positions of these devices are subsequently analysed. Furthermore, the impacts of different runway light types and positions on sky background luminance are explored, leading to the proposal of an optimized runway lighting scheme. The results show that the representation of sky background luminance sensor data in RVR measurement systems for nighttime airport runways is limited. A deviation of over 90% exists between the sky background luminance of the runway entrance and the RVR measurement equipment location, resulting in a relative error in RVR measurements of over 18%. The centreline and entrance lights contribute significantly to the total sky background luminance. Lights closer to the observer contribute more luminance. In the second proposed scheme, modifying the lighting range to 600 m yields the highest RVR improvement, with an optimization magnitude of over 5% across all visibility ranges.
This study investigated whether there were differential survival outcomes to first-line tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) in patients with metastatic non–small-cell lung cancer harboring different ...subtypes of exon 19 and exon 21 mutations on epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR).
Of 452 patients with stage IIIB and IV non–small-cell lung cancer, 192 patients (42.5%) harbored EGFR mutation and 170 (37.5%) received TKI as first-line treatment. EGFR mutation analysis was performed by direct sequencing. Survival and response outcome were compared among different subtypes of exon 19 and exon 21 EGFR mutations in these 170 patients.
Patients harboring exon 19 18-nucleotide deletion (delL747_P753insS) had the shortest median progression-free survival (PFS) (6.5 months), followed by those with 15-nucleotide deletion (delE746_A750) (12.4 months) and mixed insertion/substitution mutations (22.3 months; p = 0.012). However, patients who had exon 19 deletions starting on codon E746 had better median PFS (14.2 months) than those starting on L747 (6.5 months; hazard ratio, 0.445; 95% confidence interval 0.219–0.903; p = 0.021). Besides, exon 21 L858R derived a longer median PFS than L861R/L861Q (11.4 months versus 2.1 months, respectively; hazard ratio, 0.298; 95% confidence interval 0.090–0.980; p = 0.034).
Different subtypes of EGFR exon 19 and 21 mutations exhibited differential survival to first-line TKI therapy. Detailed sequence evaluation of exon 19 deletions may provide important prognostic information on survival outcome after TKI.
The avian retina and pineal gland contain autonomous circadian oscillators and photo‐entrainment pathways, but the photopigment(s) that mediate entrainment have not been definitively identified. ...Melanopsin (Opn4) is a novel opsin involved in entrainment of circadian rhythms in mammals. Here, we report the cDNA cloning of chicken melanopsin and show its expression in retina, brain and pineal gland. Like the melanopsins identified in amphibians and mammals, chicken melanopsin is more similar to the invertebrate retinaldehyde‐based photopigments than the retinaldehyde‐based photopigments typically found in vertebrates. In retina, melanopsin mRNA is expressed in cells of all retinal layers. In pineal gland, expression was strong throughout the parenchyma of the gland. In brain, expression was observed in a few discrete nuclei, including the lateral septal area and medial preoptic nucleus. The retina and pineal gland showed distinct diurnal expression patterns. In pineal gland, melanopsin mRNA levels were highest at night at Zeitgeber time (ZT) 16. In contrast, transcript levels in the whole retina reached their highest levels in the early morning (ZT 0–4). Further analysis of melanopsin mRNA expression in retinal layers isolated by laser capture microdissection revealed different patterns in different layers. There was diurnal expression in all retinal layers except the ganglion cell layer, where heavy expression was localized to a small number of cells. Expression of melanopsin mRNA peaked during the daytime in the retinal pigment epithelium and inner nuclear layer but, like in the pineal, at night in the photoreceptors. Localization and regulation of melanopsin mRNA in the retina and pineal gland is consistent with the hypothesis that this novel photopigment plays a role in photic regulation of circadian function in these tissues.
The East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) and Indian summer monsoon (ISM) are two interactive climate systems dominating the moisture variability of Monsoon Asia. However, ISM-EASM interactions and their ...effects on regional moisture dynamics remain unclear. This study investigated the spatiotemporal characteristics of monsoon-related hydroclimate variability by establishing a new tree-ring oxygen isotope ratio (delta O-18(tree)) network of eight delta O-18(tree) records covering the last 150 years in southern China, which differs from previous studies that used data from individual sites. The delta O-18(tree) chronologies were found to be sensitive to regional hydroclimatic changes during the monsoon season. The delta O-18(tree) network indicated an east-west clustering pattern in the ISM-EASM transitional zone, which demonstrates an asynchrony in d18Otree variability in the west and east of this region. Regional variability of the west and east delta O-18(tree) modes reflected the different moisture signals, as indicated by their significant correlations with modern observations and paleo-delta O-18 records in disparate upstream regions of moisture transport (the Indochina Peninsula and Southeast China). This finding was confirmed by the east-west distinct pattern of spatial isotopic depletion of monsoon rainfall that originates from coastal areas of tropical oceans (Bay of Bengal and South China Sea) to the study area, as well as the consistent present-day pattern of atmospheric vapor transport during the monsoon season. In addition, the west and east modes exhibited stronger associations with ISM variability, whereas the east-west delta O-18(tree) gradient captured the EASM-related hydroclimatic signal, suggesting that summer moisture variability in the ISM-EASM transitional zone was regulated more by ISM than by EASM during the last 150 years. The relationships between delta O-18(tree) and large-scale ocean-atmosphere interaction modes revealed that the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) dominantly modulates delta O-18(tree) variability across southern China.
Phase competition and stability of several typical high-entropy alloys (HEAs) were studied, and the effects of alloying additions and processing conditions on phase formation in these alloys were ...discussed. Alloying with chemically incompatible elements having a large difference in either the atomic size or enthalpy of mixing with constituting components in HEAs, e.g., Cu and Al in the FeCoNiCr alloy system, inevitably induced phase separation and stimulated formation of duplex solid-solution phases and even intermetallic compounds. The solid-solution phase in the as-cast FeCoNiCrMn HEA is extremely stable due to the good chemical compatibility among constituent components, but in the FeCoNiCrAl and (FeCoNiCrAl)
99
Si
1
HEAs with the incompatible elements Al and Si, pretreatment and annealing processes could induce phase transitions and the formation of new phases, indicating that the as-cast solid-solution phases were destabilized by quenched-in chemical segregation, resulting from additions of the dissimilar elements.
This study was conducted to investigate the influence of pasture intake on meat quality, lipid oxidation, and fatty acid composition of geese. One hundred twenty Dongbei White male geese (a local ...breed; BW = 878 ± 13 g; 28 d old) were randomly and equally divided into 2 treatments with 6 pens of 10 geese per treatment. The 2 treatments consisted of birds fed ad libitum a corn-based feed. One-half of the birds had no access to pasture (control) while the other half had access to an alfalfa (Medicago sativa)-based pasture (pasture). The study lasted 42 d. Body weight and feed intake were recorded weekly. At the end of the study, geese were slaughtered to collect meat samples. Results showed that pasture intake reduced subcutaneous fat thickness (P < 0.05) and abdominal fat yield (P < 0.05) of geese compared with control. Geese with access to pasture had greater cooking loss (P < 0.05) and lightness (L*) value (P < 0.05) and lower pH at 24 h postmortem (pH24; P < 0.05) and thiobarbituric acid reacting substance values (P < 0.05) at 0 and 30 min of forced oxidation. Moreover, pasture intake increased linolenic acid (C18:3n-3; P < 0.05) and eicosapentaenoic acid (C20:5n-3; P < 0.05) and reduced the n-6:n-3 ratio (P < 0.05) in the breast muscle of geese compare with the control. In conclusion, pasture intake did not enhance growth performance but improved carcass characteristics and meat quality and changed fatty acid composition of geese.
Background and Objective
In health, the periodontal ligament maintains a constant width throughout an organism's lifetime. The molecular signals responsible for maintaining homeostatic control over ...the periodontal ligament are unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of Wnt signaling in this process by removing an essential chaperone protein, Wntless (Wls), from odontoblasts and cementoblasts, and observing the effects of Wnt depletion on cells of the periodontal complex.
Material and Methods
The Wnt responsive status of the periodontal complex was assessed using two strains of Wnt reporter mice: Axin2LacZ/+ and Lgr5LacZ/+. The function of this endogenous Wnt signal was evaluated by conditionally eliminating the Wntless (Wls) gene using an osteocalcin Cre driver. The resulting OCN‐Cre;Wls fl/fl mice were examined using micro‐computed tomography and histology, immunohistochemical analyses for osteopontin, Runx2 and fibromodulin, in‐situ hybridization for osterix and alkaline phosphatase activity.
Results
The adult periodontal ligament is Wnt responsive. Elimination of Wnt signaling in the periodontal complex of OCN‐Cre;Wlsfl/fl mice resulted in a wider periodontal ligament space. This pathologically increased periodontal width is caused by a reduction in the expression of osteogenic genes and proteins, which results in thinner alveolar bone. A concomitant increase in fibrous tissue occupying the periodontal space was observed, along with a disruption in the orientation of the periodontal ligament.
Conclusion
The periodontal ligament is a Wnt‐dependent tissue. Cells in the periodontal complex are Wnt responsive, and eliminating an essential component of the Wnt signaling network leads to a pathological widening of the periodontal ligament space. Osteogenic stimuli are reduced, and a disorganized fibrillary matrix results from the depletion of Wnt signaling. Collectively, these data underscore the importance of Wnt signaling in homeostasis of the periodontal ligament.
Lotus-type porous copper is a new kind of micro-channel structure with long cylindrical pores (channels) aligned in one direction. It can be used as a heat sink for cooling of high-power electronic ...components. Through experiments and Fluent-3D numerical simulations, the heat transfer performance of a lotus-type porous copper heat sink with a liquid GaInSn coolant was systematically studied under different structural and hydrodynamic parameters conditions. The experimental results showed that this kind of heat sink has an excellent heat transfer coefficient, as high as 9.6W/cm2K, only under a fixed pressure drop as low as 17.5kPa. The simulation showed that optimal porosity and pore diameter existed for the heat sink to conduct a maximal equivalent heat transfer coefficient. For the GaInSn coolant, the optimal porosity and pore diameter were about 45–55% and 0.7–0.9mm, respectively. However, at the same pressure drop conditions the optimal pore diameter for the water coolant was smaller (0.1–0.2mm) and the optimal porosity was the same as that for the GaInSn coolant. Overall, the simulated heat transfer coefficients and structural parameters window agreed well with the experimental results.
By a combination of microstructure analysis techniques, we reveal the structural origin of the extremely high supercurrent (up to the practical level of 0.1 MA/cm2 at 10 T, 4.2 K) in Sr0.6K0.4Fe2As2 ...(122) tape. Transmission Kikuchi diffraction analysis reveals that hot pressing promotes a very high fraction of low-angle grain boundaries and texturing of the crystals, which is beneficial for the intergrain physical properties. Moreover, the unique characteristics of low-angle grain boundaries favor both long-range dislocations and short-range dislocations that totally change the pinning mechanism of the bulk 122 system. These defects combined with the grain texturing are not only effective for pinning vortices in the superconducting state, but also improve inter-granular supercurrent degradation, leading to substantially enhanced supercurrent over a wide range of magnetic fields.
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•The mechanisms for the remarkable enhancement of supercurrent have been revealed.•Hot pressing promotes low-angle grain boundaries and texturing of the crystals.•Dislocation lines acting as pinning centres and increasing critical current density.•Grain boundary engineering is an effective way to improve critical current density.
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