Discerning Tumor Status from Unstructured MRI Reports—Completeness of Information in Existing Reports and Utility of Automated Natural Language Processing

Information in electronic medical records is often in an unstructured free-text format. This format presents challenges for expedient data retrieval and may fail to convey important findings. Natural language processing (NLP) is an emerging technique for rapid and efficient clinical data retrieval. While proven in disease detection, the utility of NLP in discerning disease progression from free-text reports is untested. We aimed to (1) assess whether unstructured radiology reports contained sufficient information for tumor status classification; (2) develop an NLP-based data extraction tool to determine tumor status from unstructured reports; and (3) compare NLP and human tumor status classification outcomes. Consecutive follow-up brain tumor magnetic resonance imaging reports (2000–­2007) from a tertiary center were manually annotated using consensus guidelines on tumor status. Reports were randomized to NLP training (70%) or testing (30%) groups. The NLP tool utilized a support vector machines model with statistical and rule-based outcomes. Most reports had sufficient information for tumor status classification, although 0.8% did not describe status despite reference to prior examinations. Tumor size was unreported in 68.7% of documents, while 50.3% lacked data on change magnitude when there was detectable progression or regression. Using retrospective human classification as the gold standard, NLP achieved 80.6% sensitivity and 91.6% specificity for tumor status determination (mean positive predictive value, 82.4%; negative predictive value, 92.0%). In conclusion, most reports contained sufficient information for tumor status determination, though variable features were used to describe status. NLP demonstrated good accuracy for tumor status classification and may have novel application for automated disease status classification from electronic databases

Search for supersymmetry in events with at least one photon, missing transverse momentum, and large transverse event activity in proton-proton collisions at √s = 13 TeV

A search for physics beyond the standard model in final states with at least one photon, large transverse momentum imbalance, and large total transverse event activity is presented. Such topologies can be produced in gauge-mediated supersymmetry models in which pair-produced gluinos or squarks decay to photons and gravitinos via short-lived neutralinos. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb[superscript −1] of proton-proton collisions at s√=13 TeV recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2016. No significant excess of events above the expected standard model background is observed. The data are interpreted in simplified models of gluino and squark pair production, in which gluinos or squarks decay via neutralinos to photons. Gluino masses of up to 1.50-2.00 TeV and squark masses up to 1.30-1.65 TeV are excluded at 95% confidence level, depending on the neutralino mass and branching fraction. Keywords: Hadron-Hadron scattering (experiments); Supersymmetry; Photon productio

Cultural proximity, destination familiarity and tourists’ sense of away-from-home (SAFH)

Travel is about leaving home. Immersing in a non-daily environment spontaneously gives people a sense of away-from-home (SAFH) - a concept natively related to travel, but rarely discussed in prior studies. This study proposes this novel concept of SAFH building on the dualistic context of home and away to describe the emotive states people develop at a tourist destination, relative to their home environment. The components of SAFH, and the influences of cultural proximity, destination familiarity, and geographic distance on these senses, are investigated. A set of data (498 samples) was collected from domestic tourists from other regions of China visiting the city of Hangzhou. The findings indicate that tourists' SAFH comprises of five senses: Novelty, uncomfortableness, insecurity, situational uncontrollability, and emotional isolation. Tourists’ destination familiarity significantly influences their SAFH. The direct and indirect impacts of cultural proximity on the SAFH mainly exist in the long-haul travelling group. In conclusion, when travelling in a particular destination, tourists generate a sense of away-from-home which varies due to their different origins and familiarities with the destination

Construction and analysis of a lncRNA (PWRN2)-mediated ceRNA network reveal its potential roles in oocyte nuclear maturation of patients with PCOS

Abstract Background Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine and metabolic disorder in women. An lncRNA, namely, Prader-Willi region nonprotein coding RNA 2 (PWRN2), was up-regulated in the cumulus cells of patients with PCOS. However, the molecular mechanism of PWRN2 in PCOS remains largely unknown. Methods In this study, the expression levels of PWRN2 were tested in cumulus cells through qRT-PCR analysis to confirm its potential roles in oocyte nuclear maturation of PCOS. A PWRN2-mediated ceRNA network was constructed based on three microarray datasets to investigate the molecular mechanism of PWRN2 in oocyte development of patients with PCOS. The direct interactions of the candidate genes of the ceRNA network were also demonstrated by dual-luciferase reporter assay. Results PWRN2 was found to be associated with oocyte nuclear maturation in patients with PCOS in contrast to that in normal patients. Based on the microarray data, 176 lncRNAs (118 up-regulated and 58 down-regulated) and 131 mRNAs (84 up-regulated and 47 down-regulated) were identified to be regulated by PWRN2. A PWRN2-miR-92b-3p-TMEM120B ceRNA network was constructed based on results of analysis of the combined three microarray datasets (lncRNA+mRNA microarray in KGN/shPWRN2 in this study, miRNAs microarray and lncRNA+mRNA microarray in PCOS cumulus cells reported in previous studies). The coexpression characteristics of the genes (PWRN2, miR-92b-3p and TMEM120B) were detected in the cumulus cells of cumulus-oocyte complexes at different nuclear maturity stages in PCOS. These results are in accordance with the ceRNA hypothesis. Moreover, luciferase activity assay revealed that miR-92b-3p directly binds to PWRN2 and targets TMEM120B. Conclusions PWNR2 plays important roles in oocyte nuclear maturation in PCOS by functioning as a ceRNA to reduce the availability of miR-92b-3p for TMEM120B target binding during oocyte maturation in PCOS. Our findings would provide new information and clarify abnormal oocyte development in PCOS

Multiphysics modeling, sensitivity analysis, and optical performance optimization for optical laser head in additive manufacturing

Optical laser head is a key component used to shape the laser beam and to deliver higher power laser irradiation onto workpieces for material processing. A focused laser beam size and optical intensity need to be controlled to avoid decreasing beam quality and loss of intensity in laser material processing. This paper reports the multiphysics modeling of an in-house developed laser head for laser-aided additive manufacturing (LAAM) applications. The design of computer experiments (DoCE) combined with the response surface model was used as an efficient design approach to optimize the optical performance of a high power LAAM head. A coupled structural-thermal-optical-performance (STOP) model was developed to evaluate the influence of thermal effects on the optical performance. A number of experiments with different laser powers, laser beam focal plane positions, and environmental settings were designed and simulated using the STOP model for sensitivity analysis. The response models of the optical performance were constructed using DoCE and regression analysis. Based on the response models, optimal design settings were predicted and validated with the simulations. The results show that the proposed design approach is effective in obtaining optimal solutions for optical performance of the laser head in LAAM.Published versio

Additional file 2: of Construction and analysis of a lncRNA (PWRN2)-mediated ceRNA network reveal its potential roles in oocyte nuclear maturation of patients with PCOS

GO annotation of the target genes regulated by PWRN2. (XLSX 283 kb

Additional file 4: of Construction and analysis of a lncRNA (PWRN2)-mediated ceRNA network reveal its potential roles in oocyte nuclear maturation of patients with PCOS

The potential target mRNAs of putative miRNAs with MREs in PWRN2. (XLSX 97 kb

Additional file 3: of Construction and analysis of a lncRNA (PWRN2)-mediated ceRNA network reveal its potential roles in oocyte nuclear maturation of patients with PCOS

KEGG pathway analysis of the target genes regulated by PWRN2. (XLSX 35 kb

Additional file 1: of Construction and analysis of a lncRNA (PWRN2)-mediated ceRNA network reveal its potential roles in oocyte nuclear maturation of patients with PCOS

The primers used in this study. (XLSX 12 kb

Real-time apparent density measurement of the working fluid in outlet pipes of a steam-injection boiler

This paper presents a novel method for the real-time apparent density measurement of the working fluid in outlet pipes of a stream-injection boiler. The measurement system consists of a vertical measuring pipe, a container with constant height and a differential pressure (DP) transmitter. The working fluid in the upper part of the vertical measuring section flows into the container which is connected to the positive pressure side of the DP transmitter. The negative pressure side is connected to the lower part of the vertical measuring section through a pressleading tube. The apparent pressure measurement is then converted into DP measurement. When the feed water flow is known, the apparent density of the working fluid at the outlet is determined by the measured differential pressure. Results from oil field trials confirm that the proposed method is effective