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BACKGROUND: Acute liver failure is one of the most intractable clinical problems. The use of bioartificial livers may solve donor shortage problems. Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) are an excellent seed cell choice for artificial livers because they change their characteristics to resemble hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs) following artificial liver transplantation. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine whether the immunological characteristics of hUCMSCs are changed after being transformed into hepatocyte-like cells. METHODS: HUCMSCs were isolated by the adherent method. The following hUCMSC surface markers were detected using flow cytometry: CD45, CD90, CD105, CD34, and octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (OCT-4). Functional detection of adipogenic differentiation was performed. The hUCMSCs were cultured in complete medium (control group) or induction medium (induction group), and flow cytometry was used to detect cell surface markers. Peritoneal lavage fluid was collected after intraperitoneal injection of 1 × 106 cells/mouse over 40 minutes. The leukocyte count, labeled CD45, CD3, CD4 and CD8 antibodies, and flow detection of T lymphocyte subsets were determined using the peritoneal lavage fluid. RESULTS: Using phenotypic and functional identification, hUCMSCs were successfully isolated using a two-step induction method. The surface markers of the hUCMSCs cells changed after HLC induction. In vivo immune results showed that hUCMSCs and HLsC induced leukocyte production. CONCLUSION: Hepatic induction of hUCMSCs changes their cell surface markers. Both HLCs and hUCMSCs cause leukocytosis in vivo, but the immune response induced by HLCs is slightly stronger.

The diminishing natural sand has facilitated the booming of the sand manufacturing industry, and intelligent management of sand factories, in a time- and cost-efficient way, has become a growing tendency for the future. A role has been played in achieving intelligent management by constructing a smart supply chain. However, the smart sand factories are hardly involved in previously reported studies, which is inconsistent with related studies on smart factories and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). In this paper, a smart supply chain management system (SSCMS) is constructed to realize the intelligence and automatization of the management of sand factories, using edge-computing and deep learning techniques. Along the supply chain, the deep learning model is used to realize the automatic identification of sand, avoiding the disadvantages of human identification, while improving the quality of sand factory operations. In order to relieve the pressure of network bandwidth, reduce system delay, and improve system operation efficiency, we use edge-computing technology to process data at the edge. To verify the performance of the constructed system, a sand factory simulation platform is established. Experiments show that the most critical indicator in the system, the accuracy rate of sand type identification, is above 98%, and the sand type identification time is only 0.022 s. In general, compared with traditional supply chain management, the constructed smart supply chain improves the quality and efficiency of sand factory operations, and all indicators of the designed system have achieved satisfactory results.

Hippocampal deficits and metabolic dysregulations such as dyslipidemia have been frequently reported in schizophrenia and are suggested to contribute to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Hippocampus is particularly susceptible to environmental challenges including metabolism and inflammation. However, evidence linking hippocampal alterations and metabolic dysregulations are quite sparse in drug-naïve schizophrenia. A total of 166 drug-naïve patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FES) and 78 healthy controls (HC) underwent measures for several serum metabolic markers, structural and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI), as well as diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Seed-to-voxel functional connectivity (FC) and probabilistic tractography were performed to assess the functional and microstructural connectivity of the bilateral hippocampi. Clinical symptoms were evaluated with Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Patients with FES showed significantly decreased total cholesterol (Chol) level. Patients showed elevated FC between the left hippocampus and bilateral thalami while showing decreased microstructural connectivity between the left hippocampus and bilateral thalami. Multiple regression analyses showed that FC from the left hippocampus to the right superior frontal gyrus (SFG), bilateral frontal pole (FP), and right thalamus were negatively associated with the Chol level, while no association was observed in the HC group. Our study validated alterations in both functional and microstructural thalamo-hippocampal connectivities, and abnormal cholesterol level in FES. Moreover, decreased cholesterol level is associated with elevated thalamo-hippocampal functional connectivity in patients with FES, suggesting that dyslipidemia may interact with the hippocampal dysfunction in FES.

Background and Hypothesis Visual fixation is a dynamic process, with the spontaneous occurrence of microsaccades and macrosaccades. These fixational saccades are sensitive to the structural and functional alterations of the cortical-subcortical-cerebellar circuit. Given that dysfunctional cortical-subcortical-cerebellar circuit contributes to cognitive and behavioral impairments in schizophrenia, we hypothesized that patients with schizophrenia would exhibit abnormal fixational saccades and these abnormalities would be associated with the clinical manifestations. Study Design Saccades were recorded from 140 drug-naïve patients with first-episode schizophrenia and 160 age-matched healthy controls during ten separate trials of 6-second steady fixations. Positive and negative symptoms were assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Cognition was assessed using the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB). Study Results Patients with schizophrenia exhibited fixational saccades more vertically than controls, which was reflected in more vertical saccades with angles around 90° and a greater vertical shift of horizontal saccades with angles around 0° in patients. The fixational saccades, especially horizontal saccades, showed longer durations, faster peak velocities, and larger amplitudes in patients. Furthermore, the greater vertical shift of horizontal saccades was associated with higher PANSS total and positive symptom scores in patients, and the longer duration of horizontal saccades was associated with lower MCCB neurocognitive composite, attention/vigilance, and speed of processing scores. Finally, based solely on these fixational eye movements, a K-nearest neighbors model classified patients with an accuracy of 85%. Conclusions: Our results reveal spatial and temporal abnormalities of fixational saccades and suggest fixational saccades as a promising biomarker for cognitive and positive symptoms and for diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Background Schizophrenia is a severely debilitating psychiatric disorder with high heritability and polygenic architecture. A higher polygenic risk score for schizophrenia (SzPRS) has been associated with smaller gray matter volume, lower activation, and decreased functional connectivity (FC). However, the effect of polygenic inheritance on the brain white matter microstructure has only been sparsely reported. Methods Eighty-four patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients and ninety-three healthy controls (HC) with genetics, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data were included in our study. We investigated impaired white matter integrity as measured by fractional anisotropy (FA) in the FES group, further examined the effect of SzPRS on white matter FA and FC in the regions connected by SzPRS-related white matter tracts. Results Decreased FA was observed in FES in many commonly identified regions. Among these regions, we observed that in the FES group, but not the HC group, SzPRS was negatively associated with the mean FA in the genu and body of corpus callosum, right anterior corona radiata, and right superior corona radiata. Higher SzPRS was also associated with lower FCs between the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG)–left inferior temporal gyrus (ITG), right IFG–left ITG, right IFG–left middle frontal gyrus (MFG), and right IFG–right MFG in the FES group. Conclusion Higher polygenic risks are linked with disrupted white matter integrity and FC in patients with schizophrenia. These correlations are strongly driven by the interhemispheric callosal fibers and the connections between frontotemporal regions.

Reliable mapping of system-level individual differences is a critical first step toward precision medicine for complex disorders such as schizophrenia. Disrupted structural covariance indicates a system-level brain maturational disruption in schizophrenia. However, most studies examine structural covariance at the group level. This prevents subject-level inferences. Here, we introduce a Network Template Perturbation approach to construct individual differential structural covariance network (IDSCN) using regional gray-matter volume. IDSCN quantifies how structural covariance between two nodes in a patient deviates from the normative covariance in healthy subjects. We analyzed T1 images from 1287 subjects, including 107 first-episode (drug-naive) patients and 71 controls in the discovery datasets and established robustness in 213 first-episode (drug-naive), 294 chronic, 99 clinical high-risk patients, and 494 controls from the replication datasets. Patients with schizophrenia were highly variable in their altered structural covariance edges; the number of altered edges was related to severity of hallucinations. Despite this variability, a subset of covariance edges, including the left hippocampus–bilateral putamen/globus pallidus edges, clustered patients into two distinct subgroups with opposing changes in covariance compared to controls, and significant differences in their anxiety and depression scores. These subgroup differences were stable across all seven datasets with meaningful genetic associations and functional annotation for the affected edges. We conclude that the underlying physiology of affective symptoms in schizophrenia involves the hippocampus and putamen/pallidum, predates disease onset, and is sufficiently consistent to resolve morphological heterogeneity throughout the illness course. The two schizophrenia subgroups identified thus have implications for the nosology and clinical treatment.

D-amino acid oxidase activator (DAOA) gene, which plays a crucial role in the process of glutamatergic transmission and mitochondrial function, is frequently linked with the liability for schizophrenia. We aimed to investigate whether the variation of DAOA rs2391191 is associated with alterations in white matter integrity of first-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients; and whether it influences the association between white matter integrity, cognitive function and clinical symptoms of schizophrenia. Forty-six patients with FES and forty-nine healthy controls underwent DTI and were genotyped for DAOA rs2391191. Psychopathological assessments were performed by Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and Scale for Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS). Cognitive function was assessed by MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB). Schizophrenia patients presented lower fractional anisotropy (FA) and higher radial diffusivity (RD), mainly spreading over the corpus callosum and corona radiata compared with healthy controls. Compared with patients carrying G allele, patients with AA showed lower FA in the body of corpus callosum, and higher RD in the genu of corpus callosum, right superior and anterior corona radiata, and left posterior corona radiata. In patients carrying G allele, FA in body of corpus callosum was positively correlated with working memory, RD in genu of corpus callosum was negatively associated with the speed of processing, working memory, and the composite score of MCCB, while no significant correlations were found in AA homozygotes. In our study, patients with FES presented abnormal white matter integrity in corpus callosum and corona radiata. Furthermore, this abnormality was associated with the genetic variation of DAOA rs2391191, with AA homozygotes showing less white matter integrity in the corpus callosum. Our findings possibly provide further support to the evidence that DAOA regulates the process of glutamatergic neurotransmission and mitochondrial function in the pathophysiological mechanism of schizophrenia.

Clinical high risk (CHR) of psychosis is characterized by cognitive impairment in social interaction. However, research investigating the neurobiological underpinnings of social interactions and interpersonal relationships in CHR participants is sparse.21 CHR and 54 healthy controls (HCs) participated in the study. Dyads were formed between one CHR, one sex-matched HC, and two sex-matched HCs comprising 19 CHR-HC dyads and 19 HC-HC dyads. The concentration changes of oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin were examined during a two-block button-press "cooperation" and "competition" task using functional near-infrared spectroscopy(fNIRS) hyperscanning technology. CHR diagnosis and psychopathological assessments were performed by Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndromes (SIPS) and Scale of Prodromal Symptoms (SOPS). Neural synchronizations were compared between CHR-HC dyads and HC-HC dyads. Correlation analyses were performed to identify the relationship between neural synchronization, clinical syndrome and cognition.During the cooperation, but not the competition task, the CHR-HC dyads showed reduced inter-brain neural synchronization (INS) in the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) compared to the HC-HC dyads. INS also showed a positive correlation with the average cooperation rate. Moreover, the reduced INS in the CHR-HC group was significantly correlated with symptoms score of suspiciousness/persecutory ideas and movement disorders.The decreased INS in right IFG during cooperation could account for CHR's cognitive impairment of social interaction. Our findings provide evidence that inter-brain neural synchronization potentially represents a biomarker of social interaction deficits of CHR.

Biomarker-assisted diagnosis of acute aortic dissection (AAD) is important for initiation of treatment and improved survival. However, identification of biomarkers for AAD in blood is a challenging task. The present study aims to find the potential AAD biomarkers using a transcriptomic strategy. Arrays based genome-wide gene expression profiling were performed using ascending aortic tissues which were collected from AAD patients and healthy donors. The differentially expressed genes were validated using quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR) and western blot. The plasma levels of a potential biomarker, angiopoietin 2 (ANGPT2) were determined in case-control cohort (77 AAD patients and 82 healthy controls) by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to evaluate the diagnostic power of ANGPT2 for AAD. Transcriptome data demonstrated that a total of 18 genes were significantly up-regulated and 28 genes were significantly down-regulated among AAD tissues (foldchange>3.0, p < 0.01). By bioinformatic analysis, we identified ANGPT2 as a candidate biomarker for blood-based detection of AAD. The qRT-PCR and protein expression demonstrated that ANGPT2 increased 2.4- and 4.2 folds, respectively in aortic tissue of AAD patients. Immunohistochemical staining demonstrated that ANGPT2 was markedly increased in intima of the aortic wall in AAD. Furthermore, ANGPT2 was significantly elevated in AAD patients as compared with controls (median 1625 vs. 383 pg/ml, p < 1E-6). ROC curve analysis showed that ANGPT2 was highly predictive of a diagnosis of type A AAD (area under curve 0.93, p < 1E-6). Sensitivity and specificity were 81 and 90%, respectively at the cutoff value of 833 pg/ml. In conclusion, ANGPT2 could be a promising biomarker for diagnosis of AAD; however, more studies are still needed to verify its specificity in diagnosing of AAD.

The 2D Labeling algorithm is used in many applications due to its superior image processing quality. As the requirements of image processing continue to increase, generating huge computational workloads, the efficient real-time implementation of this algorithm is very challenging. In recent years, research on accelerating 2D Labeling algorithms on GPUs has made rapid progress. However, GPU devices usually bring a large amount of energy consumption and are therefore not suitable for a wide range of applications in embedded scenarios. In this paper, we propose a highly integrated general-purpose hardware accelerator for medical image processing to effectively improve the computational performance of 2D Labeling algorithms and reduce the power consumption of FPGA devices. The design integrates image denoising, edge detection, and image segmentation algorithms in a hardware IP core based on a deep pipelining framework, which can effectively improve the speed of 2D Labeling algorithm during intensive medical image processing through parallel computing and data reuse. The design is implemented on Xilinx ZYNQ XC7Z020, and we consume very less energy and improve the computational performance by 1.3 and 2.1 times, respectively, compared to the software design based on advanced NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super and Intel(R) Core (TM) i7-10700 CPUs.

Poor cognitive insight, including low self-reflectiveness and high self-certainty, contributes to poor clinical insight, which includes awareness of illness, relabelling of specific symptoms, and treatment compliance. However, inconsistent results regarding cognitive insight among individuals at clinical high risk of psychosis (CHR) have been reported. This study investigated the difference in cognitive insight among groups with different severity of positive symptoms and analysed the effect of cognitive insight on clinical insight in each group. All participants, including CHR individuals with 3 or 4 points (L-P

Yingchan Wang,1,* Yuchao Jiang,2,* Wenjun Su,1 Lihua Xu,1 Yanyan Wei,1 Yingying Tang,1 Tianhong Zhang,1 Xiaochen Tang,1 Yegang Hu,1 Huiru Cui,1 Jinhong Wang,1 Dezhong Yao,2 Cheng Luo,2 Jijun Wang1,3,4 1Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200030, People’s Republic of China; 2The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, Center for Information in Medicine, School of life Science and technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610054, People’s Republic of China; 3CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology (CEBSIT), Chinese Academy of Science, Shanghai, 200031, People’s Republic of China; 4Institute of Psychology and Behavioral Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Jijun WangShanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200030, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 21 3428 9888Fax +86 21 6438 7986Email jjijunwang27@163.comPurpose: This study investigated temporal dynamics in degree centrality (DC) of the brain functional connectome in first-episode schizophrenia with different short-term treatment responses.Methods: A total of 127 first-episode patients (FEPs) with schizophrenia and 133 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited in this study. All subjects underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. FEPs were scanned at baseline (pretreatment) and at follow-up (posttreatment), while HCs were scanned only at baseline. The patients were exposed to naturalistic antipsychotic treatment for 12 weeks, and classified as schizophrenia responders (SRs) or nonresponders (NRs). Voxel-wise dynamic DC analyses were conducted among the SRs (n=75), NRs (n=52), and HCs (n=133) to assess temporal variability in functional connectivity across the entire neuronal network.Results: The SRs and NRs showed dissimilar dynamic DC at baseline, with differences mainly involving the temporal lobe. Different DC alteration was observed in the left fusiform gyrus, right fusiform gyrus, left middle cingulate cortex, and left superior parietal gyrus in the SRs and NRs pre- and posttreatment. SRs group and NRs presented opposite changing patterns of dynamic DC in particular regions of the brain.Conclusion: These findings indicate that dynamic DC abnormalities exist in unmedicated patients with schizophrenia. The NRs differed from the SRs in dynamic DC not only at baseline but in the characteristics of changes before and after treatment as well. Our study may contribute to understanding pathophysiology in schizophrenia with different treatment responses.Keywords: schizophrenia, degree centrality, dynamics, resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, treatment response

BackgroundCortical thickness reductions are evident in patients with schizophrenia. Associations between antipsychotic medications (APMs) and cortical morphometry have been explored in schizophrenia patients. This raises the question of whether the reconfiguration of morphological architecture by APM plays potential compensatory roles for abnormalities in the cerebral cortex.MethodsStructural MRI were obtained from 127 medication-naive first-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients and 133 matched healthy controls. Patients received 12 weeks of APM and were categorized as responders (n=75) or nonresponders (n=52) at follow-up. Using surface-based morphometry and structural covariance analysis, this study investigated the short-term effects of antipsychotics on cortical thickness and cortico-cortical connectivity. Global efficiency was computed to characterize network integration of the large-scale structural connectome. The relationship between connectivity and cortical thinning was examined by the structural covariance analysis among top-n regions with thickness reduction.ResultsWidespread cortical thickness reductions were observed in pre-APM patients. Post-APM patients showed more reductions in cortical thickness, even in the frontotemporal regions without baseline reductions. Covariance analysis revealed strong cortico-cortical connectivity and higher network integration in responders than in nonresponders. Notably, the nonresponders lacked key nodes of the prefrontal and temporal regions for the covariance network between top-n regions with cortical thickness reductions.ConclusionsAntipsychotic effects are not restricted to a single brain region but rather exhibit a network-level covariance pattern. Neuroimaging connectomics highlights the positive effects of antipsychotics on the reconfiguration of brain architecture, suggesting that abnormalities in regional morphology may be compensated by increasing interregional covariance when symptoms are controlled by antipsychotics.

Background Brain dynamics abnormalities in the triple-network, which involves the salience network (SN), the default mode network (DMN) and the central executive network (CEN), have been reported in schizophrenia. However, it remains to be clarified how antipsychotics affect dynamic functional connectivity (DFC) within the triple-network and whether differences in clinical outcomes are associated with varying levels of network model dysfunction. Methods Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans were obtained from 64 first-episode schizophrenia patients (SZ) and 67 healthy controls (HC). All patients were scanned before and after 12-week antipsychotic treatment and the HC were scanned only at baseline. Results At baseline, SZ participants showed significantly reduced dynamic functional interactions across the triple-network compared to HC. The SZ group displayed a pattern of reduction in resting-state DFC among the triple-network compared with HC. After medication, the mean dynamic network interaction index (dNII) value was improved. A significant quadratic relation was observed between longitudinal change of mean dNII and the reduction ratio of PANSS total score within the SZ group. The DFC within inter-network (between DMN and SN, and between DMN and CEN) and intra-network connections of DMN were significantly higher relative to baseline. Intra-SN DFC, intra-DMN DFC and DFC between SN and DMN were found to be predictive of clinical features at baseline. Intra-CEN DFC and DFC between DMN and CEN were predictive of treatment response. Conclusions Aberrant brain dynamics in the triple-network could be regulated with medication. DFC organization in the triple network was found to predict the clinical outcome.

BackgroundDisrupted white matter (WM) microstructure has been commonly identified in youth at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis. Several lines of evidence suggest that fatty acids, especially unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs), might play a crucial role in the WM pathology of early onset psychosis. However, evidence linking UFA and WM microstructure in CHR is quite sparse.AimsWe investigated the relationship between the plasma UFA level and WM microstructure in CHR participants and healthy controls (HC).MethodsPlasma fatty acids were assessed and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data were performed with tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) analysis for 66 individuals at CHR for psychosis and 70 HC.ResultsBoth the global and regional diffusion measures showed significant between-group differences, with decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) but increased mean diffusivity (MD) and radial diffusivity (RD) found in the CHR group compared with the HC group. On top of that, we found that in the HC group, plasma arachidic acid showed obvious trend-level associations with higher global FA, lower global MD and lower global RD, which regionally spread over the corpus callosum, right anterior and superior corona radiata, bilateral anterior and posterior limb of the internal capsule, and bilateral superior longitudinal fasciculus. However, there were no associations between global WM measures and any UFA in the CHR group. Conversely, we even found negative associations between arachidic acid levels and regional FA values in the right superior longitudinal fasciculus and right retrolenticular part of the internal capsule in the CHR group.ConclusionsCompared with the HC group, CHR subjects exhibited a different pattern of association between WM microstructure and plasma UFA, with a neuroprotective effect found in the HC group but not in the CHR group. Such discrepancy could be due to the excessively upregulated UFAs accumulated in the plasma of the CHR group, highlighting the role of balanced plasma-membrane fatty acids homeostasis in WM development.

BackgroundClinical high risk (CHR) of psychosis is a state in which positive symptoms cause the subjects distress but do not approach a severity level that fulfils the criteria for a psychotic episode. CHR exhibits cognitive deficits; however, the underlying neurobiological mechanisms remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether brain activation measured by the levels of oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) in CHR subjects could be correlated with cognitive deficits.MethodsFifty-eight CHR individuals who fulfilled the criteria for attenuated positive syndrome as specified in the Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndrome (SIPS) and the Scale of Prodromal Syndrome (SOPS) and 58 age- and sex-matched healthy participants were included in the study. All subjects completed the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS) Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) that includes tests measuring attention, verbal memory, verbal fluency, executive function, and general intelligence. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to measure the level of oxy-Hb in the dorsolateral prefrontal and frontotemporal cortices.ResultsWe observed significantly decreased oxy-Hb levels in channel 32 (located in the right superior temporal gyrus, rSTG)) within the CHR individuals compared with that in the healthy controls (HCs) (t=−3.44, Bonferroni-corrected p=0.002), indicating lower brain activity. A significant positive correlation was observed between task-related β values and working memory in the CHR group (r=0.35, p=0.008).ConclusionsThe brain activation of rSTG is abnormal among subjects at clinicial high risk for psychosis. This abnormality is probably associated with the neural mechanisms of deficits in the working memory during the early stage of psychosis.

To summarize the experience of mitral valve (MV) repair with artificial chordae replacement in children, and analyze early and intermediate outcomes. From January 2011 to May 2019, all patients (

A bionic hierarchy generative design algorithm inspired by the leaf vein growth process is presented for the layout design of heat conduction channels. The design domain is discretized based on the element-free Galerkin (EFG) method. The generations of main channels and lateral channels are separated. The effectiveness of the developed bionic hierarchy generative design approach is investigated based on the general “volume-to-point” heat conduction problem.

D-amino acid oxidase activator (DAOA) gene, which plays a crucial role in the process of glutamatergic transmission and mitochondrial function, is frequently linked with the liability for schizophrenia. We aimed to investigate whether the variation of DAOA rs2391191 is associated with alterations in white matter integrity of first-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients; and whether it influences the association between white matter integrity, cognitive function and clinical symptoms of schizophrenia. Forty-six patients with FES and forty-nine healthy controls underwent DTI and were genotyped for DAOA rs2391191. Psychopathological assessments were performed by Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and Scale for Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS). Cognitive function was assessed by MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB). Schizophrenia patients presented lower fractional anisotropy (FA) and higher radial diffusivity (RD), mainly spreading over the corpus callosum and corona radiata compared with healthy controls. Compared with patients carrying G allele, patients with AA showed lower FA in the body of corpus callosum, and higher RD in the genu of corpus callosum, right superior and anterior corona radiata, and left posterior corona radiata. In patients carrying G allele, FA in body of corpus callosum was positively correlated with working memory, RD in genu of corpus callosum was negatively associated with the speed of processing, working memory, and the composite score of MCCB, while no significant correlations were found in AA homozygotes. In our study, patients with FES presented abnormal white matter integrity in corpus callosum and corona radiata. Furthermore, this abnormality was associated with the genetic variation of DAOA rs2391191, with AA homozygotes showing less white matter integrity in the corpus callosum. Our findings possibly provide further support to the evidence that DAOA regulates the process of glutamatergic neurotransmission and mitochondrial function in the pathophysiological mechanism of schizophrenia.

The antenna management in the mobile communication network is still in a state of disorder that the antenna state is unable to obtain directly. Field troubleshooting is only way to find antenna faults when wave alarm and coverage complaint appear, which leads to low efficiency and poor effectiveness. Sensible antenna engineering parameters system can acquire antenna basic information and antenna engineering parameters, which can be real-time monitored and alarmed while they are abnormal. The system can manage the antenna comprehensively to improve the level of wireless planning, optimization, and maintenance.

Background: Fusarium wilt disease is leading threat to watermelon yield and quality. Different cultivation cropping systems have been reported as safe and efficient methods to control watermelon Fusarium wilt. However, the role of salicylic acid (SA) in watermelon resistance to Fusarium wilt in these different cultivation systems remains unknown. Methods: in this experiment, we used RNA-seq and qRT-PCR to study the effect of SA biosynthesis on improving watermelon health, demonstrating how it may be responsible for Fusarium wilt resistance under continuous monocropping and oilseed rape rotation systems. Results: the results revealed that the expression of the CIPALs genes was key to SA accumulation in watermelon roots. We observed that the NPR family genes may play different roles in responding to the SA signal. Differentially expressed NPRs and WRKYs may interact with other phytohormones, leading to the amelioration of watermelon Fusarium wilt. Conclusions: further understanding of gene expression patterns will pave the way for interventions that effectively control the disease.

Objectives The objective of this study was to compare our clinical outcomes of the central shunt and the right ventricle-pulmonary artery (RV-PA) connection in patients with pulmonary atresia, ventricular septal defect and the major aortopulmonary collateral arteries. Methods From November 2009 to October 2017, a total of 157 consecutive patients with pulmonary atresia, ventricular septal defect, the major aortopulmonary collateral arteries and the hypoplastic PAs who underwent palliative surgery were included. Seventy patients underwent the central shunt (the central shunt group) and 87 patients underwent the RV-PA connection (the RV-PA group). Propensity score matching was used to create 2 cohorts with similar baseline characteristics: 56 central shunt patients were one-to-one-matched with 56 RV-PA connection patients. The early and late outcomes were compared. Results The median duration of follow-up was 18 months in the central shunt group and 22 months in the RV-PA group (P = 0.10). The probability of complete repair was significantly lower in the central shunt group as compared with the RV-PA group (P = 0.048). The Kaplan-Meier estimates of complete repair rates were 47.2 ± 10.0% after 3 years and 56.0 ± 11.6% after 5 years in the central shunt group, which were lower as compared with 62.3 ± 7.6% after 3 years and 74.5 ± 7.2% after 5 years in the RV-PA group. The increase in the mean McGoon ratio and the mean Nakata index were significantly lower in the central shunt group than those in the RV-PA group (0.57 ± 0.52 vs 1.02 ± 0.44, P = 0.036; 98.2 ± 35.1 mm2/m2 vs 176.9 ± 85.4 mm2/m2, P = 0.025, respectively). The in-hospital morbidity and mortality after complete repair were similar between 2 groups. Conclusions Compared with the central shunt, the RV-PA connection appears to be a more effective palliative procedure to improve the probability of complete repair and PA growth in patients with pulmonary atresia, ventricular septal defect and the major aortopulmonary collateral arteries, in whom primary repair is not feasible.

// Jiangping Song 1, * , Wenjun Su 1, * , Xiao Chen 1 , Qian Zhao 1 , Ningning Zhang 1 , Mao-Gang Li 2 , Ping-Chang Yang 2 , Liqing Wang 1 1 State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100037, China 2 The Research Center of Allergy and Immunology, Shenzhen University School of Medicine, Shenzhen, 518060, China * These authors contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Liqing Wang, email: fwsongjiangping@126.com Keywords: B lymphocyte, interleukin-10, micro RNA, heart transplantation, cortisol Received: September 20, 2016 Accepted: February 28, 2017 Published: March 08, 2017 ABSTRACT The immune tolerance to the transplant heart survival is critical. Regulatory B cells are one of the major immune regulatory cell populations in the immune tolerance. Micro RNAs (miR) can regulate the activities of immune cells, such as the expression of interleukin (IL)-10 by B cells. This study tests a hypothesis that micro RNA (miR)-98 plays a role in the regulation of interleukin (IL)-10 expression in B cells (B10 cell) after heart transplantation. In this study, the peripheral blood samples were collected from patients before and after heart transplantation. The expression of miR-98 and IL-10 in B cells was assessed by real time RT-PCR. An allograft heart transplantation mouse model was developed. We observed that after heart transplantation, the frequency of peripheral B10 cell and the IL-10 mRNA levels in peripheral B cells were significantly decreased, the levels of miR-98 were increased in peripheral B cells and the serum levels of cortisol were increased in the patients. Treating naive B cells with cortisol in the culture suppressed the expression of IL-10 in B cells, which was abolished by knocking down the miR-98 gene. Administration with anti-miR-98, or cortisol inhibitor, or adoptive transfer with B10 cells, significantly enhanced the survival rate and time of mice received allograft heart transplantation. In conclusion, the enhancement of serum cortisol affects the immune tolerant feature of B cells, which can be attenuated by anti-miR-98-carrying liposomes.

In the present work, the performance of oil-air two-phase flow under different lubricant oils was investigated. The simulation method was applied to study the influence of the oil viscosity on the flow pattern, velocity distribution and Re number in oil-air lubrication by FLUENT software with VOF model to acquire the working performance of oil-air lubrication for high-speed ball bearing. This method was used to obtain the optimum lubrication conditions of high-speed ball bearing. The optimum operating conditions that produce the optimum flow pattern were provided. The optimum annular flow was obtained by PAO6 oil with the low viscosity. Reynolds number influences the fluid shape and distribution of oil and air in pipe. The annular flow can be formed when Reynolds number is an appropriate value. The velocity distribution of oil-air two-phase flow at outlet was also discussed by different oil viscosities. The simulating results show that due to the effect of the oil viscosity and flow pattern the velocity decreased and expanded gradually close to the pipe wall, and the velocity increased close to the central pipe. The simulation results provide the proposal for the design and operation of oil-air two-phase flow lubrication experiments in the present work. This work provides a useful method in designing oil-air lubrication with the optimum flow pattern and the optimum operating conditions.

In this work, a novel and facile synthesis process to fabricate single crystalline organometal halide perovskite nanowires has been successfully developed. Nanowires were grown in a high density ordered array from metal nanoclusters inside anodic aluminum oxide templates using a non-catalytic chemical vapor deposition method. Specifically, perovskite NWs were grown as a result of the reaction between methylammonium iodide (MAI) and the Pb/Sn (Pb or Sn) metal in anodic aluminum oxide templates under optimal conditions. The characterization results show that there is a reaction zone at the interface between the perovskite material and metal, at the bottom of the anodic aluminum oxide nanochannels. In order to sustain perovskite NW growth, MAI molecules have to diffuse downward through the perovskite NWs to reach the reaction zone. In fact, the reaction is facilitated by the formation of an intermediate product of the metal iodide compound. This suggests that the Pb/Sn metal is converted to PbI2/SnI2 first and then perovskite NWs are formed as a result of the reaction between MAI and PbI2/SnI2 through a vapor-solid-solid process. The optical characterization results demonstrate that the as-synthesized NWs with an ultra-high nanostructure density can serve as ideal candidates for optoelectronic devices, such as solar cells, light-emitting didoes, photodetectors, etc. And the reported growth approach here is highly versatile combining the merits of excellent controllability, cost-effectiveness and tunability on material composition and physical properties.

For the development of asymmetric supercapacitors with higher energy density, the study of new electrode materials with high capacitance is a priority. Herein, the electrochemical behavior of nano copper in alkaline electrolyte is first discovered. It is found that there are two obvious reversible redox symmetric peaks in the range of −0.8–0.2 V in the alkaline electrolyte, corresponding to the conversion of copper into cuprous ions, and then converting cuprous ions into copper ions, indicating that the nanocomposite electrode has the characteristics of a pseudocapacitive reaction. It has a specific capacitance of up to 318 F g−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1, which remains at nearly 100% after 10 000 cycles at the same current density. When assembled with a Ni(OH)2-based electrode into an asymmetric supercapacitor, the device shows excellent capacitive behavior and good reaction reversibility. At 0.4 A g−1, the supercapacitor delivers a reversible capacity of 8.33 F g−1 with an energy density of 13.5 mW h g−1. This study first discovers the electrochemical behavior of nano copper, which can provide a new research idea for further expanding the negative electrodes of supercapacitors with higher energy density.

Based on the commonly used asynchronous link transmission system of the telegraph switching system, this paper presents an information transmission scheme using optical fiber instead of asynchronous link, systematically analyzes the overall design scheme of the transmission equipment taking the asynchronous link transmission system in the civil aviation center of a certain area, and focuses on the analysis of the system working principle of the RS232 switching to optical signal circuit and the optical signal circuit switching to RS232. The transmission mode with optical fiber as the carrier solves the limitation of the transmission distance, anti-interference and transmission stability in the traditional asynchronous telegraph switching system, and makes the information transmission of the aviation department stable and reliable with fast transmission speed and high transmission quality, which effectively solves the disadvantages of asynchronous link transmission in traditional telegraph switching system, and effectively improves the level of information equipment construction of air service stations.

Objective: The aim of this article was to comprehensively examine the effect of forest bathing and exercising on human healthy in young people between forest and city environment in Sichuan province Methods: All experiments were randomly assigned to three groups. After doing experimental schedule which was informed to all the experiments, we summarized and analyzed the data of the experiences about physiological and psychological testing, such as blood testing containing Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF-a), Insulin-Like Growth Factor (IGF), psychological measurements including POMS and PANAS, and so on. Results: Forest bathing might help to prevent cancer by IGF. Meanwhile reducing the level of oxidation in the body, it might achieve anti-aging, anti-tumor, and regulate the body's endocrine system to improve immunity. Forest bathing could significantly improve the mood and stress of the population, which reducing negative stress or negative emotions and increasing positive or positive emotions, to change the sub-health status of the population. Conclusion: In this paper, we learned that forest bathing might be good at human health, especially on anti-aging, anti-tumor, regulation of human endocrine system, improvement of immunity, etc

In this paper, we studied ECG signal preprocessing and implemented it into a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The processing includes band pass filter, pseudo differential identification and mathematical morphology transform.

Ordered three-dimensional (3-D) tubular arrays are highly attractive candidates for high performance pseudocapacitor electrodes. Here, we report 3-D fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) tubular arrays fabricated by a cost-effective ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP) method in anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) channels with high uniformity. The large surface area of such a structure leads to remarkable surface area enhancement up to 51.8 times compared to a planar structure. Combining with electrochemically deposited manganese dioxide (MnO2) nanoflakes on the inner side wall of the FTO nanotubes, the unique hierarchical tubular structured pseudocapacitor electrode demonstrated the highest areal capacitance of 193.8 mF cm(-2) at the scan rate of 5 mV s(-1) and 184 mF cm(-2) at the discharge current density of 0.6 mA cm(-2), which is 18.5 times that of a planar electrode. And it also showed a volumetric capacitance of 112.6 F cm(-3) at the scan rate of 5 mV s(-1) and 108.8 F cm(-3) at the discharge current density of 0.6 mA cm(-2). In addition, the cyclic stability test also indicated that a nanostructured pseudocapacitive electrode has a much larger capacitance retention after 3000 cycles of the charge-discharge process compared with a planar electrode, primarily due to the mechanical stability of the nanostructure. Moreover, pseudocapacitor device fabrication based on such electrodes shows the volumetric capacitance of 17.5 F cm(-3), and the highest specific energy of 1.56 × 10(-3) Wh cm(-3). With the merit of facile fabrication procedures and largely enhanced electrochemical performance, such a 3-D structure has high potency for energy storage systems for a wide range of practical applications.

Background D-amino acid oxidase activator (DAOA) gene, which plays a key role in glutamatergic transmission and mitochondrial function, is frequently linked with the liability for schizophrenia. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether the variation of DAOA rs2391191 could be associated with alterations in white matter integrity in first episode schizophrenia patients, and whether it influences the association between white matter integrity, cognitive function and clinical symptoms of schizophrenia. Methods Forty-six patients with first-episode schizophrenia and forty-nine sex, age and education-matched healthy controls underwent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and were genotyped for SNP DAOA rs2391191. Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) was used to delineate the major fiber tracts that showed significant group difference. Patients underwent pathophysiological assessments using Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and Scale for Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS). Cognitive function assessments were performed by Chinese version of the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB). Results Schizophrenia patients presented lower fractional anisotropy (FA) and higher radial diffusivity (RD) mainly spreading over corpus callosum and corona radiata compared with healthy controls (FWE-corrected p Discussion Abnormal white matter integrity in corpus callosum and corona radiata were replicated among our sample of first episode schizophrenia. Genetic variation of DAOA rs2391191 was associated with this abnormality, with AA homozygotes showing less white matter integrity in corpus callosum. Our findings also suggested that rs2391191influenced the association between white matter integrity and cognitive function of schizophrenia patients. Such results might be due to the process of glutamatergic neurotransmission and mitochondrial function DAOA involves in as pinpointed by previous in vitro studies.

There are many problems in the indoor distribution system, which cannot be directly monitored. There are a lot of problems that cannot be found in time in the current network because of the lack of effective problem detection and problem location tool. The system uses the passive wireless answering system technology to detect link status quickly, which can locate and exclude problems, improve coverage and user perception. The system can monitor the quality state of the indoor distribution system in real time and make the network operation and maintenance active.

The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of biodegradation on the shear strength of municipal solid waste (MSW), leachate, and biogas production. The direct shear (DS) test shows that the shear strength of waste in the initial stages is mainly depended on its composition and inter-structure. After the waste has been in a landfill for 30 days, the waste's increased biodegradation exhibited a great influence on the waste's shear strength. The increase of moisture content in the waste mass might cause a decrease of its shear strength. Tri-axial tests under consolidation-drained (CD) condition show that the shear strength of the cohesion and friction angle for degraded samples increased when the defined axial strain increased from 5 to 20 %. The cohesion varied from 35.90 to 66.42 kPa and the drained friction angle ranged between 29° and 38°. The measurements of shear strength properties are utilized to assess the slope stability of landfills.

Thin film photovoltaic (PV) technologies are highly attractive for low-cost solar energy conversion and possess a wide range of potential applications from building-integrated PV generation to portable power sources. Inverted nanocones (i-cones) have been demonstrated as a promising structure for practical thin film PV devices/modules, owning to their antireflection effect, self-cleaning function, superior mechanical robustness, and so forth. In this work, we have demonstrated a low-cost and scalable approach to achieve perfectly ordered i-cone arrays. Thereafter, thin film amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar cells have been fabricated based on various i-cone substrates with different aspect ratios and pitches to investigate the impact of geometry of i-cone nanostructures on the performance of the as-obtained PV devices. Intriguingly, the optical property investigations and device performance characterizations demonstrated that the 0.5-aspect-ratio i-cone-based device performed the best on both light absorption capability and energy conversion efficiency, which is 34% higher than that of the flat counterpart. Moreover, the i-cone-based device enhanced the light absorption and device performance over the flat reference device omnidirectionally. These results demonstrate a viable and convenient route toward scalable fabrication of nanostructures for high-performance thin film PV devices based on a broad range of materials.

Background This study aimed to investigate the expression and significance of 5 types of miRNAs in breast cancer to provide a theoretical and practical foundation for using these miRNAs in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, thereby improving medical services. Material/Methods Stem-loop real-time RT-PCR was used to detect the expression levels of miR-145, miR-21, miR-10b, miR-125a, and miR-206 in 35 cases of breast cancer and adjacent normal breast tissues, and to analyze the relationship of miRNAs expression with clinicopathological features of breast cancer. The expression levels of estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) were examined by immunohistochemistry. Fluorescence in situ hybridization was used for the detection of HER-2 and TOP 2A. Results The expression levels of miR-145, miR-125a, and miR-206 in breast cancer were lower than those in adjacent normal tissues. MiR-145 was negatively correlated with tumor size, lymph node metastasis, ER, HER-2, and TOP 2A (P

The traditional LDA algorithm is used to seek the optimal distinguishing vector spaces, but it only considers the global structure of samples. The LPP algorithm can preserve the local structure of data very well, however, its projection direction is likely to cause the class overlap when applied to the facial expression recognition which is one of the multiple-classification problems. To resolve the class overlap problem, this paper presents a new Linear Discriminant Locality Preserving Analysis (LDLPA) algorithm which takes full advantage of LDA and LPP for facial expression recognition. It utilizes the strong discriminative superiority of LDA to find the optimal distinguish vector space and joins the thinking of LPP to preserve the neighborhood relationship among the data points. By reconstructing the between-class scatter and minimizing within-class scatter of LDLPA objective function, it makes the sample points of different classes be away from each other and the sample points of same classes be close to each other to get the optimal discriminative features. Finally, the validity of LDLPA is verified by the experiments on JAFFE and Cohn-Kanade facial expression databases.

In this paper, we designed and implemented the Electrocardiogram (ECG)signal preprocessing into a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), and extracted ECG signal's feature. It performed ECG signal preprocessing and heart rate variability (HRV) analysis which is appropriate for remote homecare and health care applications. The hardware design was developed in Verilog hardware description language. FPGA platform Xilinx Spartan-6series chip XC6SLX45T was used for system prototyping and functionality verification.

Human cartilage is reported to contain multipotent stromal cells. We evaluated the effect of human cartilage-derived stromal cells (CDSCs) on heart function when transplanted into the infarcted myocardium of rats. CDSCs were isolated and cultured from human articular cartilage and subjected to fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis. The CDSCs were consistently negative for CD14, CD34, CD38, CD45, CD49f, CD104, CD105, CD106, CD117, HLA-DR, and ABCG-2, and positive for CD10, CD44, CD71, CD73, CD90, CD147, and HLA-A, -B, and -C by FACS analysis. Myocardial infarction (MI) was created in rats by ligation of the left anterior descending artery. Three weeks after MI, the CDSCs labeled with Hoechst stain were injected into the infarct and border zone. Echocardiography, histological examination, and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were performed 4 weeks after cell transplantation. Echocardiography indicated that CDSC transplantation could improve heart function. The number of capillaries increased in the injection regions in the transplantation group. Histological examination showed that Hoechst-labeled CDSCs in islands within the infarcted region were stained positively for desmin and smooth muscle actin but negatively for alpha-sarcomeric actin and troponin-I. RT-PCR results indicated the expression level of collagen I, collagen III, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1, transforming growth factor-β1, and vascular endothelia growth factor were much higher in the scar tissue in the transplantation group than in the medium and control groups. Our findings suggested that CDSCs might promote angiogenesis, prevent left ventricular remodeling, and improve the heart function when transplanted into injured heart in the rat model of myocardial infarction.

Traditional control flow computer has some disadvantages, such as high power consumption, poor performance of parallel computing, clock skew problem, the worst performance, unnatural programming language, and so on. For this case, we design a data flow processor (DFP). DFP adopts self-timed pipeline that is different from normal asynchronous pipeline. The self-timed pipeline employed in the DFP uses a four-phase communication protocol, with bounded-delay data transmission. Throughput is changeable in self-timed pipeline and signal in different stage can be delayed different time. The sequence of the operation in data flow computer is depended on relationship between operands and validity of operands, and it is not fixed by programmers. DFP can overcome the shortcomings of traditional control-flow processor, and more in line with people's thinking habits. For FFT, the performance of data flow processor is about three times of the performance of the DSP.

Objective: We introduce a simple classification of the non-coronary sinus of Valsalva aneurysm, and suggest a different approach for the corresponding type of non-coronary sinus of Valsalva aneurysm. Methods: Between October 1996 and December 2009, 45 patients with noncoronary sinus of Valsalva aneurysm underwent surgical repair. Twenty-three were male and 22 female. The mean age was 32.80 11.77 years (range, 13—67 years). We divided them into two types, type I: rupture or protrusion into right atrium; and type II: rupture or protrusion into right atrium or right ventricle near or at the tricuspid annulus. For type I (n = 32), the right atrium approach was chosen, using direct suture with patch repair. For type II (n = 13), the transaortic approach with right atrium incision was chosen, with patch repair through an aortic incision and direct suture through a right atrium incision. Surgical results between types I and II were compared as regards cardiopulmonary bypass time, clamp aorta time, mechanical ventilation time, and intensive care unit time, and postoperative stay time. Results: There was no early death after operation. There were no significant differences in cardiopulmonary bypass time, mechanical ventilation time, intensive care unit time, and postoperative stay time between two types ( p > 0.05). There was significant difference in clamp aorta time, with type II being longer than type I ( p < 0.05). Forty-three patients (93.33%) were followed up; one case of coronary artery disease using medication occurred, and there was no late death. Conclusions: Approach through the right atrium or right atrium with aortotomy showed the same early surgical results. Our classification of noncoronary SVA is simple and practical for clinical usage. # 2011 European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cellular phones in emerging markets have continued to grow with multimedia features such as MP3 playback, video encode and decode, high-resolution cameras and web browsing. To efficiently support multimedia functionalities, highperformance modems are required. There is also a strong demand to reduce the cellular phone PCB footprint, and to enable integration of peripheral devices such as Bluetooth and Wireless LAN. Previously reported SoC or SiP solutions have integrated a GPRS/EDGE radio with modem and limited multimedia capabilities [1–4]. This paper presents a multimode UMTS/GSM RF transceiver integrated with a digital baseband having advanced multimedia functionalities. The SoC, designed in 65nm digital CMOS, supports quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE (3GPP R4, Class 12) and tri-band UMTS/WCDMA (3GPP R99, R5 cat 5/6), including band 1–2–4–5–6–8–9–10.