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•Ultrasonic vibration-assisted inner-diameter sawing is proposed and investigated.•Ultrasonic device with flexural vibration mode is configured and established.•Comparative ...experiments of inner-diameter sawing are designed and performed.•Material removal mechanism in ultrasonic vibration-assisted sawing is analyzed.•Surface quality of sawn wafer with/without ultrasound is compared and discussed.
The inner-diameter (ID) sawing technology is dominant in small-lot and multi-specification sawing process of hard and brittle materials. However, the surface quality obtained in the conventional ID sawing cannot meet practical requirements. In this paper, a novel processing technology combining ultrasonic machining and ID sawing is proposed to improve the ID sawing process and surface quality. A one-dimensional ultrasonic vibration system is developed by combining Timoshenko beam theory and finite element optimisation technology. An experimental setup is established to implement the ultrasonic vibration-assisted ID sawing (UVAIDS). With single-crystal silicon as the sawn workpiece, a series of ID sawing experiments with and without ultrasonic vibration are carried out. The surface morphology and surface roughness of sawn wafers under different cutting parameters are analyzed and discussed. The experimental results show that the application of ultrasonic vibration assistance can improve the surface quality by nearly 30 % in ID sawing process, proving the ultrasonic vibration system is available and UVAIDS technology is feasible and effective. The developed UVAIDS technology can be widely applied to the slicing process of hard and brittle material.
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•Detection method and driving strategy of shape memory alloy wires are discussed.•An improved phase transformation equation with the Logistic function is proposed.•SMA wires electric ...resistance and its rate are studied in theory and experiment.•Phase transformation start/end points are detected by electric resistance method.•Optimized driving strategy is proposed to reduce power consumption of SMA wires.
To propose a novel driving strategy for power consumption reduction, this paper studies the electric resistance behaviors of shape memory alloy (SMA) wires, which are heated by the short-time large current. With a concern for the relationship between electric resistance and shape memory effect, an improved phase transformation equation with the Logistic function is proposed. Moreover, based upon electric resistance and its rate, a new detection method for the driving strategy of SMA wires is proposed. The proposed method is compared with the traditional deformation detection method. The results show that the method effectively resists the interference of system noise and captures the start and end points of phase transformation. To assess the deformation response of SMA wires by the proposed method, constant load tests are conducted, which are applied with the periodic excitation signals of triangular wave, sine wave, and square wave, respectively. The experimental results show the square wave is more suitable for driving the SMA wire actuator. The heating and cooling cycle experiment verifies the effectiveness of the proposed method. Compared with the method using pulse width modulation signals, the proposed method reduces power consumption obviously, and does not need external sensors or material parameters. Based on the proposed method, the power consumption can be reduced by the optimized driving strategy, which improves the lightweight and reliability of SMA actuators.
The pituitary is a vital endocrine organ for synthesis and secretion of gonadotropic hormones (FSH and LH), and the gonadotropin showed fluctuations in animals with different fecundity. Long ...non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been identified as regulatory factors for the reproductive process. However, the profiles of lncRNAs and their roles involved in sheep fecundity remains unclear. In this study, we performed RNA‐sequencing for the sheep pituitary gland associated with different fecundity, and identified a novel candidate lncRNA LOC105613571 targeting BDNF related to gonadotropin secretion. Our results showed that expression of lncRNA LOC105613571 and BDNF could be significantly upregulated by GnRH stimulation in sheep pituitary cells in vitro. Notably, either lncRNA LOC105613571 or BDNF silencing inhibited cell proliferation while promoted cell apoptosis. Moreover, lncRNA LOC105613571 knockdown could also downregulate gonadotropin secretion via inactivation AKT, ERK and mTOR pathway. In addition, co‐treatment with GnRH stimulation and lncRNA LOC105613571 or BDNF knockdown showed the opposite effect on sheep pituitary cells in vitro. In summary, BDNF‐binding lncRNA LOC105613571 in sheep regulates pituitary cell proliferation and gonadotropin secretion via the AKT/ERK‐mTOR pathway, providing new ideas for the molecular mechanisms of pituitary functions.
Candidate lncRNA LOC105613571 targeted BDNF via trans‐regulated relationships was characterized by pituitary transcriptome from Hu sheep with high and low fecundity. GnRH stimulation increased BDNF and lncRNA LOC105613571 expression in pituitary cells. BDNF‐binding lncRNA LOC105613571 promotes pituitary gonadotropin secretion by activating AKT/ERK‐mTOR pathway in pituitary cells.
Objective
This study aimed to provide a realistic observation of survival by major site for 48,866 cancer patients treated at a tertiary cancer hospital in a rural area of China.
Methods
Patients ...with cancer registered between 2007 and 2017 in the Nantong rural area were followed up. The starting date for survival calculation was the date of the first diagnosis of cancer at the Nantong Tumor Hospital, and the closing date was December 31, 2020. Observed survival (OS) was analyzed according to ICD-10 site, sex, age, region, and hospitalization period using the life table method and compared using the Wilcoxon (Gehan) statistic.
Results
The overall 5-year OS rate was 40.48% for all 48,866 patients, 30.19% for males, and 51.90% for females. The top five cancer sites, accounting for 60.51% of the total cases, were the esophagus, lung, stomach, liver, and cervix, with 5-year OS rates of 33.72%, 18.64%, 32.10%, 19.04%, and 71.51%, respectively. The highest 5-year OS was observed in the thyroid (87.52%) and the lowest was in the pancreas (6.37%). Survival was significantly higher in younger patients than in older patients, with 5-year OSs of 69.26% and 19.84% in those aged 20-29 and 90-99 years, respectively. Five-year OSs improved significantly from 39.35% in 2007-2011 to 41.26% in 2012-2017.
Conclusion
Overall survival improved over the years, although the improvement at some sites was not significant. The observed survival varies from region to region, reflecting differences in the patterns of major sites, disparities in proportions of hospitalization, and demographic characteristics.
To evaluate the safety of using fluoroquinolones in pediatric population in Taiwan.
Patients aged 0~18 years old with fluoroquinolones prescriptions ≥5 consecutive days during year 2000 to 2013 were ...selected from the National Health Insurance Research Database, 4-time case number were selected as controls. We evaluated the patient's outcome after the use of fluoroquinolones by reviewing a newly diagnosis of the following collagen-associated adverse events by International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes, covering tendons rupture, retinal detachments, gastrointestinal tract perforation, aortic aneurysm or dissection.
Of the enrolled patients (n = 167,105), collagen-associated adverse effects developed in 85 cases (0.051%) in 6-month tracking, including 0.051% in the fluoroquinolones study cohort (17 in 33,421) and 0.051% (68 in 133,684) in the fluoroquinolones free comparison cohort. The crude hazard ratio for collagen-associated adverse events in the fluoroquinolones group was 0.997 (0.586-1.696; p = 0.990). After adjusting for age, sex, catastrophic illness, low-income household, seasons, levels of urbanization, and healthcare, the corrected hazard ratio in 6-month tracking with FQs was 1.330 (95% CI; 0.778-2.276; p = 0.255).
There is no significant difference of collagen-associated adverse effects between fluoroquinolones group and fluoroquinolones free group from our data. We propose that fluoroquinolones for pediatric population in clinical practice may be not so harmful as previous references reported.
The Low Energy X-ray telescope (LE) is one of the three main instruments of the
Insight-Hard
X-ray Modulation Telescope (
Insight-
HXMT)
.
It is equipped with Swept Charge Device (SCD) sensor arrays ...with a total geometrical area of 384 cm and an energy band from 0.7 to 13 keV. In order to evaluate the particle induced X-ray background and the cosmic X-ray background simultaneously, LE adopts collimators to define four types of Field Of Views (FOVs), i.e., 1.6°×6°, 4°×6°, 50°-60°×2°-6° and the blocked ones which block the X-ray by an aluminum cover. LE is constituted of three detector boxes (LEDs) and an electric control box (LEB) and achieves a good energy resolution of 140 eV@5.9 keV, an excellent time resolution of 0.98 ms, as well as an extremely low pileup (<1%@18000 cts/s). Detailed performance tests and calibration on the ground have been performed, including energy-channel relation, energy response, detection efficiency and time response.
Abnormal proliferation and motility of retinal pigment epithelial cells leads to proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR). Melatonin is a known effective antitumour and anti‐invasive agent, but whether ...it affects the formation and underlying mechanisms of PVR remains unclear. In this study, the results of the MTT assay, colony formation and propidium iodide (PI) staining with flow cytometry revealed that melatonin dose dependently inhibited epidermal growth factor (EGF)‐induced proliferation of human ARPE‐19 cells. Furthermore, melatonin reduced EGF‐induced motility by suppressing cathepsin S (CTSS) expression. Pretreatment with ZFL (a CTSS inhibitor) or overexpression of CTSS (pCMV‐CTSS) significantly inhibited EGF‐induced cell motility when combined with melatonin. Epidermal growth factor induced the phosphorylation of AKT(S473)/mTOR (S2448) and transcription factor (c‐Jun/Sp1) signaling pathways. Pretreatment of LY294002 (a PI3K inhibitor) or rapamycin (an mTOR inhibitor) markedly reduced EGF‐induced motility and p‐AKT/p‐mTOR/c‐Jun/Sp1 expression when combined with melatonin. Taken together, these data indicate that melatonin inhibited EGF‐induced proliferation and motility of human ARPE‐19 cells by activating the AKT/mTOR pathway, which is dependent on CTSS modulation of c‐Jun/Sp1 signalling. Melatonin may be a promising therapeutic drug against PVR.
The Xianghualing large tin-polymetallic skarn deposit is located in the Nanling W-Sn metallogenic belt, South China, showing distinct spatial zoning of mineralization. From the contact between ...granite and carbonate rocks, the mineralization transitions from proximal skarn Sn ore to cassiterite-sulfide ore and more distal Pb–Zn-sulfide ore. This study reveals the fluid evolution and genetic links among these different ore types. The physical and chemical characteristics of fluid inclusions from each ore types indicate that the skarn Sn ore, cassiterite-sulfide ore, and Pb–Zn-sulfide ore all originated from the identical magmatic fluid exsolved from the Laiziling granite. Their formation, however, is controlled by diverse fluid evolutionary processes and host rock characteristics. The Sn–Pb-Zn-rich fluids were primarily derived from cooled and diluted magmatic brine, which is generated by boiling of initial single phase magmatic fluid. Mixing of magmatic brine with meteoric water is crucial to form skarn Sn ore. Redox reactions of aqueous Sn (II) complexes with As (III) species and/or minor CO
2
during short cooling period of ore-forming fluid is likely an effective mechanism to form high-grade cassiterite-sulfide ores, accompanied by favorable pH conditions maintained through interaction with carbonate host rocks. The later stage addition of meteoric water prompts the formation of Pb–Zn-sulfide ore. Comparing these findings with the characteristics of initial or pre-ore magmatic fluids in both mineralized and barren granitic systems indicates that high Sn content in the pre-ore fluids and the suitable fractional crystallization degree of the parent magma may determine high Sn mineralization potential in granitic magmatic-hydrothermal systems.
Optical crosstalk is of paramount importance in mini-light-emitting diode (mini-LED) displays. The influence of the current crowding of mini-LEDs on the optical crosstalk among neighboring pixels of ...a four-in-one integrated matrix device was determined. The results indicate that when a single mini-LED is powered on, the optical crosstalk decreases as the driving current increases due to the reduction in the ratio of photons emitted from the sidewalls of the mini-LED of interest. The encapsulation over mini-LEDs can enhance optical crosstalk due to the reduction of total reflection at the sidewalls and the effect of the light guide. Furthermore, optical crosstalk at the pixels in the direction perpendicular to the longer edge of the mini-LED of interest is stronger than that at the pixels in the direction perpendicular to the shorter edge. This work also suggests that comprehensive information about optical crosstalk can be obtained by capturing spatially resolved light emission from the upper surfaces of pixels.
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