A meta-analysis of CAG (cytarabine, aclarubicin, G-CSF) regimen for the treatment of 1029 patients with acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome

The regimen of cytarabine, aclarubicin and G-CSF (CAG) has been widely used in China and Japan for treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). We searched literature on CAG between 1995 and 2010 and performed a meta-analysis to determine its overall efficacy using a random-effects or fixed-effects model. Thirty five trials with a total of 1029 AML (n = 814) and MDS (n = 215) patients were included for analysis. The CR rate of AML (57.9%) was significantly higher than that of MDS (45.7%) (p < 0.01). No difference in CR was noted between the new (56.7%) and relapsed/refractory AML (60.1%) (p > 0.05). The CR rate was also significantly higher in patients with favorable (64.5%) and intermediate (69.6%) karyotypes than those with unfavorable one (29.5%) (p < 0.05). Remarkably, the CR rate of CAG was significantly higher than those of non-CAG regimens (odds ratio 2.43). CAG regimen was well tolerated, with cardiotoxicity in 2.3% and early death in 5.2% of the cases. In conclusion, CAG regimen was an effective and safe regimen for the treatment of AML, and may be more effective than non-CAG regimens. Randomized controlled trials are strongly recommended to evaluate its efficacy and safety in comparison with the current standard treatment

Orthogonal Experimental Study on Concrete Properties of Machine-Made Tuff Sand

Machine-made sand instead of natural sand has become an inevitable choice for the sustainable development of the concrete industry. Orthogonal experiment and grey correlation analysis were used to investigate the performance of machine-made tuff sand concrete. The optimal concrete mix ratio of machine-made sand was obtained by orthogonal test and its working performance was verified. Grey correlation analysis was applied to compare the factors affecting the mechanical properties of the machine-made sand concrete. The test results show that the sand rate has the greatest degree of influence on slump and slump expansion. The mineral admixture has the greatest effect on the 7-day compressive strength of the concrete. Additionally, the water–cement ratio has the greatest influence on the 28-day compressive strength. The mechanical and working properties of the machine-made sand concrete reach the optimum condition when the mineral admixture is 20%, the sand rate is 46%, the stone powder content is 10% and the water–cement ratio is 0.30. Comparing different fine aggregate concretes of similar quality, we conclude that the mechanical and working properties of tuff sand concrete and limestone sand concrete and river sand concrete are similar. The compressive strengths of the mechanism concrete show the greatest correlation with roughness and the least correlation with stone powder content. The stone powder content has almost no effect on the compressive strength of concrete when the stone powder content does not exceed a certain range. The results of the study point out the direction for the quality control of concrete with machine-made sand

Experimental Study on the Properties of Mortar and Concrete Made with Tunnel Slag Machine-Made Sand

Machine-made sand is gradually replacing natural sand to achieve sustainable development. Experimental studies and gray-correlation analysis were used to study the properties of tunnel slag machine-made mortar and concrete. The properties of machine-made mortar with different stone powder content were analyzed through experiments. By analyzing the performance of machine-made sand concrete with equal amounts of cement replaced by stone powder, the optimum replacement ratio is obtained. Gray-correlation analysis was used to compare the degree of influence of fineness modulus and stone powder content on the performance of concrete. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD) were used to analyze the microstructure of tunnel slag sand concrete. The test results showed that the flexural and compressive strengths of the machine-made sand concrete were greater than the standard sand with the same stone powder content. The 28-day flexural and compressive strengths had a maximum difference of more than 30%. The best stone powder content of the machine-made mortar is in the range of 5% to 8%. When the replacement cement content of stone powder is about 6%, the mechanical and working properties of machine-made sand concrete achieve the optimal state. The lower the stone powder content, the closer the mechanical and working properties of machine-made sand concrete and river sand concrete. The correlation between the performance of machine-made sand concrete and fineness modulus is the largest. When the stone powder content is low, it has almost no effect on the compressive strength of concrete. The results point out the direction for the quality control of tunnel slag machine-made sand concrete

Evaluation of the Uniformity of Protective Coatings on Concrete Structure Surfaces Based on Cluster Analysis

With the continuous development of urbanization and industrialization in the world, concrete is widely used in various engineering constructions as an engineering material. However, the consequent problem of durability of concrete structures is also becoming increasingly prominent. As an important additional measure, a protective coating can effectively improve the durability of concrete performance. Moreover, the uniformity of the concrete surface coating will directly affect its protective effect. Therefore, we propose a nondestructive inspection and evaluation method of coating uniformity based on infrared imaging and cluster analysis for concrete surface coating uniformity detection and evaluation. Based on the obtained infrared images, a series of processing and analysis of the images were carried out using MATLAB software to obtain the characteristics of the infrared images of the concrete surface. Finally, by extracting the temperature distribution data of the pixel points on the concrete surface, an evaluation method of concrete surface coating uniformity based on a combination of cluster analysis and hierarchical analysis was established. The evaluation results show that the determination results obtained by this method are consistent with the actual situation. This study has a positive contribution to the testing of concrete surface coating uniformity and its evaluation

Comprehensive Testing of Sulfate Erosion Damage of Concrete Structures and Analysis of Silane Coating Protection Effect

In order to study the protection performance of silane coating on in-service concrete structures in a sulfate environment, we collect concrete samples in the field to simulate the concrete erosion process by accelerated erosion with wetting–drying cycles. We place the samples into protected, exposed and control groups corresponding to a corrosive environment with silane protection, corrosive environment without protection and general environment for three different service conditions. A combination of ultrasonic velocimetry, CT (Computed Tomography) scan imaging, NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) pore structure analysis, strength testing and other methods are used to analyze the strength, ultrasonic wave velocity, pore structure and other characteristics of the specimens during sulfate erosion. Based on the test results, the protective effect of silane coating on concrete structures under sulfate attack is quantitatively analyzed, and an index for judging the damage rate of specimens is proposed to quantitatively analyze the protective effect of silane coating. The research results show that the damage of the concrete structure under silane protection in a sulfate-attack environment can be reduced by more than 50%; its integrity damage index and strength damage index are easily affected by the location of local defects, which leads to a decrease in the protection efficiency of the surface silane coating

Effect Mechanism of Solar Radiation on Maize Yield Formation

Solar dimming due to global climate change is becoming increasingly more common in some agricultural areas. Such low-light stress inhibits maize ear number, kernel number per unit area (KN), and kernel weight (KW) as vital yield components. However, which yield component factors are most important for yield formation under low-light stress remains unknown. In this study at Qitai Farm in Xinjiang, China, in 2019 and 2020, we planted three maize (Zea mays L.) cultivars (Denghai 618 (DH618), Xianyu 335 (XY335), and Zhengdan 958 (ZD958)) at two densities (7.5 × 104 (D1) and 12 × 104 (D2) plants ha−1). We used four shading treatments (85% (S1), 70% (S2), and 50% (S3) natural light and no shading (CK)) from the three-leaf stage until maturity to create different light conditions. KN was the key factor that directly affected yield under low-light stress. For every 100 MJ m−2 decrease in photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), the KN decreased by 803.2 kernels per m2 . When the PAR was >674.3 MJ m−2 , KW tended to stabilize at 36.2 g/hundred kernels and the growth rate was 5.82 g/100 MJ m−2 per hundred kernels. DH618 and XY335 KNs were more sensitive to lowered solar radiation than ZD958. When density increased, DH618 required fewer light resources than the other cultivars to produce an equivalent amount of photosynthates for kernels. Therefore, in the face of climate change, particularly solar dimming, there is an urgent need to breed maize cultivars, such as DH618, with low-light stress tolerance and high grain yield

Effects of Solar Radiation on Dry Matter Distribution and Root Morphology of High Yielding Maize Cultivars

The root system connects the plant with the soil, which is a key factor in determining the utilization of soil resources and plant growth potential. Solar radiation can change maize shoot and root growth and affect grain formation. In this study, the effects of different solar radiation conditions on root morphology of three maize cultivars XY335, ZD958 and DH618 and their quantitative relationships were studied by conducting shading experiments. This study was conducted in maize high yield region of Qitai and Yinchuan, China, in 2018 and 2019. The planting densities were 7.5 × 104 (D1) and 12 × 104 (D2) plants ha−1. The shading levels were natural light (CK), shading 15% (S1), 30% (S2) and 50% (S3). The results showed that maize responded to the decreased solar radiation through the increase in ratio of shoot dry weight (SWR) to whole plant dry weight and the decrease in ratio of root dry weight (RWR) to whole plant dry weight. As the solar radiation decreased, the root length density (RLD), root surface area (RSA), average root diameter (ARD) and root length ratio (RLR) decreased, while the specific root length (SRL) increased. With 100 MJ m−2 decrease in solar radiation, the RWR, RLD, RSA and RLR each decreased by 1.47%, 0.5 mm cm−3,0.4 m m−2 and 0. 19 m g−1, respectively. Among the cultivars, the changes of DH618 were the fastest followed by XY335 and ZD958 but DH618 maintained the largest root system under any solar radiation condition. After the decrease of solar radiation, RWR, RLD and RLR were significantly positively correlated with the yield. This indicated that large root systems were conducive to the rapid response to decreased solar radiation and important for achieving stable and high yield. Maize cultivars with these type of root systems should be recommended to better adapt low solar radiation induced by regional variation or climate change