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International audience; BACKGROUND: With the rapid development of deep learning technology, deep neural networks can effectively enhance the performance of computed tomography (CT) reconstructions. One kind of commonly used method to construct CT reconstruction networks is to unroll the conventional iterative reconstruction (IR) methods to convolutional neural networks (CNNs). However, most unrolling methods primarily unroll the fidelity term of IR methods to CNNs, without unrolling the prior terms. The prior terms are always directly replaced by neural networks. PURPOSE: In conventional IR methods, the prior terms play a vital role in improving the visual quality of reconstructed images. Unrolling the hand-crafted prior terms to CNNs may provide a more specialized unrolling approach to further improve the performance of CT reconstruction. In this work, a primal-dual network (PD-Net) was proposed by unrolling both the data fidelity term and the total variation (TV) prior term, which effectively preserves the image edges and textures in the reconstructed images. METHODS: By further deriving the Chambolle-Pock (CP) algorithm instance for CT reconstruction, we discovered that the TV prior updates the reconstructed images with its divergences in each iteration of the solution process. Based on this discovery, CNNs were applied to yield the divergences of the feature maps for the reconstructed image generated in each iteration. Additionally, a loss function was applied to the predicted divergences of the reconstructed image to guarantee that the CNNs’ results were the divergences of the corresponding feature maps in the iteration. In this manner, the proposed CNNs seem to play the same roles in the PD-Net as the TV prior in the IR methods. Thus, the TV prior in the CP algorithm instance can be directly unrolled to CNNs. RESULTS: The datasets from the Low-Dose CT Image and Projection Data and the Piglet dataset were employed to assess the effectiveness of our proposed PD-Net. Compared with conventional CT reconstruction methods, our proposed method effectively preserves the structural and textural information in reference to ground truth. CONCLUSIONS: The experimental results show that our proposed PD-Net framework is feasible for the implementation of CT reconstruction tasks. Owing to the promising results yielded by our proposed neural network, this study is intended to inspire further development of unrolling approaches by enabling the direct unrolling of hand-crafted prior terms to CNNs.

In this paper, we introduce a new neonatal facial expression database for pain analysis. This database, called facial expression of neonatal pain (FENP), contains 11000 neonatal facial expression images associated with 106 Chinese neonates from two children's hospitals, i.e., the Children's Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University and Second Affiliated Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University in China. The facial expression images cover four categories of facial expressions, i.e., severe pain expression, mild pain expression, crying expression and calmness expression, where each category contains 2750 neonatal facial expression images. Based on this database, we also investigate the pain facial expression recognition problem using several state-of-the-art facial expression features and expression recognition methods, such as Gabor+SVM, LBP+SVM, HOG+SVM, LBP+HOG+SVM, and several Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) methods (including AlexNet, VGGNet, GoogLeNet, ResNet and DenseNet). The experimental results indicate that the proposed neonatal pain facial expression database would be very suitable for the study of both neonatal pain and facial expression recognition. Moreover, the FENP database would be publicly available after signing a license agreement (the users can contact Jingjie Yan (yanjingjie@njupt.edu.cn) or Guanming Lu (lugm@njupt.edu.cn)).

Schematic representation of the action mechanisms of curcumol.

Objective. To explore the influences of Heider balance on knowledge, attitude, practice (KAP), and quality of life in bladder cancer patients after urinary diversion. Methods. A set of bladder cancer patients after urinary diversion in our hospital from January 2016 to December 2020 were included in this study. Patients who received out-hospital intervention based on Heider balance were included in the observation group (85 cases). Meanwhile, patients who received routine out-hospital intervention were included in the control group (85 cases), and these patients matched with the observation group by gender, age, and education level. The scores of KAP, WHO quality of life-100 (WHOQOL-100) before discharge and at 6 months after discharge, and the rate of complications were compared in the two groups. Results. At 6 months after discharge, the score of these items of KAP including basic knowledge of disease, procedure of pouch replacement, dealing with pouch leakage, skin care of stoma, purchase and storage of pouch, dealing with stoma complications, optimistic mentality for disease, optimistic mentality for stoma, trust in medical staff, willingness to correct bad habits, confidence in maintaining health behavior, maintaining in health dietary habit, maintaining in health behavior, learning from relevant books, learning from relevant videos, experienced in pouch replacement, and experienced in care of stoma of the observation group were significantly higher than those of the control group (t = 6.144, 9.366, 3.129, 3.809, 4.173, 5.923, 2.788, 8.871, 3.291, 10.797, 7.067, 7.805, 3.828, 9.454, 2.827, 4.059, and 8.662, respectively, all P < 0.05 ). The scores of 16 items of WHOQOL-100 such as energy and fatigue, sleep and rest, positive feelings, thinking, learning, memory and concentration, self-esteem, body image and appearance, negative feelings, mobility, activities of daily living, dependence on medical support, personal relationships, social support, health and social care: availability and quality, opportunities to get new information/skills, opportunities for recreation and leisure, and quality of life from viewpoint in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group (t = 2.666, 2.571, 2.961, 3.453, 4.279, 2.781, 3.775, 4.807, 5.850, 4.194, 3.324, 3.873, 5.118, 3.244, 2.956, and 4.218, respectively, all P < 0.05 ). The rate of complications of the observation group was significantly lower than that of the control group (x2 = 5.829, P < 0.05 ). Conclusion. The Heider balance can help to reduce the rate of complications, improve knowledge, attitude, practice, and quality of life in urinary diversion patients. These merits make it an attractive approach in guidance of out-hospital intervention.

Although hydrothermal treatments for biomass fractionation have been vastly studied, their effect on the depolymerization of isolated lignins in terms of yield, composition, and compatibility of the produced lignin bio-oils with bioconversion is still poorly investigated. In this study, we evaluated the hydrothermal depolymerization of an β-O-4'-rich lignin extracted from sugarcane bagasse by alkaline fractionation, investigating the influence of temperature (200-350 °C), time (30-90 min), and solid-liquid ratio (1:10-1:50 m.v

Chunlei Chen,1,&ast; Qingmiao Shi,1,&ast; Xinjun Hu,2 Xiaojing Liu,1,3 Yi Liu,1 Ruishan Liu1 1Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Clinical Medicine, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Structure and Morphology, Jinan Microecological Biomedicine Shandong Laboratory, Jinan, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Ruishan Liu, State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, No. 79 Qingchun Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310000, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 571 872 364 23, Fax +86 571 872 364 21, Email 924172261@qq.comPurpose: Beta-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae is common in the clinic, but research associated with the co-existence of KPC-2, LAP-2, and CTX-M-65 in K. pneumoniae is still rare. In this study, the phenotypic and genetic characteristics of a multidrug-resistant K. pneumoniae strain SJ25 co-harboring blaKPC-2, blaLAP-2, and blaCTX-M-65 with rare ST1469 were investigated.Methods and Results: Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed that strain SJ25 was resistant to various common antibiotics, except ciprofloxacin, fosfomycin, colistin, and tigecycline. Whole-genome analysis revealed that strain SJ25 carries a variety of antimicrobial resistance genes and virulence determinants. Plasmid analysis confirmed that the blaKPC-2 and blaCTX-M-65 genes were located on an ~136 kb transferrable IncFII/IncR plasmid and that blaLAP-2 was located on an untypeable plasmid.Conclusion: Our findings emphasized the need for continuous surveillance of β-lactamase-bearing K. pneumoniae in the clinic to control potential dissemination and outbreak.Keywords: Klebsiella pneumoniae, multidrug-resistant, blaKPC-2, blaLAP-2, blaCTX-M-65

High frequency power electronic devices in grid-connected converters excited vast switching harmonics and electromagnetic interference (EMI) noises. Conventional LCL-type harmonic filters can well attenuate switching harmonics, but have a poor EMI suppression capability, especially for common-mode (CM) noise. Symmetrical filter structure and an additional EMI filter are generally needed to effectively suppress EMI in power converters, but this will inevitably increase the size and cost of the output filter. In order to tackle this issue without sacrificing filter performance, this paper proposes a decoupled magnetic integration of symmetrical LCL filter with a CM inductor for single-phase grid-connected converters. The harmonic inductors of symmetrical LCL filter and CM inductor are integrated on the side-limbs and middle-limb of an EE-type magnetic core, respectively. Due to the decoupled magnetic structure and the reasonably assignment of the windings, the magnetic coupling between converter-side inductors and grid-side inductors can be greatly canceled to improve the performance of LCL filters on basis of the integration of CM inductor to suppress CM EMI. The detailed design guidance of the proposed integration method is presented. A single-phase decoupled magnetic integration filter is fabricated and tested, and the experimental results verify the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method.

Studies have compared the safety and accuracy of robot-assisted techniques for inserting conventional open pedicle screws for spinal surgery. However, no relevant studies have confirmed that robot-assisted percutaneous screw placement is better than fluoroscopic percutaneous screw placement for the treatment of thoracolumbar fractures. This study compared the accuracy and safety of TiRobot-assisted percutaneous pedicle screw placement with those of the fluoroscopy-assisted percutaneous technique for the treatment of thoracolumbar fractures.This retrospective study included 126 patients with thoracolumbar fractures who underwent percutaneous pedicle screw placement. Sixty-five patients were treated with the TiRobot-assisted technique and 61 patients were treated with the fluoroscopy-assisted technique. Patient demographics, accuracy of screw placement (according to the Gertzbein and Robbins scale of grades A to E), screw insertion angle, radiation exposure, surgical time, intraoperative blood loss, length of hospital stay, incision length, hospital expenses, surgical site infection, and neurological injury of the TiRobot-assisted and fluoroscopy-assisted groups were compared using Student's t-test, Pearson χA total of 729 screws were placed (TiRobot-assisted group: 374 screws; fluoroscopy-assisted group: 355 screws). In the TiRobot-assisted group, 82.8% of screws were optimally positioned (grade A); however, the placement grades of the remaining screws were categorized as grade B (13.3%), grade C (3.2%), and grade D (0.5%). In the fluoroscopy-assisted group, 66.7% of the screws were optimally positioned (grade A); however, the placement grades of the remaining screws were categorized as grade B (21.4%), grade C (7.6%), grade D (3.6%), and grade E (0.5%). The proportion of clinically acceptable screws (grade A or B) was greater in the TiRobot-assisted group than in the fluoroscopy-assisted group. Additionally, the TiRobot-assisted group had a significantly larger mean screw insertion angle (22.27° ± 5.48° vs 20.55° ± 5.15°), larger incision length (13.86 ± 1.24 cm vs 12.77 ± 1.43 cm), and higher hospital expenses (69061.55 ± 7166.60 yuan vs 59383.85 ± 5019.64 yuan) than the fluoroscopy-assisted group. There were no significant differences in the intraoperative blood loss, length of hospital stay, and rates of surgical site infection and neurological injury in both groups (p 0.05). However, the TiRobot-assisted group had significantly better surgical times, radiation times, and radiation exposure than the fluoroscopy-assisted group (p 0.05).Percutaneous TiRobot-assisted pedicle screw placement is a safe, useful, and potentially more accurate alternative to the percutaneous fluoroscopy-assisted technique for treating thoracolumbar fractures.

Purpose To compare the effectiveness of TiRobot-assisted kyphoplasty with that of the traditional fluoroscopy-assisted approach in treating multilevel osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures. Methods In this retrospective study, we collected data from 71 patients (TiRobot-assisted group, n = 39; fluoroscopy-assisted group, n = 32) with multilevel osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture treated with unilateral traditional TiRobot-assisted or fluoroscopy-assisted percutaneous kyphoplasty. The operative time, infusion volume, length of stay (LOS), hospital expenses, visual analog scale (VAS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), radiation exposure, puncture deviation, anterior height of diseased vertebrae, local kyphotic angle, bone cement distribution, and bone cement leakage were compared between the TiRobot- and fluoroscopy-assisted groups. Results Of the 257 treated vertebrae, the average amount of bone cement injected in the TiRobot-assisted (142 vertebrae) and fluoroscopy-assisted (115 vertebrae) groups was 4.6 mL and 4.5 mL, respectively. The VAS score was significantly lower in the TiRobot-assisted group at 24 hours post-operatively (p = 0.006). The X-ray frequency was 34.7 times in the TiRobot-assisted group and 51.7 times in the fluoroscopy-assisted group (p p p p = 0.010). One patient in the fluoroscopy-assisted group experienced radiculopathy due to a misplaced puncture but recovered in three months. No radiculopathy was observed in the TiRobot-assisted group. Conclusions TiRobot-assisted percutaneous multilevel kyphoplasty is more accurate and has smaller radiometry, a more uniform bone cement distribution, and lower bone cement leakage. This method was therefore accurate and safe.

目的：現代人的生活的步調較以往快速許多，也因此，有多數的民眾，特別是居住在城市，由於生活環境高度都市化，而產生較高的心理壓力、較緊繃的情緒、甚至是憂慮傾向。同時，由於醫療普及進步，世界的人口結構，都趨向高齡化。以台灣為例，在2018 年，台灣已步入高齡化社會；因此，越來越多的研究者與醫療相關人員，開始尋找能提供一般大眾舒緩情緒以及恢復精神活力的介入方式；森林浴，泛指為在森林中，進行各式活動，並且融入、享受整個環境。近年來，森林浴對於身心的潛在益處，吸引了研究以及醫療人員的關注，森林浴被認為是一種能舒緩身心壓力的非藥物介入治療可能策略之一；因此，本篇文章，回顧整理了森林浴對於心理健康上的影響，並聚焦於中高齡族群，以期能提供越來越廣大的中高齡族群，進行森林浴活動的指導方針。方法：情緒狀態量表，又稱為盤斯心情量表 (Profile of Mood States, POMS)，是一個被廣泛用來測量情緒的量表，分為六個向度，分別是緊張、沮喪、憤怒、活力、疲勞以及困惑。結果：現有研究結果指出，為期單次至一周，每次森林浴的時間介入為10-150 分鐘，對於中高齡的健康民眾以及慢性病患者，在負面情緒，例如緊張、沮喪、憤怒、生氣、疲勞以及困惑方面，都有顯著的降低效果。至於在正面情緒的反應上，健康的中高齡族群，在森林浴後，會感到活力有明顯的提升；至於在罹患慢性病，例如高血壓或心血管疾病患者，森林浴對於活力這個正向指標，目前的結果仍然不一致，尚未有明確的趨勢及定論。結論：短期 (單次至一周) 森林浴介入，對於整體的心理情緒以及壓力方面，有舒緩的效果；未來研究方向，可透過進行較長期森林浴療法介入，觀察其對於中高齡族群，尤其是慢性病患者，在情緒、壓力、以及活力等方面的潛在效果。依據壓力削減理論以及注意力恢復理論，交感及副交感神經的相互調控，為目前森林浴對心理健康益處的可能機制之一。根據行政會農委會林務局報告，台灣的森林面積，占了全台的60.7%，其中包含18 座國家森林公園以及154 條森林自然步道。因此建議台灣國人，尤其是中高齡族群，可多進行森林浴活動，進而提升心理健康。 Purposes: The fast-paced lifestyle that a multitude of people experience nowadays has led to a striking increase in stress and depression, especially in areas where urbanization is rampant. Meanwhile, the aging population has been growing worldwide. Taiwan, a country in east Asia, for example, has been classified as an “aged society” since 2018. Due to this phenomenon, researchers and medical personnel have started seeking strategies for stress relief and energy restoration in the general population. The practice of forest bathing has increasingly drawn attention as a therapeutic approach and possible solution. Thus, the purpose of this narrative review is to discuss the mental health benefits in aging populations via forest bathing. Results: Based on current findings from a widely applied questionnaire, the Profile of Mood States (POMS), a forest bathing program that involves anywhere from a single session up to one week with durations of 10 to 150 minutes per session, shows a significant reduction in negative feelings, including tension, depression, anger, fatigue, and confusion in middle-aged and older adults in both healthy individuals and patients. Regarding positive feeling aspect, while the data indicates that forest bathing can increase vigor in healthy individuals, overall responses in patients remain inconclusive. Conclusion: Recent studies show that a short-term forest bathing program seems promising in enhancing overall mental health in both healthy individuals and patients; however, future studies are warranted to investigate the positive long-term effects and feelings in individuals, especially those who suffer from chronic diseases. The forest area in Taiwan accounts for 60.7% of the entire island with 18 national forest recreation areas and 154 natural trails. Thus, individuals, especially aging populations, are encouraged to participate in forest bathing to enhance mental health. &nbsp

Rare earth (RE) can produce excellent precipitation hardening in Mg alloys. However, when forming a solid solution, it also deteriorates formability, a problem that can usually be overcome by raising deformation temperature. Here we report an unexpected observation of high temperature brittleness in a Mg-Gd-Y-Ag alloy. As the temperature reached 500°C, the formability decreased drastically, leading to severe intergranular fracture under only 0.5% strain. This was caused by failure of grain boundaries, which are weakened by segregated interfacial compounds.

Background The endometrium and uterine junction zone often change throughout the menstrual cycle. Some pathological conditions may appear normal in uterine imaging, which will lead to missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis. Purpose To evaluate the changes in the thickness and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of the endometrium and uterine junction zone throughout the menstrual cycle in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of women of reproductive age. Material and Methods Data were collected from 40 healthy women of reproductive age with regular menstrual cycles from January 2017 to April 2018. They underwent four total MRI sessions during the menstrual, proliferation, and early and late secretive phases. The main MRI sequences were T2-weighted (T2W) volume isotropic turbo spin echo acquisition (VISTA) spectral attenuated inversion recovery (SPAIR) and diffusion-weighted imaging (b = 0, 600, 800, 1000 s/mm2), which were used to measure the thicknesses and ADC values of endometrium and uterine junction zone. Results First, the endometrium was thinnest during the menstrual phase and thickest in the late secretive phase. Second, the uterine junction zone was thinnest in the late secretive phase and thickest in the menstrual phase. Third, the ADC values of the endometrium were lowest in the menstrual phase and peaked in the early secretive phase. Finally, the ADC values of the uterine junction zone were lowest in the menstrual phase and peaked in the late secretive phase. Conclusion The endometrium and uterine junction zone showed cyclic changes. Radiologists should consider these changes in the thickness and ADC values when analyzing MRI images of the uterus.

Subtribe † Pherodactylina Cadena-Castañeda & He n. subtr. Diagnosis. Slender body covered with several hairs. Head globose, slightly flattened dorsoventrally. Pronotum moderately elongated, 1.5 times as long as broad, rectangular. Forelegs fossorial type, with the distal portion of fore tibia laterally compressed, and three strong movable apical spurs arranged only on inner side of tibia. Hind tibia moderately flattened, slightly shorter than femur; with small spines on dorsal margin and six spurs apically, three inner spurs and three outer ones nearly equal in length and shorter than first tarsomere, upper inner spur significantly longest. Taxa included. † Pherodactylus Poinar, Su & Brown, 2020 (type genus) and † Burmagryllotalpa Wang et al., 2019. Remarks. This new subtribe is proposed to group fossil taxa only, in which some are originally described as mole crickets. After morphological analysis in this study, we conclude that they are true crickets with short dorsal spines on the hind tibia. Possessing serrated hind tibia is one of the characters that characterize Sclerogryllini taxa. Comparison. † Pherodactylina n. subtr. is included in Sclerogryllini, due to the structure of the hind tibia, in addition to the shape of the pronotum, which is more elongated in comparison with the field crickets of other Gryllinae tribes. The venation of the tegmina of the male of † P. rectanguli n. comb. resembles the venation of known Sclerogryllus males (Fig. 2). The same happens in the shape of the ovipositor in females, which presents a similar structure in its length with respect to the hind femur and the shape of the apex of the valves. Sclerogryllina n. stat. differs from † Pherodactylina n. subtr., due to its more robust appearance, glabrous body, and less pubescence. The species of † Pherodactylina n. subtr. are yellowish-brown in color, while Sclerogryllus species are almost black. Sclerogryllina n. stat. does not possess the fore tibiae with modification to dig, and it possesses three small apical spurs on each margin (outer and inner). On the other hand, the new tribe does not possess apical spines on the outer margin. Finally, Sclerogryllina n. stat. has conspicuously delineated hind femur chevrons traces, which does not appear in † Pherodactylina n. subtr., Published as part of Cadena-Castañeda, Oscar J., Liu, Yi-Jiao, Yu, Zhe-Yuan, Hu, Tian-Hao, Wu, Shi-Yang & He, Zhu-Qing, 2023, Are the recently described fossil Mole Crickets of Myanmar amber real gryllotalpids? (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae & Gryllidae), pp. 48-64 in Zootaxa 5311 (1) on page 52, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5311.1.2, http://zenodo.org/record/8090321, {"references":["Poinar Jr., G., Su, Y. N. & Brown, A. E. (2020) A new genus of crickets (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) in Mid-Cretaceous Myanmar Amber. Biosis: Biological Systems, 1 (1), 33 - 38. https: // doi. org / 10.37819 / biosis. 001.01.0049"]}

† Pherodactylus rectanguli (Xu, Fang & Wang, 2020) n. comb. Figs. 1–6 = † Chunxiania fania Xu, Wang & Fang, 2022 n. syn. = † Tresdigitus gracilis Jiang, Xu, Jarzembowski & Xiao, 2022 n. syn. General description. Male (based on specimens ECNU-AM-0019 and ECUN-AM-0010, Figs. 1–3). Smallsized (8.07 mm.). Predominantly yellowish coloration with grayish and black spots. Cephalic capsule with dorsal surface (from vertex to fastigium) and upper area of frons with dark brown to black stripes; area surrounding ocelli, mandibles, lower margin of genae, and frons ocher; ocelli yellow; eyes greyish. Frons with a yellow inverted “Y”, * for the data may be doubtful due to different measurement method. starting from vertex, dividing at fastigium, and branching to the inner margin of each lateral ocellus. Pronotal disc greyish brown, with black corner rims and delimiting pronotal disc from lateral lobes; pronotal disk with two distinct large dark “eyespots”. Lateral lobes of pronotum with upper half grayish brown and lower half yellowish. All legs are yellowish with black or grayish spots, irregularly scattered, most noticeable on femora. Tegminae translucent, with veins outlined in light yellow. Abdomen yellowish covered by various black or grayish spots. Body covered with short or mid-sized fine hairs. Head as wide as pronotum, rounded and smooth; almost as wide as high in frontal view, with epistomal suture little concave. Vertex rounded. Eyes ovoid, not protruding. Lateral ocelli circular, central ocellus absent. Eyes and antennal pits located very low on face, close to epistomal suture, almost at the same level. Fastigium wide, almost four times as wide as scape. Maxillary palpi with the 4 th and 5 th longer, apical segment of labial palpi flattened. Thorax. Pronotum longer than wide, covered by several and mid-sized hairs; anterior margin concave and broader than posterior margin, with long bristles; lateral lobules rectangular, wider than high and with a rounded lateral edge, ventral margin almost straight. Wings. Tegmina short and ovoid, reaching to the second abdominal tergite. Mirror in oval shape, longer than wide, with a curved dividing vein; harp with three dividing veins; apical field reduced; lateral field two longitudinal veins from base to apex, and ten transversal veins born from the second longitudinal vein to costal margin. Hind wings no visible. Legs. Coxa and trochanter not elongated. Foreleg robust with long setae, large and oval tympana in both sides, on middle of fore tibiae; three movable dactyls on apical part of fore tibiae, first tarsomere almost as long as fore tibiae, other two tarsomere short. Mid leg slender, coxa robust, with a process partly covering trochanter; femur slightly slenderer than fore femur; tibia slightly inflated, shorter than femur, armed at apex with three inner spurs and two outer spurs. Hind leg elongated, femur strong, tibia with several small spines on dorsal side at apex. Three internal apical spurs long, and two external apical spurs short. The first and third tarsomere long and the second one short. Abdomen cylindrical; tergites with few short hairs; epiproctus subtriangular, apex rounded; subgenital plate short, wider than long, apex rounded; cerci almost as long as the two-thirds of hind tibia, covered by abundant medium-sized hairs. Female (emended description; based on specimens ECNU-AM-0002 and ECUN-AM-0024, Figs. 4, 5). Similar to the males in shape and size, differing by the following characters: the color tones are darker than the males, but keep the same pattern. Tegmina absent. Abdomen with hairs and several long bristles on dorsal side. Epiproct triangular, with rounded posterior margin. Ovipositor almost straight, apex of valves sharp, pointed, and lanceolate in dorsal view. Subgenital plate trapezoidal, apex moderately protruding. Male nymph (based on specimen ECNU-AM-0045, Fig. 6). Similar to the adult males, but no developed wings, with a more fragile and slender appearance. It differs from the adults, because the tympana are smaller in diameter than the other adult specimens examined. The small tympana in immature specimens can happen. This structure increases its size in adults. Measurements (mm). Adult male ECNU-AM-0019 (Fig. 1, 2): BL: 8.07; HL: 1.07; PL: 1.57; PW: 1.43; FWL: 2.18; FFL: 1.61; FTL: 1.04; MFL: 1.41; MTL: 1.09; HFL: 3.15; HTL: 1.82; AL: 5.14; CL: 2.26. Adult male ECNU-AM-0010 (Fig. 3): PL: 1.47; PW: 1.33; FWL: 2.05; FFL: 0.98; FTL: 1.06; Body broken, uncertain for else. Adult female ECNU-AM-0002 (Fig. 4): BL: 8.20; HL: 1.21; PL: 1.69 PW: 1.71 FFL: 1.56; FTL: 0.97; MFL: 1.91; MTL: not visible; HFL: 3.63; HTL: 2.54; AL: 4.63, OL: 1.82. Adult female ECNU-AM-0024 (Fig. 5): BL: 5.24; HL: 1.06; PL: 1.60; PW: uncertain; FFL: 1.45; FTL: 0.95; MTL: 1.42, femur and tarsus incomplete; HFL: 3.34, HTL: 2.56; AL: 3.82, CL: 2.39, OL: 1.72. Nymph ECNU-AM-0045 (Fig. 6): BL: 5.22; HL: 0.87; PL: 1.33, PW: uncertain; FFL: 1.40; FTL: 0.83; MFL: 0.97, MTL: 0.82; HFL: 2.49; HTL: 1.71; AL: 3.25; CL: 1.67. Remarks. Synonymy and new combination at the species level are justified as follows: 1) † P. micromorphus Poinar et al. 2020 is a subadult female specimen, which looks different in the shape of the pronotum in contrast to the holotype of † P. rectanguli n. comb. (a subadult male). However, when the photos of specimens are taken from different angles, an optical effect will be caused, which confuses us to consider them as different shapes. This can be happened in the additional specimens of † P. rectanguli n. comb. studied here. The fore tibia does not vary in both specimens. Only in the holotype of P. rectangulari n. comb., a bending of the ventral edge is observed, but this can happen due to dehydration during fossilization. However, we prefer to keep this species as valid, since the subadult female holotype specimen of † P. micromorphus had a wing pad, which is different from the adult females of † P. rectangulari n. comb. 2) † C. fania n. syn. is an adult male specimen. In the images of the original description, its diagnostic characters coincide with † P. rectanguli n. comb. in terms of the shape of fore tibia, apical spurs organization and shape, and location of the spurs of hind tibia. The hind tibiae are thin and moderately elongated, and the shape of pronotum and its spots coincide in these specimens. Unfortunately, the venation of † C. fania n. syn. is not observed due to preservation.Although the subgenital plate of † C. fania n. syn. dehydrated in fossilization process and coiled dorsally, it still could be observed in a triangular shape, which is similar to those of field crickets in a semicircle shape. 3) † Tresdigitus gracilis n. syn. is a nymph of indefinite sex (possibly female in penultimate or ultimate instar), not as developed as the two “species” previously synonymized. In the key presented in the original description by Jiang et al., 2022, the arrangement of head and the shape of pronotum are some of the characters proposed by the authors to distinguish the species from † P. rectanguli n. comb. The disposition of the head can vary in the way that insects die, and thus remains when fossilized. In contrast to † P. rectanguli n. comb., its head is in a normal position, locating mouthparts down (hypognathous/ hypognathous mandible). Other characters that stand out in † T. gracilis n. syn. is the moderately expanded fore tibia, and the small tympanum. However, it is common for crickets that they are different in these characters in their early stages. Through molting and growth, the tympanum becomes larger, and the tibiae attains the shape final in the last stages of insect development (Table 2; Ball and Cowan, 1978). In this study, we provide well-preserved males, females, and nymphal specimens, in which most of the morphological characters can be studied. It is applicable to verify the similarities and differences with the other recently described fossil taxa of “Mole Crickets” with those specimens. In terms of coloration, it was feasible to show that the coloration of † P. micromorphus is similar to those of the two males studied here. † P. rectanguli n. comb. has the same color pattern, but its image was darker in the original description (possibly due to a lack of brightness or light from the photographic record). For † C. fania n. syn., the same issue happened as mentioned above. All the specimens in the different stages of development have similar coloration, with two distinct large dark “eyespots” of similar shape; lower half of the anterior lobe of the yellow pronotum; shape and location of apical spurs of fore tibia; hind tibia serrulate with small spines; apex with conspicuous slender spines. The number of dorsal spines on legs is not reliable classification characters due to its intraspecific variation, which may be different from one leg to the other leg on one specimen (Cadena-Castañeda et al. 2022b). We consider † Pherodactylus micromorphus and † P. rectanguli n. comb. as valid genus and species. Both genera were described in 2020, and the original description of † P. micromorphus is available on March of 2020, while † Tresdigitus rectanguli is published on August of 2020. It is worth noting that Poinar et al. (2020) proposed a more reasonable taxonomic placement of its genus and species than the other authors, consisting with our results discussed and analyzed here. † Burmagryllotalpa longa is proposed to move under Gryllidae: Gryllinae: Sclerogryllini: Pherodactylina n. subtr. Although this species shares some morphologies with † Pherodactylus species, † B. longa completely lacks tympanum, and its pronotum is dorsally curved without spots on pronotal disc that characterize † Pherodactylus species. Thus, we consider † B. longa as valid.

† Pherodactylus Poinar, Su & Brown, 2020 = † Tresdigitus Xu, Fang & Wang, 2020 n. syn. = † Chunxiania Xu, Wang & Fang, 2022 n. syn. Diagnosis. Head round, pronotum elongate, longer than the wide, middle of pronotal disk with two distinct large dark “eyespots”, foreleg robust, with three apical spurs arranged on the inner side of fore tibia. Included species. † Pherodactylus micromorphus Poinar, Su & Brown, 2020 (type species by monotypy and original designation) and † Pherodactylus rectanguli (Xu, Fang & Wang, 2020) n. comb. Remarks. We treated genera † Tresdigitus n. syn. and Chunxiania n. syn. as synonyms of genus Pherodactylus Poinar, Su & Brown, 2020. We propose the genera and their species as synonyms or relocated: genera † Tresdigitus n. syn. and Chunxiania n. syn. as synonyms of genus Pherodactylus Poinar, Su & Brown, 2020, and † Tresdigitus gracilis Jiang, Xu, Jarzembowski & Xiao, 2022 n. syn. and † Chunxiania fania n. syn. as synonyms of † Pherodactylus rectanguli n. comb. The type specimen of each species represents different stages of the same species (Table 2), and they are all from the same locality. Besides, their morphological characters coincide with the diagnostic characters of † Pherodactylus. For additional taxonomic justifications, see † P. rectanguli n. comb. remarks., Published as part of Cadena-Castañeda, Oscar J., Liu, Yi-Jiao, Yu, Zhe-Yuan, Hu, Tian-Hao, Wu, Shi-Yang & He, Zhu-Qing, 2023, Are the recently described fossil Mole Crickets of Myanmar amber real gryllotalpids? (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae & Gryllidae), pp. 48-64 in Zootaxa 5311 (1) on page 52, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5311.1.2, http://zenodo.org/record/8090321, {"references":["Poinar Jr., G., Su, Y. N. & Brown, A. E. (2020) A new genus of crickets (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) in Mid-Cretaceous Myanmar Amber. Biosis: Biological Systems, 1 (1), 33 - 38. https: // doi. org / 10.37819 / biosis. 001.01.0049","Wang, H., Lei, X., Zhang, G., Xu, C., Fang, Y. & Zhang, H. (2020) The earliest Gryllotalpinae (Insecta, Orthoptera, Gryllotalpidae) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Cretaceous Research, 107, 104292. https: // doi. org / 10.1016 / j. cretres. 2019.104292","Xu, C., Wang, H., Fang, Y., Jarzembowski, E. A. & Zhuo, D. (2022) Chunxiania fania: a new genus and species of mole cricket (Orthoptera: Ensifera: Gryllotalpidae) from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber. Cretaceous Research, 134, 105 - 159. https: // doi. org / 10.1016 / j. cretres. 2022.105159","Jiang, X., Xu, C., Jarzembowski, E. A. & Xiao, C. (2022) A peculiar species of mole cricket (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae) from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber. Cretaceous Research, 139, 1 - 6. https: // doi. org / 10.1016 / j. cretres. 2022.105273"]}

Cadena-Castañeda, Oscar J., Liu, Yi-Jiao, Yu, Zhe-Yuan, Hu, Tian-Hao, Wu, Shi-Yang, He, Zhu-Qing (2023): Are the recently described fossil Mole Crickets of Myanmar amber real gryllotalpids? (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae & Gryllidae). Zootaxa 5311 (1): 48-64, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5311.1.2, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5311.1.2

Tribe Sclerogryllini Gorochov, 1985 Remarks. This tribe was described by Saussure (1877) as “Légion des Scléropterites”, including Acanthoplistus Saussure, 1877, and Scleropterus Haan, 1844. Subsequently, this taxon was treated as a subfamily by Shiraki (1930), and this status was followed by Chopard (1934, 1936) and Desutter (1987). Gorochov (1985) proposed a new name Sclerogryllus for Scleropterus Haan, 1844, which has been used for Scleropterus Schoenherr, 1825 (Coleoptera). At the same time, Gorochov also established the tribal status as Sclerogryllini, with Sclerogryllus as the type genus under Gryllinae. Otte (1994) argued that according to the nomenclatural change proposed by Gorochov, the subfamily name should be changed to Sclerogryllinae. Otte used the name Sclerogryllinae for the first time, and this was followed by Storozhenko et al. (2015). Recently, Yu et al. (2022) published a complete mitochondrial genome of cricket Sclerogryllus punctatus. By phylogenetic analysis, they verified that Sclerogryllus was grouped within the Gryllinae clade. Therefore, Sclerogryllinae should be treated as a synonym of Gryllinae, and Gorochov’s tribe Sclerogryllini under Gryllinae is recommended rather than a different subfamily from field crickets. Sclerogryllini is a monogeneric tribe, with five species distributed in Asia. Rhabdotogryllus caraboides Chopard, 1954 from Guinea (Africa), is only known from its holotype female, and no additional records have been reported since its description. R. caraboides is superficially similar to Sclerogryllus females, but possessing more conspicuous dorsal spurs on the hind tibia. Thus, the homology of Rhabdotogryllus and Sclerogryllus is still a question, and Sclerogryllini probably only occurs in Asia. Here, we propose a new fossil subtribe that more closely resembles extant Sclerogryllini species in morphology than any other tribal taxon of field crickets. Additionally, a key to separate the taxa of the tribe is provided., Published as part of Cadena-Castañeda, Oscar J., Liu, Yi-Jiao, Yu, Zhe-Yuan, Hu, Tian-Hao, Wu, Shi-Yang & He, Zhu-Qing, 2023, Are the recently described fossil Mole Crickets of Myanmar amber real gryllotalpids? (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae & Gryllidae), pp. 48-64 in Zootaxa 5311 (1) on page 51, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5311.1.2, http://zenodo.org/record/8090321, {"references":["Gorochov, A. V. (1985) On the Orthoptera subfamily of Gryllinae (Orthoptera, Gryllidae) from eastern Indochina. In: Medvedev, L. N. (Ed.), Fauna iekologiya nasekomykh Vetnama [The fauna and ecology of insects of Vietnam], 1985, pp. 9 - 17.","Saussure, H. (1877) Melanges orthopterologiques V. fascicule Gryllides. Memoires de la Societe de Physique et d'Histoire Naturelle de Geneve, 25 (1), 169 - 504.","Shiraki, T. (1930) Orthoptera of the Japanese Empire. Part I. (Gryllotalpidae and Gryllidae). Insecta Matsumurana, 4, 181 - 252.","Chopard, L. (1934) Catalogues raisonnes de la faune entomologique du Congo belge. Orthopteres - Gryllides. Annales du Musee du Congo belge Tervueren, Belgique, Zoologie, 3 (2), 4, 1 - 88.","Chopard, L. (1936) The Tridactylidae and Gryllidae of Ceylon. Ceylon Journal of Science (Biological Science), 20, 9 - 87.","Desutter, L. (1987) Structure et evolution du complexe phallique de Gryllidea (Orthopteres) et classification des genres neotropicauxde Grylloidea. Premiere partie. Annales de la Societe Entomologique de France, New Series, 23 (3), 213 - 239.","Otte, D. (1994) Crickets (Grylloidea). Orthoptera Species File. Vol. 1. Orthopterist' Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, iv + 120 pp.","Storozhenko, S. Y., Kim, T. W. & Jeon, M. J. (2015) Monograph of Korean Orthoptera. National Institute of Biological Resources, Incheon, 377 pp.","Yu, Z., Xie, H., Liu, Y., Li, K. & He, Z. (2022) The complete mitochondrial genome of cricket Sclerogryllus punctatus (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) and phylogenetic analysis. Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology, 25 (3), 1 - 9. https: // doi. org / 10.1016 / j. aspen. 2022.101933"]}

A zipped ASCII data file, "fields5D.txt", containing the data used from the simulation of Liu et al. (2018) referenced in the paper, a readme file, "fields5D_README.txt", describing the data in the data file, and a draft copy of the paper, "Determining the orientation of a magnetic reconnection X line and implications for a 2D coordinate system", by Denton et al.

Tissue defects can be accompanied by functional impairments that affect the health and quality of life of patients. Hydrogels are three-dimensional (3D) hydrophilic polymer networks that can be used as bionic functional tissues to fill or repair damaged tissue as a promising therapeutic strategy in the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. This paper summarises and discusses four outstanding advantages of hydrogels and their applications and advances in the repair and regeneration of tissue defects. First, hydrogels have physicochemical properties similar to the extracellular matrix of natural tissues, providing a good microenvironment for cell proliferation, migration and differentiation. Second, hydrogels have excellent shape adaptation and tissue adhesion properties, allowing them to be applied to a wide range of irregularly shaped tissue defects and to adhere well to the defect for sustained and efficient repair function. Third, the hydrogel is an intelligent delivery system capable of releasing therapeutic agents on demand. Hydrogels are capable of delivering therapeutic reagents and releasing therapeutic substances with temporal and spatial precision depending on the site and state of the defect. Fourth, hydrogels are self-healing and can maintain their integrity when damaged. We then describe the application and research progress of functional hydrogels in the repair and regeneration of defects in bone, cartilage, skin, muscle and nerve tissues. Finally, we discuss the challenges faced by hydrogels in the field of tissue regeneration and provide an outlook on their future trends.

A free-space optics (FSO) based fronthaul final drop is proposed, enabling cost-effective remote unit deployment. Experimental results show >45dB RF dynamic range and an EVM of 1.1% for a 2x20MHz 64QAM RF signal.

IntroductionCrohn's disease (CD) is a major subtype of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a spectrum of chronic intestinal disorders caused by dysregulated immune responses to gut microbiota. Although transcriptional and functional changes in a number of immune cell types have been implicated in the pathogenesis of IBD, the cellular interactions and signals that drive these changes have been less well-studied.MethodsWe performed Cellular Indexing of Transcriptomes and Epitopes by sequencing on peripheral blood, colon, and ileal immune cells derived from healthy subjects and patients with CD. We applied a previously published computational approach, NicheNet, to predict immune cell types interacting with CD8 + T-cell subsets, revealing putative ligand-receptor pairs and key transcriptional changes downstream of these cell-cell communications.ResultsAs a number of recent studies have revealed a potential role for CD8 + T-cell subsets in the pathogenesis of IBD, we focused our analyses on identifying the interactions of CD8 + T-cell subsets with other immune cells in the intestinal tissue microenvironment. We identified ligands and signaling pathways that have implicated in IBD, such as interleukin-1β, supporting the validity of the approach, along with unexpected ligands, such as granzyme B, which may play previously unappreciated roles in IBD.DiscussionOverall, these findings suggest that future efforts focused on elucidating cell-cell communications among immune and nonimmune cell types may further our understanding of IBD pathogenesis.

IntroductionDepression is a common mental disorder that affects approximately 350 million people worldwide. Much remains unknown about the molecular mechanisms underlying this complex disorder. Sigma-1 receptor (Sig-1R) is expressed at high levels in the central nervous system. Increasing evidence has demonstrated a close association between the Sig-1R and depression. Recently, research has suggested that the gut microbiota may play a crucial role in the development of depression.MethodsMale Sig-1R knockout (Sig-1R KO) and wild-type (WT) mice were used for this study. All transgenic mice were of a pure C57BL/6J background. Mice received a daily gavage of vancomycin (100 mg/kg), neomycin sulfate (200 mg/kg), metronidazole (200 mg/kg), and ampicillin (200 mg/kg) for one week to deplete gut microbiota. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) was conducted to assess the effects of gut microbiota. Depression-like behaviors was evaluated by tail suspension test (TST), forced swimming test (FST) and sucrose preference test (SPT). Gut microbiota was analyzed by 16s rRNA and hippocampal transcriptome changes were assessed by RNA-seq.ResultsWe found that Sig-1R knockout induced depression-like behaviors in mice, including a significant reduction in immobility time and an increase in latency to immobility in the FST and TST, which was reversed upon clearance of gut microbiota with antibiotic treatment. Sig-1R knockout significantly altered the composition of the gut microbiota. At the genus level, the abundance of Alistipes, Alloprevotella, and Lleibacterium decreased significantly. Gut microbiota dysfunction and depression-like phenotypes in Sig-1R knockout mice could be reproduced through FMT experiments. Additionally, hippocampal RNA sequencing identified multiple KEGG pathways that are associated with depression. We also discovered that the cAMP/CREB/BDNF signaling pathway is inhibited in the Sig-1R KO group along with lower expression of neurotrophic factors including CTNF, TGF-α and NGF. Fecal bacteria transplantation from Sig-1R KO mice also inhibited cAMP/CREB/BDNF signaling pathway.DiscussionIn our study, we found that the gut-brain axis may be a potential mechanism through which Sig-1R regulates depression-like behaviors. Our study provides new insights into the mechanisms by which Sig-1R regulates depression and further supports the concept of the gut-brain axis.

Knowledge Graph Embedding (KGE) aims to learn representations for entities and relations. Most KGE models have gained great success, especially on extrapolation scenarios. Specifically, given an unseen triple (h, r, t), a trained model can still correctly predict t from (h, r, ?), or h from (?, r, t), such extrapolation ability is impressive. However, most existing KGE works focus on the design of delicate triple modeling function, which mainly tells us how to measure the plausibility of observed triples, but offers limited explanation of why the methods can extrapolate to unseen data, and what are the important factors to help KGE extrapolate. Therefore in this work, we attempt to study the KGE extrapolation of two problems: 1. How does KGE extrapolate to unseen data? 2. How to design the KGE model with better extrapolation ability? For the problem 1, we first discuss the impact factors for extrapolation and from relation, entity and triple level respectively, propose three Semantic Evidences (SEs), which can be observed from train set and provide important semantic information for extrapolation. Then we verify the effectiveness of SEs through extensive experiments on several typical KGE methods. For the problem 2, to make better use of the three levels of SE, we propose a novel GNN-based KGE model, called Semantic Evidence aware Graph Neural Network (SE-GNN). In SE-GNN, each level of SE is modeled explicitly by the corresponding neighbor pattern, and merged sufficiently by the multi-layer aggregation, which contributes to obtaining more extrapolative knowledge representation. Finally, through extensive experiments on FB15k-237 and WN18RR datasets, we show that SE-GNN achieves state-of-the-art performance on Knowledge Graph Completion task and performs a better extrapolation ability. Our code is available at https://github.com/renli1024/SE-GNN., Comment: Accepted by AAAI'22

We present a novel OWC transmitter employing a 5×5 multi-mode VCSEL array, plano-convex lenses and micro-lens arrays. It is shown that each VCSEL generates 90% beam uniformity across a square atto-cell of 20 cm × 20cm with low interference to adjacent cells. A single VCSEL experimentally achieves 8 Gb/s data transmission using OOK modulation and DFE over a 3 m link using a Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) receiver. The designed transmitter can therefore provide an aggregate capacity of up to 200 Gb/s over a 1 m² area, meeting future wireless demands.

The subgenus Cerasus, one of the most important groups in the genus Prunus sensu lato, comprises over 100 species; however, the taxonomic classification and phylogenetic relationships of Cerasus remain controversial. Therefore, it is necessary to reconstruct the phylogenetic tree for known Cerasus species. Here, we report the chloroplast (cp) genome sequences of 11 Cerasus species to provide insight into evolution of the plastome. The cp genomes of the 11 Cerasus species (157,571–158,830 bp) displayed a typical quadripartite circular structure. The plastomes contain 115 unique genes, including 80 protein-coding genes, four ribosomal RNAs, and 31 transfer RNAs. Twenty genes were found to be duplicated in inverted repeats as well as at the boundary. The conserved non-coding sequences showed significant divergence compared with the coding regions. We found 12 genes and 14 intergenic regions with higher nucleotide diversity and more polymorphic sites, including matK, rps16, rbcL, rps16-trnQ, petN-psbM, and trnL-trnF. During cp plastome evolution, the codon profile has been strongly biased toward the use of A/T at the third base, and leucine and isoleucine codons appear the most frequently. We identified strong purifying selection on the rpoA, cemA, atpA, and petB genes; whereas ccsA, rps19, matK, rpoC2, ycf2 and ndhI showed a signature of possible positive selection during the course of Cerasus evolution. In addition, we further analyzed the phylogenetic relationships of these species with 57 other congenic related species.Through reconstructing the Cerasus phylogeny tree, we found that true cherry is similar to the flora of China forming a distinct group, from which P. mahaleb was separated as an independent subclade. Microcerasus was genetically closer to Amygdalus, Armeniaca, and Prunus (sensu stricto) than to members of true cherry, whereas P. japonica and P. tomentosa were most closely related to P. triloba and P. pedunculata. However, P. tianshanica formed a clade with P. cerasus, P. fruticosa, P. cerasus × P. canescens ‘Gisela 6’, and P. avium as a true cherry group. These results provide new insights into the plastome evolution of Cerasus, along with potential molecular markers and candidate DNA barcodes for further phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses of Cerasus species.

The charge transport properties of conjugated polymers are commonly limited by the energetic disorder. Recently, several amorphous conjugated polymers with planar backbone conformations and low energetic disorder have been investigated for applications in field-effect transistors and thermoelectrics. However, there is a lack of strategy to finely tune the interchain π-π contacts of these polymers that severely restricts the energetic disorder of interchain charge transport. Here, we demonstrate that it is feasible to achieve excellent conductivity and thermoelectric performance in polymers based on thiophene-fused benzodifurandione oligo( p -phenylenevinylene) through reducing the crystallization rate of side chains and, in this way, carefully controlling the degree of interchain π-π contacts. N-type (p-type) conductivities of more than 100 S cm −1 (400 S cm −1 ) and power factors of more than 200 μW m −1 K −2 (100 μW m −1 K −2 ) were achieved within a single polymer doped by different dopants. It further demonstrated the state-of-the-art power output of the first flexible single-polymer thermoelectric generator.

The gut microbiota is a dynamic and highly diverse microbial ecosystem that affects many aspects of the host’s physiology. An improved understanding of the gut microbiota could lead to better strategies for the diagnosis and therapy of cryptococcal meningitis (CM), but the impact of Cryptococcus infection and anti-fungal treatment on the gut microbiota has rarely been studied. We characterized the diversity and composition of the gut microbiota in CM patients at diagnosis and healthy controls (HCs) using metagenomic sequencing and determined the effects of anti-fungal drugs. We found that CM patients had distinct bacterial and fungal compositions compared with HCs, with eight differentially abundant fungal and 72 differentially abundant bacterial species identified between the two groups. CM patients showed an increased abundance of Enterococcus avium, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, and Weissella cibaria, and a decreased abundance of Prevotella spp. compared with HCs. However, anti-fungal treatment only led to minor changes in the intestinal microbiota. Moreover, both positive and negative correlations existed in fungal, bacterial, and clinical indicators. Our study suggests that the Cryptococcus neoformans infection caused a distinct dysbiosis of the gut microbiota and contributes valuable information implying potential links between the CM and gut microbiota.

Alternaria alternata is a necrotrophic fungal pathogen with a broad host range that causes widespread and devastating disease in sweet cherry (Prunus avium). We selected a resistant cultivar (RC) and a susceptible cultivar (SC) of cherry and used a combined physiological, transcriptomic, and metabolomic approach to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the plant’s resistance to A. alternata, of which little is known. We found that A. alternata infection stimulated the outbreak of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cherry. The responses of the antioxidant enzymes and chitinase to disease were observed earlier in the RC than in the SC. Moreover, cell wall defense ability was stronger in the RC. Differential genes and metabolites involved in defense responses and secondary metabolism were primarily enriched in the biosynthesis of phenylpropanoids, tropane, piperidine and pyridine alkaloids, flavonoids, amino acids, and α-linolenic acid. Reprogramming the phenylpropanoid pathway and the α-linolenic acid metabolic pathway led to lignin accumulation and early induction of jasmonic acid signaling, respectively, in the RC, which consequently enhanced antifungal and ROS scavenging activity. The RC contained a high level of coumarin, and in vitro tests showed that coumarin significantly inhibited A. alternata growth and development and had antifungal effect on cherry leaves. In addition, differentially expressed genes encoding transcription factors from the MYB, NAC, WRKY, ERF, and bHLH families were highly expressed, they could be the key responsive factor in the response of cherry to infection by A. alternata. Overall, this study provides molecular clues and a multifaceted understanding of the specific response of cherry to A. alternata.

Anti-glutamic acid decarboxylase (anti-GAD) antibodies are associated with different types of syndromes. However, few studies have investigated the correlation between anti-GAD antibody titers with clinical severity and outcomes in children with encephalitis/encephalopathy. In this single-center retrospective cohort study, we consecutively enrolled hospitalized children who had encephalitis and/or encephalopathy with positive anti-GAD antibodies in serum and/or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from February 2010 to October 2021. Thirty-seven patients were included and divided into high-titer and low-titer groups. The patients with high anti-GAD antibody titers were associated with initial symptoms of language difficulty and ataxia. The level of titers was not associated with severity or outcomes. Anti-GAD antibody titers decreased after immunotherapy, however, the clinical response to immunotherapy was variable. A transient elevation in anti-GAD antibody titers during immunotherapy was noted. Further studies are warranted to investigate the role of anti-GAD antibodies in the pathogenesis and immune mechanisms of encephalitis/encephalopathy.

Introduction: Luscan-Lumish syndrome (LLS) is currently recognized as a rarely-observed condition featured with overgrowth, macrocephaly, obesity, type I Chiari malformation, and linguistic retardation. So far, there have been only a few LLS cases registered worldwide, but with none of them reported from China. To acquire a deeper understanding on the clinical and genetic features of this disease, a Chinese boy with LLS caused by a heterozygous variant in SETD2 gene was investigated in the present study.Methods: The patient was clinically examined and the medical history of his family was collected. Genetic testing was performed to determine the genetic etiology.Results: The proband was a boy aged 5-year-7-month-old, who was referred to our hospital due to “being a slow learner in kindergarten”. The child had a history of delayed motor and language development in comparison to his peers. After admission, physical examination revealed tall stature and macrocephaly as the major manifestation, in addition to a relatively lower rating in intelligence assessment as well as abnormal MRI images showing a slightly shorter corpus callosum accompanied by a mildly thinner corpus callosum body. Whole exome sequencing (WES) revealed a heterozygous c.2514_2516delTAG (p.Ser838del) variant in SETD2 gene, which was subsequently identified as a novel de novo variant. According to the standardized genetic variant classification published by the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG), the variant, with a pathogenicity analysis result indicating PS2 + PM2_Supporting + PM4, was determined to be likely pathogenic. Through literature review, the clinical phenotypes of the 15 LLS cases were summarized, including 8 cases of overgrowth (53%), 13 cases of macrocephaly (87%), 11 cases of developmental delay (73%), 8 cases of autism (53%), and 7 cases of special facial features (47%). Besides, abnormal craniocerebral MRI findings were noticed in 7 cases. Despite that the mutation sites of the 15 patients varied from case to case, they showed a uniformly distributed pattern throughout the whole SETD2 gene, including 5 missense mutations, 5 frameshift mutations and 5 non-sense mutations.Conclusion: LLS, not having been recognized till recent years, is identified as an autosomal dominant syndrome triggered by SETD2 gene mutation. As the first report of LLS in China, the case in our study was proved to be associated with a unique type of SETD2 gene mutation that has never been reported previously, which is believed to enrich the mutation spectrum of SETD2 gene and also, deepening the clinicians’ understanding on the disease.

Aiming at the control system of permanent magnet synchronous servo motor which is easily affected by external disturbance and parameter uncertainty, a single neuron sliding mode combining single neuron adaptive algorithm and super-twisting sliding mode (STSM) control is proposed. The STSM control is used to overcome the chattering problem in the traditional sliding mode control, and the proportional control and the STSM control are combined to enhance the robustness of the control system. In order to improve the dynamic performance of the system and enhance the anti-disturbance ability of the system, the single neuron adaptive control adopted can adjust the relevant parameters of the designed sliding mode controller online. The simulation and experimental results show that the designed improved sliding mode controller can effectively suppress the chattering of the control system, realize the fast following and no overshoot of the control system, and enhance the robustness of the system.

IntroductionThe genetic association between depression and migraine has not been well investigated in Asian populations. Furthermore, the genetic basis of depression and comorbid migraine subtypes remains nebulous. Hence, in the current study we investigate the susceptibility loci associated with depression and migraine comorbidity in the Han Chinese population in Taiwan.MethodsWe perform a genome-wide association study involving 966 migraine patients, with or without comorbid depression. Genotyping is performed using participant genomic DNA. Association analyses are performed for the entire migraine cohort (subgroups: episodic migraine, chronic migraine, and migraine with or without aura).ResultsResults show that the single nucleotide polymorphism variants of the CDH4 intron region (rs78063755), NTRK3-AS1 downstream region (rs57729223), and between LINC01918 and GPR45 (rs2679891) are suggestively associated with depression. Twenty additional susceptibility loci occur within the subgroups. A multivariate association study demonstrated that a variant in the intron region of CDH4 rs78063755 was associated with Beck Depression Inventory and Migraine Disability Assessment scores.DiscussionThe findings of this study identify several genetic loci suggestively associated with depression among migraine patients in the Han Chinese population. Moreover, a potential genetic basis has been characterized for depression and migraine comorbidity, thus providing genetic candidates for further investigation.

Background and purposeAcute aortic dissection (AAD) is a life-threatening cardiovascular emergency. Both neutrophil granzyme and interleukin (IL)-33/ST2 systems have proven to be effective diagnostic markers for AAD. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between plasma IL-33, soluble suppression of tumorigenesis-2 (sST2), myeloperoxidase (MPO), and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 levels at admission and all-cause mortality in patients with AAD.MethodsA total of 155 patients with AAD were enrolled from the Prospective Evaluation of Acute Chest Pain (PEACP) study. Plasma concentrations of IL-33, sST2, and MMP-9 were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and MPO was detected using a chemiluminescence immunoassay. Aortic anatomical parameters were measured using CT radiography. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality rate.ResultsThe median age of the patients was 55 years, and 96 (61.9%) were diagnosed with type A-AAD. After adjusting for confounding factors, the highest tertiles of IL-33, sST2, MPO, and MMP-9 had hazard risks of 0.870 (95% CI: 0.412–1.836, P = 0.714), 3.769 (95% CI: 1.504–9.446, P = 0.005), 4.689 (95% CI: 1.985–11.076, P < 0.001), and 4.748 (95% CI: 1.763–12.784, P = 0.002), respectively, compared to the lowest tertile. Pearson’s correlation analysis revealed a significant correlation between these markers (P < 0.001). Moreover, sST2, MPO, and MMP-9 levels had a significant positive correlation with aortic diameter and pseudolumen area (P < 0.001).ConclusionThe biomarkers sST2, MPO, and MMP-9 were independently associated with mortality in patients with AAD. The significant correlation between these biomarkers suggests a pathogenic role for the IL-33/ST2/neutrophil granzyme system in patients with AAD.

Background: Inherited kidney diseases (IKDs) are a group of kidney diseases characterized by abnormal kidney structure or function caused by genetic factors, but they are not easily diagnosed in childhood due to either nonspecific symptoms and signs or clinically silent symptoms in the early stages until the progressive stages, even end-stages. Early diagnosis of IKDs is very urgent for timely treatment and improving outcomes of patients. So far, the etiological diagnosis has been accelerated with the advance of clinical genetic technology, particularly the advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS) that is not only a powerful tool for prompt and accurate diagnosis of IKDs but also gives therapy guidance to decrease the risk of unnecessary and harmful interventions.Methods: The patients presenting with urinalysis abnormalities or structural abnormalities from 149 Chinese families were enrolled in this study. The clinical features of the patients were collected, and the potentially causative gene variants were detected using exome sequencing. The clinical diagnostic utility of the genetic testing was assessed after more detailed clinical data were analyzed.Result: In total, 55 patients identified having causative variants by exome sequencing were genetically diagnosed, encompassing 16 (29.1%) autosomal dominant IKDs, 16 (29.1%) autosomal recessive IKDs, and 23 (41.8%) X-linked IKDs, with 25 unreported and 45 reported variants. The diagnostic yield was 36.9%. The utility of the exome sequencing was accessed, 12 patients (21.8%) were confirmed to have suspected IKDs, 26 patients (47.3%) discerned the specific sub-types of clinical category, and 17 patients (30.9%) with unknown etiology or lack of typical manifestations were reclassified.Conclusion: Our study supported that genetic testing plays a crucial role in the early diagnosis for children with IKDs, which affected follow-up treatment and prognostic assessment in clinical practice. Moreover, the variant spectrum associated with IKDs was expanded.

Nitrogen ions pumped by intense femtosecond laser pulses give rise to optical amplification in the ultraviolet range. Here, we demonstrated that a seed light pulse carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) can be significantly amplified in nitrogen plasma excited by a Gaussian femtosecond laser pulse. With the topological charge of +1 and -1, we observed an energy amplification of the seed light pulse by two orders of magnitude, while the amplified pulse carries the same OAM as the incident seed pulse. Moreover, we show that a spatial misalignment of the plasma amplifier with the OAM seed beam leads to an amplified emission of Gaussian mode without OAM, due to the special spatial profile of the OAM seed pulse that presents a donut-shaped intensity distribution. Utilizing this misalignment, we can implement an optical switch that toggles the output signal between Gaussian mode and OAM mode. This work not only certifies the phase transfer from the seed light to the amplified signal, but also highlights the important role of spatial overlap of the donut-shaped seed beam with the gain region of the nitrogen plasma for the achievement of OAM beam amplification., Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures

Magnetic reconnection and plasma turbulence are ubiquitous processes important for laboratory, space and astrophysical plasmas. Reconnection has been suggested to play an important role in the energetics and dynamics of turbulence by observations, simulations and theory for two decades. The fundamental properties of reconnection at kinetic scales, essential to understanding reconnection in turbulence, remain largely unknown at present. Here we present an application of the magnetic flux transport method that can accurately identify reconnection in turbulence to a three-dimensional simulation. Contrary to ideas that reconnection in turbulence would be patchy and unpredictable, highly extended reconnection X-lines, on the same order of magnitude as the system size, form at kinetic scales. Extended X-lines develop through bi-directional reconnection spreading, and satisfy critical balance characteristic of turbulence. This presents a new picture of fundamentally extended reconnection in kinetic-scale turbulence., Comment: 7 pages, including supp material, submitted