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Abstract Liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS), an emerging biophysical phenomenon, can sequester molecules to implement physiological and pathological functions. LLPS implements the assembly of numerous membraneless chambers, including stress granules and P‐bodies, containing RNA and protein. RNA–RNA and RNA–protein interactions play a critical role in LLPS. Scaffolding proteins, through multivalent interactions and external factors, support protein–RNA interaction networks to form condensates involved in a variety of diseases, particularly neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. Modulating LLPS phenomenon in multiple pathogenic proteins for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and cancer could present a promising direction, though recent advances in this area are limited. Here, we summarize in detail the complexity of LLPS in constructing signaling pathways and highlight the role of LLPS in neurodegenerative diseases and cancers. We also explore RNA modifications on LLPS to alter diseases progression because these modifications can influence LLPS of certain proteins or the formation of stress granules, and discuss the possibility of proper manipulation of LLPS process to restore cellular homeostasis or develop therapeutic drugs for the eradication of diseases. This review attempts to discuss potential therapeutic opportunities by elaborating on the connection between LLPS, RNA modification, and their roles in diseases.

Abstract Background Cervical cancer is the most common malignant tumor in women with a high mortality rate. However, the awareness and participation of women in cervical cancer screening were not high, and rare attention was paid to cervical cancer screening. The extensive promotion and execution of cervical cancer screening in China are still facing difficulties. In order to fully comprehend and evaluate the barriers and promote factors of cervical cancer screening in women, the objective of this study was to develop a scientifically sound and clinically useful Chinese cervical cancer screening intention scale. This study would allow for the development of targeted interventions which may contribute to the increase of individual participation in cervical cancer screening going forward. Methods This study used the Delphi method to construct a Chinese cervical cancer screening intention scale based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and evaluate its validity. The study was based on the overview of the TPB questionnaire proposed by Ajzen, and was conducted through the literature search and two rounds of the Delphi expert consultation. According to the literature search published from 2012 to 2022, the scale item pool was established and a questionnaire was designed. A survey of 16 experts from 6 different provinces, cities and regions in China was conducted, and the Delphi technique was used to collect and analyze expert opinions data. Results The final scale consisted of 4 dimensions and 23 items. The response rates in two rounds of expert consultation were 80% and 93.75%, respectively, with authority coefficients of 0.928 and 0.930. Variation coefficients varied from 0.07 to 0.21. Dimensions included “attitude towards behavior”, “subjective norm”, “perceived behavioral control” and “behavioral intention”. Conclusions Women’s cervical cancer screening intentions could be assessed with the scale, since it had high validity and reliability, as well as high authority and coordination, meanwhile affording explanations and improving the efficiency of interventions.

IntroductionCervical cancer is still one of the cancers threatening the health of Chinese women with high morbidity and mortality. However, the participation rate of cervical cancer screening (CCS) among women is low due to various reasons, so it is crucial to understand the factors that influence women's willingness to be screened for cervical cancer. This study's goal was to understand the intention of cervical cancer screening in Chinese women using the theory of planned behavior (TPB).MethodsAn online questionnaire was administered to 286 women using a cross-sectional design. The questionnaire was created using the theory of planned behavior and included demographic characteristics as well as the basic structure of TPB.ResultsDescriptive, correlation, and multiple linear regression models were performed to identify factors associated with cervical cancer screening behavior. 286 respondents completed the survey (95.3%). The mean scores for behavioral attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control (PBC) were 32.50 (SD = 3.30), 22.59 (SD = 2.80) and 29.57 (SD = 3.37). From the regression analysis, behavioral attitude (B = 0.110, p = 0.001), subjective norm (B = 0.234, p = 0.000) and perceived behavioral control (B = 0.171, p = 0.000) were statistically significant in terms of intention.DiscussionThis study provided a reference for improving the intention of cervical cancer screening in women.

ABSTRACT: Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is the most toxic subtype of aflatoxin in feed. Poultry is sensitive to AFB1, and the liver is the main target organ of AFB1. Our previous studies have shown that taraxasterol isolated from the traditional Chinese medicinal herb Taraxacum has protective effects against immune-mediated and alcoholic-induced liver injuries. This study aimed to investigate whether taraxasterol has the protective effect and its mechanism against AFB1-induced injury in chicken primary hepatocytes in vitro. The chicken primary hepatocytes were induced with AFB1 (0.05 µg/mL), and treated with taraxasterol (5, 10, and 20 μg/mL). The results showed that taraxasterol increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH) activity and decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in AFB1-induced hepatocytes. Moreover, taraxasterol up-regulated the mRNA and protein expression of antioxidant-related factors heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), NADPH quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) and nuclear factor erythroid E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), while down-regulated the expression of oxidant-related factor Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1) in Nrf2/Keap1 signaling pathway. In addition, taraxasterol effectively reduced AFB1-induced hepatocyte autophagy and inhibited the mRNA expression of autophagy-related genes Beclin-2, LC3-I, LC3-II, and ATG-5. Taraxasterol also inhibited AFB1-induced hepatocyte apoptosis and decreased the mRNA expression of apoptosis-related genes Caspase3 and Caspase9. These findings indicates taraxasterol alleviates oxidative stress in AFB1-induced chicken hepatocytes by activating Nrf2/Keap1 signaling pathway, and regulating the cell autophagy and apoptosis.

Abstract Correlation filter tracking requires little prior knowledge of the tracking target (e.g., the shape, and the posture) but has a fast-tracking speed. The deep features extracted by the deep convolutional neural network have strong representation ability, so the tracking method based on the combination of correlation filter and deep convolutional neural network, named as deep correlation filter tracking, is a hot issue in the field of target tracking at present. However, the deep convolutional neural network largely restricts the real-time performance of the deep correlation filter tracking because of its complex network structure and heavy computation burden. To balance the contradiction between tracking speed and tracking accuracy, a new channel importance is defined and the channel importance based method of how to select the important channels is given in this paper. And then, a deep correlation filter tracking method based on channel importance is proposed to lighten the feature network, reduce the computation load and improve the tracking speed under the premise of ensuring the tracking accuracy. In the process of tracking, the structural similarity index measurement (SSIM) of the predicted tracking target in two consecutive frames is calculated in real-time. Based on the SSIM, determine whether the feature network needs to be updated, and decide whether the tracking fails. If the feature network needs to be updated, the feature network will be updated online while the tracking is on. If the tracking fails, the target will be searched again, and the tracking is recovered from the failure. The tracking algorithm proposed in this paper is tested on the OTB2013 data set, and the experiment shows that the tracking algorithm designed in this paper can improve the real-time performance while meeting the requirement of tracking accuracy. The online update of the feature network can make the network adapt to the complex background and target changes to improve tracking accuracy; In the case of tracking failure, the re-tracking module can search for the target again and resume tracking given that the target is always present.

With cancer incidence rates continuing to increase and occurrence of resistance in drug treatment, there is a pressing demand to find safer and more effective anticancer strategy for cancer patients. Natural products, have the advantage of low toxicity and multiple action targets, are always used in the treatment of cancer prevention in early stage and cancer supplement in late stage. Tumor microenvironment is necessary for cancer cells to survive and progression, and immune activation is a vital means for the tumor microenvironment to eliminate cancer cells. A number of studies have found that various natural products could target and regulate immune cells such as T cells, macrophages, mast cells as well as inflammatory cytokines in the tumor microenvironment. Natural products tuning the tumor microenvironment via various mechanisms to activate the immune response have immeasurable potential for cancer immunotherapy. In this review, it highlights the research findings related to natural products regulating immune responses against cancer, especially reveals the possibility of utilizing natural products to remodel the tumor microenvironment to overcome drug resistance.

B-cell receptor-associated protein 31 (BAP31) has been shown to overexpress in a wide range type of cancers. The present study aims to investigate the role of BAP31 on migration in lung cancer. Results showed that the migration of BAP31 knockdown cells was weaken than the control cells. Applying TGFβ to treat BAP31 knockdown cells could reduce cell migration. The enhancement on proliferation by TGFβ treatment was downregulated after BAP31 knockdown. The cell death and G0/G1 phase arrest was increased in the cells with TGFβ and BAP31 siRNA treatment when compared with TGFβ treatment alone. Gene expression analysis showed that Bax/Bcl2, MLKL and LC3 was upregulated in the cells with combinatorial treatment of TGFβ and BAP31 siRNA. In addition, BAP31 was shown to regulate multiple signaling pathways, especially for Wnt signaling. It found that BAP31 knockdown cells treated with TGFβ decreased β-catenin cytosolic expression and nuclear localization. Wnt signaling activator BIO could restore the downregulation of proliferation by BAP31 knockdown. This finding suggested that BAP31 regulated cancer cell migration is possibly involved with cell death mechanisms and Wnt signaling.

Magnesium, an essential mineral micronutrient, plays a role in the activation of various transporters and enzymes. The present study aimed to investigate the possibility of applying magnesium to enhance the efficacy of cisplatin which is still ranked as one of the major chemotherapeutic drugs for bladder cancer patients. Results showed that the survival rate and colony formation of bladder cancer cells were reduced by combinatorial treatment with cisplatin and magnesium chloride (MgCl2). The proportion of apoptotic cells was also increased in UC3 bladder cancer cells treated with a combination of cisplatin and MgCl2. Most importantly, a marked decrease in nuclear β-catenin was observed in cells that received cisplatin treatment. In addition, the nuclear β-catenin in cisplatin treated cells was further down-regulated by supplementing MgCl2. 6-bromoindirubin-3′-oxime (BIO), an inhibitor of glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) that activates the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway by modulating β-catenin activity, was thus applied to further exploit the role of this signaling pathway in magnesium aided cancer treatment. The survival rate of bladder cancer cells was decreased by BIO treatment at concentrations of 1.0, 2.5 and 5.0 μM accompanied by increased β-catenin expression. However, the expression of β-catenin in MgCl2-treated cells was lower than in untreated cells under the same BIO concentration. The expression of cleaved caspase-3, cleaved caspase-9 and microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3- II (LC3-II) was highest in cells treated with MgCl2 and 5.0 μM BIO among the examined groups. Our findings reveal that magnesium could contribute to cisplatin-based chemotherapy by moderately regulating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

Visual tracking is one of the key research fields in computer vision. Based on the combination of correlation filter tracking (CFT) model and deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs), deep correlation filter tracking (DCFT) has recently become a critical issue in visual tracking because of CFT’s rapidity and DCNN’s better feature representation. However, DCNNs are often complex in structure, which most possibly results in the conflict between the rapidity and accuracy of DCFT. To reduce such conflict, this paper proposes a model mainly including: (1) Based on the pre-pruning network obtained by feature channel importance, an optimal global tracking pruning rate (GTPR) is determined in terms of the contribution of filter channels to tracking response. (2) Based on (GTPR), an alternative convolutional kernel is defined to replace non-important channel kernels, which leads to the further pruning of the feature network. (3) An online updating pruned feature network with a structural similarity index is employed to adapt the model to tracking scene changes. (4) The proposed model was performed on OTB2013; experimental results demonstrate the model can effectively enhance speed with a 45% increment while guaranteeing tracking accuracy, and improve tracking accuracy with a 4% increment when tracking scene changes take place.

Diarrhea caused by Escherichia coli (E. coli) is one of the most common diseases that affects the growth and development of poultry. This study was conducted to investigate the synergistic effects of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) combined with probiotics against E. coli infection and its mechanism in broiler chickens. The optimal proportion formula TCM and probiotics was screened by orthogonal test and range analysis method; the in vitro antibacterial activity was based on the Oxford cup method. Isolated pathogenic E. coli was injected subcutaneously into the neck of the broilers to establish an E. coli–infected model. The broilers were administrated with drugs in drinking water daily for 7 d before and after E. coli infection. The diarrhea rate, mortality, body weight (BW) gain, feed intake, immune organ index, intestinal and hepatic histopathological changes were monitored. The expression of IL-2, IL-10, and TLR-4 mRNA in the intestinal tissues was measured by RT-PCR. Our results showed that the optimal proportion formula of Taraxacum extracts: total flavonoids of Astragalus: polysaccharides of Astragalus: probiotics was 5: 2: 2: 2; TCM combined with probiotics was highly sensitive to E. coli. TCM combined with probiotics synergistically increased BW gain, decreased the diarrhea rate and mortality of broilers, alleviated intestinal and hepatic pathological changes, accompanied by the increase of IL-2 and IL-10 mRNA expression and the inhibition of TLR-4 mRNA expression. It suggests that the combination of TCM and probiotics may produce a synergistic protective effect against E. coli infection by improving the indicators of diarrhea and regulating the expression of IL-2, IL-10, and TLR-4 mRNA in broiler chickens. The synergistic interactions between TCM and probiotics represent a promising strategy for the treatment of E. coli infection.

This work aimed to develop and evaluate a post-acquisition data processing strategy, referred to as a mass defect filter (MDF), for rapid target the resin glycosides in root of Convolvulus scammonia by setting mass rang and mass defect range from high-resolution MS data. The full-scan mass data were acquired by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with Q Exactive Plus hybrid quadrupole-orbitrap mass spectrometer that featured high resolution, mass accuracy, and sensitivity. To screen resin glycosides, three parent filter m/z 871, m/z 853, and m/z 869 combined with diagnostic fragment ions (DFIs) approach were applied to remove the interference from complex herbal extract. The targeted components were characterized based on detailed fragment ions. Using this approach, 80 targeted components, including 22 glycosidic acids and 58 resin glycosides were tentatively identified. The present results suggested that the proposed MDF strategy would be adaptable to the analysis of complex system in relevant filed.

To improve the performance of precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) as a papermaking filler, the combination of cationically derivatized chitosan and carboxymethyl chitosan was employed as modification agents for PCC. When the dosage ratio of cationic chitosan to carboxymethyl chitosan was 1:2, the two polymers were efficiently deposited onto precipitated calcium carbonate, which showed better retention than the control PCC at the same dosage. The brightness and opacity of handsheets filled with modified precipitated calcium carbonate were markedly improved in comparison to the control. Furthermore, handsheets filled with modified precipitated calcium carbonate reduced the loss of tensile strength compared to the control at the same precipitated calcium carbonate content.

Paper sheets were dipped in maleic anhydride-acylated chitosan (MAAC) to enhance their wet strength and antibacterial performance. The wet strength of paper sheets treated with MAAC or chitosan solutions and cured at 90 and 170 °C was investigated. Escherichia coli was used to evaluate the antibacterial performance of the treated paper sheets. The antibacterial performance was determined by measuring the absorbance at 610 nm based on the turbidity of the bacterial suspension on the surface of the treated paper sheets. The MAAC performed better than chitosan in improving wet strength, especially in the case of permanent wet strength. Paper sheets treated with MAAC under certain conditions resulted in 23 to 33% improvements in the permanent wet strength. As a result of the surface treatment, a reduction of at least 80% in E. coli growth was observed. The MAAC was more efficient in inhibiting the growth of E. coli than chitosan.

In this study, a lean duplex stainless steel with a heterogeneous lamellar structure is created using a quick technique of direct cold rolling combined with severe plastic deformation and short annealing. The deformation behaviors and fracture mechanisms at cryogenic temperature are investigated. In accordance with the findings, the duplex stainless steel S32304 exhibits excellent mechanical properties at 203 K, with tensile strength reaching 1160 MPa, elongation reaching 44.1%. Nearly 44.4% more elongation exists at 203 K than at 298 K. The synergistic coupling strengthening of the TRIP and TWIP effects of the austenite, HDI strengthening, and dislocation proliferation of coarse ferrite grains stimulated by the austenite grains with various orientations can all be credited for the excellent mechanical properties at 203 K. Additionally, the prominent deformation substructures, such as nanotwin bundles, and the strong interaction between dislocations and nanotwin bundles, are also contributed to strain hardening at 203 K. However, at 573 K, dislocation slip becomes the primary deformation mechanism of the two phases, and severe dislocation accumulations in the coarse ferrite grains become a possible site for crack nucleation, leading to a higher loss of ductility than at 298 K and 203 K.

BackgroundAs the SARS-CoV-2 attenuates and antibodies from the COVID-19 vaccine decline, long-term attention should be paid to the durability of primary booster administration and the preventive effect of the second or multiple booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. ObjectiveThis study aimed to explore the durability of primary booster administration and the preventive effect of second or multiple booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. MethodsWe established a bidirectional cohort in Guizhou Province, China. Eligible participants who had received the primary booster dose were enrolled for blood sample collection and administration of the second booster dose. A retrospective cohort for the time of administration was constructed to evaluate antibody attenuation 6-12 months after the primary booster dose, while a prospective cohort on the vaccine effect of the second booster dose was constructed for 4 months after the second administration. ResultsBetween September 21, 2022, and January 30, 2023, a total of 327 participants were included in the final statistical analysis plan. The retrospective cohort revealed that approximately 6-12 months after receiving the primary booster, immunoglobulin G (IgG) slowly declined with time, while immunoglobulin A (IgA) remained almost constant. The prospective cohort showed that 28 days after receiving the second booster, the antibody levels were significantly improved. Higher levels of IgG and IgA were associated with better protection against COVID-19 infection for vaccine recipients. Regarding the protection of antibody levels against post–COVID-19 symptoms, the increase of the IgG had a protective effect on brain fog and sleep quality, while IgA had a protective effect on shortness of breath, brain fog, impaired coordination, and physical pain. ConclusionsThe IgG and IgA produced by the second booster dose of COVID-19 vaccines can protect against SARS-CoV-2 infection and may alleviate some post–COVID-19 symptoms. Further data and studies on secondary booster administration are required to confirm these conclusions.

The meningococcal meningitis (MM) vaccine reduces the incidence of MM significantly; however, outbreaks still occur in communities with high vaccine coverage. We aimed to analyze the driving factors of infection from a community outbreak. A total of 266 children aged 9 to 15 years old from the three junior high schools of Tongzi county were identified. We documented infection cases using laboratory tests and analyzed attack rates, infection rates and risk factors for transmission. The index case in School A was identified, and the attack rate in School A was 0.03%. Children showed a significantly low infection rate of MenC in School A (13.2% vs. 19.5% in total children, p = 0.002), while exhibiting significantly high infection rates of MenA in School B (44.1% vs. 24.8% in total children, p < 0.001) and MenB in School C (11.1% vs. 4.1% in total children, p = 0.015). The infection rate of MenA for females (30.0%) was higher (p = 0.055) than for males (19.9%). In School A, 63.19% of children were vaccinated against MenC, while in School B the rate was 42.65% and in School C, it was 59.26%. Three male MenC infection cases were detected as breakthrough infection cases in addition to the index case. The findings suggest that the current full-course immunization has limited long-term effectiveness and is inefficient in preventing the transmission of MM among older children.

Salmonella, one of the major causes of foodborne infections, can cause bacterial foodborne illness. We investigated the serotype distribution, multidrug resistance (MDR), and β-lactamase resistance genes of human Salmonella isolates collected from clinical specimens in Guizhou, China, between 2013 and 2018. A total of 363 Salmonella isolates were collected from clinical specimens at 17 surveillance hospitals. Twenty-four serotypes were identified by sliding agglutination test. S. Enteritidis (33.9%), Salmonella 4,[5],12:i:- (24.0%), S. Typhimurium (16.3%), S. London (6.3%), and S. Derby (3.9%) were the top five serotypes. In 2018, the most common serotype changed from S. Enteritidis to S. Typhimurium. Among the 363 Salmonella isolates, 97.5% of isolates were resistant to at least one class of antimicrobial agents. For cephalosporins, ceftriaxone had the highest resistance rate of 10.5%, and cefepime and cefoxitin were 8.0% and 2.2%, respectively. Three hundred and one (82.9%) Salmonella isolates showed MDR. Salmonella 4,[5],12:i:- had the highest MDR rate with 94.2%, followed by S. London (91.3%) and S. Typhimurium (88.1%). Multidrug resistance rates of Salmonella isolates in Guizhou from 2013 to 2017 increased from 75.8% to 86.7%. Sixteen isolates (4.4%) showed extensive drug resistance. One hundred thirty-four antimicrobial resistance patterns were found. Two hundred and forty-one (66.4%) isolates carried at least one β-lactamase resistance gene. The blaTEM gene (61.2%) was the most prevalent resistant gene in all Salmonella isolates, followed by the blaCTX-M gene (6.1%) and blaOXA-1 gene (4.1%). Our findings showed that the MDR rate of Salmonella isolates from Guizhou province increased year by year. Therefore, systematic and long-term surveillance on MDR Salmonella isolates from clinical patients should be further strengthened.

Abstract Background Although a vaccination campaign has been conducted since 2004, Japanese encephalitis (JE) is still a public health problem in Guizhou, one of the provinces with the highest incidence of JE in China. The aim of this study was to understand the spatiotemporal distribution of JE and its relationship with environmental factors in Guizhou Province in the post-vaccination era, 2004–2016. Methods We collected data on human JE cases in Guizhou Province from 2004 to 2016 from the national infectious disease reporting system. A Poisson regression model was used to analyze the relationship between JE occurrence and environmental factors amongst counties. Results Our results showed that the incidence and mortality of JE decreased after the initiation of vaccination. JE cases were mainly concentrated in preschool and school-age children and the number of cases in children over age 15 years was significantly decreased compared with the previous 10 years; the seasonality of JE before and after the use of vaccines was unchanged. JE incidence was positively associated with cultivated land and negatively associated with gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, vegetation coverage, and developed land. In areas with cultivated land coverage 55%, and urban area coverage > 25%, the JE risk was lower. The highest JE incidence was among mid-level GDP areas and in moderately urbanized areas. Conclusions This study assessed the relationship between incidence of JE and environmental factors in Guizhou Province. Our results highlight that the highest risk of JE transmission in the post-vaccination era is in mid-level developed areas.

Abstract Because the fracturing fluid flow at fracture junctions directly affects the proppant distribution in fracture networks, it is very important to quantitatively investigate the fluid flow in fracture junctions. In this study, the fluid flow in a laboratory‐size fracture junction was investigated, and equations for calculating the fluid split ratio were established. The correlations between the pressure loss coefficients and the width ratio, approaching angle, and fluid split ratio were obtained by simulation. Using a custom‐made Visual Basic program, the fluid split ratios in an actual‐size fracture or complex fracture networks with several secondary or tertiary fractures were calculated. The results reveal that the fluid split ratio is significantly affected by the approaching angle and width ratio in laboratory‐size fractures. In contrast, in an actual‐size fracture junction, the fluid split ratio is mainly affected by the length of the fracture channel and the width ratio. The split ratios in laboratory‐size and real‐size fracture networks with several secondary or tertiary fractures are quite different, which indicates that the split ratio should be quantitatively estimated when investigating the proppant distribution by experiment or simulation. The findings of this study can be useful in the quantitative investigation of the proppant distribution in fracture networks.

ObjectivesThe success of the rat model of pulmonary hypertension (PH) is primarily dependent on the measurement of pulmonary artery pressure. We herein demonstrate a novel method for measuring pulmonary artery pressure through a high-frequency ultrasound-guided transthoracic puncture in rats. The efficacy and time of this novel method are also discussed.MethodsA single subcutaneous injection of monocrotaline (MCT) was used to establish a rat model of PH. Through the heat shaping method, the tip of that puncture cannula was maintained at a certain angle after the needle core was removed. In-plane real-time guided trocar puncture of the right ventricular outflow tract was performed in the short-axis section of the parasternal aorta. The external pressure sensor was used to record the real-time waveform of right ventricular systolic pressure, pulmonary artery systolic pressure, and diastolic pressure.ResultsThe success rates of which using this novel method in the model group and the control group were 88.5 and 86.7%, respectively. The time of puncture pressure measurement was 164 ± 31 and 235 ± 50 s, respectively. The right ventricular systolic blood pressure, pulmonary systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure of the model group were higher than those of the control group.ConclusionThe modified method for trocar is helpful for accurately positioning pulmonary artery manometry. The method described in this paper has a high success rate and short operation time. It can simultaneously measure systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and mean pressure of the right ventricle and pulmonary artery. It has a broad application prospect in verifying the rat PH model and pulmonary artery pressure monitoring.

Timely and rapidly mapping impervious surface area (ISA) and monitoring its spatial-temporal change pattern can deepen our understanding of the urban process. However, the complex spectral variability and spatial heterogeneity of ISA caused by the increased spatial resolution poses a great challenge to accurate ISA dynamics monitoring. This research selected Jinan City as a case study to boost ISA mapping performance through integrating the dual-attention CBAM module, SE module and focal loss function into the Deeplabv3+ model using Sentinel-2 data, and subsequently examining ISA spatial-temporal evolution using the generated annual time-series ISA data from 2017 to 2021. The experimental results demonstrated that (a) the improved Deeplabv3+ model achieved satisfactory accuracy in ISA mapping, with Precision, Recall, IoU and F1 values reaching 82.24%, 92.38%, 77.01% and 0.87, respectively. (b) In a comparison with traditional classification methods and other state-of-the-art deep learning semantic segmentation models, the proposed method performed well, qualitatively and quantitatively. (c) The time-series analysis on ISA distribution revealed that the ISA expansion in Jinan City had significant directionality from northeast to southwest from 2017 to 2021, with the number of patches as well as the degree of connectivity and aggregation increasing while the degree of fragmentation and the complexity of shape decreased. Overall, the proposed method shows great potential in generating reliable times-series ISA data and can be better served for fine urban research.

In the clinic, numeration of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) plays a critical role in cancer diagnosis and treatment, but conventional CTC identification and counting that rely on specific antibodies to characterize a cell's surface antigens are costive and with limitations. Importantly, false positive or negative results may occur due to the high heterogeneity and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of CTCs. Herein we demonstrate a novel and effective CTC detecting nanoprobe that could rapidly respond to the high level of endogenous H2O2 of CTCs and report the signal through fluorescence emission. Briefly, a hydrophobic coumarin--benzene boronic acid pinacol ester (Cou-Bpin) was grafted onto hydrophilic glycol chitosan (GC) to form an amphiphilic molecule, which further assembled into micellar nanoparticles in aqueous solution. This new nanoprobe was highly sensitive to H2O2 with a detection limit of 0.1 µM and could rapidly enter the cells within 30 min. Upon exposure to intracellular H2 O2, the nanoprobe exhibited remarkable one-photon and two-photon luminescent characteristics, which were suitable for imaging of endogenous H2O2 of various human colorectal cancer cells and assist the identification of CTCs. Compared to a conventional CTC counting assay, the nanoprobe-based CTC numeration could overcome the false-negative findings due to the low expression of cytokeratin 19 (CK19). In a clinic test, CTC counting results based on the new nanoprobe match better to the postoperative pathological results of four clinic patients who had colorectal cancer at different stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Bordetella pertussis is the causative agent of pertussis, a respiratory tract infectious disease. Efficient techniques for detection of B. pertussis isolates are important for clinical diagnosis. Multiple cross displacement amplification (MCDA), a novel isothermal amplification based molecular detection method, has been developed to overcome the technical drawback of the current methods in recent years. This aim of this study is to develop a MCDA with Nanoparticles-based Lateral Flow Biosensor (MCDA-LFB) for the detection of B. pertussis. Results A set of 10 primers based on the pertussis toxin (PT) promoter region sequence of B. pertussis was designed. The B. pertussis-MCDA-LFB assay was successfully established and optimized at 64 °C for reaction of 40 min. The detection limit was determined as 10 fg/reaction of pure DNA, and no cross-reactions to non-B. pertussis strains were observed, based on the specificity validation. The whole operation, ranging from template preparation to result reporting, could be completed within 70 min without requirement of costly equipment. The B. pertussis-MCDA-LFB in clinic sample detection yielded identical positive rates with traditional culture and showed higher sensitivity than conventional PCR. The results of MCDA-LFB are easier to read due to the usage of LFB. Conclusions The isothermal amplification based MCDA-LFB established in the present study is a specific, sensitive, rapid and economical technique for the detection of B. pertussis.

AbstractBed load proppant transport is a significant phenomenon during slickwater hydraulic fracturing. However, the mechanism of bed load proppant transport is still unclear. In the present study, the proppant transport process during slickwater hydraulic fracturing was simulated with a coupled computational fluid dynamics- (CFD-) discrete element method (DEM) model, and the mechanism of the bed load proppant transport was analyzed. A model for calculating the mass flux of the bed load layer was proposed and verified with experimental results from the literature. The results show that bed load migration is an essential mechanism of proppant transport. When the shear force of fluid acting on the surface of the sand bank reaches the critical Shields number, the proppant in the upper layer of the sand bank begins to migrate in the form of bed load. The movement of the bed load layer increases the time for the sand bank to reach the equilibrium height. In addition, the mass flux of the bed load layer significantly affects the equilibrium height of the sand bank. The mass flux of the bed load layer decreases, and the equilibrium height increases as the proppant density, proppant diameter, or rolling friction coefficient and static friction coefficient of the proppant increase, but the mass flux of the bed load layer increases, and the equilibrium height decreases as the fluid viscosity increases.

In the fault diagnosis of UAVs, extremely imbalanced data distribution and vast differences in effects of fault modes can drastically affect the application effect of a data-driven fault diagnosis model under the limitation of computing resources. At present, there is still no credible approach to determine the cost of the misdiagnosis of different fault modes that accounts for the interference of data distribution. The performance of the original cost-insensitive flight data-driven fault diagnosis models also needs to be improved. In response to this requirement, this paper proposes a two-step ensemble cost-sensitive diagnosis method based on the operation and maintenance data of UAV. According to the fault criticality from FMECA information, we defined a misdiagnosis hazard value and calculated the misdiagnosis cost. By using the misdiagnosis cost, a static cost matrix could be set to modify the diagnosis model and to evaluate the performance of the diagnosis results. A two-step ensemble cost-sensitive method based on the MetaCost framework was proposed using stratified bootstrapping, choosing LightGBM as meta-classifiers, and adjusting the ensemble form to enhance the overall performance of the diagnosis model and reduce the occupation of the computing resources while optimizing the total misdiagnosis cost. The experimental results based on the KPG component data of a large fixed-wing UAV show that the proposed cost-sensitive model can effectively reduce the total cost incurred by misdiagnosis, without putting forward excessive requirements on the computing equipment under the condition of ensuring a certain overall level of diagnosis performance.

Brucella spp.is capable of causing disease in a range of animal hosts, and human brucellosis is regarded as a life-threating disease. A novel isothermal amplification technique, termed multiple cross displacement amplification (MCDA), was employed for detecting all Brucella species strains. Brucella-MCDA targets the Bscp31 gene (Brucella species-specific gene) to specifically design a set of 10 primers. The Brucella-MCDA can be coupled with nanoparticles-based lateral flow biosensor (LFB) for highly specific, simple, rapid, and visual detection of Brucella-specific amplicons. Using the protocol, a MCDA amplification followed by 2 min LFB resulted in visualization of DNA products trapped at the LFB test line. Various species of Gram-positive and Gram-negative strains are applied for optimizing and evaluating the target assay. Optimal MCDA condition is found to be 63°C for 40 min, with detection limits at 10 fg of templates in the pure cultures. The specificity of MCDA-LFB technique is of 100%, and no cross-reactions to non-Brucella strains are observed according to the specificity examination. Furthermore, dUTP and AUDG enzyme are added into the MCDA reaction mixtures, which are used for removing false-positive amplification generating from carryover contamination. Thus, 20 min for rapid template extraction followed by AUDG digestion (5 min), MCDA (40 min) combined with LFB detection (2 min) resulted in a total assay time of ~70 min. In sum, Brucella-MCDA-LFB technique is a rapid, simple, reliable, and sensitive method to detect all Brucella species strains, and can be used as potential screening tool for Brucella strains in various laboratories.

With the rapid process of both urban sprawl and urban renewal, large numbers of old buildings have been demolished in China, leading to wide spread construction sites, which could cause severe dust contamination. To alleviate the accompanied dust pollution, green plastic mulch has been widely used by local governments of China. Therefore, timely and accurate mapping of urban green plastic covered regions is of great significance to both urban environmental management and the understanding of urban growth status. However, the complex spatial patterns of the urban landscape make it challenging to accurately identify these areas of green plastic cover. To tackle this issue, we propose a deep semi-supervised learning framework for green plastic cover mapping using very high resolution (VHR) remote sensing imagery. Specifically, a multi-scale deformable convolution neural network (CNN) was exploited to learn representative and discriminative features under complex urban landscapes. Afterwards, a semi-supervised learning strategy was proposed to integrate the limited labeled data and massive unlabeled data for model co-training. Experimental results indicate that the proposed method could accurately identify green plastic-covered regions in Jinan with an overall accuracy (OA) of 91.63%. An ablation study indicated that, compared with supervised learning, the semi-supervised learning strategy in this study could increase the OA by 6.38%. Moreover, the multi-scale deformable CNN outperforms several classic CNN models in the computer vision field. The proposed method is the first attempt to map urban green plastic-covered regions based on deep learning, which could serve as a baseline and useful reference for future research.

Saltation and reputation (creep) dominate proppant transport rather than suspension during slickwater fracturing, due to the low sand-carrying capacity of the slickwater. Thus, the interaction parameters between proppants and fracture walls, which affect saltation and reputation, play a more critical role in proppant transport. In this paper, a calibration method for the interaction parameters between proppants and walls is built. A three-dimensional coupled computational fluid dynamics–discrete element method (CFD–DEM) model is established to study the effects of the interaction parameters on proppant migration, considering the wall roughness and unevenly distributed diameters of proppants. The simulation results show that a lower static friction coefficient and rolling friction coefficient can result in a smaller equilibrium height of the sand bank and a smaller build angle and drawdown angle, which is beneficial for carrying the proppant to the distal end of the fracture. The wall roughness and the unevenly distributed diameter of the proppants increase the collision between proppant and proppant or the wall, whereas the interactions have little impact on the sandbank morphology, slightly increasing the equilibrium height of the sandbank.