Partial Arc Curvilinear Direct Drive Servomotor

A partial arc servomotor assembly having a curvilinear U-channel with two parallel rare earth permanent magnet plates facing each other and a pivoted ironless three phase coil armature winding moves between the plates. An encoder read head is fixed to a mounting plate above the coil armature winding and a curvilinear encoder scale is curved to be co-axis with the curvilinear U-channel permanent magnet track formed by the permanent magnet plates. Driven by a set of miniaturized power electronics devices closely looped with a positioning feedback encoder, the angular position and velocity of the pivoted payload is programmable and precisely controlled

A Stream Processing System for Multisource Heterogeneous Sensor Data

With the rapid development of the Internet of Things (IoT), a variety of sensor data are generated around everyone’s life. New research perspective regarding the streaming sensor data processing of the IoT has been raised as a hot research topic that is precisely the theme of this paper. Our study serves to provide guidance regarding the practical aspects of the IoT. Such guidance is rarely mentioned in the current research in which the focus has been more on theory and less on issues describing how to set up a practical system. In our study, we employ numerous open source projects to establish a distributed real time system to process streaming data of the IoT. Two urgent issues have been solved in our study that are (1) multisource heterogeneous sensor data integration and (2) processing streaming sensor data in real time manner with low latency. Furthermore, we set up a real time system to process streaming heterogeneous sensor data from multiple sources with low latency. Our tests are performed using field test data derived from environmental monitoring sensor data collected from indoor environment for system validation. The results show that our proposed system is valid and efficient for multisource heterogeneous sensor data integration and streaming data processing in real time manner

Analysis of miRNAs and their target genes associated with lipid metabolism in duck liver

Citation: He, J. et al. Analysis of miRNAs and their target genes associated with lipid metabolism in duck liver. Sci. Rep. 6, 27418; doi: 10.1038/srep27418 (2016).Fat character is an important index in duck culture that linked to local flavor, feed cost and fat intake for costumers. Since the regulation networks in duck lipid metabolism had not been reported very clearly, we aimed to explore the potential miRNA-mRNA pairs and their regulatory roles in duck lipid metabolism. Here, Cherry-Valley ducks were selected and treated with/without 5% oil added in feed for 2 weeks, and then fat content determination was performed on. The data showed that the fat contents and the fatty acid ratios of C17:1 and C18:2 were up-regulated in livers of oil-added ducks, while the C12:0 ratio was down-regulated. Then 21 differential miRNAs, including 10 novel miRNAs, were obtain from the livers by sequencing, and 73 target genes involved in lipid metabolic processes of these miRNAs were found, which constituted 316 miRNA-mRNA pairs. Two miRNA-mRNA pairs including one novel miRNA and one known miRNA, N-miR-16020-FASN and gga-miR-144-ELOVL6, were selected to validate the miRNA-mRNA negative relation. And the results showed that N-mir-16020 and gga-miR-144 could respectively bind the 3?-UTRs of FASN and ELOVL6 to control their expressions. This study provides new sights and useful information for future research on regulation network in duck lipid metabolism

Incorporation of Extranodal Metastasis of Gastric Carcinoma into the 7th Edition UICC TNM Staging System

BACKGROUND: To assess the clinical significance and prognostic impact of extranodal metastasis (EM) in gastric carcinoma and establish an optimal classification in the staging system. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A total of 1343 patients with gastric carcinoma who underwent surgical resection were recruited to determine the frequency and prognostic significance of EMs. EMs were divided into two groups (EM1 and EM2) and then incorporated into the 7(th) edition UICC TNM staging system. EMs was detected in 179 (13.3%) of 1343 patients who underwent radical resection. Multivariate analysis identified EMs as an independent prognostic factor (HR = 1.412, 95%CI = 1.151-1.731, P<0.001). After curative operation, the overall survival rate were worse in patients with ≥3 cases of EM (EM2) than those with the number of 1 and 2 cases (EM1) (P<0.001). Survival of patients with EM1 was found almost comparable to that of N3 stage (P = 0.437). Survival of patients with EM2 showed similar to that of stage IV patients (P = 0.896). By using the linear trend X(2), likelihood ratio X(2), and Akaike information criterion (AIC) test, EM1 treated as N3 stage and EM2 treated as M1 stage performed higher linear trend X(2) scores, likelihood ratio X(2) scores, and lower AIC value than the 7(th) edition UICC TNM staging system, which represented the optimum prognostic stratification, together with better homogeneity, discriminatory ability, and monotonicity of gradients. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: EMs might be classified based on their number and prognostic information and should incorporate into the TNM staging system

Association between pelvic floor muscle strength and sexual function based on PISQ-12—an analysis of data from a multicenter cross-sectional study on 735 nulliparae during pregnancy

BackgroundPelvic floor muscle strength is well-known to be associated with female sexual function. However, there were a few studies that reported on the relationship between pelvic floor muscle strength and female sexual function in pregnant women, and the presented results were inconsistent. Nulliparae represent a specific cohort with simplicity to exclude confounding factors that are caused by parity. The present study aimed to explore the association of pelvic floor muscle strength and sexual function based on the Pelvic Organ Prolapse/Urinary Incontinence Sexual Questionnaire (PISQ-12) of nulliparae during pregnancy.MethodsThis is the second analysis of the baseline data from a randomized controlled trial (RCT), which aimed to study the protective efficacy of pelvic floor muscle training on stress urinary incontinence at 6th week postpartum (registration number: ChiCTR2000029618). Nulliparae aged 20–40 years with singleton pregnancy before 16 weeks of gestation were enrolled in this study, and data, including participants' demographic information, the Modified Oxford Scale (MOS), and PISQ-12, were collected. Eligible nulliparae were divided into two groups: Group MOS &gt; 3 and Group MOS ≤ 3. Demographic information of the two groups was compared. Sexual function based on the PISQ-12 scores of the two groups was compared. A comparison of the PISQ-12 scores between the two groups was calculated by the Mann–Whitney U-test using SPSS version 23.0.ResultsA total of 735 eligible nulliparae were enrolled in this study. Along with MOS grading up, PISQ-12 scores tended to get lower. Of the 735 nulliparae, there were 378 and 357 participants included in Group MOS &gt; 3 and Group MOS ≤ 3, respectively. The PISQ-12 scores of Group MOS &gt; 3 were significantly lower than those of Group MOS ≤ 3 (11 vs. 12, p &lt; 0.001). The scores of the frequency of feeling sexual desire, orgasm achievement, sexual excitement, sexual activity satisfaction, sexual intercourse pain, fear of urinary incontinence, and negative emotion reactions with the sexual intercourse of Group MOS &gt; 3 were lower than those of Group MOS ≤ 3 (p &lt; 0.05).ConclusionPelvic floor muscle strength was positively associated with sexual function based on the questionnaire of young nulliparae during their first trimester. Up to half of the nulliparae during the first trimester were suffering from weak pelvic floor muscle strength and nearly a quarter of the nulliparae were facing this weakness combined with sexual dysfunction.Trial registrationThis study has been registered at http://www.chictr.org.cn (registration number: ChiCTR2000029618)

Efficacy and safety of Lianhua Qingwen granule in the treatment of non-influenza viral pneumonia: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter clinical study

ObjectiveTo observe the effectiveness and safety of Lianhua Qingwen granule in the treatment of non-influenza viral pneumonia.MethodsThis study was a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Subjects who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria and were clinically diagnosed with viral pneumonia (negative for influenza virus) were randomly divided into the Lianhua Qingwen granule trial group and placebo control group. Patients in the trial group was given Lianhua Qingwen granule, 2 bags at a time, 3 times a day, and the controls were given placebo, with a treatment course of 7 days. Patients’ clinical symptoms and signs, and treatment-associated adverse events were observed. Subjects should be included in the full analysis set (FAS) as long as they were all given the medication and had an effectiveness test performed after randomization. Subjects should be included in the Per Protocol Set (PPS),a subset of the total analysis set, which should contain those with strong compliance, no protocol violations, and complete baseline values for the primary indicators.ResultsA total of 169 subjects were enrolled in 12 subcenters, including 151 (76 in the trial group and 75 in the control group) in the FAS and 140 (68 in the trial group and 72 in the control group) in the PPS. After 7 days of treatment, the clinical symptom relief rates were 82.98% (FAS) and 87.12% (PPS) in the trial group, and 75.11% (FAS) and 76.02% (PPS) in the control group, respectively. The clinical symptom relief rates in the trial group were significantly higher than those in the control group (p &lt; 0.001). Significant improvements in single symptoms of cough and expectoration in the trial group were observed compared with the control group (p &lt; 0.05). There were no statistical differences in fever, sputum color change, chest pain, muscle pain, dyspnea, chills, and thirst between the two groups (p &gt; 0.05).SafetyThere were no significant differences in body weight, vital signs, blood routine, urine routine, stool routine, and blood biochemical indicators (CK, AST, ALT, Cr, and Bun) between the two groups before and after treatment (p &gt; 0.05). During treatment, there were no significant differences in the incidence of adverse events and serious adverse events between the two groups (p &gt; 0.05).ConclusionLianhua Qingwen granules improved the clinical symptoms of patients with non-influenza virus pneumonia, especially ameliorating cough and expectoration. Lianhua Qingwen granules were associated with good safety

Nucleosomes Correlate with In Vivo Progression Pattern of De Novo Methylation of p16 CpG Islands in Human Gastric Carcinogenesis

BACKGROUND: The exact relationship between nucleosome positioning and methylation of CpG islands in human pathogenesis is unknown. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In the present study, we characterized the nucleosome position within the p16 CpG island and established a seeding methylation-specific PCR (sMSP) assay based on bisulfite modification to enrich the p16 alleles containing methylated-CpG at the methylation "seeding" sites within its intron-1 in gastric carcinogenesis. The sMSP-positive rate in primary gastric carcinoma (GC) samples (36/40) was significantly higher than that observed in gastritis (19/45) or normal samples (7/13) (P<0.01). Extensive clone sequencing of these sMSP products showed that the density of methylated-CpGs in p16 CpG islands increased gradually along with the severity of pathological changes in gastric tissues. In gastritis lesions the methylation was frequently observed in the region corresponding to the exon-1 coding-nucleosome and the 5'UTR-nucleosome; the methylation was further extended to the region corresponding to the promoter-nucleosome in GC samples. Only few methylated-CpG sites were randomly detected within p16 CpG islands in normal tissues. The significantly inversed relationship between the p16 exon-1 methylation and its transcription was observed in GC samples. An exact p16 promoter-specific 83 bp-MSP assay confirms the result of sMSP (33/55 vs. 1/6, P<0.01). In addition, p16 methylation in chronic gastritis lesions significantly correlated with H. pylori infection; however, such correlation was not observed in GC specimens. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: It was determined that de novo methylation was initiated in the coding region of p16 exon-1 in gastritis, then progressed to its 5'UTR, and ultimately to the proximal promoter in GCs. Nucleosomes may function as the basic extension/progression unit of de novo methylation of p16 CpG islands in vivo

Research Progress of Graphene and Its Derivatives in Cancer diagnosis and Therapy

Because of its high incidence rate and difficult to treature, tumor has long been a hot topic in modern medical research. The traditional cancer therapy is still based on surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.Although the medical technology has been optimized and innovated, it is constantly improved and tends to be mature. However, radiotherapy and chemotherapy have great side effects on human body, and the damage to normal tissues can not be underestimated, which brings great pain to patients.The development of new methods of tumor treatment has become a hot spot in the field of anti-tumor. In this paper, the diagnostic and therapeutic methods of graphene and its derivatives were reviewed

Regional Sustainable Strategy Based on the Coordination of Ecological Security and Economic Development in Yunnan Province, China

Coordination between ecological security and economic development is crucial to sustainable development, with a development strategy that should be adjusted according to the type of region. Yunnan Province, China, is a treasure trove of biodiversity but is economically lagging. Clarifying the relationship between ecological security and economic development can provide a reference for the sustainable development of similar biodiversity hotspots in the world. The landscape index method and index evaluation method were used to calculate the ecological safety index (ESI) and the economic development index (EDI), respectively, and the median value of the indices was used for the comprehensive zoning. The coupled coordination degree model (CCDM) was used to assess the coordination status of ecological safety and economic development in each zone. The results show that (1) Yunnan’s ecological security pattern is high in the west and low in the east, mainly influenced by topography, climate, and human activities; its economic development is resource-dependent and shows a multi-point dispersed pattern due to poor transportation; (2) Yunnan was partitioned into the Coordinated Development Zone (CDZ), the Ecological Risk Zone (ERZ), the Economic Poverty Zone (EPZ), and the Dual Pressure Zone (DPZ). Among them, CDZs (15%) are mostly areas with outstanding advantageous resources, mature characteristic industries, and relatively spatially dispersed. There are two types of ERZs (35%): one is an area where the intensity of human activities exceeds the ecological carrying capacity, mainly located in the eastern plateau; the other is an area with fragile ecological background conditions, located in high mountains and river valleys. EPZs (35%) are mainly lagging in socioeconomics of DPZ (15%) and the fragile ecological environment constrains each to form a negative cycle. (3) Of the regional coordination levels in Yunnan Province, 76% are moderately coordinated, and there is still space for development from the high-quality coordination level. The order of the average coordination degree of each partition is CDZ > ERZ > EPZ > DPZ. The poor basis for coordination and the single approach to coordination have led to ecological safety and economic development often being more difficult to achieve in areas with large mountainous areas similar to Yunnan. (4) Due to the necessity for biodiversity protection, Yunnan Province should choose the sustainable path of ecological priority and green development. Specifically, CDZ should play to industrial advantages and brand effects, and promote industrial integration and innovative industrial development paths. The keys to ERZ are industrial restructuring, industrial ecologization, and ecological environment restoration and protection. EPZ should improve transportation and other infrastructure and revitalize economic development under the premise of ecological priority. Finally, DPZ should emphasize human and load reduction, and moderate development