Evaluation of Influences of Changed Lower Cover Geometry on Kerosene-Air Interaction in a Scramjet Combustor.

The fuel in a scramjet combustor must be injected into a high-speed crossflow and mixed with supersonic air in a very short period of time in order for the scramjet jet to operate reliably. More generally, the supersonic air is produced by the lower cover, similar to a Laval type nozzle, of the scramjet combustor. However, significant variation in lower cover geometry is prone to produce unstable vortexes. The unstable vortexes are accompanied by nonuniform stress and strain and are detrimental to the lower cover, even to the combustor. Inspired by mechanical design, this study proposes to change lower cover geometry by decreasing its sizes and then evaluates effects of these changes on kerosene fuel-air interaction in the combustor. The evaluation is based on three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics with couple level set and volume of fluids, which characterizes the penetration height, span expansion area, shock wave angle, and Sauter mean diameter of kerosene jets for three different injection diameters (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 mm). The simulated air-kerosene interactions reasonably agree with the past numerical findings at identical working conditions. This result demonstrates the effectiveness of the changed lower cover geometry for the scramjet combustor.

Examination of the role of the rotating nursing department in the training of nursing staff based on SWOT analysis.

BACKGROUND: The implementation of the rotation system in the Chinese medical industry has achieved significant results. OBJECTIVES: The present study aims to 1) explore the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges of rotational nursing department implementation and 2) provide references for developing nursing staff's competencies in leadership, performance evaluation, quality of care, communication in relationships and human resources. METHODS: A total of 16 rotational nursing department staff members from a tertiary tuberculosis specialist hospital in Beijing were interviewed, and the interview data were analysed using a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis and class analysis. RESULTS: The advantages of the rotational nursing department included: (1) stimulating the nursing staff's enthusiasm and creativity; (2) strengthening the communication and collaboration between departments; (3) improving the detailed management of nursing quality; and (4) enhancing the nursing staff's comprehensive abilities. The disadvantages included: (1) the design of the rotation programme focusing on practice; (2) a lack of personalisation; and (3) imperfect performance assessment of the rotating staff. Opportunities included: (1) deepening the connotation of nursing job management and (2) developing the construction of nursing discipline and the need for personal career development and value realisation. Threats included the lack of a sound rotation management model to draw on. CONCLUSION: A rotational nursing department is conducive to enhancing the competence of nursing staff in management positions and providing new ideas for hospitals to select and train nursing management talents. By taking full advantage of the benefits of vertical nursing management, designing personalised rotation training programmes, building a diversified learning and training platform and developing a positive performance incentive mechanism is recommended to fully engage the role of rotation in nursing management talent training.

Fluorescent in situ hybridization has limitations in screening NRG1 gene rearrangements.

BACKGROUND: NRG1 fusion is a promising therapeutic target for various tumors but its prevalence is extremely low, and there are no standardized testing algorithms for genetic assessment. MOTHODS: In this study, we analyzed 3008 tumors using Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) to screen for NRG1 translocation and p-HER3 expression. RESULTS: Our results demonstrated no cases with p-HER3 positivity through IHC. Nonetheless, 29 cases (0.96%) were identified positive for NRG1 translocation through FISH, with three different signal types. FISH-positive cases were subsequently subjected to next-generation sequencing (NGS) testing. However, only eight of these cases were confirmed with NRG1 fusion through NGS. Notably, we divided FISH into three types and FISH type C group was consistent with NGS results. All NGS NRG1 fusion tumors were adenocarcinomas, with a higher prevalence in females. Our findings indicate that although FISH has limitations in screening NRG1 gene rearrangements, NRG1 fusions can be reliably detected with signals exhibiting low copy numbers of the 5'-end of the gene and no fusion signals. CONCLUSION: Considering the high cost of NGS, FISH remains a useful method for screening NRG1 fusions in various types of tumors. This study provides valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms of NRG1 fusion and identifies potential treatment targets for patients suffering from this disease.

Remote diffusion-weighted imaging lesions and blood pressure variability in primary intracerebral hemorrhage.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the association between remote diffusion-weighted imaging lesions (R-DWILs) and blood pressure variability (BPV) in patients with primary intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of a consecutive cohort of 375 patients with primary ICH within 24 h onset. R-DWILs were defined as hyperintensity lesions in DWI remote from the hematoma. Blood pressure recordings were extracted up to 24 h post-admission. BPV was measured using SD, coefficient of variation (CV), and successive variation (SV). Results: Remote DWI lesions were detected in 65 (17.3%) primary ICH patients. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, parameters of BPV were independently associated with R-DWILs, and the results remained consistent after being adjusted with mean SBP. SD, CV, and SV values in the highest quintile, showed 3- to 8-fold increased risk of R-DWILs, compared with the lowest quintile. ΔSBP demonstrated a significant difference in 2 different predictive models. Max SBP only dictated a significant difference in model 1. Mean SBP, admission SBP, and min SBP, failed to present an association with R-DWILs in model 1 or model 2. Conclusion: Our results provided additional evidence that BPV is associated with the development of R-DWILs in primary ICH.

Potential diagnostic value of the hematological parameters lymphocyte-monocyte ratio and hemoglobin-platelet ratio for detecting colon cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of using the lymphocyte-monocyte ratio (LMR), hemoglobin-platelet ratio (HPR), and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels alone or in combination for diagnosing colon cancer. METHODS: We assessed 124 consecutive patients who were pathologically diagnosed with colon cancer and 131 patients who were diagnosed with benign colon tumors in this retrospective study. We then analyzed correlations between LMR, HPR, and clinicopathological findings. The diagnostic values of LMR, HPR, and CEA alone or in combination in colon cancer patients were evaluated by receiver operating characteristic curves. RESULTS: The median LMR, HPR, and CEA values in colon cancer patients showed significant correlation with the depth of tumor invasion, lymph node metastasis, and TNM stage. Moreover, there was a significant difference in HPR between patients with tumor size ≥5 cm and those with tumor size <5 cm. Compared with LMR, HPR, or CEA alone, combinations of CEA with LMR, CEA with HPR, and HPR with LMR all had higher area under the curve values, among which the combination of all three (LMR, HPR, and CEA) had the highest area under the curve. CONCLUSION: The combination of LMR, HPR, and CEA may be a valuable indicator for monitoring colon cancer.

LncRNA GAS5 positively regulates IL-10 expression in patients with generalized myasthenia gravis.

INTRODUCTION: LncRNA growth arrest-specific transcript 5 (GAS5) has been proven to be involved in autoimmune diseases. Rheumatoid arthritis is a type of autoimmune disease that may affect myasthenia gravis (MG) patients. However, its direct role in MG is unknown. METHODS: Our study included 62 generalized MG patients. GAS5 expression was analyzed with real-time quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR). The interaction between GAS5 and interleukin 10 (IL-10) was explored in overexpressed cells using real time quantitative polymerase chain reactions (RT-qPCRs) and western blot. The correlation of GAS5 and IL-10 was analyzed using Pearson's correlation analysis. The diagnostic value of GAS5 for MG was analyzed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. RESULTS: GAS5 and IL-10 mRNA levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were significantly lower in MG patients than healthy controls. Downregulated GAS5 effectively distinguished MG patients from healthy controls. GAS5 expression was positively correlated with IL-10 expression in both MG patients and healthy controls. GAS5 overexpression significantly upregulated IL-10 expression in PBMCs derived from both MG patients and healthy controls. CONCLUSION: LncRNA GAS5 may improve generalized MG by positively regulating IL-10 expression.