Mineral grains and porosity are two common properties of geomaterials. This study focuses on establishing a macroscopic yield criterion for geomaterials having pores and mineral grains at the ...mesoscale which is embedded in a porous matrix. At the microscale, the solid phase is pressure-sensitive and obeys to the Drucker–Prager criterion which considers the asymmetric property between tension and compression. Based on a two-step homogenization procedure and the modified secant method, a macroscopic yield criterion is firstly derived which takes into account the effects of microstructure on the macroscopic mechanical behaviors of the studied material, such as the meso-porosity and mineral grains content at the mesoscale, the micro-porosity and the pressure-sensitive of the solid phase at the microscale. However, it overestimates the material strength in compressive loading by comparing with the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) based numerical results. Then, this criterion is improved by considering the exact solution in pure hydrostatic loading of a porous medium with a Drucker–Prager matrix. By comparing to the numerical results with different microstructures and to experimental data, the new macroscopic yield criterion is estimated and validated. The main features of the studied geomaterial are well captured by this criterion.
•Plastic yield criteria are derived for geomaterial with a complex microstructure•The effects of meso-grains, meso- and micro-porosities are explicitly considered•The pressure sensitivity of the solid phase at the microscale is taken into account•The criterion is validated by comparing with numerical and experimental results•The present work provides a sound background for various future works.
Early detection of cancer offers the opportunity to identify candidates when curative treatments are achievable. The THUNDER study (THe UNintrusive Detection of EaRly-stage cancers, NCT04820868) ...aimed to evaluate the performance of enhanced linear-splinter amplification sequencing, a previously described cell-free DNA (cfDNA) methylation-based technology, in the early detection and localization of six types of cancers in the colorectum, esophagus, liver, lung, ovary, and pancreas.
A customized panel of 161 984 CpG sites was constructed and validated by public and in-house (cancer: n = 249; non-cancer: n = 288) methylome data, respectively. The cfDNA samples from 1693 participants (cancer: n = 735; non-cancer: n = 958) were retrospectively collected to train and validate two multi-cancer detection blood test (MCDBT-1/2) models for different clinical scenarios. The models were validated on a prospective and independent cohort of age-matched 1010 participants (cancer: n = 505; non-cancer: n = 505). Simulation using the cancer incidence in China was applied to infer stage shift and survival benefits to demonstrate the potential utility of the models in the real world.
MCDBT-1 yielded a sensitivity of 69.1% (64.8%-73.3%), a specificity of 98.9% (97.6%-99.7%), and tissue origin accuracy of 83.2% (78.7%-87.1%) in the independent validation set. For early-stage (I-III) patients, the sensitivity of MCDBT-1 was 59.8% (54.4%-65.0%). In the real-world simulation, MCDBT-1 achieved a sensitivity of 70.6% in detecting the six cancers, thus decreasing late-stage incidence by 38.7%-46.4%, and increasing 5-year survival rate by 33.1%-40.4%, respectively. In parallel, MCDBT-2 was generated at a slightly low specificity of 95.1% (92.8%-96.9%) but a higher sensitivity of 75.1% (71.9%-79.8%) than MCDBT-1 for populations at relatively high risk of cancers, and also had ideal performance.
In this large-scale clinical validation study, MCDBT-1/2 models showed high sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of predicted origin in detecting six types of cancers.
•MCDBT-1 had a sensitivity of 69.1% and a specificity of 98.9% in detecting six cancers.•In the real world, MCDBT-1 decreased late-stage incidence by 38.7%-46.4% and increased 5-year survival rate by 33.1%-40.4%.•In parallel, MCDBT-2 was set at a lower specificity but a higher sensitivity than MCDBT-1 and had an ideal performance.
Previous observations have shown that the distribution of 36.2-GHz class I methanol megamaser (MM) emission in Arp 220 is highly correlated with the diffuse X-rays. On this basis it was suggested ...that methanol MM may be produced either by the effects of galactic-outflow-driven shocks and/or cosmic rays. Here we report the results of a single-dish survey undertaken with the Greenbank Telescope (GBT) to improve our understanding of the pumping conditions of extragalactic class I methanol masers and their relationship to starburst and feedback processes within the host galaxies, towards a sample which includes 16 galaxies which show both extended soft X-ray emission, and either OH or H2O MM emission. Large baseline ripples in the GBT spectra limited our results to tentative detections towards 11 of the target galaxies. Analysis of these tentative detections shows that there are significant correlations between the methanol intensity and the host-galaxy infrared, radio and OH MM emission, but no correlation with the X-ray and H2O MM emission. Some sources show methanol emission significantly offset from the systemic velocity of the galaxy (by up to 1000 km s−1) and we propose that these are associated with galactic-scale outflows from active galactic nuclei (AGNs) feedback. The combined observational properties suggest that class I methanol MMs are related to significant starburst and molecular outflow activity and hence may provide a potential probe of AGN feedback and starburst processes in the host galaxies.
A novel numerical method is developed for three-dimensional modeling of damage and cracking in heterogeneous rock-like materials. Two key issues are addressed. For the first issue, influences of ...materials heterogeneities such as pores and inclusions on damage evolution and cracking processes are investigated by a homogenization approach with Fast Fourier Transform technique. For the second issue, the nucleation and propagation of cracks from diffuse damage evolution are formulated in Fourier space and described by a phase-field method. To do this, an efficient numerical procedure is developed for the stress–strain relationships and crack phase field propagation. A new elastic degradation function is proposed in order to describe a large range of cracking processes. A range of heterogeneous materials with different microstructure are generated and performed numerically to study effects of pores and inclusions on the damage evolution and cracking process in heterogeneous materials.
•A new FFT-based phase field method is developed for modeling damage and cracking in heterogeneous materials.•The proposed method is able to consider complex micro-structures.•This proposed method is able to describe a large range of cracking modes.•Effects of pores and inclusions on cracking evolution patterns are fully investigated through a series of examples.
A new spin-dependent deflection mechanism is revealed by considering the spin-correlated radiation-reaction force during laser-electron collision. We found that such deflection originates from the ...non-zero work done by the radiation-reaction force along the laser polarization direction in each half-period, which is larger/smaller for spin-anti-paralleled/spin-paralleled electrons. The resulted anti-symmetric deflection is further accumulated when the spin-projection onto the laser magnetic field is reversed in adjacent half-periods. The discovered mechanism dominates over the Stern-Gerlach deflection for electrons of several hundreds of MeV and 10 PW-level laser peak power. The results provide a new perspective to study the strong-field QED physics in quantum radiation-reaction regime and an approach to leverage the study of radiation-dominated and strong-field QED physics via particle spins.
Clinical prognostic parameters of liver metastasis from pancreatic adenocarcinoma have not been specifically identified.This study is to explore the risk factors of liver metastasis in advanced ...pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients in China.
A multicenter cohort study was conducted to explore whether liver metastasis in locally advanced and metastatic PDAC could be reflected by some common laboratory indexes. We collected 1787 advanced PDAC patients from three participating hospitals between 2004 and 2014. The associations between some laboratory indexes and risks of liver metastases were analyzed.
Results have shown that 87% of stage IV patients developed synchronous liver metastasis. Primary tumor location (body/tail vs. head/neck, OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.36-0.83), primary tumor diameter (≥20 mm vs. <20 mm, OR 1.77, 95% CI 1.16-2.70), elevated ALT and AST (OR 1.62, 95% CI 0.92-2.83), and elevated CA19-9 (OR 2.72, 95% CI 1.85-3.99) upon diagnosis are significantly associated with risk of synchronous liver metastasis. Among stage III patients, 30.1% developed metachronous liver metastasis. However, no risk factors were identified among these patients.
Primary tumor location, diameter, elevated ALT and AST, and increased CA19-9 are independent risk factors of synchronous liver metastasis in PDAC patients.
Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for the majority of lung cancer, with an unfavorable prognosis of 5-year survival rates. It is of great clinical significance to further search for more ...efficacious and novel targets for diagnosis and therapeutic strategies. This study aimed at clarifying the role of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) NORAD in proliferation, invasion and migration and tumor growth of NSCLC.
In this study, mRNA levels of lncRNA NORAD were examined by RT-PCR. CCK-8 assay was applied to test cell viability. Furthermore, wound healing assay and transwell assay were performed to detect the migration and invasion of A549 cells, respectively. Immunohistochemistry was applied to assess the levels of CXC chemokine receptor (CXCR) 4 and CXC chemokine ligand (CXCL) 12. Mice models of NSCLC in vivo were exploited to further examine the potential role of NORAD in tumor growth. Key proteins related to Ras homolog gene family member A (RhoA) GTPase/Rho-associated kinase (RhoA/ROCK) pathway were determined by Western blot.
NORAD has elevated the levels in NSCLC tissues and cells. NORAD interference dramatically inhibited tumor growth and suppressed A549 cell proliferation, migration and invasion by downregulating CXCR4 and CXCL12 expression. RhoA/ROCK signaling pathway was activated in NSCLC.
This study revealed that the downregulation of lncRNA NORAD could slow down the progression of NSCLC by regulating CXCR4 and RhoA/ROCK signaling pathway.
This paper looks at carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the point of view of production theory and proposes a new total factor CO2 emissions performance index. This is done using directional distance ...function followed by stochastic frontier analysis techniques in order to estimate the index. Based on this, it studies on CO2 emission performance, emission reduction potential and influences of regulatory policies in Chinese provinces. The main conclusions include the following: (1) CO2 emission performance in each province is high in southeastern coastal areas but low in central and western inland regions with differences increasing rapidly after 2001. (2) The relationship between CO2 emission performance and emission reduction potential can be divided into four types; high performance-high potential, high performance-low potential, low performance-high potential and low performance-low potential. (3) Regulations concerning emission reduction do not sacrifice efficiency but actually facilitate long-term CO2 emission performance.
Acne inversa (AI, OMIM 142690), also called hidradenitis suppurativa, is a chronic, inflammatory, recurrent and debilitating skin follicular disease that usually presents after puberty with painful, ...deep‐seated, inflamed lesions in the apocrine gland‐bearing areas of the body, most commonly the axilla, inguinal and anogenital regions.1 The prevalence of AI has been estimated at 1 in 100 to 1 in 600.2 Of patients with AI, 35–40% have a positive family history.3 The pattern of transmission is consistent with autosomal dominant inheritance.4 In 2006, Gao et al.5 mapped the AI gene at chromosome 1p21.1–1q25.3. In 2010, Wang et al.6 were the first to identify mutations of γ‐secretase genes responsible for AI among six Chinese families. γ‐Secretase is a transmembrane protease composed of four essential protein subunits: one catalytic presenilin (PSEN1) subunit and three cofactor subunits presenilin enhancer 2 (PSENEN), nicastrin (NCSTN) and anterior pharynx defective 1 (APH1). Two, one and three mutations were found in PSENEN, PSEN1 and NCSTN, respectively. Here, we report a heterozygous nonsense c.1695T>G mutation and a heterozygous missense c.632C>G mutation of the NCSTN gene in two Chinese AI families.
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