Two types of spectral volume methods for 1-D linear hyperbolic equations with degenerate variable coefficients

In this paper, we analyze two classes of spectral volume (SV) methods for one-dimensional hyperbolic equations with degenerate variable coefficients. The two classes of SV methods are constructed by letting a piecewise $k$-th order ($k\ge 1$ is an arbitrary integer) polynomial function satisfy the local conservation law in each {\it control volume} obtained by dividing the interval element of the underlying mesh with $k$ Gauss-Legendre points (LSV) or Radaus points (RSV). The $L^2$-norm stability and optimal order convergence properties for both methods are rigorously proved for general non-uniform meshes. The superconvergence behaviors of the two SV schemes have been also investigated: it is proved that under the $L^2$ norm, the SV flux function approximates the exact flux with $(k+2)$-th order and the SV solution approximates the exact solution with $(k+\frac32)$-th order; some superconvergence behaviors at certain special points and for element averages have been also discovered and proved. Our theoretical findings are verified by several numerical experiments

Multi-Model Data Query Languages and Processing Paradigms

Peer reviewe

Gene- or region-based association study via kernel principal component analysis.

BACKGROUND: In genetic association study, especially in GWAS, gene- or region-based methods have been more popular to detect the association between multiple SNPs and diseases (or traits). Kernel principal component analysis combined with logistic regression test (KPCA-LRT) has been successfully used in classifying gene expression data. Nevertheless, the purpose of association study is to detect the correlation between genetic variations and disease rather than to classify the sample, and the genomic data is categorical rather than numerical. Recently, although the kernel-based logistic regression model in association study has been proposed by projecting the nonlinear original SNPs data into a linear feature space, it is still impacted by multicolinearity between the projections, which may lead to loss of power. We, therefore, proposed a KPCA-LRT model to avoid the multicolinearity. RESULTS: Simulation results showed that KPCA-LRT was always more powerful than principal component analysis combined with logistic regression test (PCA-LRT) at different sample sizes, different significant levels and different relative risks, especially at the genewide level (1E-5) and lower relative risks (RR = 1.2, 1.3). Application to the four gene regions of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) data from Genetic Analysis Workshop16 (GAW16) indicated that KPCA-LRT had better performance than single-locus test and PCA-LRT. CONCLUSIONS: KPCA-LRT is a valid and powerful gene- or region-based method for the analysis of GWAS data set, especially under lower relative risks and lower significant levels.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

The Role of Postoperative Radiotherapy on Stage N2 Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Background and objective The clinical value of postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) in stage N2 nonsmall-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is controversy. The aim of this study is to analyze the efficacy of PORT in subgroup of stage N2 NSCLC, which can help clinicians to choose proper patients for PORT. Methods Clinical data of 359 patients with stage N2 NSCLC treated with radical surgery between Mar. 2000 and Jul. 2005 were retrospectively reviewed. Two hundred and seven patients received adjuvant chemotherapy and one hundred and four patients received adjuvant radiotherapy. First, the group of patients were analyzed to evaluate the factors affecting the overall survival. The all patients were divided based on tumor size and the number of lymph node metastasis station (single station or multiple station) so as to evaluate the role of PORT. The endpoint was overall survival (OS) and local recurrence-free survival (LRFS). Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate the OS, LRFS and Log-rank was used to compare the difference in OS and LRFS between different groups. Results The median duration of follow-up was 2.3 years. 224 patients died. The median survival was 1.5 years and 1, 3, 5-year survival were 78%, 38% and 26%. Univariate analysis showed tumor size, the number of lymph node metastasis station and PORT were correlated with OS. Among patients, 5-year survival rates in PORT and non-PORT were 29% and 24% (P=0.047) respectively. In subgroups, PORT was related with high survival in patients with multiple station N2 compared to non-PORT: 36% vs 20% (P=0.013) and 33% vs 15% (P=0.002) in patients in patients with tumor size > 3 cm. Also, it was related with low local recurrence compared to non-PORT: 65% vs 48% (P=0.006) and 62% vs 48% (P=0.033). Conclusion PORT can improve overall survival for N2 NSCLC, especially the patients with the factors as follows: tumor size > 3 cm and multiple station N2 can benefit from PORT more or less

High-entropy energy materials: Challenges and new opportunities

The essential demand for functional materials enabling the realization of new energy technologies has triggered tremendous efforts in scientific and industrial research in recent years. Recently, high-entropy materials, with their unique structural characteristics, tailorable chemical composition and correspondingly tunable functional properties, have drawn increasing interest in the fields of environmental science and renewable energy technology. Herein, we provide a comprehensive review of this new class of materials in the energy field. We begin with discussions on the latest reports on the applications of high-entropy materials, including alloys, oxides and other entropy-stabilized compounds and composites, in various energy storage and conversion systems. In addition, we describe effective strategies for rationally designing high-entropy materials from computational techniques and experimental aspects. Based on this overview, we subsequently present the fundamental insights and give a summary of their potential advantages and remaining challenges, which will ideally provide researchers with some general guides and principles for the investigation and development of advanced high-entropy materials

Synthesis of a 1,2,3-bistriazole derivative of embelin and evaluation of its effect on high-fat diet fed-streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetes in rats and molecular docking studies

The embelin derivative 2a was synthesized with the 1,2,3-bistriazole and spectral data confirmed its structural identity. Anti-diabetic and anti-lipidemic effects were evaluated using HFD-STZ induced type 2 diabetic rats. The derivative 2a (30 mg/kg b wt.) supplementation significantly (PPeer reviewe

Correlation analysis of anthropometric indices and type 2 diabetes mellitus in residents aged 60 years and older

Background and purposeIn recent years, the incidence of obesity in people aged 60 and over has increased significantly, and abdominal obesity has been recognized as an independent risk factor for diabetes. Aging causes physiologic decline in multiple body systems, leading to changes in obesity indicators such as BMI. At present, the relationship between abdominal obesity markers and Diabetes mellitus (DM) in people aged 60 years and older remains unclear. Therefore, it is necessary to study the correlation between anthropometric indices and diabetes and explore potential predictors.MethodsThe basic demographic information of participants aged 60 and above in Zhongshan City in 2020 was collected. Physical parameters, blood glucose and other biochemical indices were measured comprehensively. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to explore the relationship between abdominal obesity indicators [Waist circumference, Neck Circumference, Waist-to-hip ratio, Chinese Visceral Obesity Index (CVAI), and visceral obesity index] and diabetes mellitus. ROC characteristic curve was used to analyze the predictive ability of abdominal obesity indicators to DM, and the non-restrictive cubic spline graph was used to visualize the screened obesity indicators and diabetes risk.ResultsAmong 9,519 participants, the prevalence of diabetes was 15.5%. Compared with low CVAI, High CVAI level was significantly associated with increased prevalence of DM in males and females (all p < 0.05), in males (OR, 2.226; 95%CI: 1.128–4.395), females (OR, 1.645; 95%CI: 1.013–2.669). After adjusting for potential confounding factors, there were gender differences between neck circumference and the prevalence of DM, and above-normal neck circumference in males was significantly associated with increased prevalence of DM (OR, 1.381; 95% CI: 1.091–1.747) (p < 0.05).ConclusionAmong these anthropometric indices, CVAI is consistent with the features of fat distribution in older individuals and shows superior discriminative power as a potential predictor of DM, compared to traditional anthropometric parameters

Resolving the Role of Configurational Entropy in Improving Cycling Performance of Multicomponent Hexacyanoferrate Cathodes for Sodium‐Ion Batteries

Mn-based hexacyanoferrate (Mn-HCF) cathodes for Na-ion batteries usually suffer from poor reversibility and capacity decay resulting from unfavorable phase transitions and structural degradation during cycling. To address this issue, the high-entropy concept is here applied to Mn-HCF materials, significantly improving the sodium storage capabilities of this system via a solid-solution mechanism with minor crystallographic changes upon de-/sodiation. Complementary structural, electrochemical, and computational characterization methods are used to compare the behavior of high-, medium-, and low-entropy multicomponent Mn-HCFs resolving, to our knowledge for the first time, the link between configurational entropy/compositional disorder (entropy-mediated suppression of phase transitions, etc.) and cycling performance/stability in this promising class of next-generation cathode materials

Effect of symbiotic fungi-Armillaria gallica on the yield of Gastrodia elata Bl. and insight into the response of soil microbial community

Armillaria members play important roles in the nutrient supply and growth modulation of Gastrodia elata Bl., and they will undergo severe competition with native soil organisms before colonization and become symbiotic with G. elata. Unraveling the response of soil microbial organisms to symbiotic fungi will open up new avenues to illustrate the biological mechanisms driving G. elata’s benefit from Armillaria. For this purpose, Armillaria strains from four main G. elata production areas in China were collected, identified, and co-planted with G. elata in Guizhou Province. The result of the phylogenetic tree indicated that the four Armillaria strains shared the shortest clade with Armillaria gallica. The yields of G. elata were compared to uncover the potential role of these A. gallica strains. Soil microbial DNA was extracted and sequenced using Illumina sequencing of 16S and ITS rRNA gene amplicons to decipher the changes of soil bacterial and fungal communities arising from A. gallica strains. The yield of G. elata symbiosis with the YN strain (A. gallica collected from Yunnan) was four times higher than that of the GZ strain (A. gallica collected from Guizhou) and nearly two times higher than that of the AH and SX strains (A. gallica collected from Shanxi and Anhui). We found that the GZ strain induced changes in the bacterial community, while the YN strain mainly caused changes in the fungal community. Similar patterns were identified in non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis, in which the GZ strain greatly separated from others in bacterial structure, while the YN strain caused significant separation from other strains in fungal structure. This current study revealed the assembly and response of the soil microbial community to A. gallica strains and suggested that exotic strains of A. gallica might be helpful in improving the yield of G. elata by inducing changes in the soil fungal community