Safety prognostic technology in complex petroleum engineering systems: progress, challenges and emerging trends

Oil and gas facilities used in the petroleum industry can be considered as complex dynamic systems in that they require different types of equipment with various causal relationships among components and process variables under monitoring.As the systems grow increasingly large,high speed,automated and intelligent,the nonlinear relations among these process variables and their effects on accidents are to be fully understood for both system reliability and safety assurance.Failures that occur during the process can both cause tremendous loss to the petroleum industry and compromise product quality and affect the environment.Therefore,failures should be detected as soon as possible,and the root causes need to be identified so that corrections can be made in time to avoid further loss,which relate to the safety prognostic technology.By investigation of the relationship of accident causing factors in complex systems,new progress into diagnosis and prognostic technology from international research institutions is reviewed,and research highlights from China University of Petroleum（Beijing） in this area are also presented.By analyzing the present domestic and overseas research situations,the current problems and future directions in the fundamental research and engineering applications are proposed.

Three-dimensional calculations of the currents in the Huanghai Sea and East China Sea during June of 1999

Based on the wind and hydrographic data obtained by R/V Xiangyanghong 14 during June of 1999, the currents in the Huanghai Sea and East China Sea are computed by the three dimensional non-linear diagnostic, semidiagnostic models and prognostic in the a coordinate. The computed results show that the density and velocity fields and so on have been adjusted when time is about 3 days, namely the solution of semidiagnostic calculation is obtained. In the northwest part of the computed region, the Huanghai coastal current flows southeastward, and then it flows out the computed region south of Cheju Island. In the west side of the southern part of the computed region, there is other current, which is mainly inshore branch of Taiwan Warm Current, and it flows cyclonically and turns to the northeast. In the region north of the above two currents, there is a cyclonic eddy southwest of Cheju Island, and it has characteristics of high density and low temperature. There is an offshore branch of Taiwan Warm Current in the west side of the Kuroshio, and it makes a cyclonic meander, then flows northeastward. The Kuroshio in the East China Sea is stronger, and flows northeastward. Its maximum horizontal velocity is 108.5 cm/s at the sea surface, which is located at the northern boundary, and it is 106.1 cm/s at 30 m level, 102.2 cm/s at 75 m level and 85.1 cm/s at 200 m level, respectively, which are all located at the southern boundary. Comparing the results of diagnostic calculation with those of semidiagnostic and prognostic calculations indicates that the horizontal velocity field agrees qualitatively, and there is a little difference between them in quantity. The comparison between the computed velocities and the observed velocities at the mooring station show that they agree each other.

Clinical diagnosis and management of pancreatic cancer: Markers, molecular mechanisms, and treatment options

Pancreatic cancer(PC)is the third-leading cause of cancer deaths.The overall 5-year survival rate of PC is 9%,and this rate for metastatic PC is below 3%.However,the PC-induced death cases will increase about 2-fold by 2060.Many factors such as genetic and environmental factors and metabolic diseases can drive PC development and progression.The most common type of PC in the clinic is pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma,comprising approximately 90%of PC cases.Multiple pathogenic processes including but not limited to inflammation,fibrosis,angiogenesis,epithelial-mesenchymal transition,and proliferation of cancer stem cells are involved in the initiation and progression of PC.Early diagnosis is essential for curable therapy,for which a combined panel of serum markers is very helpful.Although some mono or combined therapies have been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for PC treatment,current therapies have not shown promising outcomes.Fortunately,the development of novel immunotherapies,such as oncolytic viruses-mediated treatments and chimeric antigen receptor-T cells,combined with therapies such as neoadjuvant therapy plus surgery,and advanced delivery systems of immunotherapy will improve therapeutic outcomes and combat drug resistance in PC patients.Herein,the pathogenesis,molecular signaling pathways,diagnostic markers,prognosis,and potential treatments in completed,ongoing,and recruiting clinical trials for PC were reviewed.

Identification of prognostic indicators,diagnostic markers, and possible therapeutic targets among LIM homeobox transcription factors in breast cancer

Background:Breast cancer(BRCA)is the most common malignant tumor among women worldwide.Despite advances in treatment,many patients still die from a lack of effective diagnostic and prognostic markers and powerful therapeutic targets.LIM homeobox genes(LHXs)play vital roles in regulating the development of various organisms.However,there are limited reports regarding their roles in the diagnosis,prognosis,and treatment of BRCA.Methods:UALCAN,Kaplan–Meier plotter,cBioPortal,GeneMANIA,STRING,DAVID 6.8,TRRUST v2,LinkedOmics,and TIMER were utilized to analyze differential expression,prognostic value,genetic alteration,neighbor gene network,transcription factor targets,kinase targets,and immune cell infiltration of LHXs in BRCA patients.Results:LHX gene expression patterns are clear in BRCA and its different subtypes.Further analyses indicated that this altered expression is possibly affected by genetic and/or epigenetic changes.The prognostic and diagnostic values of certain LHXs are unique to different BRCA subtypes.LHXs are mainly involved in the regulation of differentiation and development,and their neighbor genes are primarily involved in cancer‐related pathways.Moreover,most LHXs are closely correlated with immune cell infiltration.Furthermore,LHXs may exert their functions by regulating a series of transcription factor and kinase targets.Conclusions:LHXs are unique diagnostic and prognostic markers and participate in cancer through different signaling pathways and/or regulatory mechanisms in BRCA.This study provides potential applications of LHXs for the diagnosis,prognosis,and treatment of BRCA and its different subtypes.