Effect of dry heat, microwave and ultrasonic treatments on physicochemical properties of potato starch with or without pectin

Purpose: To investigate the effects of dry heat, microwave and ultrasonic treatments on the physicochemical properties of potato starch alone or blended with pectin. Methods: The physicochemical properties of potato starch gels prepared using microwave, ultrasonic and dry heat treatments were assessed. Pasting properties, gel strength, thermal properties and crystal texture of the potato starch were determined using Rapid Visco analyzer, texture profile analyzer, differential scanning calorimeter and x-ray diffractometer. Results: Dry heat and ultrasonic treatments significantly increased the peak viscosity of the potato starch, and significantly decreased its setback and pasting temperatures (p < 0.05). Dry heat treatment significantly increased the hardness, while dry heat and ultrasonic treatments significantly improved retrogradation of the potato starch (p < 0.05). Transparency of potato starch paste was significantly increased by the different treatments, except microwave treatment (p < 0.05). Potato starch gels blended with pectin and subjected to any of the treatments exhibited significantly increased hardness, when compared with raw potato starch (p < 0.05). The retrogradation of the potato starch was significantly improved by the different treatments. Dry heat and ultrasonic treatments significantly decreased the syneresis of potato starch with or without pectin (p < 0.05). The three treatments also significantly affected the gelatinization enthalpy of the potato starch with or without pectin, and exerted some effects on the crystallinity of the gels. Conclusion: The results obtained in this study suggest that differences in physicochemical properties of potato starch gels are due mainly to the degree of damage to starch granules caused by different treatments. The addition of pectin to potato starch gel greatly improves its hardness and retrogradation

Wide azimuth seismic data processing technology and application: a case study of tight gas reservoirs in western China

As the difficulty of oil and gas field exploration and development increases both domestically and internationally, onshore exploration targets have gradually shifted from the shallow to the deep and from conventional oil and gas reservoirs to unconventional ones. Particularly in the exploration and development of unconventional oil and gas horizontal wells, there is an increasing demand for higher precision and quality of seismic data to better identify formation lithology, rock fractures, and improve the characterization of reservoirs, reservoir positioning, and connectivity. Wide-azimuth seismic exploration possesses significant technical advantages in addressing exploration challenges such as lithologic exploration, small fault imaging, and detailed characterization of oil and gas reservoirs. Wide azimuth seismic data reduces blind spots in seismic acquisition and improves the imaging accuracy of small faults. Notably, there exist distinct anisotropic characteristics in fault areas and fractured reservoirs. Wide azimuth seismic data is particularly advantageous for studying amplitude variation with variations in amplitude with offset (AVO), incident angle (AVA), or azimuth (AVAZ), as well as velocity with azimuth (VVA). These variations aid in identifying faults, fractures, and changes in formation lithology. As the focus of oil and gas exploration gradually shifts to complex lithological reservoirs and unconventional oil and gas reservoirs, narrow azimuth seismic exploration has been gradually replaced by wide azimuth exploration. However, as observation azimuth increases, challenges related to velocity variations with azimuth, azimuth-related traveltime differences, and azimuth-related anisotropy arise. Based on wide-azimuth seismic data from tight gas reservoirs in western China, this study conducted wide-azimuth anisotropic velocity analysis, OVT domain data regularization processing, OVT domain prestack time/depth migration, and horizontally transverse isotropy (HTI) azimuth anisotropy correction techniques. After applying specialized processing to the wide-azimuth seismic data, significant improvements were observed in the S/N and resolution of the target layer. The delineation of fractures related to hydrocarbon sources also became more distinct. These advancements not only provided high-quality results for high-fidelity, high-resolution imaging of tight gas reservoirs but also provided azimuth volume corresponding to fast and slow wave velocities for seismic data interpretation, facilitating velocity variation with azimuth (VVAZ) fracture detection and AVO analysis research

Prediction of the Lymph Node Status in Patients with Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma: Analysis of 320 Surgical Cases

Purpose: This study was conducted to identify factors involved in lymph node metastasis (LNM) and evaluate their role in predicting LNM in clinically lymph node negative (clinical stage I–III) intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). Materials and Methods: We selected 320 patients who were diagnosed with ICC with no apparent clinical LNM (T1–3N0M0). Age, gender, tumor boundary, histological differentiation, tumor size, and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 value were the studied factors. Univariate and multivariate logistic analysis were conducted. Receiver operating characteristics curve analysis was used to test the predicting value of each factor and a test which combined the associated factors was used to predict LNM. Results: LNM was observed in 76 cases (76/320, 23.8%). Univariate and multivariate analysis showed that histological differentiation as well as tumor boundary and tumor size significantly correlated with LNM. The sensitivity and negative predictive value for LNM for the three factors when combined was 96.1 and 95% respectively. This means that 5% of the patients who did not have the risk factors mentioned above developed LNM. Conclusion: This model used the combination of three factors (low-graded histological differentiation, distinct tumor boundary, small tumor size) and they proved to be useful in predicting LNM in ICC with clinically lymph node negative cases. In patients with these criteria, lymph node dissection or lymph node irradiation may be omitted and such cases may also be good candidates for stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT)

Improved Naive Bayes with Mislabeled Data

Labeling mistakes are frequently encountered in real-world applications. If not treated well, the labeling mistakes can deteriorate the classification performances of a model seriously. To address this issue, we propose an improved Naive Bayes method for text classification. It is analytically simple and free of subjective judgements on the correct and incorrect labels. By specifying the generating mechanism of incorrect labels, we optimize the corresponding log-likelihood function iteratively by using an EM algorithm. Our simulation and experiment results show that the improved Naive Bayes method greatly improves the performances of the Naive Bayes method with mislabeled data

Brassinosteroids affect wood development and properties of Fraxinus mandshurica

IntroductionXylem development plays a crucial role in wood formation in woody plants. In recent years, there has been growing attention towards the impact of brassinosteroids (BRs) on this xylem development. In the present study, we evaluated the dynamic variation of xylem development in Fraxinus mandshurica (female parent, M8) and a novel interspecific hybrid F. mandshurica × Fraxinus sogdiana (1601) from May to August 2020.MethodsWe obtained RNA-Seq transcriptomes of three tissue types (xylem, phloem, and leaf) to identify the differences in xylem-differentially expressed genes (X-DEGs) and xylem-specifically expressed genes (X-SEGs) in M8 and 1601 variants. We then further evaluated these genes via weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) alongside overexpressing FmCPD, a BR biosynthesis enzyme gene, in transient transgenic F. mandshurica.ResultsOur results indicated that the xylem development cycle of 1601 was extended by 2 weeks compared to that of M8. In addition, during the later wood development stages (secondary wall thickening) of 1601, an increased cellulose content (14%) and a reduced lignin content (11%) was observed. Furthermore, vessel length and width increased by 67% and 37%, respectively, in 1601 compared with those of M8. A total of 4589 X-DEGs were identified, including enzymes related to phenylpropane metabolism, galactose metabolism, BR synthesis, and signal transduction pathways. WGCNA identified hub X-SEGs involved in cellulose synthesis and BR signaling in the 1601 wood formation–related module (CESA8, COR1, C3H14, and C3H15); in contrast, genes involved in phenylpropane metabolism were significantly enriched in the M8 wood formation–related module (CCoAOMT and CCR). Moreover, overexpression of FmCPD in transient transgenic F. mandshurica affected the expression of genes associated with lignin and cellulose biosynthesis signal transduction. Finally, BR content was determined to be approximately 20% lower in the M8 xylem than in the 1601 xylem, and the exogenous application of BRs (24-epi brassinolide) significantly increased the number of xylem cell layers and altered the composition of the secondary cell walls in F. mandshurica.DiscussionOur findings suggest that BR biosynthesis and signaling play a critical role in the differing wood development and properties observed between M8 and 1601 F. mandshurica

Dynamic Clustering Analysis for Driving Styles Identification

For intelligent driving systems, the ability to recognize different driving styles of surrounding vehicles is crucial in determining the safest, yet more efficient driving decisions especially in the context of the mixed driving environment. Knowing for instance if the vehicle in the adjacent lane is aggressive or cautious can greatly assist in the decision making of ego vehicle in terms of whether and when it is appropriate to make particular manoeuvres (e.g. lane change). In addition, vehicles behave differently under different surrounding environments, making the driving styles identification highly challenging. To this end, in this paper we propose a dynamic clustering based driving styles identification and profiling approach where clusters vary in response to the changing surrounding environment. To better capture dynamic driving patterns and understand the driving style switch behaviours and more complicated driving patterns, a position-dependent dynamic clustering structure is developed where a driver is assigned to a cluster sequence rather than a single cluster. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first research paper of its kind on the dynamic clustering of driving styles. The usefulness of the proposed method is demonstrated on a real-world vehicle trajectory dataset where results show that driving style switches and more complex driving behaviours can be better captured. The potential applications in intelligent driving systems are also discussed

CT volumetry can potentially predict the local stage for gastric cancer after chemotherapy

PURPOSE:We aimed to evaluate the value of CT tumor volumetry for predicting T and N stages of gastric cancer after chemotherapy, with pathologic results as the reference standard.METHODS:This study retrospectively evaluated 42 patients diagnosed with gastric cancer, who underwent chemotherapy followed by surgery. Pre- and post-treatment CT tumor volumes (VT) were measured in portal venous phase and volume reduction ratios were calculated. Correlations between pre- and post-treatment VT, reduction ratio, and pathologic stages were analyzed. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analyses were also performed to assess diagnostic performance for prediction of downstaging to T0–2 stage and N0 stage.RESULTS:Pretreatment VT, post-treatment VT, and VT reduction ratio were significantly correlated with T stage (rs=0.329, rs=0.546, rs= -0.422, respectively). Post-treatment VT and VT reduction ratio were significantly correlated with N stage (rs=0.442 and rs= -0.376, respectively). Pretreatment VT, post-treatment VT, and VT reduction ratio were significantly different between T0–2 and T3,4 stage tumors (P = 0.05, P < 0.001, and P = 0.002, respectively). The differences between N0 and ≥N1 groups were also statistically significant (P = 0.005 for post-treatment VT, P = 0.016 for VT reduction ratio, respectively). The area under the ROC curve (AUC) for identification of T0–2 groups was 0.70 for pretreatment VT, 0.88 for post-treatment VT, and 0.82 for VT reduction ratio, respectively. AUC was 0.78 for post-treatment VT and 0.74 for VT reduction ratio for identification of N0 groups.CONCLUSION:CT tumor volumetry, particularly post-treatment measurement of VT, is potentially valuable for predicting histopathologic T and N stages after chemotherapy in patients with gastric cancer

Curcumin Protects Intestinal Mucosal Barrier Function of Rat Enteritis via Activation of MKP-1 and Attenuation of p38 and NF-κB Activation

BACKGROUND: Intestinal mucosa barrier (IMB) dysfunction results in many notorious diseases for which there are currently few effective treatments. We studied curcumin's protective effect on IMB and examined its mechanism by using methotrexate (MTX) induced rat enteritis model and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treated cell death model. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Curcumin was intragastrically administrated from the first day, models were made for 7 days. Cells were treated with curcumin for 30 min before exposure to LPS. Rat intestinal mucosa was collected for evaluation of pathological changes. We detected the activities of D-lactate and diamine oxidase (DAO) according to previous research and measured the levels of myeloperoxidase (MPO) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) by colorimetric method. Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interleukin 1β (IL-1β) were determined by RT-PCR and IL-10 production was determined by ELISA. We found Curcumin decreased the levels of D-lactate, DAO, MPO, ICAM-1, IL-1β and TNF-α, but increased the levels of IL-10 and SOD in rat models. We further confirmed mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase-1 (MKP-1) was activated but phospho-p38 was inhibited by curcumin by western blot assay. Finally, NF-κB translocation was monitored by immunofluorescent staining. We showed that curcumin repressed I-κB and interfered with the translocation of NF-κB into nucleus. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The effect of curcumin is mediated by the MKP-1-dependent inactivation of p38 and inhibition of NF-κB-mediated transcription. Curcumin, with anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activities may be used as an effective reagent for protecting intestinal mucosa barrier and other related intestinal diseases

Magnetic resonance morphologic features predict progression of incidental pancreatic cystic lesions during follow-up

PURPOSEWe aimed to evaluate which morphologic features on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could predict the progression of pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs) that are suitable for follow-up.METHODSA total of 2176 MRI findings of PCLs were retrospectively reviewed between January 2009 and December 2016. The study population was composed of 223 patients. Clinical data and morphologic features of PCLs were recorded. We divided the individuals into two sub-groups according to the final features on MRI. Univariable and multivariable regression analyses were performed to identify independent risk factors for progression of PCLs.RESULTSA total of 84 PCLs (37.7%) progressed during follow-up, while 139 PCLs (62.3%) were stable. Age (odds ratio [OR], 1.042; P = 0.017), number of lesions (OR, 0.491; P = 0.048), communication to pancreatic duct (PD) (OR, 2.425; P = 0.007) and presence of septa (OR, 6.105; P < 0.001) were significant independent factors for progression of PCLs. Among 84 lesions that progressed, 23 lesions (27.4%) increased to ≥ 30 mm in diameter or showed worrisome imaging features at the end of follow-up that needed clinical intervention. The initial size and communication to PD were independent factors for progression of PCLs necessitating clinical intervention (P < 0.001 and P = 0.011, respectively).CONCLUSIONAge, number of the lesions, communication to PD and presence of septa were independent risk factors for the progression of PCLs, and the initial size and communication to PD could potentially predict PCLs needing clinical intervention