The objective of this study was to investigate potential predictors of chemotherapy resistance in patients with advanced gastric cancer (GC) following radical gastrectomy.
Eligible stage II/III GC ...patients with adjuvant chemotherapy after radical gastrectomy were enrolled in this study. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to assess the predictive and optimal cut-off values of continuous variables for chemotherapy resistance. Potential risk factors for chemotherapy resistance were determined with binary univariate and multivariate analyses. Potential prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) were determined by COX regression analysis. The association between survival and AFR level was examined using the Kaplan-Meier curve analysis.
A total of 160 patients were included in the data analysis, and 41 patients achieved chemotherapeutic resistance with an incidence of 25.6%. Pretreatment albumin/fibrinogen ratio (AFR) (cut-off value: 10.85, AUC: 0.713, P < 0.001) was a predictor for chemotherapeutic resistance by ROC curve analysis. Low AFR (< 10.85) was an independent risk factor of chemotherapeutic resistance as determined by the univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses (OR: 2.55, 95%CI: 1.21-4.95, P = 0.005). Multivariate COX regression analyses indicated low AFR as a prognostic factor for 5-year OS (HR: 0.36, 95%CI: 0.15-0.73, P = 0.011). Low AFR was associated with poorer 5-year disease-free survival and overall survival.
This study indicated that a low level of pretreatment AFR could serve as an independent predictor of chemotherapy resistance and postoperative prognosis in GC patients following radical gastrectomy.
There are sex differences in many inflammatory and immune diseases, and the differences tend to diminish after menopause. The underlying reasons are unclear, but sex hormone levels are likely to be ...an important factor. Blood leukocyte count and composition provide an indicator of the inflammatory and immune status of an individual. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of blood leukocyte data from 46,879 individuals (26,212 men and 20,667 women, aged 18 to 93 years) who underwent a routine health checkup. In women aged around 50 years, neutrophil percentage (NE%) dropped whilst lymphocyte percentage (LY%) rose. Accordingly, women before age 50 had significantly higher NE%, lower LY%, and higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) than women of 51-70 years of age (p = 1.35×10-82, p = 5.32×10-100, and p = 1.25×10-26, respectively). In age groups of <50 years, women had higher NE%, lower LY% and higher NLR than men (p = 1.82×10-206, p = 1.46×10-69, and p = 2.30×10-118, respectively), whereas in age groups of >51 years, it was the reverse (p = 1.92×10-15, p = 1.43×10-84, and p = 1.51×10-48, respectively). These results show that blood leukocyte composition differs between women before and after menopausal age, with distinct sexual dimorphism.
Electron-phonon (e-ph) interaction in monolayer Janus MoSSe has been investigated using ab initio approach. We find that the asymmetric structure induced net dipole moment in MoSSe introduce an ...enhanced e-ph interaction compared to the symmetric MoS2. Through the mode resolved scattering analysis, we demonstrate that the out-of-plane optical mode in MoSSe contributing to the total e-ph scattering rates are much more than MoS2. Around the band edges, the maximum mean free paths (MFPs) of both electrons and holes along zigzag (ZZ) direction are found to be 4 nm in MoSSe, while the MFPs along armchair directions are significantly shorter than along ZZ direction, meaning the highly anisotropic transport properties in MoSSe.
Natural gas hydrate-bearing sediment permeability, which influences the flow behavior of fluids, is a key physical parameter used to determine the exploitation efficiency of hydrate. However, no ...comprehensive overview of existing research related to its measurement and application development has been conducted to date. In this review, the related advances in sediment permeability are systematically summarized in terms of experiments, models, numerical simulations, and its influence on hydrate exploitation. The sediment permeability measurement and their influencing factors have been comprehensively analyzed. In particular, the effects of hydrate phase transition on sediment permeability are discussed in detail. In addition, the normalized models of sediment permeability and numerical simulations of sediment structure are investigated. However, no universal normalized models of sediment permeability and numerical simulation of hydrate phase transition are available. The mechanism by which sediment permeability magnitude and anisotropy influence the hydrate exploitation efficiency has also been discussed. Finally, future efforts should focus on dynamic evolution, high-precision measurement, multifactor coupling effect, generalization of models, and optimization of numerical simulations, which are beneficial to improve guidance for the commercial exploitation of hydrate.
•The influence of permeability on hydrate exploitation from experiments, models, numerical simulations are reviewed.•The sediment permeability measurement and its influencing factors have been comprehensively analyzed.•The normalized models of sediment permeability and numerical simulations of sediment structure are investigated.•The effect mechanism of sediment permeability magnitude /anisotropy on hydrate exploitation efficiency has been discussed.•The challenges of current research and future research prospects are discussed.
Background Hypoxia-induced oxidative stress is one of the main mechanisms of myocardial injury, which frequently results in cardiomyocyte death and precipitates life-threatening heart failure. ...Propofol (2,6-diisopropylphenol), which is used to sedate patients during surgery, was shown to strongly affect the regulation of physiological processes, including hypoxia-induced oxidative stress. However, the exact mechanism is still unclear. Methods Expression of LRPPRC, SLIRP, and Bcl-2 after propofol treatment was measured by RT-qPCR and western blot analyses. The effects of propofol under hypoxia were determine by assessing mitochondrial homeostasis and mitochondrial function, including the ATP level and mitochondrial mass. Autophagy/mitophagy was measured by detecting the presence of LC3B, and autophagosomes were observed by transmission microscopy Results Propofol treatment inhibited cleaved caspase-9 and caspase-3, indicating its inhibitory roles in mitochondrial-related apoptosis. Propofol treatment also transcriptionally activated LRPPRC, a mitochondrial-associated protein that exerts multiple functions by maintaining mitochondrial homeostasis, in a manner dependent on the presence of hypoxia-induced factor (HIF)-1alpha transcriptional activity in H9C2 and primary rat cardiomyocytes. LRPPRC induced by propofol maintained the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and promoted mitochondrial function, including ATP synthesis and transcriptional activity. Furthermore, LRPPRC induced by propofol contributes, at least partially, to the inhibition of apoptotic cell death induced by hypoxia. Conclusion Taken together, our results indicate that LRPPRC may have a protective antioxidant effect by maintaining mitochondrial homoeostasis induced by propofol and provide new insight into the protective mechanism of propofol against oxidative stress.
Mobile robots have an important role in material handling in manufacturing and can be used for a variety of automated tasks. The accuracy of the robot's moving trajectory has become a key issue ...affecting its work efficiency. This paper presents a method for optimizing the trajectory of the mobile robot based on the digital twin of the robot. The digital twin of the mobile robot is created by Unity, and the trajectory of the mobile robot is trained in the virtual environment and applied to the physical space. The simulation training in the virtual environment provides schemes for the actual movement of the robot. Based on the actual movement data returned by the physical robot, the preset trajectory of the virtual robot is dynamically adjusted, which in turn enables the correction of the movement trajectory of the physical robot. The contribution of this work is the use of genetic algorithms for path planning of robots, which enables trajectory optimization of mobile robots by reducing the error in the movement trajectory of physical robots through the interaction of virtual and real data. It provides a method to map learning in the virtual domain to the physical robot.
Remnant cholesterol (RC) represents a low-cost and readily measured lipid index that contributes significantly to residual cardiovascular disease risk. The triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index exhibits a ...significant correlation with cardiovascular disease occurrence. However, RC and the TyG index have rarely been examined for their potentials in predicting coronary artery disease (CAD). Accordingly, the study was designed to validate the correlations of these two biomarkers with CAD and to compare the forecasted values of these two biomarkers for newly diagnosed CAD.
Totally 570 subjects firstly administered coronary angiography were enrolled, including 431 newly diagnosed CAD cases and 139 individuals without CAD. The individuals were classified into two groups according to CAD diagnosis. RC was derived as total cholesterol content (mmol/L) - (high density lipoprotein cholesterol content + low density lipoprotein cholesterol content; both in mmol/L). The TyG index was determined as ln (fasting triglyceride level mg/dL × fasting plasma glucose level mg/dL)/2.
Baseline feature analysis revealed significant differences in RC and the TyG index between the CAD and non-CAD groups (both P < 0.001). RC and the TyG index were independent risk factors for CAD in accordance with logistic regression analysis (both P < 0.05). Moreover, spearman correlation analysis elucidated CAD had a more remarkable correlation with the TyG index compared with RC (both P < 0.001). Furthermore, according to receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the TyG index was better than RC in predicting CAD.
The TyG index and RC have significant associations with CAD. Compared with RC, the TyG index possesses a closer correlation with CAD and a higher predictive value for CAD.
Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) technology can be used to locate and build maps in unknown environments, but the constructed maps often suffer from poor readability and interactivity, ...and the primary and secondary information in the map cannot be accurately grasped. For intelligent robots to interact in meaningful ways with their environment, they must understand both the geometric and semantic properties of the scene surrounding them. Our proposed method can not only reduce the absolute positional errors (APE) and improve the positioning performance of the system but also construct the object-oriented dense semantic point cloud map and output point cloud model of each object to reconstruct each object in the indoor scene. In fact, eight categories of objects are used for detection and semantic mapping using coco weights in our experiments, and most objects in the actual scene can be reconstructed in theory. Experiments show that the number of points in the point cloud is significantly reduced. The average positioning error of the eight categories of objects in Technical University of Munich (TUM) datasets is very small. The absolute positional error of the camera is also reduced with the introduction of semantic constraints, and the positioning performance of the system is improved. At the same time, our algorithm can segment the point cloud model of objects in the environment with high accuracy.
The Qilian orogeny formed by subduction of the proto-Tethyan ocean along the northern margin of Gondwana. In this paper we report geochemical, zircon U-Pb-Hf, and mapping data of the Duoruonuoer ...volcanic rocks from the western Qilian Orogen. Based on distinct geochemical compositions, four melt types can be distinguished: boninite-like basalt, OIB-like basalt, MORB, and high-K to shoshonitic volcanic rocks (HKSV). Field relationships show a compositional change from HKSV, MORB, OIB to boninite-like basalt, from north to south. The boninite-like basalt is low to medium-K calc-alkaline, with low TiO2 (0.13–0.18 < 0.5 wt%) and high CaO/Al2O3 ratio (0.72–0.80), similar to high-Ca back-arc boninite. The geochemical characteristics of Duoruonuoer OIB-like basalt, MORB, and HKSV are similar to those of the Izu-Bonin (IB) back-arc magmatic assemblages. Boninite-like basalt is enriched in LILEs, and has low Ce/Pb, and high Sr/Nd, Ba/Nb ratios, indicating an addition of a shallow subduction-derived fluid phase. Inferred pressures of magma segregation are 0.9–1.4 GPa with temperatures of 1200–1370 °C consistent with melting of a highly depleted, low pressure hydrous mantle source. The MORB-like rock formed by mixing of depleted mantle and a subduction component, and is identical to back-arc basin floor basalt (BABB). The HKSV, dated at 475 Ma, shares the characteristics with lava from the IB back-arc seamount chains (rear-arc). Their low Ce/Pb and high Th/Yb and Th/Nb ratios are compatible with contributions from melts of deep subducting sediment and oceanic crust. High pressure (1.8–2.0 GPa) may reflect sourcing from a mantle melt at the base of thickened arc crust. The OIB-like basalts have high TiO2, Zr/Yb, Nb/Yb and Ce/Pb ratios, suggesting an enriched component from partial melting of the asthenosphere. The high-Fe8 and Ti8 composition of the Duoruonuoer OIB-like basalt is produced by fractional melting, similar to a spreading ridge segment developed a deeper source. The variety of Duoruonuoer back-arc magmatism highlights the importance of changes to the melt source region linked to replenishment of the mantle wedge by material extracted from the subducting slab and influx of more fertile mantle material. It is also controlled by evolution of the mantle wedge over time in the building of the back-arc basin. These findings provide evidence for c.475 Ma back-arc basin developed on a thickened arc lithosphere at the western Qilian Orogen.
Since the end of 2019, a highly contagious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has deprived numerous lives worldwide, called COVID-19. Up to date, omicron ...is the latest variant of concern, and BA.5 is replacing the BA.2 variant to become the main subtype rampaging worldwide. These subtypes harbor an L452R mutation, which increases their transmissibility among vaccinated people. Current methods for identifying SARS-CoV-2 variants are mainly based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by gene sequencing, making time-consuming processes and expensive instrumentation indispensable. In this study, we developed a rapid and ultrasensitive electrochemical biosensor to achieve the goals of high sensitivity, the ability of distinguishing the variants, and the direct detection of RNAs from viruses simultaneously. We used electrodes made of MXene-AuNP (gold nanoparticle) composites for improved sensitivity and the CRISPR/Cas13a system for high specificity in detecting the single-base L452R mutation in RNAs and clinical samples. Our biosensor will be an excellent supplement to the RT-qPCR method enabling the early diagnosis and quick distinguishment of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.5 and BA.2 variants and more potential variants that might arise in the future.