Liver Tumor Segmentation Based on Multi-Scale and Self-Attention Mechanism

Liver cancer has the second highest incidence rate among all types of malignant tumors,and currently,its diagnosis heavily depends on doctors’manual labeling of CT scan images,a process that is time-consuming and susceptible to subjective errors.To address the aforementioned issues,we propose an automatic segmentation model for liver and tumors called Res2Swin Unet,which is based on the Unet architecture.The model combines Attention-Res2 and Swin Transformer modules for liver and tumor segmentation,respectively.Attention-Res2 merges multiple feature map parts with an Attention gate via skip connections,while Swin Transformer captures long-range dependencies and models the input globally.And the model uses deep supervision and a hybrid loss function for faster convergence.On the LiTS2017 dataset,it achieves better segmentation performance than other models,with an average Dice coefficient of 97.0%for liver segmentation and 81.2%for tumor segmentation.

Determination of Work Function for p-and n-Type 4H-SiC Single Crystals via Scanning Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy

Silicon carbide(SiC) is a promising platform for fabricating high-voltage, high-frequency and high-temperature electronic devices such as metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors in which many junctions or interfaces are involved. The work function(WF) plays an essential role in these devices. However, studies of the effect of conductive type and polar surfaces on the WF of SiC are limited. Here, we report the measurement of WFs of Si-and C-terminated polar surfaces for both p-type and n-type conductive 4H-SiC single crystals by scanning Kelvin probe microscopy(SKPFM). The results show that p-type SiC exhibits a higher WF than n-type SiC.The WF of a C-terminated polar surface is higher than that of a Si-terminated polar surface, which is further confirmed by first-principles calculations. By revealing this long-standing knowledge gap, our work facilitates the fabrication and development of SiC-based electronic devices, which have tremendous potential applications in electric vehicles, photovoltaics, and so on. This work also shows that SKPFM is a good method for identifying polar surfaces of SiC and other polar materials nondestructively, quickly and conveniently.

Improving supercritical water gasification of sludge by oil palm empty fruit bunch addition: Promotion of syngas production and heavy metal stabilization

The co-gasification of sewage sludge and palm oil empty fruit bunch(EFB) in supercritical water(SCW) was conducted at 400 °C with a pressure of over 25 MPa. This study aimed to investigate the influence of EFB addition on the syngas production and its composition. The heavy metal distribution and the leaching potential of the solid residue were also assessed. The results showed that syngas yield significantly increased with the addition of EFB into the feedstock. The cold gas efficiency(CGE) and carbon efficiency(CE) of co-gasification were higher than those of individual gasification. The actual syngas production from co-gasification of sludge and EFB was 45% higher than the theoretical total volume. The results indicated that the addition of EFB to sludge had the synergetic promotion effect on syngas production from sludge and EFB in supercritical water. This enhancement might be due to the dissolution of alkali metals from EFB and the adjustment of organic ratio. In addition, higher percentage of heavy metals were deposited and stabilized in the solid residue after SCWG. The leaching concentration of heavy metals from the solid residues was decreased to a level below the standard limit which enables it to be safely disposed of in landfill. In conclusion, the EFB addition has been proved to promote syngas production,as well as, stabilize the heavy metal in solid residues during co-SCWG.

HERG K+ channels expression in gastric cancers and analysis of its regulation in tumor cell proliferation and apoptosis

Objective： To investigate the expression of hergl gene in tumor tissues from gastric carcinomas and gastric carcinoma cell lines, and study the relationship between HERG K＋ channel expressions and tumor cell proliferation and apoptosis. Methods： RT-PCR and PCR assays were used to detect the expression of hergl gene in 64 gastric carcinomas and the gastric cancer cell line SGC-7901. Blocking the HERG K＋ channels was used to evaluate their effects on tumor cell proliferation and apoptosis. Results：The statistically significant expression of hergl gene was detected in all the gastric cancers and SGC-7901 cells, but not in normal tissues. The HERG K＋ channel blocker, E-4031, increased the cell population in G0/G1（P 〈 0.05） and the number of apoptotic tumor cells（P 〈 0.05）. Conclusion： HERG K＋ channels were expressed in all gastric carcinomas tested and these channels appear to modulate tumor cell proliferation and apoptosis.

The apoptosis induction effect of siRNA recombinant expression vector targeting Livin gene in human colon cancer cells

Objective:To construct siRNA recombinant expression vector targeting Livin gene and observe the apoptosis induction effect of it in human colon cancer cells. Methods:SiRNA recombinant expression vector targeting Livin gene was constructed and transfected into human colon cancer cell. The effect of siRNA recombinant expression vector was detected by RT-PCR, Western blot, MTT reduction assay and flow cytometry. Results: It was confirmed by restriction endonuclease and sequence analysis that siRNA recombinant expression vector targeting Livin gene was constructed successfully. Inhibition ra-tio of Livin siRNA at mRNA and protein levels were 30.18% and 28.88%. The growth of cancer cells was inhibited significantly and the apoptotic ratio was 13.36 ± 1.45%. Conclusion: The siRNA recombinant expression vector targeting Livin gene has been constructed successfully. It not only can inhibit the expression of Livin gene but also can induce apoptosis in human colon cancer cells remarkably.

Enhanced carbon solubility in solvent for SiC rapid solution growth:Thermodynamic evaluation of Cr-Ce-Si-C system

The carbon dissolution in solvent plays a key role in the process of solution growth route for SiC single crystal,which could determine the growth rate and quality of the products.However,the carbon dissolving ability of binary alloy solvent still needs to be improved.Here,we demonstrate the improved carbon dissolution and enlarged carbon supersaturation in Cr-Ce-Si ternary solvent,showing great potential for SiC solution growth.The phase relations of Cr-Ce-Si-C system were determined by using CALPHAD method based on thermodynamic parameters of CeCr_(2)Si_(2)C.It is indicated that the Cr-Ce-Si ternary solvent shows much larger carbon solubility in temperature range from 1700 to 2000℃compared to Cr-Si binary one,Furthermore,the carbon supersaturation in solvent is also significantly increased in low temperature range after the addition of Ce,leading to a rapid growth rate.Our work not only demonstrates the feasibility of adding Ce in the alloy solvent for rapid growth of SiC crystal,but also provides an example for investigating the C solubility in ternary solvent.

肝内胆管细胞癌外科治疗疗效分析

目的探讨手术切除治疗肝内胆管细胞癌(intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma,ICC)的临床疗效及分析影响预后的危险因素。方法回顾性分析2015年1月1日至2021年4月30日于安徽医科大学第一附属医院普外科接受手术切除的ICC患者的临床资料。结果67例获得完整随访,最终纳入本研究中。截止至2022年4月30日,中位随访时间14(1~60)个月,53例(79.1%)肿瘤复发,52例(77.6%)死亡,其中49例(73.1%)死于肿瘤复发,全组1、2、3年累积的无瘤和总体生存率分别为35.6%、19.6%、16.8%和53.7%、32.4%、20.8%。无微血管侵犯组总体生存率显著优于有微血管侵犯组(χ^(2)=5.916,P=0.015)。CA19-9≥1000 U/ml是影响ICC术后无瘤生存时间的独立危险因素。CA19-9≥1000 U/ml、术中失血量≥600 ml、微血管侵犯和肿瘤复发是影响ICC术后总体生存时间的独立危险因素。结论单发ICC肿瘤,当肿瘤直径≤5 cm且考虑无微血管侵犯时,可积极推荐手术切除,能够取得较为满意的手术效果。

Bone marrow and the control of immunity

Bone marrow is thought to be a primary hematopoietic organ. However, accumulated evidences demonstrate that active function and trafficking of immune cells, including regulatory T cells, conventional T cells, B cells, dendritic cells, natural killer T (NKT) cells, neutrophils, myeloid-derived suppressor cells and mesenchymal stem cells, are observed in the bone marrow. Furthermore, bone marrow is a predetermined metastatic location for multiple human tumors. In this review, we discuss the immune network in the bone marrow. We suggest that bone marrow is an immune regulatory organ capable of fine tuning immunity and may be a potential therapeutic target for immunotherapy and immune vaccination.

Effects of droplet size and spray volume parameters on droplet deposition of wheat herbicide application by using UAV

With the characteristic of flexible and precise,unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs)for low volume applications are increasing substantially and quickly around the globe.However,little attention has been paid to the study of wheat herbicides with UAV,especially the research on the spray volume and droplet size of the herbicide sprayed by UAVs.The objectives of this study were to compare the droplet deposition from a typical commercial UAV under four different spray volumes of 7.5 L/hm2,15.0 L/hm2,22.5 L/hm2,and 30.0 L/hm2 and three different volume median diameter(VMD)of 150μm,200μm,and 300μm during winter wheat weeding period.DepositScan software was used to analyze droplet deposition parameters including the percentage of spray coverage and the number of droplets in various sampling positions.The test results showed that the droplet deposition waseffected by each factor andtheirinteractions.When the spray volume was 7.5 L/hm2,the effect of VMD on the percentage of spray coverage was not significant.However,these variation rules were changed to smaller droplets with greater coverage when the spray volume higher than 15.0 L/hm2.In all treatments,the number of droplets increased with decreasing VMD or increasing spray volume.The maximum percentage of spray coverage and the number of droplets that were achieved under the VMD of 150μm and the spray volume of 30.0 L/hm2 were 12.8%and 40.0 droplets/cm2,respectively.The variation coefficients of the percentage of spray coverage and the number of droplets were 29.0%-73.3%and 20.2%-54.1%,respectively.The most uniform deposition was achieved under the spray volume of 15.0 L/hm2and the VMD of 150μm.The results revealed the effect of droplet size and spray volume parameters on droplet deposition,which was useful for guiding farmers on how to use UAVs for weeding in winter wheat fields.

Sericin microparticles enveloped with metal-organic networks as a pulmonary targeting delivery system for intra-tracheally treating metastatic lung cancer

Chemotherapy is one of the major approaches for the treatment of metastatic lung cancer.However,systemic chemotherapy is limited by poor therapeutic efficiency and severe toxic side effects,due to the extremely low delivery efficacy and non-specificity of anticancer drugs.Herein,we report a sericin microparticles enveloped with metal-organic networks as a pulmonary delivery system for treating lung metastasis of breast cancer in an animal model.The sericin microparticles(SMPs)were prepared using water in oil(w/o)emulsification method.After doxorubicin(DOX)loading,tannic acid(TA)/ferric irons(Fe3+)based metal organic networks(MON)were coated on the particles to obtain DOX-loaded microparticles(DOX@SMPs-MON).The SMPs-MON with good biocompatibility could effectively encapsulate DOX and sustainably unload cargos in a pH-dependent manner.The DOX-loaded microparticles could be uptaken by 4T1 cells,and effectively kill the cancer cells.In vivo,DOX@SMPs-MON was deposited in the lungs and remained for over 5 days after pulmonary administration.In contrast to conventional DOX treatment that did not show significantly inhibitory effects on lung metastatic tumor,DOX@SMPs-MON markedly decreased the number and size of metastatic nodules in lungs,and the lung weight and appearance were similar to those of healthy mice.In summary,the sericin microparticles with MON wrapping might be a promising pulmonary delivery system for treating lung metastatic cancer.

Injectable silk sericin scaffolds with programmable shape-memory property and neuro-differentiation-promoting activity for individualized brain repair of severe ischemic stroke

Severe ischemic stroke damages neuronal tissue,forming irregular-shaped stroke cavities devoid of supporting structure.Implanting biomaterials to provide structural and functional support is thought to favor ingrowth of regenerated neuronal networks.Injectable hydrogels capable of in situ gelation are often utilized for stroke repair,but challenged by incomplete gelation and imprecise control over end-macrostructure.Injectable shape-memory scaffolds might overcome these limitations,but are not explored for stroke repair.Here,we report an injectable,photoluminescent,carbon-nanotubes-doped sericin scaffold(CNTs-SS)with programmable shape-memory property.By adjusting CNTs’concentrations,CNTs-SS′recovery dynamics can be mathematically calculated at the scale of seconds,and its shapes can be pre-designed to precisely match any irregular-shaped cavities.Using a preclinical stroke model,we show that CNTs-SS with the customized shape is successfully injected into the cavity and recovers its pre-designed shape to well fit the cavity.Notably,CNTs-SS’near-infrared photoluminescence enables non-invasive,real-time tracking after in vivo implantation.Moreover,as a cell carrier,CNTs-SS not only deliver bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells(BMSCs)into brain tissues,but also functionally promote their neuronal differentiation.Together,we for the first time demonstrate the feasibility of applying injectable shape-memory scaffolds for stroke repair,paving the way for personalized stroke repair.

TRIM28 protects CARM1 from proteasome-mediated degradation to prevent colorectal cancer metastasis

TRIM28 (Tripartite motif-containing protein 28), a member of TRIM family, is aberrantly expressed and reportedly has different functions in many types of human cancer. However, the biological roles of TRIM28 and related mechanism in colorectal cancer (CRC) remain unclear. Here, we showed that TRIM28 was downregulated in colorectal cancer compared with normal mucosa, especially at advanced stages, and acted as an independent prognostic factor of favorable outcome. Functional studies demonstrated that TRIM28 restrained CRC migration and invasion in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, we reported that CARM1 (co-activator-associated arginine methyltransferase1) was a critical player downstream of TRIM28. TRIM28 interacted with CARM1, and protected CARM1 from proteasome-mediated degradation through physical protein-protein interaction to suppress CRC metastasis. Further, TRIM28 suppressed the migration and invasion of CRC cells through inhibiting WNT/β-catenin signaling in a CARM1-dependent manner, but independent of CARM1′s methyltransferase activity. The protein expression of CARM1 was positively correlated with TRIM28 in CRC tissues. Patients with high levels of TRIM28 and CARM1 had improved prognosis, whereas patients with low TRIM28 and CARM1 expression had the poor outcomes. Thus, our study reveals an inhibitory role of TRIM28 in CRC metastasis, which was achieved through a TRIM28-CARM1-WNT/β-catenin axis. This work provides potential prognostic and therapeutic targets for CRC treatment.

Droplets deposition and harvest-aid efficacy for UAV application in arid cotton areas in Xinjiang,China

With the development of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV)sprayers,the application of low-volume spraying of harvest-aid and other agrochemicals to cotton using UAVs is becoming a new agronomic trend worldwide.The effect of spray volume and canopy density for UAV spraying is significant but was rarely studied.In this study,five representative spray volumes were explored to examine the effect of spray volume on deposition and harvest-aid efficacy for cotton using a UAV sprayer.To explore the effect of canopy density,similar tests were carried out in a field located nearby with a lower leaf area index(LAI).A conventional trailer boom sprayer was selected for comparison.Different spray volumes had a significant effect on defoliation,but had no significant effect on boll opening and fiber quality.A higher defoliation rate was achieved in the lower LAI field.The total rate of defoliation using the UAV was inferior to the boom sprayer in the high LAI field for lower deposition and defoliation rate in the lower canopy.Considering the deposition,defoliation rate,and working efficiency,a spray volume of 15.0 L/hm^(2) with an average droplet size of 150μm is recommended for UAV application.

Laparoscopic sigmoid vaginoplasty in women withMayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome

The feasibility and clinical therapeutic effects of laparoscopic sigmoid vaginoplasty in women with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome(MRKHs)were explored.The records of 11 MRKHs patients who underwent laparoscopic sigmoid vaginoplasty from 2003 to 2005 were reviewed,and long-term results were evaluated by follow-up.The mean operating time was 234 min(range,130–300 min),the mean hospital stay was 9.4 days(range,7–15 days),and the mean hemoglobin drop was 1.91 g/dL(range,1.6–3.2 g/dL).A functional neovagina was created measuring 11 to 14 cm in length and twofingers in breadth in all patients.No introitus stenosis was observed.No intra-operative or postoperative bowel complication occurred.At the 3rd postoperative month,thefirst intercourse began.One patient was lost to follow-up.One had no intercourse and was required to wear vaginal mold occasionally.None of the other nine women(100%)complained of local irritation or dyspar-eunia.They were satisfied with their sexual life.The cosmetic results were excellent.The laparoscopic sigmoid vaginoplasty realizes to make a functional neovagina.The main advantage is its minimal invasiveness.It is an ideal procedure for MRKHs patients.