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Abstract Expressway networks are continuously developing and emergency rescue demand is increasing proportionately. The location of expressway emergency rescue nodes needs refinement to meet changing requirements. In this study, the expressway was modeled as an expressway network. The differences in the origin destination (OD) distribution matrices for working days and major holidays were used as the bases for determining the need for temporary emergency rescue nodes. Overlapping and non-overlapping community detection algorithms were used to extract the distribution characteristics of OD during both day categories. These distributions were used to determine permanent and temporary emergency rescue sites. In this study, we considered the differences in traffic volume, distance, and impact of four vehicle types on traffic accidents to select the location of emergency rescue nodes, and allocate emergency resources. An emergency rescue node selection model for an expressway network was established based on spatio-temporal characteristics. The results based on a regional example determined that 22 permanent and 25 temporary emergency rescue nodes were appropriate. The average rescue time for traffic accidents during working days and major holidays compared to the P-center location model, was reduced by approximately 27.08% and 6.70%, respectively. The coefficient of variation of emergency rescue time was reduced by approximately 28.22% and 21.41%, respectively. The results indicated that the model satisfied the expressway emergency rescue demand requirements, and improved the rationality of the rescue center node layout.

Abstract Terbinafine, fluconazole, and amorolfine inhibit fungal ergosterol synthesis by acting on their target enzymes at different steps in the synthetic pathway, causing the accumulation of various intermediates. We found that the effects of these three in- hibitors on yeast morphology were different. The number of morphological parameters commonly altered by these drugs was only approximately 6% of the total. Using a rational strategy to find commonly changed parameters,we focused on hidden essential similarities in the phenotypes possibly due to decreased ergosterol levels. This resulted in higher apparent morphological similarity. Improvements in morphological similarity were observed even when canonical correlation analysis was used to select biologically meaningful morphological parameters related to gene function. In addition to changes in cell morphology, we also observed differences in the synergistic effects among the three inhibitors and in their fungicidal effects against pathogenic fungi possibly due to the accumulation of different intermediates. This study provided a comprehensive understanding of the properties of inhibitors acting in the same biosynthetic pathway.

Abstract The prevalence of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for 85% of all lung cancers, with the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway exhibiting robust activation in this particular subtype. The expression of FAM83A (family with sequence similarity 83, member A) has been found to be significantly upregulated in lung cancer, leading to the stabilization of β-catenin and activation of the Wnt signaling pathway. In this study, we conducted a screening of down-regulated miRNAs in lung cancer with FAM83A as the target. Ultimately, we identified miR-1 as a negative regulator of FAM83A and confirmed that FAM83A is a direct target gene of miR-1 through dual luciferase reporter assays. The overexpression of miR-1 significantly attenuated the expression level of FAM83A and suppressed the Wnt signaling pathway, leading to a reduction in the expression levels of downstream target genes AXIN2, CyclinD1, and C-MYC. Additionally, it decreased the nuclear translocation of β-catenin. In addition, overexpression of miR-1 accelerated the degradation of β-catenin by inhibiting FAM83A, promoted the assembly of β-catenin degradation complex, and inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of NSCLC cells. In summary, miR-1 may be a potential candidate miRNA for the treatment of NSCLC.

Abstract Chemical molecular structures are a direct and convenient means of expressing chemical knowledge, playing a vital role in academic communication. In chemistry, hand drawing is a common task for students and researchers. If we can convert hand-drawn chemical molecular structures into machine-readable formats, like SMILES encoding, computers can efficiently process and analyze these structures, significantly enhancing the efficiency of chemical research. Furthermore, with the progress of educational technology, automated grading is gaining popularity. When machines automatically recognize chemical molecular structures and assess the correctness of the drawings, it offers great convenience to teachers. We created ChemReco, a tool designed to identify chemical molecular structures involving three atoms: C, H, and O, providing convenience for chemical researchers. Currently, there are limited studies on hand-drawn chemical molecular structures. Therefore, the primary focus of this paper is constructing datasets. We propose a synthetic image method to rapidly generate images resembling hand-drawn chemical molecular structures, enhancing dataset acquisition efficiency. Regarding model selection, the hand-drawn chemical molecule structural recognition model developed in this article achieves a final recognition accuracy of 96.90%. This model employs the encoder-decoder architecture of EfficientNet + Transformer, demonstrating superior performance compared to other encoder-decoder combinations.

Abstract The tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a pivotal role in the onset, progression, and treatment response of cancer. Among the various components of the TME, cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are key regulators of both immune and non-immune cellular functions. Leveraging single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA) data, we have uncovered previously hidden and promising roles within this specific CAF subgroup, paving the way for its clinical application. However, several critical questions persist, primarily stemming from the heterogeneous nature of CAFs and the use of different fibroblast markers in various sample analyses, causing confusion and hindrance in their clinical implementation. In this groundbreaking study, we have systematically screened multiple databases to identify the most robust marker for distinguishing CAFs in lung cancer, with a particular focus on their potential use in early diagnosis, staging, and treatment response evaluation. Our investigation revealed that COL1A1, COL1A2, FAP, and PDGFRA are effective markers for characterizing CAF subgroups in most lung adenocarcinoma datasets. Through comprehensive analysis of treatment responses, we determined that COL1A1 stands out as the most effective indicator among all CAF markers. COL1A1 not only deciphers the TME signatures related to CAFs but also demonstrates a highly sensitive and specific correlation with treatment responses and multiple survival outcomes. For the first time, we have unveiled the distinct roles played by clusters of CAF markers in differentiating various TME groups. Our findings confirm the sensitive and unique contributions of CAFs to the responses of multiple lung cancer therapies. These insights significantly enhance our understanding of TME functions and drive the translational application of extensive scRNA sequence results. COL1A1 emerges as the most sensitive and specific marker for defining CAF subgroups in scRNA analysis. The CAF ratios represented by COL1A1 can potentially serve as a reliable predictor of treatment responses in clinical practice, thus providing valuable insights into the influential roles of TME components. This research marks a crucial step forward in revolutionizing our approach to cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Abstract Fungal diseases, such as powdery mildew and rusts, significantly affect the quality and yield of wheat. Pyramiding diverse types of resistance genes into cultivars represents the preferred strategy to combat these diseases. Moreover, achieving collaborative improvement between diseases resistance, abiotic stress, quality, and agronomic and yield traits is difficult in genetic breeding. In this study, the wheat cultivar, Guinong 29 (GN29), showed high resistance to powdery mildew and stripe rust at both seedling and adult plant stages, and was susceptible to leaf rust at the seedling stage but slow resistance at the adult-plant stage. Meanwhile, it has elite agronomic and yield traits, indicating promising coordination ability among multiple diseases resistance and other key breeding traits. To determine the genetic basis of these elite traits, GN29 was tested with 113 molecular markers for 98 genes associated with diseases resistance, stress tolerance, quality, and adaptability. The results indicated that two powdery mildew resistance (Pm) genes, Pm2 and Pm21, confirmed the outstanding resistance to powdery mildew through genetic analysis, marker detection, genomic in situ hybridization (GISH), non-denaturing fluorescence in situ hybridization (ND-FISH), and homology-based cloning; the stripe rust resistance (Yr) gene Yr26 and leaf rust resistance (Lr) genes Lr1 and Lr46 conferred the stripe rust and slow leaf rust resistance in GN29, respectively. Meanwhile, GN29 carries dwarfing genes Rht-B1b and Rht-D1a, vernalization genes vrn-A1, vrn-B1, vrn-D1, and vrn-B3, which were consistent with the phenotypic traits in dwarf characteristic and semi-winter property; carries genes Dreb1 and Ta-CRT for stress tolerance to drought, salinity, low temperature, and abscisic acid (ABA), suggesting that GN29 may also have elite stress-tolerance ability; and carries two low-molecular-weight glutenin subunit genes Glu-B3b and Glu-B3bef which contributed to high baking quality. This study not only elucidated the genetic basis of the elite traits in GN29 but also verified the capability for harmonious improvement in both multiple diseases resistance and other comprehensive traits, offering valuable information for breeding breakthrough-resistant cultivars.

Abstract Diarrhea and constipation are common health concerns in children. Numerous studies have identified strong association between gut microbiota and digestive-related diseases. But little is known about the gut microbiota that simultaneously affects both diarrhea and constipation or their potential regulatory mechanisms. Stool samples from 618 children (66 diarrhea, 138 constipation, 414 healthy controls) aged 0–3 years were collected to investigate gut microbiota changes using 16S rRNA sequencing. Compared with healthy, children with diarrhea exhibited a significant decrease in microbial diversity, while those with constipation showed a marked increase (p

Abstract Over the past decades, the immune responses have been suspected of participating in the mechanisms for epilepsy. To assess the immune related pathway in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), we explored the altered immune pathways in TLE patients with and without hippocampal sclerosis (HS). We analyzed RNA-seq data from 3 TLE-HS and 3 TLE-nonHS patients, including identification of differentially expressed RNA, function pathway enrichment, the protein–protein interaction network and construction of ceRNA regulatory network. We illustrated the immune related landscape of molecules and pathways on human TLE-HS. Also, we identified several differential immune related genes like HSP90AA1 and SOD1 in TLE-HS patients. Further ceRNA regulatory network analysis found SOX2-OT connected to miR-671-5p and upregulated the target gene SPP1 in TLE-HS patients. Also, we identified both SOX2-OT and SPP1 were significantly upregulated in five different databases including TLE-HS patients and animal models. Our findings established the first immune related genes and possible regulatory pathways in TLE-HS patients and animal models, which provided a novel insight into disease pathogenesis in both patients and animal models. The immune related SOX2-OT/miR-671-5p/SPP1 axis may be the potential therapeutic target for TLE-HS.

Abstract Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia and its incidence increases with sepsis. However, data on new-onset AF during sepsis hospitalization remain limited in China. We aimed to evaluate the incidence, risk factors, and associated mortality of new-onset AF in sepsis patients in China. We conducted a retrospective study using the National Data Center for Medical Service system, from 1923 tertiary and 2363 secondary hospitals from 31 provinces in China from 2017 to 2019.In total we included 1,425,055 sepsis patients ≥ 18 years without prior AF. The incidence of new-onset AF was 1.49%. Older age, male sex, hypertension, heart failure, coronary disease, valvular disease, and mechanical ventilation were independent risk factor. New-onset AF was associated with a slight increased risk of mortality (adjusted RR 1.03, 95% CI 1.01–1.06). Population attributable fraction suggested AF accounted for 0.2% of sepsis deaths. In this large nationwide cohort, new-onset AF occurred in 1.49% of sepsis admissions and was associated with a small mortality increase. Further research should examine whether optimized AF management can improve sepsis outcomes in China.

Abstract Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory response syndrome resulting from the invasion of the human body by bacteria and other pathogenic microorganisms. One of its most prevalent complications is acute lung injury, which places a significant medical burden on numerous countries and regions due to its high morbidity and mortality rates. MicroRNA (miRNA) plays a critical role in the body's inflammatory response and immune regulation. Recent studies have focused on miR-21-5p in the context of acute lung injury, but its role appears to vary in different models of this condition. In the LPS-induced acute injury model of A549 cells, there is differential expression, but the specific mechanism remains unclear. Therefore, our aim is to investigate the changes in the expression of miR-21-5p and SLC16A10 in a type II alveolar epithelial cell injury model induced by LPS and explore the therapeutic effects of their targeted regulation. A549 cells were directly stimulated with 10 µg/ml of LPS to construct a model of LPS-induced cell injury. Cells were collected at different time points and the expression of interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and miR-21-5p were measured by RT-qPCR and western blot. Then miR-21-5p mimic transfection was used to up-regulate the expression of miR-21-5p in A549 cells and the expression of IL-1β and TNF-α in each group of cells was measured by RT-qPCR and western blot. The miRDB, TargetScan, miRWalk, Starbase, Tarbase and miR Tarbase databases were used to predict the miR-21-5p target genes and simultaneously, the DisGeNet database was used to search the sepsis-related gene groups. The intersection of the two groups was taken as the core gene. Luciferase reporter assay further verified SLC16A10 as the core gene with miR-21-5p. The expression of miR-21-5p and SLC16A10 were regulated by transfection or inhibitors in A549 cells with or without LPS stimulation. And then the expression of IL-1β and TNF-α in A549 cells was tested by RT-qPCR and western blot in different groups, clarifying the role of miR-21-5p-SLC16A10 axis in LPS-induced inflammatory injury in A549 cells. (1) IL-1β and TNF-α mRNA and protein expression significantly increased at 6, 12, and 24 h after LPS stimulation as well as the miR-21-5p expression compared with the control group (P

Abstract In areas where loess is distributed, landslides represent a significant geohazard with severe implications. Among these events, loess-mudstone landslides are particularly prevalent, posing substantial risks to the safety and property of local residents, and moisture plays a pivotal role as a key factor in causing these disasters. In this study, the hydraulic properties of the soils along the longitudinal section of an ongoing loess-mudstone landslide are investigated through the variation of soil water characteristic curves, which are subsequently fitted by utilizing van Genuchten model. Moreover, a comprehensive experimental investigation was conducted on the loess, mudstone, and loess-mudstone mixtures to facilitate analysis, including X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation, particle size distribution (PSD) analysis, along with fundamental geotechnical tests for parameter determination. It is found that mudstone and loess have distinct SWCC distribution. The SWCC of loess at various depths exhibits a similar distribution pattern due to the occurrence of landslide. The SWCC distribution of loess-mudstone mixture displays a transitional trend between the SWCC of mudstone and that of loess, and the water retention capacity increases as the mudstone content increases. The experimental findings have demonstrated notable agreement between each other and exhibited a satisfactory level of concurrence with the observed phenomena in geological surveys.

Abstract This study intended to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the prostate imaging reporting and data system (PI-RADS) and prostate-specific antigen density (PSAD) for clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa) with PSA levels of 4–10 ng/ml. Between July 2018 and June 2022, a total of 453 patients with PSA levels of 4–10 ng/ml were retrospectively included, which were randomly assigned to the training group (323 patients) and validation group (130 patients). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) with their 95% CI were calculated. The overall diagnostic performance was determined with area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), and an integrated nomogram combining PI-RADS score and PSAD was constructed and tested in a validation cohort. In the training group, the AUC for PI-RADS 2.1 and PSAD alone were 0.875 (95% CI 0.834–0.916) and 0.712 (95% CI 0.648–0.775). At the cutoff PI-RADS score ≥ 4, the sensitivity and specificity were 86.2% (95% CI 77.4–1.9%) and 84.7% (95% CI 79.6–88.8%), respectively. For PSAD, the sensitivity and specificity were 73.3% (95% CI 63.0–82.4%) and 62.1% (95% CI 55.8–68.5%) at the cutoff 0.162 ng/ml/ml. While combining PI-RADS with PSAD, the diagnostic performance was improved significantly, with AUC of 0.893 (95% CI 0.853–0.933). In the validation group, the nomogram yielded a AUC of 0.871 (95% CI 0.807–0.934), which is significantly higher than PI-RADS alone (0.829, 95% CI 0.759–0.899, P = 0.02). For patients with PSA levels of 4–10 ng/ml, PSAD demonstrated moderate diagnostic accuracy whereas PI-RADS showed high performance. By combination of PSAD and PI-RADS together, the diagnostic performance could be improved significantly.

Abstract Over the last 20 years, industry interest in copper has increased. Its application in the petrochemical, automotive, and nuclear power industries highlights the need for new research directions especially in the joining of copper to other metals. In this work, lap joint of 304 stainless steel and T2 copper precoated with Cu–Mn–Ni filler metal was performed by laser brazing. The aim of this study is to characterize the influence of laser beam incidence angle on the welded joint forming mode, microstructure, elements diffusion and corrosion resistance. According to the findings, the joint is classified as a welded joint when the laser beam incidence angle is 80°, and as a welded-brazed joint when it’s 90°, 70°, or 60°. The microstructure is mainly composed of Cu-rich and Fe-rich phases, Mn in the Cu-rich phase aggregation and Cr in the Fe-rich phase aggregation. In the fusion zone (FZ) the content of less than 50% of the liquid will be in the form of supersaturated droplets in the matrix of the other side. The local corrosion pair that the copper steel matrix and liquid drop produce in the FZ speeds up the dissolution of the Cu-rich phase, which effected corrosion resistance of the joint.

Abstract As a typical sub-deep reservoir in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in the southwest region, Zhangjiayan Reservoir is also an important source of drinking water. Exploring the role of microorganisms in the material cycle of water bodies is of great significance for preventing the exacerbation of eutrophication in the reservoir. In this study, water samples from the overlying water of five points in the reservoir were collected four times in spring (April), summer (July), autumn (November), and winter (January) of 2022–2023 using a gas-tight water sampler. Physicochemical factors were measured, and the microbial community structure was analyzed by high-throughput MiSeq sequencing of the V3–V4 hypervariable region of 16S rRNA gene in order to explore the relationship between physicochemical factors and microbial community structure and the dominant microbial populations that affect eutrophication of the reservoir. The following results were obtained through analysis. Among the 20 overlying water samples from Zhangjiayan Reservoir, a total of 66 phyla, 202 classes, 499 orders, 835 families, 1716 genera, and 27,904 ASVs of the bacterial domain were detected. The phyla Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria were dominant in the microbial community of the overlying water in Zhangjiayan Reservoir. At the genus level, hgcI_clade and Actinobacteria had the highest abundance and was the dominant population. The microbial community in the water of Zhangjiayan Reservoir has a high level of diversity. The diversity index ranked by numerical order was winter > autumn > summer > spring. Significant differences were found in the composition and structure of the microbial community between the spring/summer and autumn/winter seasons (p

Abstract Studies have shown that a series of molecular events caused by oxidative stress is associated with ferroptosis and oxidation after ischemic stroke (IS). Differential analysis was performed to identify differentially expressed mRNA (DEmRNAs) between IS and control groups. Critical module genes were identified using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). DEmRNAs, critical module genes, oxidative stress-related genes (ORGs), and ferroptosis-related genes (FRGs) were crossed to screen for intersection mRNAs. Candidate mRNAs were screened based on the protein–protein interaction (PPI) network and the MCODE plug-in. Biomarkers were identified based on two types of machine learning algorithms, and the intersection was obtained. Functional items and related pathways of the biomarkers were identified using gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). Finally, single-sample GSEA (ssGSEA) and Wilcoxon tests were used to identify differential immune cells. An miRNA-mRNA-TF network was created. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to verify the expression levels of biomarkers in the IS and control groups. There were 8287 DE mRNAs between the IS and control groups. The genes in the turquoise module were selected as critical module genes for IS. Thirty intersecting mRNAs were screened for overlaps. Seventeen candidate mRNAs were also identified. Four biomarkers (CDKN1A, GPX4, PRDX1, and PRDX6) were identified using two types of machine-learning algorithms. GSEA results indicated that the biomarkers were associated with steroid biosynthesis. Nine types of immune cells (activated B cells and neutrophils) were markedly different between the IS and control groups. We identified 3747 miRNA-mRNA-TF regulatory pairs in the miRNA-mRNA-TF regulatory network, including hsa-miR-4469-CDKN1A-BACH2 and hsa-miR-188-3p-GPX4-ATF2. CDKN1A, PRDX1, and PRDX6 were upregulated in IS samples compared with control samples. This study suggests that four biomarkers (CDKN1A, GPX4, PRDX1, and PRDX6) are significantly associated with IS. This study provides a new reference for the diagnosis and treatment of IS.

Abstract Several studies have reported the effects of DJ-1 gene and miR-199a/b-3p on HCC development. However, whether miR-199a/b-3p regulates HCC progression through a novel compensatory signaling pathway involving DJ-1, Ras, and PI3K/AKT remains unknown. We used (TCGA, HPA, miRWalk and Target scan) databases, cancer and para-tissue HCC patients, dual-luciferase reporter gene analysis, proteomic imprinting, qPCR, cell proliferation, scratch, transport, and flow cytometry to detect the molecular mechanism of DJ-1 and miR-199a/b-3p co-expression in HCC cell lines. Bioinformatics analysis showed that DJ-1 was highly expressed in HCC ((P

Abstract Photoreceptor cell death, primarily through apoptosis, related to retinal disorders like retinitis pigmentosa (RP), would result in vision loss. The pathological processes and crucial mutant conditions preceding photoreceptor cell demise are not well understood. This study aims to conduct an in-depth examination of early-stage changes in the widely utilized Pde6brd1/rd1 (rd1) mouse model, which has Pde6b gene mutations representing autosomal recessive RP disorder. We investigated the morphology and ultrastructure of retinal cells, including second-order neurons, during the initial phase of disease progression. Our findings revealed that mitochondrial alterations in rod photoreceptors were present as a predeath mutant state as early as postnatal day 3 (P3). The bipolar and horizontal cells from the rd1 mouse retina exhibited significant morphological changes in response to loss of photoreceptor cells, indicating that second-order neurons rely on these cells for their structures. Subsequent oral administration of idebenone, a mitochondria-protective agent, enhanced retinal function and promoted both photoreceptor cell survival and inner retinal second-order synaptogenesis in rd1 mice at P14. Our findings offer a mechanistic framework, suggesting that mitochondrial damage acts as an early driver for photoreceptor cell death in retinal degeneration.

Abstract Two 2,7-dicyaonfluorene-based molecules 27-DCN and 27-tDCN are utilized as acceptors (A) to combine with hexaphenylbenzene-centered donors (D) TATT and DDT-HPB for probing the exciplex formation. The photophysical characteristics reveal that the steric hindered 27 -tDCN not only can increase the distance of D and A, resulting in a hypsochromic emission, but also dilute the concentration of triplet excitons to suppress non-radiative process. The 27-tDCN-based exciplex-forming blends exhibit better photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) as compared to those of 27-DCN-based pairs. In consequence, among these D:A blends, the device employing DDT-HPB:27-tDCN blend as the emissiom layer (EML) exhibits the best EQE of 3.0% with electroluminescence (EL) λmax of 542 nm. To further utilize the exciton electrically generated in exciplex-forming system, two D–A–D-configurated fluorescence emitter DTPNT and DTPNBT are doped into the DDT-HPB:27-tDCN blend. The nice spectral overlap ensures fast and efficient Förster energy transfer (FRET) process between the exciplex-forming host and the fluorescent quests. The red device adopting DDT-HPB:27-tDCN:10 wt% DTPNT as the EML gives EL λmax of 660 nm and maximum external quantum efficiency (EQEmax) of 5.8%, while EL λmax of 685 nm and EQE of 5.0% for the EML of DDT-HPB:27-tDCN:10 wt% DTPNBT. This work manifests a potential strategy to achieve high efficiency red and deep red OLED devices by incorporating the highly fluorescent emitters to extract the excitons generated by the exciplex-forming blend with bulky acceptor for suppressing non-radiative process.

Abstract Acute lung injury (ALI) remains a high mortality rate with dramatic lung inflammation and alveolar epithelial cell death. Although fatty acid β-oxidation (FAO) impairment has been implicated in the pathogenesis of ALI, whether Carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A (CPT1A), the rate-limiting enzyme for FAO, plays roles in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI remains unclear. Accordingly, we focused on exploring the effect of CPT1A in the context of ALI and the underlying mechanisms. We found that overexpression of CPT1A (AAV-CPT1A) effectively alleviated lung injury by reduction of lung wet-to-dry ratio, inflammatory cell infiltration, and protein levels in the BALF of ALI mice. Meanwhile, AAV-CPT1A significantly lessened histopathological changes and several cytokines’ secretions. In contrast, blocking CPT1A with etomoxir augmented inflammatory responses and lung injury in ALI mice. Furthermore, we found that overexpression of CPT1A with lentivirus reduced the apoptosis rates of alveolar epithelial cells and the expression of apoptosis-related proteins induced by LPS in MLE12 cells, while etomoxir increased the apoptosis of MLE12 cells. Overexpression of CPT1A prevented the drop in bioenergetics, palmitate oxidation, and ATP levels. In conclusion, the results rendered CPT1A worthy of further development into a pharmaceutical drug for the treatment of ALI.

Abstract Maneuverable microswimmers/microdrones that navigate in hard-to-reach spaces inside human bodies hold a great potential for various biomedical applications. Acoustically actuated microswimmers have already demonstrated feasibility. However, for eventual translation of this technology, a robust 3-D tracking strategy for the microswimmer is particularly required. This paper presents our lab-designed 3-D ultrasound tracking system for real-time tracking of an acoustically actuated 3-D swimming microdrone. The ultrasound tracking system utilizing two ultrasound probes, a step motor and a host controller, was built to track the 3-D arbitrary motion of the microdrone in real-time. The performance of tracking was evaluated in the benchtop experiments by comparing the reconstructed trajectories with synchronized camera recordings. The ultrasound tracking system showed high reliability, with an average error of less than 0.3 mm across six different trials when compared to camera tracking. The results demonstrated the capability of our lab-designed 3-D ultrasound tracking system in accurately tracking the undetermined motion of the acoustic actuated 3-D swimming microdrone in real-time. The developed tracking system holds promise as a potential approach for biomedical applications and could pave the way for future clinical translation of the microswimmer technology.

Abstract Network flow watermark technology is a traffic marking technique that embeds watermark information into the characteristics of network flows to mark and trace attack flows generated by network attackers. However, with the development of network attack techniques, the time and number of packets required for network attacks have decreased. Existing network flow watermark technologies fail to balance watermark robustness and efficiency, resulting in poor practicality. To address this issue, this paper proposes an efficient hexadecimal network flow watermark method. The method introduces an efficient interval watermark algorithm and utilizes an interval synchronization algorithm to self-learn watermark parameters, thereby improving the encoding efficiency of the watermark. The design of watermark start and end markers ensures the practicality of network watermarks, enabling traceability and source attribution of attack flows in real network environments. The proposed method is experimentally tested using real network traffic, and the results demonstrate that even in the presence of a network jitter, the watermark detection success rate of this scheme remains above 95%. Compared to other network flow watermark schemes, the hexadecimal network flow watermark proposed in this paper achieves a 50% improvement in encoding and decoding efficiency while ensuring robustness. It also exhibits excellent resistance to network jitter, packet loss, and false packet insertion.

Abstract Molecular biomarkers have the potential to predict the recurrence risk of early-stage lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) after complete resection, but the study results are controversial. We aimed to clarify the association of molecular alterations with disease-free survival (DFS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) in early-stage LUAD with R0 resection. Comprehensive searches were conducted in PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library for this systematic review and meta-analysis with date restrictions from 2012 to 2022. In the 18 included studies, data from a total of 7417 participants in 11 studies and 4167 participants in 9 studies were collected for the EGFR and KRAS meta-analyses, respectively. Two studies were assessed as having a moderate risk of bias, and the others were all assessed as having a high individual risk of bias. The molecular alterations in KRAS rather than EGFR, were associated with a high risk of recurrence for early-stage LUAD patients suffering from R0 resection, especially for those in pStage I, the pooled hazard ratios (HRs) of KRAS were 2.71 (95% CI, 1.81–4.06; I 2 = 22%; P

Abstract The transport truck is one of the important equipment for open-pit mines, and predicting the truck's fault time is of great significance in improving the economic benefits of open-pit mines. In this paper, we discuss the reason for the large prediction error of the exponential smoothing method. Then, we propose a novel nonlinear exponential smoothing method (ESNN) for predicting the truck's fault time, and demonstrate the equivalence between our approach and the neural network structure. Finally, based on the augmented Lagrange function, the solving method of ESNN is proposed. We conduct experiments on real-world datasets and our results demonstrate the effectiveness of ESNN in comparison to existing state-of-the-art methods. Our approach makes it easier for maintenance personnel to predict fault situations in advance and provides a basis for enterprises to develop preventive maintenance plans.

Abstract In this study, we aimed to identify molecular markers associated with type II alveolar epithelial cell injury in acute lung injury (ALI) models using bioinformatics methods. The objective was to provide new insights for the diagnosis and treatment of ALI/ARDS. We downloaded RNA SEQ datasets (GSE109913, GSE179418, and GSE119123) from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and used R language package to screen differentially expressed genes (DEGs). DEGs were annotated using Gene Ontology (GO), and their pathways were analyzed using Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). DEGs were imported into the STRING database and analyzed using Cytoscape software to determine the protein network of DEGs and calculate the top 10 nodes for the hub genes. Finally, potential therapeutic drugs for the hub genes were predicted using the DGIdb database. We identified 78 DEGs, including 70 up-regulated genes and 8 down-regulated genes. GO analysis revealed that the DEGs were mainly involved in biological processes such as granulocyte migration, response to bacterial-derived molecules, and cytokine-mediated signaling pathways. Additionally, they had cytokine activity, chemokine activity, and receptor ligand activity, and functioned in related receptor binding, CXCR chemokine receptor binding, G protein-coupled receptor binding, and other molecular functions. KEGG analysis indicated that the DEGs were mainly involved in TNF signaling pathway, IL-17 signaling pathway, NF-κB signal pathway, chemokine signal pathway, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction signal pathway, and others. We identified eight hub genes, including IRF7, IFIT1, IFIT3, PSMB8, PSMB9, BST2, OASL2, and ZBP1, which were all up-regulated genes. We identified several hub genes of type II alveolar epithelial cells in ALI mouse models using bioinformatics analysis. These results provide new targets for understanding and treating of ALI.

Abstract This study aims to investigate the effects of hyperthermia on intestinal microecology, immune function, and progression-free survival of patients with advanced unresectable lung adenocarcinoma. A total of twenty patients with lung adenocarcinoma in the study group received the advanced standard first-line treatment protocol, which included pemetrexed + cisplatin combined with sintilimab immunotherapy and hyperthermia. Additionally, twenty patients with lung adenocarcinoma in the control group received the advanced standard first-line treatment protocol, which included pemetrexed + cisplatin combined with sintilimab immunotherapy. The T-lymphocyte subpopulation and CD4/CD8 cell ratio of each sample were detected using flow cytometry. The intestinal flora was evaluated using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The study observed the changes in the abundance, distribution, composition, and structure of fecal gut microorganisms before and after the treatment in both groups of patients. Significant differences were observed in the intestinal flora between the two groups. The patients in the study group showed improved immunity after treatment, whereas there was no significant change in the immunity of the control group before and after treatment. However, the difference in progression-free survival between the two groups was not statistically significant. Hyperthermia has a significant impact on improving the microecology of intestinal flora and the immunity of patients, but it does not have a significant effect on prolonging the progression-free survival of patients.

Abstract Step error calculation of numerical control (NC) machining tool path is a premise for generating high-quality tool path and promoting its application. At present, iterative methods are generally used to calculate step error, and the computation time increases when accuracy improves. Neural networks can be calculated on GPUs and cloud platforms, which is conducive to reducing computation time and improving accuracy through continuous learning. This article innovatively introduces a BP neural network model to predict step error values. Firstly, the core parameters required for step error calculation are taken as the data samples to construct the neural network model, and map to the same scale through Z-score normalization to eliminate the adverse effects of singular parameters on the calculation results. Then, considering only a small number of parameters determine theoretical values of step error, the Dropout technique can drop hidden layer neurons with a certain probability, which is helpful to avoid overfitting and used in the neural network model design. In the neural network model training, this paper adds the Stochastic Gradient Descent with Momentum (SGDM) optimizer to the back propagation of network training in order to improves the network’ stability and accuracy. The proposed neural network predicts step error of samples from three surface models, the results show that the prediction error decreases as sample training increases. After trained by 15% of the surface samples, the neural network predicts the step errors of the remaining samples. Compared with theoretical values, more than 99% of the predicted values have an absolute error less than 1 μm. Moreover, the cost time is only one-third of the geometric method, which verifies the effectiveness and efficiency of our method.

Abstract Lymphocyte homing is mediated by the interaction between L-selectin on lymphocytes and its glycoprotein ligands modified with 6-sulfo sialyl Lewis x (6-sulfo sLex) glycans on high endothelial venules (HEVs) in peripheral lymph nodes (PLNs). However, the lack of specific antibodies reactive with both human and mouse 6-sulfo sLex has limited our understanding of its function in vivo. Here, we generated a novel monoclonal antibody, termed SF1, that specifically reacts with 6-sulfo sLex expressed on HEVs in both species in a manner dependent on sulfate, fucose, and sialic acid modifications. Glycan array and biolayer interferometry analyses indicated that SF1 specifically bound to 6-sulfo sLex with a dissociation constant of 6.09 × 10–9 M. SF1 specifically bound to four glycoproteins from PLNs corresponding to the molecular sizes of L-selectin ligand glycoproteins. Consistently, SF1 inhibited L-selectin-dependent lymphocyte rolling on 6-sulfo sLex-expressing cells ex vivo and lymphocyte homing to PLNs and nasal-associated lymphoid tissues in vivo. Furthermore, SF1 significantly attenuated ovalbumin-induced allergic rhinitis in mice in association with significant suppression of Th2 immune responses. Collectively, these results suggest that SF1 can be useful for the functional analysis of 6-sulfo sLex and may potentially serve as a novel therapeutic agent against immune-related diseases.

Abstract Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic progressive interstitial lung disease that lacks effective treatment modalities. Once patients are diagnosed with IPF, their median survival is approximately 3–5 years. PPARγ is an important target for the prevention and treatment of pulmonary fibrosis. Asarinin is a lignan compound that can be extracted from food plant Asarum heterotropoides. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic effects of asarinin in a pulmonary fibrosis model constructed using bleomycin in mice and explored the underlying mechanisms. Intraperitoneal administration of asarinin to mice with pulmonary fibrosis showed that asarinin effectively attenuated pulmonary fibrosis, and this effect was significantly inhibited by the PPARγ inhibitor GW9662. Asarinin inhibited TGF-β1-induced fibroblast-to-myofibroblast transition in vitro, while GW9662 and PPARγ gene silencing significantly inhibited this effect. In addition, asarinin inhibited not only the canonical Smad pathway of TGF-β but also the non-canonical AKT and MAPK pathways by activating PPARγ. Our study demonstrates that asarinin can be used as a therapeutic agent for pulmonary fibrosis, and that PPARγ is its key target.

Abstract High-throughput sequencing allows for the comprehensive analysis of the human intestinal microbiota. However, extensive association analyses between the microbiome and lifestyle differences in the Chinese population are limited. Here, we carried out an independent cohort study—the Chinese Healthy Gut Project (n = 483)—where correlations between the gut microbiota and dietary and lifestyle variables in a healthy Chinese population are defined. We collected both questionnaire data, including basic information and lifestyle and dietary variables, and fecal stools from the enrolled volunteers. We then performed 16S rRNA sequencing on the microbial DNA isolated from the stools to assess the composition of the intestinal microbiota. We found that Prevotella and Bacteroides were the most abundant genera in the healthy Chinese gut microbiome. Additionally, 9 out of 29 clinical and questionnaire-based phenotype covariates were found to be associated with the variation in the composition of the gut microbiota. Among these lifestyle phenotypes, sleep procrastination, negative mood, and drinking habits had the largest effect size. Additionally, an appreciable effect of urbanization was observed, resulting in decreased intra-individual diversity, increased inter-individual diversity, and an increased abundance of the Bacteroides enterotype. The results of this study provide a foundation for assessing the healthy Chinese gut microbiota community structure at baseline in a healthy Chinese population. Furthermore, this study also provides insights into understanding how distinctive living habits influence the relationships between the Chinese gut microbiome and systemic health state.

Abstract The prognostic value of the left atrial function index (LAFI) in acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is unknown. This study sought to determine whether the LAFI predicts prognosis in STEMI patients treated with PCI. Patients with newly diagnosed STEMI who were treated with PCI in Hunan Provincial People's Hospital from March 2020 to October 2020 were prospectively enrolled. All patients underwent transthoracic echocardiography at baseline and follow-up. The endpoint events included rehospitalization due to unstable angina, nonfatal myocardial infarction, rehospitalization due to heart failure and cardiovascular death. A total of 156 STEMI patients treated with PCI were studied with a median follow-up of 14 months. Forty-eight patients had endpoint events. The LAFI had the highest area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) predicting the endpoint events, with an AUC of 0.90 (95% CI 0.84–0.94). Multivariate Cox analysis demonstrated that only the LAFI (HR: 0.91, 95% CI 0.87–0.96, P 42.25 cm/cc/m2 (HR: 19.15, 95% CI 8.90–41.21, P

Abstract Carbon-based single-atom catalysts (SACs) for electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) have received increasing attention due to their sustainable, efficient, and green advantages. However, at present, the research on carbon nanotubes (CNTs)-based NRR catalysts is very limited. In this paper, using FeN3@(n, 0) CNTs (n = 3 ~ 10) as the representative catalysts, we demonstrate that the CNT curvatures will affect the spin polarization of the catalytic active centers, the activation of the adsorbed N2 molecules and the Gibbs free energy barriers for the formation of the critical intermediates in the NRR processes, thus changing the catalytic performance of CNT-based catalysts. Zigzag (8, 0) CNT was taken as the optimal substrate, and twenty transition metal atoms (Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Nb, Mo, Tc, Ru, Rh, Pd, W, Re, Ir, and Pt) were embedded into (8, 0) CNT via N3 group to construct the NRR catalysts. Their electrocatalytic performance for NRR were examined using DFT calculations, and TcN3@(8, 0) CNT was screened out as the best candidate with a low onset potential of − 0.53 V via the distal mechanism, which is superior to the molecules- or graphene-support Tc catalysts. Further electronic properties analysis shows that the high NRR performance of TcN3@(8, 0) CNT originates from the strong d-2π* interaction between the N2 molecule and Tc atom. TcN3@(8, 0) CNT also exhibits higher selectivity for NRR than the competing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) process. The present work not only provides a promising catalyst for NRR, but also open up opportunities for further exploring of low-dimensional carbon-based high efficiency electrochemical NRR catalysts.

Abstract We compared the relationship between sedentary activity (SA) and physical activity (PA) with bone mineral density (BMD) and body fat percentage in the United States and found a negative association between SA and BMD and a positive association with body fat percentage. A positive association between PA and BMD and a negative association with body fat percentage. SA and PA are associated with changes in skeletal parameters and body fat percentage, and we aimed to investigate and compare the relationship between SA, PA and bone mineral density (BMD) and body fat percentage in men and women. We assessed the relationship between SA, PA and BMD and body fat percentage in 9787 Americans aged 20–59 years (mean age 38.28 ± 11.39 years) from NHANES 2011–2018. BMD and body fat percentage were measured by dual-energy X-ray bone densitometry (DXA). We used multiple linear regression models to examine the relationships between SA, PA and lumbar spine BMD and total body fat percentage, adjusted for a large number of confounding factors. After adjusting for race/ethnicity, age, alcohol and smoking behavior, body mass index (BMI), total protein, blood calcium, blood uric acid, cholesterol, blood phosphorus, vitamin D, and blood urea nitrogen, SA was negatively associated with lumbar spine BMD (β = − 0.0011 95% CI − 0.0020 to − 0.0002, P = 0.022), and SA was positively associated with total fat percentage (β = PA was positively associated with lumbar BMD (β = 0.0046 95% CI 0.0010 to 0.0082, P = 0.012) and there was a negative association between PA and body fat percentage (β = − 1.177 95% CI − 1.326 to –1.027, P

Abstract Ischemic stroke (IS) is a major threat to human health, and it is the second leading cause of long-term disability and death in the world. Impaired cerebral perfusion leads to acute hypoxia and glucose deficiency, which in turn induces a stroke cascade response that ultimately leads to cell death. Screening and identifying hypoxia-related genes (HRGs) and therapeutic targets is important for neuroprotection before and during brain recanalization to protect against injury and extend the time window to further improve functional outcomes before pharmacological and mechanical thrombolysis. First, we downloaded the GSE16561 and GSE58294 datasets from the NCBI GEO database. Bioinformatics analysis of the GSE16561 dataset using the limma package identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in ischemic stroke using adj. p. values

Abstract Diabetes is one of the most common phenotypes of Wolfram syndrome owing to the presence of the variants of the WFS1 gene and is often misdiagnosed as other types of diabetes. We aimed to explore the prevalence of WFS1-related diabetes (WFS1-DM) and its clinical characteristics in a Chinese population with early-onset type 2 diabetes (EOD). We sequenced all exons of the WFS1 gene in 690 patients with EOD (age at diagnosis ≤ 40 years) for rare variants. Pathogenicity was defined according to the standards and guidelines of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics. We identified 33 rare variants predicted to be deleterious in 39 patients. The fasting [1.57(1.06–2.22) ng/ml] and postprandial C-peptide levels [2.8(1.75–4.46) ng/ml] of the patients with such WFS1 variations were lower than those of the patients without WFS1 variation [2.09(1.43–3.05) and 4.29(2.76–6.07) respectively, ng/ml]. Six (0.9%) patients carried pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants; they met the diagnostic criteria for WFS1-DM according to the latest guidelines, but typical phenotypes of Wolfram syndrome were seldom observed. They were diagnosed at an earlier age and usually presented with an absence of obesity, impaired beta cell function, and the need for insulin treatment. WFS1-DM is usually mistakenly diagnosed as type 2 diabetes, and genetic testing is helpful for individualized treatment.

Abstract Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a common cause of heart failure, and males are more likely to suffer from DCM than females. This research aimed at exploring possible DCM-associated genes and their latent regulatory effects in female and male patients. WGCNA analysis found that in the yellow module, 341 and 367 key DEGs were identified in females and males, respectively. A total of 22 hub genes in females and 17 hub genes in males were identified from the PPI networks of the key DEGs based on Metascape database. And twelve and eight potential TFs of the key DEGs were also identified in females and males, respectively. Eight miRNAs of 15 key DEGs were screened in both females and males, which may be differentially expressed in females and males. Dual-luciferase reporter assay demonstrated that miR-21-5P could directly target the key gene MATN2. Furthermore, Sex differences in KEGG pathways were identified. Both KOBAS and GSEA analysis identified 19 significantly enriched pathways related to immune response in both females and males, and the TGF-β signaling pathway was exclusively identified in males. Network pharmacology analysis revealed that seven key DEGs were potential targets for the treatment of DCM, of which the OLR1 gene was only identified in males, the expression levels of the seven genes were verified by RT-PCR. The above results could offer a novel understanding of sex differences in key genes and pathways in DCM progression.

Abstract To determine the pattern of intra-articular calcaneal fractures (ICFs) by a three-dimensional (3D) mapping and determine whether there were consistent fracture patterns and comminution zones. In this study, 67 patients with ICFS by CT scan were included. The calcaneal fractures fragments in CT were multiplanar reconstructed and virtual reduced. 3D heat mapping was subsequently created by graphically superimposing all fracture lines onto a standard calcaneal template. The cohort included 26 (38.8%) left calcaneal fractures, 27 (40.30%) right calcaneal fractures, and 14 (20.9%) cases with bilateral fractures. Comminuted fractures accounted for 92.5%. Sagittal 3D mapping shows that the fracture line is mainly concentrated at the critical angle of Gissane and extending rear to the posterior of the tuberosity of the lateral wall and the anterior of the medial process of the calcaneus tuberosity but with more significant variation in the medial wall. The average angle of fracture lines concerning the long calcaneal axis (LCA) was 29.1° and 19.2° in the lateral and medial walls. Axial 3D mapping shows that fracture lines were primarily concentrated in the anterior area to the posterior joint facet and extending along the rear joint facet and calcaneus sulcus to the posteriorly of the tuberosity. The mean angle of fracture lines concerning the LAC was 11° in the axial wall. Our data provided elucidated that ICFs have consistent characteristic fracture patterns and comminution zones. This study provides visual guidelines for understanding fracture morphology, which may assist with fracture classification, preoperative planning, development of fixation concepts.

Abstract The interaction between fluid and the midwater trawl with stocked catches is extremely complex, but essential to improve the understanding of the drag force acting on the trawl, the behavior of the fishing structure during a trawling process, and to predict its selectivity process. The present study assesses the turbulent characteristics inside and around the midwater trawls with catch and without catch linked to its fluttering motion. The analysis is based on three-dimensional electromagnetic current velocity meter measurements performed in the multiple points inside and outside different parts of a 1/35 scaled midwater trawl model with the aim of access the main turbulent flow structure inside and around the gear. Time-averaged normalized flow velocity fields and turbulent flow parameters were analyzed from the measured flow data. Furthermore, Fourier analysis was conducted by watching the time–frequency Power spectrum content of instantaneous flow velocities fields, the fluttering trawl motions, turbulent kinetic energy, and momentum flux. Based on successive analyzes of mean flow characteristics and turbulent flow parameters, it has been demonstrated that the presence of catch inside the trawl net impacts the evolution of unsteady turbulent flow by creating large trawl fluttering motions that strongly affect the flow passage. The results showed that the time-averaged normalized streamwise and transverse flow velocities inside and around the trawl net with catch were 12.41% lower compared with that obtained inside and around the trawl without catch. The turbulent length scale and turbulent Reynolds number obtained in the different part of the trawl net with catch were about 33.05% greater than those obtained on the trawl net without catch, confirming that the unsteady turbulent flow developing inside and around the midwater trawl is influence by the catch and liner. It is observed that the motions of both the trawl without catch and the trawl with catch are mainly of a low-frequency activity and another component related to unsteady turbulent flow street. A complex fluid–structure interaction is then demonstrated where the fluttering motions of the trawl net affect the fluid flow inside and around trawl net, the fluid force, turbulent pattern, and simultaneously, the periodic unsteady turbulent flow influence the trawl motions.

Abstract Rice quality is one of the main targets of rice breeding and is a complex trait that involves grain appearance, milling, cooking, eating and nutritional quality. For many years, rice breeding has contended with imbalances in rice yield, quality, and disease and lodging resistance. Here, the milling and appearance quality, cooking quality, starch rapid viscosity analyzer (RVA) profile, and nutritional quality of grains of Yuenongsimiao (YNSM), an indica rice variety with high yield, high quality and disease resistance, were determined. YNSM had excellent appearance and quality, with low amylose contents and high gel consistency, and these characteristics exhibited significant correlations with the RVA profile such as hot paste viscosity, cool paste viscosity, setback viscosity, and consistency. Moreover, 5 genes related to length-to-width ratio (LWR) as well as the Wx gene were used to detect the main quality genotype of YNSM. The results showed that YNSM is a semilong-grain rice with a relatively high brown rice rate, milled rice rate and head rice yield and low chalkiness. The results indicated that the LWR and food quality of YNSM might be related to gs3, gw7 and Wx b . This study also reports the quality characteristics of hybrid rice developed using YNSM as a restorer line. The quality characteristics and the genotype for grain quality determined through gene analysis in YNSM may facilitate the breeding of new rice varieties that achieve a balance of grain yield, resistance and quality.

Abstract Air quality is a significant environmental issue among the Chinese people and even the global population, and it affects both human health and the Earth’s long-term sustainability. In this study, we proposed a multiperspective, high-dimensional spatiotemporal data visualization and interactive analysis method, and we studied and analyzed the relationship between the air quality and several influencing factors, including meteorology, population, and economics. Six visualization methods were integrated in this study, each specifically designed and improved for visualization analysis purposes. To reveal the spatiotemporal distribution and potential impact of the air quality, we designed a comprehensive coupled visual interactive analysis approach visually express both high-dimensional and spatiotemporal attributes, reveal the overall situation and explain the relationship between attributes. We clarified the current spatiotemporal distribution, development trends, and influencing factors of the air quality in China through interactive visual analysis of a 25-dimensional dataset involving 31 Chinese provinces. We also verified the correctness and effectiveness of relevant policies and demonstrated the advantages of our method.

Abstract In this study, geopolymers were prepared using ladle furnace slag (LFS) and fly ash (FA), and hydrothermal treatment was then used to synthesize bulk zeolite molecular sieves with gismondine, zeolite-P1, and sodalite phases. The effect of the synthesis conditions on the crystalline phases of the zeolite molecular sieves was investigated by XRD. The results showed that the best zeolite molecular sieves were prepared with an LFS: FA ratio of 4: 6, a curing temperature of 40 °C, a curing time of 12 h, a sodium silicate modulus (Ms) of 1.4, a NaOH concentration of 4 mol/L, a hydrothermal temperature of 120 °C, and a hydrothermal time of 12 h. On this basis, the products were analyzed by SEM, N2 adsorption, and FT-IR. The results showed that the synthesized zeolite molecular sieves had mesoporous properties, and the degree of polymerization and cross-linking of the silica-aluminate gel were enhanced after hydrothermal treatment. In addition, the formation mechanism of the zeolite molecular sieves was explored through the changes of the silica-alumina during zeolite formation. This paper is the first to use the hydrothermal conversion of zeolite molecular sieves from LFS-FA based polymers to provide some guidance for the resource utilization of LFS and FA.

Abstract Hydrologic extremes often involve a complex interplay of several processes. For example, flood events can have a cascade of impacts, such as saturated soils and suppressed vegetation growth. Accurate representation of such interconnected processes while accounting for associated triggering factors and subsequent impacts of flood events is difficult to achieve with conceptual hydrological models alone. In this study, we use the 2019 flood in the Northern Mississippi and Missouri Basins, which caused a series of hydrologic disturbances, as an example of such a flood event. This event began with above-average precipitation combined with anomalously high snowmelt in spring 2019. This series of anomalies resulted in above normal soil moisture that prevented crops from being planted over much of the corn belt region. In the present study, we demonstrate that incorporating remote sensing information within a hydrologic modeling system adds substantial value in representing the processes that lead to the 2019 flood event and the resulting agricultural disturbances. This remote sensing data infusion improves the accuracy of soil moisture and snowmelt estimates by up to 16% and 24%, respectively, and it also improves the representation of vegetation anomalies relative to the reference crop fraction anomalies.

Abstract Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) indicates subclinical organ damage, associating with the incidence of cardiovascular diseases. From the medical perspective, electrocardiogram (ECG) is a low-cost, non-invasive, and easily reproducible tool that is often used as a preliminary diagnosis for the detection of heart disease. Nowadays, there are many criteria for assessing LVH by ECG. These criteria usually include that voltage combination of RS peaks in multi-lead ECG must be greater than one or more thresholds for diagnosis. We developed a system for detecting LVH using ECG signals by two steps: firstly, the R-peak and S-valley amplitudes of the 12-lead ECG were extracted to automatically obtain a total of 24 features and ECG beats of each case (LVH or non-LVH) were segmented; secondly, a back propagation neural network (BPN) was trained using a dataset with these features. Echocardiography (ECHO) was used as the gold standard for diagnosing LVH. The number of LVH cases (of a Taiwanese population) identified was 173. As each ECG sequence generally included 8 to 13 cycles (heartbeats) due to differences in heart rate, etc., we identified 1466 ECG cycles of LVH patients after beat segmentation. Results showed that our BPN model for detecting LVH reached the testing accuracy, precision, sensitivity, and specificity of 0.961, 0.958, 0.966 and 0.956, respectively. Detection performances of our BPN model, on the whole, outperform 7 methods using ECG criteria and many ECG-based artificial intelligence (AI) models reported previously for detecting LVH.

Abstract Intraoperative ingestion of blood, cerebrospinal fluid, and irrigation fluid can lead to an increase in gastric volume, resulting in the potential risk of aspiration in patients after endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery (EETS). In this prospective observational study, we aimed to assess the volume of gastric contents in patients undergoing this neurosurgical procedure using ultrasound, and to determine the factors associated with volume change. Eighty-two patients diagnosed with pituitary adenoma were recruited consecutively. Semi-quantitative (Perlas scores: 0, 1 and 2) and quantitative (cross-sectional area, CSA) ultrasound assessments of the gastric antrum were performed immediately before and after surgery in the semi-recumbent and semi-recumbent right-lateral positions. Seven (8.5%) patients had antrum scores from preoperative grade 0 to postoperative grade 2; nine (11%) patients had antrum scores from preoperative grade 0 to postoperative grade 1. The mean ± standard deviation (SD) of increased gastric volume was 71.0 ± 33.1 mL and 236.5 ± 32.4 mL in postoperative grade 1 and 2 groups, respectively. Subgroup analysis showed that 11 (13.4%) patients (4 in grade 1 and all in grade 2) had postoperative estimated gastric volume > 1.5 mL kg−1 (mean ± SD 3.08 ± 1.67, range 1.51–5.01 mL kg−1). Logistic regression analysis revealed that older age, diabetes mellitus, and long surgical duration were independent risk factors for significant volume change (all P

Abstract We propose a new variational autoencoder (VAE) with physical constraints capable of learning the dynamics of Multiple Degree of Freedom (MDOF) dynamic systems. Standard variational autoencoders place greater emphasis on compression than interpretability regarding the learned latent space. We propose a new type of encoder, based on the recently developed Hamiltonian Neural Networks, to impose symplectic constraints on the inferred a posteriori distribution. In addition to delivering robust trajectory predictions under noisy conditions, our model is capable of learning an energy-preserving latent representation of the system. This offers new perspectives for the application of physics-informed neural networks on engineering problems linked to dynamics.

Abstract Frailty causes emerging global health burden due to its high prevalence and mortality. In this study, we used Mendelian randomization (MR) approach to examine the potential causal relationship between smoking and frailty in ageing. Using inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method, genetically predicted smoking initiation was associated with an increased risk of frailty in ageing (odd ratio (OR) 1.23, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.19–1.27, P = 3.21 × 10–39). Similarly, per year increase in age of initiation of regular smoking was associated with a 25% decrease in the risk of frailty (95% CI 7–39%, P = 7.79 × 10–3, per year), while higher number of cigarettes per day was associated with a 12% increased risk (95% CI 4–20%, P = 1.76 × 10–3). Compared with former smokers, current smokers were associated with an increased risk of frailty (OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.02–1.22, P = 0.01). Lifetime smoking was associated with a 46% higher risk of frailty (95% CI 37–56%, P = 2.63 × 10–29). Sensitivity analysis using alternative MR methods yielded similar results. Our study indicates that genetic predisposition to smoking is associated with the risk of frailty in ageing. Further studies are warranted to examine the exact role of smoking in the development of frailty.

Abstract The sustentaculum tali are tightly bound to the talus by the interosseous and deltoid ligament complex and have been considered a ‘‘constant fragment”. Yet there is a dearth of study on the anatomical patterns of the sustentacular segment. Consequently, this study is designated with the purpose of defining the prevalence and displacement of sustentacular fractures in intra-articular calcaneal fractures (ICFs) applying computed tomography (CT) mapping in both two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) conditions. From January 2019 to December 2020, the CT images of sixty-seven patients with eighty-one ICFs were retrospectively evaluated, besides, basic patient demographics and mechanisms of injury were documented. And the prevalence of sustentacular fractures was characterized in the sagittal or coronal CT planes. The subluxation, angulation, and translation of the portion of the sustentacular bone were noted. By decreasing rebuilt fracture fragments to suit a model of the sustentaculum tali, a 3D map was generated. Overall, the sustentacular fracture in 21 (25.9%) of the 81 ICFs, 15 (71.4%) were nondisplaced, 6 (28.6%) were displaced, and mean coronal angulation was 21.9°, and no comminuted. The relationship between sustentaculum tali and the talus was anatomically aligned in 71 (87.7%), and subluxation in 10 (12.3%). According to the research, 3D mapping demonstrated that most fracture lines start from the anterior of the sustentaculum tali, extending obliquely to the sulcus of the flexor halluces longus tendon. Moreover, this study provides a detailed description (displacement or articular dislocation) of the frequency of sustentacular fragments in ICFs. The finding disproves the ‘‘constant’’ theory of the sustentacular fragments, due to the fact that comminuted fracture of sustentaculum tali was rare. And the expertise of these fracture patterns may affect the progress of fixation concepts and surgical approaches. Moreover, we further speculated that the displacement of the sustentacular fragment was considerably more probable to emerge in the higher-order Sanders classification. Nevertheless, bigger sample size is required to further validate this position.

Abstract Ferroptosis is a cell death process caused by metabolic dysfunction with the feature of aberrant iron accumulation. Emerging studies have identified that ferroptosis is an important biological function involving in the tumorigenesis, and targeting ferroptosis could provide promising therapeutic targets for lung cancer. However, such therapeutic strategies show limited therapeutic effect owing to drug resistance and other unknown underlying mechanisms. In this study, lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1/KDM1A) was found to be significantly upregulated in lung cancer cells and tissues. The patients with KDM1A downregulation displayed the good prognosis. Using gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), we demonstrated that KDM1A-associated genes might participate in the regulation of cell ferroptosis and Myc signaling in lung cancer. Knockdown of KDM1A inhibited the level of c-Myc and increased the concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA) and irons in human lung cancer cells H1299 and A549. Downregulation of c-Myc could facilitate KDM1A knockdown-mediated ferroptosis. Our study has elucidated the effect of KDM1A/c-Myc regulatory axis in the ferroptosis resistance of lung cancer cells.

Abstract Different modeling techniques must be applied to manage production and statistical estimation to predict the expected harvest. By calculating advanced production methods and the rational valuation of different factors, we can accurately capture the variety of growth characteristics and the expected yield. This paper obtained 32 feature variables related to melons, including phenological features, shape features, and color features. The Gradient Boosted Decision Tree (GBDT) network and the Grid Search (GS) hyperparameter seeking method was applied to calculate the degree of importance of all melon fruits' characteristics and construct prediction models for three expected harvest indexes of melon yield, sugar content, and endocarp hardness. To facilitate growers to carry out prediction and estimation in the field without destroying the melon fruits. The reduced feature variables were selected as inputs. The GBDT model was used to provide a significant advantage in prediction compared to both Random Forest (RF) and Support Vector Regression (SVR) methods. In addition, to verify the feasibility of using only reduced feature variables as input for the evaluation work, this study also compares the predictive effects of the model when all feature variables and only reduced feature variables are used. The GBDT prediction model proposed in this paper predicted melon yield, sugar content, and hardness using reduced features as input, and the model R2 could reach more than 90%. Therefore, this method can effectively help growers carry out early non-destructive inspection and growth prediction of melons in the field.