Fast-growing poplar wood was modified with low molecular weight urea-formaldehyde resin (UF) at 41.5% concentration or phenol-formaldehyde (PF) at concentrations of 15, 25, and 40%. The physical and ...mechanical properties were measured, and creep behavior tests were carried out under ambient indoor conditions. The specimens were subjected to 30 and 50% of their maximum bending load. The density, modulus of elasticity, and modulus of rupture of UF-wood increased by 37.16, 45.86, and 28.36%, respectively, and the corresponding increases in 15% PF-specimen were 39.41, 31.80, and 27.74%, respectively. The wood modified with resins exhibited less creep deflection. The relative creep deflections of modified wood were about 0.22, 0.53, 1.22, and 0.32 times those of the untreated specimen at 30% of stress level after 15% PF, 25% PF, 40% PF, and UF were added, respectively. At the lower loading level, the relative creep deflection of the 15% PF specimen was 63.94% that of the 41.5% UF-specimen. Specimens treated with UF at 30 and 50% loading were broken within 120 d and 80 d respectively, whereas the untreated specimen was broken within one month at 50% loading.
Chenshu Zhou’s Cinema Off Screen: Moviegoing in Socialist China is a theoretically innovative and empirically grounded book that takes as its central focus the history, experience, and memory of ...moviegoing in socialist China. Since the publication of Jay Leyda’s Dianying: Electric Shadows, an Account of Films and the Film Audience in China in 1972, research on cinema in socialist China has been dominated by critical analyses of narrative, aesthetic, and performative configurations onscreen, i...
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an increasing global public health concern, particularly among populations of African ancestry. We performed an interrogation of known renal loci, genome-wide ...association (GWA), and IBC candidate-gene SNP association analyses in African Americans from the CARe Renal Consortium. In up to 8,110 participants, we performed meta-analyses of GWA and IBC array data for estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), CKD (eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m(2)), urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR), and microalbuminuria (UACR >30 mg/g) and interrogated the 250 kb flanking region around 24 SNPs previously identified in European Ancestry renal GWAS analyses. Findings were replicated in up to 4,358 African Americans. To assess function, individually identified genes were knocked down in zebrafish embryos by morpholino antisense oligonucleotides. Expression of kidney-specific genes was assessed by in situ hybridization, and glomerular filtration was evaluated by dextran clearance. Overall, 23 of 24 previously identified SNPs had direction-consistent associations with eGFR in African Americans, 2 of which achieved nominal significance (UMOD, PIP5K1B). Interrogation of the flanking regions uncovered 24 new index SNPs in African Americans, 12 of which were replicated (UMOD, ANXA9, GCKR, TFDP2, DAB2, VEGFA, ATXN2, GATM, SLC22A2, TMEM60, SLC6A13, and BCAS3). In addition, we identified 3 suggestive loci at DOK6 (p-value = 5.3×10(-7)) and FNDC1 (p-value = 3.0×10(-7)) for UACR, and KCNQ1 with eGFR (p = 3.6×10(-6)). Morpholino knockdown of kcnq1 in the zebrafish resulted in abnormal kidney development and filtration capacity. We identified several SNPs in association with eGFR in African Ancestry individuals, as well as 3 suggestive loci for UACR and eGFR. Functional genetic studies support a role for kcnq1 in glomerular development in zebrafish.
To investigate trends in clinical monitoring indices in HIV/AIDS patients receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) at baseline and after treatment in Yunnan Province, China and to provide the basis for ...guiding clinical treatment to obtain superior clinical outcomes.
A total of 96 HIV/AIDS patients who had started and persisted in highly active ART treatment from September 2009 to September 2019 were selected. Of these, 54 had a CD4 cell count < 200 cells/μl while 42 had a CD4 cell count ≥ 200 cells/μl. Routine blood tests, liver and renal function, and lipid levels were measured before and 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after treatment. Lymphocyte subset counts and viral load were measured once per year, and recorded for analysis and evaluation. Three machine learning models (support vector machine SVM, random forest RF, and multi-layer perceptron MLP) were constructed that used the clinical indicators above as parameters. Baseline and follow-up results of routine blood and organ function tests were used to analyze and predict CD4
T cell data after treatment during long-term follow-up. Predictions of the three models were preliminarily evaluated.
There were no statistical differences in gender, age, or HIV transmission route in either patient group. Married individuals were substantially more likely to have <200 CD4
cells/μl. There was a strong positive correlation between ALT and AST (r = 0.587) and a positive correlation between CD4 cell count and platelet count (r = 0.347). Platelet count was negatively correlated with ALT (r = -0.229), AST (r = -0.251), and positively correlated with WBCs (r = 0.280). Compared with the CD4 cell count < 200 cells/μl group, all three machine learning models exhibited a better predictive capability than for patients with a CD4 cell count ≥ 200 cells/μl. Of all indicators, the three models best predicted the CD4/CD8 ratio, with results that were highly consistent. In patients with a CD4 cell count < 200 cells/μl, the SVM model had the best performance for predicting the CD4/CD8 ratio, while the CD4/CD8 ratio was best predicted by the RF model in patients with a CD4 cell count ≥ 200 cells/μl.
By the incorporation of clinical indicators in SVM, RF, and MLP machine learning models, the immune function and recuperation of HIV/AIDS patients can be predicted and evaluated, thereby better guiding clinical treatment.
Serum urate concentrations are highly heritable and elevated serum urate is a key risk factor for gout. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of serum urate in African American (AA) populations are ...lacking. We conducted a meta-analysis of GWAS of serum urate levels and gout among 5820 AA and a large candidate gene study among 6890 AA and 21 708 participants of European ancestry (EA) within the Candidate Gene Association Resource Consortium. Findings were tested for replication among 1996 independent AA individuals, and evaluated for their association among 28 283 EA participants of the CHARGE Consortium. Functional studies were conducted using 14C-urate transport assays in mammalian Chinese hamster ovary cells. In the discovery GWAS of serum urate, three loci achieved genome-wide significance (P< 5.0 × 10−8): a novel locus near SGK1/SLC2A12 on chromosome 6 (rs9321453, P= 1.0 × 10−9), and two loci previously identified in EA participants, SLC2A9 (P= 3.8 × 10−32) and SLC22A12 (P= 2.1 × 10−10). A novel rare non-synonymous variant of large effect size in SLC22A12, rs12800450 (minor allele frequency 0.01, G65W), was identified and replicated (beta −1.19 mg/dl, P= 2.7 × 10−16). 14C-urate transport assays showed reduced urate transport for the G65W URAT1 mutant. Finally, in analyses of 11 loci previously associated with serum urate in EA individuals, 10 of 11 lead single-nucleotide polymorphisms showed direction-consistent association with urate among AA. In summary, we identified and replicated one novel locus in association with serum urate levels and experimentally characterize the novel G65W variant in URAT1 as a functional allele. Our data support the importance of multi-ethnic GWAS in the identification of novel risk loci as well as functional variants.
The ironclad alliance between the People's Republic of China and Albania during the 1960s is often taken as the unquestioned starting point of transnational film exchanges between the two fraternal ...socialist states. This article delineates the presence of Albanian cinema in the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 1949 to 1976, when geopolitical realignments reconfigured the socialist camp, with special attention to Albanian cinema's position within the filmscape in Mao's China. Drawing on official news reports, movie reviews and recently published personal reminiscences, and employing the lens of the captive audience, it teases out the multifaceted reception of Albanian films, including the types of engagement that deviate from and challenge the then-prevailing revolutionary discourses. The study thus helps to demystify a reductive understanding of the socio-political significance of Albanian cinema in China.
Although postoperative complications of paramedian forehead flap (PMFF) are generally low, surgical site complications and unplanned reoperation can still occur. Recent literature suggests infection ...to be the most common complication following PMFF reconstruction. This study sought to determine the patient and preoperative factors associated with surgical site complications and unplanned reoperations at a national level.
Patients who underwent PMFF reconstruction from the ACS-NSQIP 2007 – 2019 database were analyzed to determine composite surgical site morbidity and unplanned return to the operating room. Patient and operative factors were also analyzed to assess independent risk factors for surgical site morbidity and unplanned reoperation in the first 30 postoperative days.
A total of 1,592 PMFF were analyzed between 2007 and 2019. Of these, 2.7% (43/1592) developed a composite surgical site complication in the first 30 postoperative days. Risk factors for composite surgical site complication included >10% weight loss in the previous 6 months (p<0.05), disseminated cancer (p<0.01), class 4 wounds (dirty/infected) (p<0.01), and operative time greater than 123 min (p<0.01). Based on the univariate analysis, low preoperative albumin and hematocrit were also associated with increased odds of composite surgical site complication. 2.5% (40/1592) of patients underwent unplanned reoperation. Higher ASA class (p<0.05) and class 4 wounds (p<0.05) were associated with unplanned return to the operating room.
Significant weight loss, disseminated cancer, prolonged operation time, low preoperative albumin, and hematocrit are associated with higher PMFF composite surgical site complications. Higher ASA and class 4 wound status are associated with an increased risk of unplanned reoperation.
subspecies
(MAP) has long been suspected to be involved in the etiology of Crohn's disease (CD). An obligate intracellular pathogen, MAP persists and influences host macrophages. The primary goals of ...this study were to test new rapid culture methods for MAP in human subjects and to assess the degree of viable culturable MAP bacteremia in CD patients compared to controls. A secondary goal was to compare the efficacy of three culture methods plus a phage assay and four antibody assays performed in separate laboratories, to detect MAP from the parallel samples. Culture and serological MAP testing was performed blind on whole blood samples obtained from 201 subjects including 61 CD patients (two of the patients with CD had concurrent ulcerative colitis (UC)) and 140 non-CD controls (14 patients in this group had UC only). Viable MAP bacteremia was detected in a significant number of study subjects across all groups. This included Pozzato culture (124/201 or 62% of all subjects, 35/61 or 57% of CD patients), Phage assay (113/201 or 56% of all subjects, 28/61 or 46% of CD patients), TiKa culture (64/201 or 32% of all subjects, 22/61 or 36% of CD patients) and MGIT culture (36/201 or 18% of all subjects, 15/61 or 25% of CD patients). A link between MAP detection and CD was observed with MGIT culture and one of the antibody methods (Hsp65) confirming previous studies. Other detection methods showed no association between any of the groups tested. Nine subjects with a positive Phage assay (4/9) or MAP culture (5/9) were again positive with the Phage assay one year later. This study highlights viable MAP bacteremia is widespread in the study population including CD patients, those with other autoimmune conditions and asymptomatic healthy subjects.
This paper presents a new kind of composite produced with small-diameter bamboo (Phyllostachys glauca McClure) and extruded tubular particleboard. The mechanical properties of the composite are ...significantly affected by the properties of the bamboo. First, the compression strength of the bamboo was studied. It was found that the compression strength (fc, MPa) and the maximum force of compression (Fmax, kN) of the bamboo are strongly, linearly related to its outer diameter (D, mm): fc = -0.5D+79.37 and Fmax = 0.83D–0.59. The compression strength of the composite made with the bottom part of the bamboo was larger than that of composites made with the middle and top parts. In addition, its reliability was also the best of the three groups due to the variation of the outer diameter of the bamboo from the bottom to the top. The bottom part of the bamboo is the best choice for manufacturing bamboo-reinforced extruded particleboard (BREP).
Non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techniques have been shown to be effective for evaluating mechanical properties of wood-based materials. In this study, transverse vibration of a beam under the two ...ends free boundary condition (FBV) was employed to measure the modulus of elasticity (MOE) in different strength directions of laminated strand lumber (LSL). It was found that the MOE values measured by the FBV were slightly higher than those measured using the three-point bending test (TPB), and the correlation coefficients between the MOE values along the major and minor strength directions measured by the two methods were 0.845 and 0.938, respectively. The effect of the length/depth ratio on measured MOE values by the FBV method was also investigated. With the decrease in the length/depth ratio of LSL, the measured MOE in the major and minor strength directions decreased. The results of the ANOVA test showed that the length/depth ratios had a significant effect on the measured MOE. The experimental values of MOE of LSL in the diagonal strength direction matched well with the theoretical values calculated by the Hankinson-type formula.
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