INTRODUCTION: Strong evidence indicates that multiple genetic and environmental risk factors play a role in the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). We aimed to develop and validate a novel nomogram, incorporating both genetic and clinical factors, for predicting NASH. METHODS: A total of 1,070 Asian individuals with biopsy-confirmed nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) from 2 countries (China and South Korea) were recruited. The histological spectrum of NAFLD was classified according to the NASH clinical research network scoring system. The nomogram was developed in the Chinese training set (n = 402), and then, it was validated in both the Chinese internal validation set (n = 136) and the external Korean validation cohort (n = 532), respectively. RESULTS: Sex, metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, serum aspartate aminotransferase levels, and PNPLA3 (rs738409) and HSD17B13 (rs72613567) genetic variants were strongly associated with NASH. Based on their regression coefficients, we developed a nomogram with good discriminatory ability (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve: 0.81, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.77–0.85) and good calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow test, P = 0.794) for identifying NASH. In the 2 validation cohorts, the nomogram showed high area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (internal validation set: 0.80, 95% CI 0.72–0.88; external validation cohort: 0.76, 95% CI 0.72–0.80) and good calibration. DISCUSSION: Our newly developed and externally validated nomogram, incorporating both genetic and clinical risk factors, may be conveniently used to predict NASH. Further validation studies in other ethnic groups are warranted to confirm its diagnostic utility to identify NASH, among patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD.

Steel-tube bored grouting anti-sliding retaining wall is a kind of technique combined with grouting and micropiles, treated as the retaining wall in mechanics analyzing. It is the significant feature that steel-tube bored grouting anti-sliding retaining wall change the partial sliding mass to anti-sliding mass. Taking the case of landslide located in south K108 of Guangdong segment of Beijing-Zhuhai highway, the landslide is reinforced by steel-tube bored grouting anti-sliding retaining wall and discharged groundwater from sliding mass. The K108 landslide is in the situation of stability by means of displacement analysis on monitoring bores and stability computation. The result of treatment show that the steel-tube bored grouting anti-sliding retaining wall is an effective method on treating landslide.

Owing to the desirable bond strength and excellent workability, spiral hoop and bolted steel connectors are introduced to enhance the connecting performance of superimposed reinforced concrete shear wall (SRCSW) system. In order to investigate the seismic performance of SRCSWs, applying such connecting methods under flexure-shear interaction and flexural dominated status, two groups of precast (PC) specimens were constructed: one-story and two-story specimens. Seismic behavior in terms of crack patterns, load-displacement response, ductility, stiffness degradation, strain response, and deformation results of SRCSWs is evaluated by the quasistatic cyclic test. It is shown that the wall specimens with the proposed connectors exhibited similar failure mode to that of the cast-in-place (CIP) walls and possessed adequate seismic performance such as lateral resistance, ultimate drift ratio, and lateral stiffness besides the ease of erection. The strain responses and deformation results of the PC specimens under reversed cyclic loading were presented to evaluate the effectiveness of the introduced connections. The test results indicated that the PC walls adopting bolted steel connectors behaved better in force transmission and exhibited greater integrity characteristic compared with the specimens having spiral hoop connectors. Lastly, simplified finite element models considering the nonlinear slip behavior within the connection joint of SRCSWs were established and verified, which could provide sufficient accuracy and efficiency to predict the seismic response of the proposed wall system.

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In order to estimate and predict the screw performance in the process of machining, a screw life monitoring system was built. Current signal was processed and features sensitive to cutting force were selected, a virtual force sensor was constructed to model the relation between cutting force and current by BPNN. Cutting force was indirectly calculated by the model, so the rating life of screw in different condition could be known and residual life also be reckoned by historical database. A three-way vibration sensor was installed on screw pair base; screw condition could be induced by HMM which input was 15 vibration signal features. As machining condition changed, corresponding new HMM would be built by adaptive method. Finally, the residual life of screw could be gotten by multi-HMM and BPNN. The experimental results show the model proposed in the paper is effective and high precision.