This paper examines how cybersecurity is developing and how it relates to more conventional information security. Although information security and cyber security are sometimes used synonymously, this study contends t...This paper examines how cybersecurity is developing and how it relates to more conventional information security. Although information security and cyber security are sometimes used synonymously, this study contends that they are not the same. The concept of cyber security is explored, which goes beyond protecting information resources to include a wider variety of assets, including people [1]. Protecting information assets is the main goal of traditional information security, with consideration to the human element and how people fit into the security process. On the other hand, cyber security adds a new level of complexity, as people might unintentionally contribute to or become targets of cyberattacks. This aspect presents moral questions since it is becoming more widely accepted that society has a duty to protect weaker members of society, including children [1]. The study emphasizes how important cyber security is on a larger scale, with many countries creating plans and laws to counteract cyberattacks. Nevertheless, a lot of these sources frequently neglect to define the differences or the relationship between information security and cyber security [1]. The paper focus on differentiating between cybersecurity and information security on a larger scale. The study also highlights other areas of cybersecurity which includes defending people, social norms, and vital infrastructure from threats that arise from online in addition to information and technology protection. It contends that ethical issues and the human factor are becoming more and more important in protecting assets in the digital age, and that cyber security is a paradigm shift in this regard [1].展开更多
Introduction: Disaster damage to health systems is a human and health tragedy, results in huge economic losses, deals devastating blows to development goals, and shakes social confidence. Hospital disaster preparednes...Introduction: Disaster damage to health systems is a human and health tragedy, results in huge economic losses, deals devastating blows to development goals, and shakes social confidence. Hospital disaster preparedness presents complex clinical operation. It is difficult philosophical challenge. It is difficult to determine how much time, money, and effort should be spent in preparing for an event that may not occur. Health facilities whether hospitals or rural health clinics, should be a source of strength during emergencies and disasters. They should be ready to save lives and to continue providing essential emergencies and disasters. Jeddah has relatively a level of disaster risk which is attributable to its geographical location, climate variability, topography, etc. This study investigates the hospital disaster preparedness (HDP) in Jeddah. Methods: Questionnaire was designed according to five Likert scales. It was divided into eight fields of 33 indicators: structure, architectural and furnishings, lifeline facilities’ safety, hospital location, utilities maintenance, surge capacity, emergency and disaster plan, and control of communication and coordination. Sample of six hospitals participated in the study and rated to the extent of disaster preparedness for each hospital disaster preparedness indicators. Two hazard tools were used to find out the hazards for each hospital. An assessment tool was designed to monitor progress and effectiveness of the hospitals’ improvement. Weakness was found in HDP level in the surveyed hospitals. Disaster mitigation needs more action including: risk assessment, structural and non-structural prevention, and preparedness for contingency planning and warning and evacuation. Conclusion: The finding shows that hospitals included in this study have tools and indicators in hospital preparedness but with lack of training and management during disaster. So the research shed light on hospital disaster preparedness. Considering the importance of preparedness in disaster, it is necessary for hospitals to understand that most of hospital disaster preparedness is built in the hospital system.展开更多
In recent years,a large number of differentially expressed genes have been identified in human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell(hUMSC)transplants for the treatment of ischemic cerebral infarction.These genes are i...In recent years,a large number of differentially expressed genes have been identified in human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell(hUMSC)transplants for the treatment of ischemic cerebral infarction.These genes are involved in various biochemical processes,but the role of microRNAs(miRNAs)in this process is still unclear.From the Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)database,we downloaded two microarray datasets for GSE78731(messenger RNA(mRNA)profile)and GSE97532(miRNA profile).The differentially expressed genes screened were compared between the hUMSC group and the middle cerebral artery occlusion group.Gene ontology enrichment and pathway enrichment analyses were subsequently conducted using the online Database for Annotation,Visualization,and Integrated Discovery.Identified genes were applied to perform weighted gene co-suppression analyses,to establish a weighted co-expression network model.Furthermore,the protein-protein interaction network for differentially expressed genes from turquoise modules was built using Cytoscape(version 3.40)and the most highly correlated subnetwork was extracted from the protein-protein interaction network using the MCODE plugin.The predicted target genes for differentially expressed miRNAs were also identified using the online database starBase v3.0.A total of 3698 differentially expressed genes were identified.Gene ontology analysis demonstrated that differentially expressed genes that are related to hUMSC treatment of ischemic cerebral infarction are involved in endocytosis and inflammatory responses.We identified 12 differentially expressed miRNAs in middle cerebral artery occlusion rats after hUMSC treatment,and these differentially expressed miRNAs were mainly involved in signaling in inflammatory pathways,such as in the regulation of neutrophil migration.In conclusion,we have identified a number of differentially expressed genes and differentially expressed mRNAs,miRNA-mRNAs,and signaling pathways involved in the hUMSC treatment of ischemic cerebral infarction.Bioinformatics and interaction analyses can provide novel clues for further research into hUMSC treatment of ischemic cerebral infarction.展开更多
With the rapid depletion of fossil fuel reserves, it is feared that the world will soon run out of its energy resources. This is a matter of concern for developing countries whose economy heavily leans on its use of e...With the rapid depletion of fossil fuel reserves, it is feared that the world will soon run out of its energy resources. This is a matter of concern for developing countries whose economy heavily leans on its use of energy. Under the circums-tances it is highly desirable that renewable energy resources should be utilized with maximum conversion efficiency to cope with the ever increasing energy demand. Furthermore, the global economic and political conditions that tend to make countries more dependent on their own energy resources have caused growing interest in the development and use of renewable energy based technologies. In terms of its environmental advantages, renewable energy sources generate electricity with insignificant contribution of carbon dioxide (CO2) or other greenhouse gases (GHG) to the atmosphere and they produce no pollutant discharge on water or soil and hence power generation from renewable becomes very important. Major types of renewable energy sources include solar, wind, hydro and biomass, all of which have huge potential to meet future energy challenges. Solar photovoltaic technology in one of the first among several renewable energy technologies that have been adopted worldwide for meeting the basic needs of electricity particularly in remote areas. In this paper literature review pertaining to techno-economic feasibility analysis of solar photovoltaic power generation is discussed. The literature is basically classified into the following three main category design methods, techno-economic feasibility of solar photovoltaic power generation, performance evaluations of various systems.展开更多
With the extending scale of agricultural production,the treatment and utilization of waste have become increasingly serious environmental problem.Taking city garden and Zhongnan pasture in Pujiang Town of Minhang Dist...With the extending scale of agricultural production,the treatment and utilization of waste have become increasingly serious environmental problem.Taking city garden and Zhongnan pasture in Pujiang Town of Minhang District in Shanghai for example,according to the analysis on discharge characteristic of waste and balance of resources and energy utilization,mixed anaerobic digestion was chosen to dispose waste based on government guidance and feasibility analysis of project,and the combining disposal and resource utilization of waste were realized in two enterprises,providing reference for close cases.展开更多
Source identification is critical for emergency responses to hazardous chemical releases,especially sudden releases of toxic gases.The timely arrangement of multiple sensors at the scene of a sudden accident is diffic...Source identification is critical for emergency responses to hazardous chemical releases,especially sudden releases of toxic gases.The timely arrangement of multiple sensors at the scene of a sudden accident is difficult.To overcome this limitation,a two-step source identification method based on a single sensor was developed.In the first step,the measured concentration was transmitted to the computing platform.First,a preliminary estimation of the release source was calculated from recently detected concentrations.Then,the preliminary result was used to predict the concentrations and to assess whether more measurements were needed.This data processing was conducted by the computing platform.In the second step,a new objective monitoring point was transmitted to the detector for the measurement of additional concentrations.These two steps were conducted repeatedly until the estimation adequately represented the release source.The fixed and mobile single sensor results were analyzed,and a comparison to multi-sensor results was also conducted.The results show that single-sensor source identification is attainable with a sufficient number of observations,and the number of valid concentration observations is required to be no less than the number of unknown parameters.To best estimate the release source,the movement strategy of the single sensor was based on the possible release source and the hazard partition of the gas plume.It is highly recommended that the single-sensor source identification method be used in unexpected incidents due to its flexibility and timely response.展开更多
Aimed at solving the conflict between the requirements of reducing gun recoil and increasing muzzle velocity, a new type of soft firing technology with pneumatic transmission is put forward. By mathematical model and ...Aimed at solving the conflict between the requirements of reducing gun recoil and increasing muzzle velocity, a new type of soft firing technology with pneumatic transmission is put forward. By mathematical model and instance simulation, the feasibility analysis of this technique is made. The result shows that the soft firing technology with pneumatic transmission can reduce the maximum pressure on the breechblock by 27% and increase the muzzle velocity by 20%. The proposed new approach has the significance to the compatibility of power and flexibility.展开更多
Gene spectrum analysis has shown that gene expression and signaling pathways change dramatically after spinal cord injury,which may affect the microenvironment of the damaged site.Microarray analysis provides a new op...Gene spectrum analysis has shown that gene expression and signaling pathways change dramatically after spinal cord injury,which may affect the microenvironment of the damaged site.Microarray analysis provides a new opportunity for investigating diagnosis,treatment,and prognosis of spinal cord injury.However,differentially expressed genes are not consistent among studies,and many key genes and signaling pathways have not yet been accurately studied.GSE5296 was retrieved from the Gene Expression Omnibus DataSet.Differentially expressed genes were obtained using R/Bioconductor software(expression changed at least two-fold;P < 0.05).Database for Annotation,Visualization and Integrated Discovery was used for functional annotation of differentially expressed genes and Animal Transcription Factor Database for predicting potential transcription factors.The resulting transcription regulatory protein interaction network was mapped to screen representative genes and investigate their diagnostic and therapeutic value for disease.In total,this study identified 109 genes that were upregulated and 30 that were downregulated at 0.5,4,and 24 hours,and 3,7,and 28 days after spinal cord injury.The number of downregulated genes was smaller than the number of upregulated genes at each time point.Database for Annotation,Visualization and Integrated Discovery analysis found that many inflammation-related pathways were upregulated in injured spinal cord.Additionally,expression levels of these inflammation-related genes were maintained for at least 28 days.Moreover,399 regulation modes and 77 nodes were shown in the protein-protein interaction network of upregulated differentially expressed genes.Among the 10 upregulated differentially expressed genes with the highest degrees of distribution,six genes were transcription factors.Among these transcription factors,ATF3 showed the greatest change.ATF3 was upregulated within 30 minutes,and its expression levels remained high at28 days after spinal cord injury.These key genes screened by bioinformatics tools can be used as biological markers to diagnose diseases and provide a reference for identifying therapeutic targets.展开更多
On Mauritania’s northern coast, wind and solar resources are abundant and must be used effectively. These resources have the potential to completely or partially replace the existing or projected diesel generators. T...On Mauritania’s northern coast, wind and solar resources are abundant and must be used effectively. These resources have the potential to completely or partially replace the existing or projected diesel generators. The main objective of this case study is to study the possibility of using a hybrid system (HS) of the type (diesel, wind and storage). The most important part of this case study intended for this area will be to add the solar in a first phase and then the incorporation of an interconnection with the nearby network in a second phase. This interconnection will be secured by mean of medium voltage lines of 33 kV, where the nearest point is located 35 km away. Indeed, the study of the optimization model is carried out through Homer, which was developed by National Renewable Energy Laboratory [NREL]. Thus, it should be noted that the HS is analyzed on the basis of costs ($/kW) and price ($/kWh) and greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, in order to achieve these techno-economic optimization objectives, this paper introduces a sensitivity analysis that has been proposed to determine the effect of costs on each HS configuration. In the end, HSs are needed for maximum use of renewable resources at the studied site for an uninterrupted power supply.展开更多
Nowadays the utilization of vegetable oils, particularly the palm oil, as fuel in the power plant, has made a significant development in the last few years. This vegetable oil can be used in particular in slow marine-...Nowadays the utilization of vegetable oils, particularly the palm oil, as fuel in the power plant, has made a significant development in the last few years. This vegetable oil can be used in particular in slow marine-derived diesel internal combustion engine (ICE), with an electric efficiency of about 40%. The efficiency is connected to the size of the power plant. Moreover, the considerable amount of the required vegetable oil to feed the system forces, especially in Italy, makes it necessary to import the fuel. This is the most critical element as the palm oil is subject to continuous variations in prices. Due to this variation it is difficult to stabilize a convenient fuel supply for a long period. The paper aims to evaluate and estimate the economic, technical and environmental feasibility of a 20 MW plant for the stationary power generation fed with palm oil, enlightening the system solution (technical constructive aspects) and the economic appraisal, on the basis of variations in oil prices. A comparison with a cogenerative power plant has been also carried out and, at last, the economic sensibility analysis based on the fuel cost and the European mechanisms of biomass incentives is performed.展开更多
Objective:To analyze economic feasibility for investing in nursing care.Method:The number of practicing nurses'density per 1000 population as a proxy for nursing staff and Gross Domestic Product(GDP)per capita(cur...Objective:To analyze economic feasibility for investing in nursing care.Method:The number of practicing nurses'density per 1000 population as a proxy for nursing staff and Gross Domestic Product(GDP)per capita(current US$)were collected in 35 member countries of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD)over 2000-2016 period.The statistical technique of panel data analysis including unit root test,cointegration analysis,Granger causality test,dynamic long-run model analysis and error correction model were applied to measure economic impact of nursing-related services.Results:There was a committed bilateral relationship between nurse-staffing level and GDP with longrun magnitudes of 1.39 and 0A1 for GDP-lead-nurse and nurse-lead-GDP directions in OECD countries,respectively.Moreover,the highest long-run magnitudes of the effect nursing staff has on increasing GDP per capita were calculated in Finland(2.07),Sweden(1.92),Estonia(1.68),Poland(1.52),Czech Republic(1.48),Norway(1.47)and Canada(1.24).Conclusion:Our findings verify that although the dependency of nursing characteristics to GDP per capita is higher than the reliance of GDP to number of nurses'density per 1000 population,investing in nursing care is economically feasible in OECD countries i.e.nursing is not only a financial burden(or cost)on health care systems,but also an economic stimulus in OECD countries.Hence,we alert governments and policy makers about the risk of underestimating the economic impacts of nurses on economic systems of OECD countries.展开更多
With the widespread application of integrated modular aviation(IMA)electronic systems,the requirements of IMA characteristic analysis and configuration generation have also improved significantly."Configuration a...With the widespread application of integrated modular aviation(IMA)electronic systems,the requirements of IMA characteristic analysis and configuration generation have also improved significantly."Configuration and design system based on AADL models(real-time,reliability,interactive complexity,and schedulability)analysis of the AADL model"mainly get through key characteristic analysis for optimization,combined with input of component parameter information and constraint information,assist designers in generating system configuration information,and form a comprehensive modular avionics system resource configuration strategy generation platform.Also,the tool can generate configuration plans for avionics system software and hardware physical architecture configuration.The analysis of the avionics system model mainly involves designers inputting the existing system model architecture for multi characteristic analysis,it can realize the multi-character analysis based on software intensive system architecture models for software dense systems.Inter-complexity and schedulability analysis,and according to characteristic constraint analysis、system model assessment parameters and system architecture constraint parameters to generate configuration scheme information that meets the requirements.The system can meet domestic and foreign software-intensive systems and meet its quality requirements.展开更多
The energy efficient product can be operated with longer duration.They offer wonderful solutions compared to other conventional water pumping system as it needs less maintenance,simple in installation,zero fuel cost,l...The energy efficient product can be operated with longer duration.They offer wonderful solutions compared to other conventional water pumping system as it needs less maintenance,simple in installation,zero fuel cost,longer operating life,highly reliable and free from production of greenhouse gases.In this paper we analyzed the different topologies of DC–DC converter in terms of their operating region of MPPT,quality of input and output currents.We discussed the MPPT algorithms to address partial shading effects in SPV array,present state of the technology,factors affecting the performance of the system,efficiency improvements and identified the research gaps.Also,the economic feasibility analysis has been done for the real time scenario using the Homer Pro software.The estimation of total dynamic head and horse power calculation has been done to decide the total load capacity.The economic analysis results such as cumulative cash flow over project lifetime of 25 years are presented.It is observed that the capital investment requirement is$7,425 for installing Fronius PV system that has a nominal capacity of 2.47 kW and annualized savings will be$134.93.In the long-term perspective,the return on investment is−2.18%as per the present tariff plan.展开更多
Neural stem cells,which are capable of multi-potential differentiation and self-renewal,have recently been shown to have clinical potential for repairing central nervous system tissue damage.However,the theme trends a...Neural stem cells,which are capable of multi-potential differentiation and self-renewal,have recently been shown to have clinical potential for repairing central nervous system tissue damage.However,the theme trends and knowledge structures for human neural stem cells have not yet been studied bibliometrically.In this study,we retrieved 2742 articles from the PubMed database from 2013 to 2018 using "Neural Stem Cells" as the retrieval word.Co-word analysis was conducted to statistically quantify the characteristics and popular themes of human neural stem cell-related studies.Bibliographic data matrices were generated with the Bibliographic Item Co-Occurrence Matrix Builder.We identified 78 high-frequency Medical Subject Heading(MeSH)terms.A visual matrix was built with the repeated bisection method in gCLUTO software.A social network analysis network was generated with Ucinet 6.0 software and GraphPad Prism 5 software.The analyses demonstrated that in the 6-year period,hot topics were clustered into five categories.As suggested by the constructed strategic diagram,studies related to cytology and physiology were well-developed,whereas those related to neural stem cell applications,tissue engineering,metabolism and cell signaling,and neural stem cell pathology and virology remained immature.Neural stem cell therapy for stroke and Parkinson’s disease,the genetics of microRNAs and brain neoplasms,as well as neuroprotective agents,Zika virus,Notch receptor,neural crest and embryonic stem cells were identified as emerging hot spots.These undeveloped themes and popular topics are potential points of focus for new studies on human neural stem cells.展开更多
Drying processing of Habanero chili was improved, through solar energy usage. Habanero chili is a notable seasonal product being drying such important for Mexican producers; this process is expensive and wasteful of e...Drying processing of Habanero chili was improved, through solar energy usage. Habanero chili is a notable seasonal product being drying such important for Mexican producers; this process is expensive and wasteful of energy. A feasibility analysis was developed, to determine the market tendency and the optimal drying conditions for redesign Habanero chili drying process, through a hybrid solar-electric energy usage. The new drying process would be held in two stages: (a) an open solar dryer was used; (b) an existing pilot fluidized bed dryer was adapted with a low temperature solar collector for air heating. Habanero chili was dehydrated from 90% to 5% moisture in 10.3 h, with good quality product, available for commercialization. A reduction in the average drying time of 50% was obtained, also, in the energy usage of 77% in the fluidized bed dryer, with an energy saving of 0.52 kg of natural gas per kg of fresh Habanero chili. An innovative sustainable efficient drying process was developed, and will be strategic to expand the market for Habanero chili with low energy cost.展开更多
We develop various statistical methods important for multidimensional genetic data analysis. Theorems justifying application of these methods are established. We concentrate on the multifactor dimensionality reduction...We develop various statistical methods important for multidimensional genetic data analysis. Theorems justifying application of these methods are established. We concentrate on the multifactor dimensionality reduction, logic regression, random forests, stochastic gradient boosting along with their new modifications. We use complementary approaches to study the risk of complex diseases such as cardiovascular ones. The roles of certain combinations of single nucleotide polymorphisms and non-genetic risk factors are examined. To perform the data analysis concerning the coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction the Lomonosov Moscow State University supercomputer “Chebyshev” was employed.展开更多
To categorize the nations to reflect the development status, to date, there are many conceptual frameworks. The Human Development index (HDI) that is published by the United Nations Development Programme is widely acc...To categorize the nations to reflect the development status, to date, there are many conceptual frameworks. The Human Development index (HDI) that is published by the United Nations Development Programme is widely accepted and practiced by many people such as academicians, politicians, and donor organizations. However, though the development of HDI has gone through many revisions since its formulation in 1990, even the current version of the index formulation published in 2016 needs research to better understand and to gap-fill the knowledge base that can enhance the index formulation to facilitate the direction of attention such as release of funds. Therefore, in this paper, based on principal component analysis and K-means clustering algorithm, the data that reflect the measures of life expectancy index (LEI), education index (EI), and income index (II) are analyzed to categorize and to rank the member states of the UN using R statistical software package, an open source extensible programming language for statistical computing and graphics. The outcome of the study shows that the proportion of total eigen value (i.e., proportion of total variance) explained by PCA-1 (i.e., first principal component) accounts for more than 85% of the total variation. Moreover, the proportion of total eigen value explained by PCA-1 increases with time (i.e., yearly) though the amount of increase with time is not significant. However, the proportions of total eigen value explained by PCA-2 and PCA-3 decrease with time. Therefore, the loss of information in choosing PCA-1 to represent the chosen explanatory variables (i.e., LEI, EI, and II) may diminish with time if the trend of increasing pattern of proportion of total eigen value explained by PCA-1 with time continues in the future as well. On the other hand, the correlation between EI and PCA-1 increases with time although the magnitude of increase is not that significant. This same trend is observed in II as well. However, in contrast to these observations, the correlation between PCA-1 and LEI decreases with time. These findings imply that the contributions of EI and II to PCA-1 increase with time, but the contribution of LEI to PCA-1 decreases with time. On top of these, as per Hopkins statistic, the clusterability of the information conveyed by PCA-1 alone is far better than the clusterability of the information conveyed by PCA scores (i.e., PCA-1, PCA-2, and PCA-3) and the explanatory variables. Therefore, choosing PCA-1 to represent the chosen explanatory variables is becoming more concrete.展开更多
A common current source, generally used to bias cross-coupled differential amplifiers in a transconductor, controls third harmonic distortion (HD3) poorly. Separate current sources are shown to provide better control ...A common current source, generally used to bias cross-coupled differential amplifiers in a transconductor, controls third harmonic distortion (HD3) poorly. Separate current sources are shown to provide better control on HD3) . In this paper, a detailed design and analysis is presented for a transconductor made using this biasing technique. The transconductor, in addition, is made to offer high Gm, low power dissipation and is designed for linearly tunable Gm with current mode load as one of the applications. The circuit exhibits HD3) of less than –43.7 dB, high current efficiency of 1.18 V-1 and Gm of 390 μS at 1 VGp-p @ 50 MHz. UMC 0.18 μm CMOS process technology is used for simulation at supply voltage of 1.8 V.展开更多
BACKGROUND Pancreatic cancer is a highly invasive malignant tumor. Expression levels of the autophagy-related protein microtubule-associated protein 1 A/1 B-light chain 3(LC3) and perineural invasion(PNI) are closely ...BACKGROUND Pancreatic cancer is a highly invasive malignant tumor. Expression levels of the autophagy-related protein microtubule-associated protein 1 A/1 B-light chain 3(LC3) and perineural invasion(PNI) are closely related to its occurrence and development. Our previous results showed that the high expression of LC3 was positively correlated with PNI in the patients with pancreatic cancer. In this study, we further searched for differential genes involved in autophagy of pancreatic cancer by gene expression profiling and analyzed their biological functions in pancreatic cancer, which provides a theoretical basis for elucidating the pathophysiological mechanism of autophagy in pancreatic cancer and PNI.AIM To identify differentially expressed genes involved in pancreatic cancer autophagy and explore the pathogenesis at the molecular level.METHODS Two sets of gene expression profiles of pancreatic cancer/normal tissue(GSE16515 and GSE15471) were collected from the Gene Expression Omnibus.Significance analysis of microarrays algorithm was used to screen differentially expressed genes related to pancreatic cancer. Gene Ontology(GO) analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) pathway analysis were used to analyze the functional enrichment of the differentially expressed genes. Protein interaction data containing only differentially expressed genes was downloaded from String database and screened. Module mining was carried out by Cytoscape software and ClusterOne plug-in. The interaction relationship between the modules was analyzed and the pivot nodes between the functional modules were determined according to the information of the functional modules and the data of reliable protein interaction network.RESULTS Based on the above two data sets of pancreatic tissue total gene expression, 6098 and 12928 differentially expressed genes were obtained by analysis of genes with higher phenotypic correlation. After extracting the intersection of the two differential gene sets, 4870 genes were determined. GO analysis showed that 14 significant functional items including negative regulation of protein ubiquitination were closely related to autophagy. A total of 986 differentially expressed genes were enriched in these functional items. After eliminating the autophagy related genes of human cancer cells which had been defined, 347 differentially expressed genes were obtained. KEGG pathway analysis showed that the pathways hsa04144 and hsa04020 were related to autophagy. In addition,65 clustering modules were screened after the protein interaction network was constructed based on String database, and module 32 contains the LC3 gene,which interacts with multiple autophagy-related genes. Moreover, ubiquitin C acts as a pivot node in functional modules to connect multiple modules related to pancreatic cancer and autophagy.CONCLUSION Three hundred and forty-seven genes associated with autophagy in human pancreatic cancer were concentrated, and a key gene ubiquitin C which is closely related to the occurrence of PNI was determined, suggesting that LC3 may influence the PNI and prognosis of pancreatic cancer through ubiquitin C.展开更多
Heterogeneity of biological samples is usually considered a major obstacle for three-dimensional (3D) structure determination of macromolecular complexes. Heterogeneity may occur at the level of composition or conform...Heterogeneity of biological samples is usually considered a major obstacle for three-dimensional (3D) structure determination of macromolecular complexes. Heterogeneity may occur at the level of composition or conformational variability of complexes and affects most 3D structure determination methods that rely on signal averaging. Here, an approach is described that allows sorting structural states based on a 3D statistical approach, the 3D sampling and classification (3D-SC) of 3D structures derived from single particles imaged by cryo electron microscopy (cryo-EM). The method is based on jackknifing & bootstrapping of 3D sub-ensembles and 3D multivariate statistical analysis followed by 3D classification. The robustness of the statistical sorting procedure is corroborated using model data from an RNA polymerase structure and experimental data from a ribosome complex. It allows resolving multiple states within heterogeneous complexes that thus become amendable for a structural analysis despite of their highly flexible nature. The method has important implications for high-resolution structural studies and allows describing structure ensembles to provide insights into the dynamics of multi-component macromolecular assemblies.展开更多
文摘This paper examines how cybersecurity is developing and how it relates to more conventional information security. Although information security and cyber security are sometimes used synonymously, this study contends that they are not the same. The concept of cyber security is explored, which goes beyond protecting information resources to include a wider variety of assets, including people [1]. Protecting information assets is the main goal of traditional information security, with consideration to the human element and how people fit into the security process. On the other hand, cyber security adds a new level of complexity, as people might unintentionally contribute to or become targets of cyberattacks. This aspect presents moral questions since it is becoming more widely accepted that society has a duty to protect weaker members of society, including children [1]. The study emphasizes how important cyber security is on a larger scale, with many countries creating plans and laws to counteract cyberattacks. Nevertheless, a lot of these sources frequently neglect to define the differences or the relationship between information security and cyber security [1]. The paper focus on differentiating between cybersecurity and information security on a larger scale. The study also highlights other areas of cybersecurity which includes defending people, social norms, and vital infrastructure from threats that arise from online in addition to information and technology protection. It contends that ethical issues and the human factor are becoming more and more important in protecting assets in the digital age, and that cyber security is a paradigm shift in this regard [1].
文摘Introduction: Disaster damage to health systems is a human and health tragedy, results in huge economic losses, deals devastating blows to development goals, and shakes social confidence. Hospital disaster preparedness presents complex clinical operation. It is difficult philosophical challenge. It is difficult to determine how much time, money, and effort should be spent in preparing for an event that may not occur. Health facilities whether hospitals or rural health clinics, should be a source of strength during emergencies and disasters. They should be ready to save lives and to continue providing essential emergencies and disasters. Jeddah has relatively a level of disaster risk which is attributable to its geographical location, climate variability, topography, etc. This study investigates the hospital disaster preparedness (HDP) in Jeddah. Methods: Questionnaire was designed according to five Likert scales. It was divided into eight fields of 33 indicators: structure, architectural and furnishings, lifeline facilities’ safety, hospital location, utilities maintenance, surge capacity, emergency and disaster plan, and control of communication and coordination. Sample of six hospitals participated in the study and rated to the extent of disaster preparedness for each hospital disaster preparedness indicators. Two hazard tools were used to find out the hazards for each hospital. An assessment tool was designed to monitor progress and effectiveness of the hospitals’ improvement. Weakness was found in HDP level in the surveyed hospitals. Disaster mitigation needs more action including: risk assessment, structural and non-structural prevention, and preparedness for contingency planning and warning and evacuation. Conclusion: The finding shows that hospitals included in this study have tools and indicators in hospital preparedness but with lack of training and management during disaster. So the research shed light on hospital disaster preparedness. Considering the importance of preparedness in disaster, it is necessary for hospitals to understand that most of hospital disaster preparedness is built in the hospital system.
基金supported by the National Key Research&Development Program of China,No.2016YFC1301600Program for Jilin University Science and Technology Innovation Team,No.2017TD-12(both to YY)
文摘In recent years,a large number of differentially expressed genes have been identified in human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell(hUMSC)transplants for the treatment of ischemic cerebral infarction.These genes are involved in various biochemical processes,but the role of microRNAs(miRNAs)in this process is still unclear.From the Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)database,we downloaded two microarray datasets for GSE78731(messenger RNA(mRNA)profile)and GSE97532(miRNA profile).The differentially expressed genes screened were compared between the hUMSC group and the middle cerebral artery occlusion group.Gene ontology enrichment and pathway enrichment analyses were subsequently conducted using the online Database for Annotation,Visualization,and Integrated Discovery.Identified genes were applied to perform weighted gene co-suppression analyses,to establish a weighted co-expression network model.Furthermore,the protein-protein interaction network for differentially expressed genes from turquoise modules was built using Cytoscape(version 3.40)and the most highly correlated subnetwork was extracted from the protein-protein interaction network using the MCODE plugin.The predicted target genes for differentially expressed miRNAs were also identified using the online database starBase v3.0.A total of 3698 differentially expressed genes were identified.Gene ontology analysis demonstrated that differentially expressed genes that are related to hUMSC treatment of ischemic cerebral infarction are involved in endocytosis and inflammatory responses.We identified 12 differentially expressed miRNAs in middle cerebral artery occlusion rats after hUMSC treatment,and these differentially expressed miRNAs were mainly involved in signaling in inflammatory pathways,such as in the regulation of neutrophil migration.In conclusion,we have identified a number of differentially expressed genes and differentially expressed mRNAs,miRNA-mRNAs,and signaling pathways involved in the hUMSC treatment of ischemic cerebral infarction.Bioinformatics and interaction analyses can provide novel clues for further research into hUMSC treatment of ischemic cerebral infarction.
文摘With the rapid depletion of fossil fuel reserves, it is feared that the world will soon run out of its energy resources. This is a matter of concern for developing countries whose economy heavily leans on its use of energy. Under the circums-tances it is highly desirable that renewable energy resources should be utilized with maximum conversion efficiency to cope with the ever increasing energy demand. Furthermore, the global economic and political conditions that tend to make countries more dependent on their own energy resources have caused growing interest in the development and use of renewable energy based technologies. In terms of its environmental advantages, renewable energy sources generate electricity with insignificant contribution of carbon dioxide (CO2) or other greenhouse gases (GHG) to the atmosphere and they produce no pollutant discharge on water or soil and hence power generation from renewable becomes very important. Major types of renewable energy sources include solar, wind, hydro and biomass, all of which have huge potential to meet future energy challenges. Solar photovoltaic technology in one of the first among several renewable energy technologies that have been adopted worldwide for meeting the basic needs of electricity particularly in remote areas. In this paper literature review pertaining to techno-economic feasibility analysis of solar photovoltaic power generation is discussed. The literature is basically classified into the following three main category design methods, techno-economic feasibility of solar photovoltaic power generation, performance evaluations of various systems.
基金Supported by Science and Technology Planning Project of Science Committee Science Committee(08DZ1980902)~~
文摘With the extending scale of agricultural production,the treatment and utilization of waste have become increasingly serious environmental problem.Taking city garden and Zhongnan pasture in Pujiang Town of Minhang District in Shanghai for example,according to the analysis on discharge characteristic of waste and balance of resources and energy utilization,mixed anaerobic digestion was chosen to dispose waste based on government guidance and feasibility analysis of project,and the combining disposal and resource utilization of waste were realized in two enterprises,providing reference for close cases.
基金Supported by the Social Science Foundation of Beijing(16GLC062)the Science and Technology Projects of the Beijing Municipal Education Commission(KM201710017008)the Natural Science Foundation of Beijing(9192009)
文摘Source identification is critical for emergency responses to hazardous chemical releases,especially sudden releases of toxic gases.The timely arrangement of multiple sensors at the scene of a sudden accident is difficult.To overcome this limitation,a two-step source identification method based on a single sensor was developed.In the first step,the measured concentration was transmitted to the computing platform.First,a preliminary estimation of the release source was calculated from recently detected concentrations.Then,the preliminary result was used to predict the concentrations and to assess whether more measurements were needed.This data processing was conducted by the computing platform.In the second step,a new objective monitoring point was transmitted to the detector for the measurement of additional concentrations.These two steps were conducted repeatedly until the estimation adequately represented the release source.The fixed and mobile single sensor results were analyzed,and a comparison to multi-sensor results was also conducted.The results show that single-sensor source identification is attainable with a sufficient number of observations,and the number of valid concentration observations is required to be no less than the number of unknown parameters.To best estimate the release source,the movement strategy of the single sensor was based on the possible release source and the hazard partition of the gas plume.It is highly recommended that the single-sensor source identification method be used in unexpected incidents due to its flexibility and timely response.
文摘Aimed at solving the conflict between the requirements of reducing gun recoil and increasing muzzle velocity, a new type of soft firing technology with pneumatic transmission is put forward. By mathematical model and instance simulation, the feasibility analysis of this technique is made. The result shows that the soft firing technology with pneumatic transmission can reduce the maximum pressure on the breechblock by 27% and increase the muzzle velocity by 20%. The proposed new approach has the significance to the compatibility of power and flexibility.
基金supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province of China,No.2018JQ8029(to LG)
文摘Gene spectrum analysis has shown that gene expression and signaling pathways change dramatically after spinal cord injury,which may affect the microenvironment of the damaged site.Microarray analysis provides a new opportunity for investigating diagnosis,treatment,and prognosis of spinal cord injury.However,differentially expressed genes are not consistent among studies,and many key genes and signaling pathways have not yet been accurately studied.GSE5296 was retrieved from the Gene Expression Omnibus DataSet.Differentially expressed genes were obtained using R/Bioconductor software(expression changed at least two-fold;P < 0.05).Database for Annotation,Visualization and Integrated Discovery was used for functional annotation of differentially expressed genes and Animal Transcription Factor Database for predicting potential transcription factors.The resulting transcription regulatory protein interaction network was mapped to screen representative genes and investigate their diagnostic and therapeutic value for disease.In total,this study identified 109 genes that were upregulated and 30 that were downregulated at 0.5,4,and 24 hours,and 3,7,and 28 days after spinal cord injury.The number of downregulated genes was smaller than the number of upregulated genes at each time point.Database for Annotation,Visualization and Integrated Discovery analysis found that many inflammation-related pathways were upregulated in injured spinal cord.Additionally,expression levels of these inflammation-related genes were maintained for at least 28 days.Moreover,399 regulation modes and 77 nodes were shown in the protein-protein interaction network of upregulated differentially expressed genes.Among the 10 upregulated differentially expressed genes with the highest degrees of distribution,six genes were transcription factors.Among these transcription factors,ATF3 showed the greatest change.ATF3 was upregulated within 30 minutes,and its expression levels remained high at28 days after spinal cord injury.These key genes screened by bioinformatics tools can be used as biological markers to diagnose diseases and provide a reference for identifying therapeutic targets.
文摘On Mauritania’s northern coast, wind and solar resources are abundant and must be used effectively. These resources have the potential to completely or partially replace the existing or projected diesel generators. The main objective of this case study is to study the possibility of using a hybrid system (HS) of the type (diesel, wind and storage). The most important part of this case study intended for this area will be to add the solar in a first phase and then the incorporation of an interconnection with the nearby network in a second phase. This interconnection will be secured by mean of medium voltage lines of 33 kV, where the nearest point is located 35 km away. Indeed, the study of the optimization model is carried out through Homer, which was developed by National Renewable Energy Laboratory [NREL]. Thus, it should be noted that the HS is analyzed on the basis of costs ($/kW) and price ($/kWh) and greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, in order to achieve these techno-economic optimization objectives, this paper introduces a sensitivity analysis that has been proposed to determine the effect of costs on each HS configuration. In the end, HSs are needed for maximum use of renewable resources at the studied site for an uninterrupted power supply.
文摘Nowadays the utilization of vegetable oils, particularly the palm oil, as fuel in the power plant, has made a significant development in the last few years. This vegetable oil can be used in particular in slow marine-derived diesel internal combustion engine (ICE), with an electric efficiency of about 40%. The efficiency is connected to the size of the power plant. Moreover, the considerable amount of the required vegetable oil to feed the system forces, especially in Italy, makes it necessary to import the fuel. This is the most critical element as the palm oil is subject to continuous variations in prices. Due to this variation it is difficult to stabilize a convenient fuel supply for a long period. The paper aims to evaluate and estimate the economic, technical and environmental feasibility of a 20 MW plant for the stationary power generation fed with palm oil, enlightening the system solution (technical constructive aspects) and the economic appraisal, on the basis of variations in oil prices. A comparison with a cogenerative power plant has been also carried out and, at last, the economic sensibility analysis based on the fuel cost and the European mechanisms of biomass incentives is performed.
文摘Objective:To analyze economic feasibility for investing in nursing care.Method:The number of practicing nurses'density per 1000 population as a proxy for nursing staff and Gross Domestic Product(GDP)per capita(current US$)were collected in 35 member countries of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD)over 2000-2016 period.The statistical technique of panel data analysis including unit root test,cointegration analysis,Granger causality test,dynamic long-run model analysis and error correction model were applied to measure economic impact of nursing-related services.Results:There was a committed bilateral relationship between nurse-staffing level and GDP with longrun magnitudes of 1.39 and 0A1 for GDP-lead-nurse and nurse-lead-GDP directions in OECD countries,respectively.Moreover,the highest long-run magnitudes of the effect nursing staff has on increasing GDP per capita were calculated in Finland(2.07),Sweden(1.92),Estonia(1.68),Poland(1.52),Czech Republic(1.48),Norway(1.47)and Canada(1.24).Conclusion:Our findings verify that although the dependency of nursing characteristics to GDP per capita is higher than the reliance of GDP to number of nurses'density per 1000 population,investing in nursing care is economically feasible in OECD countries i.e.nursing is not only a financial burden(or cost)on health care systems,but also an economic stimulus in OECD countries.Hence,we alert governments and policy makers about the risk of underestimating the economic impacts of nurses on economic systems of OECD countries.
文摘With the widespread application of integrated modular aviation(IMA)electronic systems,the requirements of IMA characteristic analysis and configuration generation have also improved significantly."Configuration and design system based on AADL models(real-time,reliability,interactive complexity,and schedulability)analysis of the AADL model"mainly get through key characteristic analysis for optimization,combined with input of component parameter information and constraint information,assist designers in generating system configuration information,and form a comprehensive modular avionics system resource configuration strategy generation platform.Also,the tool can generate configuration plans for avionics system software and hardware physical architecture configuration.The analysis of the avionics system model mainly involves designers inputting the existing system model architecture for multi characteristic analysis,it can realize the multi-character analysis based on software intensive system architecture models for software dense systems.Inter-complexity and schedulability analysis,and according to characteristic constraint analysis、system model assessment parameters and system architecture constraint parameters to generate configuration scheme information that meets the requirements.The system can meet domestic and foreign software-intensive systems and meet its quality requirements.
文摘The energy efficient product can be operated with longer duration.They offer wonderful solutions compared to other conventional water pumping system as it needs less maintenance,simple in installation,zero fuel cost,longer operating life,highly reliable and free from production of greenhouse gases.In this paper we analyzed the different topologies of DC–DC converter in terms of their operating region of MPPT,quality of input and output currents.We discussed the MPPT algorithms to address partial shading effects in SPV array,present state of the technology,factors affecting the performance of the system,efficiency improvements and identified the research gaps.Also,the economic feasibility analysis has been done for the real time scenario using the Homer Pro software.The estimation of total dynamic head and horse power calculation has been done to decide the total load capacity.The economic analysis results such as cumulative cash flow over project lifetime of 25 years are presented.It is observed that the capital investment requirement is$7,425 for installing Fronius PV system that has a nominal capacity of 2.47 kW and annualized savings will be$134.93.In the long-term perspective,the return on investment is−2.18%as per the present tariff plan.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.81471308(to JL)the Stem Cell Clinical Research Project in China,No.CMR-20161129-1003(to JL)the Innovation Technology Funding of Dalian in China,No.2018J11CY025(to JL)
文摘Neural stem cells,which are capable of multi-potential differentiation and self-renewal,have recently been shown to have clinical potential for repairing central nervous system tissue damage.However,the theme trends and knowledge structures for human neural stem cells have not yet been studied bibliometrically.In this study,we retrieved 2742 articles from the PubMed database from 2013 to 2018 using "Neural Stem Cells" as the retrieval word.Co-word analysis was conducted to statistically quantify the characteristics and popular themes of human neural stem cell-related studies.Bibliographic data matrices were generated with the Bibliographic Item Co-Occurrence Matrix Builder.We identified 78 high-frequency Medical Subject Heading(MeSH)terms.A visual matrix was built with the repeated bisection method in gCLUTO software.A social network analysis network was generated with Ucinet 6.0 software and GraphPad Prism 5 software.The analyses demonstrated that in the 6-year period,hot topics were clustered into five categories.As suggested by the constructed strategic diagram,studies related to cytology and physiology were well-developed,whereas those related to neural stem cell applications,tissue engineering,metabolism and cell signaling,and neural stem cell pathology and virology remained immature.Neural stem cell therapy for stroke and Parkinson’s disease,the genetics of microRNAs and brain neoplasms,as well as neuroprotective agents,Zika virus,Notch receptor,neural crest and embryonic stem cells were identified as emerging hot spots.These undeveloped themes and popular topics are potential points of focus for new studies on human neural stem cells.
文摘Drying processing of Habanero chili was improved, through solar energy usage. Habanero chili is a notable seasonal product being drying such important for Mexican producers; this process is expensive and wasteful of energy. A feasibility analysis was developed, to determine the market tendency and the optimal drying conditions for redesign Habanero chili drying process, through a hybrid solar-electric energy usage. The new drying process would be held in two stages: (a) an open solar dryer was used; (b) an existing pilot fluidized bed dryer was adapted with a low temperature solar collector for air heating. Habanero chili was dehydrated from 90% to 5% moisture in 10.3 h, with good quality product, available for commercialization. A reduction in the average drying time of 50% was obtained, also, in the energy usage of 77% in the fluidized bed dryer, with an energy saving of 0.52 kg of natural gas per kg of fresh Habanero chili. An innovative sustainable efficient drying process was developed, and will be strategic to expand the market for Habanero chili with low energy cost.
文摘We develop various statistical methods important for multidimensional genetic data analysis. Theorems justifying application of these methods are established. We concentrate on the multifactor dimensionality reduction, logic regression, random forests, stochastic gradient boosting along with their new modifications. We use complementary approaches to study the risk of complex diseases such as cardiovascular ones. The roles of certain combinations of single nucleotide polymorphisms and non-genetic risk factors are examined. To perform the data analysis concerning the coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction the Lomonosov Moscow State University supercomputer “Chebyshev” was employed.
文摘To categorize the nations to reflect the development status, to date, there are many conceptual frameworks. The Human Development index (HDI) that is published by the United Nations Development Programme is widely accepted and practiced by many people such as academicians, politicians, and donor organizations. However, though the development of HDI has gone through many revisions since its formulation in 1990, even the current version of the index formulation published in 2016 needs research to better understand and to gap-fill the knowledge base that can enhance the index formulation to facilitate the direction of attention such as release of funds. Therefore, in this paper, based on principal component analysis and K-means clustering algorithm, the data that reflect the measures of life expectancy index (LEI), education index (EI), and income index (II) are analyzed to categorize and to rank the member states of the UN using R statistical software package, an open source extensible programming language for statistical computing and graphics. The outcome of the study shows that the proportion of total eigen value (i.e., proportion of total variance) explained by PCA-1 (i.e., first principal component) accounts for more than 85% of the total variation. Moreover, the proportion of total eigen value explained by PCA-1 increases with time (i.e., yearly) though the amount of increase with time is not significant. However, the proportions of total eigen value explained by PCA-2 and PCA-3 decrease with time. Therefore, the loss of information in choosing PCA-1 to represent the chosen explanatory variables (i.e., LEI, EI, and II) may diminish with time if the trend of increasing pattern of proportion of total eigen value explained by PCA-1 with time continues in the future as well. On the other hand, the correlation between EI and PCA-1 increases with time although the magnitude of increase is not that significant. This same trend is observed in II as well. However, in contrast to these observations, the correlation between PCA-1 and LEI decreases with time. These findings imply that the contributions of EI and II to PCA-1 increase with time, but the contribution of LEI to PCA-1 decreases with time. On top of these, as per Hopkins statistic, the clusterability of the information conveyed by PCA-1 alone is far better than the clusterability of the information conveyed by PCA scores (i.e., PCA-1, PCA-2, and PCA-3) and the explanatory variables. Therefore, choosing PCA-1 to represent the chosen explanatory variables is becoming more concrete.
文摘A common current source, generally used to bias cross-coupled differential amplifiers in a transconductor, controls third harmonic distortion (HD3) poorly. Separate current sources are shown to provide better control on HD3) . In this paper, a detailed design and analysis is presented for a transconductor made using this biasing technique. The transconductor, in addition, is made to offer high Gm, low power dissipation and is designed for linearly tunable Gm with current mode load as one of the applications. The circuit exhibits HD3) of less than –43.7 dB, high current efficiency of 1.18 V-1 and Gm of 390 μS at 1 VGp-p @ 50 MHz. UMC 0.18 μm CMOS process technology is used for simulation at supply voltage of 1.8 V.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.U1504815 and No.U1504808
文摘BACKGROUND Pancreatic cancer is a highly invasive malignant tumor. Expression levels of the autophagy-related protein microtubule-associated protein 1 A/1 B-light chain 3(LC3) and perineural invasion(PNI) are closely related to its occurrence and development. Our previous results showed that the high expression of LC3 was positively correlated with PNI in the patients with pancreatic cancer. In this study, we further searched for differential genes involved in autophagy of pancreatic cancer by gene expression profiling and analyzed their biological functions in pancreatic cancer, which provides a theoretical basis for elucidating the pathophysiological mechanism of autophagy in pancreatic cancer and PNI.AIM To identify differentially expressed genes involved in pancreatic cancer autophagy and explore the pathogenesis at the molecular level.METHODS Two sets of gene expression profiles of pancreatic cancer/normal tissue(GSE16515 and GSE15471) were collected from the Gene Expression Omnibus.Significance analysis of microarrays algorithm was used to screen differentially expressed genes related to pancreatic cancer. Gene Ontology(GO) analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) pathway analysis were used to analyze the functional enrichment of the differentially expressed genes. Protein interaction data containing only differentially expressed genes was downloaded from String database and screened. Module mining was carried out by Cytoscape software and ClusterOne plug-in. The interaction relationship between the modules was analyzed and the pivot nodes between the functional modules were determined according to the information of the functional modules and the data of reliable protein interaction network.RESULTS Based on the above two data sets of pancreatic tissue total gene expression, 6098 and 12928 differentially expressed genes were obtained by analysis of genes with higher phenotypic correlation. After extracting the intersection of the two differential gene sets, 4870 genes were determined. GO analysis showed that 14 significant functional items including negative regulation of protein ubiquitination were closely related to autophagy. A total of 986 differentially expressed genes were enriched in these functional items. After eliminating the autophagy related genes of human cancer cells which had been defined, 347 differentially expressed genes were obtained. KEGG pathway analysis showed that the pathways hsa04144 and hsa04020 were related to autophagy. In addition,65 clustering modules were screened after the protein interaction network was constructed based on String database, and module 32 contains the LC3 gene,which interacts with multiple autophagy-related genes. Moreover, ubiquitin C acts as a pivot node in functional modules to connect multiple modules related to pancreatic cancer and autophagy.CONCLUSION Three hundred and forty-seven genes associated with autophagy in human pancreatic cancer were concentrated, and a key gene ubiquitin C which is closely related to the occurrence of PNI was determined, suggesting that LC3 may influence the PNI and prognosis of pancreatic cancer through ubiquitin C.
文摘Heterogeneity of biological samples is usually considered a major obstacle for three-dimensional (3D) structure determination of macromolecular complexes. Heterogeneity may occur at the level of composition or conformational variability of complexes and affects most 3D structure determination methods that rely on signal averaging. Here, an approach is described that allows sorting structural states based on a 3D statistical approach, the 3D sampling and classification (3D-SC) of 3D structures derived from single particles imaged by cryo electron microscopy (cryo-EM). The method is based on jackknifing & bootstrapping of 3D sub-ensembles and 3D multivariate statistical analysis followed by 3D classification. The robustness of the statistical sorting procedure is corroborated using model data from an RNA polymerase structure and experimental data from a ribosome complex. It allows resolving multiple states within heterogeneous complexes that thus become amendable for a structural analysis despite of their highly flexible nature. The method has important implications for high-resolution structural studies and allows describing structure ensembles to provide insights into the dynamics of multi-component macromolecular assemblies.