BackgroundSex determining region Y (SRY)-related high mobility groupbox 9 (SOX9) is an important transcription factor required for development, which regulates the expression of target genes in the associated pathway. The aim of this study was to describe the expression of SOX9 in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and to investigate the association between SOX9 expression and progression of NSCLC.MethodsSOX9 protein and mRNA expression in normal human pneumonocytes, lung cancer cell lines, and eight pairs of matched lung cancer tissues and their adjacent normal lung tissues were detected by Western blotting and real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Immunohistochemistry was used to determine SOX9 protein expression in 142 cases of histologically characterized NSCLC. Statistical analyses were applied to test for prognostic and diagnostic associations.ResultsSOX9 in lung cancer cell lines was upregulated at both mRNA and protein levels, and SOX9 mRNA and protein were also elevated in NSCLC tissues compared with levels in corresponding adjacent non-cancerous lung tissues. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated a high expression of SOX9 in 74/142 (52.1%) paraffin-embedded archival lung cancer biopsies. Statistical analysis indicated that upregulation of SOX9 was significantly correlated with the histological stage of NSCLC (P = 0.017) and that patients with a high SOX9 level exhibited a shorter survival time (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis illustrated that SOX9 upregulation might be an independent prognostic indicator for the survival of patients with NSCLC.ConclusionsThis work shows that SOX9 may serve as a novel and prognostic marker for NSCLC, and play a role during the development and progression of the disease.

Abstract:The Voltage Source Converter-HVDC (VSC-HVDC) system applied to wind power generation can solve large scale wind farm grid-connection and long distance transmission problems. However, the low voltage ride through (LVRT) of the VSC-HVDC connected wind farm is a key technology issue that must be solved, and it is currently lacking an economic and effective solution. In this paper, a LVRT coordinated control strategy is proposed for the VSC-HVDC-based wind power system. In this strategy, the operation and control of VSC-HVDC and wind farm during the grid fault period is improved. The VSC-HVDC system not only provides reactive power support to the grid, but also effectively maintains the power balance and DC voltage stability by reducing wind-farm power output, without increasing the equipment investment. Correspondingly, to eliminate the influence on permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG)-based wind turbine (WT) systems, a hierarchical control strategy is designed. The speed and validity of the proposed LVRT coordinated control strategy and hierarchical control strategy were verified by MATLAB/Simulink simulations.

The genotypes of ATP7B gene may be novel and significant biomarkers for predicting the gastrointestinal toxicity of platinum-based chemotherapy in NSCLC patients.

Metro door system (MDS) is one of the most important and fault-prone parts of metro train. Reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) is a systematic engineering process for determining the preventive maintenance requirements of equipment and optimizing the maintenance system. This paper is motivated to apply RCM to the maintenance of metro door system. Firstly, the subsystems and components of MDS are introduced. Then a fuzzy FMECA method is proposed to define the hazard degree of 10 failure modes from 5 components with high failure rate to conduct reliability analysis. Finally, reliability-centered maintenance strategy is made after maintenance mode decision and calculation of maintenance interval cycle, which provides theoretical basis to the maintenance of the metro train.

Slope farmland is prone to soil erosion, especially in sub/tropical regions. However, our understanding of near-surface hydrology characteristics and their controlled factors in red soil sloping farmland remains limited. Here, we conducted simulated rainfall experiments to assess the impact of rainfall pattern, straw mulching, and soil structure on near-surface hydrological processes of red soil sloping farmland of southern China. Results showed that: (1) short duration-high intensity rain caused greater surface runoff and sediment production than did long duration-low intensity rain, whereas the variation pattern of subsurface flow exhibited the opposite trend; (2) tillage behavior could weaken the surface runoff intensity and promote the development of subsurface flow; (3) straw mulching increased the water infiltration rate and associated subsurface flow production (increased by 1.33~12.71 times), and thus reduced the surface runoff production (reduced by 99.68~100%). These findings highlight the crucial roles of rainfall pattern and straw mulching in regulating the spatial distribution pattern of rainwater and suggest that straw mulching can effectively reduce soil erosion via accelerating water infiltration and subsurface flow form in slope farmland of soil erosion in southern China.

Continuous emission monitoring system (CEMS) is widely used in the field of environmental protection, but the maintenance routines of it consist mostly of pre-defined activities. Reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) uses a systematic approach to develop maintenance strategies that take into account factors such as system life, operating efficiency, and maintenance cost-effectiveness. This paper is motivated to apply RCM to sampling subsystem in CEMS. Based on the failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA), the RCM logic decision used to identify the reasonable maintenance mode is implemented. Subsequently, an average availability model is proposed to determine the maintenance interval cycle. Finally, the maintenance outline is formed, which can be then further used as valuable information to improve equipment reliability and develop maintenance strategies. INDEX TERMS Continuous emission monitoring system, sampling system, reliability centered maintenance, failure mode and effect analysis, maintenance strategy.

No abstract

No abstract