A Mine Main Fans Switchover System with Lower Air Flow Volatility based on Improved Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm

A reliable ventilation system is essential for maintaining a comfortable working environment and ensuring safety production in an underground coal mine. The automated fan switchover technique was developed for changing the main fan for maintenance with lower air flow volatility of underground mine in the switchover process. This article established the optimization model in the main fans switchover process, used the improved particle swarm optimization algorithm to solve the model, and achieved minimum air flow volatility in the fans switchover process. Compared to previous studies, computer simulations have shown that the proposed algorithm can effectively find the global optimal solution with less initial parameters and achieved lower air flow volatility in underground mine. The particle swarm optimization solution, searching diversity, prevents it from confining to local optimal solutions and enhances convergence. The reasonable step length is beneficial to reduce the air flow volatility and main fans switchover time. The air flow volatility is larger comparatively when some doors are nearly open or closed fully at the start—stop phase of the switchover process. A case application in a China\u27s domestic coal mine shows that the air flow volatility of the underground mine in the main fans switchover process is no more than 0.4%

Scanning-fluorescence Reader Based on Embedded System

To measure the concentration of C-reactive protein (CRP) in serum, a portable, scanning-fluorescence reader based on time-resolved fluoroimmunoassays was developed. The scanning-fluorescence reader integrates with the AD7707 converter, which performs at a high accuracy. The photosensitive diode acts as the photoelectric conversion device, an optical module based on optical fibers, which is able to concentrate the excitation light from an LED into a line-shape beam, was designed to sendand receive the optical signal. The device subsequently addresses waveform data using a gradient, smoothing, and binarization method. When the device measures the CRP fluorescence test strip, the results exhibited a good linearity (0.99998) and the CVs (coefficient of variation) were below 5%, which indicate high accuracy. At the same time the system is low cost and small size

Knockdown of TIGAR by RNA interference induces apoptosis and autophagy in HepG2 hepatocellular carcinoma cells

AbstractApoptosis and autophagy are crucial mechanisms regulating cell death, and the relationship between apoptosis and autophagy in the liver has yet to be thoroughly explored. TIGAR (TP53-induced glycolysis and apoptosis regulator), which is a p53-inducible gene, functions in the suppression of ROS (reactive oxygen species) and protects U2OS cells from undergoing cell death. In this study, silencing TIGAR by RNAi (RNA interference) in HepG2 cells down-regulated both TIGAR mRNA (∼75%) and protein levels (∼80%) and led to the inhibition of cell growth (P<0.01) by apoptosis (P<0.001) and autophagy. We demonstrated that TIGAR can increase ROS levels in HepG2 cells. The down-regulation of TIGAR led to the induction of LC-3 II (specific autophagic marker), the formation of the autophagosome, and increased Beclin-1 expression. 3-MA (3-Methyladenine), an inhibitor of autophagic sequestration blocker, inhibited TIGAR siRNA-enhanced autophagy, as indicated by the decrease in LC-3 II levels. Consequently, these data provide the first evidence that targeted silencing of TIGAR induces apoptotic and autophagic cell death in HepG2 cells, and our data raise hope for the future successful application of TIGAR siRNA in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)

The influence of admixtures on vibration viscosity coefficient of pavement concrete

Abstract: In this paper, the influences of common admixtures including air entraining agent, superplasticizer, shrinkage-reducing agent, retarder, fly ash and slag on vibration viscosity coefficient of fresh concrete were analyzed. The results showed that the vibration viscosity coefficient of fresh concrete was markedly decreased when using UNF-5 naphthalene formaldehyde sulphonated superplasticizer. When SJ-2 air entraining agent, SZ103 shrinkage-reducing agent, retarder and slag were used, the vibration viscosity coefficient of fresh concrete was also reduced. But when fly ash was added, the vibration viscosity coefficient of fresh concrete was increased

Can Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and Microvessel Density Be Used as Prognostic Biomarkers for Colorectal Cancer? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and microvessel density (MVD) are associated with greater incidence of metastases and decreased survival. Whether they can be used as prognostic indicators of colorectal cancer (CRC) is still controversial. Methods. The authors performed a meta-analysis using the results of a literature search of databases of PubMed and EMBASE, and the references of articles included in the analysis. Meta-analysis was performed using random effects model and hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) as effect measures. Results. Twenty studies contributed to the analysis of VEGF, of which 16 were used for overall survival (OS) and 9 for disease-free survival (DFS). High VEGF levels has a relationship with unfavorable survival (OS: HR = 1.98, 95% CI: 1.30–3.02; DFS: HR = 2.10, 95% CI: 1.26–3.49) and a 4.22-fold increase in the rate of distant metastases. Analysis was performed on 18 studies for MVD; the results showed that patients with high MVD expression in tumors appeared to have poorer overall survival (HR = 1.39, 95% CI: 1.22–1.58) and were at a greater risk of having unfavorable clinical characteristics related to prognosis. Corresponding results were obtained from quantitative and/or qualitative analysis of clinicopathological. Conclusions. The meta-analysis demonstrates that VEGF and MVD can be used as prognostic biomarkers for CRC patients

NCKAP1 is a Prognostic Biomarker for Inhibition of Cell Growth in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma

Background: Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most frequent type of kidney cancer. Nck-associated protein 1 (NCKAP1) is associated with poor prognosis and tumor progression in several cancer types, but the function and prognostic value of NCKAP1 in ccRCC remain poorly understood.Methods: Using the Ualcan database, we evaluated the correlation between NCKAP1 expression and clinical features of ccRCC. These data were validated by immunohistochemical staining for NCKAP1 in a cohort of ccRCC patients. We assessed the prognostic value of NCKAP1 using GEPIA2 survival analysis. NCKAP1 function was characterized in vitro and in vivo using NCKAP1-overexpression ACHN cell lines. The LinkedOmics and GSCALite databases were used to investigate identify potential NCKAP1-targeted medicines that may play a role in the treatment of ccRCC. The impact of NCKAP1 expression on immune infiltration was also evaluated.Results: NCKAP1 was significantly downregulated in ccRCC and correlated with advanced clinicopathological features and poor prognosis. Overexpression of NCKAP1 in ACHN cells reduced proliferation, invasion and migration capacity in vitro and inhibited tumor growth in vivo. According to the LinkedOmics, GSCALite and TIMER databases, NCKAP1 and related genes function primarily in ribosomal signaling, oxidative phosphorylation, TGF-β, and EMT-related signaling pathways. NCKAP1 was also shown to positively correlate with immune cell types, biomarkers, and immune checkpoints in ccRCCs.Conclusions: NCKAP1 may play a vital tumor-suppressive role in ccRCC and is potentially a useful prognostic biomarker

Generation of Human Epidermis-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell-like Pluripotent Cells and their reprogramming in mouse chimeras

Stem cells can be derived from the embryo (embryonic stem cells, ESCs), from adult tissues (adult stem cells, ASCs), and by induction of fibroblasts (induced pluripotent stem cells, iPSs). Ethical problems, immunological rejection, and difficulties in obtaining human tissues limit the use of ESCs in clinical medicine. Induced pluripotent stem cells are difficult to maintain in vitro and carry a greater risk of tumor formation. Furthermore, the complexity of maintenance and propagation is especially difficult in the clinic. Adult stem cells can be isolated from several adult tissues and present the possibility of self-transplantation for the clinical treatment of a variety of human diseases. Recently, several ASCs have been successfully isolated and cultured in vitro, including hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) , mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), epidermis stem cells, neural stem cells (NSCs), adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs), islet stem cells, and germ line stem cells. Human mesenchymal stem cells originate mainly from bone marrow, cord blood, and placenta, but epidermis-derived MSCs have not yet been isolated. We isolated small spindle-shaped cells with strong proliferative potential during the culture of human epidermis cells and designed a medium to isolate and propagate these cells. They resembled MSCs morphologically and demonstrated pluripotency in vivo; thus, we defined these cells as human epidermis-derived mesenchymal stem cell-like pluripotent cells (hEMSCPCs). These hEMSCPCs present a possible new cell resource for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine