The Effect of the Characteristics of the Partition Plate Unit on the Separating Process of −6 mm Fine Coal in the Compound Dry Separator

Although compound dry separation technology has been applied to industrial applications for +6 mm size fraction of coal separation, the technology has not been widely applied in the separation of fine coal (−6 mm). In this study, the effect of the partition plate unit characteristics on both the average density of particles in the bed uniformly and the final separation results in a fine coal separation process were studied. According to the results, the standard deviations of the corresponding density distribution were 0.08, 0.14, and 0.07 when the height of the partition plate was 2.5 cm, the partition plate angle was 35°, and the distance from the apex of partition plate on the backplane, was 12 cm, respectively, which were the lowest values at the same level. These results showed that the average density of particles in the bed was uniformly, and its corresponding density distribution contour map was more regular. When the amplitude was 2.8 mm, the frequency was 29 Hz, the height of the partition plate was 2.5 cm, the partition plate angle was 35°, and the distance from the apex of the partition plate to the backplane was 12 cm; as a result, the E value was 0.115 g/cm3, the yield of the concentrate was 69.24%, the ash content was 12.52%, and the separation effect was better. The characteristics of the partition plate unit have an important effect on the separating process of −6 mm fine coal in the compound dry separator

Treatment Outcomes of 257 Patients with Locoregionally Advanced Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Treated with Nimotuzumab Plus Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy with or without Chemotherapy: A Single-Institution Experience

OBJECTIVES: To report the long-term outcome and toxicity of locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LA NPC) treated with nimotuzumab (h-R3) plus intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) with or without chemotherapy. METHODS: From May 2008 to March 2014, 3022 newly histology-proven, nonmetastatic NPC patients were retrospectively reviewed; among them, 257 patients treated with h-R3 were enrolled in this study. The patients' age range was between 10 and 76 years. The distribution of patients by disease stage was 150 (58.4%) in stage III, 88 (34.2%) in stage IV A, and 19 (7.4%) in stage IV B. All the patients received the treatment of h-R3 plus IMRT, and from them, 239 cases were also treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Acute and late radiation-related toxicities were graded according to the Acute and Late Radiation Morbidity Scoring Criteria of Radiation Therapy Oncology Group. The accumulated survival was calculated according to the Kaplan-Meier method. Log-rank test was used to compare the survival difference. Multivariate analysis was performed using Cox's proportional-hazard model. RESULTS: All 257 patients had completed combined treatment; 231 patients received h-R3 plus IMRT with induction chemotherapy (IC), while 26 patients received only h-R3 plus IMRT. With a median follow-up of 48 months (range, 13-75 months), the estimated 5-year local recurrence-free survival, regional recurrence-free survival, distant metastases-free survival, progression-free survival, and overall survival (OS) rates were 94.3%, 94.8%, 91.9%, 83.4%, and 86.2%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that age, T stage, clinical stage, and IC were related with OS. Multivariate analysis indicated that T stage and IC were independent prognostic factors for OS. The incidence of grade 3 to 4 acute mucositis and leukocytopenia was 10.9% and 19.8%, respectively, with no cases of skin rash and infusion reaction. Xerostomia was the most common late complication, and the degree of dry mouth in most survivors was mild to moderate at the last follow-up time. CONCLUSION: h-R3 plus IMRT with or without chemotherapy showed promising outcomes in terms of locoregional control and survival without increasing the incidence of radiation-related toxicities for patients

Bioinformatic identification of candidate biomarkers and related transcription factors in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Abstract Background The incidence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is rare, but a certain amount of mortality remains in NPC patients. Our study aimed to identify candidate genes as biomarkers for NPC screening, diagnosis, and therapy. Methods We investigated two microarray profile datasets GSE64634 and GSE12452 to screen the potential differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in NPC. Gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis of the DEGs were also performed. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of DEGs was constructed by STRING and visualized by Cytoscape software. The associated transcriptional factor regulatory network of the DEGs was also constructed. Results A total of 152 DEGs were identified from the GSE64634 and GSE12452 datasets, including 10 upregulated and 142 downregulated genes. Gene functional enrichment analysis indicated that these DEGs were enriched in the cilium movement, antimicrobial humoral response, O-glycan processing, mucosal immune response, carbohydrate transmembrane transporter activity, hormone biosynthetic process, neurotransmitter biosynthetic process, and drug metabolism-cytochrome P450 pathway. Five hub genes (DNALI1, RSPH4A, RSPH9, DNAI2, and ALDH3A1) and one significant module (score = 5.6) were obtained from the PPI network. Key transcriptional factors, such as SPI1, SIN3B, and GATA2, were identified with close interactions with these five hub DEGs from the gene-transcriptional factor network. Conclusions With the integrated bioinformatic analysis, numerous DEGs related to NPC were screened, and the hub DEGs we identified may be potential biomarkers for NPC