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Aim Materials and Methods Results Conclusions To investigate the association between metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) and left ventricular geometric remodelling in Chinese children.This cross‐sectional study used data from two population‐based samples in China, including 2871 children aged 6–11 years. Weight status was defined based on body mass index according to the World Health Organization growth chart. Metabolic status was defined based on the 2018 consensus‐based criteria proposed by Damanhoury et al. Obes Rev 2018;19:1476–1491 (blood pressure, lipids and glucose). Left ventricular geometric remodelling was determined as concentric remodelling, eccentric hypertrophy, and concentric hypertrophy. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to determine odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between categories of weight and metabolic status and left ventricular geometric remodelling.Compared with children with metabolically healthy normal weight, those with MHO had higher odds of left ventricular geometric remodelling, with adjusted ORs (95% CIs) of 2.01 (1.23–3.28) for concentric remodelling, 6.36 (4.03–10.04) for eccentric hypertrophy, and 17.07 (7.97–36.58) for concentric hypertrophy. Corresponding ORs (95% CIs) were 2.35 (1.47–3.75), 10.85 (7.11–16.55), and 18.56 (8.63–39.94), respectively, for children with metabolically unhealthy obesity. In contrast, metabolically unhealthy normal weight was not associated with higher odds of left ventricular geometric remodelling. Findings were consistent in sensitivity analyses that used different definitions of weight and metabolic status and left ventricular geometric remodelling.Children with MHO had higher odds of left ventricular geometric remodelling than their metabolically healthy normal weight counterparts. Our findings suggest MHO may not be a benign condition for cardiac health in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sense of coherence has significant implications for the mental health of left-behind children in rural China. This study was conducted to explore the impact of physical exercise and social support on sense of coherence in rural left-behind children. A survey was conducted among 964 rural left-behind children in Hunan Province of China aged 10–15 (Mage = 12.01 ± 1.97 years; 529 girls and 435 boys). AMOS 21.0 software was applied to build the model and perform cross-lagged analysis. Physical exercise and social support in left-behind children predict each other, and physical exercise can positively predict social support and sense of coherence in left-behind children two months later (P < 0.05); social support can significantly positively predict sense of coherence in left-behind children two months later (P < 0.05). Both physical exercise and social support have an impact on sense of coherence in left-behind children, and physical exercise can affect sense of coherence in left-behind children through the mediating effect of social support. • Physical exercise has a positive impact on sense of coherence of rural left-behind children. • Social support has a positive impact on sense of coherence of rural left-behind children. • Physical exercise has a positive impact on social support of rural left-behind children. • Social support plays a partial mediating role between physical exercise and sense of coherence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in the world. Tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a crucial role in the development of CRC. With the deep understanding of TME function, growing studies have demonstrated that alteration in tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TICs) and gene expressions are associated with clinical outcomes of various tumors. In this study, we aimed to recognize critical prognostic genes involved in immune states in TME of CRC. Hence, the proportion of TICs and the number of immune and stromal components in CRC samples from TCGA datasets were calculated by the use of CIBERSORT and ESTIMATE calculation methods. Different assays were applied to collect differential expression genes (DEGs) shared by the ImmuneScore and StromalScore. DEGs were further analyzed by the use of univariate Cox regression. Our attention focused on neuron navigator 3 (NAV3) which was highly expressed in CRC specimens and associated with an advanced clinical stage and poor prognosis of CRC patients. KEGG assays revealed that NAV3 may be involved in Alzheimer disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington disease, FoxO signaling pathway, and human papillomavirus infection. Correlation assays showed that macrophage M0 and B cells memory, NK cells activated, dendritic cells resting, T cells CD4 memory activated, and T cells CD8 were correlated with NAV3 expression, indicating that NAV3 may represent the immune status of TME. Finally, RT-PCR confirmed that NAV3 expression was distinctly increased in CRC cells, and its knockdown suppressed the proliferation of CRC cells. Overall, NAV3 could be used as a novel predictor for TME of CRC and might be a novel prognostic biomarker. In the future, drugs targeting NAV3 might be developed as a potential immunotherapy for CRC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper a three-dimensional model of a novel electronic package has been developed using Finite element analysis to evaluate the shear load, tensile, bending and thermal stresses. Simulations of a complete flexible flip chip electronic packaging method are performed to minimize stresses on the packaged electronic device to improve robustness and reliability. Three component under-fill adhesives (Loctite 4860, Loctite 480 and Loctite 4902) and three circuit substrate materials (Kapton, Mylar and PEEK) are compared and the optimal thickness of each is found by shear load, tensile load, bending test and thermal expansion simulations. A fixed die size of 3.5 mm × 8 mm × 0.53 mm has been simulated and evaluated experimentally under shear and bending load. The shear and bending experimental results show good agreement with the simulation results and verify the simulated optimal thickness of the adhesive layer. The Kapton substrate together with the Loctite 4902 adhesive were identified as the optimum in the simulation. The simulation of under-fill adhesive and substrate thickness identified an optimum configuration of a 0.045–0.052 mm thick substrate layer and a 0.042–0.045 mm thickness of the Loctite 4902 adhesive. The bending simulation has also been used to determine the neutral axis of the encapsulated electronic package in this paper, thus identifying the optimal material and thickness for the encapsulation layer of the package. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Phylogenetic profiling is widely used to predict novel members of large protein complexes and biological pathways. Although methods combined with phylogenetic trees have significantly improved prediction accuracy, computational efficiency is still an issue that limits its genome-wise application. Results: Here we introduce a new tree-based phylogenetic profiling algorithm named GFICLEE, which infers common single and continuous loss (SCL) events in the evolutionary patterns. We validated our algorithm with human pathways from three databases and compared the computational efficiency with current tree-based with 10 different scales genome dataset. Our algorithm has a better predictive performance with high computational efficiency. Conclusions: The GFICLEE is a new method to infers genome-wide gene function. The accuracy and computational efficiency of GFICLEE make it possible to explore gene functions at the genome-wide level on a personal computer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dearomatization has emerged as a powerful tool for rapid construction of 3D molecular architectures from simple, abundant, and planar (hetero)arenes. The field has evolved beyond simple dearomatization driven by new synthetic technology development. With the renaissance of photocatalysis and expansion of the activation mode, the last few years have witnessed impressive developments in innovative photochemical dearomatization methodologies, enabling skeletal modifications of dearomatized structures. They offer truly efficient and useful tools for facile construction of highly complex structures, which are viable for natural product synthesis and drug discovery. In this review, we aim to provide a mechanistically insightful overview on these innovations based on the degree of skeletal alteration, categorized into dearomative functionalization and skeletal editing, and to highlight their synthetic utilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Socio-economic inequities can strongly influence suboptimal infant feeding outcomes. Factors such as lack of knowledge about breastfeeding, low family income, low educational attainment, social and economic status, cultural norms and ethnicity may negatively affect success with offering breastfeeding following a responsive feeding approach (ie. responsive breastfeeding). Such inequities can indeed shorten breastfeeding duration, and negatively affect behavioral and cognitive infant outcomes. In China, there is a dearth of studies focusing on breastfeeding from the responsive and health equity perspective. Objective: The aim of this article is to present a protocol of an ongoing longitudinal cohort study investigating factors associated with responsive breastfeeding behaviors, and the child's behavioral and cognitive development from birth to12 months post-partum in five centers in China. The study seeks to identify breastfeeding barriers and facilitators from a health equity perspective. Methods: We are enrolling 700 women and their singleton full term infants in Chongqing, Huizhou and Guangzhou urban and rural areas. The study questionnaires will be administrated within 72 h, 30 days, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months post-partum during the baby's vaccination visits. We will investigate the difference between urban and rural areas sociodemographic characteristics, breastfeeding knowledge, attitudes and practice, postnatal depression, maternal emotion regulation and parenting stress, and anthropometric and cognitive development indicators of the infants at each time-point. Conclusion: Our article illustrates how a cohort study can be designed to understand the barriers and facilitators of responsive breastfeeding taking equity principles into account to help promote infants' growth and development in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Erianin, a bioactive compound extracted from Dendrobium , a traditional Chinese medicine, exhibits remarkable anti-cancer properties through diverse molecular mechanisms and has attracted the attention of medicinal chemists. However, the low solubility in water, rapid metabolism and elimination from the body lead to poor bioavailability of Erianin, and greatly hinder its clinical application. The development of new Erianin derivatives is continuously proceed to improve its anticancer effects. In recent years, although important progress in the development of Erianin and the publication of some reviews in this aspect, the mechanism against various cancers, pharmacokinetic study, structural modification as well as structure-activity relationships have not been thoroughly considered. This review is aimed at providing complete picture regarding the above aspects by reviewing studies from 2000 to 2023.06. This review also supplies some important viewpoints on the design and future directions for the development of Erianin derivatives as possible clinically effective anticancer agents. [Display omitted] • Erianin, a bioactive compound extracted from Dendrobium, exhibits remarkable antitumor properties. • The mechanism, pharmacokinetic study, structural modification and SARs of Erianin have not been thoroughly considered. • This review is aimed at providing complete picture of Erianin by reviewing studies from 2000 to 2023.06. • This review supplies important viewpoints on the design and future directions for the development of Erianin derivatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study was designed to investigate the situation of social anxiety among left-behind children in rural areas of Hunan Province, China, and to study the effect of social anxiety on loneliness. Methodology: A total of 797 left-behind children were selected from rural areas in Hunan Province, China. The basic information questionnaire for left-behind children, Social Anxiety Scale for Children, Perceived Social Support Scale and UCLA Loneliness Scale were used for investigation. Results: (1) The social anxiety score of left-behind children in China is 6.84 ± 4.28, higher than non-left-behind children, and the score of boys is lower than that of girls, with no significant difference. The score of left-behind children in grade 5 is significantly lower than that of left-behind children in other grades. (2) The overall loneliness score is 16.30 ± 5.10, higher than non-left-behind children, and the score of boys is significantly higher than that of girls. (3) Social anxiety has a significant positive predictive effect on loneliness (P < 0.01). Regression analysis shows that social anxiety not only affects loneliness directly, but also affects loneliness indirectly through the mediating role of perceived social support. Conclusions: Social anxiety is a risk factor for loneliness of left-behind children in rural areas. In the influence of social anxiety on loneliness, social support plays a partial mediating role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: to explore the influence of physical exercise on social anxiety of left-behind children in rural areas, and to verify the mediator and moderator role of perceived social support.Methods: 797 rural left-behind children were studied with physical exercise rating scale, social anxiety scale and perceived social support assessment scale. The Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated between physical exercise and social anxiety, and regression and structural equation models were used to check whether perceived social support played a mediator and moderator role or not.Results: the effect of physical exercise on social anxiety of left-behind children in rural areas is significant (P < 0.01); exercise time, exercise intensity and exercise frequency have significant effects on social anxiety; perceived social support has significant effects on social anxiety (P < 0.01); family support, friend support and other support have significant negative effects on social anxiety. Regression analysis shows that the dimensions of perceived social support (family support, friend support and other support) have some mediator effects in explaining social anxiety in sports. Perceived social support plays a moderator role in the relationship between physical exercise and social anxiety.Conclusions: The results suggests the impact of perceived social support on left-behind children in rural areas. Specifically, perceived social support has a positive impact on the level of social anxiety and a positive impact on physical exercise. It is suggested that attention should be paid to social support of rural left-behind children in the process of mental health education and school physical education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Free from compound synthesis. • Easily performed in any biological lab. • Broad small-molecular scope. • Commercial beads or easily modified beads. In drug discovery and development, the direct target identification of bioactive small molecules plays a significant role for understanding the mechanism of action, predicting the side effects, and rationally designing more potent compounds. However, due to the complicated regulatory processes in a cell together with thousands of biomacromolecules, target identification is always the major obstacle. New methods and technologies are continuously invented to tackle this problem. Nevertheless, the mainly used tools possess several disadvantages. High synthetic skills are typically required to laboriously synthesize a probe for protein enrichment. To detect the ligand–protein interaction by analyzing proteins' responses to proteolytic or thermal treatment, costly and precise instruments are always necessary. Therefore, convenient and practical techniques are urgently needed. Over the past decades, a strategy using native compounds without the requirement of chemical modification, also termed Native-compound-Coupled Affinity Matrix (NCAM), is developing continuously. Two practical tactics based on "label-free" compounds have been invented and used, that is Photo-cross-linked Small-molecule Affinity Matrix (PSAM) and Native-compound-Coupled CNBr-activated Beads (NCCB). Presently, we will elucidate the characteristics, coupling mechanism, advantages and disadvantages, and future prospect of NCAM in specific target identification and validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exercise dependence is a psychological problem that cannot be ignored and is positively related to anxiety and depression of college students. However, only a few effective intervention methods are available to deal with exercise dependence. This study aims to investigate the intervention effects of motivation interviewing Chinese modified on the mental health of college students with exercise dependence. Thirty college students with exercise dependence were selected from Hunan University of Science and Technology in Hunan province of China to participate in the experiment. The participants were divided equally into the intervention and control groups. A three-week motivation interviewing Chinese modified session was conducted in the intervention group, whereas no intervention was carried out in the control group. This strategy allowed for the vertical and the horizontal comparison of the intervention objects' situation before and after the experiment. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and other Scales were used to evaluate the effects of the intervention and explore the intervention effects of motivation interviewing Chinese modified on the mental health of college students with exercise dependence. After three weeks of motivation interviewing Chinese modified, differences in state anxiety, depression, self-satisfaction, negative emotion, energy, and positive emotion in the intervention and control groups before and after the intervention appear to be statistically significant (P < 0.05). Motivation interviewing Chinese modified can improve the mental health level of college students with exercise dependence. Hence, motivation interviewing Chinese modified is good for the treatment of addiction behaviors and provides a reliable intervention method for exercise dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel packaging method that enables the reliable mounting and protection of bare die within a textile yarn has been investigated. The reliability of electronic textiles is highly challenging given the flexibility of the fabric and the rigors of typical applications. Achieving reliable operation requires novel packaging approaches. In order to maximize the reliability and to minimize stresses in the electronic package, the die should be located as close as possible to the central axis of the overall assembly. The die is bonded to a bottom Kapton substrate that contains patterned conductive interconnects and bond pads forming the functional circuit. The circuit is protected by a molded Kapton film that has recesses formed where the die is located. This approach has been compared with three other traditional packaging technologies during washing, twisting, and cyclical bending tests. The novel electronic packaging method shows the best performance in all tests surviving up to 45 wash cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the influence of exercise motivation and basic psychological needs on exercise dependence among Chinese college students. 1689 college students engaged in long-term exercise were selected from three universities in Hunan province in China as the objects of the survey. 1601 valid copies of the questionnaire were collected. Exercise Addiction Inventory, Motivation for Physical Activity Measure-Revised, Psychological Need Satisfaction in Exercise Scale and other questionnaires were used in the correlation analysis and structural equation model to investigate the influence of psychological needs and exercise motivation on exercise dependence among Chinese college students. Appearance motivation and ability motivation directly affect exercise dependence positively (r = 0.303, r = 0.269), while competence need directly affects exercise dependence positively (r = 0.309), and indirectly affects exercise dependence through appearance motivation and ability motivation. Appearance motivation and ability motivation directly affect exercise dependence positively; competence need not only directly affects exercise dependence but also indirectly affects it through appearance and ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TiO 2 -SiO 2 heterostructure photonic crystal was rapidly fabricated by a modified electrophoresis-assisted self-assembly process. The effect of voltage on preparation and properties of TiO 2 -SiO 2 heterostructure photonic crystal was discussed. The results of the tests show that TiO 2 -SiO 2 heterostructure photonic crystal with different structures can be rapidly fabricated by controlling the voltage. With the increase of voltage, the TiO 2 -SiO 2 heterostructure photonic crystal is more likely to form an ordered hexagonal array and shows a more bright and uniform color. Meanwhile, the central wavelength of the photonic band gap will be blue shifted in the near-infrared region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method for packaging integrated circuit silicon die in thin flexible circuits has been investigated that enables circuits to be subsequently integrated within textile yarns. This paper presents an investigation into the required materials and component dimensions in order to maximize the reliability of the packaging method. Two die sizes of 3.5 \,\,\text mm \times 8 \,\,\text mm \times 0.53\,\, \text mm and 2 \,\,\text mm \times 2\,\,\text mm \times 0.1 \,\,\text mm have been simulated and evaluated experimentally under shear load and during bending. The shear and bending experimental results show good agreement with the simulation results and verify the simulated optimal thickness of the adhesive layer. Three underfill adhesives (EP30AO, EP37-3FLF, and Epo-Tek 301 2fl), three highly flexible adhesives (Loctite 4860, Loctite 480, and Loctite 4902), and three substrates (Kapton, Mylar, and PEEK) have been evaluated, and the optimal thickness of each is found. The Kapton substrate, together with the EP37-3FLF adhesive, was identified as the best materials combination with the optimum underfill and substrate thickness identified as 0.05 mm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BiSiO is a metastable phase compound and one of the important Bi-based Aurivillius phase oxide semiconductors. Pure BiSiO powders were synthesized successfully by Pechini sol-gel method. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, thermal analyzer, FTIR spectrometer, Raman spectrometer, fluorescence spectrophotometer and UV/Vis/NIR spectrophotometer. The mechanism of the reaction process was studied. The structure, the optical and photocatalytic properties of pure samples were investigated. The results show that citric acid, polyethylene glycol, solvents and calcination temperature have important effects on the reaction, and pure BiSiO can be obtained at 650 °C for 1 h. The as-prepared BiSiO has a typical Aurivillius-like structure and its bang gap energy is 3.5 eV. The results of degradation of Rhodamine B reveal that pure BiSiO powders prepared by Pechini sol-gel method possess a synergistic effect of adsorption and photocatalysis, which indicates that the BiSiO powders can be used as an efficient material for wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper aims to clarify the effect of metal ions added in the γ-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (γ-GPS) solutions on the anti-corrosion properties of the γ-GPS coatings on cold-rolled iron (CRI). Design/methodology/approach – The transformations of functional groups involved in reactions during the coating process were characterized by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and the thickness of the γ-GPS coatings on the CRI substrates was measured using high-powered microscopy. The anti-corrosion properties of γ-GPS-treated samples were evaluated by neutral salt spray tests, polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements. Findings – The results show that Zn2+ and Mg2+ in the γ-GPS solutions promote the formation of Si-O-Si and Si-O-Fe bonds and improve the anti-corrosion properties of the γ-GPS coatings on CRI. However, Al3+ and Na+ in the γ-GPS solutions do not play this role. Originality/value – Although there have been previous research studies on the γ-GPS coatings on CRI, this paper is the first to study the effect of metal ions added in the silane solutions on the anti-corrosion properties of the γ-GPS coatings, and it has been confirmed that the anti-corrosion properties changed when Zn2+ (or Mg2+) is present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We designed a compact diode-end-close-pumped passively Q-switched composite Nd:YAG/Cr:YAG laser. By a single F-mount packaged fast-collimated laser diode without any optical pump coupling components, we achieved a 1.7 ns pulse width output with an 11.4 kHz pulse repetition rate at a 2 W continuous wave pump power in the resonator formed by the coated end surfaces of the crystal, and this agrees with numerical simulations. The corresponding pulse energy and average output power is 21 μJ and 240 mW at 1,064 nm, and the beam is near-diffraction-limited with M∼1.5. To the best of our knowledge, these are the highest pulse energy and average power in directly close-pumped passive lasers. The laser overall size without the forced air cooling system is smaller than a one-pound coin, and such miniaturization will lead to more widespread applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an efficient high-power quasicontinuous-wave (QCW) all-solid-state laser at 532 nm with a simple and compact symmetrical resonator. We design a stable green laser at 532 nm with an average power of 123 W and a repetition rate of 10 kHz by combining a single side-pumped Nd:YAG laser module with a type II LBO crystal for intracavity frequency doubling. The corresponding electrical-to-green conversion efficiency is 12.5%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest electrical-to-green efficiency in 532 nm lasers with above 100 W output power ever reported. The pulse width is 62 ns at 123 W, so the peak power is calculated up to 198.4 kW. Such a compact and efficient resonator is promising for integration into laser-application systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: With the aim of developing a nonlinear tool for near-infrared spectral (NIRS) calibration, an applicable algorithm, called MIKPLS, is designed based on the combination of two different strategies, i.e. mutual information (MI) for interval selection and kernel partial least squares (KPLS) for modeling. Due to the ability of capturing linear and nonlinear dependencies between variables simultaneously, mutual information between each candidate variables and target is calculated and employed to induce a continuous wavelength interval, which is subsequently applied to build a parsimonious calibration model for future use by kernel partial least squares. Through the experiments on two datasets, it seems that mutual information (MI)-induced interval selection, followed by KPLS, forms a very simple and practical tool, allowing a prediction model to be constructed using a much-reduced set of neighboring variables, but without any loss of generalizations and with improved prediction performance instead. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Living cell is highly responsive to specific chemicals in its environment, such as hormones and molecules in food or aromas. The reason is ascribed to the existence of widespread and diverse signal transduction pathways, between which crosstalks usually exist, thus constitute a complex signaling network. Evidently, knowledge of topology characteristic of this network could contribute a lot to the understanding of diverse cellular behaviors and life phenomena thus come into being. In this presentation, signal transduction data is extracted from KEGG to construct a cellular signaling network of Homo sapiens, which has 931 nodes and 6798 links in total. Computing the degree distribution, we find it is not a random network, but a scale-free network following a power-law of P(K)∼K −γ , with γ approximately equal to 2.2. Among three graph partition algorithms, the Guimera''s simulated annealing method is chosen to study the details of topology structure and other properties of this cellular signaling network, as it shows the best performance. To reveal the underlying biological implications, further investigation is conducted on ad hoc community and sketch map of individual community is drawn accordingly. The involved experiment data can be found in the supplementary material. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper, the embedded zerotree wavelet (EZW) method and Huffman coding is proposed for the compression of infrared (IR) spectra. This technique is described based on the wavelet transform (WT) and tested with IR spectra of some compounds and compared with another compression technique. The results showed that this technique is better than others in terms of efficiently coding wavelet coefficients, because the zerotree quantization is an effective way of exploiting the self-similarities of wavelet coefficients at various resolutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the protein-RNA interaction mechanism can help us to further explore various biological processes. The experimental techniques still have some limitations, such as the high cost of economy and time. Predicting protein-RNA-binding sites by using computational methods is an excellent research tool. Here, we developed a universal method for predicting protein-specific RNA-binding sites, so one general model for a given protein was constructed on a fixed dataset by fusing the data of different experimental techniques. At the same time, information theory was employed to characterize the sequence conservation of RNA-binding segments. Conversation difference profiles between binding and nonbinding segments were constructed by information entropy (IE), which indicates a significant difference. Finally, the 19 proteins-specific models based on random forest (RF) were built based on IE encoding. The performance on the independent datasets demonstrates that our method can obtain competitive results when compared with the current best prediction model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In industrial environments, cameras are heavily influenced by light and perspectives, making traditional vision-based parallel robots struggle with object-sorting tasks. Two-dimensional vision lacks depth information, which limits parallel robots to pick up objects at various heights. This paper proposes a 3D pickup estimation method for parallel robots based on point cloud simplification and registration for multi-objective pickup tasks. Firstly, a point cloud segmentation method based on the spatial domain is proposed to separate incomplete point clouds of object from the robot's workspace. The object dataset is generated by scanning complete point clouds of object using a 3D scanner. Secondly, according to the fast point feature histogram (FPFH) and the weight locally optimal projection (WLOP) algorithms, fusing the FPFH and WLOP (FF-WLOP) method is proposed to simplify the incomplete point cloud and extract more distinctive edge features of objects. The complete point cloud from the dataset is aligned with the simplified incomplete point cloud, and the calculated barycenter's coordinate information is given to the incomplete point cloud. Next, a dynamic weight singular value decomposition (D-SVD) hand-eye calibration method and an optimal projection point strategy are proposed to transform the barycenter coordinates of the object to the optimal pickup coordinates. Experimental results show that the point cloud registration error is 0.38 mm, the pickup rate is 92%, and the robot positioning error is 4.67 mm, which meets the basic pickup requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal pillar is a crucial element formed during underground coal mining, playing a significant role in ensuring coal mining operations are conducted safely. Historically, research on coal pillars has primarily focused on regular-shaped pillars, with limited attention given to special-shaped pillars. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the special-shaped coal pillar formed after the excavation of the newly constructed 3307 headgate in Dayang Coal Mine, China. The primary object of this paper is to elucidate the mechanism behind the instability failure of special-shaped coal pillars and verify the influence of various geological conditions on their stability. To accomplish these goals, numerical simulation techniques were employed to analyze the stress distribution patterns and plastic zone failure characteristics of special-shaped coal pillar. The investigation revealed the presence of stress concentration phenomena within special-shaped coal pillar, where the stress peak values were directly correlated with the width of the pillar. Moreover, it was observed that as the width of coal pillar decreased, the stress curve gradually transitioned from a bimodal shape to a unimodal shape. Additionally, the ratio of the plastic zone within coal pillar increased as the width decreased, with pronounced tensile failures occurring at sharp corners. Building upon theoretical analysis and numerical simulation results, the interior of special-shaped coal pillar was classified into four distinct zones: damaged zone, progressive zone, stable zone, and special zone. Based on this zoning approach, a stability control technology was developed, employing a combination of "pier pillar support + flexible formwork concrete + grouting reinforcement + high-strength cable and bolt + U-steel." Subsequently, an industrial experiment was conducted to validate the efficacy of this control technology. Field monitoring results demonstrated that the newly excavated roadway exhibited minimal deformation and damage, thereby satisfying the requirements for safe and efficient mine production over the anticipated service life. Highlights: The failure characteristics and bearing mechanism of special-shaped coal pillars were analyzed, and a mechanical model was established, allowing exploration of the influence of different geological conditions on pillar stability. The stress evolution and plastic zone development characteristics of special-shaped coal pillar during the whole cycle were studied. A zoning criterion for special-shaped coal pillar was proposed, along with corresponding control measures, which were successfully applied to the site, effectively controlled the deformation of roadway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incidence of ulcerative colitis (UC) has increased globally. As a complex disease, the genetic predisposition for UC could be estimated by the polygenic risk score (PRS), which aggregates the effects of a large number of genetic variants in a single quantity and shows promise in identifying individuals at higher lifetime risk of UC. Here, based on a cohort of 2869 UC cases and 2900 controls with genotype array datasets, we used PRSice-2 to calculate PRS, and systematically analyzed factors that could affect the power of PRS, including GWAS summary statistics, population stratification, and impact of variants. After leveraging a stepwise condition analysis, we eventually established the best PRS model, achieving an AUC of 0.713. Meanwhile, samples in the top 20% of the PRS distribution had a risk of UC more than ten times higher than samples in the lowest 20% (OR = 10.435, 95% CI 8.571–12.703). Our analyses demonstrated that including population-enriched, more disease-associated SNPs and using GWAS summary statistics from similar ethnic background can improve the power of PRS. Strictly following the principle of focusing on one population in all aspects of generating PRS can be a cost-effective way to apply genotype-array-derived PRS to practical risk estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blood-brain barrier breakdown and ROS overproduction are important events during the progression of ischemic stroke aggravating brain damage. Geraniol, a natural monoterpenoid, possesses anti-apoptotic, cytoprotective, anti-oxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities. Our study aimed to investigate the effect and underlying mechanisms of geraniol in oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R)-induced human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMECs). Apoptosis, caspase-3 activity, and cytotoxicity of HBMECs were evaluated using TUNEL, caspase-3 activity, and CCK-8 assays, respectively. The permeability of HBMECs was examined using FITC-dextran assay. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was measured using the fluorescent probe DCFH-DA. The protein levels of zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1), occludin, claudin-5, β-catenin, nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) were determined by western blotting. Geraniol showed no cytotoxicity in HBMECs. Geraniol and ROS scavenger N-acetylcysteine (NAC) both attenuated OGD/R-induced apoptosis and increase of caspase-3 activity and the permeability to FITC-dextran in HBMECs. Geraniol relieved OGD/R-induced ROS accumulation and decrease of expression of ZO-1, occludin, claudin-5, and β-catenin in HBMECs. Furthermore, we found that geraniol activated Nrf2/HO-1 pathway to inhibit ROS in HBMECs. In conclusion, geraniol attenuated OGD/R-induced ROS-dependent apoptosis and permeability in HBMECs through activating the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Titanium alloy is widely used in high-precision fields such as aerospace industries and medical equipment because of its corrosion resistance and heat resistance. In conventional micro-EDM, the machining of small deep holes of difficult-to-cut materials has always been a problem due to difficult waste debris discharge and low machining efficiency when the machined aperture is small and the aspect ratio is large. Based on the above shortcomings, the high-frequency ultrasonic vibration was introduced into micro-EDM to improve processability. And the optimal ultrasonic system was designed on analytical calculation, finite element simulation, impedance test, and error analysis. The system was applied to SE-WK008 microporous machine for titanium alloy drilling test, and the univariate control experiment based on ultrasonic parameters and electrical parameters (processing voltage, pulse width, pulse interval, and peak current) was carried out. The influence law of each parameter on processing efficiency and electrode wear was summarized and the experimental data was fitted with polynomial curves, and then the multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) algorithm was used to find out the optimal parameter array to verify the correctness of the selected processing parameter group. Through experimental analysis, the designed ultrasonic system can be applied to the traditional microporous machine, the highest processing efficiency is increased by 82.7%, and the maximum electrode wear is reduced by 68.7%, which points out the direction for the parameter selection of actual small deep hole machining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a method to integrate and package an accelerometer within a textile to create an electronic textile (e-textile). The smallest commercially available accelerometer sensor (2 mm × 2 mm × 0.95 mm) is used in the e-textile and is fully integrated within the weave structure of the fabric itself, rendering it invisible to the wearer. The e-textile forms the basis of a wearable woven sleeve which is applied to arm and knee joint bending angle measurement. The integrated e-textile based accelerometer sensor system is used to identify activity type, such as walking or running, and count the total number of steps taken. Performance was verified by comparing measurements of specific elbow joint angles over the range of 0° to 180° with those obtained from a commercial bending sensor from Bend Labs and from a custom-built goniometer. The joint bending angles, measured by all three sensors, show good agreement with an error of less than ~1% of reading which provides a high degree of confidence in the e-textile sensor system. Subsequently, knee joint angles were measured experimentally on three subjects with each being tested three times on each of three activities (walking, running and climbing stairs). This allowed the minimum and maximum knee joint angles for each activity to be determined. This data is then used to identify activity type and perform step counting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accurate prediction of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) is essential for comprehensive drug safety evaluation. Pre-trained deep chemical language models have emerged as powerful tools capable of automatically learning molecular structural features from large-scale datasets, showing promising capabilities for the downstream prediction of molecular properties. However, the performance of pre-trained chemical language models in predicting ADRs, especially idiosyncratic ADRs induced by marketed drugs, remains largely unexplored. In this study, we propose MoLFormer-XL, a pre-trained model for encoding molecular features from canonical SMILES, in conjunction with a CNN-based model to predict drug-induced QT interval prolongation (DIQT), drug-induced teratogenicity (DIT), and drug-induced rhabdomyolysis (DIR). Our results demonstrate that the proposed model outperforms conventional models applied in previous studies for predicting DIQT, DIT, and DIR. Notably, an analysis of the learned linear attention maps highlights amines, alcohol, ethers, and aromatic halogen compounds as strongly associated with the three types of ADRs. These findings hold promise for enhancing drug discovery pipelines and reducing the drug attrition rate due to safety concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Native-compound-coupled CNBr-activated Sepharose 4B beads (NCCB) is a convenient and practical method for target identification where a native compound is coupled to commercial beads, which is easily performed in any biology lab. [Display omitted] Natural products (NPs) represent a treasure trove for drug discovery and development due to their chemical structural diversity and a broad spectrum of biological activities. Uncovering the biological targets and understanding their molecular mechanism of actions are crucial steps in the development of clinical therapeutics. However, the structural complexity of NPs and intricate nature of biological system present formidable challenges in target identification of NPs. Although significant advances have been made in the development of new chemical tools, these methods often require high levels of synthetic skills for preparing chemical probes. This can be costly and time-consuming relaying on operationally complicated procedures and instruments. In recent efforts, we and others have successfully developed an operationally simple and practical chemical tool known as native-compound-coupled CNBr-activated Sepharose 4B beads (NCCB) for NP target identification. In this approach, a native compound readily reacts with commercial CNBr-activated Sepharose 4B beads with a process that is easily performed in any biology laboratory. Based on NCCB, our group has identified the direct targets of more than 60 NPs. In this review, we will elucidate the application scopes, including flavonoids, quinones, terpenoids and others, characteristics, chemical mechanisms, procedures, advantages, disadvantages, and future directions of NCCB in specific target discovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Understanding health worker awareness, attitudes, and self-confidence in the workplace can inform local and global responses toward emerging infectious threats, like the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Availability of accessible personal protective equipment (PPE) is vital to effective care and prevention. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey from February 24 to 28, 2020, to assess COVID-19 preparedness among health workers. In addition, we assessed trends from search engine web crawling and text-mining data trending over the Sina Weibo platform from January 1 to March 3, 2020. Data were abstracted on Chinese outbreak preparedness. Results In the survey, we engaged 6350 persons, of whom 1065 agreed to participate, and after an eligibility logic check, 1052 participated (16.6%). We accessed 412 internet posts as to PPE availability. Health workers who were satisfied with current preparedness to address COVID-19 were more likely to be female, to obtain knowledge about the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak from government organizations, and to consider their hospital prepared for outbreak management. Health workers with more confidence in their abilities to respond were those with more faith in their institution's response capacities. Elements of readiness included having airborne infection isolation rooms, visitor control procedures, and training in precautions and PPE use. Both survey and web post assessments suggested that health workers in need were unable to reliably obtain PPE. Conclusions Health workers' self-confidence depends on perceived institutional readiness. Failure to maintain available PPE inventory for emerging infectious diseases preparedness suggests a failure to learn key lessons from the 2003–2004 SARS outbreak in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We know that different types of cancers usually have different responses to the same treatment. Therefore, it is important to understand the similarities and differences across subtypes of cancers, so as to provide a basis for the individualized treatments. Until now, no comprehensive investigation on competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) has been reported for the three main subtypes of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), so the regulation characteristics of ceRNAs in three subtypes are not well revealed. This paper firstly describes a comparative analysis of ceRNA–ceRNA interaction networks for all the three subtypes of RCC based on differential microRNAs (miRNAs). We comprehensively summarized all miRNA and messenger RNAdata of RCC from 126 matched tumor-normal tissues in The Cancer Genome Atlas, systematically analyzed a total of more than 80 000 ceRNA interactions and highlighted the common and specific properties among them, aiming to identify critical genes to classify them for providing supplementary help in the precise diagnosis of RCC. From three aspects, including common or specific ceRNAs, upregulated or downregulated and classifications across the three subtypes, we highlighted the common and specific properties for the three subtypes and also explored the classification of RCC by combining the specific ceRNAs with differential regulations. Moreover, for the most major subtype of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (KIRC), three critical genes were screened out from KIRC ceRNA network and further demonstrated to be the potential biomarkers of KIRC by performing biological experiments at the transcriptional level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single-cell sequencing (scRNA-seq) technology provides higher resolution of cellular differences than bulk RNA sequencing and reveals the heterogeneity in biological research. The analysis of scRNA-seq datasets is premised on the subpopulation assignment. When an appropriate reference is not available, such as specific marker genes and single-cell reference atlas, unsupervised clustering approaches become the predominant option. However, the inherent sparsity and high-dimensionality of scRNA-seq datasets pose specific analytical challenges to traditional clustering methods. Therefore, a various deep learning-based methods have been proposed to address these challenges. As each method improves partially, a comprehensive method needs to be proposed. In this article, we propose a novel scRNA-seq data clustering method named AttentionAE-sc (Attention fusion AutoEncoder for single-cell). Two different scRNA-seq clustering strategies are combined through an attention mechanism, that include zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB)-based methods dealing with the impact of dropout events and graph autoencoder (GAE)-based methods relying on information from neighbors to guide the dimension reduction. Based on an iterative fusion between denoising and topological embeddings, AttentionAE-sc can easily acquire clustering-friendly cell representations that similar cells are closer in the hidden embedding. Compared with several state-of-art baseline methods, AttentionAE-sc demonstrated excellent clustering performance on 16 real scRNA-seq datasets without the need to specify the number of groups. Additionally, AttentionAE-sc learned improved cell representations and exhibited enhanced stability and robustness. Furthermore, AttentionAE-sc achieved remarkable identification in a breast cancer single-cell atlas dataset and provided valuable insights into the heterogeneity among different cell subtypes. Author summary: Single-cell sequencing (scRNA-seq) has been widely used in numerous biological studies to reveal heterogeneity at the cellular level. Accurate cell type identification serves as the foundation for scRNA-seq data analysis, and unsupervised cluster analysis is commonly employed when an appropriate reference is not available. However, the inherent sparsity and high-dimensionality of scRNA-seq datasets pose specific analytical challenges to traditional clustering methods. To address this, we propose a novel scRNA-seq data clustering method named AttentionAE-sc (Attention fusion AutoEncoder for single-cell). By integrating denoising representation learning and cluster-friendly representation learning through an attention mechanism, AttentionAE-sc demonstrated outstanding performance in the evaluation phase. Firstly, when compared to benchmark methods on the real scRNA-seq datasets, AttentionAE-sc consistently achieved superior external and internal clustering evaluation metrics. Secondly, AttentionAE-sc exhibited robustness and stability across various experimental conditions. Lastly, AttentionAE-sc not only delivered excellent clustering results but also unveiled potential biological insights on a breast cancer single-cell atlas dataset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease and can be divided into several subtypes with unique prognostic and molecular characteristics. The classification of breast cancer subtypes plays an important role in the precision treatment and prognosis of breast cancer. Benefitting from the relation-aware ability of a graph convolution network (GCN), we present a multi-omics integrative method, the attention-based GCN (AGCN), for breast cancer molecular subtype classification using messenger RNA expression, copy number variation and deoxyribonucleic acid methylation multi-omics data. In the extensive comparative studies, our AGCN models outperform state-of-the-art methods under different experimental conditions and both attention mechanisms and the graph convolution subnetwork play an important role in accurate cancer subtype classification. The layer-wise relevance propagation (LRP) algorithm is used for the interpretation of model decision, which can identify patient-specific important biomarkers that are reported to be related to the occurrence and development of breast cancer. Our results highlighted the effectiveness of the GCN and attention mechanisms in multi-omics integrative analysis and the implement of the LRP algorithm can provide biologically reasonable insights into model decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A commercial textile-grade acrylic fiber was modified with guanidine hydrochloride for the preparation of low-cost carbon fibers. Thermal behavior of the modified acrylic fiber was studied by simultaneous differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis, and the effect of guanidine hydrochloride on the thermal stabilization of acrylic fiber was investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry and densimetry. The results indicated that guanidine hydrochloride could initiate the cyclization reaction of nitrile groups at lower temperature and promote the thermal stabilization of acrylic fiber. Compared with the carbon fibers prepared from the original acrylic fiber, the tensile strength and tensile modulus of the carbon fibers prepared from the modified acrylic fiber had been increased by about 72% and 34%, respectively. The guanidine hydrochloride-modified acrylic fiber was expected to be a practical low-cost carbon fiber precursor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • The speed of the preparation of SiO 2 -Fe 2 O 3 heterogeneous metamaterials was successfully improved by the one-step method. • Ordered SiO 2 -Fe 2 O 3 heterogeneous metamaterials can be prepared via the one-step method without applying a voltage. • There is a photonic band gap in the infrared range. Abstract SiO 2 -Fe 2 O 3 heterogeneous metamaterial was fabricated by one-step self-assembly process. The micro-morphology and optical properties of the SiO 2 -Fe 2 O 3 heterogeneous metamaterials were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and UV/Vis/NIR spectrophotometer respectively. The crystal phase of the calcined Fe 2 O 3 powders was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The influences of the concentration of SiO 2 suspension and voltage on heterogeneous metamaterials are discussed. The model of SiO 2 -Fe 2 O 3 heterogeneous photonic crystal was established, and the wavelength of the bandgap center was simulated and analyzed. The results show that the ordered SiO 2 -Fe 2 O 3 heterogeneous metamaterial can be successfully obtained by a one-step self-assembly process with no voltage when the concentration of SiO 2 suspension is 3% (in a short time). In the suspension system, the voltage is not beneficial to the self-assembly process, and even destroys the electrode cathode. As can be seen from transmission spectra, the as-prepared samples have three bandgaps, and the absorption peaks are obvious in the near infrared range (1235˜1419 nm). In this paper, we show that the application of this composite system can avoid dependence on the ITO electrode material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In this study, the natural attenuation of naphthalene during riverbank infiltration was examined using batch experiments. The results indicated that, as the grain size and the permeability coefficient decreased, the natural attenuation rate of naphthalene increased, and it was highest in loam (62%) and lowest in coarse sand (20%). The half-life of naphthalene was longest in coarse sand (700 d) and shortest in mild clay (250 d). Facultative anaerobes such as Methylophilaceae accounted for about 70% of the total bacteria and played a major role in naphthalene degradation. A high total organic carbon concentration and large specific surface area can promote natural attenuation of naphthalene. Moreover, the adsorption to riverbank sediment in the hyporheic zone and bioremediation by indigenous microorganisms can effectively eliminate naphthalene during river water infiltration to the riverbank aquifer. Highlights • Adsorption contributes more to naphthalene natural attenuation than biodegradation. • Riverbank sediments can effectively eliminate naphthalene by natural attenuation. • Methylophilaceae played a major role in naphthalene degradation. • Anaerobic environments promote natural attenuation of naphthalene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying protein-RNA binding residues is essential for understanding the mechanism of protein-RNA interactions. So far, rigid distance thresholds are commonly used to define protein-RNA binding residues. However, after investigating 182 non-redundant protein-RNA complexes, we find that it would be unsuitable for a certain amount of complexes since the distances between proteins and RNAs vary widely. In this work, a novel definition method was proposed based on a flexible distance cutoff. This method can fully consider the individual differences among complexes by setting a variable tolerance limit of protein-RNA interactions, i.e. the double minimum-distance by which different distance thresholds are achieved for different complexes. In order to validate our method, a comprehensive comparison between our flexible method and traditional rigid methods was implemented in terms of interface structure, amino acid composition, interface area and interaction force, etc. The results indicate that this method is more reasonable because it incorporates the specificity of different complexes by extracting the important residues lost by rigid distance methods and discarding some redundant residues. Finally, to further test our double minimum-distance definition strategy, we developed a classifier to predict those binding sites derived from our new method by using structural features and a random forest machine learning algorithm. The model achieved a satisfactory prediction performance and the accuracy on independent data sets reaches to 85.0%. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first prediction model to define positive and negative samples using a flexible cutoff. So the comparison analysis and modeling results have demonstrated that our method would be a very promising strategy for more precisely defining protein-RNA binding sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early feeding practices have a great impact on the growth and development of infants, and the health of mothers. Maternal emotional regulation (ER) is closely related to infant feeding practices. Exploring the relationship between ER strategy and feeding practice can inform early exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) interventions. Using baseline survey of a longitudinal study, 965 mothers in Chongqing municipality, Guangzhou city, and Huizhou city were enrolled. At baseline, the study used self-administrated questionnaires to investigate the socio-demographic characteristics, maternal ER strategies and feeding practice within 72 h of delivery. Chi-square test and logistic regression were used to determine the associations of the mothers' ER and feeding practices within 72 h postpartum. Among 965 participants, 27.8 % of mothers practiced EBF, and 69.5 % of mothers reported getting breastfeeding education from health providers. The average scores on the cognitive reappraisal and the expressive suppression of the ERQ were 29.95 ± 7.24 and 14.47 ± 5.16 respectively. Multivariable analysis showed women with expressive suppression were less likely to practice EBF (aOR = 0.96, 95%CI: 0.93–0.98, p = 0.002), while receiving breastfeeding education was positively associated with EBF (aOR = 1.52, 95%CI: 1.09–2.12, p = 0.013). Because the study started during the COVID-19 pandemic, the lock-down measures paused recruitments for quite some time reducing the enrollment of participation. The data we used was within 72 h postpartum, hence the period of time to study feeding practices was short. Mothers' ER strategy and breastfeeding education need to be addressed as part of interventions designed to improve EBF rates during the newborn period in China. • The average scores on the cognitive reappraisal and the expressive suppression(ER) were 30±7.2 and 14.5±5.2 respectively. • Of all, 27.8% of mothers practiced EBF, and 69.5% of mothers reported getting breastfeeding education from health providers. • Women with ER were less likely to practice EBF, while receiving education facilitated EBF within 72h of delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of the biomarkers were associated with the diagnosis of epilepsy and few of them can be applied to predict the response to antiseizure medications (ASMs). In this study, we identified 26 significantly up-regulated genes and 32 down-regulated genes by comparing the gene expression profiles of patients with epilepsy that responded to valproate with those without applying any ASM. The results of gene set enrichment analysis indicated that the ferroptosis pathway was significantly impacted (p = 0.0087) in patients who responded to valproate. Interestingly, the gene NCOA4 in this pathway exhibited significantly different expression levels between the two groups, indicating that NCOA4 could serve as a potential biomarker to better understand the mechanism of valproate resistance. In addition, six up-regulated genes SF3A2, HMGN2, PABPN1, SSBP3, EFTUD2, and CREB3L2 as well as six down-regulated genes ZFP36L1, ACRC, SUB1, CALM2, TLK1, and STX2 also showed significantly different expression patterns between the two groups. Moreover, based on the gene expression profiles of the patients with the treatment of valproate, carbamazepine, and phenytoin, we proposed a strategy for predicting the response to the ASMs by using the Connectivity Map scoring method. Our findings could be helpful for better understanding the mechanisms of drug resistance of ASMs and improving the clinical treatment of epilepsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In pharmaceutical treatment, many non-cardiac drugs carry the risk of prolonging the QT interval, which can lead to fatal cardiac complications such as torsades de points (TdP). Although the unexpected blockade of ion channels has been widely considered to be one of the main reasons for affecting the repolarization phase of the cardiac action potential and leading to QT interval prolongation, the lack of knowledge regarding chemical structures in drugs that may induce the prolongation of the QT interval remains a barrier to further understanding the underlying mechanism and developing an effective prediction strategy. In this study, we thoroughly investigated the differences in chemical structures between QT-prolonging drugs and drugs with no drug-induced QT prolongation (DIQT) concerns, based on the Drug-Induced QT Prolongation Atlas (DIQTA) dataset. Three categories of structural alerts (SAs), namely amines, ethers, and aromatic compounds, appeared in large quantities in QT-prolonging drugs, but rarely in drugs with no DIQT concerns, indicating a close association between SAs and the risk of DIQT. Moreover, using the molecular descriptors associated with these three categories of SAs as features, the structure–activity relationship (SAR) model for predicting the high risk of inducing QT interval prolongation of marketed drugs achieved recall rates of 72.5% and 80.0% for the DIQTA dataset and the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) dataset, respectively. Our findings may promote a better understanding of the mechanism of DIQT and facilitate research on cardiac adverse drug reactions in drug development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the working face below shallow and close coal seams, there are residual pillars. The mine's ability to operate safely is constrained by the coal pillars' vulnerability to sudden instability and powerful ground pressure disasters during withdrawal. This paper uses the 31,106 working face of the Huoluowan coal mine as its research backdrop and employs field observation, theoretical analysis, and numerical simulation to examine the strong dynamic load mechanism of the overlying coal pillars. According to the analysis, the residual pillar's stress diffusion angle is 29 degrees after mining the working face above it, which has an impact on the main roof's stability above the working face's retracement roadway. The main roof is impacted by the excavation disturbance and the remaining pillars during the working face's final mining phase, displaying a complex stress superposition state. The retracement roadway is significantly deformed as a result of the plastic zone of the surrounding rock changing from small-scale damage to extensive damage. The proposed "hydraulic roof cutting + reinforcement support" prevention technology is based on the prevention idea of weakening important rock strata, changing the stress transmission path, and strengthening adjacent rock. Field testing shows how hydraulic fracturing reinforces the roof structure, lessens the heavy dynamic load on the supporting pillars of overlying residual coal, reduces rock deformation in the retracement roadway, and ensures the stability of the working face during withdrawal. The study's findings are significant for the secure removal of a working face under similar circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many per- and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFASs) may disrupt maternal thyroid hormone homeostasis in pregnancy. Concerns should be raised regarding the PFASs exposure in pregnant women because thyroid hormones are involved in the early development of the fetus. In this study, we measured the concentrations of 13 PFASs, including five novel short-chain PFASs, in serum from 123 pregnant women in Beijing, China. Linear regression models were used to investigate the association between thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) or free thyroxine (FT4) levels and PFASs concentrations under consideration of the impacts of pregnancy-induced physiological factors. We found that perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) (β=0.189, 95%CI=-0.039, 0.417, p =0.10) and perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) (β=-0.554, 95%CI=-1.16, 0.049, p =0.071) were suggestive of significant association with TSH in thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) negative women. No association was observed between all PFASs and FT4 levels after controlling for these confounding factors, such as BMI, gestational weight gain and maternal age. These findings suggest that it should pay more attention to the association between thyroid hormone levels and short-chain PFASs concentrations. Future studies could consider a greater sample and the inclusion of other clinical indicators of thyroid function, such as free T3 and total T3. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Small anterior branch of gastrocolic trunk (SABGT) can be occasionally observed during transverse colectomy and right hemicolectomy. Improperly dealing with the branch may lead to unwanted bleeding and affect the operation process. The purposes of this study are to analyze the frequencies and injury of SABGT. Methods: Intact operation data were collected retrospectively from 39 colon cancer patients who underwent curative laparoscopic transverse colectomy or right hemicolectomy. Frequencies and injury of SABGT were analyzed. Results: Eight cases had SABGT, the frequencies of which is 20.5%. Injury of SABGT occurred intraoperatively in 2 patients. Conclusion: We suggest that SABGT should be considered in surgical management. Consciously looking for and properly dealing with the branch can minimize the influence on the operation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predicting RNA solvent accessibility using only primary sequence data can be regarded as sequence-based prediction work. Currently, the established studies for sequence-based RNA solvent accessibility prediction are limited due to the available number of datasets and black box prediction. To improve these issues, we first expanded the available RNA structures and then developed a sequence-based model using modified attention layers with different receptive fields to conform to the stem–loop structure of RNA chains. We measured the improvement with an extended dataset and further explored the model's interpretability by analysing the model structures, attention values and hyperparameters. Finally, we found that the developed model regarded the pieces of a sequence as templates during the training process. This work will be helpful for researchers who would like to build RNA attribute prediction models using deep learning in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a widely-used method of digging roadways in China, gob-side entry driving features specific advantages, such as a high recovery rate and good isolation effects. However, under the condition of hard overburden, the excessive bearing pressure of small coal pillars will easily cause serious internal damage in the coal and the run-through of the plastic zone, leading to harmful gas leakage in the goaf. Therefore, based on the engineering background of small coal pillars in the 18506 working face of Xiqu Coal Mine, this paper comprehensively adopts theoretical analysis, numerical simulation, industrial tests, and other methods, analyzes the evolution mechanism of isolated bearing and plastic fracture areas of small coal pillar under hard overburden, studies the influence law of hard overburden cutting parameters on the isolation and stability of small coal pillars, and puts forward the technology of actively cutting the top to weaken the stress concentration of coal pillars under hard overburden. With the reasonable cutting parameters determined, the controllable mechanism of hydraulic fracturing cutting under hard overburden further revealed, and the hydraulic fracturing cutting technology with "controllable cutting orientation of hydraulic fracturing with local stress field intervention" formed as the basic core, the stress situation on the roof is improved, realizing the stability control of the coal pillars for the roadway protection, and avoiding gas leakage and other disasters caused by small coal pillar destruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A curated drug-induced QT prolongation atlas was developed. • A schema was proposed to stratify the risk of drug-induced QT prolongation. • Diverse information of QT prolonging drugs was collated in the database. • The database can be helpful for investigating the drug-induced torsade de pointes. Drug-induced prolongation of the QT interval is common in a variety of pharmaceutical treatments and can lead to serious clinical outcomes. Although substantial efforts have been made to prevent drug-induced QT interval prolongation, the lack of a centralized data source remains the main obstacle to further study of the underlying mechanism and the development of effective prediction strategies. To fill this gap, we propose a schema for stratifying the risk of marketed QT prolonging drugs based on US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drug labeling and developed a Drug-Induced QT Prolongation Atlas (DIQTA). Potential application of DIQTA was shown by precision dosing in off-label use and therapeutic strategy optimization, as well as the facilitation of artificial intelligence (AI)-based modeling in predictive toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]