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Rui Bai,1,2 Yuhang Sui,1,2 Tianqi Lu,1,2 Hua Chen,1,2 Gang Wang,1,2 Rui Kong,1,2 Hongtao Tan,1,2 Yongwei Wang,1,2 Guanqun Li,1,2 Bei Sun1,2 1Department of Pancreatic and Biliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, People’s Republic of China; 2Key Laboratory of Hepatosplenic Surgery, Ministry of Education, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Guanqun Li; Bei Sun, Department of Pancreatic and Biliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, No. 23 Youzheng Street, Nangang District, Harbin, 150001, People’s Republic of China, Email liguanqun@hrbmu.edu.cn; sunbei70@hrbmu.edu.cnPurpose: The effects of the step-jump approach on the survival and prognosis of infected pancreatic necrosis (IPN) patients have not yet been determined.Patients and Methods: Between November 2018 and June 2023, 188 patients were included in this study. There were 144 patients in the step-up group (the SU group) and 44 in the step-jump group (the SJ group). In the SU group, patients successfully treated with percutaneous catheter drainage (PCD) alone were classified into the SU-1 group (n=101), while those requiring additional surgery after PCD were categorized into the SU-2 group (n=43). In the SJ group, patients who underwent minimally invasive necrosectomy (MIN) without PCD were assigned to the SJ-1 group (n=34), whereas those who initially underwent PCD followed by immediate open surgery were placed in the SJ-2 group (n=10). Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to mitigate bias.Results: After PSM, a total of 34 pairs were successfully matched. A comparison of the SU group with the SJ-1 group (upfront MIN without PCD) revealed similar mortality rates (P=0.239); however, the incidences of multiple drug-resistant organisms (MDROs) (P=0.029) and surgical complications (P< 0.001) were significantly lower in the SJ-1 group. After comparing the SU-2 and SJ-2 groups (patients who underwent direct open necrosectomy without MIN after PCD failure), the incidences of surgical complications and MDRO in the SJ-2 group were significantly lower (P< 0.05).Conclusion: Compared with the step-up approach, the step-jump approach is safer and more effective and can significantly reduce the incidence of MDRO and surgical complications.Keywords: infected pancreatic necrosis, step-up approach, step-jump approach, propensity score match

Xinyan Hu,1,&ast; Yanling Sui,1,&ast; Xinhao Yang,1 Zhengyu Yang,2 Qiuting Wang,2 Jiehong Yuan,2 Maoyu Li,1 Xiaotong Ma,1 Chengxuan Qiu,3 Qinjian Sun1 1Key Laboratory of Endocrine Glucose & Lipids Metabolism and Brain Aging, Ministry of Education; Department of Neurology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Neurology, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, People’s Republic of China; 3Aging Research Center, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet-Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Qinjian Sun, Key Laboratory of Endocrine Glucose & Lipids Metabolism and Brain Aging, Ministry of Education; Department of Neurology, Shandong Provincial Hospital affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, No. 324 Jingwu Weiqi Road, Jinan, Shandong, 250021, People’s Republic of China, Email sqj1210@163.comBackground: The inflammatory response is a pivotal factor in accelerating the progression of atherosclerosis. The high-sensitivity C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio (CAR) has emerged as a novel marker of systemic inflammation. However, few studies have shown the CAR to be a promising prognostic marker for carotid atherosclerotic disease. This study aimed to analyse the predictive role of the CAR in carotid atherosclerotic disease.Methods: This community-based cohort study recruited 2003 participants from the Rose asymptomatic IntraCranial Artery Stenosis (RICAS) study who were free of stroke or transient ischemic attack. Carotid atherosclerotic plaques and their stability were identified via carotid ultrasound. Logistic regression models were utilized to investigate the association between CAR and the presence of carotid atherosclerotic plaques.Results: The prevalence of carotid atherosclerotic plaques was 38.79% in this study. After adjusting for clinical risk factors, including sex, age, dyslipidemia, hypertension, diabetes mellitus (DM), and smoking and drinking habits, a high CAR-level was independently associated with carotid plaque (odds ratio [OR] of upper: 1.46, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.13– 1.90, P = 0.004; P for trend = 0.011). The highest CAR tertile was still significantly associated with carotid plaques among middle-aged (40– 64 years) or female participants. Notably, an elevated CAR may be an independent risk factor for vulnerable carotid plaques (OR of upper: 2.06, 95% CI: 1.42– 2.98, P < 0.001; P for trend < 0.001).Conclusion: A high CAR may be correlated with a high risk of carotid plaques, particularly among mildly aged adults (40– 64 years) or females. Importantly, the CAR may be associated with vulnerable carotid plaques, suggesting that the CAR may be a new indicator for stroke prevention. Keywords: C-reactive protein, albumin, plaque, atherosclerotic, cohort study

Jie Du,1 Jing Niu,1 Lanxiang Ma,2 Yongjie Sui,1 Shuili Wang3 1Department of Health Examination Center, Shaanxi Provincial People Hospital, Xi’an, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Cardiology, Shaanxi Provincial Corps Hospital, Chinese People’s Armed Police Forces, Xi’an, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Respiratory Medicine, Shaanxi Provincial People Hospital, Xi’an, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Lanxiang Ma, Department of Cardiology, Shaanxi Provincial Corps Hospital, Chinese People’s Armed Police Forces, Xi’an, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-15991765901, Email mztjzx2250@163.comPurpose: High blood urea nitrogen (BUN) is associated with an elevated risk of mortality in various diseases, such as heart failure and pneumonia. Heart failure and pneumonia are common comorbidities of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation. However, data on the relationship of BUN levels with length of stay (LOS) in patients with pneumonic COPD exacerbation are sparse. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between BUN levels and LOS in a cohort of patients with pneumonic COPD exacerbation.Patients and Methods: The present study was a multicentre, retrospective cohort study. A total of 1226 patients with pneumonic COPD exacerbation were included through a validated algorithm derived from the 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10). It should be noted that the entire study was completed by Shiroshita et al, who uploaded the data to the DATADRYAD website. The author only used these data for secondary analysis.Results: After adjusting for potential confounders (age, gender), a nonlinear relationship was detected between BUN levels less than 40 mg/dl and LOS. The effect sizes and the confidence intervals on the left and right sides of the inflection point were 0.27 (0.16, 0.39) and − 0.17 (− 0.34, 0.01), respectively.Conclusion: High levels of BUN in the hospital may be associated with increased LOS. BUN was positively related to LOS when BUN was less than 40 mg/dl.Keywords: pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, exacerbation, blood urea nitrogen, length of stay

Kun Lu, Yingli Sui, Lin Fu Institute of Chronic Disease, School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Lin FuInstitute of Chronic Disease, School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, No. 308 Ningxia Road, Qingdao City, Shandong Province, 266071, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 138 1804 8288Fax +86 532-85953085Email smilefulin@163.comBackground: Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the primary subtype of human lung cancer. The effectiveness of treatment and long-term survival of patients with LUAD are current suboptimal. Tripartite motif containing 56 (TRIM56) is a member of the TRIM protein family that have functions predominantly in immunity and cancer.Purpose: To investigate the expression of TRIM56 in LUAD, and explore the potential regulatory role of TRIM56 in the invasion and migration of LUAD cells.Methods: The Gene Expression Omnibus datasets and The Cancer Genome Atlas-LUAD cohort were used to analyze the mRNA expression of TRIM56 in LUAD. The differential expression profiles of miRNAs associated with TRIM56 were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas-LUAD cohort. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analyses were performed to determine the principal functions of miRNAs and interacting proteins. Transwell and wound healing were used to detect the effect of overexpression of TRIM56 on the invasion and migration of LUAD cells.Results: The expression of TRIM56 was decreased in LUAD and associated with poor prognosis. We determined the genome copy number, negatively correlated miRNA and potential transcription factors of TRIM56, and conducted enrichment analysis. Among them, hsa-mir-542 and hsa-mir-627 were the most likely to inhibit the expression of TRIM56. We also predicted the interacting proteins and potential ubiquitination substrate of TRIM56. Finally, we demonstrated that overexpression of TRIM56 inhibits the invasion and migration of LUAD cells.Conclusion: This study is the first to analyze the expression of TRIM56 and its inhibitory effect on the invasion and migration of LUAD. This evidence provides a new direction for further study of the reasons for the low expression of TRIM56 in LUAD and its regulatory mechanism.Keywords: TRIM56, lung adenocarcinoma, bioinformatics analysis, invasion, migration

Liang-qian Tong,1,* Yan-fang Sui,2,* Sheng-nan Jiang,1 Yan-hai Yin3 1Department of Nuclear Medicine, Central South University Xiangya School Affiliated Haikou Hospital, Haikou, Hainan, 570208, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Central South University Xiangya School Affiliated Haikou Hospital, Haikou, Hainan, 570208, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hainan Medicine College Affiliated Hainan Hospital, Haikou, Hainan, 570311, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Sheng-nan JiangDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, Central South University Xiangya School Affiliated Haikou Hospital, No. 43 of Renmin Road, Meilan District, Haikou, Hainan, 570208, People’s Republic of ChinaTel/ Fax +86 0898 66151088Email jiang_ddueg@tom.comObjective: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between fluorodeoxyglucose metabolism and smoking history in healthy adults by analyzing lung standardized uptake value (SUV).Methods: The 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) studies of 347 patients who did not show signs of having malignant diseases or lung inflammation were retrospectively evaluated. Four circular regions of interest (ROI) were manually drawn on the upper and lower lung regions. The averages of maximum SUV (SUVmax-avr) and mean SUV (SUVmean-avr) were calculated, and the mean values of each parameter for non-smokers, ex-smokers, and current smokers were compared. The correlation between SUVmax-avr and smoking history (tobacco burden and the duration of smoking cessation) was assessed based on present smoking status. The ex-smokers and current smokers were divided into three groups according to their tobacco burden, and the SUVmax-avrs of the two groups were compared.Results: Both the mean values of SUVmax-avr and SUVmean-avr increased based on smoking history, with non-smokers having the lowest values and current smokers the highest. Tobacco burden had a positive correlation with SUVmax-avr in current smokers (r = 0.474, P< 0.001). However, neither tobacco burden (r = 0171, P = 0.162) nor duration of smoking cessation (r = 0.212, P = 0.082) had a significant correlation with SUVmax-avr in ex-smokers. The mean SUVmax-avr of current smokers was significantly higher than that of ex-smokers in patients with a medium or large tobacco burden (P = 0.012, P< 0.001, respectively). Although there was no significant difference between the mean SUVmax-avrs of ex-smokers and current smokers in patients with a small tobacco burden (P = 0.888), the mean SUVmax-avrs of both ex-smokers and current smokers with a small tobacco burden were significantly higher than that of non-smokers (P< 0. 001, P< 0.001, respectively).Conclusion: The findings indicate that lung SUV increases in current heavy smokers and partially decreases after the cessation of smoking, which is in line with previous reports studied by analyzingfluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) metabolism of lung specimens.Keywords: smoking, lung, positron emission tomography/computed tomography, fluorodeoxyglucose

Yang Zhao,1,* Tiantian Li,2,* Shuaiwei Tian,1,* Wei Meng,1 Yi Sui,2 Jian Yang,1 Baocheng Wang,1 Zhuangzhuang Liang,1 Heng Zhao,1 Yipeng Han,1 Yujie Tang,1,2 Lei Zhang,2 Jie Ma1 1Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Xin Hua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 2Key Laboratory of Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis of the National Ministry of Education, Department of Pathophysiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Jie MaDepartment of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Xin Hua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 1665 Kongjiang Road, Yangpu District, Shanghai 200092, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86- 13818138498Fax +86-21- 65795173Email majie@xinhuamed.com.cnLei ZhangKey Laboratory of Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis of the National Ministry of Education, Department of Pathophysiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 280 South Chongqing Road, Huangpu, Shanghai 200025, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-13918539872Fax +86-21-6415 4900Email lei.zhang2012@sjtu.edu.cnPurpose: In medulloblastoma (MB), group 3 (G3) patients with MYC amplification tend to exhibit worse prognosis, thus creating a need for novel effective therapies. As the driver and crucial dependency for MYC-amplified G3-MB, MYC has been proven to be a prospective therapeutic target. Here, we aimed to identify novel effective therapeutic strategies against MYC-amplified G3-MB via targeting MYC translation.Materials and Methods: Major components of translation initiation complex eIF4F were subjected to MB tumor dataset analysis, and EIF4A1 was identified to be a potential therapeutic target of MYC-amplified G3-MB. Validation was performed through genetic or pharmacological approaches with multiple patient-derived tumor models of MYC-amplified G3-MB in vitro and in vivo. Underlying mechanisms were further explored by Western blot, quantitative real-time PCR and mass spectrometry (MS) analyses.Results: MB tumor datasets analyses showed that EIF4A1 was significantly up-regulated in G3-MB patients relative to normal cerebella, positively correlated with MYC in G3-MB at transcriptional level and a crucial cancer dependency in MYC-amplified G3-MB cells. Targeting EIF4A1 with a CRISPR/Cas9 approach or small-molecule inhibitor silvestrol effectively attenuated growth in multiple preclinical models of MYC-amplified G3-MB via blocking proliferation and inducing apoptosis. Mechanistically, EIF4A1 inhibition effectively impeded MYC expression at translational level, and its potency was positively associated with MYC level. Whole-proteome MS analysis of silvestrol-treated cells further unveiled other biological functions and pathways influenced by EIF4A1 inhibition.Conclusion: Our investigation shows that interrupting MYC translation by EIF4A1 inhibition could be a potential effective therapeutic approach when treating patients with MYC-amplified G3-MB.Keywords: eIF4F complex, EIF4A1, MYC-amplified group 3 medulloblastoma, Silvestrol, translation inhibition

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic illness characterized by dysregulated immune cascades in the intestines, in which the Th17 immune response plays an important role. We demonstrated that mice with intestinal epithelium–specific deletion of Krüppel-like factor 5 (Klf5) developed Th17-dependent colonic inflammation. In the absence of KLF5, there was aberrant cellular localization of phosphorylated STAT3, an essential mediator of the Th17-associated cytokine, IL-22, which is required for epithelial tissue regeneration. In contrast, mitigation of IL-17A with anti–IL-17A neutralizing antibody attenuated colitis in Klf5-deficient mice. There was also a considerable shift in the colonic microbiota of Klf5-deficient mice that phenocopied human IBD. Notably, the inflammatory response due to Klf5 deletion was alleviated by antibiotic treatment, implicating the role of microbiota in pathogenesis. Finally, human colitic tissues had reduced KLF5 levels when compared with healthy tissues. Together, these findings demonstrated the importance of KLF5 in protecting the intestinal epithelium against Th17-mediated immune and inflammatory responses. The mice described herein may serve as a potential model for human IBD.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic immune-mediated disease of the gastrointestinal tract. While therapies exist, response can be limited within the patient population. Researchers have thus studied mouse models of colitis to further understand pathogenesis and identify new treatment targets. Flow cytometry and RNA-sequencing can phenotype immune populations with single-cell resolution but provide no spatial context. Spatial context may be particularly important in colitis mouse models, due to the simultaneous presence of colonic regions that are involved or uninvolved with disease. These regions can be identified on hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained colonic tissue slides based on the presence of abnormal or normal histology. However, detection of such regions requires expert interpretation by pathologists. This can be a tedious process that may be difficult to perform consistently across experiments. To this end, we trained a deep learning model to detect 'Involved' and 'Uninvolved' regions from H&E-stained colonic tissue slides. Our model was trained on specimens from controls and three mouse models of colitis-the dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) chemical induction model, the recently established intestinal epithelium-specific, inducible Klf5ΔIND (Villin-CreERT2;Klf5fl/fl) genetic model, and one that combines both induction methods. Image patches predicted to be 'Involved' and 'Uninvolved' were extracted across mice to cluster and identify histological classes. We quantified the proportion of 'Uninvolved' patches and 'Involved' patch classes in murine swiss-rolled colons. Furthermore, we trained linear determinant analysis classifiers on these patch proportions to predict mouse model and clinical score bins in a prospectively treated cohort of mice. Such a pipeline has the potential to reveal histological links and improve synergy between various colitis mouse model studies to identify new therapeutic targets and pathophysiological mechanisms.

Jiao Sun,1 Fan Wang,1,2 Yue Sui,1 Zhennan She,1 Wenjun Zhai,1 Chunling Wang,1 Yihui Deng11College of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China; 2Beijing Zhijianjinrui Applied Pharmaceutical Science Inc, Beijing, ChinaAbstract: In this paper work, four naked nanocrystals (size range 80–700 nm) were prepared without any surfactant or polymer using the solvent/nonsolvent method. The effects of particle size on their solubility, dissolution, and oral bioavailability were investigated. Solubility and dissolution testing were performed in three types of dissolution medium, and the studies demonstrated that the equilibrium solubilities of coenzyme Q10 nanocrystals and bulk drugs were not affected by the dissolution media but the kinetic solubilities were. Kinetic solubility curves and changes in particle size distribution were determined and well explained by the proposed solubilization model for the nanocrystals and bulk drugs. The particle size effect on dissolution was clearly influenced by the diffusion coefficients of the various dissolution media, and the dissolution velocity of coenzyme Q10 increased as particle size decreased. The bioavailability of coenzyme Q10 after oral administration in beagle dogs was improved by reducing the particle size. For 700 nm nanocrystals, the AUC0–48 was 4.4-fold greater than that for the coarse suspensions, but a further decrease in particle size from 700 nm to 120 nm did not contribute to improvement in bioavailability until the particle size was reduced to 80 nm, when bioavailability was increased by 7.3-fold.Keywords: particle size, solubility, dissolution, nanocrystal, bioavailability, coenzyme Q10

A well-established numerical approach to solve the Navier-Stokes equations for incompressible fluids is Chorin's projection method [1], whereby the fluid velocity is explicitly updated, and then an elliptic problem for the pressure is solved, which is used to orthogonally project the velocity field to maintain the incompressibility constraint. In this paper, we develop a mathematical correspondence between Newtonian fluids in the incompressible limit and hypo-elastoplastic solids in the slow, quasi-static limit. Using this correspondence, we formulate a new fixed-grid, Eulerian numerical method for simulating quasi-static hypo-elastoplastic solids, whereby the stress is explicitly updated, and then an elliptic problem for the velocity is solved, which is used to orthogonally project the stress to maintain the quasi-staticity constraint. We develop a finite-difference implementation of the method and apply it to an elasto-viscoplastic model of a bulk metallic glass based on the shear transformation zone theory. We show that in a two-dimensional plane strain simple shear simulation, the method is in quantitative agreement with an explicit method. Like the fluid projection method, it is efficient and numerically robust, making it practical for a wide variety of applications. We also demonstrate that the method can be extended to simulate objects with evolving boundaries. We highlight a number of correspondences between incompressible fluid mechanics and quasi-static elastoplasticity, creating possibilities for translating other numerical methods between the two classes of physical problems.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to screen the differential genes related to ferroptosis in osteoporosis patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: GEO2R was used to screen the differential genes related to ferroptosis in osteoporosis patients by searching the relevant chips in the GEO database, and Spearman's correlation analysis was used to describe the correlation between quantitative variables without normal distribution. p-values lower than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Another group of osteoporosis patients was selected in the GEO database to verify the significantly differentially expressed genes. RESULTS: The results showed that 10 samples in chip GSE35956 were identified as research objects, and a total of 5 ferroptosis differential genes were screened out: ATP5MC3, CDKN1A, MT1G, NCOA4, SLC1A5, of which 3 up-regulated genes (CDKN1A, MT1G, SLC1A5), 2 down-regulated genes (ATP5MC3, NCOA4). The above differential genes were placed in 19 samples of chip GSE35959 for verification, and the same expression trend was obtained, but only the MT1G difference was statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: The gene correlation test found that MT1G and ATP5MC3 had a strong negative correlation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To report a case of popular acantholytic dyskeratosis of the right scrotum. A 58-year-old man complained of pruritic papules on the right scrotum for over 5 years. Dermatologic examination revealed unevenly distributed, millet to green bean sized papules with erosion and maceration, on the right groin. Histopathological changes included hyperkeratosis, parakeratosis, irregular epidermal hyperplasia, acantholysis, intraepidermal vesicles, with a large number of dyskeratotic cells in addition to infiltration of lymphocytes and plasma cells in the dermis. Patient was diagnosed with papular acantholytic dyskeratosis and treated with fractional CO2 laser, and the rashes repeatedly relapsed when followed up 2 years later.

Abstract Advanced light management techniques can enhance the sunlight absorption of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). When located at the front, they may act as a UV barrier, which is paramount for protecting the perovskite layer against UV-enabled degradation. Although it was recently shown that photonic structures such as Escher-like patterns could approach the theoretical Lambertian-limit of light trapping, it remains challenging to also implement UV protection properties for these diffractive structures while maintaining broadband absorption gains. Here, we propose a checkerboard (CB) tile pattern with designated UV photon conversion capability. Through a combined optical and electrical modeling approach, this photonic structure can increase photocurrent and power conversion efficiency in ultrathin PSCs by 25.9% and 28.2%, respectively. We further introduce a luminescent down-shifting encapsulant that converts the UV irradiation into Visible photons matching the solar cell absorption spectrum. To this end, experimentally obtained absorption and emission profiles of state-of-the-art down-shifting materials (i.e., lanthanide-based organic-inorganic hybrids) are used to predict potential gains from harnessing the UV energy. We demonstrate that at least 94% of the impinging UV radiation can be effectively converted into the Visible spectral range. Photonic protection from high-energy photons contributes to the market deployment of perovskite solar cell technology, and may become crucial for Space applications under AM0 illumination. By combining light trapping with luminescent downshifting layers, this work unravels a potential photonic solution to overcome UV degradation in PSCs while circumventing optical losses in ultrathin cells, thus improving both performance and stability.

In this research, we have developed a computational method for droplet sorting using a non-uniform electric field. The method is based on a three-dimensional level-set method and the leaky-dielectric electrohydrodynamics (EHD) model. Level-set method is used for modeling the interface of the two-phase flow system. The electrostatic phenomenon is dealt with the leaky dielectric-leaky dielectric fluid system. At first, we validated our developed model for a classical flow case: a droplet subjected to a uniform electric field. The results obtained from the present computational method show good agreement with the existing results from the literature. After validation, we implemented the developed code in a practical application of droplet sorting using a non-uniform electric field (known as dielectrophoresis) in a rectangular microchannel with an orthogonal side channel. We mainly focus on the sorting of the droplet without and with the electric field effect as a function of different parameters of the problem. Depending on the intensity of the physical parameters, the droplet can flow into either the downstream main channel or it can sort into the orthogonal side branch. The sorting of a droplet is characterized by the critical branch ratio, qc above which the droplet enters the side branch. The results and conclusions from the present thesis facilitate the understanding of the fundamental principles and mechanisms of electrohydrodynamics (EHD)-based droplet sorting using dielectrophoresis in microfluidic channels. Therefore, present results can have potential usefulness toward the design and development of droplet-based microfluidic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to obtain the influencing rule of secondary combustion on emissions and combustion oscillation characteristics of gas turbine axial staged combustor in non-premixed combustion mode and explore a load increasing mode with stable low emission, an axial staged combustor for F-class gas turbines is selected for experimental study. The results show that CO consumption is restrained and CO emission increases sharply when secondary fuel is added at a lower combustor outlet temperature. The addition of secondary fuel and the increase of secondary equivalence ratio lead to the reduction of NOx emission, but the increase of load can weaken the ability of secondary fuel to reduce NOx emission. The addition of secondary fuel and the increase of secondary equivalence ratio restrain the combustion oscillation in the low frequency band (75—90 Hz). When the secondary equivalence ratio is higher than a certain threshold (0.19), the addition of secondary fuel can restrain higher frequency(175—210 Hz) combustion oscillation. In addition, by comprehensively considering the influence of secondary combustion on emissions and combustion oscillation, the operating range and load increasing mode of low emissions and stable combustion of axial staged combustor in the higher load range (20%—50% load) are obtained, which provides a reference for stable low emission operation of the unit during load increasing.

Objective To investigate the protective effect of dihydromyricetin (DMY) against injury of primary hip-pocampal neurons caused by ferric ammonium citrate (FAC) and its mechanism. Methods Primary hippocampal neurons were collected from 24-hour neonatal Sprague-Dawley rats for in vitro culture, and CCK-8 assay was used to measure the viability of primary hippocampal neurons treated with different concentrations of DMY and determine the administration concentration of DMY. Primary hippocampal neurons were divided into control group (H group), 100 mmol/L DMY treatment group (I group), 250 mmol/L FAC treatment group (J group), and 100 mmol/L DMY+250 mmol/L FAC treatment group (K group). Flow cytometry was used to measure the content of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in each group; colorimetry was used to measure the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) in each group; Western blot was used to measure the protein expression levels of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) in each group. Results CCK-8 assay showed the highest viability of primary hippocampal neurons at the concentration of 100 mmol/L for DMY (F=9.95,P

Objective To investigate the effect of Tuina combined with auricular acupoint pressing therapy in the treatment of post-stroke constipation. Methods Totally 100 bedridden patients with post-stroke constipation were randomly divided in the observation group and control group, with 50 cases in each group. All patients received comprehensive treatment and routine nursing interventions, and those in the observation group were given Tuina combined with aricular acupoint pressing therapy. The intervention effect was evaluated and compared between two groups. Results The total effective rate was 94. 00%(47/50) in the observation, which was higher than 66. 00%(33/50) in the control group(P＜0. 05). Conclusion Tuina combined with aricular acupoint pressing therapy is effective to relive the symptoms of constipation in bedridden patients with post-stroke constipation. (目的 探讨便秘推拿联合耳穴压豆治疗中风后恢复期便秘的效果。方法 将100例卧床的中风后恢复期便秘患者随机分为观察组及对照组, 各50例。对照组实施常规护理干预, 观察组在对照组基础上增加便秘推拿联合耳穴压豆。评价两组干预效果。结果 观察组总有效率94. 00%(47/50), 高于对照组的66. 00%(33/50), 差异有统计学意义(P＜0. 05)。结论 对中风后恢复期患者采用便秘推拿配合耳穴压豆, 能进一步缓解便秘症状。)

Abstract Background Attracting and supporting a sustainable long-term care (LTC) workforce has been a persistent social policy challenge across the globe. To better attract and retain a sustainable LTC workforce, it is necessary to adopt a unified concept of worker well-being. Meaning of work is an important psychological resource that buffers the negative impacts of adverse working conditions on workers’ motivation, satisfaction, and turnover intention. The aim of this study was to explore the positive meaning of care work with older people and its implications for health care workers’ job satisfaction and motivation to work in the LTC sector. Methods This study adopted a qualitative descriptive design that pays particular attention to health care workers; such as nurses, personal care workers; as active agents of the meaning making and reframing of care work in LTC communities in a East Asia city. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with thirty health care workers in LTC communities in Hong Kong. Thematic analysis was employed for data analysis. Results The research findings indicate that while health care workers perform demanding care work and experience external constraints, they actively construct positive meanings of care work with older people as a helping career that enables them to facilitate the comfortable aging of older people, build affectional relationships, achieve professional identity, and gain job security. Conclusions This qualitative study explores how health care workers negotiate the positive meaning of older people care work and the implications of meaningful work for workers’ job satisfaction and motivation to work in the LTC sector. The importance of a culturally sensitive perspective in researching and developing social policy intervention are suggested.

With the continuous advancement of agricultural Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, real-time monitoring of agricultural environments has become increasingly significant. This monitoring provides valuable information on pest and disease occurrences and corresponding ecological conditions. However, as the agricultural environments have extensive coverage, the number of monitoring IoT devices and the volume of information will rapidly increase. This leads to a surge in network traffic and computing demands. To address this issue, this article proposes an agricultural environmental monitoring IoT system that utilizes edge computing and deep learning technologies. It combines the Long-Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) for long-range transmission with pest recognition and counting modules. By offloading workloads traditionally processed in the cloud to edge nodes, the proposed system effectively reduces transmission and cloud computing pressures for the agricultural monitoring IoT. Simulation experiments demonstrate stable LoRaWAN protocol-based data transmission at the edge, with an overall packet loss rate of less than 5%, meeting the transmission quality requirements. Moreover, this article investigates a pest recognition and counting method based on deep learning technology. Pest images, captured by monitoring nodes, are recognized and counted online using the TensorFlow framework. Experimental results indicate an accuracy of 89% in pest recognition. By digitally transmitting pest image recognition results to the cloud, the proposed system significantly alleviates transmission and cloud computing pressures for the monitoring IoT.