Effects of weekly dose docetaxel monotherapy schedule for elderly patients with non-small cell lung cancer

Objective： To investigate the clinical efficacy and toxicity of weekly dose docetaxel monotherapy schedule in elderly with advanced non-small cell lung cancer （NSCLC）. Methods： 28 patients aged over 65 with advanced NSCLC were received with docetaxel （Aisu） 35 mg/m^2 on days 1, 8 and 15 every 28 days. A clinical evaluation on effectiveness, quality of life and toxicities was performed. Results： 28 patients were given 86 cycles＇ chemotherapy altogether. The overall response rate was 35.7% （10/28）. The clinical beneficial rate was 64.3% （18/28）. Mean KPS was increased from 75.5 at baseline to 87.7 after chemotherapy （P 〈 0.01）; lung cancer symptom scale （LCSS） scores of cough, hemoptysis, chest pain and dyspnea were increased from 64, 65, 62 and 65 to 90, 92, 87 and 88, respectively （P 〈 0.01）. The median time to progression （TTP） was 5.3 months; median survival time （MST） was 8.5 months. The main toxicities were fatigue, leukopenia and decrease of hemoglobin with well tolerance. Conclusion： Weekly dose docetaxel monotherapy schedule is a feasible, well-tolerated, and active scheme in the treatment of the elderly patients with advanced NSCLC.

A Core Leader Based Label Propagation Algorithm for Community Detection

A large number of community discovery algorithms have been proposed in the last decade. Recently, the sharp increase of network scale has become a great challenge for traditional community discovery algorithms. Label propagation algorithm is a semi-supervised machine learning method, which has linear time complexity when coping with large scale networks. However, the output result has less stability and the quality of the output communities still remains to be improved. Therefore, we propose a novel coreleader based label propagation algorithm for community detection called CLBLPA. Firstly, we find core leaders of potential community by using a greedy method. Then we utilize the label influence potential to guide the process of label propagation. Thus we can accelerate the convergence of algorithm and improve the stability of the output. Experimental results on synthetic datasets and real networks show that CLBLPA can significantly improve the quality of the output communities.

Distributed blackboard decision-making framework for collaborative planning based on nested genetic algorithm

A distributed blackboard decision-making framework for collaborative planning based on nested genetic algorithm （NGA） is proposed. By using blackboard-based communication paradigm and shared data structure, multiple decision-makers （DMs） can collaboratively solve the tasks-platforms allocation scheduling problems dynamically through the coordinator. This methodo- logy combined with NGA maximizes tasks execution accuracy, also minimizes the weighted total workload of the DM which is measured in terms of intra-DM and inter-DM coordination. The intra-DM employs an optimization-based scheduling algorithm to match the tasks-platforms assignment request with its own platforms. The inter-DM coordinates the exchange of collaborative request information and platforms among DMs using the blackboard architecture. The numerical result shows that the proposed black- board DM framework based on NGA can obtain a near-optimal solution for the tasks-platforms collaborative planning problem. The assignment of platforms-tasks and the patterns of coordination can achieve a nice trade-off between intra-DM and inter-DM coordination workload.

BTG1 as a New Candidate Gene for Muscle Growth in Pigs: Cloning,Expression and Association Analysis

BTG1 （B-cell Translocation Gene 1） , a member of the BTG / TOB （Transducer of ErbB-2） family of anti-proliferation factors,has been proven to have an unfavorable effect on muscle fiber growth in several species. The porcine BTG1 gene was cloned and its 5＇ flanking promoter region sequence, and characterized the expression patterns in different tissues of adult pigs and in fetal skeletal muscle at different developmental stages in two breeds. The tissue distribution pattern analyses revealed that the mRNA of porcine BTG1 was ubiquitously expressed in the six tissues of both Landrace and Tongcheng pigs. Real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR results showed that BTG1 mRNA expression levels were significantly different among the three fetal ages in Tongcheng pigs,while no significant differences were found among the three ages in Landrace pigs. Furthermore,the expression of BTG1 in Landrace pigs was significantly lower than in Tongcheng pigs at all three ages. The temporal expression profiles of the BTG1 gene in mouse myoblast C 2 C 12 cells were shown to be consistent with those of the myogenin gene. A single nucleotide polymorphism （SNP） ,g. 281C 〉 T,was identified in the 3＇UTR and allele frequencies were detected in seven pig breed populations. Significant associations were found between the g. 281C 〉 T polymorphism and growth and meat quality traits. Our results indicate that the porcine BTG1 gene could play a potential role in markerassisted selection and as such may be a gene of economic importance.

Integration of Biological Synthesis&Chemical Catalysis:Bio-based Plasticizer trans-Aconitates

Plasticizers are essential to reduce processing difficulties and improve plastic properties.However,petroleumbased phthalate plasticizers,which are mostly used at present,urgently require alternatives due to their con-firmed and serious health risks.In this study,the green mass production of trans-aconitic acid was achieved via synthetic biotechnology and microbial fermentation,which was further expanded to multiple application sce-narios using chemical esterification,resulting in trans-aconitate plasticizers that are biosafe and environmentally friendly and have high plasticizing efficiency and long-term stability.Different plasticizers with various core structures and alkyl chains were studied to determine their properties as polyvinyl chloride(PVC)plasticizers,and tributyl trans-aconitate displayed the best comprehensive performance with up to 1.24 plasticizing effi-ciency.The possible PVC plasticization mechanism with synergistic solvent,support,and shielding effects was discussed and summarized.Tributyl trans-aconitate has significant potential to replace traditional PVC plasti-cizers in general merchandise,food packaging,medicinal materials,and other products,further promoting the development of the high-quality plastic industry with greener technology and safer applications.

不同纬度高蔊菜的交配系统和繁殖保障

高山植物的繁殖适应策略一直是进化生态学研究的热点,但是目前仍缺乏对繁殖适应性状的量化研究。本研究以横断山特有十字花科植物高蔊菜(Rorippa elata)为研究材料,结合野外同质园控制实验,在居群水平探讨了其繁殖适应策略。结果表明,高蔊菜的繁殖能力与纬度呈负相关,而越冬存活率与纬度呈正相关。不同交配方式结实率的显著性差异分析表明,高蔊菜具有混合交配系统,其中自交为主型和中间型的株系各占45.5%和39.4%;不同株系具有不同程度的繁殖保障现象,自交为主型最高(0.163),中间型最低(0.011)。本研究表明高蔊菜在居群水平的繁殖和存活之间存在沿纬度梯度的权衡变化,以自交为主的混合交配系统为其提供不同程度的繁殖保障。

An integrated geospatial information service system for disaster management in China

The Chinese Government and citizens face enormous challenges of disaster management as widespread devastation,economic damages,and loss of human lives caused by increasing natural disasters.Disaster management requires a complicated iterative process that includes disaster monitoring,early detection,forecasting,loss assessment,and efficient analysis of disaster reduction.Each task typically involves the use of technologists and multiple geospatial information resources,including sensors,data sources,models,geo-tools,software packages,and computing resources.However,most existing disaster management systems operate in a typical passive data-centric mode,where resources cannot be fully utilized.This impediment is partially being addressed by the increasingly complex application requirements and the growing availability of diverse resources.In this paper,we summarize and analyze the practical problems experienced by the National Disaster Reduction Application System of China.To address the issues of data-centric,centralized,isolated solutions,we propose a novel Focusing Service Mechanism,which is capable of scheduling and allocating for optimum utilization of multiple resources,to dynamically generate collaborative and on-demand disaster information services.We also demonstrate the design and implementation of the Integrated Disaster Information Service System(IDISS).Through the service strategies of Virtualizing,Wrapping,and Integrating,disasterrelated resources are constructed into services in the IDISS.These services are dynamically aggregated into focusing service chains,for diverse disaster management tasks.Actual applications illustrate that the proposed service system can significantly improve the capability of disaster management in China.

Multifunction Zno/carbon hybrid nanofiber mats for organic dyes treatment via photocatalysis with enhanced solar-driven evaporation

ZnO-based photocatalytic materials have received widespread attention due to their usefulness than other photocatalytic materials in organic dye wastewater treatment.However,its photocatalytic efficiency and surface stability limit further applicability.This paper uses a one-step carbonization method to prepare multifunctional ZnO/carbon hybrid nanofiber mats.The carbonization creates aπ-conjugated carbonaceous structure of the mats,which prolongs the electron recovery time of ZnO nanoparticles to yield improved photocatalytic efficiency.Further,the carbonization reduces the fiber diameter of the carbon hybrid nanofiber mats,which quadruples the specific surface area to yield enhanced adsorption and photocatalytic performance.At the same time,the prepared nanofiber mats can increase the evaporation rate of water under solar irradiation to a level of 1.46 kg·m^(-2)·h^(-1)with an efficiency of 91.9%.Thus,the nanofiber mats allow the facile incorporation of photocatalysts to clean contaminated water through adsorption,photodegradation,and interfacial heat-assisted distillation mechanisms.