Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group, β2-microglobulin, hemoglobin, and lactate dehydrogenase can predict early grade ≥ 3 infection in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma: A real-world multicenter study

IntroductionThis research explored the clinical application of grade ≥ 3 infection predictive models for the newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM) population.MethodsIt evaluated 306 patients with NDMM based on three different predictive models. The relationship between the grade ≥ 3 infection rates in NDMM and the scores was analyzed retrospectively. The cumulative incidence of early grade ≥ 3 infection was estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method and log-rank test to assess the statistical significance of the difference. To compare the predictive performance in the prediction of infection, the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (ROC) curve was used to show the area under the curve (AUC), and DeLong’s test was used to analyze the difference in AUC.ResultsThe incidence of grade ≥ 3 infection within the first 4 months of NDMM was 40.20%. Concerning the FIRST score (predictors: ECOG, β2-microglobulin, hemoglobin, and lactate dehydrogenase), GEM-PETHEMA score (predictors: albumin, male sex, ECOG, and non-IgA type MM), and Infection Risk model of Multiple Myeloma (IRMM) score (predictors: ECOG, serum β2-microglobulin, globulin, and hemoglobin), the probability of early grade ≥ 3 infection in the different groups showed statistically significant differences (low-risk vs. high-risk: 25.81% vs. 50.00%, p < 0.001; low-risk vs. moderate-risk vs. high-risk: 35.93% vs. 41.28% vs. 60.00%, p= 0.045; low-risk vs. moderate-risk vs. high-risk: 20.00% vs. 43.75% vs. 52.04%, p < 0.001). Statistical differences existed in the probability of early grade ≥ 3 infection among the different groups by the FIRST and IRMM scores but no statistical differences in the GEM-PETHEMA score (p < 0.001, p< 0.001, and p = 0.090, respectively). The FIRST score showed good discrimination and simple calculation with highest AUC. Further subgroup analysis showed that the FIRST score could still apply for patients treated with bortezomib-based regimen and frail patients.DiscussionOur findings indicate that the FIRST score (consisting of ECOG, β2-microglobulin, hemoglobin, and lactate dehydrogenase) is a simple and robust infection stratification tool for patients with NDMM and could be used in routine clinical work

Retrospective evaluation of whole exome and genome mutation calls in 746 cancer samples

Funder: NCI U24CA211006Abstract: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) curated consensus somatic mutation calls using whole exome sequencing (WES) and whole genome sequencing (WGS), respectively. Here, as part of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium, which aggregated whole genome sequencing data from 2,658 cancers across 38 tumour types, we compare WES and WGS side-by-side from 746 TCGA samples, finding that ~80% of mutations overlap in covered exonic regions. We estimate that low variant allele fraction (VAF < 15%) and clonal heterogeneity contribute up to 68% of private WGS mutations and 71% of private WES mutations. We observe that ~30% of private WGS mutations trace to mutations identified by a single variant caller in WES consensus efforts. WGS captures both ~50% more variation in exonic regions and un-observed mutations in loci with variable GC-content. Together, our analysis highlights technological divergences between two reproducible somatic variant detection efforts

Short-Term Wind Speed Hybrid Forecasting Model Based on Bias Correcting Study and Its Application

The accuracy of wind speed forecasting is becoming increasingly important to improve and optimize renewable wind power generation. In particular, reliable short-term wind speed forecasting can enable model predictive control of wind turbines and real-time optimization of wind farm operation. However, due to the strong stochastic nature and dynamic uncertainty of wind speed, the forecasting of wind speed data using different patterns is difficult. This paper proposes a novel combination bias correcting forecasting method, which includes the combination forecasting method and forecasting bias correcting model. The forecasting result shows that the combination bias correcting forecasting method can more accurately forecast the trend of wind speed and has a good robustness

Modeling and Motion Control of a Liquid Metal Droplet in a Fluidic Channel

© 1996-2012 IEEE. As an emerging multifunctional material, Gallium-based room temperature liquid metal has attracted a lot of attention for a variety of applications due to its mobility and deformability. However, controlling the motion of a liquid metal droplet accurately still remains unrevealed, which restricts its application in many fields. In this article, we propose a hybrid framework that would control the motion of a liquid metal droplet in a one-dimensional (1-D) fluidic channel. A dynamic model of a liquid metal droplet immersed in the electrolyte when an electrical field is applied to each end of the channel is discussed first, followed by a setpoint controller designed to calculate the current input needed to drive the liquid metal droplet to its destination with vision feedback. To obtain the desired high-resolution current output, a fast and high-resolution current output power supply will be established by integrating a fast PID controller and a simple programmable dc power supply. The effectiveness of this proposed approach will be verified by controlling a liquid metal droplet so that it reaches its destination inside the polymethyl methacrylate channel. In this article, the proposed approach may lead to the development of tiny soft robots, or microfluidic systems that can be driven accurately by the liquid metal droplets

Freezing Damage Control of Railway Subgrade Miniature Shields in Cold Climatic Regions: Construction Technology Optimization via Numerical Simulation

Microshield structure replacement technology is commonly used to control the freezing damage of railway roadbeds, featuring high efficiency and easy operation. However, improper disposal of measures in the construction process will still cause excessive deformation of the line and endanger the safety of train operations. On the background of a subgrade freezing damage improvement and speed improvement project of the Xige section of Quinghai–Tibet railway, this study performed numerical simulation of the microshield based on the measured data of the field automatic monitoring system to improve the operation safety of the existing lines and optimize the construction technology of the microshield. The effect of the changes in the microshield segment material, construction process, and formation loss on the settlement of the operating railway subgrade was analyzed to control the construction disturbance settlement of the existing operating line. The results obtained show that the overall settlement deformation of the line is small when the steel pipe is used as the shield segment, which meets the safety management requirements of the existing operating line. When PE tube segments are used for construction, construction measures should be strictly controlled to reduce the effect of settlement deformation on the operational lines. When steel pipe segments are used, the settlement generated by the construction process from both sides to the middle is minimal. When PE tube segments are adopted in the construction, the settlement generated by the construction process with unilateral advancement and an interval of two pipe diameters is the least, producing unimodal settlement curve of the line. The latter features a double peak when the shield pipe interval is three pipe diameters or more. When using PE tube pieces for the microshield construction, it is necessary to strictly control the formation loss rate within 10% by optimizing the construction control measures

Measurement of Structural Loads Using a Novel MEMS Extrinsic Fabry–Perot Strain Sensor

In this paper, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology was used to fabricate a novel extrinsic fiber Fabry&ndash;Perot (EFFP) strain sensor; this fiber sensor is applied to measure load with higher precision for a small structure. The sensor cavity consists of two Fabry&ndash;Perot (FP) cavity mirrors that are processed by surface micromachining and then fused and spliced together by the silicon&ndash;glass anode bonding process. The initial cavity length can be strictly controlled, and the excellent parallelism of the two faces of the cavity results in a high interference fineness. Then, the anti-reflection coating process is applied to the sensor to improve the clarity of the interference signal with the cavity, with its wavelength working within the range of the C + L band. Next, the sensor placement is determined by the finite element software Nastran. Experimental results indicate that the sensor exhibits a good linear response (99.77%) to load changes and a high repeatability. Considering the strain transfer coefficient, the sensitivity for the tested structure load is as high as 35.6 pm/N. Due to the miniaturization, repeatability, and easy-to-batch production, the proposed sensor can be used as a reliable and practical force sensor

Modelling and motion control of a liquid metal droplet in a fluidic channel

© 1996-2012 IEEE. As an emerging multifunctional material, Gallium-based room temperature liquid metal has attracted a lot of attention for a variety of applications due to its mobility and deformability. However, controlling the motion of a liquid metal droplet accurately still remains unrevealed, which restricts its application in many fields. In this article, we propose a hybrid framework that would control the motion of a liquid metal droplet in a one-dimensional (1-D) fluidic channel. A dynamic model of a liquid metal droplet immersed in the electrolyte when an electrical field is applied to each end of the channel is discussed first, followed by a setpoint controller designed to calculate the current input needed to drive the liquid metal droplet to its destination with vision feedback. To obtain the desired high-resolution current output, a fast and high-resolution current output power supply will be established by integrating a fast PID controller and a simple programmable dc power supply. The effectiveness of this proposed approach will be verified by controlling a liquid metal droplet so that it reaches its destination inside the polymethyl methacrylate channel. In this article, the proposed approach may lead to the development of tiny soft robots, or microfluidic systems that can be driven accurately by the liquid metal droplets