Effect of Tool Coatings on Machining Properties of Compacted Graphite Iron.

Compacted graphite iron (CGI) has become the most ideal material for automotive engine manufacturing owing to its excellent mechanical properties. However, tools are severely worn during processing, considerably shortening their lifespan. In this study, we prepared a series of cemented carbide-coated tools and evaluated their coating properties in cutting tests. Among all tested coatings, PVD coating made of AlCrN (AC) presented with the best surface integrity and mechanical properties, achieving the best comprehensive performance in the coating test. The AC-coated tool also exhibited the best cutting performance at a low speed of 120 m/min, corresponding to a 60% longer cutting life and the lowest workpiece surface roughness relative to other coated tools. In the cutting test at a high speed of 350 m/min, the CVD double-layer coated tool (MT) with a TiCN inner layer of and an Al2O3 outer layer had a 70% longer cutting life and the lowest workpiece surface roughness relative to other coated tools.

Radiomics model for distinguishing tuberculosis and lung cancer on computed tomography scans.

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) and lung cancer (LC) are common diseases with a high incidence and similar symptoms, which may be misdiagnosed by radiologists, thus delaying the best treatment opportunity for patients. AIM: To develop and validate radiomics methods for distinguishing pulmonary TB from LC based on computed tomography (CT) images. METHODS: We enrolled 478 patients (January 2012 to October 2018), who underwent preoperative CT screening. Radiomics features were extracted and selected from the CT data to establish a logistic regression model. A radiomics nomogram model was constructed, with the receiver operating characteristic, decision and calibration curves plotted to evaluate the discriminative performance. RESULTS: Radiomics features extracted from lesions with 4 mm radial dilation distances outside the lesion showed the best discriminative performance. The radiomics nomogram model exhibited good discrimination, with an area under the curve of 0.914 (sensitivity = 0.890, specificity = 0.796) in the training cohort, and 0.900 (sensitivity = 0.788, specificity = 0.907) in the validation cohort. The decision curve analysis revealed that the constructed nomogram had clinical usefulness. CONCLUSION: These proposed radiomic methods can be used as a noninvasive tool for differentiation of TB and LC based on preoperative CT data.

Identification of sea perch (Lateolabrax japonicus) ribonucleoprotein PTB-Binding 1 involved in antiviral immune response against RGNNV.

RIG-I-like receptors (RLRs) can recognize viral RNA and initiate innate antiviral response. In earlier studies, we demonstrated that RLRs were implicated in the antiviral immunity against RGNNV in the seawater fish sea perch (Lateolabrax japonicus). However, potential regulators of RLRs-mediated signaling pathways involved in RGNNV infection remain unclear. In this study, a novel ribonucleoprotein PTB-binding 1 (Raver1) of sea perch (LjRAVER1) was identified for the first time. The cDNA of LjRAVER1 was 4066 bp in length and encoded a deduced polypeptide of 733 amino acids. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a closer affinity of LjRAVER1 with Larimichthys Crocea Raver1. LjRAVER1 mRNA was constitutively expressed in all 10 sampled tissues, and rapidly and significantly increased in vivo upon RGNNV infection. Time course analysis showed that LjRAVER1 transcripts were significantly increased both in vivo and in vitro after RGNNV infection. Viral infection and poly I:C treatment caused translocation of LjRAVER1 from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. Ectopic expression of LjRAVER1 increased the transcription level of several RLR signaling pathway related genes inducible by poly I:C treatment in vitro. Moreover, the viral gene transcription and virus production of RGNNV were significantly decreased in LjRAVER1 overexpressing cells. Luciferase reporter assays demonstrated that overexpression of LjRAVER1 significantly increased the promoter activity of zebrafish IFN1. Taken together, these findings indicated that LjRAVER1 might be an important component of RLR signaling pathway and involved in RLR pathway-mediated IFN response in sea perch.

Identification and characterization of the melanoma differentiation - associated gene 5 in sea perch, Lateolabrax japonicus.

The RIG-I-like receptors family is a group of cytosolic RNA helicase proteins that can recognize viral RNA via binding to pathogen associated molecular pattern motifs within RNA ligands. A novel vertebrate RLR counterpart named LjMDA5 was firstly identified from the marine fish sea perch Lateolabrax japonicus in this study. The full-length cDNA of LjMDA5 is 3750 bp and encodes a polypeptide of 988 amino acids, containing two N-terminal tandem caspase activation and recruitment domains, a DExH (Asp-Glu-X-His) box domain, an HELICc domain, and a C-terminal domain RIG-I. Phylogenetic analysis showed that LjMDA5 shared the closest genetic relationship with the MDA5 of Larimichthys crocea. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed that LjMDA5 was ubiquitously expressed and up-regulated significantly in all selected tissues in vivo post NNV infection. Time course analysis showed that LjMDA5 transcripts significantly increased in spleen and kidney. We found LjMDA5 could be regulated in the sea perch LJB and LJF cell lines after lipopolysaccharide, polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid treatment and NNV challenge. RNA interference experiment indicated that silencing of LjMDA5 significantly increased RGNNV replication and virus production in NNV infected LJF cells. Our results revealed that MDA5 was essential for host defense against NNV, which provided new insights into the function of RLR signaling pathway during NNV infection in fish.

Molecular characterization and expression analysis of mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein gene in sea perch, Lateolabrax japonicus.

The mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein (MAVS) is vital for host defenses against viral infection by inducing expression of type I interferon. Here, the MAVS of sea perch (Lateolabrax japonicus) (LjMAVS) was cloned and analyzed. The complete cDNA sequence of LjMAVS was 3207 bp and encoded a polypeptide of 601 amino acids. LjMAVS contains an N-terminal CARD-like domain, a central proline-rich domain and a C-terminal transmembrane domain. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that LjMAVS exhibited the closest relationship to O. fasciatus MAVS. LjMAVS was ubiquitously expressed in all tested tissues of healthy fish. The expression of LjMAVS was significantly increased post nervous necrosis virus (NNV) infection in vivo in all the selected tissues. Furthermore, time course analysis showed that LjMAVS transcripts significantly increased in the brain, spleen and kidney tissues after NNV infection. LjMAVS mRNA expression was significantly up-regulated in vitro after poly I:C stimulation. The viral gene transcription of RGNNV was significantly decreased in LjMAVS over-expressing LJB cells. These findings provide useful information for further elucidating the function ofLjMAVS in antiviral innate immune against NNV in sea perch.

Characterization and expression analysis of laboratory of genetics and physiology 2 gene in sea perch, Lateolabrax japonicus.

LGP2 (laboratory of genetics and physiology 2) as a key component of the retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I)-like receptors (RLRs), plays a predominant role in modulating RLRs-mediated cellular antiviral signaling during viral infection. In the present study, we cloned the LGP2 gene from the sea perch (Lateolabrax japonicus) (LjLGP2), an economically important farmed fish. The complete cDNA sequence of LjLGP2 was 2790 nt and encoded a polypeptide of 682 amino acids which contains four main structural domains: one DEAD/DEAH box helicase domain, one conserved restriction domain of bacterial type III restriction enzyme, one helicase superfamily c-terminal domain and one C-terminal domain of RIG-I, similar to most vertebrate LGP2. Subcellular localization analysis showed that LjLGP2 spanned the entire cytosol. The LjLGP2 mRNA was widespread expressed in the tested 10 tissues of healthy fish and significantly up-regulated post NNV infection. Furthermore, time course analysis showed that LjLGP2 transcripts significantly increased in the spleen, kidney and liver tissues after NNV infection. LjLGP2 mRNA expression was rapidly and significantly up-regulated in LJB cells after poly I:C stimulation and NNV infection. The present results suggest that LjLGP2 may be involved in recognization of NNV and play a role in antiviral innate immune against NNV in sea perch.

Association of heme oxygenase-1 with the risk of polycystic ovary syndrome in non-obese women.

STUDY QUESTION: Is circulating heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) associated with the risk of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)? SUMMARY ANSWER: Lower circulating HO-1 is associated with a higher risk of PCOS in non-obese women, in a dose-related manner. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: PCOS is one of the most common endocrine disorders in women of reproductive age, with increasing worldwide incidence. HO-1 plays a crucial role in many physiological systems, with potent anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antimetabolic properties. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: This hospital-based case-control study included 80 women with PCOS and 80 healthy control women seen at the Reproductive Center of Tongji Hospital (Wuhan, China) from November 2011 to May 2012. Cases and controls were frequency-matched on age and BMI and were enrolled into the study once written informed consent had been obtained. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: Serum hormones, glucose, insulin and lipid concentrations were measured using an automated platform. Correlation coefficients and multiple linear regression models were calculated in the combined group (both cases and controls) using serum HO-1 concentration as the independent variable and age and BMI as covariate variables to explore the association between HO-1 and the pathophysiology of PCOS. To examine the independent association of serum HO-1 levels with the likelihood of PCOS, multivariate logistic analysis was used. The strength of the association was tested further by receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve models, with or without the addition of HO-1. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: Compared with controls, women with PCOS were found to have significantly increased insulin resistance (IR), oxidative stress (OS) and inflammation levels, creating a vicious circle of effects in the pathophysiology of PCOS. However, serum HO-1 was negatively associated with this vicious circle. Women with the highest tertile of HO-1 (≥5.29 ng/ml) had an odds ratio (OR) of PCOS of 0.02 (95% CI 0.0034-0.07) compared with women with the lowest quartile (<3.14 ng/ml) (P < 0.01). This trend remained after adjustment for potential confounders in the multivariable model (all P < 0.01). ROC analysis based on an existing prognostic model yielded significantly discriminative values for PCOS, with or without the addition of HO-1 (areas under the curves were 0.86 (95% CI 0.81-0.92) versus 0.95 (95% CI 0.92-0.98); P for difference = 0.0005). LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: It is difficult to establish a time-integrated measure of circulating HO-1 during the progression of PCOS and these findings should be confirmed in large-scale studies involving different ethnic groups. Moreover, the study lacks measurements of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) to provide an index of blood glucose concentrations over time. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: Circulating HO-1 that provides protection against IR, OS and chronic inflammation is markedly reduced in non-obese women with PCOS. Low serum HO-1 is suggested as an independent risk factor for PCOS; thus, circulating HO-1 levels may be a novel biomarker for PCOS in young, non-obese women. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S): This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81202210) and the National Science and Technology Support Program of China (2012BAI02B02). None of the authors has any conflict of interest to declare.