No abstract

A variable-density, 11/2-1ayer model is used to investigate the dynamics of the freshet-water plumes generated by river outflow. Solutions are found in a north-south channel, and the transport M• and salinity S• of the outflow are specified as boundary conditions along a 25 kin-wide segment of the western boundary. In most cases, the river water discharges into a preexisting, oceanic mixed layer with thickness H1. When M• is sufficiently low, plumes remain coastally trapped. Immediately after the outflow is switched on, a coastal Kelvin wave is excited at the river mouth that establishes a southward current of oceanic water along the right-hand coast. In contrast, all the river water first bends to the left as it exits the river mouth, and the resulting plume advances northward along the left-hand coast. At the plume nose, some of the freshet water reverses direction, and this water, together with some oceanic water, flows southward on either side of the offshore density front between the freshet and salty waters. Two processes cause this upstream movement: geostrophie adjustment generates the southward frontal current, and Kelvin-wave propagation from the nose thins the layer within the plume thereby establishing the northward, geostrophic, coastal jet. When M• is sufficiently high, coastally trapped plumes no longer exist. If the Rossby number of the outflow is also large enough, the river water flows directly offshore and only a portion of it recirculates to form a northward propagating coastal plume. The angle'at which the outflow leaves the river mouth becomes more southward as M• and S• increase and as H1 decreases. The strength of the northward propagating plume is weakened as H1 decreases and S• increases. When H1 = 0 so that there is no ambient oceanic layer, there is no northward plume at all. Likewise, the plume is weakened when the model includes entrainment, a process that acts to prevent the layer thickness from thinning appreciably. Introduction River water typically bends to the right (facing sea-ward) in the northern hemisphere as it flows into the ocean, forming a shallow plume along the right-hand coast. (Hereafter, we refer to the region •o the right of the river mouth as being "downstream" and the lefthand region as being "upstream.") Well-documented examples of this type of circulation are the outflows from the Delaware Bay [Miinchow and Garvine, 1993] and the CheSapeake Bay [Boicourt, 1981]. In contrast, salinity distributions near the Changjiang (Yangtze) and Ganges River mouths indicate that some river water flows directly offshore during the summer when the Copyright 1997 by the American Geophysical Union. Paper number 97JC00985. 0148-0227/97/97JC-00985509.00 discharge is high [BeardsIcy et al., 1983; Wang, 1988; Murty et al., 1992; $hetye et al., 1993]. There are also indications that river water can bend to the left to flow along the upstream coast. A dramatic leftward flow of the Mississippi River Outflow occurred after the major flood in 1993, with part of the plume flowing eastward ...

Abstract. Deregulation of microRNAs (miRs) has been observed in a variety of types of human cancer. Previously, miR-30a-5p has been demonstrated to exhibit a suppressive role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the underlying mechanism remains largely unclear. The present study aimed to elucidate the regulatory mechanism of miR-30a-5p in proliferation and invasion of HCC cells. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase and western blotting were used to examine mRNA and protein expression of Forkhead box A1 (FOXA1). MTT and Transwell assays were performed to examine proliferation and invasion. Luciferase reporter assay was used to determine the association between miR-30a-5p and FOXA1. The data indicated that miR-30a-5p was significantly downregulated in HCC tissues compared with normal liver tissues. Furthermore, the level of miR-30a-5p was lower in HCC tissues with higher histological grade and advanced tumor stage compared with tissues with lower histological grade and tumor stage. Additionally, restoration of miR-30a-5p expression decreased the proliferation and invasion of HCC HepG2 and SMMC-7721 cells. FOXA1, a novel oncogene in HCC, was further identified as a target of miR-30a-5p. Furthermore, high expression of miR-30a-5p suppressed mRNA and protein expression of FOXA1, while overexpression of FOXA1 reversed the suppressive effect of miR-30a-5p on proliferation and invasion of HepG2 and SMMC-7721 cells. FOXA1 was markedly upregulated in HCC tissues compared with normal liver tissues, and its level was higher in HCC tissues with higher histological grade and advanced tumor stage. In addition, it was found that overexpression of miR-30a-5p significantly suppressed the tumor growth of HCC cells in nude mice. Taken together, the present study supports that miR-30a-5p inhibits the proliferation, invasion, and tumor growth of HCC cells, partly at least, by inhibition of FOXA1 expression, and therefore suggests that miR-30a-5p may serve as a potential candidate for HCC therapy.

Abstract. Urban flooding exposure is generally investigated with the assumption of stationary disasters and disaster-hit bodies during an event, and thus it cannot satisfy the increasingly elaborate modeling and management of urban floods. In this study, a comprehensive method was proposed to simulate dynamic exposure to urban flooding considering residents' travel behavior. First, a flood simulation was conducted using the LISFLOOD-FP model to predict the spatiotemporal distribution of flooding. Second, an agent-based model was used to simulate residents' movements during the urban flooding period. Finally, to study the evolution and patterns of urban flooding exposure, the exposure of population, roads, and buildings to urban flooding was simulated using Lishui, China, as a case study. The results showed that water depth was the major factor affecting total urban exposure in Lishui. Urban exposure to fluvial flooding was concentrated along the river, while exposure to pluvial flooding was dispersed throughout the area (independent from the river). Additionally, the population distribution on weekends was more variable than on weekdays and was more sensitive to floods. In addition, residents' response behavior (based on their subjective consciousness) may result in increased overall exposure. This study presents the first fully formulated method for dynamic urban flood exposure simulation at a high spatiotemporal resolution. The quantitative results of this study can provide fundamental information for urban flood disaster vulnerability assessment, socioeconomic loss assessment, urban disaster risk management, and emergency response plan establishment.

Background: The management of the intersegmental plane (ISP) is challenging during uniport videoassisted thoracoscopic (VATS) pulmonary segmentectomy. Staplers and electrocautery have been used extensively in ISP management. However, both of them have their respective drawbacks. Currently, we have provided a revised technique termed as "Combined Dimensional Reduction Method" (CDR method), for managing the ISP with combined application of ultrasonic scalpel and staplers. The study aimed to review the outcomes of patients who underwent uniport VATS segmentectomy with or without the CDR method in our institute and assess the feasibility and safety of the CDR method.Methods: From March 2017 to February 2018, 220 patients who underwent uniport VATS segmentectomy were retrospectively reviewed. By using IQQA software, pulmonary structures were reconstructed as three-dimensional (3D) images, making the targeted structures could be identified preoperatively. For the management of the ISP, in the CDR group, we firstly used the ultrasonic scalpel to trim the 3D pulmonary structure along the intersegmental demarcation, making the remaining targeted parenchyma both sufficiently thin enough and located on a 2D plane; thus, enabling easy use of staplers in managing ISP. Whereas, in the non-CDR group, we only use the staplers to manage the ISPs. The clinical characteristics, complications, and postoperative pulmonary functions were compared between the two groups.Results: Propensity score analysis generated 2 well-matched pairs of 71 patients in CDR and non-CDR groups. There was no 30-day postoperative death or readmission in either group. The CDR group was significantly associated with the shorter operative time (178.3±35.8 vs. 209.2±28.7 min) (P=0.031) and postoperative stay (4.5±2.3 vs. 5.7±4.2 days) (P=0.041), compared to the non-CDR group. Moreover, no significant difference was observed in blood loss, a period of chest tube drainage, a period of ultrafine tube drainage, and postoperative pulmonary complications between the two groups. Moreover, the recovery rate of postoperative forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) or vital capacity (VC) at 1 and 3 months after segmentectomy was comparable between them. Conclusions:The CDR method could make segmentectomy easier and more accurate, and therefore has the potential to be a viable and effective technique for uniport VATS pulmonary segmentectomy.