Recursive Partitioning Analysis Classification and Graded Prognostic Assessment for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients with Brain Metastasis:A Retrospective Cohort Study

Objective：To assess prognostic factors and validate the effectiveness of recursive partitioning analysis （RPA） classes and graded prognostic assessment （GPA） in 290 non-small cell lung cancer （NSCLC） patients with brain metastasis （BM）.Methods：From Jan 2008 to Dec 2009,the clinical data of 290 NSCLC cases with BM treated with multiple modalities including brain irradiation,systemic chemotherapy and tyrosine kinase inhibitors （TKIs） in two institutes were analyzed.Survival was estimated by Kaplan-Meier method.The differences of survival rates in subgroups were assayed using log-rank test.Multivariate Cox＇s regression method was used to analyze the impact of prognostic factors on survival.Two prognostic indexes models （RPA and GPA） were validated respectively.Results：All patients were followed up for 1-44 months,the median survival time after brain irradiation and its corresponding 95% confidence interval （95% CI） was 14 （12.3-15.8） months.1-,2-and 3-year survival rates in the whole group were 56.0%,28.3%,and 12.0%,respectively.The survival curves of subgroups,stratified by both RPA and GPA,were significantly different （P0.001）.In the multivariate analysis as RPA and GPA entered Cox＇s regression model,Karnofsky performance status （KPS） ≥ 70,adenocarcinoma subtype,longer administration of TKIs remained their prognostic significance,RPA classes and GPA also appeared in the prognostic model.Conclusion：KPS ≥70,adenocarcinoma subtype,longer treatment of molecular targeted drug,and RPA classes and GPA are the independent prognostic factors affecting the survival rates of NSCLC patients with BM.

Temporal and Spatial Scale Dependence of Precipitation Analysis over the Tropical Deep Convective Regime

Data from Goddard cumulus ensemble model experiment are used to study temporal and spatial scale dependence of tropical rainfall separation analysis based on cloud budget during Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Response Experiment （TOGA COARE）. The analysis shows that the calculations of model domain mean or time-mean grid-scale mean simulation data overestimate the rain rates of the two rainfall types associated with net condensation but they severely underestimate the rain rate of the rainfall type associated with net evaporation and hydrometeor convergence.

Role of Recursive Partitioning Analysis and Graded Prognostic Assessment on Identifying Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients with Brain Metastases Who May Benefit from Postradiation Systemic Therapy

Background：The role ofpostradiation systemic therapy in non-small cell lung cancer （NSCLC） patients with brain metastasis （BM） was controversial.Thus,we explored the role of Radiation Therapy Oncology Group recursive partitioning analysis （RTOG-RPA） and graded prognostic assessment （GPA） in identifying population who may benefit from postradiation systemic therapy.Methods：The clinical data of NSCLC patients with documented BM from August 2007 to April 2015 of two hospitals were studied retrospectively.Cox regression was used for multivariate analysis.Survival of patients with or without postradiation systemic therapy was compared in subgroups stratified according to RTOG-RPA or GPA.Results：Of 216 included patients,67.1% received stereotactic radiosurgery （SRS）,24.1% received whole-brain radiation therapy （WBRT）,and 8.8% received both.After radiotherapy,systemic therapy was administered in 58.3% of patients.Multivariate analysis found that postradiation systemic therapy （yes vs.no） （hazard ratio [HR] =0.36 l,95% confidence interval [CI] =0.202-0.648,P =0.001）,radiation technique （SRS vs.WBRT） （HR =0.462,95% CI =0.238-0.849,P =0.022）,extracranial metastasis （yes vs.no） （HR =3.970,95% CI =1.757-8.970,P =0.001）,and Kamofsky performance status （〈70 vs.≥70） （HR =5.338,95% CI =2.829-10.072,P 〈 0.001） were independent factors for survival.Further analysis found that subsequent tyrosine kinase inhibitor （TKI） therapy could significantly reduce the risk of mortality of patients in RTOG-RPA Class IⅡ （HR =0.411,95% CI =0.183-）.923,P =0.031） or with a GPA score of 1.5-2.5 （HR =0.420,95% CI =0.182-0.968,P =0.042）.However,none of the subgroups stratified according to RTOG-RPA or GPA benefited from the additional conventional chemotherapy.Conclusion：RTOG-RPA and GPA may be useful to identify beneficial populations in NSCLC patients with BM ifTKIs were chosen as postradiation systemic therapy.

Seismic response characteristics of nuclear island structure at generic soil and rock sites

The number of traditionally excellent coastal lithologic nuclear power plants is limited.It is a trend to develop nuclear power plants on soil sites in inland areas.Therefore,the seismic safety and adaptability of non-rock nuclear power plant(NPP)sites are the key concerns of nuclear safety researchers.Although the five site categories are clearly defined in the AP1000 design control documents,the effects of nuclear power five site conditions and soil nonlinearity on the seismic response characteristics of nuclear island buildings have not been systematically considered in previous related studies.In this study,targeting the AP1000 nuclear island structure as the research object,three-dimensional finite element models of a nuclear island structure at five types of sites(firm rock site(FR),soft rock site(SR),soft-to-medium soil site(SMS),upper bound soft-to-medium site(SMS-UB),and soft soil site(SS))are established.The partitioned analysis method of soil-structure interaction(PASSI)in the time-domain is used to investigate the effects of site hardness and nonlinearity on the acceleration,displacement,and acceleration response spectrum of the nuclear island structure under seismic excitation.The incremental equilibrium equation and explicit decoupling method are used to analyze the soil nonlinearity described by the Davidenkov model with simplified loading-reloading rules.The results show that,in the linear case,with the increase of site hardness,the peak ground acceleration(PGA)and the peak of acceleration response spectrum of the nuclear island structure increase except for the FR site,while the maximum displacement decreases.In nonlinear analysis,as the site hardness increases,the PGA,maximum displacement,and the peak of acceleration response spectrum of the nuclear island structure increase.The peak value of the acceleration response spectrum in the nonlinear case is greater than that in the linear case for FR,while smaller for SR and soil sites.The site nonlinearity reduces the peak values of the response spectrum for SR and soil sites much more as the site hardness decreases.The results of this study can provide a reference for design of nuclear island structures on soil and rock sites.

Dynamics of the Eukaryotic Microbial Community at the Breeding Sites of the Large Yellow Croaker Pseudosciaena crocea in the Southern East China Sea

Clarifying eukaryotic microbial spatial distribution patterns and their determinants is an important idea in ecological research.However,information on the distribution patterns of eukaryotic microbial community structures(EMCSs)within oceans remains unclear.In this study,surface water samples from the southern East China Sea(SECS)were collected to investigate the spatiotemporal variation in EMCSs by using 18S rRNA high-throughput sequencing technology and the impact of this variation on Pseudosciaena crocea during the breeding season.The results indicated that the distribution patterns of the eukaryotic microbial community structure were different among the Sansha Bay,Mindong and Wentai reserves and the offshore East China Sea.In addition,there were notable potential effects of EMCSs on fishery activities.The variation partitioning analysis showed the environmental and spatial factors caused 53.4%of the variation in the EMCSs,indicating that spatially structured environmental factors were the key determinants of the EMCSs spatial heterogeneity in the SECS and may have contributed to the general distribution of P.crocea.In addition,all the environmental factors were the main factors driving the distribution of eukaryotic microbes except for total phosphorus.Furthermore,it was noted some phytoplankton such as Poterioochromonas and Rhizophydium of fungi in Sansha Bay can effectively prevent Cyanobacteria blooms.Chrysophyceae are natural high-quality baits for juvenile fish distributed in Sansha Bay,Mindong and Wentai reserves.This study provides a part of the insight into potential eukaryotic community distributions in large water bodies and how they are affected by environmental factors.

Novel Video Steganography Algorithm Based on Secret Sharing and Error-Correcting Code for H.264/AVC

In this paper, we analyze the video steganography technique, which is used to ensure national security and the confidentiality of the information of governmental agencies and enterprises. Videos may be used to transmit secrets and conduct covert communication. As such, we present an algorithm based on a secret sharing scheme and an Error-Correcting Code（ECC）, which combines Grey Relational Analysis（GRA） with a partition mode in video compression standard H.264/AVC. First, we process secret information by secret sharing, and then use an ECC to process the obtained information. Moreover, we choose the Discrete Cosine Transform（DCT） blocks using GRA, and then use rules to hide the pretreated information in DCT coefficients of the video frames. Experimental results indicate that our algorithm has good invisibility, better robustness, good anti-steganalysis ability, and little influence on the bit rate of the video carrier. In addition, the bit error rate is low after attacks such as noise, filtering,or frame loss in the simulation environment.