Quantitative Geoscience and Geological Big Data Development： A Review

After long-term development, mathematical geology has today become an independent discipline. Big Data science, which has become a new scientific paradigm in the 21st century, gives rise to the geological Big Data, i.e. mathematical geology and quantitative geoscience. Thanks to a robust macro strategy for big data, China＇s quantitative geoscience and geological big data＇s rapid development meets present requirements and has kept up with international levels. This paper presents China＇s decade-long achievements in quantitative prediction and assessment of mineral resources, geoscience information and software systems, geological information platform development, etc., with an emphasis on application of geological big data in informatics, quantitative mineral prediction, geological environment and disaster management, digital land survey, digital city, etc. Looking ahead, mathematical geology is moving towards ＂Digital Geology＂, ＂Digital Land＂ and ＂Geological Cloud＂, eventually realizing China＇s grand ＂Digital China＂ blueprint, and these valuable results will be showcased on the international academic arena.

Associations of PNPLA3 and LEP genetic polymorphisms with metabolic-associated fatty liver disease in Thai people living with human immunodeficiency virus

BACKGROUND The prevalence of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease(MAFLD)is a growing public health issue in people living with human immunodeficiency virus(PLWH).However,the pathophysiology of MAFLD is still unknown,and the role of genetic variables is only now becoming evident.AIM To evaluate the associations of gene-polymorphism-related MAFLD in PLWH.METHODS The study employed transient elastography with a controlled attenuation parameter≥248 dB/m to identify MAFLD in patients from a Super Tertiary Hospital in central Thailand.Candidate single-nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs)were genotyped using TaqMan®MGB probe 5'nuclease assays for seven MAFLD-related genes.Statistical analyses included SNP frequency analysis,Fisher's Exact and Chi-square tests,odds ratio calculations,and multivariable logistic regression.RESULTS The G-allele carriers of PNPLA3(rs738409)exhibited a two-fold rise in MAFLD,increasing by 2.5 times in MAFLD with human immunodeficiency virus infection.The clinical features and genetic patterns imply that LEP rs7799039 A-allele carriers had a nine times(P=0.001)more significant chance of developing aberrant triglyceride among PLWH.CONCLUSION The current study shows an association between PNPLA3 rs738409 and LEP rs7799039 with MAFLD in PLWH.

Construction and Characterization of an Atmospheric Simulation Smog Chamber

Currently, air pollution in Beijing has become a complex problem with two types of source pollutants： coal smoke and photochemical smog. Furthermore the maximum hourly mean concentration of O3 increases continuously, especially in the summer. In order to simulate the photochemical reaction, develop an air quality simulation model and further improve the air quality of Beijing, a precisely temperature-controlled, indoor, smog chamber facility was designed and constructed at Tsinghua University. Characterization experiments have been carried out to acquire the basic parameters of the smog chamber, such as the wall loss rates of NO2, NO, O3, C3H6 and particulate matter （PM）, the intensity of ultraviolet （UV） light in the chamber, the reactivity of the purified air and the reproducibility of the experimental results. The results indicate that the facility performs up to specifications, and can meet the demands required for simulating the photochemical reaction. The effect of high primary contaminated PM on the formation of ozone and secondary organic aerosol （SOA） is under investigation.

Process parameters-weld bead geometry interactions and their influence on mechanical properties:A case of dissimilar aluminium alloy electron beam welds

Prediction of weld bead geometry is always an interesting and challenging research topic as it involves understanding of complex multi input and multi output system. The weld bead geometry has a profound impact on the load bearing capability of a weld joint, which in-turn decides the performance in real time service conditions. The present study introduces a novel approach of detecting a relationship between weld bead geometry and mechanical properties(e.g. tensile load) for the purpose of catering the best the process could offer. The significance of the proposed approach is demonstrated by a case of dissimilar aluminium alloy(AA2219 and AA5083) electron beam welds. A mathematical model of tensile braking load as a function of geometrical attributes of weld bead geometry is presented. The results of investigation suggests the effective thickness of weld-a geometric parameter of weld bead has the most significant influence on tensile breaking load of dissimilar weld joint. The observations on bead geometry and the mechanical properties(microhardness, ultimate tensile load and face bend angle) are correlated with detailed metallurgical analysis. The fusion zone of dissimilar electron beam weld has finer grain size with a moderate evaporation and segregation of alloying elements magnesium and copper respectively.The mechanical properties of weld joint are controlled by optimum bead geometry and HAZ softening in weaker AA5083 Al alloy.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of similar and dissimilar metal gas tungsten constricted arc welds:Maraging steel to 13-8 Mo stainless steel

Maraging steel (250) and 13-8 Mo stainless steel plates were joined by gas tungsten constricted arc welding(GTCAW) process in similar and dissimilar metal combinations using 13-8 Mo stainless steel filler wire. The similar and dissimilar metal welds made in solutionized condition were subjected to standard post weld hardening treatments direct ageing at 485 ℃, soaking for 31/2 hours followed by air cooling(ageing treatment of maraging steel) and direct ageing at 510 ℃, soaking for 4 h followed by air cooling(ageing treatment of 13-8 Mo stainless steel). The joint characterization studies include microstructure examination, microhardness survey across the weldments and transverse weld tensile test.Similar and dissimilar metal weldments responded to both the post weld ageing treatment. After post weld aging, increase in yield strength, UTS and slight reduction in % elongation of similar and dissimilar metal were observed. The observed tensile properties were correlated with microstructure and hardness distribution across the welds.

Development of ^(153)Sm-bleomycin as a possible therapeutic complex

Due to interesting therapeutic properties of ^(153)Sm and antineoplastic antibiotic,bleomycin(BLM), ^(153)Sm-bleomycin(^(153)Sm-BLM) was developed as a possible therapeutic compound using ^(153)SmCl_3 and BLM.The ^(153)SmCl_3 was obtained by thermal neutron flux(5×10^(13)n·cm^(-2)·s^(-1))of an enriched ^(152)Sm_2O_3 sample,dissolved in acidic media.Under optimized conditions(room temperature,45 min,0.1 mg bleomycin for 740-3700 MBq ^(153)SmCl_3) a radiochemical purity over 98%was obtained shown by HPLC(Specific activity = 55 TBq/mM).The ^(153)SmCl_3 and ^(153)Sm-BLM were administered into wild-type rats up to 96 h followed by biodistribution.The SPECT imaging of labeled compound in wild-type rats was performed and significant image pattern was observed for a radiolabeled bleomycin compound.The ^(153)Sm-BLM is a potential therapeutic compound and our experiments on this compound have shown satisfactory quality,and stability suitable for future therapeutic studies.

Promoting wound healing effect of the extract of callicarpa nudiflora and preparation technology of the external ointment

Objective: To study the effect of the extracts from Callicarpa nudiflora on wound healing and the preparation of ointment. Methods: Totally 50 KM mice were randomly divided into five groups, which were negative control group ,positive control group, high, middle and low dose groups of Callicarpa nudiflora ointment. Mice ear swelling test was conducted to investigate the effect of Callicarpa nudiflora induced by xylene, Bacteriostasis experiments were conducted to observe the bacteriostasis effects of Callicarpa nudiflora on five indicator bacteria, i.e. Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus in vitro. A total of 30 new zealand white rabbit with half male and half female were randomly divided into five groups, which were negative control group, positive control group, high, middle and low groups of Callicarpa nudiflora ointment. The rabbits were treated with sterilizing blade and treated with external medicine to observe the effect of the extracts from Callicarpa nudiflora on wound healing. Orthogonal test was used to determine the preparation method of Callicarpa nudiflora ointment,Physical properties, centrifugal stratification test, heat and cold resistance test were conducted. Results:Bacteriostasis experiments in vitro showed high dose group of Callicarpa nudiflora extracts got 16.8 cm antimicrobial zone of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The experimental results showed that the ear swelling degree of mice induced by xylene was significantly reduced in the middle and high dose groups. All the treatment groups could promote skin healing of rabbit significantly compared with negative control group. There were significantly differences between all the treatment groups and negative control group on the wound healing rate. The optimum preparation process was determined by orthogonal screening test. The optimal formula was as follows: Twain-801.2 g, glycerin monostearate 4.7 g, glycerinum 0.9 g, liquid paraffin 10.8 g, Span801.4 g,solid paraffin 1.4 g,vaseline 0.9 g. The emulsification temperature was 65 ℃,and emulsification time was 25 min. Conclusions: The extract of Callicarpa nudiflora can be used as external preparation and the preparation is in compliance with Chinese pharmacopoeia 2015.

A comparative evaluation of microstructural and mechanical behavior of fiber laser beam and tungsten inert gas dissimilar ultra high strength steel welds

The influence of different welding processes on the mechanical properties and the corresponding variation in the microstructural features have been investigated for the dissimilar weldments of 18% Ni maraging steel 250 and AISI 4130 steel. The weld joints are realized through two different fusion welding processes, tungsten inert arc welding(TIG) and laser beam welding(LBW), in this study. The dissimilar steel welds were characterized through optical microstructures, microhardness survey across the weldment and evaluation of tensile properties. The fiber laser beam welds have demonstrated superior mechanical properties and reduced heat affected zone as compared to the TIG weldments.

Variation of passivation behavior induced by sputtered energetic particles and thermal annealing for ITO/SiO_x/Si system

The damage on the atomic bonding and electronic state in a SiO_x（1.4-2.3 nm）/c-Si（150 μm） interface has been investigated.This occurred in the process of depositing indium tin oxide（ITO） film onto the silicon substrate by magnetron sputtering.We observe that this damage is caused by energetic particles produced in the plasma（atoms,ions,and UV light）.The passivation quality and the variation on interface states of the SiO_x/c-Si system were mainly studied by using effective minority carrier lifetime（τ_（eff）） measurement as a potential evaluation.The results showed that the samples＇ τ_（eff）was reduced by more than 90%after ITO formation,declined from 107 μs to 5 μs.Following vacuum annealing at 200 ℃,the τ_（eff） can be restored to 30 μs.The components of Si to O bonding states at the SiO_x/c-Si interface were analyzed by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS） coupled with depth profiling.The amorphous phase of the SiO_x layer and the ＂atomistic interleaving structure＂ at the SiO_x/c-Si interface was observed by a transmission electron microscope（TEM）.The chemical configuration of the Si-O fraction within the intermediate region is the main reason for inducing the variation of Si dangling bonds（or interface states） and effective minority carrier lifetime.After an appropriate annealing,the reduction of the Si dangling bonds between SiO_x and near the c-Si surface is helpful to improve the passivation effect.

Retrobulbar administration of purified anti-nerve growth factor in developing rats induces structural and biochemical changes in the retina and cornea

AIM:To develop an experimental model of endogenous nerve growth factor(NGF)deprivation by retrobulbar administration of purified neutralizing anti-NGF antibodies in young Sprague-Dawley rats and provide further information on NGF expression in the retina and cornea.METHODS:Sixty old pathogen-free Sprague Dawley rats(p14,post-natal days)were treated with repeated retrobulbar injections of neutralizing anti-NGF(2μL,100μg/m L,every 3 d).After 2 wk(p28),retinal and corneal tissues were investigated for morphological,biochemical,and molecular expression of trkANGFR by using Western blotting or immunofluorescence.Rhodopsin as well as protein profile expression were also investigated.RESULTS:Chronic retrobulbar neutralizing anti-NGF antibodies changed the distribution of trkANGFR immunoreactivity at retinal level,while no changes were detected for global trkANGFR protein expression.By contrary,the treatment resulted in the increase of corneal trkANGFR expression.Retinal tissues showed a decreased rhodopsin expression as well as reduced number of both rhodopsin expressing and total retinal cells,as observed after single cell extraction.A decreased expression of ICAM-1,IL-17 and IL-13 as well as an increased expression of IL-21 typified retinal extracts.No significant changes were observed for corneal tissues.CONCLUSION:The reduced availability of endogenous NGF,as produced by chronic retrobulbar anti-NGF administration,produce a quick response from retinal tissues,with respect to corneal ones,suggesting the presence of early compensatory mechanisms to protect retinal networking.

Kinetics Growth and Oxidation Resistance of Aluminide Coatings Deposited by the CVD Method on Re 80 Superalloy

The preliminary results of research on forming the aluminide coatings using CVD method were presented in the article. The coatings were obtained in low activity process on the surface of Rene 80 superalloy. The microstructure analysis and chemical composition analysis were performed applying different values of aluminizing process parameters. The authors present in the article the results of oxidation resistance analysis of aluminide coatings which were obtained on the surface of Rene 80 superalloy using various techniques. It was shown that the coating created during the CVD process was characterized by a good oxidation resistance at the temperature of 1100℃.

The Microstructure and Oxidation Resistance of The Microstructure and Oxidation Resistance of Slurry Method on Rene 80 Superalloy

The slurry method is one of the oldest techniques of deposition of aluminide coating on the nickel superalloy, titanium alloys and steel. It is characterized by relatively low costs of its realisation and necessary equipment. This method en-ables a simple modification of chemical composition of the coating through addition of different powders. The author showed study on the possibility of modification of the Al-Si slurry chemical composition used for aluminide coating deposition by addition of MeCrAlY powder. The slurry was deposited by immersion than the diffusion treatment at 950℃ for two hours was applied. The thickness of obtained coatings was in the range of 30 - 65 μm.

A Stability Indicating HPLC Method for Dronedarone in Bulk Drugs and Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms

The objective of the current study was to develop a validated, specific and stability-indicating reverse phase HPLC method for the quantitative determination of Dronedarone and its related substances. The determination was done for active pharmaceutical ingredient and its pharmaceutical dosage forms in the presence of degradation products, and its process-related impurities. The drug was subjected to stress conditions of hydrolysis (acid and base), oxidation, photolysis and thermal degradation per International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) prescribed stress conditions to show the stability-indicating power of the method. Significant degradation was observed during acid, oxidative and photo stress studies. In the developed HPLC method, the resolution between Dronedarone and its process-related impurities was found to be greater than 2.0. Regression analysis shows an r value (correlation coefficient) of greater than 0.999 for Dronedarone and it’s all the five impurities. The chromatographic separation was achieved on a C8 stationary phase. The method employed a linear gradient elution and the detection wavelength was set at 288 nm. The stress samples were assayed against a qualified reference standard and the mass balance was found to be close to 99.6%. The developed HPLC method was validated with respect to linearity, accuracy, precision and robustness.

Evaluation of the Permeation and Penetration of Two Formulations of Terbinafine Chlorhydrate Incorporated in Liposomes (Cream 1%) vs. a Conventional Formulation (Cream 1%), in an <i>in Vitro-ex Vivo</i>Model

In this trial, a topical formulation of a 1% liposome TH cream was compared to a conventional TH formulation. Permeation was evaluated through a synthetic membrane. The study provided information on the rate of diffusion and percentage of drug release and also compared the penetration dynamics in the layers of the stratum corneum of both formulations. Liposome TH cream was able to deliver the active ingredient to a larger number of SC layers, with a higher amount of drug, which is very promising for the treatment of superficial mycoses.

Development of synthetic lethality in cancer:molecular and cellular classification

Recently,genetically targeted cancer therapies have been a topic of great interest.Synthetic lethality provides a new approach for the treatment of mutated genes that were previously considered unable to be targeted in traditional genotype-targeted treatments.The increasing researches and applications in the clinical setting made synthetic lethality a promising anticancer treatment option.However,the current understandings on different conditions of synthetic lethality have not been systematically assessed and the application of synthetic lethality in clinical practice still faces many challenges.Here,we propose a novel and systematic classification of synthetic lethality divided into gene level,pathway level,organelle level,and conditional synthetic lethality,according to the degree of specificity into its biological mechanism.Multiple preclinical findings of synthetic lethality in recent years will be reviewed and classified under these different categories.Moreover,synthetic lethality targeted drugs in clinical practice will be briefly discussed.Finally,we will explore the essential implications of this classification as well as its prospects in eliminating existing challenges and the future directions of synthetic lethality.

Robotic single-incision left hemihepatectomy for intrahepatic bile duct stones by Da Vinci single-site surgical system: A case report with video

Minimally invasive surgery is a trend in hepatobiliary surgery.A 56-year-old female patient was admitted to our institution for intrahepatic lithiasis.The CT scan showed multiple calculi in the left liver,dilation of the left intrahepatic bile duct and liver atrophy of the left lobe.Robotic single-incision left hemihepatectomy by the single-site systemwas successfully applied.With the idea of enhanced recovery after surgery,the patient was discharged on the third day after the operation without any morbidity.Robotic single-incision surgery is more frequent in gynecologic and urological surgery.As far as we know,this is the first robotic single-incision left hemihepatectomy report in the world.

异烟肼耐药突变katGS315T与日本大阪地区MDR-/XDR-TB患病率的相关性

目的:研究异烟肼耐药的结核分枝杆菌中katGS315T突变的发生情况,并探讨katGS315T突变与耐多药结核病(MDR-TB)患病率之间的相关性。设计:收集了从2001年到2004年间所有到大阪市呼吸与过敏性疾病医学中心就诊的新登记病人的临床分离株1 655株,并进行了药物敏感性分析。对1 655株菌株中的1 629株(98.4%)应用插入序列(IS)6110-限制性片段长度多态性(RFLP)法进行了基因分型。对所有耐异烟肼的145个临床分离株,包括耐多药菌株,都进行了katGS315T的突变情况检测。结果:560(34.4%)株临床分离株有相同的RFLP图谱。在145个INH耐药的分离株中,18/48(37.5%)属于有katGS315T突变的RFLP簇,23/97(23.7%)没有发生此突变。在66个耐多药结核病病例中,18/29(62.1%)属于有katGS315T突变的RFLP簇,11/37(29.7%)没有发生此突变。在29例广泛耐药病例(XDR)中,17/21(80.9%)属于有katGS315T突变的RFLP簇,3/8(37.5%)没有发生此突变。结论:发生katGS315T突变的MDR-/XDR-TB分离株中应用IS-RFLP分析获得的成簇率非常高。我们的研究表明katGS315T突变与MDR-TB,尤其是XDR-TB的传播动力学高度相关。

A Vicenary Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Genomes

Coronaviruses are responsible for various diseases ranging from the common cold to severe infections like the Middle East syndromes and the severe acute respiratory syndrome.However,a new coronavirus strain known as COVID-19 developed into a pandemic resulting in an ongoing global public health crisis.Therefore,there is a need to understand the genomic transformations that occur within this family of viruses in order to limit disease spread and develop new therapeutic targets.The nucleotide sequences of SARS-CoV-2 are consist of several bases.These bases can be classified into purines and pyrimidines according to their chemical composition.Purines include adenine(A)and guanine(G),while pyrimidines include cytosine(C)and tyrosine(T).There is a need to understand the spatial distribution of these bases on the nucleotide sequence to facilitate the development of antivirals(including neutralizing antibodies)and epitomes necessary for vaccine development.This study aimed to evaluate all the purine and pyrimidine associations within the SARS-CoV-2 genome sequence by measuring mathematical parameters including;Shannon entropy,Hurst exponent,and the nucleotide guanine-cytosine content.The Shannon entropy is used to identify closely associated sequences.Whereas Hurst exponent is used to identifying the auto-correlation of purine-pyrimidine bases even if their organization differs.Different frequency patterns can be used to determine the distribution of all four proteins and the density of each base.The GC-content is used to understand the stability of the DNA.The relevant genome sequences were extracted from the National Center for Biotechnology Information(NCBI)virus database.Furthermore,the phylogenetic properties of the COVID-19 virus were characterized to compare the closeness of the COVID-19 virus with other coronaviruses by evaluating the purine and pyrimidine distribution.

Sulfuric Acid Resistance of Concrete with Blast Furnace Slag Fine Aggregate

The deterioration of concrete by sulfuric acid attack in sewage environments has become a serious problem for many existing sewage structures. In this study, the properties of concrete using the blast furnace slag have been examined. It was shown that by using the blast furnace slag fine aggregate and blast furnace slag fine powder, it is possible to enhance the resistance of mortar and concrete to sulfuric acid. The resistance to sulfuric acid of mortar and concrete can be improved by using a blast-furnace slag fine aggregate in the total amount of fine aggregate. When mortar or concrete reacts to sulfuric acid, dihydrated gypsum film is formed around the particulate of the fine aggregate. This dihydrated gypsum film could retard the penetration of sulfuric acid, thus, improving the resistance to sulfuric acid. Furthermore, it has been proved that the relationship between the erosion depth by sulfuric acid attack and the product of immersion period and concentration of sulfuric acid can be expressed linearly. However, this relationship is dependent on the type of materials of concrete.

A multimodal integration pipeline for accurate diagnosis, pathogen identification, and prognosis prediction of pulmonary infections

Pulmonary infections pose formidable challenges in clinical settings with high mortality rates across all age groups worldwide.Accurate diagnosis and early intervention are crucial to improve patient outcomes.Artificial intelligence(AI)has the capability to mine imaging features specific to different pathogens and fuse multimodal features to reach a synergistic diagnosis,enabling more precise investigation and individualized clinical management.In this study,we successfully developed a multimodal integration(MMI)pipeline to differentiate among bacterial,fungal,and viral pneumonia and pulmonary tuberculosis based on a real-world dataset of 24,107 patients.The area under the curve(AUC)of the MMI system comprising clinical text and computed tomography(CT)image scans yielded 0.910(95%confidence interval[CI]:0.904–0.916)and 0.887(95%CI:0.867–0.909)in the internal and external testing datasets respectively,which were comparable to those of experienced physicians.Furthermore,the MMI system was utilized to rapidly differentiate between viral subtypes with a mean AUC of 0.822(95%CI:0.805–0.837)and bacterial subtypes with a mean AUC of 0.803(95%CI:0.775–0.830).Here,the MMI system harbors the potential to guide tailored medication recommendations,thus mitigating the risk of antibiotic misuse.Additionally,the integration of multimodal factors in the AI-driven system also provided an evident advantage in predicting risks of developing critical illness,contributing to more informed clinical decision-making.To revolutionize medical care,embracing multimodal AI tools in pulmonary infections will pave the way to further facilitate early intervention and precise management in the foreseeable future.