• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• 제11권6호
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• pp.847-865
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• 2016

In this study, a series of geotechnical centrifugal tests were conducted to investigate the effectiveness of settlement control of two types of rigid pile structure embankments (PRSE) in collapsible loess under high-speed railway embankments. The research results show that ground reinforcement is required to reduce the post-construction settlement and settlement rate of the embankments. The rigid pile structure embankments using rigid piles can substantially reduce the embankment settlement in the construction of embankments on collapsible loess, and the efficiency in settlement reduction is affected by the pile spacing. The pile-raft structure embankments (PRSE) have much stronger ability in terms of the effectiveness of settlement control, while the pile-geogrid structure embankments (PGSE) provides rapid construction as well as economic benefits. Rational range of pile spacing of PRSE and PGSE are suggested based on the requirements of various railways design speeds. Furthermore, the time effectiveness of negative skin friction of piles and the action of pile-cap setting are also investigated. The relevant measures for improving the bearing capacity and two parts of transition zone forms as positive control mean have been suggested.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• 제32권3호
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• pp.271-291
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• 2023

Settlement estimation in cohesion materials is a crucial topic to tackle because of the complexity of the cohesion soil texture, which could be solved roughly by substituted solutions. The goal of this research was to implement recently developed machine learning features as effective methods to predict settlement (S_m) of shallow foundations over cohesion soil properties. These models include hybridized support vector regression (SVR), random forests (RF), and coot optimization algorithm (COM), and black widow optimization algorithm (BWOA). The results indicate that all created systems accurately simulated the S_m, with an R² of better than 0.979 and 0.9765 for the train and test data phases, respectively. This indicates extraordinary efficiency and a good correlation between the experimental and simulated S_m. The model's results outperformed those of ANFIS - PSO, and COM - RF findings were much outstanding to those of the literature. By analyzing established designs utilizing different analysis aspects, such as various error criteria, Taylor diagrams, uncertainty analyses, and error distribution, it was feasible to arrive at the final result that the recommended COM - RF was the outperformed approach in the forecasting process of S_m of shallow foundation, while other techniques were also reliable.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제55권1호
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• pp.12-24
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• 2023

With the improvement of laser technology, the strategic needs of efficient and precise decontamination of various components in nuclear application units can be fulfilled by laser decontamination. The surface contaminants of nuclear facilities mainly exist both as loose contaminated layer and fixed oxide layer. The types of radionuclides and contamination layer thickness are closely related to the operation status of nuclear facilities, which have an important influence on the laser decontamination process. This study reviewed the mechanism of laser surface treatment and the influence of laser process parameters on the decontamination thickness, decontamination factor, decontamination efficiency and the distribution of aerosol particle. Although multiple studies have been performed on the mechanism of laser processing and laser decontamination process, there are few studies on the microscopic process mechanism of laser decontamination and the influence of laser decontamination on surface properties. In particular, the interaction between laser and radioactive contaminants needs more research in the future.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제21권10호
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• pp.1389-1394
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• 2008

Abdominal fat characters are complex and economically important in the poultry industry. Their selection may benefit from the implementation of marker-assisted selection (MAS). The objective of this study was to identify the markers linked to QTL responsible for fatness traits. The Northeast Agricultural University broiler lines divergently selected for abdominal fat content (NEAUHLF) were used in the study. A total of 596 individuals from the divergent tails from the 6th to the 10th generations were genotyped at 23 microsatellite markers on chromosome 1. The differences of allele frequencies of all marker alleles between the divergent tails across the five generations were recorded. The allele frequencies of five markers, including LEI0209, LEI0146, MCW0036, ADL328 and MCW0115, had significant differences between the two tails in all five generations. The resulting p-values using Fisher's exact test on eleven markers, containing MCW248, MCW0010, MCW0106, LEI0252, LEI0068, MCW0018, MCW0061, LEI0088, MCW200, MCW283 and ROS0025, had a decreasing tendency from the 6th to the 10th generation. Statistical analysis showed that polymorphisms of the eight markers, including LEI0209, LEI0146, ROS0025, MCW0115, MCW0010, MCW0036, MCW283, ADL328, were significantly (p<0.0011) or suggestively (p<0.05) associated with abdominal fat content (AFW and AFP) across generations. It is concluded that the eight markers could be associated with the QTL affecting the deposition of abdominal fat in broiler chickens.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제13권8호
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• pp.3757-3761
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• 2012

Objective: Crocin has been proposed as a promising candidate for cancer chemoprevention. The purpose of this investigation was to investigate the chemopreventive action and the possible mechanisms of crocin against human colon cancer cells in vitro. Methods: Cell proliferation was examined using MTT assay and the cell cycle distribution fractions were analyzed using fow cytometric analysis after propidium iodide staining. Apoptosis was detected using theTUNEL Apoptosis Detection Kit with laser scanning confocal microscope. DNA damage was assessed using the alkaline single-cell gel electrophoresis assay, while expression levels of p53, cdk2, cyclinA and P21 were examined by Western blot analysis. Results: Treatment of SW480 cells with crocetin (0.2, 0.4, 0.8 mmol/L) for 48 h signifcantly inhibited their proliferation in a concentration-dependent manner. Crocetin (0.8 mmol/L) signifcantly induced cell cycle arrest through p53-independent mechanisms accompanied by P21 induction. Crocetin (0.8 mmol/L) caused cytotoxicity in the SW480 cells by enhancing apoptosis and decreasing DNA repair capacity in a time-dependent manner. Conclusions: This report provides evidence that crocetin is a potential anticancer agent, which may be used as a chemotherapeutic drug.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제13권11호
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• pp.5569-5571
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• 2012

Objectives: To evaluate the clinical significance of HMGB1 expression in T-cell lymphoma. Methods: Immunohistochemical staining for HMGB1 and survivin was performed with specimens from 120 cases of T-cell lymphoma and 40 cases of reactive lymphoid hyperplasia with antibodies against human HMGB1 and survivin. Results: The expression of HMGB1 and survivin was significantly higher in tissues of T-cell lymphoma than in reactive lymphoid hyperplasia. Positive expression of HMGB1 and survivin was observed in 63.7% (65/102) and 61.8% (63/102) of T-cell lymphoma cases, respectively. While was associated with gender, age, and tumor location, significant correlations with malignancy and clinical stage were observed. Spearman rank correlation analysis revealed that the expression of HMGB1 and survivin was positively correlated in T-cell lymphomas (P<0.01). Conclusions: Expression of HMGB1 and survivin in T-cell lymphomas is significantly associated with malignancy and clinical stage, but not with gender, age and tumor location. Elevated expression of HMGB1 may be an important biomarker for the development and progression of T-cell lymphoma.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제14권6호
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• pp.3891-3895
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association of expression of ${\alpha}5{\beta}1$-integrin with clinicopathologic features and prognosis in cervical cancer. Levels of ${\alpha}5{\beta}1$-integrin in normal cervical mucosa and cervical cancer tissue were detected with immunohistochemistry. Survival analysis by the Kaplan-Meier method was performed to assess prognostic significance. ${\alpha}5{\beta}1$-integrin expression was detected in 84.6% (143/169) cervical cancer samples, significantly different from that in normal cervical mucosa (P < 0.05). Positive expression rates of ${\alpha}5{\beta}1$-integrin in patients with poor histologic differentiation, lymph node metastasis, and recurrence were elevated. Using Kaplan-Meier analysis, a comparison of survival curves of low versus high expression of ${\alpha}5{\beta}1$-integrin revealed a highly significant difference in human cervical cancer cases (P < 0.05), suggesting that overexpression of ${\alpha}5{\beta}1$-integrin is associated with a worse prognosis.The ${\alpha}5{\beta}1$-integrin promotes angiogenesis and associates with lymph node metastasis, vascular invasion and poor prognosis of cervical cancer. The current study indicated that ${\alpha}5{\beta}1$-integrin may be an independent prognostic factor for cervical cancer patients.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• 제10권5호
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• pp.1930-1939
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• 2015

Wind power planning aims to locate and size wind farms optimally. Traditionally, wind power planners tend to choose the wind farms with the richest wind resources to maximize the energy benefit. However, the capacity benefit of wind power should also be considered in large-scale clustered wind farm planning because the correlation among the wind farms exerts an obvious influence on the capacity benefit brought about by the combined wind power. This paper proposes a planning model considering both the energy and the capacity benefit of the wind farms. The capacity benefit is evaluated by the wind power capacity credit. The Ordinal Optimization (OO) Theory, capable of handling problems with non-analytical forms, is applied to address the model. To verify the feasibility and advantages of the model, the proposed model is compared with a widely used genetic algorithm (GA) via a modified IEEE RTS-79 system and the real world case of Ningxia, China. The results show that the diversity of the wind farm enhances the capacity credit of wind power.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제13권6호
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• pp.2577-2581
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• 2012

Objective: To conduct a meta-analysis to investigate the value of EBV DNA in diagnosis of nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) in Asian populations, and provide important evidence for screening. Methods: Prospective or respective case-control or cohort studies regarding the detection role of EBV DNA for NPC were included in our study. We conducted a comprehensive literature search in PubMed, EMBASE, and the Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM database between January 1980 and March 2012. Results: A total of 18 studies with 1492 NPC cases and 2641 health controls were included. Almost of the included studies were conducted in China, and only one other conducted in Thailand. The overall results demonstrated that the pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood (+LR) and negative likelihood (-LR) were 0.73 (0.71-0.75), 0.89 (0.88-0.90), 8.84 (5.65-13.84) and 0.19(0.11-0.32), respectively. The overall EBV DNA detection showed the largest area of 0.932 under the summary receiver operator curve (SROC). The accuracy of detection by plasma for NPC (0.86) was higher than in serum (0.81), with largest areas under the SROC of 0.97 and 0.91, respectively. Conclusion: Our results demonstrated the EBV DNA detection in plasma or serum has high sensitivity and specificity in diagnosis of NPC, especially in Chinese populations with a high risk of cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권18호
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• pp.7553-7558
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• 2014

The Piwi subfamily comprises two argonaute (Ago) family proteins, which are defined by the presence of PAZ and Piwi domains, with well known roles in RNA silencing. Hiwi, a human Piwi subfamily member, has been shown to play essential roles in stem cell self-renewal and gametogenesis. Recently, accumulating reports have indicated that abnormal hiwi expression is associated with poorer prognosis of multiple types of human cancers, including examples in the breast. However, little is known about details of the oncogenic role of hiwi in breast cancers. In present study, we confirmed overexpression of hiwi in breast cancer specimens and breast cancer cell lines at both mRNA and protein levels. Thus both RT-qPCR and Western blot data revealed significantly higher hiwi in intratumor than peritumor specimens, overexpression being associated with tumor size, lymph node metastasis and histological grade. Hiwi overexpression was also identified in breast cancer cell lines, MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7, and gain-of-function and loss-of-function strategies were adopted to identify the role of hiwi in the MCF-7 cell growth. Results demonstrated that hiwi expression in MCF-7 cells was significantly up- or down-regulated by the two strategies. We next evaluated the influence of hiwi overexpression or knockdown on the growth of breast cancer cells. Both cell count and colony formation assays confirmed promoting roles of hiwi in MCF-7 cells, which could be inhibited by hiwi specific blockage by siRNAs. In summary, the present study confirmed overexpression of hiwi in breast cancer specimens and breast cancer cell lines, and provided e vidence of promotion by hiwi of cell growth. The results imply an oncogenic role of hiwi in breast cancers.