Development of a risk classification system combining TN-categories and circulating EBV DNA for non-metastatic NPC in 10,149 endemic cases.

Background: The objective of this study was to construct a risk classification system integrating cell-free Epstein-Barr virus (cfEBV) DNA with T- and N- categories for better prognostication in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

Methods: Clinical records of 10,149 biopsy-proven, non-metastatic NPC were identified from two cancer centers; this comprised a training ( = 9,259) and two validation cohorts ( = 890; including one randomized controlled phase 3 trial cohort). Adjusted hazard ratio (AHR) method using a two-tiered stratification by cfEBV DNA and TN-categories was applied to generate the risk model.

Apatinib for the treatment of metastatic or locoregionally recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma after failure of chemotherapy: A multicenter, single-arm, prospective phase 2 study.

Background: The authors aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of apatinib in patients with metastatic or locoregionally recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

Methods: A multicenter, single-arm, prospective phase 2 study was conducted on patients (18-70 years of age) with metastatic or recurrent NPC who had failed chemotherapy. Patients with recurrent disease involving vascular structure invasion were excluded.

An optimal posttreatment surveillance strategy for cancer survivors based on an individualized risk-based approach.

The optimal post-treatment surveillance strategy that can detect early recurrence of a cancer within limited visits remains unexplored. Here we adopt nasopharyngeal carcinoma as the study model to establish an approach to surveillance that balances the effectiveness of disease detection versus costs. A total of 7,043 newly-diagnosed patients are grouped according to a clinic-molecular risk grouping system.

Effects of the γ″-NiNb Phase on Mechanical Properties of Inconel 718 Superalloys with Different Heat Treatments.

The effects of the γ″-NiNb phase on the mechanical properties of Inconel 718 superalloys, with standard heat treatment, hot isostatic pressing + solution treatment + aging, and hot isostatic pressing + direct aging, were characterized by morphological observation, X-ray diffraction, and tensile experiments. The results of the morphological observation revealed that many fine γ″ precipitates of ~26.49 ± 1.

Pretreatment MRI radiomics analysis allows for reliable prediction of local recurrence in non-metastatic T4 nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Background: To identify a radiomics signature to predict local recurrence in patients with non-metastatic T4 nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

Methods: A total of 737 patients from Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center (training cohort: n = 360; internal validation cohort: n = 120) and Wuzhou Red Cross Hospital (external validation cohort: n = 257) underwent feature extraction from the largest axial area of the tumor on pretreatment magnetic resonance imaging scans. Feature selection was based on the prognostic performance and feature stability in the training cohort.

[Research on the atomic emission spectroscopy of atmospheric pressure plasma process].

In the reaction of the atmospheric pressure plasma process, the heat stable process of the atmospheric pressure plasma jet has a direct impact on the removal rate, CF4 is the provider of active F* atom, O2 is important auxiliary gas, and they play an important role in the process. In order to research the rule of the concentration of the 3 parameters upon the atmospheric pressure plasma processing, the atmospheric pressure plasma jet was used for processing and the spectrometer was used to monitor the changes in the process. The experiment indicates that: when the heat is stable, the concentration of the active F* atom essentially remains unchanged; with increasing the concentration of gas CF4, the spectrum of the active F* atom has self-absorption phenomena, so using the atomic emission spectroscopy method to monitor the changes in the concentration of active F* atom generated by CF4 is not completely exact; because O2 can easily react with the dissociation product of CF4, which inhibits the compound of the active F* atom, so in a certain range with increasing the concentration of gas O2, the concentration of the active F* atom becomes strong.

Oscillatory neural networks for robotic yo-yo control.

Different networks of coupled oscillators were developed for open-loop control of periodic motion. However, some tasks, like yo-yo playing, are open-loop unstable and require proper phase locking to stabilize. Given the phase-locking property of coupled oscillators, we investigate their application to closed-loop control of open-loop unstable systems, concentrating on the challenging task of yo-yo control.