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An improved RDN image super-resolution reconstruction network incorporating multi-scale residual dense network (MSRDN) was proposed to address the problem of inadequate use of image features in common single-image super-resolution (SISR) reconstruction networks. Firstly, the shallow features were extracted from the input low-resolution image. Then, the feature extraction module was jointly constructed using convolutional layers and local residual learning structures, and the multiplexed structure of the module at different scales was used to fully extract the multi-scale detail features of the image. Next, a top-down and bottom-up feature fusion module was constructed to fully fuse and correlate the collected multi-scale features to construct image features with richer detail information. Finally, the extracted features were sent to the image reconstruction module for the final super-resolution image reconstruction. The experimental results show that the proposed MSRDN network exhibits better visual results compared to networks such as SMSR on the three super-resolution benchmark sets of Set5, Set14 and BSD100, with the peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) the obtained peak singal improved by 0.8 dB on average, and structural similarity (SSIM) by an average of 0.02.

Basic region/leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factors function as critical regulators in numerous abiotic stress responses. Massive bZIPs have been systematically identified in plants, but not in sweetpotato. In this study, 87 sweetpotato IbbZIPs unevenly distributed onto 15 chromosomes were identified, and segmental duplications were shown to play dominant roles in the diversity of IbbZIPs. The collinearity between IbbZIPs and the related orthologs from nine plants depicted evolutionary insights into bZIP gene family. Additionally, IbbZIP proteins were clustered into 11 subfamilies while no members were found in the M subfamily, and the regularity of gene structures and conserved motifs was consistent with the subgroup classification. Evidence from transcriptome data and qRT-PCR analysis of 12 selected IbbZIPs revealed that they were significantly and varyingly induced under multiple abiotic stresses (salt, drought, heat and cold) and hormone treatments (ABA, ACC, JA and SA). Consistently, the promoters of IbbZIPs harbored multiple stress- and hormone-related cis-acting elements. Besides, IbbZIP17 and IbbZIP61 exhibited transactivation activity in yeasts, while IbbZIP-14/-69/-84 did not. These findings supply worthy foundations for further functional investigation of IbbZIPs , and multiple members may serve as promising regulators to enhance the abiotic stress tolerance of transgenic plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale and Objectives: This study aimed to determine the feasibility of using the deep learning (DL) method to determine the degree (whether myometrial invasion [MI] >50%) of MI in patients with endometrial cancer (EC) based on ultrasound (US) images., Materials and Methods: From September 2017 to April 2023, 1289 US images of 604 patients with EC who underwent surgical resection at center 1, center 2 or center 3 were obtained and divided into a training set and an internal validation set. Ninety-five patients from center 4 and center 5 were randomly selected as the external testing set according to the same criteria as those for the primary cohort. This study evaluated three DL models trained on the training set and tested them on the validation and testing sets. The models' performance was analyzed based on accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), and the performance of the models was subsequently compared with that of 15 radiologists., Results: In the final clinical diagnosis of MI in patients with EC, EfficientNet-B6 showed the best performance in the testing set in terms of area under the curve (AUC) [0.814, 95% CI (0.746-0.882]; accuracy [0.802, 95% CI (0.733-0.855]; sensitivity [0.623]; specificity [0.879]; positive likelihood ratio (PLR) [6.750]; and negative likelihood ratio (NLR) [0.389]. The diagnostic efficacy of EfficientNet-B6 was significantly better than that of the 15 radiologists, with an average diagnostic accuracy of 0.681, average AUC of 0.678, AUC of the best performance of 0.739, accuracy of 0.716, sensitivity of 0.806, specificity 0.672, PLR2.457, and NLR 0.289., Conclusion: Based on the preoperative US images of patients with EC, the DL model can accurately determine the degree of endometrial MI; the performance of this model is significantly better than that of radiologists, and it can effectively assist in clinical treatment decisions., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Xiachuan Qin reports financial support was provided by the Nanchong school science and technology strategic cooperation project (19SXHZ0165), Science and Technology Plan Project of Nanchong City (22JCYJPT0004) and Xiaoling Liu reports financial support was provided by the Nanchong Social Science Federation 14th Five-Year planning project (NC23B001)., (Copyright © 2024 The Association of University Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

One of the most effective treatments for diabetes is to design a glucose-regulated insulin (INS) delivery system that could adjust the INS release time and rate to reduce diabetes-related complications. Here, mixed multiple layer-by-layer (mmLbL)-INS microspheres were developed for glucose-mediated INS release and an enhanced hypoglycemic effect for diabetes care. To achieve ultrafast glucose-activated INS release, glucose oxidase (GOx) was assembled with a positively charged polymer and modified on INS LbL. The mmLbL-INS microspheres were constructed with one, two, and four layers of the polyelectrolyte LbL assembly at a ratio of 1:1:1. Under hyperglycemia, GOx converts a change in the hyperglycemic environment to a pH stimulus, thus providing sufficient hydrogen ion. The accumulated hydrogen ion starts LbL charge shifting, and anionic polymers are converted to cationic polymers through hydrolytic cleavage of amine-functionalized side chains. The results of in vitro INS release suggested that glucose can modulate the mmLbL-INS microspheres in a pulsatile profile. In vivo studies validated that this formulation enhanced the hypoglycemic effect in STZ-induced diabetic rats within 2 h of subcutaneous administration and facilitated stabilization of blood glucose levels for up to 2 days. This glucose-activatable LbL microsphere system could serve as a powerful tool for constructing a precisely controlled release system., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Yang, Wang, Yuan, Zhu, Chen and Xia.)

Introduction: Short course regimen has become the major trend in the field of adjuvant radiotherapy for patients with breast cancer. Hypofractionated radiotherapy (HF-RT) regimen of 40-42.5 Gy in 15-16 fractions has been established as a preferred option for whole breast irradiation. However, few evidences of hypofractionated regional nodal irradiation (RNI), especially involving internal mammary nodes (IMNs), could be available during the era of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). Against this background, we design this trial to explore the hypothesis that HF-RT regimen involving RNI (including infraclavicular, supraclavicular nodes and IMNs) will be non-inferior to a standard schedule by using IMRT technique., Methods and Analysis: This is an open-label randomised, non-inferior, multicentre phase III trial. Patients with breast cancer with an indication for RNI after breast conserving surgery or mastectomy are randomised at a ratio of 1:1 into the following two groups: hypofractionated regimen of 2.67 Gy for 16 fractions or conventional regimen of 2 Gy for 25 fractions. The dose was prescribed to ipsilateral chest wall or whole breast and RNI (including infraclavicular, supraclavicular nodes and IMNs, lower axilla if indicated). The trial plans to enrol a total of 801 patients and all patients will be treated using IMRT technique. The primary endpoint is 5-year locoregional recurrence. The secondary endpoints include 5-year distant metastasis free survival, invasive recurrence-free survival, overall survival, accumulative acute radiation-induced toxicity and accumulative late radiation-induced toxicity, cosmetic outcomes and quality of life., Ethics and Dissemination: The study has been approved by the Ethical Committee of Ruijin Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (version 2018-95-3) and approvals from ethical committee of each participating centre have also been obtained. Research findings will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals., Trial Registration Number: NCT03829553., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)