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Objective: Serum surfactant protein D (SP-D) is a potential biomarker for the non-invasive prediction of interstitial lung disease (ILD) status. However, previous studies lacked comprehensively qualitative and quantitative pooled analysis methods to summarize the relationship between SP-D and ILD. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive literature search from PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, Ovid, and Cochrane Library, up to 16 December 2023. The Newcastle–Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale was employed to evaluate the quality of each included study. Pooled analyses were primarily performed for weighted mean difference (WMD), odds ratio (OR), and hazard ratio (HR). Sensitivity analysis was conducted by sequentially eliminating one study at a time and reanalyzing the remaining studies. In addition, the trim-and-fill method was applied for correcting publication bias. Results: More than 3,561 patients with ILD from 41 articles were included for pooled analysis. The pooled results showed that serum SP-D levels were higher in the ILD group than the control group (WMD = 120.24 ng/mL, 95% CI: 72.45–168.03, p<0.001). Additionally, SP-D levels among patients with ILD were significantly elevated in the acute exacerbation (AE) group compared with the non-AE group (WMD = 9.88 ng/mL, 95% CI: 2.64–17.12, p=0.008), and in the death group compared with the survival group (WMD = 32.98 ng/mL, 95% CI: 2.11–63.84, p=0.036). However, no significant difference was observed between the progression group and the stable group (WMD = 13.54 ng/mL, 95% CI: −23.68–50.76, p=0.227). In addition, pooled results demonstrated that serum SP-D was a reliable predictive factor for various outcomes associated with ILD: occurrence (OR=4.66, 95%CI = 2.46, 8.86, p<0.001), progression (OR=1.003, 95%CI= 1.001, 1.006, p=0.033), and mortality (HR=1.002, 95%CI= 1.001, 1.003, p=0.023) of ILD. In contrast, there was no significant difference for predicting AE (HR = 1.004, 95% CI = 0.997, 1.011, p=0.240). Conclusion: Serum SP-D is a significant biomarker associated with ILD occurrence, progression, acute exacerbation, and mortality. It remains essential to clarify the predictive value of serum SP-D levels concerning the disease status in patients with different ILD subtypes. Moreover, it may be beneficial to conduct a combined analysis of SP-D with other potential biomarkers to further enhance its diagnostic capability regarding the disease status in patients with ILD. Systematic Review Registration: https://inplasy.com/inplasy-2024-5-0050/ , identifier INPLASY 202450050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to titanium's high reactivity, the formation of brittle Fe-Ti intermetallic compounds at the composite interface can significantly weaken the shear strength of titanium/steel composite materials. Therefore, the rolling temperature must be limited below 850 °C to avoid excessive reaction and the formation of brittle phases, which has become a common challenge in preparation. This study addresses the issue of brittle Fe-Ti compound formation at the interface during titanium/steel composite material preparation. It proposes a new approach based on synergistic control of microstructure and diffusion coefficient to induce a barrier effect of TiC at the interface. The interfacial structure evolution and electronic properties were systematically investigated in the temperature range of 850–1000 °C. Results show that after microstructure regulation, the near-interface structure on the Ti side transforms from β-Ti to α-Ti. The α-Fe(100)/α-Ti(0001) interface exhibits strong covalent bond characteristics, with interfacial adhesion work increased by 47.6% compared to the α-Fe(100)/β-Ti(001) interface. A uniform TiC layer with a thickness of approximately 200 nm is formed at the interface through synergistic control of grain orientation and diffusion behavior. After microstructure regulation, a (010) oriented layer forms on the Ti side near the interface, while a (101) oriented layer appears on the Fe side. The proportion of low-angle grain boundaries increases from 7.84 to 50.6%, and the proportion of Σ3 grain boundaries on the steel side rises from 4.78 to 16.7%. The synergistic effect of special grain boundary induction and grain orientation control further enhances the uniform distribution of TiC, significantly increasing the interface shear strength from 210 to 340 MPa. This achieves a breakthrough in the industrial application of high-temperature composite rolling at 1000 °C, providing a new technological approach and theoretical foundation for preparing high-performance titanium/steel composite materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the four waves of micro panel data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this study uses a two-way fixed effect model to analyse the impact of equalization of regional basic public services on the multidimensional vulnerability of families and its mechanism. The main findings of this study are as follows, firstly, regional basic public services and its equalization can significantly alleviate the multidimensional vulnerability of families; Secondly, regional basic public services and its equalization can reduce the multidimensional vulnerability of families by improving the level of regional economic development; Thirdly, the impact of regional basic public services and its equalization on the multidimensional vulnerability of households vary significantly among different groups, urban and rural areas, and different regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A wideband high‐efficiency dual‐polarized metal‐only reflectarray antenna is designed and analyzed. The unit cell is composed of a layer of grooved metal plate and a ground, with an air layer in the middle. The proposed element features a phase range of about 360° and works independently in orthogonal directions, enabling dual linearly polarized operations. Based on this unit cell, a circular array including 177 elements with a diameter of 250 mm is simulated and fabricated at 10 GHz. The measured results show that the reflectarray exhibits a good performance in both horizontal and vertical polarizations, with a 1‐dB gain bandwidth of 20.2% and 20% and peak aperture efficiency of 62.3% and 61%, respectively. In addition, sidelobe and cross‐polarization levels are also satisfactory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study empirically examines and tests the impact and main effect mechanisms of the demographic dividend shift on residents' consumption using provincial panel data. The study shows that the demographic dividend shift has significantly increased the per capita consumption expenditure of urban and rural residents in general, which is mainly realized through the two influences of increasing the per capita disposable income of residents and improving the regional consumption environment. Moreover, in addition to the expansion of consumption, the demographic dividend shift also has a significant positive impact on the upgrading of consumption structure; and the consumption expansion effect of the demographic dividend shift mainly comes from the significant positive impact on the consumption of rural residents, while the impact on the consumption of urban residents is not significant; in the areas where China's labor force outflows are small, the demographic dividend shift promotes per capita consumption expenditures of both urban and rural residents significantly more strongly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to explore the level of benefits, evolution patterns, and obstacle factors after the implementation of key soil and water con servation projects in the Gansu section of the Yellow River Basin, an evaluation index system for the comprehensive management benefits of soil and water conservation was constructed based on the theme framework of "water and soil conservation, ecology, economy, and society". The entropy weight TOPSIS and coupling coordination model were used to quantitatively evaluate the spatiotemporal evolution process of the comprehensive benefits of soil and water conservation in 9 cities and prefectures of the Gansu section of the Yellow River Basin from 2000 to 2021, as well as the coupling coordination between subsystems. The obstacle degree model was introduced to identify the obstacle factors for improving the comprehensive benefits of soil and water conservation. The results show that from 2000 to 2021, the comprehensive management benefits of soil and water conservation in the Gansu section of the Yellow River Basin have been increasing year by year, transitioning from an extremely deteriorating state in 2000 to a good state in 2021; There were significant spatial differences in the benefits of comprehensive soil and water conservation management among the 9 cities and prefectures. Lanzhou, Baiyin, and Pingliang had higher benefits of comprehensive soil and water conservation management, but the gap between cities and states showed a good trend of narrowing year by year; The development level of water and soil conservation, ecological, economic, and social benefit systems all showed an increasing trend year by year, and the development level of ecological benefit systems lagged behind that of water and soil conservation, economic, and social benefit systems; The coupling coordination degree of the comprehensive management benefits system for soil and water conservation in the 9 cities and prefectures showed an increasing trend year by year, transitioning from a stage of mild imbalance to a stage of good coordination, and the spatial performance of the 9 cities and prefectures were relatively balanced; The main obstacles to the improvement of comprehensive soil and water conservation benefits in the Gansu section of the Yellow River Basin are the water production modulus, surface runoff depth, plant carbon sequestration, plant oxygen release, and per capita total power of agricultural machinery. Research has shown that the comprehensive management benefits of soil and water conservation in the Gansu section of the Yellow River Basin have become increasingly apparent over time, and the overall direction is constantly developing towards health, coordination, and balance. At the same time, there is still significant room for improvement in the comprehensive management of soil and water conservation and modernization of agricultural production conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease closely associated with Anoikis. The objective of this work was to discover novel transcriptome-based anoikis-related biomarkers and pathways for OA progression.The microarray datasets GSE114007 and GSE89408 were downloaded using the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. A collection of genes linked to anoikis has been collected from the GeneCards database. The intersection genes of the differential anoikis-related genes (DEARGs) were identified using a Venn diagram. Infiltration analyses were used to identify and study the differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Anoikis clustering was used to identify the DEGs. By using gene clustering, two OA subgroups were formed using the DEGs. GSE152805 was used to analyse OA cartilage on a single cell level. 10 DEARGs were identified by lasso analysis, and two Anoikis subtypes were constructed. MEgreen module was found in disease WGCNA analysis, and MEturquoise module was most significant in gene clusters WGCNA. The XGB, SVM, RF, and GLM models identified five hub genes (CDH2, SHCBP1, SCG2, C10orf10, P FKFB3), and the diagnostic model built using these five genes performed well in the training and validation cohorts. analysing single-cell RNA sequencing data from GSE152805, including 25,852 cells of 6 OA cartilage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A small antenna is critical in wireless communication and monitoring of vital signs using data collected by implantable devices. Numerous studies address antenna miniaturization and reliability challenges while maintaining performance efficiency in this field. A reliable small‐sized circularly polarized antenna of dimension (4.152 π × 1.28) mm3 developed for medical implants operating at the 1.4‐GHz Wireless Medical Telemetry Service (WMTS) narrow band is presented in this work. The shorting pin, variable arc slots, and substrate and superstrate of high dielectric constant techniques were used. The proposed antenna underwent testing in a three‐layer biological simulation environment that includes the skin, fat, and muscle. Subsequently, the antenna was fabricated, and measurements were performed by placing the antenna in beef biological tissues. The measurement results confirmed the simulated results. The antenna achieves an impedance bandwidth of 98 MHz (1.367~1.465 GHz, 7%). The effective axial ratio bandwidth (AR <3 dB) is 55.2 MHz (1.3668~1.422 GHz, 3.94%), which covers the CP operating frequency range. The simulation results attain a peak realized gain of −19.2 dBic. The communication link budget and the specific absorption rate (SAR) were analyzed. The results indicate that the radiation of the proposed antenna aligns with the safety limit of IEEE C95.1‐1999 standards. The antenna exhibits excellent performance and reliability compared to other works operating within the 1.4‐GHz WMTS band. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the RNG k-ε turbulence model and VOF multiphase flow model, a numerical model of horizontal water-entry of the vehicle was established, and the numerical method was verified by experimental results. The cavitation characteristics, fluid resistance, and motion of the vehicle under different conditions were studied during the vehicle's water-entry process. The results show that the cavitation process can be divided into the cavity development stage, saturation stage, and collapse stage. With the increase in initial velocity and mass of the vehicle, more water vapor will be generated during the water-entry process. The initial velocity of the vehicle had a limited effect on the resistance coefficient. The resistance coefficient in the stable stage remained almost unchanged for vehicles with different masses. Nevertheless, the time interval of the stable stage was shortened, and the resistance coefficient was greater in the gradually increasing stage for the vehicle with a smaller mass. For vehicles with higher initial velocity or smaller mass, the instantaneous velocity decreased faster after it entered the water. The vehicle with a streamlined design was able to reduce the generation of water vapor and decrease fluid resistance and its coefficient, and the vehicle can run farther during the water-entry process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is based on a comprehensive review of existing literature. Drawing upon the theories of task-technology fit (TTF) and technology adoption model (TAM), an integrated theoretical framework is developed. The framework places adaptability as a critical outcome variable and quality standard. This study constructs a student-centered online learning process model oriented towards effectiveness. The research is intended to utilize data from the "National Survey of Undergraduate Education Teaching Quality in Ordinary Universities" encompassing 123,894 Chinese university students from 272 undergraduate institutions. Through a questionnaire-based survey, the study comprehensively investigates the influence paths and mechanisms of several key factors, including environmental support (ES), teaching satisfaction (TS), perceived ease of use (PEU), task-technology fit (TTF), and learning adaptability (LA). The structural equation model largely validates the study's hypotheses, demonstrating significant correlations among the variables. The task-technology fit (TTF) and adaptability of university students are found to be influenced by teaching satisfaction (TS), perceived ease of use (PEU), and environmental support (ES). task-technology fit (TTF) emerges as a pivotal process variable in online learning. teaching satisfaction (TS) and perceived ease of use (PEU), as foundational elements, positively influence learning adaptability (LA) through the mediating role of task-technology fit (TTF). However, environmental support (ES) negatively predicts task-technology fit (TTF). The study findings offer empirical support for designing an environment conducive to enhancing students' adaptability in online learning. Furthermore, the outcomes guide policy formulation and practical strategies in various aspects, including optimizing teacher instruction in the online setting, enhancing students' perceived usability of digital technologies, and promoting the supply of online technological functionalities. Ultimately, these efforts contribute to the welfare of students' learning experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A folded transmitarray antenna (FTA) with low profile, high efficiency, and broadband is proposed. The transmission unit‐cell is composed of two metallic layers of bowknot‐shaped patches printed on a single layer of dielectric substrate. By regulating bowknot‐shaped patches' dimension and mirroring elements' top and bottom layers, 360° phase swing and high transmission magnitudes are obtained. With the introduction of a reflectarray integrated with a feed horn in the middle, an FTA is designed based on ray tracing principle, leading to a profile reduced to 1/3 of the focal distance of traditional transmitarrays. According to testing results, 15.5% 1 dB gain bandwidth, 30.9% 3 dB gain bandwidth, and 42.3% peak aperture efficiency are achieved. These outstanding performances demonstrate its good potential for a wide range of high‐gain applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a 10 × 10 MIMO multiband broadband planar antenna for tablets or laptops. The designed antennas cover a large number of the popular sub‐6‐GHz application bands, such as 0.617–0.96, 2.1–2.7, 3.5–4.5, and 6.1–7.2 GHz for public safety communications, radio systems, Bluetooth, Wi‐Fi, and satellite communications. The proposed antenna is designed with grounded branches, which can generate a wide bandwidth and cover most of the sub‐6‐GHz application band by coupling between branches of different lengths and antennas. MIMO antennas have been measured to have an envelope correlation coefficient of less than 0.7 and have met the standards set by international organizations for human radiation absorption simulations. The proposed antenna validates the unique 10 × 10 MIMO antenna structure and feasibility. Multiple operable frequency bands are realized, and the radiation effect of the antenna on the human body is analyzed if it complies with international market standards. The proposed antenna design is well suited for multiband and broadband requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microstructures and corrosion behaviors of as-cast, T4-treated, and T6-treated Mg-6Gd-3Y-0.5Zr alloys were systematically investigated by SEM, TEM, immersion test, and electrochemical corrosion test. The results show that the microstructure of the as-cast alloy is composed of α-Mg and Mg24(Gd, Y)5 eutectic phase, and in T4-treated alloy, Mg24(Gd, Y)5 phase dissolves into the α-Mg matrix, leading to an increase in the (Y, Gd)H2 phase. After T6 treatment, nanoscale Mg24(Gd, Y)5 phase dispersedly precipitates from the α-Mg matrix, and exhibits a specific orientation relationship with the α-Mg: (332)Mg24(Gd, Y)5//(1011)α-Mg, [136]Mg24(Gd, Y)5//[1210]α-Mg. The corrosion resistance of the Mg-6Gd-3Y-0.5Zr alloys can be ranked in the following order: T6-treated alloy exhibits the highest corrosion resistance, followed by the T4-treated alloy, and finally, the as-cast alloy. The corrosion products of the alloys are all composed of MgO, Mg(OH)2, Gd2O3, Y2O3, and MgCl2. The corrosion behavior of Mg-6Gd-3Y-0.5Zr alloy is closely related to the precipitated phase. By establishing the relationship between corrosion rate, hydrogen evolution rate, and corrosion potential, it is further demonstrated that during the micro galvanic corrosion process, the coarse Mg24(Gd, Y)5 phase in the as-cast alloy undergoes extensive dissolution, and (Y, Gd)H2 phase promotes the dissolution of the α-Mg matrix in the T4-treated alloy, intensifying the hydrogen evolution reaction. The T6-treated alloy, with dispersive precipitation of nanoscale Mg24(Gd, Y)5 phase, exhibits better corrosion resistance performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Neutral Lipid Storage Disease with Myopathy (NLSDM) is a rare lipid metabolism disorder caused by PNPLA2 gene mutations. Clinical manifestations are heterogeneous, and diagnosis is often delayed, usually gaining patients' attention due to the increased risk of cardiomyopathy. Case presentation: We herein report a 36-year-old Asian male presenting with progressive limb weakness, muscle atrophy of limbs and trunk, dysarthria, and heart failure. Electromyography indicated myogenic changes, and muscle biopsy results revealed characteristics of lipid storage myopathy. Genetic analysis of PNPLA2 revealed two heterozygous mutations: c.757 + 1G > T (chr11-823588, splice-5) on intron 6 and c.919delG (chr11-823854, p.A307Pfs*13) on exon 7. The patient improved limb strength, and dysarthria disappeared after the Medium Chain Fatty Acids diet. Conclusions: In conclusion, we report for the first time that the two heterozygous mutations PNPLA2 c.919delG and c.757 + 1G > T together induced NLSDM, which was confirmed by muscle biopsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few studies have focused on the risk factors for necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in small for gestational age (SGA) infants. The aim of this study was to identify the risk factors for NEC in SGA newborns. This study included consecutive SGA neonates admitted to a tertiary hospital in Jiangxi Province, China from Jan 2008 to Dec 2022. Patients with NEC (Bell's stage ≥ II) were assigned to the NEC group. Gestational age- and birth weight-matched non-NEC infants born during the same period at the same hospital were assigned to the control group. The risk factors associated with NEC were analyzed with univariate and logistic regression models. During the study period, 2,912 SGA infants were enrolled, 150 (5.15%) of whom developed NEC. In total, 143 patients and 143 controls were included in the NEC and control groups, respectively. Logistic regression analysis revealed that sepsis (OR 2.399, 95% CI 1.271–4.527, P = 0.007) and anemia (OR 2.214, 95% CI 1.166–4.204, P = 0.015) might increase the incidence of NEC in SGA infants and that prophylactic administration of probiotics (OR 0.492, 95% CI 0.303–0.799, P = 0.004) was a protective factor against NEC. Therefore, sepsis, anemia and a lack of probiotic use are independent risk factors for NEC in SGA infants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few studies have focused on the risk factors for necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in small for gestational age (SGA) infants. The aim of this study was to identify the risk factors for NEC in SGA newborns. This study included consecutive SGA neonates admitted to a tertiary hospital in Jiangxi Province, China from Jan 2008 to Dec 2022. Patients with NEC (Bell's stage ≥ II) were assigned to the NEC group. Gestational age- and birth weight-matched non-NEC infants born during the same period at the same hospital were assigned to the control group. The risk factors associated with NEC were analyzed with univariate and logistic regression models. During the study period, 2,912 SGA infants were enrolled, 150 (5.15%) of whom developed NEC. In total, 143 patients and 143 controls were included in the NEC and control groups, respectively. Logistic regression analysis revealed that sepsis (OR 2.399, 95% CI 1.271–4.527, P = 0.007) and anemia (OR 2.214, 95% CI 1.166–4.204, P = 0.015) might increase the incidence of NEC in SGA infants and that prophylactic administration of probiotics (OR 0.492, 95% CI 0.303–0.799, P = 0.004) was a protective factor against NEC. Therefore, sepsis, anemia and a lack of probiotic use are independent risk factors for NEC in SGA infants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sixteen‐port circularly polarized (CP) ultrawideband (UWB) multiple‐input−multiple‐output (MIMO) belt antenna is designed and developed for wireless body area network (WBAN) applications. The proposed antenna comprises sixteen modified octagon‐like ring antenna elements with a common ground. These antenna elements are designed on leather material and can be worn as a belt. Each antenna element contains a microstrip line feed and a modified octagon‐like open‐ended ring radiator to generate circular polarization. The belt antenna provides an impedance bandwidth (S11 ≤ −10 dB) of 3.08–11 GHz (112.5%) and a 3 dB axial ratio bandwidth (ARBW) of 4.7–7.07 GHz (40.27%). The envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) amongst the resonating elements is <0.003. Additionally, the bending analysis and specific absorption rate (SAR) of the presented antenna are examined. The overall size of the belt antenna is 30 mm × 574 mm × 1 mm. The designed belt antenna is suitable for WBAN applications due to its leather material, good on‐body performance, and nearly identical simulated and experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective construction project planning relies on addressing constraints related to materials, labor, equipment, and others. Planning meetings are typical venues for stakeholders to identify, communicate, and remove constraints. However, a critical gap exists in lacking an automated approach to identify, classify, analyze, and track constraint discussions during onsite planning meetings. Therefore, this research aims to 1. develop a natural language processing model to classify constraints in meeting discussions; 2. uncover the discussion patterns of managers and foremen regarding various constraints; and 3. extract the root causes for constraints, evaluate their impacts, and prepare managers to develop practical solutions for constraint removal. This research collected meeting transcripts from 94 onsite planning meetings of a building project, spanning 263,836 words. Next, this research leveraged a general pretrained transformer (GPT) to segment discussion dialogs into topics. A Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT)-based model was developed to categorize constraint types for each topic. The constraint patterns among meeting attendees were assessed. Furthermore, a GPT-based tool was devised to track root causes, impacts, and solutions for various constraints. Test results revealed an 8.8% improvement in constraint classification accuracy compared with the traditional classification model. An occupational characteristic in constraint discussion was observed in that the management team tended to balance their focus on various constraints, while foremen concentrated on more practical issues. This research contributes to the body of knowledge by leveraging language models to analyze construction planning meetings. The findings facilitate project managers in establishing constraint logs for diagnosing and prognosticating planning issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that the deformation and damage of reservoir colluvium landslides are often determined by the combined dynamics of reservoir water level change and rainfall. Based on the systematic analysis of the change law of reservoir water level, rainfall and displacements of reservoir colluvium landslide, this paper proposes the compound hydrodynamic action of rainfall and reservoir water as the unload-load parameter, and the landslide displacement as the unload-load response parameter. Based on this, a physical prediction model of the compound hydrodynamic unload-load response ratio of reservoir colluvium landslide was established, and the quantitative relationship between the compound hydrodynamic unload-load response ratio and its stability evolution was in-depth analyzed and determined. On the basis of the above research, taking Shuping landslide, a typical hydrodynamic pressure landslide as an example, the unload-load response ratio model is used to systematically evaluate and predict the stability evolution law and the change trend of the landslide under compound hydrodynamic action. The prediction result shows that the variation law of the compound hydrodynamic unload-load response ratio is consistent with the dynamic evolution law of its stability. Therefore, the above studies show that the compound hydrodynamic unload-load response ratio parameter is an effective displacement dynamic evaluation parameter for reservoir colluvium landslides, so it can be used in the prediction of the reservoir colluvium landslides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) is increasingly used in diagnosing clinical pathogens, but its effectiveness in cirrhosis patients with suspected ascites infection remains uncertain. Methods: The diagnostic performance of ddPCR was assessed in 305 ascites samples, utilizing culture and clinical composite standards. The quantitative value and potential clinical impact of ddPCR were further analyzed in patients with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. Results: With culture standards, ddPCR demonstrated a sensitivity of 86.5% and specificity of 83.2% for bacterial or fungal detection. After adjustment of clinical composite criteria, specificity increased to 96.4%. Better diagnostic performance for all types of targeted pathogens, particularly fungi, was observed with ddPCR compared to culture, and more polymicrobial infections were detected (30.4% versus 5.7%, p < 0.001). Pathogen loads detected by ddPCR correlated with white blood cell count in ascites and blood, as well as polymorphonuclear cell (PMN) count in ascites, reflecting infection status rapidly. A positive clinical impact of 55.8% (43/77) was observed for ddPCR, which was more significant among patients with PMN count ≤ 250/mm3 in terms of medication adjustment and new diagnosis. ddPCR results for fungal detection were confirmed by clinical symptoms and other microbiological tests, which could guide antifungal therapy and reduce the risk of short-term mortality. Conclusions: ddPCR, with appropriate panel design, has advantages in pathogen detection and clinical management of ascites infection, especially for patients with fungal and polymicrobial infections. Patients with atypical spontaneous bacterial peritonitis benefited more from ddPCR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Retinal vascular endothelial cell (RVECs) injury is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among the patients with diabetes. RVECs dysfunction is the predominant pathological manifestation of vascular complication in diabetic retinopathy. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) serves as the most prevalent modification in eukaryotic mRNAs. However, the role of m6A RNA modification in RVECs dysfunction is still unclear. Methods: RT-qPCR analysis and western blot were conducted to detect the change of m6A RNA modification in diabetic retinopathy. CCK-8 assay, transwell experiment, wound healing assay, tube formation experiment, m6A-IP-qPCR were performed to determine the role of YTHDC1 in RVECs. Retinal trypsin digestion test and H&E staining were used to evaluate histopathological changes. Results: The levels of m6A RNA methylation were significantly up-regulated in HG-induced RVECs, which were caused by increased expression of YTHDC1. YTHDC1 regulated the viability, proliferation, migration and tube formation ability in vitro. YTHDC1 overexpression impaired RVECs function by repressing CDK6 expression, which was mediated by YTHDC1-dependent mRNA decay. Moreover, it showed sh-YTHDC1 inhibited CDK6 nuclear export. Sh-YTHDC1 promotes the mRNA degradation of CDK6 in the nucleus but does not affect the cytoplasmic CDK6 mRNA. In vivo experiments showed that overexpression of CDK6 reversed the protective effect of sh-YTHDC1 on STZ-induced retinal tissue damage. Conclusion: YTHDC1-mediated m6A methylation regulates diabetes-induced RVECs dysfunction. YTHDC1-CDK6 signaling axis could be therapeutically targeted for treating DR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personality has constituted a significant psychological component predicting physical exercise. Prior research mostly focused on how personality domains are associated with exercise behaviour. Yet, focusing more closely on combinations of personality domains may be valuable in the future. The present cross‐sectional study aimed to bridge this gap by investigating the associations between Big Five personality profiles and exercise behaviour based on a person‐centred approach in adults. Data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) were used (N = 28,304), in which participants reported their Big Five personality and exercise behaviour. Latent profile analyses, grounded in young adulthood, middle adulthood, and later adulthood sub‐samples, identified five personality profiles: moderate, reserved, confident, resilient, and vulnerable. Across three age groups, significant differences between the five personality profiles in relation to exercise behaviour were revealed. Individuals with the resilient or confident profiles generally had longer exercise duration while people with the vulnerable profile tended to exercise less. Our findings give greater insight into the relationship between exercise and personality, suggesting that different combinations of personality traits may determine individuals' exercise behaviour. It opens promising avenues for identification of adults at risk of lacking exercise, and for development of personality‐targeted exercise interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: X‐linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X‐ALD) is the most common peroxisomal disorder attributed to ABCD1 mutations. Case reports with predominant brainstem involvement are rare. Case Presentation: In this study, we reported a plateau male worker of X‐ALD characterized by progressive weakness accompanied by gait instability, mild nystagmus, and constipation. After 2 years of onset, a brain Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI) scan showed no abnormality but genetic analysis revealed a heterozygous mutation (c.1534G>A) in the ABCD1 gene. After 7 years of onset, although the patient was given aggressive dietary and symptomatic treatment in the course of the disease, a brain MRI scan showed predominantly brainstem damage, but serum concentrations of very long‐chain fatty acids were normal, and he had been bedridden for almost 2 years with severe bladder dysfunction, forcing him to undergo cystostomy. The patient was discharged with improved urinary retention and renal function. Conclusions: We reported an X‐ALD patient with a novel ABCD1 variation characterized by brainstem damage and retrospectively summarized the clinical manifestation, MRI features, and genetic features of X‐ALD patients with brainstem damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is a progressive pulmonary vascular disorder with substantial morbidity and mortality, also a disease underdiagnosed and undertreated. It is potentially curable by pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA) in patients with surgically accessible thrombi. Balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) and targeted medical therapy are options for patients with distal lesions or persistent/recurrent pulmonary hypertension after PEA. There is an urgent need to increase the awareness of CTEPH. Qualified CTEPH centers are still quite limited. Baseline characteristics, management pattern and clinical outcome of CTEPH in China needs to be reported. Methods and design: The CHinese reAl-world study to iNvestigate the manaGEment pattern and outcomes of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CHANGE) study is designed to provide the multimodality treatment pattern and clinical outcomes of CTEPH in China. Consecutive patients who are ≥ 14 year-old and diagnosed with CTEPH are enrolled. The diagnosis of CTEPH is confirmed in right heart catheterization and imaging examinations. The multimodality therapeutic strategy, which consists of PEA, BPA and targeted medical therapy, is made by a multidisciplinary team. The blood sample and tissue from PEA are stored in the central biobank for further research. The patients receive regular follow-up every 3 or 6 months for at least 3 years. The primary outcomes include all-cause mortality and changes in functional and hemodynamic parameters from baseline. The secondary outcomes include the proportion of patients experiencing lung transplantation, the proportion of patients experiencing heart and lung transplantation, and changes in health-related quality of life. Up to 31 December 2023, the study has enrolled 1500 eligible patients from 18 expert centers. Conclusions: As a real-world study, the CHANGE study is expected to increase our understanding of CTEPH, and to fill the gap between guidelines and the clinical practice in the diagnosis, assessment and treatment of patients with CTEPH. Registration Number in ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05311072. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A notable issue, the proper description of mass and charge distributions of fission fragments within non-adiabatic descriptions of fission dynamics, is investigated by performing double particle number projection on the outcomes of time-dependent Hartree–Fock (TDHF) simulation. The induced fission process of the benchmark nucleus 240 Pu is studied. In the three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate without any symmetry restrictions, we get the static fission pathway from the two-dimensional potential energy surface, and then the fission dynamics from saddle to scission point are obtained using TDHF. We show that the charge numbers of primary heavy fragments from TDHF simulation strongly depend on the deformations of initial configurations via the two asymmetric fission channels, which can be distinguished according to the dynamical fission trajectories. The charge distribution of fission fragments is well reproduced using the double particle number projection technique. After applying the Gaussian kernel estimation based on the distribution from the double particle number projection technique, the mass distribution is also consistent with the experimental results. Besides, the results of the total kinetic energy of fission fragments are reasonably consistent with the experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pyroptosis, a novel type of programmed cell death (PCD), which provides a feasible therapeutic option for the treatment of tumors. However, due to the hypermethylation of the promoter, the critical protein Gasdermin E (GSDME) is lacking in the majority of cancer cells, which cannot start the pyroptosis process and leads to dissatisfactory therapeutic effects. Additionally, the quick clearance, systemic side effects, and low concentration at the tumor site of conventional pyroptosis reagents restrict their use in clinical cancer therapy. Here, we described a combination therapy that induces tumor cell pyroptosis via the use of ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction (UTMD) in combination with DNA demethylation. The combined application of UTMD and hydralazine-loaded nanodroplets (HYD-NDs) can lead to the rapid release of HYD (a demethylation drug), which can cause the up-regulation of GSDME expression, and produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) by UTMD to cleave up-regulated GSDME, thereby inducing pyroptosis. HYD-NDs combined with ultrasound (US) group had the strongest tumor inhibition effect, and the tumor inhibition rate was 87.15% (HYD-NDs group: 51.41 ± 3.61%, NDs + US group: 32.73%±7.72%), indicating that the strategy had a more significant synergistic anti-tumor effect. In addition, as a new drug delivery carrier, HYD-NDs have great biosafety, tumor targeting, and ultrasound imaging performance. According to the results, the combined therapy reasonably regulated the process of tumor cell pyroptosis, which offered a new strategy for optimizing the therapy of GSDME-silenced solid tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Compliance with colonoscopy among elderly individuals participating in colorectal cancer (CRC) screening programs is unsatisfactory, despite a high detection rate of bowel‐related diseases. In this study, our aim was to analyze the impact of risk factors on the trends of compliance and detection rates in colonoscopy among high‐risk individuals aged 60–74. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on the high‐risk individuals aged 60–74 participating in the 2021 CRC screening program in Tianjin, China. Logistic regression analyses, including both univariate and multivariate analyses, were performed to explore the impact of different risk factors on colonoscopy compliance among the high‐risk individuals. Besides, the study investigated the influence of various risk factors on the detection rates of bowel‐related diseases among the high‐risk individuals who underwent colonoscopy. Results: A total of 24,064 high‐risk individuals were included, and 5478 individuals received a free colonoscopy, with an overall compliance of 22.76%. Among them, the adenoma detection rate was 55.46%. Males and individuals with a positive FIT had high compliance and detection rates for CRC, advanced adenomas (AA), advanced colorectal neoplasia (ACN), and colorectal neoplasm (CN). Individuals aged 70–74 were associated with low compliance but high CRC, ACN, and CN detection rates. Individuals who reported a history of chronic constipation, bloody mucous, and CRC in first‐degree relative showed high compliance but no significantwere associated with the detection rates of CRC, AA, and CN. Conclusion: This study reported several risk factors associated with the screening behaviors for CRC. Patterns and trends in CRC, AA, ACN, and CN compliance and detection rates correlate with risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study on the therapeutic effects of a compound called NOSH-NBP on ischemic stroke-induced neuroinflammatory injury. The study found that NOSH-NBP protected the brain from ischemic stroke by reducing cerebral infarct volume and improving neurological function. It also promoted the switch of microglia/macrophages from an inflammatory phenotype to a protective phenotype. The compound showed superior effects compared to other control compounds. The findings suggest that NOSH-NBP has the potential to be a therapeutic agent for ischemic stroke. [Extracted from the article]

In order to improve the thermal insulation and smoking properties of expanded vermiculite matrix composites, a kind of expanded vermiculite (EV)/chitosan (CS) composites was prepared by hot pressing. The effects of CS on smoke density, fire-resistance, insulation, and mechanical properties of the EV/CS composites were studied. The results show that with the increase of CS content, the smoke absorption performance and energy storage modulus of the composites is improved. Thermogravimetric (TG) analysis shows that the thermal stability of the EV/CS composite is improved by the presence of chitosan. The pores appear on the surface of the composites after the single-side fire-resistance test. After that, the thermal conductivity of the composites gradually decreases and the insulation performance is improved as the CS content increases. The CS carbonized during the preparation of the composites and thermal decomposition during the test. The morphology results show phase separation of the composites, and the porosity of the composites increases after the test. The reticular structure formed between the EV particles, sodium silicate, and CS molecules reduces the strength loss of the composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zr-based amorphous fragment is an emerging active and efficient destructive element, which will undergo a deflagration reaction and fragmentation when its impact velocity reaches its threshold. The deflagration reaction and fragmentation could greatly increase its behind-armor destructive capability. In order to study the penetration damage mechanism and behind-armor destructive capability of Zr-based amorphous fragments on carbon fiber reinforced composites, a ballistic gun was used to load the spherical fragments to impact 8 and 6 mm thick carbon fiber composite targets at velocities ranging from 496.4 m/s to 1 085.8 m/s and 571.4 m/s to 1 103.9 m/s, respectively. Then a 2 mm thick LY12 aluminum target plate was arranged behind the target to measure the damage capability under different working conditions. The test results showed that the mainly failure mode of strike face was a coupling failure mode of compression failure and shear failure, and the main failure mode of its back face was a coupling failure mode of tensile failure and the de-sticky splitting of the layer. With the increase of the impact velocity, the proportion of the compression and shear coupling damage of the carbon fiber composite target plate was gradually increased, and the phenomenon of tensile breakage and delamination was gradually decreased. The ballistic ultimate velocities of the fragment for 8 and 6 mm thick carbon fiber composite target were 351.9 and 264.6 m/s, respectively. Behind-armor damage area of the fragment impacted on the 8 mm thick carbon fiber composite target was larger than that of the 6 mm thick carbon fiber target under the same impact velocity. The difference of behind-armor damage area impacted on 8 and 6 mm thick carbon fiber composite targets decreased with the increase of the impact velocity. The behind-armor damage ability of the fragment impacting on the carbon fiber composite target increased with the increase of the impact velocity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiovascular health (CVH) score is not only associated with cardiovascular diseases, but also some disorders in other systems. This study aims to investigate the association between CVH score and the risk of fragility fractures. The analysis enrolled 89,464 participants at baseline in Kailuan study initiated in 2006–2007. All participants were then followed up every 2 years and the incidence of fragility fractures was recorded annually. A total CVH score was classified as low (0–49 points), moderate (50–79 points), and ideal (80–100 points). The primary outcome was incident fragility fractures before December 31, 2021. Kaplan–Meier was used to estimate cumulative incidence. Multivariable adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression models and time‐dependent Cox hazards regression models were used to estimate fragility fracture hazard ratios (aHR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). After 13.98 ± 2.84 years of follow‐up, a total of 1534 cases of fragility fractures were identified, with an incidence density of 1.23 per 1000 person‐years. Compared with the low CVH group, the risk of fragility fractures was significantly lower in moderate (aHR = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.66–0.92) and ideal CVH groups (aHR = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.51–0.83), particularly in the age <60 group (aHR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.59–0.88; aHR= 0.55, 95% CI: 0.41–0.73, respectively). Time‐dependent Cox hazards regression models, sensitivity analysis, and death competition model confirmed the reliability of these findings. The ideal CVH score is associated with a decreased risk of fragility fractures. With the increase of CVH score, the risk of fragility fracture decreases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A photoredox-catalyzed unsymmetrical diamination of alkenes by using N-aminopyridinium salts and nitriles as the amination reagents has been developed. Various vicinal diamines were obtained in moderate to excellent yields under mild reaction conditions. Furthermore, this protocol could be applied in the late-stage modification of pharmaceuticals and natural products. Preliminary mechanistic studies suggested that this methodology may undergo a radical pathway followed by a Ritter-type reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Electronic health records (EHRs) are digital records of individual health information. However, their adoption and utilization remain low. This study explores the factors influencing the implementation of EHRs through a questionnaire survey to enhance individual awareness and adoption of EHRs. Methods: A questionnaire and an expert rating scale were developed sequentially, and the consistency of the scores from five experts was calculated using Kendall's W to generate a final questionnaire. A non-parametric test was utilized to analyze differences in continuous data that did not follow a normal distribution. Categorical variables were expressed as percentages (%), the chi-square test was employed for group comparisons, and multiple logistic regression was implemented to assess individuals' awareness and adoption of EHRs. Results: In total, 1,341 survey questionnaires were distributed between January and December 2022, with 1,337 valid responses (99.7%). The results indicated that the proportion of participants who were aware of EHRs and had a bachelor's degree or higher education, an income of ≥$700 per month, residence in urban areas, possessed self-care abilities, and underwent annual physical examinations was significantly higher than that without awareness of EHRs (P < 0.05), while in hearing problems and walking abilities was markedly lower than that of participants without awareness of EHRs (P < 0.05). Additionally, the proportion of individuals willing to self-manage EHRs was significantly higher than those reluctant to do so (P < 0.05) among participants with a bachelor's degree or higher education, an income of ≥$700 per month, residence in urban areas, possession of self-care abilities, annual physical examinations, hearing problems, and poor walking abilities. Age (Odds Ratio [OR] = 1.104, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.001–1.028, P = 0.033), hearing problems (OR = 0.604, 95% CI 0.377–0.967, P = 0.036), self-care ability (OR = 5.881, 95% CI 1.867–18.529, P = 0.002), and annual physical examinations (OR = 3.167, 95% CI 2.31–4.34, P < 0.001) were independently associated with willingness to self-manage EHRs. Annual physical examination (OR = 2.507, 95%CI 1.585–2.669, P < 0.001) also independently made a difference to the awareness of EHRs. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that annual physical examinations, age, hearing problems, and self-care abilities are significant factors in assessing individuals' awareness and adoption of EHRs. Understanding the characteristics of individuals who are aware of or are willing to take advantage of EHRs plays a positive role in promoting their popularization and application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the robust normalization and stabilization problems for descriptor fractional-order systems with polytopic uncertainties in all system coefficient matrices, including the state derivative coefficient matrix. Firstly, novel sufficient conditions for the robust normality and stability of polytopic uncertain descriptor fractional-order systems are presented based on linear matrix inequalities. Then, for the cases when the uncertain parameters are known and unknown, the proportional and derivative state feedback control with constant feedback gain and parameter-dependent feedback gain are introduced to normalize and stabilize such systems, respectively. Finally, numerical examples are provided to show that the proposed approach is effective and less conservative than the results obtained by other researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging clinical evidence suggests that sophisticated associations with circular ribonucleic acids (RNAs) (circRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) are a critical regulatory factor of various pathological processes and play a critical role in most intricate human diseases. Nonetheless, the above correlations via wet experiments are error-prone and labor-intensive, and the underlying novel circRNA–miRNA association (CMA) has been validated by numerous existing computational methods that rely only on single correlation data. Considering the inadequacy of existing machine learning models, we propose a new model named BGF-CMAP, which combines the gradient boosting decision tree with natural language processing and graph embedding methods to infer associations between circRNAs and miRNAs. Specifically, BGF-CMAP extracts sequence attribute features and interaction behavior features by Word2vec and two homogeneous graph embedding algorithms, large-scale information network embedding and graph factorization, respectively. Multitudinous comprehensive experimental analysis revealed that BGF-CMAP successfully predicted the complex relationship between circRNAs and miRNAs with an accuracy of 82.90% and an area under receiver operating characteristic of 0.9075. Furthermore, 23 of the top 30 miRNA-associated circRNAs of the studies on data were confirmed in relevant experiences, showing that the BGF-CMAP model is superior to others. BGF-CMAP can serve as a helpful model to provide a scientific theoretical basis for the study of CMA prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Connections between circular RNAs (circRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) assume a pivotal position in the onset, evolution, diagnosis and treatment of diseases and tumors. Selecting the most potential circRNA-related miRNAs and taking advantage of them as the biological markers or drug targets could be conducive to dealing with complex human diseases through preventive strategies, diagnostic procedures and therapeutic approaches. Compared to traditional biological experiments, leveraging computational models to integrate diverse biological data in order to infer potential associations proves to be a more efficient and cost-effective approach. This paper developed a model of Convolutional Autoencoder for CircRNA–MiRNA Associations (CA-CMA) prediction. Initially, this model merged the natural language characteristics of the circRNA and miRNA sequence with the features of circRNA–miRNA interactions. Subsequently, it utilized all circRNA–miRNA pairs to construct a molecular association network, which was then fine-tuned by labeled samples to optimize the network parameters. Finally, the prediction outcome is obtained by utilizing the deep neural networks classifier. This model innovatively combines the likelihood objective that preserves the neighborhood through optimization, to learn the continuous feature representation of words and preserve the spatial information of two-dimensional signals. During the process of 5-fold cross-validation, CA-CMA exhibited exceptional performance compared to numerous prior computational approaches, as evidenced by its mean area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.9138 and a minimal SD of 0.0024. Furthermore, recent literature has confirmed the accuracy of 25 out of the top 30 circRNA–miRNA pairs identified with the highest CA-CMA scores during case studies. The results of these experiments highlight the robustness and versatility of our model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyber-Physical-Social Systems (CPSS) epitomize the modern era's intelligent connectivity. They integrate physical devices, computer networks, and social networks, forming an innovative paradigm for intelligent systems. Utilizing CPSS to enhance intelligence, automation, and remote services in healthcare represents a primary research focus. Pulmonary embolism, a prevalent condition resulting from the blockage of the pulmonary artery and its branches by emboli, leads to a spectrum of clinical syndromes marked by impaired pulmonary circulation and right heart dysfunction, contributing to sudden and unpredictable fatalities. Nevertheless, the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism remains challenging due to non-specific clinical presentations, constrained diagnostic capabilities, delayed diagnoses, insufficient physician knowledge, and suboptimal diagnostic techniques. Consequently, we introduce the innovative LSCU-Net architecture within the CPSS framework, designed to develop an automated segmentation and intelligent assessment system for pulmonary embolism, facilitating its automated and intelligent detection. The experimental findings demonstrate that the model accurately segments pulmonary embolism, evidenced by a Jaccard index of 0.6958, a Dice coefficient of 0.8193, a Mean Pixel Accuracy (mPA) of 0.8519, and an accuracy of 0.9993. Empirical studies reveal that our proposed model substantially surpasses existing models in performance. Consequently, this model can aid physicians in the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism during clinical practice. The established pulmonary embolism automatic segmentation and assessment system also showcases the application successes of CPSS in intelligent remote healthcare. The system's development and deployment not only streamline physicians' diagnostic processes but also elevate public health standards and advance CPSS research within the medical domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the dynamic mechanisms of aerobic training (AT) and strength training (ST) to improve body satisfaction. Sixty‐six participants were randomised to either the AT or ST condition and completed an 8‐week intervention. Participants completed 3 weekly, 30‐minute sessions of moderate intensity AT (65–75% VO2max) or ST (65–75% 1‐RM). The energy consumption of each session was approximately equivalent under both conditions. Body satisfaction, body composition, perceived fitness and exercise self‐efficacy were measured at baseline and biweekly during the intervention. Exercise improved individuals' body satisfaction (p <.05). When the energy expenditures of AT and ST were equal, there was no difference in body satisfaction improvement. There were dynamic mechanisms underlying the effects of exercise on body satisfaction. Specifically, perceived fitness influenced body satisfaction improvements during the early stages of the exercise program, while changes in body composition influenced body satisfaction toward the end of the exercise program. There were sex differences in the mechanisms underlying body satisfaction. For women, perceived fat was more important in the early intervention period; for men, actual body fat was more valuable in the late intervention period. An effective strategy to improve body satisfaction is to initially target perceived fitness before focusing on changing body composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Ma Xing Shi Gan Decoction (MXSGD) is a traditional remedy for treating lung injuries that was developed by the Typhoid and Fever School of Pharmaceutical Biology. It has antitussive and expectorant effects, antiinflammatory, antiviral, regulates the body's immunity, etc. Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate whether MXSGD can ameliorate cyclosporine A (CsA)-induced hypoimmunity lung injury by regulating microflora metabolism. Methods: Establishment of a model for CsA-induced hypoimmunity lung injury. Using 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing and LC-MS, the effects of MXSGD on gut flora and lung tissue microecology of mice with CsA-induced hypoimmunity were investigated. Results: MXSGD was able to preserve lung tissue morphology and structure, reduce serum inflammatory marker expression and protect against CsA-induced lung tissue damage. Compared to the model, MXSGD increased beneficial gut bacteria: Eubacterium ventriosum group and Eubacterium nodatum group; decreased intestinal pathogens: Rikenellaceae RC9 intestinal group; reduced the abundance of Chryseobacterium and Acinetobacter, promoted the production of Lactobacillus and Streptococcus, and then promoted the lung flora to produce short-chain fatty acids. MXSGD was able to enhance the expression of serum metabolites such as Americine, 2-hydroxyhexadecanoylcarnitine, Emetine, Alltrans-decaprenyl diphosphate, Biliverdin-IX-alpha, Hordatin A and N-demethyl mifepristone in the CsA-induced hypoimmunity lung injury model. Conclusion: MXSGD can restore gut and lung microbiota diversity and serum metabolite changes to inhibit inflammation, ameliorate CsA-induced hypoimmunity lung injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A ceramifiable and flame‐retardant silicone sealant was prepared by adding aluminum oxide and crosslinkers, coupling agents, and catalysts into hydroxy silicone oil. After ablation at 1000°C for half an hour, a ceramic shell with a certain strength was obtained. The impacts of the viscosity of the hydroxy silicone oil and the content of aluminum oxide on the flame‐retardant properties, mechanical properties, surface properties, and ceramification compressive strength of the composite material were studied. The composite with the highest aluminum oxide content could reach an FV‐1 vertical flame rating and a limiting oxygen index of 29.6%, and the ceramification compressive strength could reach 0.15 MPa. This ceramifiable has a wide range of application prospects in industries such as building decoration and wire and cable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Naive Bayes (NB) is one of the top ten machine learning algorithms whereas its attribute independence assumption rarely holds in practice. A feasible and efficient approach to improving NB is relaxing the assumption by adding augmented edges to the restricted topology of NB. In this paper we prove theoretically that the generalized topology may be a suboptimal solution to model multivariate probability distributions if its fitness to data cannot be measured. Thus we propose to apply log-likelihood function as the scoring function, then introduce an efficient heuristic search strategy to explore high-dependence relationships, and for each iteration the learned topology will be improved to fit data better. The proposed algorithm, called log-likelihood Bayesian classifier (LLBC), can respectively learn two submodels from labeled training set and individual unlabeled testing instance, and then make them work jointly for classification in the framework of ensemble learning. Our extensive experimental evaluations on 36 benchmark datasets from the University of California at Irvine (UCI) machine learning repository reveal that, LLBC demonstrates excellent classification performance and provides a competitive approach to learn from labeled and unlabeled data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a chronic disease thatultimately progresses to right-sided heart failure and death. Erythropoietin (EPO) has been shown to have therapeutic potential in cardiovascular diseases, including PAH. In this study, we aimed to investigate the improvement effect of EPO pretreated bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) on PAH. BMSCs were obtained from the bone marrow of male SD rats. Female rats were randomly divided into six groups, including control group, monocrotaline (MCT)-induced group, and four groups with different doses of EPO pretreated BMSCs. Lung tissue was taken for testing at 2 weeks of treatment. Our results showed EPO promoted homing and endothelial cell differentiation of BMSCs in the lung tissues of PAH rats. EPO and BMSCs treatment attenuated pulmonary arterial pressure, polycythemia, and pulmonary artery structural remodeling. Furthermore, BMSCs inhibited pulmonary vascular endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndoMT) in PAH rats, which was further suppressed by EPO in a concentration-dependent manner. Meanwhile, EPO and BMSC treatment elevated pulmonary angiogenesis in PAH rats. BMSCs inhibited TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and MCP-1 in lung tissues of PAH rats, which was further decreased by EPO in a concentration-dependent manner. Thus, EPO improved pulmonary hypertension (PH) by promoting the homing and differentiation of BMSCs in lung tissue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Depth estimation is the basis of 3D reconstruction of airway structure from 2D bronchoscopic scenes, which can be further used to develop a vision-based bronchoscopic navigation system. This work aims to improve the performance of depth estimation directly from bronchoscopic images by training a depth estimation network on both synthetic and real datasets. Methods: We propose a cGAN-based network Bronchoscopic-Depth-GAN (BronchoDep-GAN) to estimate depth from bronchoscopic images by translating bronchoscopic images into depth maps. The network is trained in a supervised way learning from synthetic textured bronchoscopic image-depth pairs and virtual bronchoscopic image-depth pairs, and simultaneously, also in an unsupervised way learning from unpaired real bronchoscopic images and depth maps to adapt the model to real bronchoscopic scenes. Results: Our method is tested on both synthetic data and real data. However, the tests on real data are only qualitative, as no ground truth is available. The results show that our network obtains better accuracy in all cases in estimating depth from bronchoscopic images compared to the well-known cGANs pix2pix. Conclusions: Including virtual and real bronchoscopic images in the training phase of the depth estimation networks can improve depth estimation's performance on both synthetic and real scenes. Further validation of this work is planned on 3D clinical phantoms. Based on the depth estimation results obtained in this work, the accuracy of locating bronchoscopes with corresponding pre-operative CTs will also be evaluated in comparison with the current clinical status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the prevalence and risk factors associated with venous thrombotic events in patients receiving (ECMO) support. Systematic review and meta-analysis of case-control and cohort studies. PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, Scopus, and ProQuest databases from inception through November 25, 2023.Case-control and cohort studies focusing on the prevalence and risk factors for venous thrombotic events in patients supported by ECMO. Identification of risk factors and calculation of incidence rates. Nineteen studies encompassing 10,767 participants were identified and included in the analysis. The pooled prevalence of venous thrombotic events among patients receiving ECMO support was 48% [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.37–0.60, I2 = 97.18%]. Factors associated with increased incidence rates included longer duration of ECMO support (odds ratio [OR] 1.08, 95% CI 1.07-1.09, I2 = 49%), abnormal anti-coagulation monitoring indicators (OR 1.02, 95% CI 1.00-1.04, I2 = 84%), and type of ECMO cannulation (OR 1.77, 95% CI 1.14-3.34, I2 = 64%). The pooled prevalence of venous thrombotic events in patients with ECMO support is high. Increased risk is associated with extended duration of ECMO support, abnormal anti-coagulation monitoring, and specific types of ECMO cannulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the expression of miRNA in pathological processes, miRNAs can be divided into oncogenes or tumor suppressors. Prediction of the regulation relations between miRNAs and small molecules (SMs) becomes a vital goal for miRNA-target therapy. But traditional biological approaches are laborious and expensive. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop a computational model. In this study, we proposed a computational model to predict whether the regulatory relationship between miRNAs and SMs is up-regulated or down-regulated. Specifically, we first use the Large-scale Information Network Embedding (LINE) algorithm to construct the node features from the self-similarity networks, then use the General Attributed Multiplex Heterogeneous Network Embedding (GATNE) algorithm to extract the topological information from the attribute network, and finally utilize the Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LightGBM) algorithm to predict the regulatory relationship between miRNAs and SMs. In the fivefold cross-validation experiment, the average accuracies of the proposed model on the SM2miR dataset reached 79.59% and 80.37% for up-regulation pairs and down-regulation pairs, respectively. In addition, we compared our model with another published model. Moreover, in the case study for 5-FU, 7 of 10 candidate miRNAs are confirmed by related literature. Therefore, we believe that our model can promote the research of miRNA-targeted therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]