TNFα and Immune Checkpoint Inhibition: Friend or Foe for Lung Cancer?

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) can bind two distinct receptors (TNFR1/2). The transmembrane form (tmTNFα) preferentially binds to TNFR2. Upon tmTNFα cleavage by the TNF-alpha-converting enzyme (TACE), its soluble (sTNFα) form is released with higher affinity for TNFR1. This assortment empowers TNFα with a plethora of opposing roles in the processes of tumor cell survival (and apoptosis) and anti-tumor immune stimulation (and suppression), in addition to angiogenesis and metastases. Its functions and biomarker potential to predict cancer progression and response to immunotherapy are reviewed here, with a focus on lung cancer. By mining existing sequencing data, we further demonstrate that the expression levels of TNF and TACE are significantly decreased in lung adenocarcinoma patients, while the TNFR1/TNFR2 balance are increased. We conclude that the biomarker potential of TNFα alone will most likely not provide conclusive findings, but that TACE could have a key role along with the delicate balance of sTNFα/tmTNFα as well as TNFR1/TNFR2, hence stressing the importance of more research into the potential of rationalized treatments that combine TNFα pathway modulators with immunotherapy for lung cancer patients.     

Polyphenol Containing Sorghum Brans Exhibit an Anti-Cancer Effect in Apc Min/+ Mice Treated with Dextran Sodium Sulfate

Colon cancer (CC) is considered a high-risk cancer in developed countries. Its etiology is correlated with a high consumption of red meat and low consumption of plant-based foods, including whole grains. Sorghum bran is rich in polyphenols. This study aimed to determine whether different high-phenolic sorghum brans suppress tumor formation in a genetic CC rodent model and elucidate mechanisms. Tissue culture experiments used colorectal cancer cell lines SW480, HCT-116 and Caco-2 and measured protein expression, and protein activity. The animal model used in this study was APC Min+/mouse model combined with dextram sodium sulfate. High phenolic sorghum bran extract treatment resulted in the inhibition of proliferation and induced apoptosis in CC cell lines. Treatment with high phenolic sorghum bran extracts repressed TNF-α-stimulated NF-κB transactivation and IGF-1-stimulated PI3K/AKT pathway via the downregulation of β-catenin transactivation. Furthermore, high-phenolic sorghum bran extracts activated AMPK and autophagy. Feeding with high-phenolic sorghum bran for 6 weeks significantly suppressed tumor formation in an APC Min/+ dextran sodium sulfate promoted CC mouse model. Our data demonstrates the potential application of high-phenolic sorghum bran as a functional food for the prevention of CC.     

石人沟铁矿露天转地下开采生产规模优化

合理确定矿山生产规模是露天转地下开采关键技术问题之一.以石人沟铁矿为研究对象,结合矿山具体情况提出了七个技术上可行的方案.综合考虑技术、经济和社会等因素对石人沟铁矿生产规模的影响,结合矿山实际,从现有规范、规程、标准出发,采用层次分析法与模糊综合评判理论构建了规模优化模型并进行选优,得到矿山露天转地下后地下合理规模为215万t·a^-1.     

基于多元统计分析的闽江水质时空变化特征

为全面评估闽江水质状况,识别水质时空变化特征,采用自组织映射神经网络(SOM)聚类对其19个监测断面8项水质指标进行时空聚类,并通过主成分分析(PCA)方法识别时空维度中主要污染物,分析时空背景下的闽江水质变化特征。分析结果显示:SOM网络将闽江水质变化周期划分为4月至11月和12月至次年3月2个时段,前时段水质优于后时段。将流域19个断面聚类为S1、S2和S3三类,S1代表闽江三大支流上游区域,水质优良;S2代表各支流中下游区域,作为主要的农林生产基地,水质主要受非点源污染影响;S3代表闽江下游区域,水质主要受城市生活污水和工业废水影响。PCA解析表明闽江中下游水质主要受氮磷控制。     

甘肃岷县“5·10”特大山洪灾害调查

2012年5月10日,甘肃省定西市岷县、漳县、渭源等地普降冰雹和强降雨,引发严重的山洪泥石流灾害,造成较大人员伤亡和灾害损失。其中岷县损失最为严重。岷县是全国山洪灾害防治县级非工程措施建设项目首批实施县之一。灾后调研组专程赴甘肃省岷县,对山洪灾害防治非工程措施项目建设情况及其在"5.10"特大山洪灾害中发挥的作用进行了专题调研。调研组认为,山洪灾害防治非工程措施项目发挥了重大防灾减灾作用,但有待进一步完善。此外,通过总结此次山洪灾害防御工作中的经验教训,为大规模开展山洪灾害防治县级非工程措施项目建设提供借鉴参考。     

面向工业过程的鲁棒PID控制器设计

将内模控制原理和极小极大优化原则相结合,提出了一种新的鲁棒PID控制器设计方法.优化设计过程分步进行,综合采用多参数随机优化和解析优化方法.设计结果具有算法稳定、鲁棒性强、一致性好等特点,适合于工况变化频繁的工业过程回路控制.     

Reshaping the Coliseum in Rome: An Integrated Data Capture and Modeling Method at Heritage Sites

The paper describes the process of building Internet‐transmittable, 3‐D digital virtual models of ancient heritage monuments from on‐site data, focusing especially on 3‐D dimensional data acquisition techniques and color processing methods. Section 1 considers project goals and the attendant problems; Section 2 provides a brief summary of state‐of‐the‐art experience and the technologies adopted by the Authors; Section 3 illustrates the key features of the 3‐D color data acquisition methods used as well as the shape and color processing pipeline; Section 4 describes the specific study conducted on single elements and faades of the Coliseum in Rome, while Section 6 outlines future work.     

HSDPA系统中分组调度方法的性能比较

讨论了高速下行链路分组接入(HSDPA)系统中适合采用的分组调度方法。依据HSD-PA系统的特点,讨论了MaxC/I、RoundRobin和Max/Min三种调度方法,并通过计算机仿真,对其性能进行了分析、比较。结果表明,Max/Min调度是一种适合于HSDPA系统的调度方法。     

中国六世纪之特色复合调料:“八和韲”——《齐民要术》“八和韲”之文化解读

《齐民要术》卷八中记载的"八和韲",是由八种不同风味的原料调制而成的辛香味型复合调料,是专门用来佐食"脍"肴的佳品。我国古代美味"韲"有多种,各有风味特色。《齐民要术》关于"八和韲"的记载,弥补了历史文献无"金韲"描述的缺憾,也创立了记录菜肴制作工艺的典范,保留了失传的《食经》中的珍贵资料,具有重要的历史文化价值。     

A Max–Min ant colony algorithm for fractal dimension of complex networks

The fractal is an important feature of many real complex networks. According to the definition of the Hausdorff dimension, the minimum number of boxes that can be used to cover complex networks is an important factor for revealing the fractal feature of self-similar complex networks. The calculation of the minimum number of boxes is an NP (Non-deterministic Polynomial)-hard problem. In this paper, a heuristic algorithm, named the Max–Min ant colony algorithm, is introduced to approximate the minimum number of boxes. The pheromone-updating rules and heuristic rules are redefined to improve the performance of the algorithm. The experimental results show that, for Escherichia coli networks, the number of boxes was significantly decreased compared to the box-covering greedy algorithm, especially when the box size is small.