Search

Abstract Background Visceral adipose tissue in individuals with obesity is an independent cardiovascular risk indicator. However, it remains unclear whether adipose tissue influences common cardiovascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis, through its secreted exosomes. Methods The exosomes secreted by adipose tissue from diet-induced obesity mice were isolated to examine their impact on the progression of atherosclerosis and the associated mechanism. Endothelial apoptosis and the proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) within the atherosclerotic plaque were evaluated. Statistical significance was analyzed using GraphPad Prism 9.0 with appropriate statistical tests. Results We demonstrate that adipose tissue-derived exosomes (AT-EX) exacerbate atherosclerosis progression by promoting endothelial apoptosis, proliferation, and migration of VSMCs within the plaque in vivo. MicroRNA-132/212 (miR-132/212) was detected within AT-EX cargo. Mechanistically, miR-132/212-enriched AT-EX exacerbates palmitate acid-induced endothelial apoptosis via targeting G protein subunit alpha 12 and enhances platelet-derived growth factor type BB-induced VSMC proliferation and migration by targeting phosphatase and tensin homolog in vitro. Importantly, melatonin decreases exosomal miR-132/212 levels, thereby mitigating the pro-atherosclerotic impact of AT-EX. Conclusion These data uncover the pathological mechanism by which adipose tissue-derived exosomes regulate the progression of atherosclerosis and identify miR-132/212 as potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets for atherosclerosis. Graphical Abstract

The concept of orbital angular momentum (OAM) of light has not only advanced fundamental physics research but also yielded a plethora of practical applications, benefitting from the abundant methods for OAM generation based on linear, nonlinear and combined schemes. The combined scheme could generate octave-separating OAM beams, potentially increasing the channels for optical communication and data storage. However, this scheme faces a challenge in achieving high conversion efficiency. In this work, we have demonstrated the generation of multiple OAM beams at both fundamental frequency and second harmonic (SH) wavelengths using a three-dimensional forked grating array with both spatial χ (1) and χ (2) distributions in a lithium niobate nonlinear photonic crystal platform. The enhancements of the fundamental and SH OAM beams have been achieved by employing linear Bragg diffraction and nonlinear Bragg diffraction, respectively, i.e., quasi-phase matching. The experimental results show that OAM beams with variable topological charges can be enhanced at different diffraction orders via wavelength or angle tuning, achieving conversion efficiencies of 60.45 % for the linear OAM beams and 1.08 × 10−4 W−1 for the nonlinear ones. This work provides a promising approach for parallel detection of OAM states in optical communications, and extends beyond OAM towards the control of structured light via cascaded linear and nonlinear processes.

Abstract Objective To explore the optimal models for predicting the formation of high-quality embryos in Poor Ovarian Response (POR) Patients with Progestin-Primed Ovarian Stimulation (PPOS) using machine learning algorithms. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 4,216 POR cycles who underwent in vitro fertilization (IVF) / intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) at Sichuan Jinxin Xinan Women and Children’s Hospital from January 2015 to December 2021. Based on the presence of high-quality cleavage embryos 72 h post-fertilization, the samples were divided into the high-quality cleavage embryo group (N = 1950) and the non-high-quality cleavage embryo group (N = 2266). Additionally, based on whether high-quality blastocysts were observed following full blastocyst culture, the samples were categorized into the high-quality blastocyst group (N = 124) and the non-high-quality blastocyst group (N = 1800). The factors influencing the formation of high-quality embryos were analyzed using logistic regression. The predictive models based on machine learning methods were constructed and evaluated accordingly. Results Differential analysis revealed that there are statistically significant differences in 14 factors between high-quality and non-high-quality cleavage embryos. Logistic regression analysis identified 14 factors as influential in forming high-quality cleavage embryos. In models excluding three variables (retrieved oocytes, MII oocytes, and 2PN fertilized oocytes), the XGBoost model performed slightly better (AUC = 0.672, 95% CI = 0.636–0.708). Conversely, in models including these three variables, the Random Forest model exhibited the best performance (AUC = 0.788, 95% CI = 0.759–0.818). In the analysis of high-quality blastocysts, significant differences were found in 17 factors. Logistic regression analysis indicated that 13 factors influence the formation of high-quality blastocysts. Including these variables in the predictive model, the XGBoost model showed the highest performance (AUC = 0.813, 95% CI = 0.741–0.884). Conclusion We developed a predictive model for the formation of high-quality embryos using machine learning methods for patients with POR undergoing treatment with the PPOS protocol. This model can help infertility patients better understand the likelihood of forming high-quality embryos following treatment and help clinicians better understand and predict treatment outcomes, thus facilitating more targeted and effective interventions.

Background: The SARS-CoV-2 virus has been a global public health threat since December 2019. This study aims to investigate the neurological characteristics and risk factors of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Taiwanese children, using data from a collaborative registry. Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional, multi-center study was done using an online network of pediatric neurological COVID-19 cohort collaborative registry. Results: A total of 11160 COVID-19-associated emergency department (ED) visits and 1079 hospitalizations were analyzed. Seizures were the most common specific neurological symptom, while encephalitis and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) was the most prevalent severe involvement.In ED patients with neurological manifestations, severe neurological diagnosis was associated with visual hallucination, seizure with/without fever, behavior change, decreased GCS, myoclonic jerk, decreased activity/fatigue, and lethargy. In hospitalized patients with neurological manifestations, severe neurological diagnosis was associated with behavior change, visual hallucination, decreased GCS, seizure with/without fever, myoclonic jerk, fatigue, and hypoglycemia at admission. Encephalitis/ADEM was the only risk factor for poor neurological outcomes at discharge in hospitalized patients. Conclusion: Neurological complications are common in pediatric COVID-19. Visual hallucination, seizure, behavior change, myoclonic jerk, decreased GCS, and hypoglycemia at admission are the most important warning signs of severe neurological involvement such as encephalitis/ADEM.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, educational institutions around the world have closed, affecting more than 60% of students and causing massive disruption to the education system. Taiwan is no exception. For this sudden and dramatic change, teachers, students, and parents all confront significant challenges. In order to make specific suggestions for improvement, the study aims to explore the current state of e-learning in Taiwan and to understand the difficulties faced by teachers, parents, and students. The study conducted in-depth interviews with 20 teachers, 12 parents, and 24 students. The research results show that in New Taipei City, there are barely any online courses for grades 1 and 2, blended learning is mainly for grades 3 and 4, and synchronous e-learning is designed for grades 5 and 6. The main challenges in adopting e-learning in primary schools include, as follows: (i) Teachers, parents, and students are unfamiliar with the user interface of the e-learning platform; (ii) Insufficient hardware and software equipment at home; (iii) Teachers cannot take care of special students; (iv) Communication between teachers and parents is not smooth; (v) Difficulty in assessing learning progress online; and (vi) Students are easily distracted from their studies. Based on the above research results, the researchers put forward specific suggestions for future online teaching practices.

This technical note provides descriptions on a collaborative research project between Université Paris 8/École Pratique des Hautes Études-Laboratoire des Usages des Techniques d'Information Numériques (Paris8/EPHE-LUTIN) and National Taiwan Normal University-Science Education Center (NTNU-SEC). This project, entitled "Franco-Taiwanese Research on Extended Reality Experience", is about research and development of new, innovative, performant eXtended Reality (XR) contents, methods, procedures, and services in order to enhance science teaching and learning and to bring subsequent great benefices to education. The aim of the collaboration is the making of eXtended Reality eXperience (XRX) for teachers and pupils of the 12-year basic education curricula. As a result of reaching our aim, we expect that the XR systems and instructional modules developed through our project will be learning efficient for the students acquiring knowledge and the know-how of Science Education.

Abstract Background Both sleep-related breathing disorders (SRBDs) and HIV infection can interfere with normal sleep architecture, and also cause physical and psychological distress. We aimed to understand the differences in the obstructive patterns, sleep architecture, physical and psychological distress when compared between people living with HIV (PLWH) and matched the severity of SRBDs controls. Methods A comparative study using matched case-control design was conducted. Men with HIV infection (case group) were enrolled from 2016 to 2019. A control group with HIV seronegative men were matched for SRBDs severity, and were selected from sleep medicine center database for comparison. Results The mean age of the 108 men (including 54 cases and 54 matched controls) was 33.75 years. Central-apnea index (CI) was higher in the case group rather than matched controls (mean CI, 0.34 vs. 0.17, p = 0.049). PLWH had a lower mean percentage of stage 3 sleep (10.26% vs. 13.94%, p = 0.034) and a higher percentage of rapid eye movement sleep (20.59% vs. 17.85%, p = 0.011) compared to matched controls. Nocturnal enuresis and sleepiness causing traffic accidents were more frequent complaint in PLWH compared to controls. Conclusions Early detected SRBDs and subtypes in PLWH to begin treatment for the underlying cause could reduce the risk of sleepiness-related traffic accidents.

Objective This study aimed to evaluate the effects of 2 endoscopic spine surgeries on the biomechanical properties of normal and osteoporotic spines. Methods Based on computed tomography images of a healthy adult volunteer, 6 finite element models were created. After validating the normal intact model, a concentrated force of 400 N and a moment of 7.5 Nm were exerted on the upper surface of L3 to simulate 6 physiological activities of the spine. Five types of indices were used to assess the biomechanical properties of the 6 models, range of motion (ROM), maximum displacement value, intervertebral disc stress, maximum stress value, and articular protrusion stress, and by combining them with finite element stress cloud. Results In normal and osteoporotic spines, there was no meaningful change in ROM or disc stress in the 2 surgical models for the 6 motion states. Model N1 (osteoporotic percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy model) showed a decrease in maximum displacement value of 20.28% in right lateral bending. Model M2 (unilateral biportal endoscopic model) increased maximum displacement values of 16.88% and 17.82% during left and right lateral bending, respectively. The maximum stress value of L4–5 increased by 11.72% for model M2 during left rotation. In addition, using the same surgical approach, ROM, maximum displacement values, disc stress, and maximum stress values were more significant in the osteoporotic model than in the normal model. Conclusion In both normal and osteoporotic spines, both surgical approaches were less disruptive to the physiologic structure of the spine. Furthermore, using the same endoscopic spine surgery, normal spine biomechanical properties are superior to osteoporotic spines.

Abstract Tuning phase transition temperature is one of the central issues in phase transition materials. Herein, we report a case study of using enantiomer fraction engineering as a promising strategy to tune the Curie temperature (T C) and related properties of ferroelectrics. A series of metal-halide perovskite ferroelectrics (S−3AMP)x(R−3AMP)1−xPbBr4 was synthesized where 3AMP is the 3-(aminomethyl)piperidine divalent cation and enantiomer fraction x varies between 0 and 1 (0 and 1 = enantiomers; 0.5 = racemate). With the change of the enantiomer fraction, the T C, second-harmonic generation intensity, degree of circular polarization of photoluminescence, and photoluminescence intensity of the materials have been tuned. Particularly, when x = 0.70 − 1, a continuously linear tuning of the T C is achieved, showing a tunable temperature range of about 73 K. This strategy provides an effective means and insights for regulating the phase transition temperature and chiroptical properties of functional materials.

Chinese solar greenhouse (CSG) is an artificially constructed agricultural facility that provides a suitable environment for crop growth. However, the imbalanced temperature and humidity phenomenon occurring in greenhouse during summer greatly affects crop yield. This article proposes the application of solar radiation fuzzy adaptive system in greenhouse to address this issue. The design process includes hardware and algorithm design. The hardware part involves designing the travel distance of the curtain machine and the film winding machine, laying out the temperature and humidity sensors, and designing the control cabinet. The algorithm is optimized based on fuzzy control theory, data acquisition module consists of temperature and humidity sensors, executive components include the curtain machine and the film winding machine, and the data transmission, storage and feedback module consists of the control cabinet and the cloud-based database. These form an adaptive system, which will be subjected to a 10-day comparative experiment. The experimental results showed that in region 3, the peak value of temperature reduction in the third layer during the daytime was 26.2 °C, and the humidity increased by a maximum of 31.5 %. In region 2, the temperature increased by a maximum of 4.2 °C during the nighttime in the second layer, and the humidity decreased by 4.1 °C. Introduction of adaptive systems can play an important role in maintaining microclimate temperature and humidity in summer.

This study aims to determine the role of worldview perspective on science students' decision-making process by a socio-scientific issue-based instruction through an integrated Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. Understanding the decision-making process in complex themed learning is one of the most important instruments in understanding the way students think. The participants were one hundred and nine junior-high-school students from two different schools. Furthermore, the method used was a pre-experimental design with two collective groups, namely the pre-and posttest, starting with an educational study design. The results showed that there was a different perspective pattern based on the worldview perspective on students' initial decisions. Furthermore, interventions with socio-scientific issues (SSI) based instruction through integrated STEM education provided significant dynamics of change in the final science decision made by the students on the basis of a worldview perspective and gender. Some practical implications were extremely discussed, such as the crucial role of the teacher during a complex lesson topic. Therefore, this study makes an indispensable contribution to the development of the knowledge of science teaching practice, especially on how a decision-making process occurs by a socio-scientific issue-based instruction through integrated STEM education.

Soil microbial carbon metabolism is critical in wetland soil carbon cycling, and is also a research hotspot at present. However, most studies focus on the surface soil layer in the wetlands and the microorganisms associated with this layer. In this study, 0-75 cm soil profiles were collected from five widely separated reed wetlands in the Songnen Plain, which has a large number of middle-high latitude inland saline-sodic wetlands. The Biolog-ECO method was used to determine the carbon metabolic activity and functional diversity of soil microorganisms. The results showed that soil carbon metabolic activity decreased with increasing soil depth. The carbon metabolic activity of soil microorganisms in the 60-75 cm layer was approximately 57.41%-74.60% of that in the 0-15 cm layer. The soil microbial Shannon index and utilization rate of amines decreased with an increase in soil depth, while the Evenness index and utilization rate of polymers tended to increase with soil depth. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is the most important factor affecting microbial carbon source utilization preference, because microorganisms mainly obtain the carbon source from DOC. The result of the correlation analysis showed that the soil microbial carbon metabolic activity, Shannon index, and Evenness index significantly correlated with soil total carbon (TC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), DOC, total nitrogen (TN), ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N), nitrate nitrogen (NO3−-N) contents, and electrical conductivity (EC). This study emphasized the important role of microbial carbon metabolic function in deep soil.