Establishment of a Gene Signature to Predict Prognosis for Patients with Lung Adenocarcinoma

Accumulating evidence indicates that the reliable gene signature may serve as an independent prognosis factor for lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) diagnosis. Here, we sought to identify a risk score signature for survival prediction of LUAD patients. In the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, GSE18842, GSE75037, GSE101929, and GSE19188 mRNA expression profiles were downloaded to screen differentially expressed genes (DEGs), which were used to establish a protein-protein interaction network and perform clustering module analysis. Univariate and multivariate proportional hazards regression analyses were applied to develop and validate the gene signature based on the TCGA dataset. The signature genes were then verified on GEPIA, Oncomine, and HPA platforms. Expression levels of corresponding genes were also measured by qRT-PCR and Western blotting in HBE, A549, and PC-9 cell lines. The prognostic signature based on eight genes (TTK, HMMR, ASPM, CDCA8, KIF2C, CCNA2, CCNB2, and MKI67) was established, which was independent of other clinical factors. The risk model offered better discrimination between risk groups, and patients with high-risk scores tended to have poor survival rate at 1-, 3- and 5-year follow-up. The model also presented better survival prediction in cancer-specific cohorts of age, gender, clinical stage III/IV, primary tumor 1/2, and lymph node metastasis 1/2. The signature genes, moreover, were highly expressed in A549 and PC-9 cells. In conclusion, the risk score signature could be used for prognostic estimation and as an independent risk factor for survival prediction in patients with LUAD

Collaboratively enhancing the strength and ductility of GH3600 Nickel-Based Ultra-Thin strips via the Pre-Precipitation process

Here, the effects of pre-precipitation annealing on the microstructural evolution and room-temperature mechanical properties of nickel-based ultra-thin strips after the subsequent high-temperature annealing were analyzed. By pre-precipitation annealing, discontinuous grain-boundary carbide was introduced into the cold-rolled 67 μm GH3600 nickel-based ultra-thin strips, which hindered the rapid migration of grain boundaries. Thus, the grain size was maintained at only 5.5 μm after holding at 1050 °C for 1 h, indicating that the high-temperature microstructure stability of the strips was significantly improved. Further, the phenomenon of local single-layer crystal and size effect caused by the abnormal coarsened grains, which were more than 100 μm in size during the single-stage high-temperature annealing (1050 °C for 1 h), was eliminated. Owing to the weakened free surface influence and an increase in the strengthening effect, such as grain boundary strengthening, as well as intragranular and intergranular back stress strengthening, the work hardening ability of the strips was enhanced after pre-precipitation annealing, thereby resulting in excellent comprehensive mechanical properties whose flow stress and elongation were 1.9 and 4.8 times those of single-stage high-temperature annealing. This study successfully provides an economical and easy-to-implement effective method to prepare solid-solution-strengthened high-performance ultra-thin superalloy strips

Effect of Solidification and Hot Rolling Processes on Wear Performance of TiC-Reinforced Wear-Resistant Steel

As a commonly reinforcing phase in wear-resistant materials, TiC is often added into wear-resistant materials to improve the wear resistance. The independently developed stepped molds with variable thicknesses were used to prepare the TiC-reinforced steels with the same composition though melt solidification processing to study the effect of the solidification rate on the particle size and wear performance. The effect of the hot rolling compression ratio on the particle size and wear performance was also studied. The length and aspect ratios of the particles in heat-treated TiC-reinforced steels with different billet thicknesses and rolling compression ratios were measured. With the increasing in the billet thickness and the decreasing in the rolling compression ratio, the length and aspect ratio of the particles increased in heat-treated TiC-reinforced steels, and the hardness decreased slightly. The three-body abrasive wear behavior of the TiC-reinforced steels was conducted using a standard dry sand rubber wheel wear testing procedure, and the modeling of the wear mechanism was established. The particle size is the main factor affecting wear resistance when the hardness of TiC-reinforced steels is similar. When the particles size is moderate, about 2–6 μm, the particle can break the sand tip and hinder the sand tip from sliding on the surface. In this manner, the mass loss decreased and the wear resistance improved. The large particles will be broken easily by the abrasive, and the small particles are removed easily by the abrasive in the wear process. So, the large and small particles cannot effectively prevent the damage of the abrasive to the matrix, and they have less of an effect on improving wear resistance

Effect of Moisture Condition of Brick–Concrete Recycled Coarse Aggregate on the Properties of Concrete

The application of brick–concrete recycled aggregates can alleviate the problem of increasing construction waste and increasing scarcity of natural aggregates. The different moisture condition of coarse aggregates can significantly affect the performance of brick–concrete recycled aggregate concrete. In this paper, the additional water quantity of dry and air-dried brick–concrete recycled coarse aggregate concrete was determined. Additionally, the fluidity, rheological parameters, autogenous shrinkage, strength and chloride ion penetration resistance were tested, and compared with saturated surface dry recycled brick–concrete coarse aggregate concrete and natural aggregate concrete. The results showed that the slump of concrete was increased, whereas the plastic viscosity, static and dynamic yield stress were decreased by adding additional water or using saturated surface dry coarse aggregate. Compared with the dry and saturated surface dry state, the air-dried recycled coarse aggregate concrete has the smallest 28 days autogenous shrinkage value, higher compressive strength and splitting tensile strength, and less adverse effects on chloride permeability. It is most beneficial to the performance and economy of concrete to adopt the air-dried state when the brick–concrete recycled coarse aggregate is applied in engineering

Utilisation of Water-Washing Pre-Treated Phosphogypsum for Cemented Paste Backfill

Recycling phosphogypsum (PG) for cemented paste backfill (CPB) has been widely used at phosphate mines in China. However, the impurities in PG prolong the setting time and reduce the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), limiting the engineering application of PG. This paper aims to investigate the feasibility of treated PG (TPG) washed repeatedly using deionised water (DW) for CPB. A water-washing pre-experiment was first conducted to find the proportion with the least DW demand and the effects of water-washing on ordinary PG (OPG). Then, based on the PG:DW ratio obtained from the pre-experiment, the properties of the OPG-based CPB (OCPB) and TPG-based CPB (TCPB) were tested using slump tests, UCS tests, and microstructural analysis. The results show that (1) after 11 water-washings at the PG:DW ratio of 1:1.75, the pH of the supernatant (pH = 6.328) meets the requirements of Chinese standard GB 8978-1996. (2) Water-washing improves the particle gradation quality of PG and removes the soluble impurities adsorbed at the surface of PG crystals. (3) The initial slump values of TCPB are 0.19–1.15 cm higher than that of OCPB, furthermore, the diffusivity values of TCPB are better than the performance of OCPB, with 0.61–1.68 cm of superiority. (4) The UCS values of TCPB are up to 0.838 MPa, 1.953 MPa, and 2.531 MPa, after curing for 7, 14, and 28 days. These are 0.283 MPa, 0.823 MPa, and 0.881 MPa higher than that of OCPB, respectively. It can be concluded that water-washing pre-treatment greatly improves the workability and mechanical property of PG-based CPB. These results are of great value for creating a reliable and environmentally superior alternative for the recycling of PG and for safer mining production

Evolution behaviour of inclusions via oxide metallurgy of NM450 ultrahigh-strength steel

NM450 (450 HBW-grade, low-alloy, wear-resistant steel) is an ultrahigh-strength steel, in most cases, the inclusions in NM450 have a negative effect on its toughness, strength, and weldability. However, the detrimental effect of inclusions can be reduced by inclusion modification. In this study, the effect of oxide metallurgy on the evolution of inclusions in NM450 ultrahigh-strength steel was investigated, and it was found that as the O content increased in the steel before treatment, the Ti content in the formed inclusions increased. By extending the deoxidation time after adding Ti, the ratio of inclusions smaller than 10 μ m in the steel increased, whereas that of larger inclusions gradually decreased. In the Ti–Ce and Ti–Ca composite deoxidation, the former had a higher and more stable yield, but the Ca treatment was more conducive to the nucleation of sulphides, thus reflecting the oxide metallurgical effect. The addition of Ce was prone to adhesion to the crucible wall, which may have an adverse effect on actual production. This work provides a theoretical reference for broadening the scope of application of high-strength steel products, improving product quality

Diagnosis and treatment of juxta-ampullary duodenal diverticulum

Objective: To summarize the diagnosis and treatment of juxta-ampullary duodenal diverticulum (JAD) in our hospital. Methods: Of 5000 consecutive endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) performed in our department, 225 patients were diagnosed with JAD and treated. All patients were classified based on the location of Ampullae of Vater in relation to the duodenal diverticulum. Of the 225 JAD patients, 96 patients (43%) required surgery. Results: The 225 patients with JAD were divided into Type A (146 cases, 65%) or Type B (79 cases, 35%). Type A patients presented with papillae near the diverticulum or in its margin. In this type, 36 patients (25%) presented with diverticulitis, bleeding, perforation or cholelithiasis, and were treated surgically. Type B patients presented with papillae inside the diverticulum. Among them, 60 patients (76%) had complications requiring surgery. Conclusions: JAD can be divided into two types based on location of the papillae. ERCP was the primary method of diagnosing JAD and patients with severe complications required surgical intervention

V2CTX MXene Sphere for Aqueous Ion Storage

Despite the remarkable ion-hosting capability of MXenes, their electrochemical performance is restricted to the ion shuttle barrier stemming from the capacious surface and the sluggish chemical activity of intrinsic transition metal layers. Herein, we construct a vertically aligned array of V2CTX flakes utilizing a carbon sphere template (V2CTX@CS), with the interlayer galleries outward facing the external electrolyte, to shorten the diffusion length and mitigate the ion shuttle barrier. Moreover, we leverage the high sensitivity of V2CTX flakes to the water–oxygen environment, fully activating the masked active sites of transition metal layers in an aqueous environment via continuous electrochemical scanning. Aqueous V2CTX@CS/Zn battery delivers a novel capacity enhancement over 42,000 cycles at 10 A g−1. After activation, the capacity reaches up to 409 mAh [Formula: see text] at 0.5 A g−1 and remains at 122 mAh [Formula: see text] at 18 A g−1. With a 0.95-V voltage plateau, the energy density of 330.4 Wh [Formula: see text] surpasses previous records of aqueous MXene electrodes