Genetic testing and prognosis of sarcomatoid hepatocellular carcinoma patients

BackgroundSarcomatoid hepatocellular carcinoma (SHC) is a rare epithelial malignancy with high invasiveness and poor prognosis. However, the molecular characteristics and main driver genes for SHC have not been determined. The aim of this study is to explore the potentially actionable mutations of driver genes, which may provide more therapeutic options for SHC.MethodsIn this study, DNA extraction and library preparation were performed using tumor tissues from 28 SHC patients. Then we used Miseq platform (Illumina) to sequence the target-enriched library, and we aligned and processed the sequencing data. The gene groups were tested for SNVs/Indels/CNVs. Tumor mutation burden (TMB) was assessed by the 425-cancer-relevant gene panel. Multivariate analysis of COX’s model was used for survival analysis (OS) of patients’ clinical characteristics.ResultThe median overall survival (OS) of the patients was only 4.4 months. TP53, TERT, and KRAS were the top three frequently mutated genes, with frequencies of 89.3%, 64.3%, and 21.4%, respectively. A considerable number of patients carried mutations in genes involved in the TP53 pathway (96%) and DNA Damage Repair (DDR) pathway (21%). Multiple potentially actionable mutations, such as NTRK1 fusions and BRCA1/2 mutations, were identified in SHCs.ConclusionsThis study shows a landscape of gene mutations in SHC. SHC has high mutation rates in TP53 pathway and DDR pathway. The potentially actionable mutations of driver genes may provide more therapeutic options for SHC. Survival analysis found that age, smoking, drinking, and tumor diameter may be independent prognostic predictors of SHC

Large expert-curated database for benchmarking document similarity detection in biomedical literature search

Document recommendation systems for locating relevant literature have mostly relied on methods developed a decade ago. This is largely due to the lack of a large offline gold-standard benchmark of relevant documents that cover a variety of research fields such that newly developed literature search techniques can be compared, improved and translated into practice. To overcome this bottleneck, we have established the RElevant LIterature SearcH consortium consisting of more than 1500 scientists from 84 countries, who have collectively annotated the relevance of over 180 000 PubMed-listed articles with regard to their respective seed (input) article/s. The majority of annotations were contributed by highly experienced, original authors of the seed articles. The collected data cover 76% of all unique PubMed Medical Subject Headings descriptors. No systematic biases were observed across different experience levels, research fields or time spent on annotations. More importantly, annotations of the same document pairs contributed by different scientists were highly concordant. We further show that the three representative baseline methods used to generate recommended articles for evaluation (Okapi Best Matching 25, Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency and PubMed Related Articles) had similar overall performances. Additionally, we found that these methods each tend to produce distinct collections of recommended articles, suggesting that a hybrid method may be required to completely capture all relevant articles. The established database server located at https://relishdb.ict.griffith.edu.au is freely available for the downloading of annotation data and the blind testing of new methods. We expect that this benchmark will be useful for stimulating the development of new powerful techniques for title and title/abstract-based search engines for relevant articles in biomedical research.Peer reviewe

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

The Influence of Pier Stiffness Ratio on the Failure Modes of Masonry Structures

Masonry structure is the main form of Chinese urban and rural housing construction structure. And heavy casualties and huge economic losses are caused by the damages of masonry structures in the previous destructive earthquake. So the failure modes of masonry structures are analyzed in the paper. ABAQUS software was used; and the Xuankou High School Student Dormitory of masonry structure in Yingxiu town, severely damaged under the Wenchuan earthquake, was taken for example. The influence of the stiffness ratio of pier between windows and spandrel on the failure modes of masonry structures is discussed. The results show that the failure modes in the earthquake could be changed by controlling the stiffness ratio. Suitable stiffness ratio helps proper design of masonry structures

Dynamic Selection Slicing-Based Offloading Algorithm for In-Vehicle Tasks in Mobile Edge Computing

With the surge in tasks for in-vehicle terminals, the resulting network congestion and time delay cannot meet the service needs of users. Offloading algorithms are introduced to handle vehicular tasks, which will greatly improve the above problems. In this paper, the dependencies of vehicular tasks are represented as directed acyclic graphs, and network slices are integrated within the edge server. The Dynamic Selection Slicing-based Offloading Algorithm for in-vehicle tasks in MEC (DSSO) is proposed. First, a computational offloading model for vehicular tasks is established based on available resources, wireless channel state, and vehicle loading level. Second, the solution of the model is transformed into a Markov decision process, and the combination of the DQN algorithm and Dueling Network from deep reinforcement learning is used to select the appropriate slices and dynamically update the optimal offloading strategy for in-vehicle tasks in the effective interval. Finally, an experimental environment is set up to compare the DSSO algorithm with LOCAL, MINCO, and DJROM, the results show that the system energy consumption of DSSO algorithm resources is reduced by 10.31%, the time latency is decreased by 22.75%, and the ratio of dropped tasks is decreased by 28.71%

Tough Hydrogels with Different Toughening Mechanisms and Applications

Load-bearing biological tissues, such as cartilage and muscles, exhibit several crucial properties, including high elasticity, strength, and recoverability. These characteristics enable these tissues to endure significant mechanical stresses and swiftly recover after deformation, contributing to their exceptional durability and functionality. In contrast, while hydrogels are highly biocompatible and hold promise as synthetic biomaterials, their inherent network structure often limits their ability to simultaneously possess a diverse range of superior mechanical properties. As a result, the applications of hydrogels are significantly constrained. This article delves into the design mechanisms and mechanical properties of various tough hydrogels and investigates their applications in tissue engineering, flexible electronics, and other fields. The objective is to provide insights into the fabrication and application of hydrogels with combined high strength, stretchability, toughness, and fast recovery as well as their future development directions and challenges

Caching Placement Optimization Strategy Based on Comprehensive Utility in Edge Computing

With the convergence of the Internet of Things, 5G, and artificial intelligence, limited network bandwidth and bursts of incoming service requests seem to be the most important factors affecting user experience. Therefore, caching technology was introduced. In this paper, a caching placement optimization strategy based on comprehensive utility (CPOSCU) in edge computing is proposed. Firstly, the strategy involves quantifying the placement factors of data blocks, which include the popularity of data blocks, the remaining validity ratio of data blocks, and the substitution rate of servers. By analyzing the characteristics of cache objects and servers, these placement factors are modeled to determine the cache value of data blocks. Then, the optimization problem for cache placement is quantified comprehensively based on the cache value of data blocks, data block retrieval costs, data block placement costs, and replacement costs. Finally, to break out of the partial optimal solution for cache placement, a penalty strategy is introduced, and an improved tabu search algorithm is used to find the best edge server placement for cached objects. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed caching strategy enhances the cache service rate, reduces user request latency and system overhead, and enhances the user experience

Experimental research on Chinese antique buildings with dual-lintel-column joint of steel and composite structures

In order to study the mechanical behavior of Chinese traditional style architecture dual-lintel-column joint, a typical Chinese traditional style architecture dual-lintel-column joint was selected as the model structure. Two specimens with viscous damper and one specimen without viscous damper were designed and tested under fast harmonic load. On the basis of experimental study, the key indexes of mechanical properties are analyzed, such as the load–displacement hysteretic curve of specimens and viscous damper, skeleton curve, and load-bearing capacity. The results indicate that mechanical properties of antique buildings dual-lintel-column subassemblages with steel and composite structures and viscous damper can significantly increase the mechanical properties. The hysteretic curve of the damping joint is plump. The descending phase of skeleton curves is smoother. The carrying capacity is increased by 13.9%–14.1%, and displacement ductility is increased by 13.0%–18.6%. The viscous damper and the dual-lintel-column subassemblages work together. They significantly improve the deformation performance of structures at the failure stage and enhance the collapse resistance of the structure. The study of traditional architecture can also provide valuable insights into the development of structural engineering and construction technology. Also, people can learn the wisdom and experience of ancestors and apply it to modern engineering practices

Faculty-Librarian Collaboration for Teaching Digital Information Literacy Online: Case Study of a Large General Education Course

10.25540/68pr-pzdkAsian Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning131170-18

Characteristics of Wind Resources and Post-Project Evaluation of Wind Farms in Coastal Areas of Zhejiang

As the onshore wind farm technology matures, offshore wind energy has attracted increasing attention. Zhejiang has coastal areas with massive potential for wind resources because of its geographical location. Therefore, understanding the wind resources in these areas can lay a foundation for future development and utilization. On this basis, this study used the measured wind field data of a wind farm along the coast of Zhejiang from March 2014 to February 2015 and from March 2016 to February 2018 to investigate and compare the characteristics of wind energy resources, including average wind speed, Weibull shape and scale factors, wind direction variation, and wind energy density. Then, the capacity coefficient of a wind turbine predicted using the wind farm data was compared with the actual capacity coefficients of two wind turbines in the wind farm in 2019. Results revealed the following observations: The overall variations in the evaluation indicators followed clear patterns over the 3 years. For example, the main wind direction in the same season was the same, and the variations in the monthly average wind speed, the monthly wind power density, and the theoretical capacity factors were highly similar. The time-series data indicated that the difference in the indicators between summer and autumn was significantly larger than that between other seasons, with the maximum difference in monthly average wind speed of 1.46 times and the maximum difference in monthly wind power density of 1.5 times. The comparison results of the capacity coefficient showed that the theoretical and actual capacity coefficients were extremely close when the monthly average wind speed was less than 6 m/s, with the average difference being less than 9%. When the monthly average wind speed was greater than 6 m/s, the proximity between the theoretical and actual capacity coefficients was reduced, with an average difference of more than 9% and a maximum value of 28%. In general, the overall characteristics of wind resources in coastal areas of Zhejiang exhibited similar trends but fluctuated considerably in some months. Wind energy forecasts had significant discrepancies from the actual operation indicators of the wind farm when the wind speed was high