Search

Multi-view multi-label learning (MVML) is an important paradigm in machine learning, where each instance is represented by several heterogeneous views and associated with a set of class labels. However, label incompleteness and the ignorance of both the relationships among views and the correlations among labels will cause performance degradation in MVML algorithms. Accordingly, a novel method

In the study of solar greenhouses, microclimate, soil, and back walls have an important influence on the greenhouse thermal environment because of their good heat storage and release characteristics. The transpiration of crops makes indoor humidity increase sharply, which is the main factor affecting indoor humidity distribution. Therefore, it is of great significance to grasp the microclimate change law of solar greenhouses and study the coupling effect of thermal and humidity environment. In this paper, based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD), a three-dimensional model of the thermal and humidity environment of a solar greenhouse is established, and the indoor temperature and humidity distribution under the influence of soil, crops, and back walls are considered. The CFD model initialization uses binary fitting functions to fit the temperature distribution of soil, back wall, and air. The distribution law of the temperature field and relative humidity field of the solar greenhouse under three different working conditions is simulated, that is, the insulation is uncovered and the ventilation window is closed during the day (G1), the insulation is uncovered and the ventilation window is opened during the day (G2), and the insulation is put down and the ventilation window is closed at night. (G3). The results show that the simulation results are in good agreement with the actual results under the three working conditions, and this paper can provide a reference for the improvement of the greenhouse structure and environmental regulation.

Diabetic neuropathic pain (DNP) is highly common in diabetes patients. P2X receptors play critical roles in pain sensitization. We previously showed that elevated P2X3 expression in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) contributes to DNP. However, the role of other P2X receptors in DNP is unclear. Here, we established the DNP model using a single high-dose streptozotocin (STZ) injection and investigated the expression of P2X genes in the DRG. Our data revealed elevated P2X2, P2X4, and P2X7 mRNA levels in DRG of DNP rats. The protein levels of P2X4 and P2X7 in DNP rats increased, but the P2X2 did not change significantly. To study the role of P2X4 and P2X7 in diabetes-induced hyperalgesia, we treated the DNP rats with TNP-ATP (2’,3’-O-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)-adenosine 5’-triphosphate), a nonspecific P2X1–7 antagonist, and found that TNP-ATP alleviated thermal hyperalgesia in DNP rats. 2 Hz electroacupuncture is analgesic against DNP and could downregulate P2X4 and P2X7 expression in DRG. Our findings indicate that P2X4 and P2X7 in L4–L6 DRGs contribute to diabetes-induced hyperalgesia, and that EA reduces thermal hyperalgesia and the expression of P2X4 and P2X7.

BACKGROUND Artificial intelligence-driven chatbots are increasingly being used in health care, but few chat-based instant messaging support health education programs are designed for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and evaluate its effectiveness and gender differences. Furthermore, there is little research documenting how CKD patients use the chat-based program that combining a chatbot with push notifications and feedback awards for improving patients’ communicative literacy and disease-specific knowledge. OBJECTIVE To assess the effectiveness and identify gender differences using a chat-based instant messaging support health education program among patients with chronic kidney disease and the usability of the program for CKD patients was also assessed. METHODS A pre-and post-study design was employed, and 60 patients were invited to join a three-month program for chronic kidney disease health education; 55 successfully completed the intervention. Data were collected from April to November 2020 using a structured questionnaire. Paired t-tests and generalized equation estimation were used to examine the intervention effectiveness and users’ evaluation. System Usability Scale provide the patients’ evaluation regarding the usability of the chat-based program. RESULTS Paired t-tests revealed significant differences before and after intervention on communicative literacy (t=3.99, p CONCLUSIONS The findings reveal that a chat-based instant messaging support health education program may be effective for middle-aged and older patients with CKD, showing similar intervention effectiveness between male and female patients, except for disease knowledge regarding prevention. The use of a chat-based program with multiple promoting approaches targeting middle-aged and older patients with CKD is promising, and users’ evaluation is satisfactory. CLINICALTRIAL The study was posted on www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT05665517) on 23/12/2022.

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-dhj-10.1177_20552076231171237 for User experience evaluation of a 3D virtual reality educational program for illegal drug use prevention among high school students: Applying the decomposed theory of planned behavior by Jong-Long Guo, Ying-Chieh Chang, Fen-He Lin, Ching-Chih Fan, Tzu-Ming Lai and Chiu-Mieh Huang in DIGITAL HEALTH

Diabetic neuropathic pain (DNP) is a common complication of diabetes. Streptozotocin (STZ)-induced changes of protein in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and spinal cord dorsal horn (SCDH) are critical for DNP genesis. However, which proteins change remains elusive. Here, the DNP model was established by a single intraperitoneal injection of STZ, accompanied by increased fasting blood glucose (FBG), decreased body weight (BW), and decreased paw withdrawal latency (PWL). Proteins change in L4-L6 DRGs and SCDH of rats were detected. Western blot and immunofluorescence results showed that expression levels of phosphorylated protein kinase C (p-PKC), transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 (TRPV1), Substance P (SP) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in the DRG and the SCDH of rats were increased after STZ injection. A preliminary study from our previous study showed that 2 Hz electroacupuncture (EA) effectively alleviates DNP. However, the analgesic mechanism of EA needs further elucidation. Here, EA at the bilateral Zusanli (ST36) and KunLun (BL60) acupoints was applied for one week, and to investigate the effect on DNP. EA reversed thermal hyperalgesia in DNP rats and downregulated the expression of p-PKC, TRPV1, SP, and CGRP in DRG and SCDH.

The formation mechanisms for two carbides with co-existence and increasing stacking faults nearby the carbides during surfacing welding were investigated in this study. The results indicated that the surfacing layer had a two-phase structure of a matrix phase and a second phase, the density of the second phase was relatively small and the second phase was discontinuous, by contrast with the as-received welding wire. Relatively uniform microstructure of surfacing layer and the welding interface without melting of base metal were obtained, resulting in an inapparent change in the microhardness. A few carbides with blocky shape were identified in the surfacing layer. The mechanisms for (Cr,Co)23C6 of face-centered cubic crystal structure co-existing with (Cr,Co)7C3 of hexagonal close-packed crystal structure and (Cr,Co)23C6 subsequently forming close to the pre-formed (Cr,Co)7C3 during the cooling process were discussed in alloying element, calculated equilibrium phase diagram, Gibbs energy, etc. The relatively higher density of the stacking fault present around the carbides was understood from forming energy of stacking faults.

Objective Retinal degeneration (RD) is a group of serious blinding eye diseases characterized by photoreceptor cell apoptosis and progressive degeneration of retinal neurons. However, the underlying mechanism of its pathogenesis remains unclear. Methods In this study, retinal tissues from sodium iodate (NaIO3)-induced RD and control rats were collected for transcriptome analysis using RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq). Analysis of white blood cell-related parameters was conducted in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and age-related cataract (ARC) patients. Results In total, 334 mRNAs, 77 long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and 20 other RNA types were identified as differentially expressed in the retinas of NaIO3-induced RD rats. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses showed that differentially expressed mRNAs were mainly enriched in signaling pathways related to immune inflammation. Moreover, we found that the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio was significantly higher in RP patients than in ARC patients. Conclusion Overall, this study suggests that multiple chemokines participating in systemic inflammation may contribute to RD pathogenesis.

OBJECTIVES To investigate the role of polymorphism rs11200638 of high-temperature requirement factor A-1 (HtrA1) gene in the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). METHODS Cultured adult retinal pigment epithelial cells (ARPE-19) expressing HtrA1 gene were treated with H2O2 or lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and analysed using western blot and quantitative polymerase chain reaction to illustrate the effects of oxidative and inflammatory stress on HtrA1 gene expression. Luciferase reporter plasmid driven by HtrA1 promoter with either normal allele G or risk allele A at SNP rs11200638 was transfected to ARPE-19 cells to investigate the effect of the G/A variation on HtrA1 promoter activity. The effects of HtrA1 overexpression on ARPE-19 cells were analysed with respect to percentage of cell proliferation inhibition and cell apoptosis. RESULTS HtrA1 expression was significantly increased with LPS or H2O2 stimulations (p

In this paper, we are concerned with the Riemann problem for the generalized pressureless Euler equations with a composite source term, which covers the important Eulerian droplet model associated ...

AIM: To investigate the causal gene mutation and clinical characteristics for two Chinese families with autosomal dominant congenital coralliform cataract. METHODS: Two Chinese pedigrees with congenital cataract were investigated. Routine ophthalmic examinations were performed on all patients and non-affected family members. Peripheral blood samples were collected, and the genomic DNAs were extracted. The coding regions of proband’s DNAs were analyzed with cataract gene panel. The identified mutation was amplified by polymerase chain reaction, and automated sequencing was performed in other members of two families to verify whether the mutated gene was co-segregated with the disease. RESULTS: Congenital coralliform cataract was inherited in an autosomal dominant mode in both pedigrees. For each family, more than half of the family members were affected. All patients presented with severe visual impairment after birth as a result of bilateral symmetric coralliform lens opacification. An exact the same defect in the same gene, a heterozygous mutation of c.70C>A (p. P24T) in exon 2 of γD-crystallin gene, was detected in both probands from each family. Sanger sequencing analysis demonstrated that the mutated CRYGD was co-segregated in these two families. CONCLUSION: A c.70C>A (p. P24T) variant in CRYGD gene was reconfirmed to be the causal gene in two Chinese pedigrees. It is known that mutated CRYGD caused most of the congenital coralliform cataracts, suggesting that the CRYGD gene is associated with coralliform congenital cataract.

Reservoir S is a typical medium and low permeability thin interlayer reservoir. It is developed by co-production of directional Wells and separate injection of directional Wells. The comprehensive water content of the oilfield is 54%. Therefore, it is urgent to optimize the injection method of stratified injection distribution in this reservoir, so as to improve the degree of water driving and recovery. In this paper, the reservoir engineering and numerical simulation methods are adopted to introduce the impact factor of injection-production correspondence rate, modify the previously used fine injection matching model, and use the model to quantitatively analyze the sensitivity of key parameters such as longitudinal splitting coefficient, pressure recovery rate and injection-production correspondence rate. The results show that it is very important to select the influencing factors for the injection and production response ratio of medium and low permeability thin interlayer reservoirs, which directly affects the effect of stratified water injection. At present, this research technology has been widely applied in S oilfield, and the water injection effect is very significant, effectively improving the recovery rate of the implementation area by 2%, which provides experience for the water injection development of similar reservoirs.

In China, the genetic environment of KPC-2 in Zhejiang and Taiwan is type B1, while Dongguan seems to be different. A total of 131 Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) strains were detected from the inpatients of 13 hospitals in Dongguan from January 2016 to December 2018, including 79 Klebsiella pneumoniae (60.31%), 21 Escherichia coli (16.03%), and 12 Enterobacter cloacae (9.16%). Intensive Care Unit (ICU) was the main clinical department with detectable CRE isolates. Sputum, urine, and wound secretion were the top three samples with detectable CRE. Results of drug resistance assessment revealed high drug resistance of CRE to clinical common antibacterial agents but low drug resistance to amikacin only. Additionally, KPC-2 (57 strains, 54.81%), NDM-1 (7 strains, 6.73%), and NDM-5 (2 strains, 1.92%) carbapenemases were detected in 104 CRE strains (Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli and Enterobacter cloacae). ST11-type (49 strains, 62.03%) was the main detectable MLST in 79 carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) strains, followed by ST1-type (25 strains, 31.65%). The porins (ompK35, ompK36, and ompK37) showed high proportions of mutations (94%, 97.47%, and 100%, respectively). The dominant genetic environment of the blaKPC-2 gene was B1-type mutant (38 strains, 48.10%), followed by A-type mutant (14 strains, 17.72%). A large number of clinical CRE isolates in Dongguan exhibited strong drug resistance. Among them, ST11-type was the most prevalent in CRKP, most of which harbored KPC-2-type carbapenemase, indicating that the genetic environment of the blaKPC-2 gene is B1-type mutant and the blaKPC-2 is mainly spread through plasmids. Moreover, the proportion of the porins mutations was extremely high. In general, the prevalence of CRKP in Dongguan is different from that in other area.

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC), the most malignant of all the lung cancer subtypes, is characterized by drug resistance. This study sought to explore the key genes and pathways associated with the chemoresistance of SCLC.The drug sensitivity of chemosensitive and chemoresistance SCLC cell lines was measured by Cell Counting Kit-8 assays. The total RNA from chemosensitive cell line H69 and chemoresistance cell line H69AR cells was extracted and subjected to messenger RNA (mRNA) and long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) microarray analyses. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and the differentially expressed lncRNAs (DELs) were screened out with a threshold of a |log fold change | ≥1 and an adjusted P value0.05. A protein-protein interaction network was constructed, and hub genes were screened out. A lncRNA-mRNA co-expression network was also constructed. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes, Genomes enrichment analyses and Cis-regulatory element analyses were conducted on the DEGs and the top 10 upregulated DEL-co-expressed DEGs. The expression of the key genes was further analyzed in the GSE149507 data set and validated in H69/H69AR and H446/H446DDP cells by quantitative polymerase chain reaction assays.The microarray results showed that a total of 609 mRNAs and 394 lncRNAs were differentially expressed in the chemoresistant SCLC cells. The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway was enriched among the DEGs, the top 10 upregulated DEL-co-expressed DEGs, and theThe top 10 upregulated DELs containing

In building change detection task, factors such as phenological changes, illumination changes, and registration errors will cause unchanged areas in remote sensing images to have obvious differences in pixels, which will lead to pseudochanges in results. Existing methods focus on the change information of multi-temporal remote sensing images, ignoring the exploration of pseudochange problems. Therefore, feature–output space dual-alignment (FODA) method is proposed to reduce the negative effect of the pseudochange problem by paying attention to the relationship between unchanged areas of multitemporal images. On the one hand, FODA narrows the distance between the features of the unchanged areas in the feature space, increasing its feature extraction ability of pseudo-changed areas. On the other hand, given the spatial context of image scene implicit in the output space, the ability to recognize pseudochanges of the FODA is improved through an adversarial learning procedure. Due to its simplicity and effectiveness, FODA achieves 88.73% and 82.75% F1 scores on the LEVIR-CD dataset and WHU-CD dataset respectively. Compared with state-of-the-art methods, FODA can effectively reduce the problem of pseudo-changes and significantly improve the effect of change detection even only based on a simple backbone model.

In building change detection task, factors such as phenological changes, illumination changes, and registration errors will cause unchanged areas in remote sensing images to have obvious differences in pixels, which will lead to pseudochanges in results. Existing methods focus on the change information of multi-temporal remote sensing images, ignoring the exploration of pseudochange problems. Therefore, feature–output space dual-alignment (FODA) method is proposed to reduce the negative effect of the pseudochange problem by paying attention to the relationship between unchanged areas of multitemporal images. On the one hand, FODA narrows the distance between the features of the unchanged areas in the feature space, increasing its feature extraction ability of pseudo-changed areas. On the other hand, given the spatial context of image scene implicit in the output space, the ability to recognize pseudochanges of the FODA is improved through an adversarial learning procedure. Due to its simplicity and effectiveness, FODA achieves 88.73% and 82.75% F1 scores on the LEVIR-CD dataset and WHU-CD dataset respectively. Compared with state-of-the-art methods, FODA can effectively reduce the problem of pseudo-changes and significantly improve the effect of change detection even only based on a simple backbone model.

Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) is critical for central nervous system (CNS) functions and it may be a promising treatment to stimulate CNS regeneration. However, previous studies reported inconsistent results, and the molecular mechanisms remain controversial. Here we show that IFN-γ-treated mice via intraperitoneal injection have elevated IFN-γ level in central hippocampus and superior cognitive behaviors IFN-γ could activates the level of protein expression of Wnt7a, β-catenin, and CyclinD1 in Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway of mice hippocampus. Functional and mechanism analysis in vitro revealed that IFN-γ promoted the proliferation and differentiation in primary cultured neural stem cells (NSCs). STAT1 was accountable for IFN-γ-induced activation of the β-catenin promoter, and IFN-γ increased the binding affinity of STAT1 to β-catenin promoter based on luciferase activity and chromatin immunoprecipitation. Our results suggest that IFN-γ exerts many effects ranging from cognitive function in vivo to NSC proliferation, self-renewal, and differentiation in vitro. It does so by recruiting STAT1 to the β-catenin promoter, enhancing cis-regulation by STAT1, and ultimately activating Wnt/β-catenin signaling. In this study, we first found that STAT1 was recruited into the promoter of β-catenin to activate β-catenin expression, and this effect was regulated by IFN-γ. It is also discovered firstly that Wnt/β-catenin and JAK/STAT pathways form cross-links through STAT1. Promoting neurogenesis through immune stimulation might be a promising strategy for repairing the diseased/injured CNS. This study provides a scientific basis for immunomodulation to promote nerve regeneration and offer a new therapeutic direction for central nervous system regeneration.

Background: The diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of atherosclerosis co-depression are poor, so it is urgent to explore new targets. Based on the “microbiota-gut-brain axis,” this study aimed to investigate the changes of lipid metabolites in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus regions and the characteristics of the gut microbiota in ApoE−/− mice with atherosclerosis co-depression.Methods: ApoE−/− mice (hyperlipid feeding combined with binding, HFB group, n = 14, male) fed a high-fat diet for 16 weeks with binding stimulation were used as an animal model for atherosclerosis co-depression. The depression degree of mice was evaluated by body weight, sucrose preference test, open field test, and tail suspension test. Oil-red O staining, HE staining, and biochemical parameters were used to evaluate the damage degree of atherosclerosis in mice. LC-MS/MS technique for non-targeted lipidomics analysis was used to analyze the differential lipid metabolites in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus regions of mice. 16S rDNA amplification sequencing was used to screen the differential gut microbial, and association analysis was performed with the differential lipid metabolites.Results: Compared with the normal control group (NC group), the HFB group showed depression-like behaviors and atherosclerosis-related pathological indicators. The differential lipid metabolites in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus regions were mainly LPC, LPE, LPS, PC, PE, PS, PI, and GD1a, and were mainly enriched in the glycerophospholipid metabolism pathway and the retrograde endocannabinoid signaling pathway. At the same time, there were significant differences in the structure of the gut microbial community between the two groups. The abundance of Deferribacteres and Proteobacteria in the HFB group increased, while the abundance of Verrucomicrobia and Actinobacteria decreased at the phylum level; the abundance of Desulfovibrio, Clostridium_IV, Helicobacter and Pseudoflavonifractor increased, while the abundance of Akkermansia decreased at the genus level.Conclusion: Atherosclerosis co-depression of ApoE−/− mice of the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus lipid metabolism pathways of disorder and the changes of to the gut microbiota, which leads to abnormal white matter and synaptic dysfunction, increased gut inflammation, and decreased gut permeability, leading to the release of inflammatory cytokines, there is a strong correlation between both, it further confirmed the existence of the “microbiota-gut-brain axis.”

Purpose To investigate the incremental value of systemic inflammatory response markers in the differential diagnosis of ovarian masses and develop a nomogram to predict ovarian malignancy in patients with ovarian masses. Methods 1087 eligible women with ovarian masses were randomly allocated to a training cohort (N = 761) and validation cohort (N = 326). The LASSO logistic regression was implemented to select the most significant ovarian cancer-related predictors. Multivariable logistic regressions were then performed to build different prediction models. The model with best performance was presented as a nomogram and compared with reference ovarian cancer prediction tools in terms of discrimination ability. Results Seven variables including age, CA125, HE4, fibrinogen (FIB), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), the presence of solid areas and strong blood flow signal were identified as significant predictors. The final model combining all seven variables yield an AUC of 0.973 in the training cohort and 0.964 in the validation cohort. The NRI and IDI revealed that the addition of FIB and MLR significantly improved the model’s discrimination ability. The nomogram based on the final model outperformed some well-known ovarian cancer prediction tools (RMI, LR2, ROMA, CPH-I and R-OPS) and exhibited an excellent performance in detecting early-stage ovarian cancer with an AUC value of 0.946 (95% CI: 0.925–0.967). Conclusion The systemic inflammatory response markers and ultrasound-based nomogram provided a convenient and accurate tool for estimating the malignant probability in women with ovarian masses. The addition of FIB and MLR significantly improved the predictive ability of the nomogram.

Cong-Qi Du,1 Dong-Xue Zhang,1 Jing Chen,1,2 Qiu-Fen He,1,2 Wen-Qin Lin1 1Reproductive Medicine Center, the First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Embryo Laboratory, the First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Wen-Qin Lin, Tel +86-0571-87235031, Email wzlwq70@126.comBackground: Poor sleep quality has been linked to lower semen quality, but it is unclear whether this result in decreased fertility. To address this question, we retrospectively evaluated the relationship between men’s sleep quality and treatment outcomes in subfertile couples receiving assisted reproductive technology (ART).Patient Enrollment and Methods: From September 2017 to November 2019, 282 subfertile couples referred to a Chinese fertility clinic and eligible for ART procedures were enrolled in our study. Sociodemographic characteristics, life habits, and sleep habits in the year prior to ART were recorded. Sleep quality was measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). We first divided the patients into two groups based on sleep quality (good sleep: PSQI < 5 and poor sleep: PSQI ≥ 5). Then, the ART outcomes (fertilization rate, good quality embryo rate, implantation rate, positive pregnancy rate, clinical pregnancy rate, live birth rate, miscarriage rate, and birth weight) of each group were analyzed. Finally, multivariate linear and logistic regression analysis were used to examine the relationship between sleep quality (discrete variable or dichotomous variable) and ART outcomes.Results: The participants in the poor sleep group showed a lower fertilization rate of 60.13% (543/903) when compared with 67.36% for the good sleep group (902/1339), P < 0.001. The global PSQI score had a significant influence on birth weight (β, − 63.81; 95% CI, − 119.91- − 8.52; P = 0.047), and live birth rate (OR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.78- 0.99; P = 0.047) after adjusting for the interfering factors. Men’s sleep quality was unrelated to good quality embryos rate, implantation rate, positive pregnancy rate, clinical pregnancy rate, or miscarriage rate.Conclusion: Men’s sleep quality was positively associated with fertilization rate, birth weight, and live birth rate among couples undergoing ART.Keywords: sleep quality, PSQI, fertility, male reproduction, in vitro fertilization, intracytoplasmic sperm injection

To observe the occurrence time of neuralgia and the expression of purinergic ligand-gated ion channel 7 receptor (P2X7R) in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord after intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ) in diabetic rats, and to explore the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) and pretreatment of EA on the heat pain threshold and expression of P2X7R in the spinal dorsal horn in rats with diabetic neuropathic pain (DNP), and to explore the possible mechanism of EA for DNP.PartⅠ: Thirty male SD rats were randomly selected from 64 male SD rats as the control group; the remaining rats were given intraperitoneal injection of STZ (10 mg/mL) at a dose of 65 mg/kg to establish the diabetes model, and 30 rats were successfully modeled as the model group. The control group and the model group were divided into three subgroups respectively at 7, 14 and 21 days, with 10 rats in each subgroup. Body mass, fasting blood glucose (FBG) and thermal pain threshold were recorded at 7, 14 and 21 days after injection; the expression of P2X7R in spinal dorsal horn was detected by Western blot. PartⅡ: Eight SD rats were randomly selected from 35 male SD rats as the blank group, and the remaining 27 rats were given intraperitoneal injection of STZ (10 mg/mL) at a dose of 65 mg/kg to establish the diabetes model. The 24 rats with successful diabetes model were randomly divided into a DNP group, an EA group and a pre-EA group, 8 rats in each group. Fifteen to 21 days after STZ injection, the EA group received EA at "Zusanli" (ST 36) and "Kunlun" (BL 60), continuous wave, frequency of 2 Hz, 30 min each time, once a day; the intervention method in the pre-EA group was the same as that in the EA group. The intervention time was 8 to 14 days after STZ injection. The body mass, FBG and thermal pain threshold were recorded before STZ injection and 7, 14 and 21 days after STZ injection; the expression of P2X7R in spinal dorsal horn was detected by Western blot 21 days after injection.PartⅠ: Compared with the control group, in the model group, the body mass was decreased and FBG was increased 7, 14 and 21 days after STZ injection (The diabetic neuropathic pain is observed 14 days after STZ injection. EA could not only treat but also prevent the occurrence of DNP, and its mechanism may be related to down-regulation of P2X7R expression in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord.

The growing evidence over the past few decades has indicated that the photodynamic antitumor activity of transition metal complexes, and Re(I) compounds are potential candidates for photodynamic therapy. This study reports the synthesis, characterization, and anti-tumor activity of three new Re(I)–guadinium complexes. Cytotoxicity tests reveal that complex Re1 increased cytotoxicity by 145-fold from IC50 > 180 μM in the dark to 1.3 ± 0.7 μM following 10 min of light irradiation (425 nm) in HeLa cells. Further, the mechanism by which Re1 induces apoptosis in the presence or absence of light irradiation was investigated, and results indicate that cell death was caused through different pathways. Upon irradiation, Re1 first accumulates on the cell membrane and interacts with death receptors to activate the extrinsic death receptor-mediated signaling pathway, and then is transported into the cell cytoplasm. Most of the intracellular Re1 locates within mitochondria, improving the reactive oxygen species level, and decreasing mitochondrial membrane potential and ATP levels, and inducing the activation of caspase-9 and, thus, apoptosis. Subsequently, the residual Re1 can translocate into the cell nucleus, and activates the p53 pathway, causing cell cycle arrest and eventually cell death.

Pleione maculata is an epiphytic orchid with significant ornamental value and medicinal value. Here, we report the first complete chloroplast genome of P. maculata. The circular genome was 158,394 bp in length and consisted of a pair of inverted repeats (IR 26,646 bp), which were separated by a large single copy region (LSC 86,603 bp) and a small single copy region (SSC 18,499 bp). It contained 135 genes, including 89 protein-coding genes, 38 tRNAs and 8 rRNAs. Phylogenetic analysis of cp genomes from 41 species of Orchidaceae revealed that all species of Pleione formed one monophyletic clade and P. maculata was located at the base of the genus with high bootstrap values (≥99.1%).

Glaucoma is a lifelong disease with elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) as the main risk factor, and reduction of IOP remains the major treatment for this disease. However, current IOP-lowering therapies are far from being satisfactory. We have demonstrated that the lentivirus-mediated exoenzyme C3 transferase (C3) expression in rat and monkey eyes induced relatively long-term IOP reduction. We now show that intracameral injection of self-complementary AAV2 containing a C3 gene into mouse and monkey eyes resulted in morphological changes in trabecular meshwork and IOP reduction. The vector-transduced corneal endothelium and the C3 transgene expression, not vector itself, induced corneal edema as a result of actin-associated endothelial barrier disruption. There was a positive (quadratic) correlation between measured IOP and grade of corneal edema. This is the first report of using an AAV to transduce the trabecular meshwork of monkeys with a gene capable of altering cellular structure and physiology, indicating a potential gene therapy for glaucoma.

Aptamers are single-stranded DNA or RNA with 20-100 nucleotides in length that can specifically bind to target molecules via formed three-dimensional structures. These innovative targeting molecules have attracted an increasing interest in the biomedical field. Compared to traditional protein antibodies, aptamers have several advantages, such as small size, high binding affinity, specificity, good biocompatibility, high stability and low immunogenicity, which all contribute to their wide application in the biomedical field. Aptamers can bind to the receptors on the cell membrane and mediate themselves or conjugated nanoparticles to enter into cells. Therefore, aptamers can be served as ideal targeting ligands for drug delivery. Since their excellent properties, different aptamer-mediated drug delivery systems had been developed for cancer therapy. This review provides a brief overview of recent advances in drug delivery systems based on aptamers. The advantages, challenges and future prospectives are also discussed.

The Riemann solutions for the generalized pressureless Euler equations with a dissipation term are constructed explicitly. It is shown that the delta shock wave appears in Riemann solutions in some situations. The generalized Rankine–Hugoniot conditions of the delta shock wave are established, and the exact position, propagation speed and strength of the delta shock wave are given explicitly. Unlike the homogeneous case, it is shown that the dissipation term makes contact discontinuities and delta shock waves bend into curves and the Riemann solutions are not self-similar anymore. Moreover, as the dissipation term vanishes, the Riemann solutions converge to the corresponding ones of the generalized pressureless Euler equations. Finally, we give the application of our results on two typical examples.

It is an important precondition and basis for the design of tailings reservoir and its safety facilities by reasonably judging and estimating the mud-sand flow hazard due to dam-break. In this paper, the mud-sand flow hazard scope, extent and spatial state after dam-broken of heightened Mawuqing tailing dam were simulated and analyzed through a flood and debris flow numerical simulation approach, and the hazard risk grade of different spatial locations of downstream Xiaoqingkou(XQK) village was obtained from the simulation. Then the spatial simulation of sand flow hazard under different preventive measures was carried out, and the variation of hazard risk grade at different spatial locations in XQK was obtained. The result of spatial simulation and analysis has shown that if the retaining wall or detention dam is set at the edge of the village, the risk hazard of the village due to dam-break can be reduced after the tailing dam is heightened. At the same time, it can be concluded that to reduce dam break hazard the above local engineering measures are more effective than an overall engineering measures to control the mud-sand flow. The spatial simulation and analysis have provided the basis to make more reasonable engineering decision and protection measures for XQK after the reconstruction of the tailing dam, and also provided the technical support for tailing dam-break accident prevention, the safety management of tailing dam and the mine production safety.

Software rejuvenation is an effective technique to counteract software aging in continuously-running application such as web service based systems. In client-server applications, where the server is intended to run perpetually, rejuvenation of the server process periodically during the server idle times increases the availability of that service. In these systems, web services are allocated based on the user’s requirements and server’s facilities. Since the selection of a service among candidates while maintaining the optimal quality of service is an Non-Deterministic Polynomial (NP)-hard problem, Meta-heuristics seems to be suitable. In this paper, we proposed dynamic software rejuvenation as a proactive fault-tolerance technique based on a combination of Cuckoo Search (CS) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithms called Computer Program Deviation Request (CPDR). Simulation results on Web Site Dream (WS-DREAM) dataset revealed that our strategy can decrease the failure rate of web services on average 38.6 percent in comparison with Genetic Algorithm (GA), Decision-Tree (DT) and Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) strategies.

Objective To evaluate user acceptability of an immersive three-dimensional virtual reality program for preventing illegal drug use and identify factors associated with continuous usage intention of three-dimensional virtual reality learning among high school students based on the decomposed theory of planned behavior. Methods In this cross-sectional observational study, we developed five educational modules and serious games based on three-dimensional virtual reality technology. Ninety student-participants’ experiences were assessed by a structured questionnaire based on the decomposed theory of planned behavior variables. We applied partial least squares structural equation modeling to examine the correlates of continuous usage intention. Results The proposed model demonstrated an acceptable fit to the observed data. Eight of the 11 hypotheses based on the decomposed theory of planned behavior were supported. Continuous usage intention was significantly associated with attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control; these variables explained 55.4% of the variance in continuous usage intention. Perceived usefulness and compatibility were significant antecedents of attitude. The significant antecedent of subjective norms was support from school staff. Self-efficacy and resource-facilitating conditions were significant antecedents of perceived behavioral control. Conclusions Our findings support the applicability of the decomposed theory of planned behavior as a framework for evaluating a three-dimensional virtual reality program for illegal drug use. We recommend that the program be included as teaching material for illegal drug prevention education in senior high schools.

In this paper, it is discussed the performance of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model coupled with a wildland fire-behavior module (WRF-Fire model) by the observational data collected in an experiment with a low-intensity prescribed fire (LIPF) conducted in the New Jersey Pine Barrens (NJPB) on March 6, 2012. The sensitivity experiments of the WRF-Fire model are carried out to investigate the interactions between the wildland fire and the atmospheric planetary boundary layer. The two-way WRF-Fire model conofigured with fire and large eddy simulation (LES) mode is used to explore the fire characteristics of perimeter shape, intensity, spread direction and external factors of wind speed, and to discuss how these external parameters affect the fire, and the interactions between the atmosphere and fire. Results show that the sensitive experiments can provide the meteorological elements close to observations, such as the temperatures, winds and turbulent kinetic energy near the surface in the vicinity of the fire. The simulations also can reproduce the fire spread shape and speed, fire intensity, and heat flux released from fire. From the view of energy, the heat flux feed back to the atmospheric model and heat the air near the surface, which will induce strong thermal and dynamic instability causing strong horizontal convergence and updraft, and form the fire-induced convective boundary layer. The updraft will be tilted downstream of the fire area based on the height of the ambient winds. Due to the effect of the this updrafts, the particles and heat from the fuel combustion can be transported to the downwind and lateral regions of the fire area. Meanwhile, there is a downdraft flow with higher momentum nearby the fire line transporting fresh oxygen to the near surface, which will increase winds behind the fire line, accelerate the rate of spread (ROS) and make the fire spread to a larger area. Ultimately, a fire-induced climate is established.

Background: Aging societies are of public health concern worldwide. It is critical to develop strategies that harness technology to enhance older adults’ mental health.Methods: This study aimed to explore the effects of a combination of 3D virtual reality (VR) and hands-on horticultural activities on the mental health of community-dwelling older adults. The study used a quasi-experimental design. A total of 62 community-dwelling older adults were recruited and assigned to the experimental (n=32) and comparison groups (n=30). The members of the experimental group participated in an 8-week intervention program. Participants of both groups completed before-and-after intervention measurements for outcome variables that included perceived self-esteem, depression, isolation, mastery and achievement motives, which were analyzed using the generalized estimating equation (GEE). Results: GEE analyses indicated that the experimental group showed significant post intervention improvements in scores for self-esteem (β=1.66, P= .015), isolation (β=-0.96, P= .008), mastery (β=1.04, P= .042), and achievement motives (β=1.30, P=.034) compared to the control group.Conclusions: This study found beneficial effects of a combination of three-dimensional virtual reality and hands-on horticultural activities on community-dwelling older adults’ mental health. These findings suggest that future implementations of this program on a large scale could improve the mental health of older adults. Trial Registration: The study was posted in the www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT05087654) on 21/10/2021. It was approved by the Institutional Review Board of En Chu Kong Hospital and performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

The dorsal metacarpal artery flap (DMAF) is irrefutable as an effective way of repairing long finger defects, and hand surgeons might consider using it for long finger reconstruction or degloved injury repair. Unfortunately, the DMAF containing a single dorsal metacarpal artery (DMA) hinders the treatment effect. The sensory restoration of long fingers and the reconstruction of phalangeal joints and tendon grafts are unsolved challenges as well. We reported our experience in reconstructing the index and middle finger by a reverse-island flap with two DMAs and dorsal metacarpal nerves (DMNs) with blood supply. We reviewed ten patients with finger-crush injuries affecting eight index fingers and two middle fingers. Degloving injuries occurred in two patients, and finger amputations occurred in eight others. Two patients received simple flap reconstruction, and eight received finger reconstruction, including seven from abandoned phalangeal joints and tendon grafts of the severed finger and one from the iliac crest bone graft. All patients underwent finger reconstruction by an expanded reverse-island flap consisting of two DMAs and DMNs up to a maximal size of 9 × 8 cm