The detection of gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) has previously been reported to be useful in the diagnosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of the present study was to investigate the ...baseline serum GGT levels in patients with intermediate HCC (Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage B) following treatment with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT). A total of 154 intermediate HCC patients with Child-Pugh grade A were retrospectively investigated. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to determine the optimal threshold for the GGT serum levels, and univariate and multivariate analyses were used to establish the prognostic factors. The median overall survival (OS) time was 24.3 months. The optimal threshold for GGT was 85 U/L (sensitivity, 75.13%; specificity, 69.81%; and area under the ROC curve, 0.763). The one-, three- and five-year OS rates were 79.9, 49.7 and 17.2%, respectively, for patients with low GGT levels (less than or equal to 85 U/l) and 52.3, 22.1 and 8.5%, respectively, for patients with high GGT levels (>85 U/l) (P=0.007). The results indicated that the serum GGT level was an independent prognostic factor (hazard ratio = 2.32; P = 0.007) for OS. Furthermore, in subgroups stratified according to serum alpha-fetoprotein, gross tumor volume and radiation dose, serum GGT was also found to correlate with OS (P < 0.05). Therefore, the baseline GGT level may be a significant prognostic factor for intermediate HCC patients with Child-Pugh grade A following TACE combined with 3DCRT. Key words: prognostic value, serum gamma-glutamyl transferase, hepatocellular carcinoma, transcatheter arterial chemoembolization, embolization, three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy
Locally advanced rectal cancer is currently treated with preoperative radiochemotherapy, but the response is not uniform. Most patients benefit from preoperative CRT, however, a small proportion of a ...patient population is less likely to respond to the treatment. The purpose of this study was to measure neoadjuvant therapy combined with Ki-67 and VEGF expression in pretreatment biopsies and postoperative specimens，serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and CA19-9 level from patients with locally advanced rectal cancer receiving intensive neoadjuvant treatment and to correlate the findings with clinical outcome.Â
This paper designs a novel reusable gradient negative stiffness (GNS) honeycomb structure and focuses on investigating its energy absorption (EA). Contrary to classical normal negative stiffness ...(NNS) honeycomb structures, the GNS honeycomb is characterized in that its unit cells have regular geometric (stiffness) changes throughout the honeycomb panel. The quasi-static mechanical characteristics of the novel GNS honeycomb are investigated with a combination of experiments and simulations. The influence of the structural parameters on energy absorption is revealed using an experimentally verified numerical model. After that, the repeatability of this honeycomb is verified by cyclic compression. In addition, the vibration control effect of the honeycomb is studied through vibration isolation tests, and revealing that the presented GNS honeycomb has better vibration control performance than the NNS honeycomb. Finally, plate-impact experiments are also performed to investigate the cushion properties of NNS and GNS honeycombs. The test results show that the novel GNS honeycomb has better cushion performance than the NNS honeycomb by inhibiting the threshold of acceleration response amplitude, which again verifies the potential of the novel GNS honeycomb in the EA field.
A new theory developed from extended high-order sandwich panel theory (EHSAPT) is set up to assess the static response of sandwich panels by considering the geometrical and material nonlinearities ...simultaneously. The geometrical nonlinearity is considered by adopting the Green–Lagrange-type strain for the face sheets and core. The material nonlinearity is included as a piecewise function matched to the experimental stress–strain curve using a polynomial fitting technique. A Ritz technique is applied to solve the governing equations. The results show that the stress stiffening feature is well captured in the geometric nonlinear analysis. The effect of the geometric nonlinearity in the face sheets on the displacement response is more significant when the stiffness ratio of the face sheets to the core is large. The geometric nonlinearity decreases the shear stress and increases the normal stress in the sandwich core. By comparison with open literature and finite element simulations, the present nonlinear EHSAPT is shown to be sufficiently precise for estimating the nonlinear static response of sandwich beams by considering the geometric and material nonlinearities simultaneously.
The ballistic impact response of fiber-reinforced composite/metal composite target (FMCT) under the impact of spherical projectile was studied by experimental and numerical methods. The residual ...velocity of the projectile, the failure modes and the energy absorption of the composite targets were analyzed. The effects of the projectile impact velocity and the target areal density on the ballistic impact response of the target were studied. The results show that the target configuration with the Kevlar composite front plate and the steel back plate has the better anti-penetration capability. Increasing the thickness of the Kevlar front plate and reducing the thickness of the steel back plate in a certain range can improve the anti-penetration capability of the FMCT target.
The efficient operation of the air supply system, particularly the air compressor, is crucial in ensuring the performance of the proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Nevertheless, its high ...parasitic power consumption is the main reason for the efficiency decline of the PEMFC. While exhaust gas energy recovery is a viable approach to enhance system efficiency, conventional exhaust gas recovery systems are not well-suited for PEMFC and the cathode exhaust gas is difficult to monitor in real-time. Therefore, this study proposes a sensorless method based on reinforcement learning for energy recovery of the exhaust gas turbine air compressor (EGTAC) in the PEMFC. Firstly, the air supply system with EGTAC and stack model are established. Subsequently, the relationship between the exhaust gas energy and the working performance of both the EGTAC and the PEMFC is elucidated. Additionally, a method based on a state observer is devised to estimate the characteristics of the exhaust gas in a PEMFC. Finally, compared to the model predictive control (MPC), this method enhances the EGTAC exhaust gas recovery rate by 19.1% and the fuel cell system efficiency by 3.7%. The optimization differs by a maximum of 6.5% compared to the control with sensors.
Histone acetylation is a ubiquitous and reversible post-translational modification in eukaryotes and prokaryotes that is co-regulated by histone acetyltransferase (HAT) and histone deacetylase ...(HDAC). HAT activity is important for the modification of chromatin structure in eukaryotic cells, affecting gene transcription and thereby playing a crucial regulatory role in plant development. Comprehensive analyses of HAT genes have been performed in Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa, barley, grapes, tomato, litchi and Zea mays, but comparable identification and analyses have not been conducted in wheat (Triticum aestivum).
In this study, 31 TaHATs were identified and divided into six groups with conserved gene structures and motif compositions. Phylogenetic analysis was performed to predict functional similarities between Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa and Triticum aestivum HAT genes. The TaHATs appeared to be regulated by cis-acting elements such as LTR and TC-rich repeats. The qRT-PCR analysis showed that the TaHATs were differentially expressed in multiple tissues. The TaHATs in expression also responded to temperature changes, and were all significantly upregulated after being infected by barley streak mosaic virus (BSMV), Chinese wheat mosaic virus (CWMV) and wheat yellow mosaic virus (WYMV).
These results suggest that TaHATs may have specific roles in the response to viral infection and provide a basis for further study of TaHAT functions in T. aestivum plant immunity.
Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. ESCC has a generally poor prognosis and there is a lack of available biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis. The ...aim of the study was to identify novel biomarkers for ESCC. We screened the overlapping differentially expressed genes (DEGs) acquired from six Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) ESCC datasets and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) ESCC datasets. Subsequently, protein-protein interaction network analysis was performed to identify the key hub genes. Then, Kaplan Meier survival and receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis were utilized to clarify the diagnostic and prognostic role of these hub genes. The UALCAN database, single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) were performed to confirm the expression levels of identified hub genes. Finally, immune infiltration analysis was conducted to investigate the role of these genes in the pathogenesis of ESCC. The results showed that PBK, KIF2C, NUF2, KIF20A, RAD51AP1, and DEPDC1 effectively distinguish ESCC tissues from normal samples, and all of them were significantly correlated with overall survival. The results of scRNA-seq and qPCR indicated that the expression levels of hub genes in ESCC were significantly higher than in normal cells or tissues. Further immune infiltration analysis showed that infiltration of dendritic cells was significantly negatively correlated with PBK, KIF2C, NUF2, RAD51AP1, and DEPDC1 expression levels. In conclusion, our results suggest that PBK, KIF2C, NUF2, KIF20A, RAD51AP1 and DEPDC1 are all potential biomarkers for ESCC diagnosis and prognosis may also be potential therapeutic targets for ESCC.
Abstract Fungal diseases, such as powdery mildew and rusts, significantly affect the quality and yield of wheat. Pyramiding diverse types of resistance genes into cultivars represents the preferred ...strategy to combat these diseases. Moreover, achieving collaborative improvement between diseases resistance, abiotic stress, quality, and agronomic and yield traits is difficult in genetic breeding. In this study, the wheat cultivar, Guinong 29 (GN29), showed high resistance to powdery mildew and stripe rust at both seedling and adult plant stages, and was susceptible to leaf rust at the seedling stage but slow resistance at the adult-plant stage. Meanwhile, it has elite agronomic and yield traits, indicating promising coordination ability among multiple diseases resistance and other key breeding traits. To determine the genetic basis of these elite traits, GN29 was tested with 113 molecular markers for 98 genes associated with diseases resistance, stress tolerance, quality, and adaptability. The results indicated that two powdery mildew resistance ( Pm ) genes, Pm2 and Pm21 , confirmed the outstanding resistance to powdery mildew through genetic analysis, marker detection, genomic in situ hybridization (GISH), non-denaturing fluorescence in situ hybridization (ND-FISH), and homology-based cloning; the stripe rust resistance ( Yr ) gene Yr26 and leaf rust resistance ( Lr ) genes Lr1 and Lr46 conferred the stripe rust and slow leaf rust resistance in GN29, respectively. Meanwhile, GN29 carries dwarfing genes Rht-B1b and Rht-D1a , vernalization genes vrn-A1 , vrn-B1 , vrn-D1 , and vrn-B3 , which were consistent with the phenotypic traits in dwarf characteristic and semi-winter property; carries genes Dreb1 and Ta-CRT for stress tolerance to drought, salinity, low temperature, and abscisic acid (ABA), suggesting that GN29 may also have elite stress-tolerance ability; and carries two low-molecular-weight glutenin subunit genes Glu-B3b and Glu-B3bef which contributed to high baking quality. This study not only elucidated the genetic basis of the elite traits in GN29 but also verified the capability for harmonious improvement in both multiple diseases resistance and other comprehensive traits, offering valuable information for breeding breakthrough-resistant cultivars.
Powdery mildew, caused by Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt), is a serious fungal disease that critically threatens the yield and quality of wheat. Utilization of host resistance is the most ...effective and economical method to control this disease. In our study, a wheat breeding line ShiCG15-009, released from Hebei Province, was highly resistant to powdery mildew at all stages. To dissect its genetic basis, ShiCG15-009 was crossed with the susceptible cultivar Yannong 21 to produce F
, F
and F
progenies. After genetic analysis, a single dominant gene, tentatively designated PmCG15-009, was proved to confer resistance to Bgt isolate E09. Further molecular markers analysis showed that PmCG15-009 was located on chromosome 2BL and flanked by markers XCINAU130 and XCINAU143 with the genetic distances 0.2 and 0.4 cM, respectively, corresponding to a physic interval of 705.14-723.48 Mb referred to the Chinese Spring reference genome sequence v2.1. PmCG15-009 was most likely a new gene differed from the documented Pm genes on chromosome 2BL since its different origin, genetic diversity, and physical position. To analyze and identify the candidate genes, six genes associated with disease resistance in the candidate interval were confirmed to be associated with PmCG15-009 via qRT-PCR analysis using the parents ShiCG15-009 and Yannong 21 and time-course analysis post-inoculation with Bgt isolate E09. To accelerate the transfer of PmCG15-009 using marker-assisted selection (MAS), 18 closely or co-segregated markers were evaluated and confirmed to be suitable for tracing PmCG15-009, when it was transferred into different wheat cultivars.
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