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Abstract Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a serious disorder associated with significant morbidity and mortality. AKI and ischemia/reperfusion (hypoxia/reoxygenation, H/R) injury can be induced due to several reasons. Paeoniflorin (PF) is a traditional herbal medicine derived from Paeonia lactiflora Pall. It exerts diverse therapeutic effects, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, antiapoptotic, and immunomodulatory properties; thus, it is considered valuable for treating several diseases. However, the effects of PF on H/R injury-induced AKI remain unknown. In this study, we established an in vitro H/R model using COCL2 and investigated the functions and underlying mechanisms of PF on H/R injury in HK-2 cells. The cell vitality was evaluated using the cell count kit-8 assay. The DCFH-DA fluorescence probe was used to measure the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Oxidative damage was detected using superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) assay kits. Apoptotic relative protein and Keap1/Nrf2/HO-1 signaling were evaluated by Western blotting. Our results indicated that PF increased cell viability and SOD activity and decreased the ROS and MDA levels in HK-2 cells with H/R injury. PF inhibits apoptosis by increasing Bcl-2 and decreasing Bax. Furthermore, PF significantly upregulated the expression of HO-1 and Nrf2, but downregulated the expression of HIF-1α and Keap1. PF considerably increased Nrf2 nuclear translocation and unregulated the HO-1 expression. The Nrf2 inhibitor (ML385) could reverse the abovementioned protective effects of PF, suggesting that Nrf2 can be a critical target of PF. To conclude, we found that PF attenuates H/R injury-induced AKI by decreasing the oxidative damage via the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway and inhibiting apoptosis.

Insulator faults are an important factor in causing outages and accidents in power transmission lines. In response to problems related to inefficient insulator positioning, limited robustness of insulator defect feature extraction methods, and the scarcity of defective insulator samples leading to poor classifier generalization, a method for insulator defect detection and recognition based on vision big-model transfer learning and a stochastic configuration network (SCN) is proposed. First, data augmentation methods, such as Mosaic and Mixup, are employed to mitigate overfitting in the YOLOv7 network. Second, StyleGanv3 adversarial generative networks are used to augment the dataset of defective insulators, which enhances dataset diversity. Third, a vision big-model transfer learning method based on DINOv2 is introduced to extract features from insulator images. Finally, an SCN classifier is used to determine the status of insulators. Experimental results demonstrate that the applied data augmentation methods effectively mitigate overfitting. YOLOv7 accurately detects insulator positions, and the use of the DINOv2 feature extraction method increases the accuracy of insulator defect recognition by 28.6%. Compared with machine learning classification methods, the SCN classifier achieves the highest accuracy improvement of 17.4%. The proposed method effectively detects insulator positions and recognizes insulator defects.

Abstract Background Aggregation of α-synuclein (α-syn) is a prominent feature of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and other synucleinopathies. Currently, α-syn seed amplification assays (SAAs) using cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) represent the most promising diagnostic tools for synucleinopathies. However, CSF itself contains several compounds that can modulate the aggregation of α-syn in a patient-dependent manner, potentially undermining unoptimized α-syn SAAs and preventing seed quantification. Methods In this study, we characterized the inhibitory effect of CSF milieu on detection of α-syn aggregates by means of CSF fractionation, mass spectrometry, immunoassays, transmission electron microscopy, solution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, a highly accurate and standardized diagnostic SAA, and different in vitro aggregation conditions to evaluate spontaneous aggregation of α-syn. Results We found the high-molecular weight fraction of CSF (> 100,000 Da) to be highly inhibitory on α-syn aggregation and identified lipoproteins to be the main drivers of this effect. Direct interaction between lipoproteins and monomeric α-syn was not detected by solution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, on the other hand we observed lipoprotein-α-syn complexes by transmission electron microscopy. These observations are compatible with hypothesizing an interaction between lipoproteins and oligomeric/proto-fibrillary α-syn intermediates. We observed significantly slower amplification of α-syn seeds in PD CSF when lipoproteins were added to the reaction mix of diagnostic SAA. Additionally, we observed a decreased inhibition capacity of CSF on α-syn aggregation after immunodepleting ApoA1 and ApoE. Finally, we observed that CSF ApoA1 and ApoE levels significantly correlated with SAA kinetic parameters in n = 31 SAA-negative control CSF samples spiked with preformed α-syn aggregates. Conclusions Our results describe a novel interaction between lipoproteins and α-syn aggregates that inhibits the formation of α-syn fibrils and could have relevant implications. Indeed, the donor-specific inhibition of CSF on α-syn aggregation explains the lack of quantitative results from analysis of SAA-derived kinetic parameters to date. Furthermore, our data show that lipoproteins are the main inhibitory components of CSF, suggesting that lipoprotein concentration measurements could be incorporated into data analysis models to eliminate the confounding effects of CSF milieu on α-syn quantification efforts.

Ultra-short-term power load forecasting (USTPLF) can provide strong support and guarantee the decisions on unit start-up, shutdown, and power adjustment. The ultra-short-term power load (USTPL) has strong non-smoothness and nonlinearity, and the time-series characteristics of the load data themselves are difficult to explore. Therefore, to fully exploit the intrinsic features of the USTPL, a stochastic configuration networks (SCNs) USTPLF method based on K-means clustering (K-means) and empirical mode decomposition (EMD) is proposed. First, the load data are decomposed into several intrinsic mode functions (i.e., IMFs) and residuals (i.e., Res) by EMD. Second, the IMFs are classified by K-means, and the IMF components of the same class are summed. Third, the SCNs is used to forecast the electric load on the basis of the classified data. Lastly, on the basis of the real load of Shenzhen City, the proposed method is applied for emulation authentication. The result verifies the efficiency of the proposed measure.

Abstract The recently introduced 5G New Radio is the first wireless standard natively designed to support critical and massive machine type communications (MTC). However, it is already becoming evident that some of the more demanding requirements for MTC cannot be fully supported by 5G networks. Alongside, emerging use cases and applications towards 2030 will give rise to new and more stringent requirements on wireless connectivity in general and MTC in particular. Next generation wireless networks, namely 6G, should therefore be an agile and efficient convergent network designed to meet the diverse and challenging requirements anticipated by 2030. This paper explores the main drivers and requirements of MTC towards 6G, and discusses a wide variety of enabling technologies. More specifically, we first explore the emerging key performance indicators for MTC in 6G. Thereafter, we present a vision for an MTC-optimized holistic end-to-end network architecture. Finally, key enablers towards (1) ultra-low power MTC, (2) massively scalable global connectivity, (3) critical and dependable MTC, and (4) security and privacy preserving schemes for MTC are detailed. Our main objective is to present a set of research directions considering different aspects for an MTC-optimized 6G network in the 2030-era.

The internal parameters and topology of the power converter are unknown in some practical cases. Existing modeling methods based on impedance frequency scanning method can only guarantee that the dynamic modeling is effective at a single working point. To make the established dynamic model effective in a wide range, an equivalent modeling method for power converter based LSTM Neural Network is presented. At first, the equivalence of black-box modeling problem and deep loop neural network is studied. Then, dynamic modeling method black-box power converter on wide operating range by using LSTM neural network is proposed. Finally, the simulation results under large disturbance and multi-operating points show that the proposed method is effective under wide operation range.

The dynamic behaviors of microgrid become more complicated due to the increasing implementation of distributed energy generation, energy storage. It is significant to study the dynamic response for power planning, analysis, and control of microgrid. Hence, an accurate dynamic equivalent model is essential, since it can help to evaluate the performance by simulation to avoid the loss and danger in practical test. However, the dynamic model based on differential equation cannot be established because of the lack of information in most of time. To build dynamic model when microgrid is a black-box system, a gated recurrent unit based neural network is proposed in this paper. The proposed neural network can be treated as a black-box differential–algebraic equations. The structure design and model training procedure are presented in detail. Study cases are implemented to evaluate the performance of modeling method. The comparison results show that the proposed dynamic modeling method can precisely estimate the dynamic response of microgrid.

An electro-hydraulic profiling mechanism has been gradually applied to provide suitable downforce for a no-till row unit and to ensure the consistency of the seed sowing depth. In order to improve the control effect of the sowing depth system and solve the problems of a complex structure, scattered valve sets and equipment suitability of an existing electro-hydraulic row unit, this paper takes the 2BJ-470B no-till row unit as the carrier and innovatively designs an integrated pressure-reducing cylinder (IPRC) based on electro-hydraulic technology by analyzing the sowing depth control process of an electro-hydraulic seeder. In addition, we develop the integrated electro-hydraulic-driven sowing depth measurement and control system. Combined with the feedforward compensation PID control algorithm, the dynamic regulation of the downforce is realized with the IPRC. The field test shows that under the setting of a sowing depth of 50 mm and a vehicle speed of 9~10 km·h−1, the qualified rate of the sowing depth under the three adjustment methods of self-weight adjustment, spring adjustment and electro-hydraulic adjustment is 89.2%, 96.7% and 98.6%, respectively, and the corresponding maximum coefficient of variation of the sowing depth is 16.7%, 12.9% and 6.4%, respectively. The seed groove environmental qualification rate (SFEQ) is further analyzed in combination with the soil compaction, and the mean values of the qualification rates of the three control methods at different vehicle speeds are 88.3%, 91.6% and 98.6%, respectively. The integrated electro-hydraulic-driven row unit has significant advantages over mechanical and self-weight regulation, and its whole machine integration degree and high adaptability realize the comprehensive control of the sowing depth and soil compaction strength.

To realize the real-time monitoring of the cotton precision seeding operation process and improve the intelligence level of cotton precision planters, based on automatic color matching detection technology and visualization technology, this study designs a monitoring system for the sowing quality of cotton precision planters. The monitoring system is based on the double-silo turntable type cotton vertical disc hole seed metering device as the research carrier, and is composed of a missed seeding monitoring module and a visualization module. Among them, the missed seeding monitoring module includes an incremental rotary encoder, color code electric eye color fiber optic sensor, color code sensor amplifier, etc.; the visualization module includes data acquisition module, industrial computer, and so on. The missing seeding monitoring module is installed on the seed spacer of the cotton precision seed metering device. It uses Labview software for graphical programming and is equipped with a multi-functional industrial computer. It realizes the monitoring of parameters such as the number of sowings, the number of missed sowings, the speed of the hole seeder, the forward speed of the machine, and the sowing area. The results of the bench test and field test of the sowing monitoring system showed that the accuracy rate of the system’s broadcast monitoring was over 93%, and the accuracy rate of missed broadcast monitoring was over 91%. The system solved the technical problem that cotton film-laying and sowing were not easy to detect. It could accurately detect the quality of cotton sowing in real time and meet the actual requirements of sowing monitoring.

To improve the accuracy of the parameters used in the discrete element simulation test, this study calibrated the simulation parameters of cotton seeds by combining a physical test and simulation test. Based on the intrinsic parameters used for the physical test of cotton seed, according to the freefall collision method, inclined plane sliding method, and inclined plane rolling method, the contact parameters of cotton seeds and cotton seeds, stainless steel, and nylon were measured, respectively. The physical test of the accumulation angle and angle of repose of the cotton seeds was conducted. It was obtained to process the image of the seed pile with Matrix Laboratory software. The Plackett–Burman test was used to screen the significance of the simulation parameters. The optimal value range of the significant parameters was determined according to the steepest climbing test. The second-order regression model of the significant parameters, the stacking-angle error, and the angle-of-repose error were obtained according to the Box–Behnken design test. Taking the minimum stacking-angle error and angle-of-repose error as the optimization target values, the following optimal parameter combination was obtained: the interspecies collision recovery coefficient was 0.413, the interspecies static friction coefficient was 0.695, and the interspecies rolling friction coefficient was 0.214. Three repetitive simulation experiments were conducted to prove the reliability of the calibration results. The research results can be used for discrete element simulation experiments for cotton precision seed metering.

Methane-producing archaea and methylotrophic bacteria use tetrahydromethanopterin (H4MPT) and/or tetrahydrofolate (H4F) as coenzymes in one-carbon (C1) transfer pathways. The α-proteobacterium Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 contains a dihydromethanopterin reductase (DmrA) and two annotated dihydrofolate reductases (DfrA and DfrB). DmrA has been shown to catalyze the final step of H4MPT biosynthesis; however, the functions of DfrA and DfrB have not been examined biochemically. Moreover, sequence alignment (BLAST) searches have recognized scores of proteins that share up to 99% identity with DmrA but are annotated as diacylglycerol kinases (DAGK). In this work, we used bioinformatics and enzyme assays to provide insight into the phylogeny and substrate specificity of selected Dfr and DmrA homologs. In a phylogenetic tree, DmrA and homologs annotated as DAGKs grouped together in one clade. Purified histidine-tagged versions of the annotated DAGKs from Hyphomicrobium nitrativorans and M. nodulans (respectively, sharing 69 and 84% identity with DmrA) showed only low activity in phosphorylating 1,2-dihexanoyl-sn-glycerol when compared with a commercial DAGK from Escherichia coli. However, the annotated DAGKs successfully reduced a dihydromethanopterin analog (dihydrosarcinapterin, H2SPT) with kinetic values similar to those determined for M. extorquens AM1 DmrA. DfrA and DfrB showed little or no ability to reduce H2SPT under the conditions studied; however, both catalyzed the NADPH-dependent reduction of dihydrofolate. These results provide the first evidence that DfrA and DfrB function as authentic dihydrofolate reductases, while DAGKs with greater than 69% identity to DmrA may be misannotated and are likely to function in H4MPT biosynthesis.

Abstract China faces a growing challenge in providing adequate age-friendly care services due to a rapidly aging population. Smart older adults care (SOAC), developed under the concepts of age-friendly cities and communities (AFCC) and smart healthy age-friendly environments (SHAFE), aims to address this imbalance between service demand and supply. This study explored the impact of SOAC on the life satisfaction of older adults in China using a multi-level Logit model and data from CLASS 2020. The analysis considered both family and city perspectives. Our findings revealed significant positive effects on life satisfaction from the family perspective when SOAC offered high accessibility, application, and expansibility. Digital ability also plays a significant moderation role in this pathway of influence. For the city perspective, a positive correlation was found between digital urban service and life satisfaction, while the digital urban governance showed a negative correlation. Finally, the study identified a link between SOAC and improved life satisfaction, facilitated by a greater sense of gain from internet convenience.

Although many Chinese cities have made remarkable progress in promoting age-friendly housings, few empirical studies related to the premium price of housings with additional elevators installed have been reported. In this study, we constructed propensity score matching–hedonic price models as well as quantile–hedonic models to assess the impact of adding elevators on housing prices. This study concludes: (1) The impact of additional elevators on housing prices varies depending on the floor level. (2) Single-facing and older housings are more likely to be negatively affected by the addition of elevators, and this interaction increases with floor level. (3) Adding an elevator reduces the price of low-priced housings on low floors and raises the price of high-priced housings on low floors, while for middle-floor and high-floor housings, the premium increases with the price of the housing. (4) Compared with the commercial community housings, the elevator premium of the affordable community housings is higher. Our findings provide an important reference for local governments to formulate appropriate charging and compensation mechanisms for adding elevators to multistory housings to promote retrofitting of aging communities.

The tasks conducted on a high-rise building are complex and dangerous, and the construction safety of the construction personnel needs to have a higher guarantee. In this study, the key physiological indicators of high-rise construction workers were monitored and collected in real time by selecting a smart wearable device integrated with multiple sensors. On this basis, the key physiological index parameters are analyzed and screened, which are taken as input parameters, and the construction risk prediction results are taken as output. The BP neural network model and support vector machine (SVM) are, respectively, used to establish the safety risk prediction model of high-rise construction workers based on key indicators, to quantitatively assess the construction risk of the construction workers in the process of high-rise construction. The results showed that heart rate and blood pressure had the greatest impact on the construction safety of the construction worker, followed by the duration of work, age, working period, and gender. Compared with the BP neural network, the risk prediction model established by SVM can obtain more accurate prediction results under the condition of a smaller training data set. The presented research can not only effectively reduce the health threats caused by the physical and psychological effects faced by construction personnel when working at altitude and ensure construction safety, but also further enrich the application scenarios of multi-sensor data-driven equipment and expand its application in the construction field.

Intestinal oxidative stress triggers gut microbiota dysbiosis, which is involved in the etiology of post-weaning diarrhea and enteric infections. Ellagic acid (EA) can potentially serve as an antioxidant supplement to facilitate weaning transition by improving intestinal oxidative stress and gut microbiota dysbiosis. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the effects of dietary EA supplementation on the attenuation of intestinal damage, oxidative stress, and dysbiosis of gut microbiota in weanling piglets. A total of 126 piglets were randomly assigned into 3 groups and treated with a basal diet and 2 mL saline orally (Ctrl group), or the basal diet supplemented with 0.1% EA and 2 mL saline orally (EA group), or the basal diet and 2 mL fecal microbiota suspension from the EA group orally (FEA group), respectively, for 14 d. Compared with the Ctrl group, EA group improved growth performance by increasing average daily feed intake and average daily weight gain (P

Abstract: a large number of 5G base station are connected, which provides a new possibility for the future low-carbon development of power systems. By encouraging 5G base station to participate in demand response and incorporating it into the Microgrid, it can reduce the power consumption cost of 5G base stations and promote the efficient utilization of renewable energy. Based on the microgrid operation structure, 5G base station and multi-objective problem algorithm, a multi-objective optimization operation model of microgrid access to 5G base station is built. Considering the physical constraints of Microgrid, the objective is to minimize the operating cost and carbon emission. Through the joint dispatching of distributed clean energy generation, micro gas turbine, energy storage system and 5G base station in Microgrid, the comprehensive optimization of system economy and low-carbon benefits can be achieved. In this paper, a microgrid in Beijing is taken as the research object, and the Whale Optimization Algorithm algorithm is used to solve the multiobjective problem. The analysis results show that 5G base station can flexibly respond to microgrid scheduling, which helps microgrid to improve the consumption and utilization efficiency of renewable energy, thus bringing higher economic benefits and low-carbon benefits, and helping China to achieve the goal of carbon peak shaving and carbon neutrality at an early date.

Since electric vehicle (ELV) deployment can contribute to overall renewable energy sources, exploration of the heterogeneous influence factors (HIFs) affecting the willingness to accept ELVs can assist in the realization of sustainable development goals, particularly universal access to affordable energy for all. In this research, we explored the HIFs that influence the willingness of individuals to accept ELVs (WAELV) within an integrated decision-making (IDM) framework. We established the IDM conceptual framework through the incorporation of HIFs, notably including the environmental and health benefits of ELVs, knowledge about innovation, and the benefits regarding the built environment and creating a comprehensive structure. We analyzed data gathered through questionnaires from urban and peri-urban areas of the Shandong province (China) by employing the partial least square structural equation modeling technique, which is an appropriate tool for analyzing data measured on a Likert scale. The key findings were as follows. Firstly, the capital cost of ELVs was found to be a significant barrier to the WAELV of individuals. Secondly, among other factors, the societal aspect of ELVs and the environmental awareness aspect were drivers of the WAELV of individuals across all the data samples. However, benefits for the built environment, knowledge about innovation, and the environmental and health benefits of ELVs only positively drove the WAELV of individuals in the urban setting and for the overall sample. Thirdly, these three HIFs were identified as neutral factors in the peri-urban areas. Thus, a clear disparity was detected between the urban and peri-urban areas in terms of factors influencing the WAELV of individuals. Finally, the social aspect of ELVs was revealed as the strongest driver, while benefits for the built environment turned out to be the weakest factor. Based on these findings, some crucial policies are here extracted.

Global population aging has become a continuous and irreversible trend. Most of the elderly in China prefer “aging in place” owing to the influence of traditional concepts and social welfare, but many communities, as a basic place for the elderly to live, generally lack age-friendly infrastructure facilities. Based on the 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study database, this study applies the propensity score matching method to empirically investigate the influence of the infrastructure facilities on the health of the elderly in China. The results show that adding elevators, installing bathing facilities, supplying gas or natural gas, and changing squatting toilets into sitting toilets, positively influence the health of the elderly, but there are some differences. The order of the degree of impact on self-rated health (SRH) was elevator > toilet type > kitchen gas supply > bathing facility, while that of activities of daily living (ADL) was bathing facility > toilet type > elevator > kitchen gas supply. Elderly people with different personal characteristics and family status have different degrees of ownership for the infrastructure facilities. It is suggested that age-friendly regeneration schemes be developed according to the different impacts and demands of the facilities.

A new water-soluble polysaccharide (SEP-2), with a molecular weight of 6.78 x 105 Da, was isolated from Strongylocentrotus nudus eggs under the extraction conditions optimized by response surface methodology (RSM). Preliminary characterization of SEP-2 was performed by HPSEC and GC-MS, indicating that SEP-2 could be a d-glucan containing a (1 → 4)-linked d-Glcp backbone with (1 → 3)-linked d-Glcp side chains. In subsequent immunostimulatory studies, significantly enhanced ROS level, NO production and inflammatory cytokines secretion (IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α) were observed in SEP-2 treated murine macrophage cell line RAW264.7. These results suggest that SEP-2 might have the capability to enhance the microbicidal activity and killing function of macrophages through the polarization toward the pro-inflammatory M1 state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract With the development of information technology, especially the development of visual image processing technology, more and more automated production links, such as injection molding production, use visualization to realize automatic detection of injection molds, but the traditional integrated environment for visual image processing exists in real time. In order to solve this problem, this paper proposes a visual image processing integrated development environment model based on the Moore nearest neighbor model. The model runs on the visual platform, and the residuals to be detected are highlighted by the Moore nearest neighbor model. In order to solve the error caused by the image shift, the model introduces the support vector machine as the classification method, and the model is used for the simulation experiment. The average accuracy of cavity residual detection in the model is 85.71%, and the average time of residual detection is 0.910 s. The results show that the model solves the real-time and accuracy problems of the traditional visual image processing model.

Abstract The remote sensing technology of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is a low altitude remote sensing technology. The technology has been widely used in military, agricultural, medical, geographical mapping, and other fields by virtue of the advantages of fast acquisition, high resolution, low cost, and good security. But limited by the flying height of UAV and the focal length of the digital camera, the single image obtained by the UAV is difficult to form the overall cognition of the ground farmland area. In order to further expand the field of view, it is necessary to mosaic multiple single images acquired by UAV into a complete panoramic image of the farmland. In this paper, aiming at the problem of UAV low-altitude remote sensing image splicing, an image mosaic technique based on Speed Up Robust Feature (SURF) is introduced to achieve rapid image splicing. One hundred fifty ground farmland remote sensing images collected by UAV are used as experimental splicing objects, and the image splicing is completed by the global stitching strategy optimized by Levenberg-Marquardt (L-M). Experiments show that the strategy can effectively reduce the influence of cumulative errors and achieve automatic panoramic mosaic of the survey area.

Grafting is becoming more popular in cucurbit crop production for soil-borne disease control. The correct choice of rootstock can have a vital role in the success of grafting. An improved understanding of the genetic diversity and potential of rootstock germplasm can be expected to contribute to more efficient breeding for improved rootstocks. Cucurbita spp. (squash and pumpkins) are major sources of rootstocks for grafting cucumbers, melons, and watermelons. The genetic diversity and relatedness of 25 commercial Cucurbita rootstock cultivars and 10 inbred lines were assessed using 80 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers in this study. Forty-one SSR loci yielded 94 polymorphic alleles, with an average of 2.29 alleles per locus. The polymorphism information content values ranged from 0.16 to 0.60, with an average of 0.36. Cluster analysis and principal coordinate analysis showed that the majority of commercial Cucurbita rootstocks are interspecific hybrids, C. maxima×C. moschata, and these hybrids are closely related. By contrast, the C. moschata inbreds exhibit considerably greater genetic diversity, suggesting that they could be useful for rootstock improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]