Search

Temperature-insensitive elastic modulus known as Elinvar effect is typically achievable in metastable titanium alloys only through thermomechanical processing. Here reports that a directly additively manufactured TiNb-based alloy exhibits Elinvar effect over a wide temperature range of 273 K. This is attributed to its α″+β dual-phase microstructure wherein both the elastic modulus and transition strain of the α″ phase increase monotonically with increasing temperature. The α″ phase was obtained by setting a base-plate temperature of 723 K to act as in-situ aging. This provides a new way to optimize mechanical and functional properties simultaneously by utilizing thermal fields of additive manufacturing.

Abstract As the third most important temperate fruit, Pear (Pyrus spp.) exhibits a remarkable genetic diversity and is classified into two mainly categories known as Asian pear and European pear. Although several pear genomes are available, most of the released versions are fragmented and not chromosome-level high-quality. In this study, we report two high-quality genomes for Pyrus bretschneideri Rhed. cv. ‘Danshansuli’ (DS) and Pyrus communis L. cv. ‘Conference’ (KFL), which represent the predominant Asian and European cultivars, respectively, with nearly telomere-to-telomere (T2T) gap-free level. The finally assembled genome sizes for DS and KFL were 510.98 Mb and 510.71 Mb, respectively, with Contig N50 of 29.47 Mb and 30.47 Mb, where each chromosome was represented by a single contig. The DS and KFL genomes yielded a total of 46,394 and 44,702 protein-coding genes, respectively. Among these genes, the functional annotation accounted for 96.47% and 96.46% in the DS and KFL genomes. The two novels nearly T2T genomic information offers an invaluable resource for comparative genomics, genetic diversity analysis, molecular breeding strategies, and functional exploration.

Abstract Background Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is a common pregnancy complication that brings great pain to pregnant women and their families. Genetic factors are an important cause reason of RPL. However, clinical research on monogenic diseases with recurrent miscarriage is insufficient. Case presentation Here we reported a Chinese family with RPL and genetic analysis of the abortion and parents. A paternally inherited heterozygous missense variant c.1415T > G (p.V472G) and a maternally inherited heterozygous nonsense variant c.2314del (p.M772*) in TMEM67 gene were identified by trio-exome sequencing. c.2314del (p.M772*) generated a premature stop codon and truncated protein, was classified as “pathogenic”. c.1415T > G (p.V472G) located in extra-cellular region, was classified as “likely pathogenic”. Biallelic variants in TMEM67 gene cause lethal Meckel syndrome 3, consistent with the proband’s prenatal phenotype. Conclusion The current study of the Chinese family expands the pathogenic variant spectrum of TMEM67 and emphasizes the necessity of exome sequencing in RPL condition.

Abstract Background To analyze the risk factors for the development of avascular necrosis (AVN) of the femoral head after reduction surgery in children with developmental hip dysplasia (DDH), and to establish a prediction nomogram. Methods The clinical data of 134 children with DDH (169 hips) treated with closure reduction or open reduction from December 2016 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Independent risk factors for AVN after DDH reduction being combined with cast external immobilization were determined by univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression and used to generate nomograms predicting the occurrence of AVN. Results A total of 169 hip joints in 134 children met the inclusion criteria, with a mean age at surgery of 10.7 ± 4.56 months (range: 4–22 months) and a mean follow-up duration of 38.32 ± 27.00 months (range: 12–94 months). AVN developed in 42 hip joints (24.9%); univariate analysis showed that the International Hip Dysplasia Institute (IHDI) grade, preoperative development of the femoral head ossification nucleus, cartilage acetabular index, femoral head to acetabular Y-shaped cartilage distance, residual acetabular dysplasia, acetabular abduction angle exceeding 60°, and the final follow-up acetabular index (AI) were associated with the development of AVN (P

The rapid development of the Internet of Things (IoT) has extensively promoted the development of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), an essential technology for series displaying perception and data collected from the physical world. In densely distributed areas, sensor nodes are unevenly distributed, which leads to the network coverage build-up and the consequent efficiency and effectiveness of WSNs. To address this issue, this paper proposes a new method for WSN coverage optimization based on the Reptile Search Algorithm (RSA). In the past, the Reptile Search algorithm has been used to solve optimization problems, which means it can improve different processes. However, the RSA needs to track the trajectory of optimal individuals in each iteration, which will ignore non-optimal individuals' bioeconomic characteristics. Therefore, the paper introduces a distribution estimation strategy into the RSA framework, which can fully mine all the positional information hidden in the entire population. We selected several functions as optimization test benchmark functions to evaluate the feasibility of the proposed method. This paper compares the proposed improved RSA with the standard RSA and some traditional optimization algorithms. The result has been calculated through a series of experiments on network coverage optimization, and the change of parameters also determines the effect of the RSA in the optimization of network coverage. The simulated results of the three similar network coverage optimization experiments show that the improved RSA can be used efficiently within different scenarios.

Abstract Strategies to improve T cell therapy efficacy in solid tumors such as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are urgently needed. The common cytokine receptor γ chain (γc) family cytokines such as IL-2, IL-7, IL-15 and IL-21 play fundamental roles in T cell development, differentiation and effector phases. This study aims to determine the combination effects of IL-21 in T cell therapy against HCC and investigate optimized strategies to utilize the effect of IL-21 signal in T cell therapy. The antitumor function of AFP-specific T cell receptor-engineered T cells (TCR-T) was augmented by exogenous IL-21 in vitro and in vivo. IL-21 enhanced proliferation capacity, promoted memory differentiation, downregulated PD-1 expression and alleviated apoptosis in TCR-T after activation. A novel engineered IL-21 receptor was established, and TCR-T armed with the novel engineered IL-21 receptors (IL-21R-TCR-T) showed upregulated phosphorylated STAT3 expression without exogenous IL-21 ligand. IL-21R-TCR-T showed better proliferation upon activation and superior antitumor function in vitro and in vivo. IL-21R-TCR-T exhibited a less differentiated, exhausted and apoptotic phenotype than conventional TCR-T upon repetitive tumor antigen stimulation. The novel IL-21 receptor in our study programs powerful TCR-T and can avoid side effects induced by IL-21 systemic utilization. The novel IL-21 receptor creates new opportunities for next-generation TCR-T against HCC.

In recent years, cyclic sulfone compounds, a subset of biologically active heterocyclic compounds, have gained considerable attention due to their potential in the development of novel active pharmaceutical ingredients. This review focuses on identifying simple, mild, environmentally friendly, and efficient synthesis methods. Various catalytic approaches for the synthesis of cyclic sulfone compounds are systematically reviewed, highlighting their advantages and potential applications in pharmaceutical development.

An efficient and convenient strategy has been successfully developed for the preparation of novel hydroxylated alkaloid derivatives (also called fused multicyclic iminosugars) from p-toluenesulfonylated sugars through a Pictet–Spengler-type mechanism. This method is highly stereoselective, does not require metal catalysts, and capable of conducting gram level reactions (with a 53% yield). Some of such iminosugars had an intermediate antiproliferative effect on HCT116 tumor cells.

Abstract Gametophytic self-incompatibility (SI) is regulated by S-allele recognition; that is, pollen in a style with the same S-genotype will undergo programmed cell death and stop growing so that it is unable to complete double fertilization, ultimately resulting in the SI response. S-RNase is the female determinant of SI in pear (Pyrus). In the Pyrus genome, there are two different S-RNase alleles at the S-locus, which generate two different S-RNase products in the pistil. The extracted S-glycoprotein is actually a protein complex. In this study, artificial self-pollination was conducted at the bud stage to overcome SI in ‘Huanghua’ (S 1 S 2 ) pear. Seven plants homozygous for S 1 -RNase and four homozygous for S 2 -RNase were selected from the selfed progeny of ‘Huanghua’ by S-gene molecular identification biotechnology. We investigated the function of single S-RNases isolated from the pistils of S-gene homozygous Pyrus germplasm. The pollen of ‘Huanghua’ could smoothly pass through the style of the S-gene homozygous germplasm and complete fertilization. S-RNases were extracted from flower styles of different genotypes and used to treat different types of pollen. The S-RNase from ‘Huanghua’ completely inhibited the growth of S 1 S 2, S 1 S 1 , and S 2 S 2 pollen, while the S-RNase from homozygous germplasm allowed some S 1 S 2 pollen and different single genotypes of pollen to continue growing. These results further validate the core events of SI including cytoskeleton depolymerization and programmed cell death. By iTRAQ-based proteomic analysis of style proteins, a total of 13 S-RNase-related proteins were identified. In summary, we have created reliable S-RNase gene homozygous germplasm, which will play a crucial role in further research on SI in pear and in the development of the pear industry.

Recently, in China, during the period of transition between spring and summer, the combination of sandstorms and ozone (O3) pollution has posed a significant challenge to the strategy of coordinated control of fine particulate matters (PM2.5) and O3. On the one hand, the dust invasion brings many primary aerosols and causes a large range of transboundary transport. On the other hand, the high concentration of aerosol causes a severe disturbance to the distribution of O3. Traditionally, high-resolution assessments of the spatial distribution of aerosols and O3 can be carried out using LiDAR technology. However, the negligence of the influence of aerosols in the process of O3 retrieval in traditional differential absorption lidar (DIAL) leads to an error in the accuracy of ozone concentration. Especially when dust transit occurs, the errors become bigger. In this study, a self-customized four-wavelength differential-absorption LiDAR system was used to synchronously obtain the accurate vertical distributions of ozone and high-concentration aerosol. The wavelength index of concentrated aerosol was inverted and applied to the differential equation framework for O3 calculation. This novel approach to retrieving the vertical profile of O3 was proposed and verified by applying it to a dust pollution event that occurred from April to May 2021 in Anyang City Henan Province, which is located in Northern China. It was found that the extinction coefficient of aerosol reached 2.5 km−1 during the dust period, and O3 was mainly distributed between 500 m and 1500 m. The O3 error exceeded over 10% arising from the high-concentration aerosol below 1.5 km during the dust storm event. By employing the inversion algorithm while considering the aerosol effects, the ozone concentration error was improved by over 10% compared with the error recorded without considering the aerosol influence especially in dust events. Through this study, it was found that the algorithm could effectively realize the synchronous and accurate inversion of high-concentration aerosols and O3 and can provide key technical support for air pollution control in China in the future.

In response to the low accuracy and slow detection speed of chili recognition in natural environments, this study proposes a chili pepper object detection method based on the improved YOLOv8n. Evaluations were conducted among YOLOv5n, YOLOv6n, YOLOv7-tiny, YOLOv8n, YOLOv9, and YOLOv10 to select the optimal model. YOLOv8n was chosen as the baseline and improved as follows: (1) Replacing the YOLOv8 backbone with the improved HGNetV2 model to reduce floating-point operations and computational load during convolution. (2) Integrating the SEAM (spatially enhanced attention module) into the YOLOv8 detection head to enhance feature extraction capability under chili fruit occlusion. (3) Optimizing feature fusion using the dilated reparam block module in certain C2f (CSP bottleneck with two convolutions). (4) Substituting the traditional upsample operator with the CARAFE(content-aware reassembly of features) upsampling operator to further enhance network feature fusion capability and improve detection performance. On a custom-built chili dataset, the F0.5-score, mAP0.5, and mAP0.5:0.95 metrics improved by 1.98, 2, and 5.2 percentage points, respectively, over the original model, achieving 96.47%, 96.3%, and 79.4%. The improved model reduced parameter count and GFLOPs by 29.5% and 28.4% respectively, with a final model size of 4.6 MB. Thus, this method effectively enhances chili target detection, providing a technical foundation for intelligent chili harvesting processes.

Abstract Background Severe trauma can result in cardiorespiratory failure, and when conventional treatment is ineffective, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) can serve as an adjunctive therapy. However, the indications for ECMO in trauma cases are uncertain and clinical outcomes are variable. This study sought to describe the prognosis of adult trauma patients requiring ECMO, aiming to inform clinical decision-making and future research. Methods A comprehensive search was conducted on Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane, and Scopus databases until March 13, 2023, encompassing relevant studies involving over 5 trauma patients (aged ≥ 16 years) requiring ECMO support. The primary outcome measure was survival until discharge, with secondary measures including length of stay in the ICU and hospital, ECMO duration, and complications during ECMO. Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted to analyze these outcomes. The study quality was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute checklist, while the certainty of evidence was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) approach. Results The meta-analysis comprised 36 observational studies encompassing 1822 patients. The pooled survival rate was 65.9% (95% CI 61.3–70.5%). Specifically, studies focusing on traumatic brain injury (TBI) (16 studies, 383 patients) reported a survival rate of 66.1% (95% CI 55.4–76.2%), while studies non-TBI (15 studies, 262 patients) reported a survival rate of 68.1% (95% CI 56.9–78.5%). No significant difference was observed between these two survival comparisons (p = 0.623). Notably, studies utilizing venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA ECMO) (15 studies, 39.0%, 95% CI 23.3–55.6%) demonstrated significantly lower survival rates than those using venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV ECMO) (23 studies, 72.3%, 95% CI 63.2–80.7%, p

Spent nuclear fuel (spent fuel), which is used nuclear fuel that has been exposed to radiation usually produced by nuclear reactors in nuclear power plants, is an inevitable product from the development of nuclear energy. Almost all of the fuel content is radioactive, and long systematic process are required for the safety management, which has always been an important global issue. In order to make sure that spent nuclear fuel should be safely managed, different countries developing nuclear power have established a complete policy and legislative system, so as to ensure that the whole process of spent fuel management is systematic, standardized and effective. In developed countries such as France, Russia and Japan, closed-cycle strategy is implemented with industrial-scale reprocessing plant under construction or in operation. At present, China has become the country with the largest scale of nuclear power under construction in the world. There will be a large number of spent nuclear fuel requiring properly and safely managed. The lessons-learning of how developed countries managing spent nuclear fuel arising is important for China. The authors suggest that it is necessary to combine the top-level design to the legal practice, so that there are laws to respect during all steps of spent fuel management, and responsibilities of all parties are clear.

Abstract In recent years, rapid economic growth and a rising personal income have increased the demand for personalized services. To address this demand, the fashion industry and academia are increasingly analyzing and developing methods to provide personalized fashion design products. This study investigated an emotional data and data visualization-based design method for personalized fashion products. By visualizing emotions and involving consumers, we generated experimental designs to encourage interpersonal and emotional communication. In addition, we proposed methods for visualizing 28 levels of emotion in design elements, as well as a generative design process based on emotional and personal text messages. In fashion products, we used color and print to match the emotion and intensity of the emotion. As a result, 40 design experiment participants rated personalized fashion design tools, outcomes, and purchase intention positively. The highest score was received by the average value for expression of personality (4.43), purchase intention (4.38), and preference and recommendation (4.42). Consequently, this study could be applied to the use of personal data in generative fashion design, as well as the systemization of the data-driven design method for personalized and participatory fashion design.

Abstract Background Radiation-induced lung injury (RILI) often occurs during clinical chest radiotherapy and acute irradiation from accidental nuclear leakage. This study explored the role of monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLA) in RILI. Materials and Methods The entire thoracic cavity of C57BL/6N mice was irradiated at 20 Gy with or without pre-intragastric administration of MPLA. HE staining, Masson trichrome staining, and TUNEL assay were used to assess lung tissue injury after treatment. The effect of irradiation on the proliferation of MLE-12 cells was analyzed using the Clonogenic assay. The effect of MPLA on the apoptosis of MLE-12 cells was analyzed using flow cytometry. Expression of γ-H2AX and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers in MLE-12 cells was detected by immunofluorescence and Western blot, respectively. Results MPLA attenuated early pneumonitis and late pulmonary fibrosis after thoracic irradiation and reversed radiation-induced EMT in C57 mice. MPLA further promoted proliferation and inhibited apoptosis of irradiated MLE-12 cells in vitro. Mechanistically, the radioprotective effect of MPLA was mediated by exosomes secreted by stimulated macrophages. Macrophage-derived exosomes modulated DNA damage in MLE-12 cells after irradiation. MPLA promoted the polarization of RAW 264.7 cells to the M1 phenotype. The exosomes secreted by M1 macrophages suppressed EMT in MLE-12 cells after irradiation. Conclusion MPLA is a novel treatment strategy for RILI. Exosomes derived from macrophages are key to the radioprotective role of MPLA in RILI.

Wheat seed detection has important applications in calculating thousand-grain weight and crop breeding. In order to solve the problems of seed accumulation, adhesion, and occlusion that can lead to low counting accuracy, while ensuring fast detection speed with high accuracy, a wheat seed counting method is proposed to provide technical support for the development of the embedded platform of the seed counter. This study proposes a lightweight real-time wheat seed detection model, YOLOv8-HD, based on YOLOv8. Firstly, we introduce the concept of shared convolutional layers to improve the YOLOv8 detection head, reducing the number of parameters and achieving a lightweight design to improve runtime speed. Secondly, we incorporate the Vision Transformer with a Deformable Attention mechanism into the C2f module of the backbone network to enhance the network’s feature extraction capability and improve detection accuracy. The results show that in the stacked scenes with impurities (severe seed adhesion), the YOLOv8-HD model achieves an average detection accuracy (mAP) of 77.6%, which is 9.1% higher than YOLOv8. In all scenes, the YOLOv8-HD model achieves an average detection accuracy (mAP) of 99.3%, which is 16.8% higher than YOLOv8. The memory size of the YOLOv8-HD model is 6.35 MB, approximately 4/5 of YOLOv8. The GFLOPs of YOLOv8-HD decrease by 16%. The inference time of YOLOv8-HD is 2.86 ms (on GPU), which is lower than YOLOv8. Finally, we conducted numerous experiments and the results showed that YOLOv8-HD outperforms other mainstream networks in terms of mAP, speed, and model size. Therefore, our YOLOv8-HD can efficiently detect wheat seeds in various scenarios, providing technical support for the development of seed counting instruments.

The blowfly, Aldrichina grahami (Diptera: Calliphoridae), is a well-known forensically important insect. Basic data related to A. grahami have been well documented; but despite the pivotal role of gut microbes in various facets of insect biology, little is known about its gut microbiome. To investigate the gut bacterial community of A. grahami and explore its stability, diet and developmental stage were selected as the two variables. Larvae were reared on bovine liver, swine manure, and chicken manure, and high-throughput sequencing of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd instar larvae and the newly emerged adults was performed. According to our results, the alpha diversity of the gut bacterial community did not significantly vary among different diets and developmental stages. Principal coordinate analysis revealed that the gut microbiome of A. grahami clustered together among different diets and developmental stages. The main phyla in the gut microbial community of A. grahami were Firmicutes and Proteobacteria, and the dominant genera were Vagococcus, Providencia, Lactobacillus, and Morganella. These findings characterized the gut microbiome of A. grahami and demonstrated that the gut bacterial community is fairly stable. The dominant genera Vagococcus, Providencia, Lactobacillus, and Morganella have the potential to serve as core microbiomes within the gut microbial community of A. grahami.

Background: Citrullinemia type I (CTLN1) is a rare autosomal recessive inborn error of the urea cycle caused by mutations in the gene encoding the arginosuccinate synthetase (ASS1) enzyme. Classic CTLN1 often manifests with acute hyperammonemia and neurological symptoms. Molecular genetic testing is critical for patient diagnosis.Methods: Three unrelated families with clinically suspected CTLN1 were included in this study. Potential pathogenic variants were identified using whole exome sequencing (WES) and validated using Sanger sequencing. Western blotting, quantitative PCR, immunofluorescent staining, and ELISA were used to assess functional changes in candidate ASS1 variants.Results: Five variants were identified, two of which were novel, and one has been reported, but its pathogenicity was not validated. The novel variant c.649-651del (p.P217del) and the 5′UTR variant (c.-4C>T) resulted in a decrease in ASS1 expression at both the protein and transcription levels. The other novel variant, c.1048C>T (p.Q350*), showed a marked decrease in expression at the protein level, with the formation of truncated proteins but an increased transcription. Both c.649_651del (p.P217del) and c.1048C>T (p.Q350*) showed a highly significant reduction in enzyme activity, while c.-4C>T had no effect.Conclusion: We identified two novel variants and a hypomorphic non-coding variant in ASS1 and validated the pathogenicity using functional studies. Our findings contribute to expanding the spectrum of ASS1 variants and understanding the genotype-phenotype relationships of CTLN1.

We have sequenced and annotated the complete mitogenome of Neucentropus mandjuricus Martynov, 1907, a monotypic genus of Polycentropodidae with controversial taxonomic status. The complete mitogenome of N. mandjuricus is 15,020 bp in length, including 13 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, and a non-coding control region. The maximum-likelihood and Bayesian’s inference trees based on 13 protein-coding genes of 23 trichopteran species show that N. mandjuricus clusters together with the other polycentropodid Plectrocnemia sp. with high support value. This study provides a basis for further study on mitogenome and phylogenetics of the Polycentropodidae.

Abstract Background Breast cancer (BCa) is the leading cause of cancer deaths among women. Reliable biomarkers for early diagnosis and metastasis prediction are essential to improve the prognosis of BCa. This study aimed to evaluate serum periostin (POSTN) as a novel biomarker complementing CA153 (carbohydrate antigen 153) and CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen) for BCa diagnosis and metastasis prediction. Methods To assess the potential of soluble POSTN as a circulating biomarker, 242 participants, including 173 patients with different stages of BCa and 69 healthy individuals, were enrolled in this study. Soluble POSTN, together with CA153 and CEA, were determined in serum by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or electrochemiluminescence immunoassays. Results Serum POSTN levels in locoregional BCa patients were significantly higher than that in healthy controls. Receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis revealed that, to distinguish health controls from locoregional BCa, POSTN was observed with the highest AUC (area under curve) (AUCPOSTN = 0.72 [0.65 – 0.79], AUCCA153 = 0.57 [0.49 – 0.64], AUCCEA = 0.62 [0.55 – 0.69]), and both CA153 and CEA were observed with significantly improved AUCs by combination with POSTN (AUCPOSTN + CA153 = 0.74 [0.67 – 0.80], P

Abstract. Background:. This study aims to observe the dynamic changes of renal artery (RA) disease and cortical blood perfusion (CBP) evaluated by contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) after percutaneous transluminal renal artery stenting (PTRAS) in patients with severe atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis (ARAS) and to analyze the relationship between CBP and prognosis. Methods:. This was a single-center retrospective cohort study. A total of 98 patients with unilateral severe ARAS after successful PTRAS in Beijing Hospital from September 2017 to September 2020 were included. According to renal glomerular filtration rate (GFR) detected by radionuclide imaging at 12 months after PTRAS, all patients were divided into the poor prognosis group (n = 21, GFR decreased by ≥20% compared with baseline) and the control group (n = 77, GFR decreased by

Objective This study aimed to observe the clinical imaging features of patients with severe atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis (ARAS) receiving stent implantation, and to evaluate the associations between baseline clinical and imaging factors and renal-function deterioration at a 1-year follow-up. Methods This study was a single-center retrospective cohort study. A total of 159 patients with unilateral severe ARAS who underwent stent implantation at Beijing Hospital between July 2017 and December 2020 were consecutively enrolled. According to the renal glomerular filtration rate (GFR), detected by radionuclide renal imaging at 1-year follow-up, all patients were divided into a poor-prognosis group (with a ≥30% decrease in renal GFR; n=32 cases) and a control group (127 cases). Clinical imaging data, including the renal cortical blood perfusion pre- and post-sent implantation, were analyzed. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the associations between clinical and imaging factors and renal-function deterioration. Results Of the 159 patients enrolled, 83 (52.2%) were men, with an average age of (57.2±14.7) years. The patient age, rate of diabetes, and systolic blood and diastolic blood pressure in the poor-prognosis group were significantly higher than those in the control group (all P

To address the common drawbacks of current disinfection robots, which include the potential for secondary environmental pollution, disinfection dead corners, and low efficiency, in this paper, an autonomous mobile combination disinfection system is proposed. The system utilizes ultraviolet (UV) radiation and a low-concentration hydrogen peroxide aerosol to kill pathogens. It comprises three parts: a human–computer interface, a mobile robot, and disinfection equipment. A disinfection process model with continuous and fixed-point modes was established, and the effective disinfection range, speed, and duration were quantitatively calculated. The developed prototype was tested on-site by a professional third-party testing agency. The experimental results demonstrated that the combination disinfection robot achieved a 92.95% disinfection rate of natural airborne bacteria in a room measuring 22 square meters with a height of 2.8 m in just 30 min. The disinfection efficiency is at least 25% higher compared to standalone UV lamp disinfection and also exhibits a noticeable improvement over standalone hydrogen peroxide aerosol disinfection. The system enables the environmentally friendly, rapid, efficient, and all-encompassing disinfection of natural airborne bacteria. Finally, various disinfection solutions and recommendations for different application scenarios and requirements are provided.

MOFs (metal-organic frameworks) significantly suffer from water- and heat instable issues, restricting their practical application, such as the capture of hazardous anionic dyes (e.g. Congo red, CR) from water. In the present contribution, a series of novel composites (UiO-67@CNTs) composed of microporous UiO-67 (Zr6O4(OH)4(CO2)12) and mesoporous CNTs (carbon nanotubes) have been innovatively synthesized by an in-situ hydrothermal reaction strategy. This UiO-67@CNT impressively retains structural integrity whether contacted with strong acid, distilled water, and strong alkali conditions even for 20 days. Due to the existence of CNT, its heat stability can reach up to 480 °C, which is superior to that of UiO-67. Open Zr(IV) sites, mesoporous, and high surface area in the structure of UiO-67@CNTs play associative effects for CR capture ability. CR uptakes over (5.0)UiO-67@CNTs can reach 1024 mg/g, exceeding some other previous adsorbents in literature. Importantly, UiO-67@CNTs could retain a remarkable CR capture ability even after the fifth cycle. This work expands views for water-heat resistant MOF-based composite with excellent ability of CR capture. HIGHLIGHTS UiO-67@CNTs exhibited outstanding hydrolytic stability, retaining intactness for 20 days even in strong acid and alkali.; UiO-67@CNTs performed more excellent thermal stability until 480 °C.; Novel UiO-67@CNTs have potential applications for CR capture.;

Abstract Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) can differentiate into hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs) to attenuate cirrhosis. Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) SNHG1 has been demonstrated to orchestrate BMSC differentiation, whereas its role in cirrhosis remains elusive. Therefore, this study was performed to figure out whether lncRNA SNHG1 was involved in cirrhosis by affecting HLC differentiation of BMSCs. Mouse BMSCs were isolated, and the BMSC differentiation into HLCs was induced by hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). A cirrhotic mouse model was established using carbon tetrachloride and phenobarbital, followed by intravenous injection of BMSCs with manipulated expression of lncRNA SNHG1, microRNA (miR)-15a, and SMURF1. Subsequent to HGF induction, expression of hepatocyte-related genes, albumin secretion, and glycogen accumulation was increased in BMSCs, suggesting the differentiation of BMSCs into HLCs. Mechanistically, lncRNA SNHG1 bound to miR-15a that targeted SMURF1, and SMURF1 diminished ATG5 and Wnt5a expression by enhancing the ubiquitination of UVRAG. LncRNA SNHG1 or SMURF1 silencing or miR-15a overexpression promoted differentiation of BMSCs into HLCs and repressed cirrhosis of mice by upregulating ATG5 and Wnt5a via UVRAG. Conclusively, lncRNA SNHG1 silencing might facilitate HLC differentiation from mouse BMSCs and alleviate cirrhosis via the miR-15a/SMURF1/UVRAG/ATG5/Wnt5a axis.

Chromosomal mosaicism remains a perpetual diagnostic and clinical dilemma. In the present study, we detected two prenatal trisomy 9 mosaic syndrome cases by using multiple genetic testing methods. The non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) results suggested trisomy 9 in two fetuses. Karyotype analysis of amniocytes showed a high level (42%–50%) of mosaicism, and chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) of uncultured amniocytes showed no copy number variation (CNV) except for large fragment loss of heterozygosity. Ultrasound findings were unmarkable except for small for gestational age. In Case 1, further umbilical blood puncture confirmed 22.4% and 34% trisomy 9 mosaicism by CMA and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) respectively. After comprehensive consideration of the genetic and ultrasound results, the two gravidas decided to receive elective termination and molecular investigations of multiple tissue samples from the aborted fetus and the placenta. The results confirmed the presence of true fetoplacental mosaicism with levels of trisomy 9 mosaicism from 76% to normal in various tissues. These two cases highlight the necessity of genetic counseling for gravidas whose NIPT results highly suggest the risk of chromosome 9 to ascertain the occurrence of mosaicism. In addition, the comprehensive use of multiple genetic techniques and biological samples is recommended for prenatal diagnosis to avoid false-negative results. It should also be noted that ultrasound results of organs with true trisomy 9 mosaicism can be free of structural abnormalities during pregnancy.

Exposure to fine particles (PM2.5) and associated PAHs are frequently linked with lung cancer, which makes the understanding of their occurrence and health risk in human lungs urgently important. Using the ultrasonic treatment and sequencing centrifugation (USC) extraction method coupled with gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC - MS/MS) analysis, we revealed the molecular fingerprints of PM-accumulated PAHs in human lungs from a cohort of 68 patients with lung cancer in a typical air-polluted region, China. Sixteen priority PAHs can be grouped by concentrations as ∼ 1 × 104 ng/g (ANT/BkF/ACE/DBA/BgP/PHN/PYR), 2–5 × 103 ng/g (BaP/FLE/NaP/BbF), and ∼ 1 × 103 ng/g (IND/Acy/CHR/FLT/BaA). The sum concentration of 16 PAHs was approximately equaled to 13% of those in atmospheric PM2.5, suggesting significant pulmonary leaching of PAHs deposited in lungs. Low- and high-molecular weight PAHs accounted for ∼ 41.8% and ∼ 45.1% of the total PAHs, respectively, which indicated that atmospheric PM2.5, tobacco and cooking smoke were likely to be important sources of pulmonary PAHs. The evident increasing concentrations of NaP and FLE in pulmonary PM were significantly correlated with smoking history among smokers. The implicated carcinogenic potency of PM-accumulated PAHs among the participants aged 70–80 was 17 times that among participants aged 40–50 on the basis of BaP equivalent concentration (BaPeq) evaluation. The particulate enrichment factor (EFP), the PAH content in pulmonary PM relative to the bulk lung tissue, was equaled to 54 ∼ 835 and averaged at 436. The high value of EFP suggested that PAHs were essentially accumulated in pulmonary PM and exhibited a pattern of “hotspot” distribution in the lungs, which would likely increase the risk of monoclonal tumorigenesis. The chemical characteristics of PM-accumulated PAHs in human lungs together with their implicated lung cancer risks could provide significant information for understanding health effects of particulate pollution in the human body.

Salmonella infection has emerged as a global health threat, causing death, disability, and socioeconomic disruption worldwide. The rapid and sensitive detection of Salmonella is of great significance in guaranteeing food safety. Herein, we developed a colorimetric/fluorescent dual-mode method based on a DNA-nanotriangle programmed multivalent aptamer for the sensitive detection of Salmonella. In this system, aptamers are precisely controlled and assembled on a DNA nanotriangle structure to fabricate a multivalent aptamer (NTri-Multi-Apt) with enhanced binding affinity and specificity toward Salmonella. The NTri-Multi-Apt was designed to carry many streptavidin-HRPs for colorimetric read-outs and a large load of Sybr green I in the dsDNA scaffold for the output of a fluorescent signal. Therefore, combined with the magnetic separation of aptamers and the prefabricated NTri-Multi-Apt, the dual-mode approach achieved simple and sensitive detection, with LODs of 316 and 60 CFU/mL for colorimetric and fluorescent detection, respectively. Notably, the fluorescent mode provided a self-calibrated and fivefold-improved sensitivity over colorimetric detection. Systematic results also revealed that the proposed dual-mode method exhibited high specificity and applicability for milk, egg white, and chicken meat samples, serving as a promising tool for real bacterial sample testing. As a result, the innovative dual-mode detection method showed new insights for the detection of other pathogens.

BackgroundThis study aimed to observe the correlation between renal cortical blood perfusion (CBP) parameters and BP response in patients with severe renal artery stenosis (RAS) who underwent stenting.MethodsThis was a single-center retrospective cohort study. A total of 164 patients with unilateral severe RAS after successful percutaneous transluminal renal artery stenting in Beijing Hospital from October 2017 to December 2020 were included. According to the results of BP evaluated at 12 months, all patients were divided into the BP response group (n = 98) and BP nonresponse group (n = 66). The baseline clinical and imaging characteristics and follow-up data about 24 h ABPM and CBP were recorded and analyzed. Pearson correlation analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between CBP parameters and 24 h average SBP. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the risk factors for BP response.ResultsAmong 164 patients with severe RAS, there were 100 males (61.0%), aged 37–75 years, with an average of 56.8 ± 18.4 years, and average artery stenosis of 84.0 ± 12.5%. The BP nonresponse patients had a longer duration of hypertension, more current smoking subjects and diabetic patients, lower eGFR, increased number of hypertensive agents, and rate of insulin compared with the BP response group (P < 0.05). After PTRAS, patients in the BP response group were associated with significantly lower BP and improved CPB, characterized by increased levels of maximum intensity (IMAX), area under ascending curve (AUC1), area under the descending curve (AUC2), shortened rising time (RT), mean transit time (mTT), and prolonged time to peak intensity (TTP; P < 0.05). However, the BP nonresponse group was only associated with significantly reduced RT (P < 0.05) compared with baseline data. During an average follow-up of 11.5 ± 1.7 months, the BP response group was associated with significantly lower levels of SBP, DBP, 24 h average SBP, and 24 h average DBP compared with the nonresponse group (P < 0.05). Pearson correlation analysis showed that the the pre-operative CBP parameters, including IMAX (r = 0.317), RT (r = 0.249), AUC1 (r = 0.614), AUC2 (r = 0.558), and postoperative CBP parameters, including RT (r = 0.283), AUC1 (r = 0.659), and AUC2 (r = 0.674) were significantly positively correlated with the 24 h average SBP, while the postoperative TTP (r = −0.413) and mTT (r = −0.472) were negatively correlated with 24 h average SBP (P < 0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis found that diabetes (OR = 1.294), NT-proBNP (OR = 1.395), number of antihypertensive agents (OR = 2.135), pre-operation IMAX (OR = 1.534), post-operation AUC2 (OR = 2.417), and baseline dDBP (OR = 2.038) were related factors for BP response (all P < 0.05).ConclusionPatients in the BP nonresponse group often have diabetes, a longer duration of hypertension, significantly reduced glomerular filtration rate, and heavier renal artery stenosis. CBP parameters are closely related to 24 h average SBP, and pre-operation IMAX and post-operation AUC2 are markers for a positive BP response.

BackgroundThe usefulness of lung ultrasound (LUS) in guiding heart failure (HF) treatment is still controversial.PurposeWe aimed to evaluate the usefulness of LUS-guided treatment vs. usual care in reducing the major adverse cardiac event (MACE) rate in patients with HF.Materials and methodsWe performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) identified through systematic searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Database, Google Scholar, and SinoMed. The primary outcome was MACEs (a composite of all-cause mortality, HF-related rehospitalization, and symptomatic HF). The required information size was calculated by trial sequential analysis (TSA).ResultsIn total, ten RCTs involving 1,203 patients were included. Overall, after a mean follow-up period of 4.7 months, LUS-guided treatment was associated with a significantly lower risk of MACEs than usual care [relative risk (RR), 0.59; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.48–0.71]. Moreover, the rate of HF-related rehospitalization (RR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.40–0.99) and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) concentration (standardized mean difference, –2.28; 95% CI, –4.34 to –0.22) were markedly lower in the LUS-guided treatment group. The meta-regression analysis showed a significant correlation between MACEs and the change in B-line count (p < 0.05). The subgroup analysis revealed that the risk of MACEs was markedly lower in patients aged up to 70 years (RR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.44–0.67), with a lower rate of atrial fibrillation (< 27.2%) (RR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.43–0.67), and with a lower NT-proBNP concentration (< 3,433 pg/ml) (RR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.40–0.64). TSA indicated a lower risk of MACEs with LUS-guided treatment than with usual care among patients with HF (p < 0.05).ConclusionLung ultrasound seems to be a safe and effective method to guide HF treatment.Systematic review registration[https://inplasy.com/], identifier [INPLASY202220124].

In recent decades, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have gained considerable popularity in the agricultural sector, in which UAV-based actuation is used to spray pesticides and release biological control agents. A key challenge in such UAV-based actuation is to account for wind speed and UAV flight parameters to maximize precision-delivery of pesticides and biological control agents. This paper describes a data-driven framework to predict density distribution patterns of vermiculite dispensed from a hovering UAV as a function of UAV’s movement state, wind condition, and dispenser setting. The model, derived by our proposed learning algorithm, is able to accurately predict the vermiculite distribution pattern evaluated in terms of both training and test data. Our framework and algorithm can be easily translated to other precision pest management problems with different UAVs and dispensers and for difference pesticides and crops. Moreover, our model, due to its simple analytical form, can be incorporated into the design of a controller that can optimize autonomous UAV delivery of desired amount of predatory mites to multiple target locations.

Abstract The glutathione S-transferase P1(GSTP1) is an isoenzyme in the glutathione-S transferases (GSTs) enzyme system, which is the most abundant GSTs expressed in adult lungs. Recent research shows that GSTP1 is closely related to the regulation of cell oxidative stress, inhibition of cell apoptosis and promotion of cytotoxic metabolism. Interestingly, there is evidence that GSTP1 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) 105Ile/Val related to the risk of radiation induced lung injury (RILI) development, which strongly suggests that GSTP1 is closely associated with the occurrence and development of RILI. In this review, we discuss our understanding of the role of GSTP1 in RILI and its possible mechanism.

Abstract Background Emerging studies suggest that low‐coverage massively parallel copy number variation sequencing (CNV-seq) more sensitive than chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) for detecting low-level mosaicism. However, a retrospective back-to-back comparison evaluating accuracy, efficacy, and incremental yield of CNV-seq compared with CMA is warranted. Methods A total of 72 mosaicism cases identified by karyotyping or CMA were recruited to the study. There were 67 mosaic samples co-analysed by CMA and CNV-seq, comprising 40 with sex chromosome aneuploidy, 22 with autosomal aneuploidy and 5 with large cryptic genomic rearrangements. Results Of the 67 positive mosaic cases, the levels of mosaicism defined by CNV-seq ranged from 6 to 92% compared to the ratio from 3 to 90% by karyotyping and 20% to 72% by CMA. CNV-seq not only identified all 43 chromosomal aneuploidies or large cryptic genomic rearrangements detected by CMA, but also provided a 34.88% (15/43) increased yield compared with CMA. The improved yield of mosaicism detection by CNV-seq was largely due to the ability to detect low level mosaicism below 20%. Conclusion In the context of prenatal diagnosis, CNV-seq identified additional and clinically significant mosaicism with enhanced resolution and increased sensitivity. This study provides strong evidence for applying CNV-seq as an alternative to CMA for detection of aneuploidy and mosaic variants.

Abstract Background α-receptor agonists have been reported to be safe and effective for treating or preventing spinal-induced hypotension during cesarean delivery. As a pure α1 adrenergic agonist, methoxamine has potential advantages of reducing myocardial oxygen consumption and protecting the heart in obstetric patients compared to phenylephrine. The aim of this study was to determine the optimal prophylactic methoxamine infusion dose that would be effective for preventing spinal-induced hypotension in 50% (ED50) and 95% (ED95) of parturients. Methods Eighty parturients with a singleton pregnancy scheduled for elective cesarean delivery were randomly allocated to receive prophylactic methoxamine infusion at one of four different fixed-rates: 1 μg/kg/min (group M1), 2 μg/kg/min (group M2), 3 μg/kg/min (group M3), or 4 μg/kg/min (group M4). An adequate response was defined as absence of hypotension (maternal SBP

Abstract Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) is a serine/threonine phosphatase that serves as a key regulator of cellular physiology in the context of apoptosis, mitosis, and DNA damage responses. Canonically, PP2A functions as a tumor suppressor gene. However, recent evidence suggests that inhibiting PP2A activity in tumor cells may represent a viable approach to enhancing tumor sensitivity to chemoradiotherapy as such inhibition can cause cells to enter a disordered mitotic state that renders them more susceptible to cell death. Indeed, there is evidence that inhibiting PP2A can slow tumor growth following radiotherapy in a range of cancer types including ovarian cancer, liver cancer, malignant glioma, pancreatic cancer, and nasopharyngeal carcinoma. In the present review, we discuss current understanding of the role of PP2A in tumor radiotherapy and the potential mechanisms whereby it may influence this process.

Abstract Background Copy number variants (CNVs) associated with developmental delay and intellectual disability (DD/ID) continue to be identified in patients. This article reports identification of a chromosome 1q22 microdeletion as the genetic cause in a Chinese family affected by ID. Case presentation The proband was a 19-year-old pregnant woman referred for genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis at 18 weeks of gestation. She had severe ID with basically normal stature (height 154 cm [0 SD], weight 61 kg [− 0.2 SD], and head circumference 54 cm [− 1.12 SD]). Her distinctive facial features included a prominent forehead; flat face; flat nasal bridge and a short upturned nose; thin lips; and small ears. The proband’s father was reported to have low intelligence, whereas her mother was of normal intelligence but with scoliosis. Chromosome microarray analysis (CMA) reveals that the proband, her father and the fetus all carry a 1q22 microdeletion of 936.3 Kb (arr[GRCh37] 1q22 (155016052_155952375)×1), which was not observed in her mother and paternal grandparents and uncles, suggesting a de novo mutation in the proband’s father. The microdeletion involves 24 OMIM genes including ASH1L (also known as KMT2H and encoding a histone lysine methyltransferase). Of note, haploinsufficiency of ASH1L has been shown to be associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. Based on the inheritance of the detected CNV in the pedigree and similar CNVs associated with ID in public databases (Decipher, DGV and ClinVar) and literature, the detected CNV is considered as pathogenic. The family chose to terminate the pregnancy. Conclusions The identified 1q22 microdeletion including ASH1L is pathogenic and associated with ID. This case broadens the spectrum of ID-related CNVs and may be useful as a reference for clinicians.

Abstract Background To retrospectively investigate the clinical characteristics, initial treatment, relapse, therapy outcome, and prognosis of Chinese patients with primary testicular lymphoma (PTL) through analysis of the cases of our institute. Methods From December 2008 to July 2018, all patients with PTL were included in this study. Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate PFS and OS. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to compare the survival times for groups of patients differing in terms of clinical and laboratory parameters. Results All 28 PTL patients (24 DLBCL, three NK/T lymphomas, and one Burkkit’s lymphoma) with a median age of 65.5 years were included in this study. Six patients were observed recurrence among all the 22 individuals evaluated. Following orchiectomy and systemic chemotherapy, with or without intrathecal prophylaxis, complete response was achieved in 15 (68%) patients. For DLBCL patients, the median progression-free survival (PFS) was 44.63 months (95% CI 17.71–71.56 months), and the median overall survival (OS) was 77.02 months (95% CI, 57.35–96.69 months). For all the DLBCL patients, the 5-year PFS and 5-year OS were 35.4% (95%CI, 14.8–56.0%) and 53.4% (95%CI, 30.1–76.7%). Without further chemotherapy following orchiectomy (HR = 3.4, P = 0.03) were associated with inferior PFS of DLBCL patients. Advanced Ann Arbor stage (HR =5.9, P = 0.009) and high (international prognostic index, IPI) score: 3–5 (HR =3.9, P = 0.04) were correlated with shorter OS of DLBCL patients. Conclusion This study confirms that PTL is an aggressive malignant with a poor prognosis. Limited Ann Arbor stage, further chemotherapy following orchiectomy, and low IPI score (less than 2) are correlated with superior survival for DLBCL patients.

Background and ObjectiveRenal artery stenosis (RAS) is associated with an increased risk of renal function deterioration (RFD). Our previous study showed that renal cortical blood perfusion assessed by contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) was an important related factor for RFD in RAS patients. Based on several conventional related factors confirmed by previous studies, we aimed to establish and verify a CEUS+ scoring system to evaluate the risk of RFD at 1 year of follow-up in RAS patients.MethodsThis study was a single-center retrospective study. A total of 497 elderly RAS patients (247 in the training group and 250 in the verification group) admitted to the Beijing Hospital from January 2016 to December 2019 were included. The baseline characteristics of the patients on admission (including general conditions, previous medical history, blood pressure, blood creatinine, RAS, and cortical blood perfusion in the affected kidney) and renal function [glomerular filtration rate (GFR)] at 1-year of follow-up were collected. We used the univariate and multivariate logistic regressions to establish a CEUS+ scoring system model, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and area under the curve (AUC) to evaluate prediction accuracy, and the decision curve analysis and nomogram to evaluate the clinical application value of CEUS+ scoring system model.ResultsAmong the 497 patients enrolled, 266 (53.5%) were men, with an average age of (51.7 ± 19.3) years. The baseline clinical-radiomic data of the training group and the verification group were similar (all p > 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis results showed that age [Odds ratio (OR) = 1.937, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.104–3.397), diabetes (OR = 1.402, 95% CI: 1.015–1.938), blood pressure (OR = 1.575, 95% CI: 1.138–2.182), RAS (OR = 1.771, 95% CI: 1.114–2.816), and area under ascending curve (AUCi) (OR = 2.131, 95% CI: 1.263–3.596) were related factors for the renal function deterioration after 1 year of follow-up (all p < 0.05). The AUC of the ROC curve of the CEUS+ scoring system model of the training group was 0.801, and the Youden index was 0.725 (specificity 0.768, sensitivity 0.813); the AUC of the ROC curve of the validation group was 0.853, Youden index was 0.718 (specificity 0.693, sensitivity 0.835). There was no significant difference in ROC curves between the two groups (D = 1.338, p = 0.325). In addition, the calibration charts of the training and verification groups showed that the calibration curve of the CEUS+ scoring system was close to the standard curve (p = 0.701, p = 0.823, both p > 0.10).ConclusionThe CEUS+ scoring system model is helpful in predicting the risk of worsening renal function in elderly RAS patients.

Abstract Background The participation of activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3) in transient middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion injury has been reported. However, the precise mechanism of ATF3 in cerebral ischemia is little known so far. Thus, the study examines the mechanism of action underlying the protective role of ATF3 following middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in rats. Methods and results The MCAO rats exhibited reduced body weight and motor ability, while increased neurological deficits and brain infarct volume. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment and KEGG pathway analyses revealed that differentially expressed genes were mainly enriched in the TLR4/NF‐κB signaling. Moreover, ATF3 was the most differentially expressed gene in brain tissues of MCAO rats versus sham‐operated rats, which could bind to CCL2. ATF3 was reduced in MCAO rats, and ATF3 inhibited CCL2 expression to mediate the TLR4/NF‐κB signaling. Functionally, ATF3 inhibited neuronal apoptosis, microglia activation, and pro‐inflammatory cytokine production to alleviate brain injury in rats. By contrast, CCL2 was overexpressed in neurons and microglia, and CCL2 mitigated the effects of ATF3 to exacerbate brain injury in rats. Conclusion Our findings suggested that ATF3 repressed neuronal apoptosis and microglia activation caused by cerebral ischemia via targeting CCL2 and mediating the TLR4/NF‐κB signaling.

ObjectivesTo explore the role of Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in the evaluation of patients with suspected renal artery stenosis and analyze the causes of the misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis.MethodsThe data of 40 patients (80 renal arteries) diagnosed with RAS by CEUS in Beijing Hospital from September 2018 to October 2020 were compared with their digital subtraction angiography (DSA) results to analyze the causes underlying missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis of RAS by CEUS.Results1. Compared with the gold standard DSA results, the AUC of the ROC curve of CEUS in detecting normal renal artery and renal artery stenosis was 0.961, the sensitivity was 96.4%, the specificity was 95.8%, and the Kappa value of the consistency analysis was 0.912 (P < 0.01); 2. Compared with the gold standard DSA results, the ROC curve of CEUS in distinguishing renal artery stenosis ≥70% from

BackgroundHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. L antigen family member 3 (LAGE3) is a prognostic biomarker and associated with progression in a variety of tumors. However, little has been reported about the role and potential mechanism of LAGE3 in HCC.MethodsThe clinical value and function of LAGE3 in HCC were obtained from multiple online databases. The potential functions and pathways of LAGE3 in HCC were analysed by R package of “clusterProfiler”. LAGE3 knockdown cells were constructed in HepG2, HuH7 and MHCC97H cell lines, respectively. The biological roles of LAGE3 were examined by in vitro and in vivo experiments.ResultsLAGE3 was upregulated in HCC tissues compared with normal tissues, and high expression of LAGE3 was significantly associated with several clinical characteristics and indicated a worse prognosis of HCC. The co-expressed genes of LAGE3 could be enriched in the mTOR signaling pathway in HCC. LAGE3 was upregulated in HCC cell lines. Functionally, knocking down LAGE3 expression not only increased apoptosis and inhibited growth rate, cell death mediated by T cells, colony formation, migration and invasion ability of HCC cell lines in vitro, but also reduced the progression of HCC in the subcutaneous xenotransplanted tumor model.ConclusionOur results suggested that LAGE3 served as an oncogenic factor of HCC and could be a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for HCC.

This work investigated the distribution and chemical fingerprints of 24 metals in particulate matter (PM) deposited in nonoccupational human lungs. Metals in the pulmonary PM can be grouped by the mean concentration as > 5 × 103 μg/g (Al/Fe/Ca/Mg/Zn), 1–5 × 103 μg/g (Ti/Ba/Pb/Mn), 0.2–1 × 103 μg/g (Cu/Cr/As/V) and 10, Al/Cd/Cr/Ba/Ni/Ti/Sn/V/Sb), moderate retention (2

Background and PurposeAbout 70% of patients with radical surgery Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) have recurrence and metastasis. There are few studies on the relationship between CCA adjuvant chemotherapy (mono or combined therapy), recurrence pattern (local, regional, distant recurrence) and prognosis [(Disease free survival, DFS), (Overall survival, OS)] after radical surgery. This study focuses on the correlation between CCA adjuvant chemotherapy, recurrence pattern and prognosis.MethodsThe study involved retrospective analysis of data: preoperative hematology, clinical pathology, adjuvant chemotherapy regimens, recurrence pattern, DFS and OS, of 207 patients with CCA. Chi-square test was used to analyze the correlation between related factors and postoperative recurrence. Survival curves were plotted by Kaplan-Meier method, P-values were calculated by Log-rank for univariate analysis, multivariate COX regression method for multivariate analysis.ResultsUsing chi-square test, there were correlations between high carbohydrate antigen 19-9 level(CA19-9≥35), vascular invasion, single-agent adjuvant chemotherapy and postoperative recurrences (p=0.04, p=0.04, p=0.02), COX multivariate regression analysis showed that adjuvant chemotherapy (single vs. doublet drug regimen) was an independent prognostic factor for DFS (11.0 vs. 24.6 months, HR=2.88, P=0.01), whereas recurrence pattern (local vs. distant; regional vs. distant) was an independent prognostic factor for OS (31.2 months vs. 20.4 months, HR=0.58, p=0.01; 32.0 months vs. 20.4 months, HR=0.51, p=0.01).ConclusionAdjuvant chemotherapy regimen was an independent prognostic factor of DFS, whereas recurrence patterns were independent prognostic factors for OS. adjuvant chemotherapy with doublet drug regimen was correlated with longer DFS, and different recurrence modes affect OS.

In modern medical diagnosis, the karyotype analysis for human chromosome is clinically significant for the diagnosis and treatment of genetic diseases. In such an analysis, it is critically important to segment the banded chromosomes. Chromosome segmentation, however, is technically challenging due to the variable chromosome features, the complex background noise, and the uneven image quality of the chromosome images. Owing to these technical challenges, the existing deep-learning-based algorithms would have severe overfitting problems and are ineffective in the segmentation task. In this paper, we propose a novel chromosome segmentation model with our enhanced chromosome processing, namely ChroSegNet. First, we develop enhanced chromosome processing techniques to realize the quality and quantity enhancement of the chromosome data, leading to the chromosome segmentation dataset for our subsequent network training. Second, we propose our novel chromosome segmentation model “ChroSegNet" based on U-Net. According to the characteristics of chromosome data, we have not only improved the baseline structure but also incorporate the hybrid attention module to ChroSegNet, which can extract the key feature information and location information of chromosome. Finally, we evaluated ChroSegNet on our chromosome segmentation dataset and obtained the MPA of 93.31% and the F1-score of 92.99%. Experimental results show that ChroSegNet not only outperforms the representative segmentation models in chromosome segmentation performance but also has a lightweight model structure. We believe that our proposed ChroSegNet is highly promising in future applications of genetic measurement and diagnosis.

Chiral quantum optics and Topological photonics are both emerging field of research, which have attracted great attention in recent years. Chiral quantum optics provides a new approach to achieve full quantum control of light-matter interaction in a novel manner, which has potential possibility for the implementation of complex quantum information networks. Meanwhile, topological photonics provides a novel route for designing and realizing optical device with unprecedented functionality, such as robust light propagation, the immunity to various structural imperfection, back-scattering suppression as well as unidirectional transmission. The application of topological photonics in chiral quantum optics will promote the whole performance of integrated quantum device with topological protection. In this review, we summarize the progress of chiral quantum optics and topological photonics firstly. Then, we mainly focus on the research of topological chiral edge states based on photonic quantum spin-Hall effect and photonic quantum valley-Hall effect. Furthermore, we introduce the recent work of chiral topological quantum interface formed by embedding quantum dot into the interface between two topologically distinct photonic crystal structures. At last, we give short outlook on the future development direction and prospect for application of topological chiral quantum interface.

The green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using a water extract of Ginger (Zingiber officinale) root by microwave irradiation and its antibacterial activities have been reported. However, AgNPs prepared from different parts of ginger root water or ethanol extract by ultrasound synthesis and their antioxidant activity and whether the biogenic could be used to catalyze the reduction of hazardous dye are unknown. This study concentrated on the facile green synthesis of AgNPs prepared from different parts (unpeeled ginger, peeled ginger, and ginger peel) of ginger root water or ethanol extract by the ultrasound-assisted method. We studied their antioxidant activity and catalytic degradation of hazardous dye Direct Orange 26 (DO26) and Direct Blue 15 (DB15). The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak of AgNPs was at 428-443 nm. The biogenic AgNPs were approximately 2 nm in size with a regular spherical shape identified from TEM analysis. The ethanol extracts of dried unpeeled ginger and peeled ginger, fresh peeled ginger and ginger peel. The Z. officinale AgNPs synthesized by dried unpeeled ginger ethanol extract showed the best antioxidant activity. Their scavenging activities were significantly better than BHT (p

Abstract Background Simpson–Golabi–Behmel syndrome type 1 (SGBS1) is a rare X‐linked recessive disorder characterized by pre‐ and postnatal overgrowth and a broad spectrum of anomalies including craniofacial dysmorphism, heart defects, renal, and genital anomalies. Due to the ultrasound findings are not pathognomonic for this syndrome, most clinical diagnosis of SGBS1 are made postnatally. Methods A pregnant woman with abnormal prenatal sonographic findings was advised to perform molecular diagnosis. Single nucleotide polymorphism array (SNP array) was performed in the fetus, and the result was validated with multiplex ligation‐dependent probe amplification (MLPA) and real‐time quantitative PCR (qPCR). Results The prenatal sonographic presented with increased nuchal translucency at 13 gestational weeks, and later at 21 weeks with cleft lip and palate, heart defect, increased amniotic fluid index and over growth. A de novo 370Kb‐deletion covering the 5′‐UTR and exon 1 of GPC3 gene was detected in the fetus by SNP array, which was subsequently confirmed by MLPA and qPCR. Conclusion The de novo 370Kb hemizygous deletion of 5′‐UTR and exon 1 of GPC3 results in the SGBS1 of this Chinese family. Combination of ultrasound and genetics tests helped us effectively to diagnose the prenatal cases of SGBS1. Our findings also enlarge the spectrum of mutations in GPC3 gene.

Development of catalysts for the electrochemical oxygen reactions, namely, oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), is critical for the application of various renewable energy technologies. The aim of this work is to prepare low‐cost MnO2 electrocatalyst with high activity for the ORR and OER via introduction of surface oxygen vacancies (OVs). Herein, the procedure of thermal heating treatment under air or H2 has been demonstrated as an efficient way to create OVs on the surface of α‐MnO2 and β‐MnO2 nanorods, which are found to be highly active for both ORR and OER. The existence of surface OVs can modulate the intrinsic activity of α‐MnO2 and β‐MnO2 and improve their ORR and OER kinetics. More importantly, the H2‐treated MnO2 possesses much more surface OVs and thus exhibits much better catalytic performances for ORR and OER in comparison with MnO2 obtained by common annealing treatments under air. Especially, the H2‐treated α‐MnO2 nanorods show the best activity for the ORR and OER. The results confirm that the heating treatment under H2 reducing atmosphere can be a facile and efficient process to develop bifunctional Mn‐based electrocatalysts for electrochemical oxygen reactions.

Although most transfer learning methods can reduce the difference of the feature distributions between the source and target domains effectively, some classes in the two domains may still be misaligned after domain adaptation, especially for the classes with similar features such as “bicycle” and “motorcycle”. Therefore, a graph regularization based adversarial network model is proposed, whose innovations mainly include the following two aspects: First, a constraint function which is used to measure the difference between the features belonged to different classes is proposed, whose purpose is that not only the training accuracy is taken into account during supervised training, but also the difference between classes should be enlarged as much as possible; Then, a graph regularization constraint function is proposed, which makes all the classes have good local preserving properties after domain adaptation, and further reduces the possibility of all classes being misaligned. Experimental results on several cross-domain benchmark datasets show that our newly proposed approach outperforms state of the art methods.