• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.3725-3728
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• 2013

Background: The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) /RPS6KB1 activation has recently been implicated in tumour development, but its role in lung cancer remains unclear. The aim of this study was to explore the role of mTOR/RPS6KB1 signaling pathway in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: Immunohistochemistry was performed to assess the expression of phosphorylated mammalian target of rapamycin (p-mTOR) and its downstream ribosomal phosphorylated RPS6KB1 (p-RPS6KB1) in NSCLC patients. We also analyzed p-mTOR/p-RPS6KB1 protein expression in 45 fresh NSCLC tissues using Western blotting. Results: The expression level of p-mTOR and p-RPS6KB1 was significantly higher in NSCLC tumor specimens than that in adjacent noncancerous normal lung tissues (P<0.01). p-mTOR expression correlated with p-RPS6KB1. Furthermore, high expression level of p-mTOR or p-RPS6KB1 in NSCLC was associated with a shorter overall survival (both P<0.01). Multivariate analysis indicated high level of p-mTOR expression was an independent prognostic factor (HR=2.642, 95%CI 1.157-4.904, p=0.002). Conclusions: p-mTOR and p-RPS6KB1 could be useful prognostic markers for NSCLC.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.27 no.7
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• pp.797-805
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• 2004

LPD vectors are non-viral vehicles for gene delivery comprised of polycation-condensed plasmid DNA and liposomes. Here, we described a novel anionic LPD formulation containing protamine-DNA complexes and pH sensitive liposomes composed of DOPE and cholesteryl hemisuccinate (Chems). Central composite design (CCD) was employed to optimize stable LPD formulation with small particle size. A three factor, five-level CCD design was used for the optimization procedure, with the weight ratio of protamine/DNA ($X_1$), the weight ratio of Chems/DNA ($X_2$) and the molar ratio of Chems/DOPE in the anionic liposomes ($X_3$) as the independent variables. LPD size ($Y_1$) and LPD protection efficiency against nuclease ($Y_2$) were response variables. Zeta potential determination was utilized to define the experimental design region. Based on experimental design, responses for the 15 formulations were obtained. Mathematical equations and response surface plots were used to relate the dependent and independent variables. The mathematical model predicted optimized $X_1-X_3$ levels that achieve the desired particle size and the protection efficiency against nuclease. According to these levels, an optimized LPD formulation was prepared, resulting in a particle size of 185.3 nm and protection efficiency of 80.22％.

• Acta Via Serica
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.61-90
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• 2021

Recent excavations in Qinghai Province, China, have disclosed textiles and artworks from Tuyuhun-Tubo (Tibetan) tombs, dated to the 7^th-9^th centuries, that suggest artistic and cultural exchanges along an external southern branch of the main Silk Road, between Gansu and Sichuan Provinces, across the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau toward the Himalayas. Many similar textiles, possibly from this area, have appeared lately on the art market and ended in private collections. Although these textiles, dated to the early Tibetan period, follow a popular prototype established in Central Asia in the 6^th century, the technical features, colors, and other indigenous elements suggest that they were woven in workshops different from those established between Sogdiana and Gansu. The exhibition "Cultural Exchange Along the Silk Road - Masterpieces of the Tubo Period," organized by the Dunhuang Research Academy and the Pritzker Collaborative Art between July and October 2019 in Dunhuang, Gansu, was a groundbreaking event that gathered scholarly attention on early Tibetan material culture, but a relevant publication is still forthcoming. In my previous work, I briefly discussed a group of silk textiles, possibly from Qinghai or Sichuan, that I analyzed in 2014 in the China National Silk Museum in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. In light of the recent material excavated, published online, or displayed in Dunhuang, in this article, I reevaluate the data previously collected, and discuss in detail the technical and iconographic features of one of the fragments held in Hangzhou. Eventually, the piece was recognized as the ending part of a large panel, which is now in the Abegg Stiftung in Riggisberg, Switzerland.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.419-430
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• 2022

In wind-resistant designs, wind velocity is assumed to be a Gaussian process; however, local complex topography may result in strong non-Gaussian wind features. This study investigates the non-Gaussian wind features over complex terrain under atmospheric turbulent boundary layers by the large eddy simulation (LES) model, and the turbulent inlet of LES is generated by the consistent discretizing random flow generation (CDRFG) method. The performance of LES is validated by two different complex terrains in Changsha and Mianyang, China, and the results are compared with wind tunnel tests and onsite measurements, respectively. Furthermore, the non-Gaussian parameters, such as skewness, kurtosis, probability curves, and gust factors, are analyzed in-depth. The results show that the LES method is in good agreement with both mean and turbulent wind fields from wind tunnel tests and onsite measurements. Wind fields in complex terrain mostly exhibit a left-skewed Gaussian process, and it changes from a softening Gaussian process to a hardening Gaussian process as the height increases. A reduction in the gust factors of about 2.0%-15.0% can be found by taking into account the non-Gaussian features, except for a 4.4% increase near the ground in steep terrain. This study can provide a reference for the assessment of extreme wind loads on structures in complex terrain.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.9 no.7
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• pp.2548-2567
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• 2015

Recently, there has been a clear trend towards the application of ad hoc networking technology in civil aviation communication systems, giving birth to a new research field, namely, aeronautical ad hoc networks (AANETs). An AANET is a special type of ad hoc wireless network with a significantly larger scale and distinct characteristics of its mobile nodes. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop a simulator to facilitate the research in these networks. In this paper, we present a network simulator, Aero-Sim, for AANETs. Aero-Sim, which is based on the freely distributed NS-2 simulator, enables detailed packet-level simulations of protocols at the MAC, link, network, transport, and application layers by composing simulations with existing modules and protocols in NS-2. Moreover, Aero-Sim supports three-dimensional network deployment. Through several case studies using realistic China domestic air traffic, we show that the proposed simulator can be used to simulate AANETs and can reproduce the real world with high fidelity.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.23-33
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• 2021

"China's Western Development Policy" has brought multiple opportunities to the development of tourism in Southwest China including Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Chongqing and Tibet. The 4 provinces and 1 municipality overall show a certain degree of accumulation effect and coordinated development in tourism due to their location, traffic and traditional economic cooperation. This study takes the Southwest China as the research object and utilized the spatial dislocation model and the tourism spatial misalignment index to estimate the mismatch degree between tourism resources and tourism income among provinces and try to find out the internal reason background. The results show that each of the five provinces has its own advantages in index of economy, tourism resources, human resource, and transportation, leading to differences in the center of gravity of the entire region in all aspects. In view of the results of spatial dislocation analysis, suggestions for improvement and optimization are put forward to promote the high-quality development of tourism in Southwest region. development.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.22
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• pp.10021-10025
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• 2014

Background: The study aimed to describe the age distribution of breast cancer diagnosis among Chinese females for comparison with the United States and the European Union, and provide evidence for the screening target population in China. Materials and Methods: Median age was estimated from hospital databases from 7 tertiary hospitals in China. Population-based data in China, United States and European Union was extracted from the National Central Cancer Registry, SEER program and GLOBOCAN 2008, respectively. Age-standardized distribution of breast cancer at diagnosis in the 3 areas was estimated based on the World Standard Population 2000. Results: The median age of breast cancer at diagnosis was around 50 in China, nearly 10 years earlier than United States and European Union. The diagnosis age in China did not vary between subgroups of calendar year, region and pathological characteristics. With adjustment for population structure, median age of breast cancer at diagnosis was 50~54 in China, but 55~59 in United States and European Union. Conclusions: The median diagnosis age of female breast cancer is much earlier in China than in the United States and the European Union pointing to racial differences in genetics and lifestyle. Screening programs should start at an earlier age for Chinese women and age disparities between Chinese and Western women warrant further studies.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.645-652
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• 2016

Toxocara vitulorum has been rarely reported in yaks at high altitudes and remote areas of Sichuan Province of Tibetan Plateau of China. The current study was designed to investigate the prevalence, associated risk factors, and phylogenetic characteristics of T. vitulorum in yak calves on the Qinghai Tibetan plateau. Fecal samples were collected from 891 yak calves and were examined for the presence of T. vitulorum eggs by the McMaster technique. A multivariable logistic regression model was employed to explore variables potentially associated with exposure to T. vitulorum infection. T. vitulorum specimens were collected from the feces of yaks in Hongyuan of Sichuan Province, China. DNA was extracted from ascaris. After PCR amplification, the sequencing of ND1 gene was carried out and phylogenetic analyses was performed by MEGA 6.0 software. The results showed that 64 (20.1%; 95% CI 15.8-24.9%), 75 (17.2; 13.8-21.1), 29 (40.9; 29.3-53.2), and 5 (7.6; 2.5-16.8) yak calves were detected out to excrete T. vitulorum eggs in yak calve feces in Qinghai, Tibet, Sichuan, and Gansu, respectively. The present study revealed that high infection and mortality by T. vitulorum is wildly spread on the Qinghai Tibetan plateau, China by fecal examination. Geographical origin, ages, and fecal consistencies are the risk factors associated with T. vitulorum prevalence by logistic regression analysis. Molecular detection and phylogenetic analysis of ND1 gene of T. vitulorum indicated that T. vitulorum in the yak calves on the Qinghai Tibetan plateau are homologous to preveiously studies reported.

• Current Optics and Photonics
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• v.2 no.5
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• pp.407-412
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• 2018

An optimal matching approach is proposed to maximally ensure the output power uniformity of the cascaded encoder in the passive optical network (PON) monitoring system based on a remote coding scheme. The calculation results show that the optimum arrangement can effectively reduce the difference of the total insertion loss in comparison to the random arrangement (i.e., 0.07 dB vs 2.67 dB in the cascaded encoder with 16 output ports). The proposed approach realizes the optimum configuration for the $1{\times}2$ optical splitters used without adding any extra components. The test results of the fabricated cascaded encoder with 32 output ports prove the feasibility of the proposed approach.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2019

Shallow failures occur frequently in both engineered and natural slopes in expansive soils. Rainfall infiltration is the most predominant triggering factor that contributes to slope failures in both expansive soils and clayey soils. However, slope failures in expansive soils have some distinct characteristics in comparison to slopes in conventional clayey soils. They typically undergo shallow failures with gentle sliding retrogression characteristics. The shallow sliding mass near the slope surface is typically in a state of unsaturated condition and will exhibit significant volume changes with increasing water content during rainfall periods. Many other properties or characteristics change such as the shear strength, matric suction including stress distribution change with respect to depth and time. All these parameters have a significant contribution to the expansive soil slopes instability and are difficult to take into consideration in slope stability analysis using traditional slope stability analysis methods based on principles of saturated soil mechanics. In this paper, commercial software VADOSE/W that can account for climatic factors is used to predict variation of matric suction with respect to time for an expansive soil cut slope in China, which is reported in the literature. The variation of factor of safety with respect to time for this slope is computed using SLOPE/W by taking account of shear strength reduction associated with loss of matric suction extending state-of-the art understanding of the mechanics of unsaturated soils.