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Immunological/inflammatory factors are implicated in the development of psychosis. Complement is a key driver of inflammation; however, it remains unknown which factor is better at predicting the onset of psychosis. This study aimed to compare the alteration and predictive performance of inflammation and complement in individuals at clinical high risk (CHR). We enrolled 49 individuals at CHR and 26 healthy controls (HCs). Twenty-five patients at CHR had converted to psychosis (converter) by the 3-year follow-up. Inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-1β, 6, 8, 10, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), macrophage colony-stimulating factor levels, and complement proteins (C1q, C2, C3, C3b, C4, C4b, C5, C5a, factor B, D, I, H) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay at baseline. Except for TNF- alpha, none of the inflammatory cytokines reached a significant level in either the comparison of CHR individuals and HC or between CHR-converters and non-converters. The C5, C3, D, I, and H levels were significantly lower (C5, p = 0.006; C3, p = 0.009; D, p = 0.026; I, p = 0.016; H, p = 0.019) in the CHR group than in the HC group. Compared to non-converters, converters had significantly lower levels of C5 (p = 0.012) and C5a (p = 0.007). None of the inflammatory factors, but many complement factors, showed significant correlations with changes in general function and symptoms. None of the inflammatory markers, except for C5a and C5, were significant in the discrimination of conversion outcomes in CHR individuals. Our results suggest that altered complement levels in the CHR population are more associated with conversion to psychosis than inflammatory factors. Therefore, an activated complement system may precede the first-episode of psychosis and contribute to neurological pathogenesis at the CHR stage.

Use of anesthesia-assisted (AA) sedation for routine gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy has increased markedly. Clinical uncertainty about which patients are most likely to benefit from AA sedation contributes to this increased use. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of failed endoscopist-directed sedation and to identify patients at elevated risk of failing standard sedation.Retrospective longitudinal study of national Veterans Health Administration (VA) data of all patients who underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy and/or colonoscopy in 2009-2013.Using multivariable logistic regression, we sought to identify patient and procedural risk factors for failed sedation. Failed sedation cases were identified electronically and validated by chart review.Of 302,247 standard sedation procedures performed at VA facilities offering AA sedation, we identified 313 cases of failed sedation (prevalence, 0.10%). None of the factors found to be associated with increased risk of failed sedation (eg, high-dose opioid use, younger age) had an odds ratio greater than 3. Even among the highest-risk patients (top decile), the prevalence of failed sedation was only 0.29%.Failed sedation among patients undergoing routine outpatient GI endoscopy with standard sedation is very rare, even among patients at highest risk. This suggests that concerns regarding failed sedation due to commonly cited factors such as chronic opioid use and obesity do not justify forgoing standard sedation in favor of AA sedation in most patients. It also suggests that use of AA sedation is generally unnecessary. Reinstatement of endoscopist-directed sedation, rather than AA sedation, as the default sedation standard is warranted to reduce low-value care and prevent undue financial burdens on patients.

Background: More than one-fifth of the world’s population consumes Chinese cuisines regularly, but no evidence-based healthy diets fitting the Chinese food culture are available for implementation. Methods: A multicenter, patient- and outcome assessor–blind, randomized feeding trial was conducted among 265 participants with 130 to 159 mm Hg baseline systolic blood pressure (SBP) for 4 major Chinese cuisines (Shangdong, Huaiyang, Cantonese, Szechuan). After a 7-day run-in period on a control diet matching the usual local diets, participants were randomized to continue with the control diet or the cuisine-based Chinese heart-healthy diet for another 28 days. The primary outcome was SBP, and secondary outcomes included diastolic blood pressure and food preference score. Linear regression models were used to estimate the intervention effects and adjustments for the center. The incremental cost per 1 mm Hg reduction in SBP was also calculated. Results: A total of 265 participants were randomized (135 on the Chinese heart-healthy diet and 130 on the control diet), with 52% women, mean age of 56.5±9.8 years, and mean SBP and diastolic blood pressure of 139.4±8.3 and 88.1±8.0 mm Hg, respectively, at baseline. The change in SBP and diastolic blood pressure from baseline to the end of the study in the control group was –5.0 (95% CI, –6.5 to –3.5) mm Hg and –2.8 (95% CI, –3.7 to –1.9) mm Hg, respectively. The net difference of change between the 2 groups in SBP and diastolic blood pressure were –10.0 (95% CI, –12.1 to –7.9) mm Hg and –3.8 (95% CI, –5.0 to –2.5) mm Hg, respectively. The effect size did not differ among cuisines ( P for interaction=0.173). The mean food preference score was 9.5 (with 10 the best preferred) at baseline, and the net change during intervention was 0.1 (95% CI, –0.1 to 0.2; P =0.558). The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio per 1 mm Hg SBP reduction was CNY 0.4 (USD 0.06) per day. No difference in the number of adverse events was found between the 2 groups ( P =0.259), and none of the adverse events was associated with the intervention. Conclusions: The Chinese heart-healthy diet is effective, palatable, and cost-effective in reducing blood pressure in Chinese adults with high blood pressure, with a clinically significant effect applicable across major Chinese cuisine cultures. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT03882645.

There is now ample evidence that differences in sex and gender contribute to the incidence, susceptibility, presentation, diagnosis, and clinical course of many lung diseases. Some conditions are more prevalent in women, such as pulmonary arterial hypertension and sarcoidosis. Some life stages-such as pregnancy-are unique to women and can affect the onset and course of lung disease. Clinical presentation may differ as well, such as the higher number of exacerbations experienced by women with cystic fibrosis (CF), more fatigue in women with sarcoidosis, and more difficulty in achieving smoking cessation. Outcomes such as mortality may be different as well, as indicated by the higher mortality in women with CF. In addition, response to therapy and medication safety may also differ by sex, and yet, pharmacogenomic factors are often not adequately addressed in clinical trials. Various aspects of lung/sleep biology and pathobiology are impacted by female sex and female reproductive transitions. Differential gene expression or organ development can be impacted by these biological differences. Understanding these differences is the first step in moving toward precision medicine for all patients. This article is the second part of a state-of-the-art review of specific effects of sex and gender focused on epidemiology, disease presentation, risk factors, and management of selected lung diseases. We review the more recent literature and focus on guidelines incorporating sex and gender differences in pulmonary hypertension, CF and non-CF bronchiectasis, sarcoidosis, restless legs syndrome and insomnia, and critical illness. We also provide a summary of the effects of pregnancy on lung diseases and discuss the impact of sex and gender on tobacco use and treatment of nicotine use disorder.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), characterized by extensive triglyceride accumulation in hepatocytes, may progress to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with liver fibrosis and inflammation and increase the risk of cirrhosis, cancer, and death. It has been reported that physical exercise is effective in ameliorating NAFLD and NASH, while skeletal muscle dysfunctions, including lipid deposition and weakness, are accompanied with NAFLD and NASH. However, the molecular characteristics and alterations in skeletal muscle in the progress of NAFLD and NASH remain unclear. In the present study, we provide a comprehensive analysis on the similarity and heterogeneity of quadriceps muscle in NAFLD and NASH mice models by RNA sequencing. Importantly, Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway functional enrichment analysis revealed that NAFLD and NASH led to impaired glucose and lipid metabolism and deteriorated functionality in skeletal muscle. Besides this, we identified that myokines possibly mediate the crosstalk between muscles and other metabolic organs in pathological conditions. Overall, our analysis revealed a comprehensive understanding of the molecular signature of skeletal muscles in NAFLD and NASH, thus providing a basis for physical exercise as an intervention against liver diseases.

The work of gold and silver is Yangzhou's national intangible cultural heritage. Its inheritance and development have attracted more attention in recent years. However, with the disintegration of Jiangdu Metal Craft Factory, the representative company of Yangzhou Gold and Silver Fine Craftsmanship, many craft masters have been lost. In particular, Yangzhou's native gold craftsmen have switched careers in order to make a living, but the inheritance of this craft is facing a lot of difficulties. This article investigates the content of Yangzhou gold and silver fine work skills by investigating and analyzing the current status of the development of Yangzhou gold and silver fine work skills. Through comparison with Nanjing Baoqing Silver Building and Shanghai Lao Fengxiang, it is found that the problems of Yangzhou gold and silver fine work skills and put forward corresponding countermeasures and ideas to improve the status quo.

In recent years, applying deep learning (DL) to assess structural damages has gained growing popularity in vision-based structural health monitoring (SHM). However, both data deficiency and class-imbalance hinder the wide adoption of DL in practical applications of SHM. Common mitigation strategies include transfer learning, over-sampling, and under-sampling, yet these ad-hoc methods only provide limited performance boost that varies from one case to another. In this work, we introduce one variant of the Generative Adversarial Network (GAN), named the balanced semi-supervised GAN (BSS-GAN). It adopts the semi-supervised learning concept and applies balanced-batch sampling in training to resolve low-data and imbalanced-class problems. A series of computer experiments on concrete cracking and spalling classification were conducted under the low-data imbalanced-class regime with limited computing power. The results show that the BSS-GAN is able to achieve better damage detection in terms of recall and $F_\beta$ score than other conventional methods, indicating its state-of-the-art performance.

BackgroundLow-value use of screening colonoscopy is wasteful and potentially harmful to patients. Decreasing low-value colonoscopy prevents procedural complications, saves patient time and reduces patient discomfort, and can improve access by reducing procedural demand. The objective of this study was to develop and validate an electronic measure of screening colonoscopy overuse using International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Edition codes and then apply this measure to estimate facility-level overuse to target quality improvement initiatives to reduce overuse in a large integrated healthcare system.MethodsRetrospective national observational study of US Veterans undergoing screening colonoscopy at 119 Veterans Health Administration (VHA) endoscopy facilities in 2017. A measure of screening colonoscopy overuse was specified by an expert workgroup, and electronic approximation of the measure numerator and denominator was performed (‘electronic measure’). The electronic measure was then validated via manual record review (n=511). Reliability statistics (n=100) were calculated along with diagnostic test characteristics of the electronic measure. The measure was then applied to estimate overall rates of overuse and facility-level variation in overuse among all eligible patients.ResultsThe electronic measure had high specificity (99%) and moderate sensitivity (46%). Adjusted positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 33% and 95%, respectively. Inter-rater reliability testing revealed near perfect agreement between raters (k=0.81). 269 572 colonoscopies were performed in VHA in 2017 (88 143 classified as screening procedures). Applying the measure to these 88 143 screening colonoscopies, 24.5% were identified as potential overuse. Median facility-level overuse was 22.5%, with substantial variability across facilities (IQR 19.1%–27.0%).ConclusionsAn International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Edition based electronic measure of screening colonoscopy overuse has high specificity and improved sensitivity compared with a previous International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Edition based measure. Despite increased focus on reducing low-value care and improving access, a quarter of VHA screening colonoscopies in 2017 were identified as potential low-value procedures, with substantial facility-level variability.

Hydroquinone is one of the main pollutants in coal-gasification wastewater, which is biologically toxic and difficult to remove. The aerobic biodegradation rate, organic toxicity, and microbial community structure at different acclimation stages of degradation of hydroquinone by activated sludge were investigated. In each acclimation cycle, the removal of hydroquinone reached 100% after 5 days, indicating that high-concentration hydroquinone in the activated sludge could be completely biodegraded. When the microbial flora was inhibited by the influent hydroquinone, the enzyme system experienced stress conditions and led to the secretion of secondary metabolites, extracellular protein of 5-10 kDa mainly contributing to the sludge organic toxicity. Microbial diversity analysis showed that with the increase of the concentration of hydroquinone, β-Proteus bacteria such as Azoarcus and Dechloromonas gradually accumulated, which improved the removal of hydroquinone with aerobic activated sludge in the sequencing batch reactor (SBR) system. As the inhibition degree exceeded the appropriate tolerance range of microorganisms, bacteria would secrete much more secondary metabolites, and the organic toxicity of sludge would reach a relatively high level.

Background Convenient and precise assessment of the severity in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) contributes to the timely patient treatment and prognosis improvement. We aimed to evaluate the ability of CT-based radiomics nomogram in discriminating the severity of patients with COVID-19 Pneumonia. Methods A total of 150 patients (training cohort n = 105; test cohort n = 45) with COVID-19 confirmed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test were enrolled. Two feature selection methods, Max-Relevance and Min-Redundancy (mRMR) and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), were used to extract features from CT images and construct model. A total of 30 radiomic features were finally retained. Rad-score was calculated by summing the selected features weighted by their coefficients. The radiomics nomogram incorporating clinical-radiological features was eventually constructed by multivariate regression analysis. Nomogram, calibration, and decision-curve analysis were all assessed. Results In both cohorts, 40 patients with COVID-19 pneumonia were severe and 110 patients were non-severe. By combining the 30 radiomic features extracted from CT images, the radiomics signature showed high discrimination between severe and non-severe patients in the training set [Area Under the Curve (AUC), 0.857; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.775–0.918] and the test set (AUC, 0.867; 95% CI, 0.732–949). The final combined model that integrated age, comorbidity, CT scores, number of lesions, ground glass opacity (GGO) with consolidation, and radiomics signature, improved the AUC to 0.952 in the training cohort and 0.98 in the test cohort. The nomogram based on the combined model similarly exhibited excellent discrimination performance in both training and test cohorts. Conclusions The developed model based on a radiomics signature derived from CT images can be a reliable marker for discriminating the severity of COVID-19 pneumonia.

Five diverse technology companies show how it's done.

This paper presents two on-going efforts of the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research (PEER) center in the area of structural health monitoring. The first is data-driven damage assessment, which focuses on using data from instrumented buildings to compute the values of damage features. Using machine learning algorithms, these damage features are used for rapid identification of the level and location of damage after earthquakes. One of the damage features identified to be highly efficient is the cumulative absolute velocity. The second is vision-based automated damage identification and assessment from images. Deep learning techniques are used to conduct several identification tasks from images, examples of which are the structural component type, and level and type of damage. The objective is to use crowdsourcing, allowing the general public to take photographs of damage and upload them to a server where damage is automatically identified using deep learning algorithms. The paper also introduces PEER.s effort and preliminary results in engaging the engineering and computer science communities in such developments through the PEER Hub Image-Net (F-Net) challenge.

Novel porous nano-silicon/TiO2/rGO@carbon anodes with superior lifespan and desirable cycling stability are prepared by a step-wise synthetic procedure. The hybrid exhibits a high specific capacity of 1073.43 mAh g−1 at a current density of 500 mA g−1. Additionally, it delivers a reversible capacity of 724.08 mAh g−1 at 1000 mA g−1 even after 1000 long-term cycles. Simultaneously, a large average capacity is reinstated after cycling at high rates, such as 994.76, 743.33, and 599.70 mAh g−1 at 1000, 2000, and 3000 mA g−1, respectively. The greatly ameliorative electrochemical characteristics could be attributed to the abundant buffering space of hierarchical architecture, good separation of mechanically robust anatase-TiO2, sustainable confinement of elastic carbon skeletons, as well as improved electrical conductivity of rGO, which could suppress drastic volume variations and promote multiple Li+/electron transport without distinct pulverization.

A fundamental feature of both early nervous system development and axon regeneration is the guidance of axonal projections to their targets in order to assemble neural circuits that control behavior. In the navigation process where the nerves grow toward their targets, the growth cones, which locate at the tips of axons, sense the environment surrounding them, including varies of attractive or repulsive molecular cues, then make directional decisions to adjust their navigation journey. The turning ability of a growth cone largely depends on its highly dynamic skeleton, where actin filaments and microtubules play a very important role in its motility. In this review, we summarize some possible mechanisms underlying growth cone motility, relevant molecular cues, and signaling pathways in axon guidance of previous studies and discuss some questions regarding directions for further studies.

This article looks at the knowledge graphs of five diverse tech companies, comparing the similarities and differences in their respective experiences of building and using the graphs, and discussing the challenges that all knowledge-driven enterprises face today. The collection of knowledge graphs discussed here covers the breadth of applications, from search, to product descriptions, to social networks.

Yuan Wang,1,* Yali Shao,1 Yuqing Gao,1 Guoran Wan,2 Dong Wan,3,* Huifeng Zhu,1 Yan Qiu,1 Xiyue Ye1 1Department of Chinese Medicine, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southwest University, Chongqing Engineering Research Center for Pharmacological Evaluation, Chongqing 400715, China; 2Department of Clinic Medicine, Chongqing Three Gorges Medical College, Chongqing 404120, China; 3Department of Emergency, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing400016,China *These authors contributed equally to this work Aim: To investigate the effects of catalpol on muscular atrophy induced by sciatic nerve crush injury (SNCI).Methods: Seventy male Kunming mice were randomized into five groups (n=10): model, sham, catalpol (Cat), rapamycin (Rapa), and catalpol+rapamycin (Rapa+Cat). The ratio of gastrocnemius muscle wet weight (right/left, R/L) between the operated leg (right) and the normal leg (left) was calculated, and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) immunohistochemistry assays were performed to observe the change of motor end plate (MEP), along with the sizes of denervated and innervated muscle fibers. The expression levels of LC3II, TUNEL, BAX/BCL-2, LC3II/LC3I and P62, Beclin1, mTOR, and p-mTOR (ser2448) proteins in muscle were examined by fluorescence immunohistochemistry or Western blotting.Results: Results show that catalpol improved the results of the grid walking tests by reducing the percentage of foot slips, which increased the gastrocnemius muscle wet weight (R/L), enhanced AChE expression at the MEP, and enlarged the section area of the muscle. The expression of LC3II and TUNEL was significantly inhibited by catalpol. The BAX/BCL-2 ratio was significantly increased in muscles of denervated and control groups. Lower LC3II/LC3I and BAX/BCL-2 ratios in denervated muscles were also detected after catalpol treatment.Conclusion: These results indicated that apoptosis and autophagy play a role in the regulation of denervation-induced muscle atrophy after SNCI, and catalpol alleviates muscle atrophy through the regulation of muscle apoptosis and autophagy via the mTOR signaling pathway. Keywords: catalpol, sciatic nerve crush injury, SNCI, denervated muscle atrophy, autophagy, muscle apoptosis

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: Overuse of screening colonoscopy can lead to patient harm and wasteful use of resources. We previously developed an ICD‐9 based measure to detect screening colonoscopy overuse in a large integrated healthcare system. This measure was highly specific, suggesting that cases identified as overuse were true positives, but had low sensitivity (likely to miss cases of overuse). We sought to update and test this previously validated measure for use in ICD‐10 and assess trends and variation in colonoscopy overuse in a large integrated healthcare delivery system. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) administrative data, with measure validation via manual record review. POPULATION STUDIED: Index screening colonoscopy encounters at 117 VHA facilities in 2017. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: 269,572 colonoscopies were performed in VHA in 2017. After applying exclusion criteria (non‐index procedures, procedures in patients at increased risk of colorectal cancer, inpatient procedures, colonoscopy for non‐screening indication within 12 months), 88,143 colonoscopy encounters remained. Validating the updated ICD‐10 based electronic overuse measure (“Updated Measure”) against the gold standard of manual record review in a random sample of 511 cases, the Updated Measure had similar specificity to the ICD‐9 based measure (96% vs. 97%) but was significantly more sensitive (92% vs. 20%). The sensitivity and specificity of the Updated Measure were robust both among sites with the lowest levels of overuse (sensitivity 100%, specificity 97%) and sites with the highest levels of overuse (sensitivity 93%, specificity 97%). Applying the Updated Measure, 24.5% of screening colonoscopy encounters (21,600/88,143) met the definition of overuse (as defined in J Gen Intern Med 2016;31[Suppl 1]:53–60), similar to levels in 2011–13 (23%). Of these 21,600 colonoscopies meeting overuse criteria, the top 2 reasons for overuse in both periods were screening colonoscopy performed

With the rapid development of machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) in computer vision, adopting these learning tools in vision-based structural health monitoring (SHM) and rapid dam...

The cellular redox balance plays a significant role in cell fate decisions and in the regulation of responses to various kinds of stress. In this study, we defined a novel concept of the oxidative-redox metabolome, and established a method for the simultaneous quantification of 23 metabolites involved in the oxidative-redox metabolome, covering NAD+ pathway, FAD pathway, GSSG pathway, and ATP pathway by using the AB SCIEX 5500 QTRAP LC/MS/MS system. Corresponding oxidative-redox metabolomics analysis was performed in plasma of humans, hamsters and mice, and hamsters were demonstrated to display a stronger resemblance than mice to humans. The known reductant dithiothreitol (DTT) and oxidant hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) were selected to treat A549 and HeLa cells to validate the current method, showing that DTT moderately increased while H2O2 greatly decreased most analytes. Antibiotic treatment may disturb the oxidative-redox balance in vivo. By comparing the oxidative-redox metabolome in antibiotic-fed hamsters with that of control hamsters, we demonstrated a substantial metabolic disparity between the two, further verifying the applicability and reliability of our method.

COVID-19 has obvious family clustering, and clustering refers to the occurrence of 2 or more confirmed cases or asymptomatic infection in a small area within 14 days [1]. The clinical manifestations of familial clustering COVID-19 are related to exposure time, exposure degree, virus type, virus virulence, and patient age [2], which are mostly manifested as fever, chills, fatigue, occasional diarrhea, sore throat, or asymptomatic [3]. Symptoms are mild in children, and more severe in elderly or patients with chronic underlying diseases [4]. If there is an infected person in the family, it is easy to cause mutual infection; chest CT is helpful for the screening of suspected family cases, early diagnosis, early treatment, and early isolation. The CT findings of the family cluster COVID-19 cases are consistent with the typical manifestations of COVID-19. In the same group of family cases, the lesion density and degree are similar [5]. The number of lesions and the range of involvement of multi-generation infected persons are reduced compared with earlier generations. The chest CT of children may be negative, and the lung lesions of the elderly or patients with chronic underlying diseases may be more severe. In the follow-up after treatment, the vast majority of the lung lesions were absorbed to different degrees, and the residual shadows were mostly ground-glass opacities or fibrous shadows. The chest CT findings of most patients could finally return to normal.

In this data explosion epoch, data-driven structural health monitoring (SHM) and rapid damage assessment after natural hazards have become of great interest in civil engineering research. This report introduces deep-learning (DL) approaches and their application to structural engineering, such as post-disaster structural reconnaissance and vision-based SHM. Using DL in vision-based SHM is a relatively new research direction in civil engineering. As researchers begin to apply these concepts to structural engineering concerns, two critical issues remain to be addressed: (1) the lack of a uniform automated detection principle or framework based on domain knowledge; and (2) the lack of benchmark datasets with well-labeled large amounts of data. To address the first issue, an automated and hierarchical framework has been proposed: the PHI-Net or Ø-Net for the PEER Hub Image-Net (https://doi.org/10.55461/PHIN01152018)(link is external). This framework consists of eight basic benchmark detection tasks based on current domain knowledge and past reconnaissance experience. The second area of concern is based on the Ø-Net framework; a large number of structural images was collected, preprocessed, and labeled to form an open-source online large-scale multi-attribute image dataset, namely, the Ø-Net dataset. At the time of this writing, this dataset contains 36,413 images with multiple labels. This report introduces herein three deep convolutional neuronal networks (CNN): VGG-16, VGG-19, and ResNet-50. The architecture design and network properties, etc., are described and discussed. For benchmarking purposes, a series of computer experiments are conducted. Multiple factors are considered in comparison studies under a fair setting of hyper-parameters and training approaches, i.e., using affine data augmentation (ADA) and transfer learning (TL). All experimental results are reported and discussed, which provide benchmark and reference values for future studies by other researchers developing new algorithms. These results reveal the great potential of using DL in vision-based SHM. Finally, the first image-based challenge in structural engineering was held by the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research (PEER) Center during the Fall of 2018. This challenge, designated as the Ø-Net Challenge, served as a pre-event prior to the open sourcing of the Ø-Net dataset and attracted worldwide attention and participation from researchers from around the globe.

This article implements the state‐of‐the‐art deep learning technologies for a civil engineering application, namely recognition of structural damage from images. Inspired by ImageNet Chall...

Risks include mold infection, Legionnaires disease, sleep deprivation, exacerbation of lung disease, and physical injury.

Lamb waves have multimodal and dispersion effects, which reduces their performance in damage localization with respect to resolution. To detect damage with fewest sensors and high resolution, a method, using only two piezoelectric transducers and based on orthogonal matching pursuit (OMP) decomposition, was proposed. First, an OMP-based decomposition and dispersion removal algorithm is introduced, which is capable of separating wave packets of different propagation paths and removing the dispersion part successively. Then, two simulation signals, with nonoverlapped and overlapped wave packets, are employed to verify the proposed method. Thereafter, with the proposed algorithm, the wave packets reflected from the defect and edge are all separated. Finally, a sparse sensor array with only two transducers succeeds in localizing the defect. The experimental results show that the OMP-based algorithm is beneficial for resolution improvement and transducer usage reduction.

The mesh-like hard carbon loaded SbPO4 (SbPO4/NTC) was harvested and employed as anode material for sodium ion batteries. Profiting from prominent capacitance, porous structure, and sufficient buffering space, the composite realizes high electrochemical kinetics for sodium ion storage. The SbPO4/NTC composite gains impressive battery properties, such as high discharge capacity of 413.7 mAh g−1 under 0.5 A g−1 after 200 cycles and conspicuous rate performance of 365.7 mAh g−1 even at 6 A g−1. In addition, the composite demonstrates a wide operation-temperature window with favorable capacities of 194.3–397.6 mAh g−1 from −10 °C to 60 °C at 0.1 A g−1. The phase transition and sodium storage mechanism are elucidated by density functional theory (DFT) calculation. Therefore, the SbPO4/NTC composite has a great potential for high-efficient sodium ion storage.

Spent black tea from kitchen bio-waste has been recycled to design an eco-friendly, green, and low-cost carbon electrode for high-efficient and super-long lifespan potassium ion storage. Profiting from the hierarchical porous structure, and co-doping effect, the novel KBT-7 electrode derived from kitchen bio-waste spent black tea carbonized at 700 °C harvests prominent electrochemical properties. When applied for potassium-ion batteries (PIBs), the anode delivers high reversible capacity of 491.6 mAh g−1 at 50 mA g−1, and remarkable long-term cycling durability of 102.1 mAh g−1 at 1 A g−1 even after 2300 cycles. In particular, when used for potassium-ion hybrid capacitors (PIHCs), the asymmetrical PIHCs display ultra-long term cycling property of 54.2 mAh g−1 even at 3 A g−1 after 10, 000 cycles, admirable rate ability of 51.7 mAh g−1 even at 6.4 A g−1, as well as superior high energy/power density. DFT analysis further demonstrates that the defects and N, P co-doping stimulate fast electron/ion-transport kinetics, thus enabling highly durable potassium storage property. This study presents a facile, scalable, and green strategy to prepare a high-performance biomorphic carbon electrode from kitchen bio-waste for promising potassium-ion storage applications.

Objectives To determine whether a needle disinfectant step during transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS)-guided prostate biopsy is associated with lower rates of infection-related hospitalisation. Patients and methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of all TRUS-guided prostate biopsies taken across the Michigan Urological Surgery Improvement Collaborative (MUSIC) from January 2012 to March 2015. Natural variation in technique allowed us to evaluate for differences in infection-related hospitalisations based on whether or not a needle disinfectant technique was used. The disinfectant technique was an intra-procedural step to cleanse the biopsy needle with antibacterial solution after each core was sampled (i.e., 10% formalin or 70% isopropyl alcohol). After grouping biopsies according to whether or not the procedure included a needle disinfectant step, we compared the rate of infection-related hospitalisations within 30 days of biopsy. Generalised estimating equation models were fit to adjust for potential confounders. Results During the evaluated period, 17 954 TRUS-guided prostate biopsies were taken with 5 321 (29.6%) including a disinfectant step. The observed rate of infection-related hospitalisation was lower when a disinfectant technique was used during biopsy (0.60% vs 0.90%; P = 0.04). After accounting for differences between groups the adjusted hospitalisation rate in the disinfectant group was 0.85% vs 1.12% in the no disinfectant group (adjusted odds ratio 0.76, 95% confidence interval 0.50-1.15; P = 0.19). Conclusions In this observational analysis, hospitalisations for infectious complications were less common when the TRUS-guided prostate biopsy included a needle disinfection step. However, after adjusting for potential confounders the effect of needle disinfection was not statistically significant. Prospective evaluation is warranted to determine if this step provides a scalable and effective method to minimise infectious complications.