Understanding the Complexity of Temperature Dynamics in Xinjiang, China, from Multitemporal Scale and Spatial Perspectives

Based on the observed data from 51 meteorological stations during the period from 1958 to 2012 in Xinjiang, China, we investigated the complexity of temperature dynamics from the temporal and spatial perspectives by using a comprehensive approach including the correlation dimension (CD), classical statistics, and geostatistics. The main conclusions are as follows (1) The integer CD values indicate that the temperature dynamics are a complex and chaotic system, which is sensitive to the initial conditions. (2) The complexity of temperature dynamics decreases along with the increase of temporal scale. To describe the temperature dynamics, at least 3 independent variables are needed at daily scale, whereas at least 2 independent variables are needed at monthly, seasonal, and annual scales. (3) The spatial patterns of CD values at different temporal scales indicate that the complex temperature dynamics are derived from the complex landform

Approximate Sparse Regularized Hyperspectral Unmixing

Sparse regression based unmixing has been recently proposed to estimate the abundance of materials present in hyperspectral image pixel. In this paper, a novel sparse unmixing optimization model based on approximate sparsity, namely, approximate sparse unmixing (ASU), is firstly proposed to perform the unmixing task for hyperspectral remote sensing imagery. And then, a variable splitting and augmented Lagrangian algorithm is introduced to tackle the optimization problem. In ASU, approximate sparsity is used as a regularizer for sparse unmixing, which is sparser than l1 regularizer and much easier to be solved than l0 regularizer. Three simulated and one real hyperspectral images were used to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm in comparison to l1 regularizer. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is more effective and accurate for hyperspectral unmixing than state-of-the-art l1 regularizer

Case Report: A management strategy and clinical analysis of primary squamous cell carcinoma of the colon

Primary colorectal squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) is a rare pathological subtype. Currently, clinical data with regards to its prognosis and treatment is limited, and there is no optimal treatment method. The case presented involves a proficient mismatch repair (pMMR) and microsatellite-stable (MSS) Colorectal cancer (CRC) patient with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) located transversely in the colon. Based on the imaging assessment, the tumor infiltration depth is classified as T4. After receiving 4 cycles of neoadjuvant treatment with oxaliplatin and capecitabine (XELOX), the patients were evaluated for partial response (PR) in 2 cycles and stable disease (SD) in 4 cycles. The patient underwent a right hemicolectomy and received postoperative paclitaxel/cisplatin (TC) adjuvant chemotherapy. After 23 months, a systemic examination revealed abdominal metastasis. A needle biopsy was conducted on the detected abdominal metastases, with the resulting pathology indicating the presence of metastatic SCC. The individual exhibited expression of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) and a mutation in the TP53 gene. Considering the patient’s disease recurrence based on medical history, a treatment plan was formulated. This involved Sintilimab plus Cetuximab and the combination of leucovorin, fluorouracil, and irinotecan (FOLFIRI) regimen. The patient received four cycles of treatment with an efficacy evaluation of SD- and seven cycles of treatment with an efficacy evaluation of SD+, which resulted in a progression-free survival (PFS) duration of 7 months. This case study presents the conventional XELOX chemotherapy protocol, which has shown limited effectiveness, and highlights the favorable results achieved by implementing the TC adjuvant chemotherapy regimen in individuals diagnosed with primary colonic SCC. Furthermore, combining immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) with other therapies for patients with advanced disease is anticipated to provide an extended duration of survival

Case report: BCR-ABL-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia with bone destruction: a treatment dilemma

Although bone destruction and hypercalcemia without acute peripheral blast BCR-ABL-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have been reported in children, they are rare in adults. Herein, we describe a case of BCR-ABL positive ALL with a triploid karyotype, WT1, and CDKN2A mutations with hypercalcemia and bone destruction as the first manifestations. Complete remission (CR) was achieved by induction chemotherapy. BCR-ABL turned negative after treatment with dasatinib. However, computed tomography and whole-body bone scan showed extensive bone destruction. Additionally, bone biopsy showed leukemic infiltration. After treatment with dasatinib and VMCP, leukemia recurred with positive BCR-ABL. The T315I mutation occurred. The patient was surgically diagnosed with calculous cholecystitis and achieved CR2 by postoperative orebatinib and VP regimens. Later, the patient died due to a severe pulmonary infection. BCR-ABL-positive ALL with bone destruction is rare and difficult to control using tyrosine kinase inhibitor chemotherapy alone. Therefore, further exploration of more effective treatments is needed

Evidence of elevation-dependent warming from the Chinese Tian Shan

The phenomenon in which the warming rate of air temperature is amplified with elevation is termed elevation-dependent warming (EDW). It has been clarified that EDW can accelerate the retreat of glaciers and melting of snow, which can have significant impacts on the regional ecological environment. Owing to the lack of high-density ground observations in high mountains, there is widespread controversy regarding the existence of EDW. Current evidence is mainly derived from typical high-mountain regions such as the Swiss Alps, the Colorado Rocky Mountains, the tropical Andes and the Tibetan Plateau–Himalayas. Rare evidence in other mountain ranges has been reported, especially in arid regions. In this study, EDW features (regional warming amplification and altitude warming amplification) in the Chinese Tian Shan (CTM) were detected using a unique high-resolution (1 km, 6-hourly) air temperature dataset (CTMD) from 1979 to 2016. The results showed that there were significant EDW signals at different altitudes on different timescales. The CTM showed significant regional warming amplification in spring, especially in March, and the warming trends were greater than those of continental China with respect to three temperatures (minimum temperature, mean temperature and maximum temperature). The significance values of EDW above different altitude thresholds are distinct for three temperatures in 12 months. The warming rate of the minimum temperature in winter showed a significant elevation dependence (p<0.01), especially above 3000 m. The greatest altitudinal gradient in the warming rate of the maximum temperature was found above 4000 m in April. For the mean temperature, the warming rates in June and August showed prominent altitude warming amplification but with different significance above 4500 m. Within the CTM, the Tolm Mountains, the eastern part of the Borokoonu Mountains, the Bogda Mountains and the Balikun Mountains are representative regions that showed significant altitude warming amplification on different timescales. This new evidence could partly explain the accelerated melting of snow in the CTM, although the mechanisms remain to be explored

Juvenile hormone counteracts the bHLH-PAS transcription factors MET and GCE to prevent caspase-dependent programmed cell death in Drosophila

Juvenile hormone (JH) regulates many developmental and physiological events in insects, but its molecular mechanism remains conjectural. Here we report that genetic ablation of the corpus allatum cells of th

Image registration and matching

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Recycling of fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composites: Recovery and realignment of fibre

Carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) wastes in landfill cause environmental and energy challenges. Fibre recycling and realignment will close the loop in life cycle of CFRP composites, which can reduce pollution by decreasing waste disposal, maximise material use and save energy. Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) and life cycle analysis (LCA) were used to evaluate ten CFRP and glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) waste treatment solutions to determine the ideal recycling procedure for the Australian and European markets. CBA and LCA assessments show that pyrolysis has great economic returns and low environmental impacts. To optimise CFRP composite recycling, energy consumption, kinetic behaviour and thermal degradation mechanism during pyrolysis were studied. Result revealed that with the proposed thermal recycling process 80.3% of strength of carbon fibre can be retained. Additional solvolysis procedure can increase retention of fibre’s mechanical properties by decreasing heat consumption during recycling. When proper pre-treatment was used prior to thermal deterioration, the strength of recycled fibres can be preserved at up to 90.5% of their virgin state. Reclaimed carbon fibres are usually randomly distributed and cannot be remanufactured efficiently without fibre alignment process. Composites with well-aligned fibres show far higher tensile modulus than those with randomly-distributed fibres. A hydrodynamic fibre alignment method was developed to effectively control orientation of fibres after recycling. The technical parameters were optimised using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis and experiments. Results showed developed equipment was able to successfully align 77% of the fibres within 15 degrees and 89% within 30 degrees. The application of this study is expected to reduce the amount of CFRP waste discarded in landfill, revitalise the economic value of carbon fibre in composite waste, and improve the market for green engineering materials

A two-fluid smoothed particle hydrodynamics (TF-SPH) method for gas-solid fluidization

A two-fluid smoothed particle hydrodynamics (TF-SPH) method was proposed in this work for the simulation of gas solid fluidization, which combines an Eulerian solution of the gas phase and a Lagrangian SPH solution of the solid phase. The basic governing equations of TF-SPH are the same with those of the two-fluid model (TFM). The SPH solution of the solid phase allows significant reduction of the amount of particles that is actually simulated as compared to that encountered in industrial reactors. Thus, it can be expected to speed up the simulation. The sensitivity of SPH parameters to smoothing length and its ratio to particle space was tested. Quantitative comparison was also provided against the experimental data in literature. The TF-SPH method can be expected to be a promising approach for simulation of gas solid fluidization. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved