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Objective: The objective of this study is to analyze and verify the main drug components and targets of "Fuzi-Guizhi" in the treatment of osteoarthritis by using the network pharmacology platform. Methods: The integrated pharmacology of "Fuzi-Guizhi" was analyzed by using the platform of integrated pharmacology of traditional Chinese medicine to explore its mechanism in the treatment of osteoarthritis. By establishing an arthritis model in vitro, the pharmacological effect of "aconitecassia twigs" on articular cartilage was evaluated and conducted for molecular docking. Results: 28 candidate active components, 37 compound targets, and 583 osteoarthritis-related potential targets were screened, and 10 key target processes were screened in the protein interaction network model. Enrichment analysis showed that the 10 core targets involved 958 GO biologic function items and 76 KEGG signal pathways, which were mainly related to apoptosis and mitochondrial functional metabolism. And "Fuzi-Guizhi" drug-containing serum inhibited the expression of Caspase-3 mRNA and protein in chondrocytes and promoted the synthesis of ATP. Conclusion: Our research is preliminary that the mechanism of action of "Fuzi-Guizhi" may inhibit chondrocyte degeneration by resisting mitochondrial apoptosis, and further experimental research is required to determine.

Based on the actual uses of the polysemous motion verb zǒu ‘walk’ in the corpora of Chinese texts from Old Chinese to Modern Chinese period, this paper argues that the directed motion sense of the manner verb mainly derives from pragmatic inference from the contexts and cognitive preference for the conceptualization of motion events. In addition, it is essential that favorable morphosyntactic constructions in the language promote the pragmatic sense to be lexicalized as the verb’s lexical meaning. That is, the specific direction encoded in the verb and its grammatical behaviors are not fully determined by the lexical semantics of the verb itself as the grammatical constructions available in the language also account for the evolution of its lexical semantics and grammatical behaviors.

Background In September 2015, the State Council of China issued guidelines on building a hierarchical medical system, stating that the first visit rate to primary healthcare (PHC) facilities should be increased to 70% for all medical facilities by 2017. This meta-analysis aims to estimate the willingness of the first visit to PHC services in China after the year 2015 and identify its determinants. Methods A meta-analysis was conducted. Results The combined estimate from 23 studies in China for the willingness rate of the first visit to PHC services was 56% (95% CI: 47–65). Chronic diseases may be one source of heterogeneity. We identified five main associated factors with the pooled odds ratio ranging from 1.39 to 10.28, including fair self-reported health status; high understanding of service content; good service attitude; solid expertise and advanced diagnostic methods; and a good medical environment. Conclusion In comparison with China’s State Council recommendations, the willingness rate for the first visit to PHC services was significantly lower. The Government should develop strategies to facilitate the implementation of a hierarchical system for diagnosis and treatment.

ObjectiveTumor residue after concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients often predicts poor prognosis. Thus, the objective of this retrospective study is to develop a nomogram that combines magnetic resonance (MRI) radiomics features and clinical features to predict the early response of locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LA-NPC).MethodsA total of 91 patients with LA-NPC were included in this study. Patients were randomly divided into training and validation cohorts at a ratio of 3:1. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed on the clinical parameters of the patients to select clinical features to build a clinical model. In the training cohort, the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression model was used to select radiomics features for construction of a radiomics model. The logistic regression algorithm was then used to combine the clinical features with the radiomics features to construct the clinical radiomics nomogram. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, calibration curves, and decision curve analysis (DCA) were drawn to compare and verify the predictive performances of the clinical model, radiomics model, and clinical radiomics nomogram.ResultsPlatelet lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and nasopharyngeal tumor volume were identified as independent predictors of early response in patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. A total of 5502 radiomics features were extracted, from which 25 radiomics features were selected to construct the radiomics model. The clinical radiomics nomogram demonstrated the highest AUC in both the training and validation cohorts (training cohort 0.975 vs 0.973 vs 0.713; validation cohort 0.968 vs 0.952 vs 0.706). The calibration curve and DCA indicated good predictive performance for the nomogram.ConclusionA clinical radiomics nomogram, which combines clinical features with radiomics features based on MRI, can predict early tumor regression in patients with LA-NPC. The performance of the nomogram is superior to that of either the clinical model or radiomics model alone. Therefore, it can be used to identify patients without CR at an early stage and provide guidance for personalized therapy.

The homogeneity of asphalt mixtures accounts for the pavement long-term durability, particularly for the recycled asphalt mixtures that includes reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) materials. Therefore, this study examined the mixing-induced homogeneity characteristics of recycled asphalt mixtures containing 40% RAP dosages. In specific, five mixing times and two ageing degrees of RAP binder were considered. The titanium dioxide powder was incorporated into RAP binders as an identification tracer. After the specimen preparation, the Computed Tomography (CT) technology was implemented to obtain the digital images of the specimen. In what follows, components of asphalt mixtures were separately identified. Accordingly, two homogeneity indexes were proposed to estimate the homogeneity of recycled asphalt mixtures. The results indicated that the distribution of the coarse aggregate contributed most to the specimen homogeneity, followed by the bitumen mastics and the air void. The extension of mixing time, to some extent, benefited the homogeneity degree of recycled asphalt mixtures. However, the newly formed clusters that occurred in the mixing process should be concerned and eliminated. For a cylinder specimen, the middle part of the specimen was more homogeneous than marginal positions.

Background Angiogenesis is critical for the progression, invasion, and metastasis of malignant tumors and is closely related to the prognosis of tumor patients. LncRNAs regulate tumor angiogenesis and progression and hold great promise as novel biomarkers and treatment targets for cancer. Since patients with progressive colon cancer have poor clinical outcomes, it is necessary to develop a novel risk model for patients with colon adenocarcinoma. In our study, we developed a risk model containing five lncRNAs to investigate the association between tumor angiogenesis and the prognosis of the patient and to predict the infiltration of the tumor immune microenvironment in COAD patients.Results The risk model independently predicted the prognosis of COAD patients and supported clinical drug selection. There were significant differences in prognosis and immune infiltration between the high and low-risk groups. Patients in the high-risk group had a worse prognosis and higher expression of CD31, CD34, and CD105, while patients in the low-risk group had the opposite.Conclusions We constructed an angiogenesis-related signature to predict the prognosis and immune infiltration of COAD patients, demonstrating that our risk model is closely connected with the tumor microenvironment. The angiogenesis-related risk model can provide helpful insights into facilitating anti-angiogenic therapy and immunotherapy in COAD patients.

In this study, we report the roles of CDA family in entomopathogenic fungus B. bassiana . Our results indicated that CDA modulates asexual development and regulates fungal virulence by altering chitin deacetylation and metabolic capacity. CDA affected the biological control potential and life history of B. bassiana by affecting its parasitic and saprophytic life. These findings provide novel insights into the roles of multiple CDA paralogues existing in fungal biocontrol agents.

The histone acetyltransferase Gcn5 ortholog contributes significantly to the growth and development of various fungi. In this study, we found that Ada2 and Ada3 have critical regulatory effects on Gcn5 enzyme activity and influence the acetylation of histone H3.

Tanzanite is a blue-purple zoisite currently produced only in Tanzania. Tanzanite is loved by the public for its attractive blue-violet color. In this study, the color appearance of tanzanite will be studied chromatically using the CIE 1976 L*a*b* unified color space and the CIECAM16 color appearance model, respectively. The blue color of tanzanite is quantitatively characterized in CIE 1976 L*a*b* uniform color space using an X-Rite SP62 spectrophotometer. The tristimulus values XYZ of tanzanite’s color are input into the CIECAM16 forward model to calculate the color appearance parameters of tanzanite under different light sources, different illumination levels, and different surroundings. And the results show that D65 light source is more suitable for the display of tanzanite. The change in illumination will have a significant effect on Brightness (Q). Darkening of the surroundings will lead to an increase in the lightness of tanzanite. The blue-violet color of tanzanite has a better visual effect when observed in darker conditions.

Elucidating the active components of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is essential to understand the mechanisms of TCM and promote its rational use as well as TCM-derived drug development. Recent studies have shown that surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technology is promising in this field. In the present study, we propose an SPR-based integrated strategy to screen and analyze the major active components of TCM. We used Radix Paeoniae Alba (RPA) as an example to identify the compounds that could account for its anti-inflammatory mechanism via tumor necrosis factor receptor type 1 (TNF-R1). First, RPA extraction was analyzed using an SPR-based screening system and the potential active ingredients were collected, enriched, and identified as paeoniflorin and paeonol. Next, the affinity constants of the paeoniflorin and paeonol were determined as 4.9 and 11.8 μM, respectively. Then, SPR-based competition assays and molecular docking were performed to show that the two compounds could compete with tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) while binding to the subdomain 1 site of TNF-R1. Finally, in biological assays, the two compounds suppressed cytotoxicity and apoptosis induced by TNF-α in the L929 cell line. These findings prove that SPR technology is a useful tool for determining the active ingredients of TCM at the molecular level and can be used in various aspects of drug development. The SPR-based integrated strategy is reliable and feasible in TCM studies and will shed light on the elucidation of the pharmacological mechanism of TCM and facilitate its modernization.

The destruction of the locked-segment type landslide is often accompanied by the destruction of the locked segment with cumulative effects. Investigating the failure mode and instability mechanism of locked-segment type landslides is crucial. The study uses physical models to examine the evolution of locked-segment type landslides with retaining-walls. It utilizes a variety of instruments (tilt sensors, micro earth pressure sensors, pore water pressure sensors, strain gauges, and others) to conduct physical model tests of locked-segment type landslide with retaining-wall and to reveal the tilting deformation and evolution mechanism of retaining-wall locked landslide under the condition of rainfall. The results showed that the regularity of tilting rate, tilting acceleration, strain, and stress change in the retaining-wall locked segment is consistent with the landslide evolution process, indicating that tilting deformation can be used as the criterion of landslide instability and that the locked segment plays a vital role in controlling the landslide stability. The tertiary creep stages of tilting deformation are divided into initial, medium, and high tertiary creep stages using an improved angle tangent method. This establishes the failure criterion for locked-segment type landslides with tilting angles of 0.34°, 1.89°, and 4.38°. In addition, the tilting deformation curve of a locked-segment type landslide with a retaining-wall is utilized to predict the landslide instability by the reciprocal velocity method.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide due to the lack of effective diagnosis and prognosis biomarkers and therapeutic targets, resulting in poor patient survival rates. Circular RNA (circRNA) is a type of endogenous non-coding RNA (ncRNA) with a closed-loop structure that plays a crucial role in physiological processes and pathological diseases. Recent studies indicate that circRNAs are involved in the diagnosis, prognosis, drug resistance, and development of tumors, particularly in CRC. Therefore, circRNA could be a potential new target for improving CRC diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. This review focuses on the origin and biological functions of circRNA, summarizes recent research on circRNA’s role in CRC, and discusses the potential use of circRNAs as clinical biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis, as well as therapeutic targets for CRC treatment.

The destruction of the locked-segment type landslide is often accompanied by the destruction of the locked segment with cumulative effects. These landslides quickly form high-speed, long-distance landslides and can be severe safety concerns. Physical models are used to study the evolution of retaining-wall locked segment landslides in the paper. HCA726S tilt sensors, micro earth pressure sensor, pore water pressure sensor and strain gauges were used to monitor the tilting deformation, slope stress, and failure characteristics of locked-segment type landslide. According to the landslide tilting deformation curve, strain, and earth pressure of the locked segment, the locked segment plays a crucial role in controlling the stability of a landslide. Here, the failure criterion of the locked segment is put forward. A landslide prediction model is proposed based on the angle-time curve of the tertiary creep stage. Using the improved angle tangent method, the landslide enters the creep stage of initial acceleration, medium acceleration, and high acceleration when the tilting angles are 0.34°, 1.89°, and 4.38°, respectively. The failure time of landslide with the locked segment predicted by the reciprocal velocity method is 5809 s, which is consistent with the actual time of the test (5800s).

The Golovinomyces cichoracearum complex is morphologically highly variable and causes powdery mildew on a wide range of Compositae, including Hieracium spp. and Lapsana communis. A comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of Golovinomyces, published in 2013, revealed that G. cichoracearum s. str. was confined to Scorzonera and Tragopogon spp. as hosts (Compositae, tribe Lactuceae, subtribe Scorzonerinae). To clarify the phylogeny and taxonomy of Golovinomyces on Hieracium spp. (Compositae, tribe Lactuceae, subtribe Hieraciinae), which is common in Asia and Europe, morphology and phylogenetic analyses of ITS + 28S rDNA sequences were conducted for 57 powdery mildew specimens of Hieracium spp. and Lapsana communis. Golovinomyces on Hieracium spp. in Asia and Europe, previously referred to as G. cichoracearum, is a previously undescribed, cryptic species, which is described here as Golovinomyces hieraciorum sp. nov.. Since a sequence retrieved from a powdery mildew on Lapsana communis in Switzerland clustered in sister position to the G. hieraciorum clade, numerous German specimens identified as G. cichoracearum were included in the present examinations. All the re-examined collections of “G. cichoracearum” on L. communis were misidentified, and were shown to belong to Neoërysiphe nevoi or Podosphaera ergerontis-canadensis.

A novel mismatch error shaping (MES) method is proposed in noise-shaping (NS) SAR ADCs to break the SNDR limitation caused by DAC mismatch induced non-linearity. Through sampling the signal twice for one conversion, the input range of the ADC is increased to 2V {ref}. After the first sampling, only the MSB is resolved and the results feed back to the opposite side of the DAC. After the second sampling, the MSB result is reversed and a +text{V}_{ref} /2 reference is generated at the side of the DAC which has low input while a - text{V}_{ref} /2 reference is generated at the other side. Through this method, the dynamic range deduction caused by the MES technique is solved. The proposed SAR ADC is implemented in TSMC 65nm CMOS technology. The simulation results show that the new MES method improves the SFDR from 54 dB to 104.5 dB. The SNDR in 20kHz bandwidth is 98.6dB while power consumption is 513.2~ {mu }text{W} under a 1 V power supply at 20MS/s sampling rate.

Aircraft structural health monitoring (SHM) technology is a revolutionary technology based on sensor networks, which has the advantages of ensuring flight safety, extending structural life, and reducing maintenance costs. Due to the large size of aircraft structures and large deformation of morphing wings, the sensor networks integrated into the aircraft structures should be large-area, expandable, and flexible. Island-interconnect structure design in flexible electronics is expected to realize such sensor networks, with the help of large-area and low-cost flexible printed circuit (FPC) process. Mechanical analysis can guide the design of island-interconnect sensor networks. However, few studies have been reported to analyze the mechanical properties of whole island-interconnect sensor networks. This paper proposes a simulation analysis method based on the finite element method for the mechanical analysis of expandable and flexible sensor networks. This method mainly includes two parts: extracting the buckling modes through linear buckling analysis and obtaining the deformation states and mechanical properties through postbuckling behavior analysis. It is applied on the mechanical analysis of island-interconnect sensor networks with different geometry designs, including serpentine, fractal, and irregular island-interconnect sensor networks. Tensile experiments of island-interconnect sensor networks manufactured by the FPC process show that the deformation of experimental results is basically consistent with that of simulation results. In conclusion, the proposed simulation analysis method is appliable for the mechanical analysis of serpentine, fractal, and irregular island-interconnect structure networks, guiding the structural design of expandable and flexible sensor networks for large-area SHM of aircraft.

It has been reported that Pleckstrin 2 (PLEK2) acts as an oncogene in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Bromodomain containing protein 4 (BRD4), an important transcriptional regulator of tumorigenesis, has been shown to play a key role in NSCLC. However, whether BRD4 regulates the transcription of PLEK2 and further promotes the proliferation and migration of NSCLC remains unknown.In this study, we performed western blotting, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, immunofluorescence, cell scratch wound assay and chromatin immunoprecipitation. According to these results, we found that PLEK2 plays a tumor‑promoting role in NSCLC via the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Moreover, BRD4 expression is significantly upregulated in NSCLC cell lines and suppression of BRD4 expression by siBRD4 and JQ-1 inhibits NSCLC cell lines proliferation and migration. Prominently, we first confirmed that BRD4 binds to the promoter region of the PLEK2 gene, which explains the mechanism by which BRD4 regulates the transcription of PLEK2 gene from the perspective of epigenetics.The present study suggested that PLEK2 promotes the proliferation and migration of NSCLC in a BRD4-dependent manner and provided key insights into the potential avenues for preventing and treating NSCLC.

This article proposes the synthesis design method of the dual-band differential phase shifters with independent filtering passbands and predetermined phase shifts. The filtering unit of the proposed phase shifter adopts a simple branch-line structure, which possesses its characteristics of controllable dual-band frequency ratios and bandwidths. Meanwhile, the Schiffman phase alignment element holds the capability of achieving different predetermined phase shifts in dual band. In our design, dual-mode resonator and dual-mode J-inverter models for the filtering units are equivalently established, and the amplitude and phase closed-form formulas for the proposed dual-band phase shifter are further numerically obtained for the first time. This proposed work features new synthesis method, integrated higher order filtering response with two independently prescribed bandwidths, and concurrent predetermined dual-band phase shifts. Design procedures are provided in detail for a quick design. Finally, two dual-band phase shifters with different frequency ratios and phase shifts are designed and demonstrated. The experimental and measured results match well.

The photoluminescence quantum yield of CsPbBr3 nanocrystals is enhanced by reducing the bromine vacancy defects in the bulk and surface via doping divalent Sr2+ and trivalent La3+ with similar ionic radii and different valence states.

This letter proposes a miniaturized wideband Butler matrix (BM) based on dual-layer half-mode substrate integrated waveguide (HMSIW) structure. By virtue of the excellent features of shorter guided wavelength, flatter in-band phase slope, and more compact size of HMSIW, simple and compact couplers and phase shifter are newly designed for BM. Finally, a BM prototype is designed, fabricated, and measured. Benefiting from the proposed structure, size miniaturization over 90% is achieved in comparison with the traditional single-layer substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) type.

A smart separation membrane with super-amphiphilic wettability was fabricated by a simple two-step method. The separation efficiency of the membrane towards the emulsion is more than 99.6%, and it can be recycled.

To evaluate the safety of initiating and maintaining propranolol therapy for infantile hemangioma (IH) and the safety of different doses. The retrospective analysis included 336 consecutive cases of infants with IH treated between January 2016 and October 2017. The patients were assessed in the hospital at the initiation of the therapy and later in outpatient settings during the therapy. The monitoring included blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), blood glucose, hepatic and renal function, myocardial enzymes and serum lipids. Cardiac examinations in the outpatient follow-up included electrocardiography, ultrasound echocardiography, height, weight and head circumference. Propranolol decreased BP and HR at the initiation of treatment. The incidences of sinus bradycardia and hypoglycemia increased with the time of administration. Mean height, weight and head circumference were not affected during the treatment. The incidence of PR prolongation was 0%–5.7%. The effect of propranolol on the cardiovascular system, metabolism and physical development was not affected by its dose. Oral propranolol is a safe treatment for IH. Serious side effects were not observed. Attention should be paid to the side effects during clinical treatment.

Through the integration of advanced sensors, actuators, and micro-processors, aircraft smart skin technology can improve the structural performance of aircraft and make them self-perception, self-diagnosis, self-adaptation, self-learning, and self-repair. Aircraft smart skin for structural health monitoring (SHM) is an important type of aircraft smart skin and has received extensive attention in recent years. Large-scale, lightweight, and low-power consumption are three key problems hindering the realization and engineering applications of aircraft smart skin for SHM. In view of these problems and restrictions of practical aircraft onboard applications, this article reviews the current research progress on aircraft smart skin for SHM, introduces their design, materials, manufacturing process, and monitoring principles in detail, and discusses how they study above problems from these aspects. Finally, perspectives are proposed on the opportunities and future developments of aircraft smart skin for SHM.

An increasing number of cases of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) complicating influenza have been described. We performed a meta-analysis to estimate the incidence, risk factors and outcomes of IPA in patients with influenza.A systematic search was conducted in the PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane Library databases from their inception to 31 August 2021 for eligible studies. Data on the incidence and risk factors of and mortality due to IPA in influenza patients were pooled using a random-effects model. Sensitivity analyses restricted to severe influenza requiring intensive care unit (ICU) support and multiple subgroup analyses were performed.Fourteen studies involving 6024 hospitalised patients with influenza were included. IPA was estimated to occur in 10% of influenza patients, with a mortality rate of 52%. Similar incidence (11%) and mortality (54%) estimates for IPA were observed in the sensitivity analysis including severe cases requiring ICU support. Subgroup analysis by geographical location showed a similar IPA rate between European (10%) and non-European (11%) studies. The IPA rate in the subset of nine studies using the modified AspICU criteria was 13%. Most subgroup analyses showed ≥50% mortality in IPA patients. Several predictors for IPA susceptibility were identified, including male sex, smoking history, chronic lung disease, influenza A (H1N1), severe conditions requiring supportive therapy, corticosteroid use before admission, solid organ transplant and haematological malignancy.The IPA is common in individuals with severe influenza, and the prognosis is particularly poor. Influenza patients, especially those with high-risk factors, should be thoroughly screened for IPA.