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To analyze the clinical characteristics and to improve clinicians’ understanding of multiple pulmonary sclerosing pneumocytoma (PSP) patients. A total of 36 PSP patients with multiple tumor characteristics were identified from the literature search. They were compared with 43 solitary PSP patients diagnosed and treated in our hospital in the past 5 years. Thus, the pathogenesis, clinical symptoms, diagnosis methods, treatment strategies, and prognosis of pulmonary sclerosing pneumocytoma (PSP) patients with multiple tumors were explored. Patients with multiple PSP are mostly distributed in Asia (88.89%) and are females (83.33%). PSP can be located in any one lobe (19.44%), or grow across ipsilateral lobes (44.44%), or even, bilateral lobes (36.11%). It can be accompanied by metastasis (9.09%) and is prone to misdiagnosis (27.78%). Compared with solitary PSP, the occurrence age of multiple PSP was younger (mean ± standard deviation [SD]: 40.36 ± 18.12: 51.28 ± 12.74 years), but there was no significant difference in sex, tumor size (mean ± SD: 43.54 ± 46.18: 30.56 ± 17.62 mm), or symptoms. Individualized surgical resection is required for treatment, including pneumonectomy (17.65%), lobectomy (23.53%), subpulmonary lobectomy (38.24%), or combined lobectomy (5.88%). Multiple PSP is relatively rare. Surgical resection within a limited time should be the main treatment for such patients. The prognosis of patients with multiple PSP is generally good, but inappropriate diagnosis and treatment plans may lead to poor prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The resonance photoacoustic (PA) cell has a resonance enhancement effect and higher resonance frequency. It can significantly improve the signal-to-noise ratio of PA gas detection. However, in resonance PA gas detection, the resonance frequency of the PA cell mainly depends on the gas composition, temperature, and pressure and therefore must be continuously tracked and measured. A fast resonance frequency tracking method for PA cell based on the hybrid single-frequency excitation and the fast fourier transform (FFT) is proposed. The hybrid single-frequency serves as the excitation signal. The FFT is used to collect the spectral data of all frequencies within a certain bandwidth. Under the same conditions, the resonance frequency is measured by sweep frequency and hybrid single-frequency. The experiments show that the resonance frequency tracking time in the 200 Hz bandwidth is 200 s by sweep method. The hybrid single-frequency takes only 1.1 s, which is only 0.55% of the sine sweep tracking time. The accuracy of frequency tracking can reach 1 Hz. In the long-term stability test, the resonance frequency fluctuation is less than ± 1 Hz, and its standard deviation (1 σ ) is 0.5681 Hz. This method provides a quick and accurate method for determining the resonance frequency of the resonance PA cell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Hölder–Morrey spaces Λ κ p , τ (Ω , ∧ l) are proposed in this paper. The imbedding inequalities for homotopy operator are derived in Hölder–Morrey spaces on differential forms. The Hölder continuity for Riesz potential with envelope function is deduced. As application, some composite theorems, which are associated with conjugate A-harmonic equations on differential forms, are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: With recent improvements in surgical technique, oncological outcomes of low rectal cancer have improved over time. But the QoL impairment as a result of anal functional disorder cannot be ignored. And the incidence of anastomosis-related complications cannot be ignored. To address these problems, a personal technique for pull-through coloanal anastomosis (parachute-like intussuscept pull-through anastomosis) was introduced and evaluated. This technique can relatively reduce surgical complications, minimize the impact of anal function, and obviate a colostomy creation. Methods: Between June 2020 and April 2021, 14 consecutive patients with rectal cancer underwent laparoscopic-assisted resection of rectal cancer in our hospital. Parachute-like pull-through anastomosis method was performed in all patients. Anal function, perioperative details, and postoperative outcomes were analyzed. Results: The mean (SD) operative time of first stage was 282.1 min (range 220–370) with an average estimated blood loss of 90.3 mL (range 33–200). And the mean (SD) operative time of second was 46 min (range 25–76) with an average estimated blood loss of 16.1 mL (range 5–50). Wexner scores declined significantly during the median follow-up of 18 months. Four postoperative anastomosis-related complications occurred in 14 patients, including perianastomotic abscess: 1 case (7%), anastomotic stricture: 1 case (7%), and colonic ischemia of the exteriorized colonic segment: 2 cases (14%). Conclusion: The results suggest that the method can facilitate safe and easy completion of coloanal anastomosis, using parachute-like pull-through anastomosis, with acceptable anal function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to analyze the dynamic responses of Tension Leg Platform (TLP). Under the combined action of waves and currents, a tether model considering the coupled effects of transverse and axial responses is established. The finite difference method is used in the numerical algorithm of the tether vibration model. Three simulations are performed, including a first-order irregular wave, a second-order wave, and a freak wave impact against the platform. The dynamic response characteristics of the tension leg platform under the action of freak waves are calculated by using the superposition model to generate the time history of freak waves. The numerical simulation results show that the platform motions are significantly affected by the freak waves, especially in the focusing location. And the effects of second-order wave force and freak wave force on the platform responses, horizontal offset, and vertical subsidence are analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We characterize the commutators of fractional integral operator and Calderón–Zygmund operator on differential forms. Also, the Hölder continuity for commutator of fractional integral operator with double-phase functional is derived. Finally, some estimates for the solutions to A-harmonic equations on differential forms are obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How to calculate the 3D time-domain Green function and its gradients accurately and efficiently is the key to solving the hydrodynamic problem of ships. In this paper, the least square support vector machine (LS-SVM) theory was proposed for the first time to solve the ordinary differential equations (ODEs) satisfied by the time-domain Green function and the spatial derivatives in time domain. Furthermore, the computational advantages of the theory were discussed from three perspectives which were the accuracy, stability and rapidity of the calculation of the time-domain Green function. This approach was validated by comparing the obtained results with those of alternative methods which was found to effectively improve the accuracy and stability of calculation of the time-domain Green function and the spatial derivative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the expression for the SNR has been developed through the imaging model. It is concluded that the image SNR decreases with the increase of the number of light-emitting points of the target under the same hardware conditions and experimental parameters. Using uniform bright squares of different sizes as the target, the SNR of the reconstructed image is calculated. Simulation and prototype experiments have proved the correctness of the conclusion. Based on this conclusion, a method of segmented area imaging is proposed to improve the reconstructed image quality. The quality of all the images using this method with Wiener inverse filtering, R-Lucy deconvolution, and ADMM is better than the image quality obtained by full-area imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: NiCo-LDHs successfully grow in situ on rod-like ZnO with unique structures. The interface of NiCo@C and rod-like ZnO result in interfacial polarization. The RLmin of NiCo@C/ZnO reaches − 60.97 dB with the EABmax of 6.08 GHz. The excellent performance comes from the effect of dielectric loss and magnetic loss.Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) have a special structure and atom composition, which are expected to be an excellent electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorber. However, it is still a problem that obtaining excellent EMW-absorbing materials from LDHs. Herein, we designed heterostructure NiCo-LDHs@ZnO nanorod and then subsequent heat treating to derive NiCo@C/ZnO composites. Finally, with the synergy of excellent dielectric loss and magnetic loss, an outstanding absorption performance could be achieved with the reflection loss of − 60.97 dB at the matching thickness of 2.3 mm, and the widest absorption bandwidth of 6.08 GHz was realized at 2.0 mm. Moreover, this research work provides a reference for the development and utilization of LDHs materials in the field of microwave absorption materials and can also provide ideas for the design of layered structural absorbers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim at improving the energy saving and transmission efficiency of directional drilling rig, the load sensing technology and constant-pressure variable technique are adopted to enable the system to provide the required pressure and flow rate according to the load variation. In order to research the dynamic characteristics of hydraulic control systems, the background and working principle of the load sensing technology were introduced. The dynamic mathematical model of load sensing system is established based on the hydraulic principle. The directional drilling rig mainly consists of two basic circuits: rotary circuit and feed circuit. The dynamic characteristics of rotary circuit are mainly studied. In addition, the hydraulic system of kilometres directional rig is simulated with the software of AMESim. The simulation results show that the load sensing pump could output its required flow and outlet pressure adapted to the load pressure in real time, thus effectively improving the efficiency of the hydraulic system. Furthermore, to verify the validity of the mathematical model and the simulation analysis, an experimental platform of the load sensing hydraulic system was built. The dynamic performance test of load sensing hydraulic system was performed by using the platform. The experimental results demonstrated that the load sensing hydraulic system could output its required flow and pressure when the working condition changed. Finally, they also illustrate the validity of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interplay between crystal–melt and grain boundary interfaces in partially melted polycrystalline aggregates controls many physical properties of mantle rocks. To understand this process at the fundamental level requires improved knowledge about the interfacial structures and energetics. Here, we report the results of first-principles molecular dynamics simulations of two grain boundaries of (0l1)/[100] type for tilt angles of 30.4° and 49.6° and the corresponding solid–liquid interfaces in Mg2SiO4 forsterite at the conditions of the upper mantle. Our analysis of the simulated position time series shows that structural distortions at the solid–liquid interfacial region are stronger than intergranular interfacial distortions. The calculated formation enthalpy of the solid–solid interfaces increases nearly linearly from 1.0 to 1.4 J/m2 for the 30.4° tilt and from 0.8 to 1.0 J/m2 for the 49.6° tilt with pressure from 0 to 16 GPa at 1500 K, being consistent with the experimental data. The solid–liquid interfacial enthalpy takes comparable values in the range 0.9 to 1.5 J/m2 over similar pressure interval. The dihedral angle of the forsterite–melt system estimated using these interfacial enthalpies takes values in the range of 67° to 146°, showing a decreasing trend with pressure. The predicted dihedral angle is found to be generally larger than the measured data for silicate systems, probably caused by compositional differences between the simulation and the measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a neuromotor disorder, and dialysis patients are more likely to develop RLS. RLS often causes sleep disorders, anxiety and depression in patients. It will increase the risk of death and severely affect the life of patients. At present, RLS has not received enough recognition and attention, and the misdiagnosis rate can reach more than 10%. Methods: The discovery set selected 30 peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients and 27 peritoneal dialysis patients with RLS (PD-RLS). A metabolomics method based on ultra performance liquid chromatography tandem quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometric method (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS) was used to analyze the differential metabolites of the two groups. 51 PD patients and 51 PD-RLS patients were included in the validation set. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to evaluate the early diagnostic biomarkers, and the correlation between the differential metabolites and laboratory test indexes was analyzed to explore the biological function of the differential metabolites. Results: Through the integrated analysis, four metabolites can be used as markers for the diagnosis of PD-RLS, including Hippuric acid, Phenylacetylglutamine, N,N,N-Trimethyl-L-alanyl-L-proline betaine and Threonic acid. Through ROC analysis, it is found that they can be used as a metabolic biomarker panel, and the area under the curve of this combination is more than 0.9, indicating that the panel has good diagnostic and predictive ability. Conclusion: Metabolomics based on UPLC-Q-TOF/MS technology can effectively identify the potential biomarkers, and provide a theoretical basis for the early diagnosis, prevention and treatment on PD-RLS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Structural magnetic resonance imaging is widely used to explore brain gray and white matter structure in trigeminal neuralgia (TN) but has yielded conflicting findings. This study investigated the relationship between disease duration as a clinical feature of TN and changes in brain structure. Methods: We divided 49 TN patients into three groups (TN1–TN3) based on disease duration (TN1 = 1.1 ± 0.7 (0–2) years, TN2 = 4.8 ± 1.5 (3–7) years, TN3 = 15.1 ± 5.5 (10–30) years). We used voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to compare the gray matter volume (GMV) across groups and between TN patients and 18 matched healthy control subjects. Results: The TN1 group showed reduced GMV of pain-related regions in the cerebellum; the TN2 group showed reduced GMV in the thalamus and the motor/sensory cortex; and the TN3 group showed reduced GMV in the emotional and reward circuits compared with healthy controls. Similar brain regions, including bilateral hippocampi, caudate, left insular cortex, and medial superior frontal cortex, were affected in TN2 and TN3 compared with TN1. Conclusion: Disease duration can explain differences in structural alterations—especially in pain-related brain regions—in TN. These results highlight the advanced structural neuroimaging method that are valuable tools to assess the trigeminal system in TN and may further our current understanding of TN pathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine whether quantitative parameters of detector-derived dual-layer spectral computed tomography (DLCT) can reliably identify epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation status in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: Patients with NSCLC who underwent arterial phase (AP) and venous phase (VP) DLCT between December 2021 and November 2022 were subdivided into the mutated and wild-type EGFR groups following EGFR mutation testing. Their baseline clinical data, conventional CT images, and spectral images were obtained. Iodine concentration (IC), iodine no water (INW), effective atomic number (Zeff), virtual monoenergetic images, the slope of the spectral attenuation curve (λHU), enhancement degree (ED), arterial enhancement fraction (AEF), and normalized AEF (NAEF) were measured for each lesion. Results: Ninety-two patients (median age, 61 years, interquartile range [51, 67]; 33 men) were evaluated. The univariate analysis indicated that IC, normalized IC (NIC), INW and ED for the AP and VP, as well as Zeff and λHU for the VP were significantly associated with EGFR mutation status (all p < 0.05). INW(VP) showed the best diagnostic performance (AUC, 0.892 [95% confidence interval {CI}: 0.823, 0.960]). However, neither AEF (p = 0.156) nor NAEF (p = 0.567) showed significant differences between the two groups. The multivariate analysis showed that INW(AP) and NIC(VP) were significant predictors of EGFR mutation status, with the latter showing better performance (p = 0.029; AUC, 0.897 [95% CI: 0.816, 0.951] vs. 0.774 [95% CI: 0.675, 0.855]). Conclusion: Quantitative parameters of DLCT can help predict EGFR mutation status in patients with NSCLC. Critical relevance statement: Quantitative parameters of DLCT, especially NIC(VP), can help predict EGFR mutation status in patients with NSCLC, facilitating appropriate and individualized treatment for them. Key Points: Determining EGFR mutation status in patients with NSCLC before starting therapy is essential. Quantitative parameters of DLCT can predict EGFR mutation status in NSCLC patients. NIC in venous phase is an important parameter to guide individualized treatment selection for NSCLC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formaldehyde gas sensing properties of transition metal-doped graphene have been systematically investigated by first-principles calculations. The optimized geometries of transition metal-doped graphene with and without HCHO adsorption, adsorption energies, charge transfers and magnetic moments are obtained for various doped graphene systems. The calculated results show that Co-, Ni-, Cu-, Zn-, Pd- and Ag-doped systems have moderate adsorption energies, implying their potential applications as HCHO sensors. The two-probe sensor devices consisting of the central scattering region and pristine graphene electrodes with the armchair or zigzag transport directions are built, and the spin-polarized current–voltage curves are calculated by the non-equilibrium Green's function method within the framework of density functional theory. For the Cu-, Zn- and Ag-doped systems, the average sensor response is over 80%, 40% and 290%, respectively. In particular, the Cu- and Ag-doped graphene devices have the highest value of response over 200% and 900% at low voltages, indicating a short response time and high sensitivity of these devices. The present study provides a theoretical basis for exploring practical applications of the transition metal-functionalized graphene as superior HCHO gas sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fast-track surgery is claimed to reduce medical morbidity, eliminate the hospitalization needs, and shorten the convalescence period. Intraoperative bleeding as the main complication is also the primary cause of conversion from laparoscopic to open splenectomy. Intraoperative blood salvage can reduce transfusion requirements, decrease the conversion rate to open, and promote fast-tracking in laparoscopic splenectomy (LS). From November 2007 through December 2016 we collected medical data of 115 LS patients. There were three groups: 54 patients receiving routine care (we marks them as Group RT), 33 patients with fast-track care (Group FT), and 28 receiving fast-track care receiving intraoperative splenic blood salvage and autotransfusion (Group FT + ISBS). These medical data are comprised of included three phases (pre-, intra-, and postoperative). There were significant differences (P < 0.05) between RT, FT, and FT + ISBS groups. The hemoglobin level in Group FT + ISBS was significantly higher than in Group RT and Group FT. Comparing the duration of hospital stay of 3 groups, Group RT stayed for a significantly longer time than Group FT and Group FT + ISBS, Group FT + ISBSmuch shorter than Group FT. Comparing the hospitalization expense, GroupFT + ISBS significantly expended less than Group RT and Group FT. Our study shows that laparoscopic splenectomy with fast-track care is feasible, effective, and safe for patients who require splenectomy. Fast-tracking with intraoperative blood salvage improved the fast-track laparoscopic splenectomy procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the emergence of relationship-based cooperation by coupling two simple mechanisms into the model: tie strength based investment preference and homophily assumption. We construct the model by categorizing game participants into four types: prosocialists (players who prefers to invest in their intimate friends), antisocialists (players who prefer to invest in strangers), egoists (players who never cooperate) and altruists (players who cooperate indifferently with anyone). We show that the relationship-based cooperation (prosocialists) is favored throughout the evolution if we assume players of the same type have stronger ties than different ones. Moreover, we discover that strengthening the internal bonds within the strategic clusters further promotes the competitiveness of prosocialists and therefore facilitates the emergence of relationship-based cooperation in our proposed scenarios. The robustness of the model is also tested under different strategy updating rules and network structures. The results show that this argument is robust against the variations of initial conditions and therefore can be considered as a fundamental theoretical framework to study relationship-based cooperation in reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Must Investing more resources to protect every node in a network improve the robustness of the whole network subject to target attacks? To answer this question, we investigate the cascading dynamics in some typical networks. In real networks, the load on a node is generally correlated with the betweenness. Considering the weight of a node, we give a new method to define the initial load on a node by the revised betweenness. Then we present a simple cascading model. We investigate the cascading dynamics by disabling a single key node with the highest load. We find that in BA scale-free networks, the bigger the capacity of every node, the stronger the robustness of the whole network. However, in WS networks and some random networks, when we increase the capacity of every node, instead, the robustness of the whole network is weaker. In US power grid and the China power grid, we also observe this counterintuitive phenomenon. We give a reasonable explanation by a simple illusion. By the analysis, we think that resurrections of some nodes in a ring network structure after removing a node may be the reason of this phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Characterization and categorization of quantum correlations are both fundamentally and practically important in quantum information science. Although quantum correlations such as non-separability, steerability, and non-locality can be characterized by different theoretical models in different scenarios with either known (trusted) or unknown (untrusted) knowledge of the associated systems, such characterization sometimes lacks unambiguous to experimentalist. In this work, we propose the physical interpretation of nonlocal quantum correlation between two systems. In the absence of complete local description of one of the subsystems quantified by the local uncertainty relation, the correlation between subsystems becomes nonlocal. Remarkably, different nonlocal quantum correlations can be discriminated from a single uncertainty relation derived under local hidden state (LHS)–LHS model only. We experimentally characterize the two-qubit Werner state in different scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The natural frequency of coal is one of the important technical parameters for the application of the permeability enhancement technology of coal and rock forced vibration. Aiming at exploring the dominant frequency of the permeability enhancement technology of coal vibration excited by vibration wave, the model of coal vibration excited by simple harmonic wave (SHW) was constructed. Furthermore, considering the three main control parameters, i.e., excitation force, coal sample size and mechanical parameters, the response characteristics of coal vibration excited by SHW were simulated and calculated. The calculation results demonstrate that when the frequency of excitation force equals the natural frequency of coal, the vibration occurs and the peak values of response parameters all increase significantly. The peak acceleration response of coal increases with the increase of excitation force, whereas it decreases with the increase of coal size. Under the same SHW excitation force, the mechanical parameters of coal determine the vibration response characteristics of coal, and the natural frequency of coal is proportional to the elastic modulus. Finally, the variation law of natural frequency response characteristics of coal vibration excited by SHW was verified by the response experiment on coal vibration under SHW excitation and related test results. The research results can serve as a theoretical basis for the application of the permeability enhancement technology of coal vibration excited by vibration wave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tasks have high requirements for response delay and security in intelligent manufacturing. Industrial data have the characteristics of high privacy. However, cloud services are difficult to implement for low latency-sensitive applications and privacy data tasks. Therefore, the offloading technology in edge computing can offload the computing tasks of terminal devices to the edge of the network, which can effectively reduce the delay and match the needs of intelligent manufacturing. Unreasonable task scheduling cannot meet the needs of real-time scheduling between edge servers and cloud servers. In this paper, we establish a joint low-delay optimization model of task scheduling and dynamic replacement-release caching (DRRC) mechanism, which couples a privacy selection strategy for tasks to protect privacy. Tasks are scheduled to different location by the privacy of sensitive data, which can improve the security of data and meet the calculation request of different tasks. DRRC mechanism caches tasks according to the size of the task and replaces it with the weight of the task data, and adds automatic release mechanism. To solve the task scheduling strategy, we design the improved genetic-differential evolution algorithm. Extensive simulations reveal that the proposed algorithm has a better performance in minimizing latency compared with other scheduling algorithms. At the same time, the caching mechanism has a better hit rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Celecoxib presents a good analgesic effect in patients who undergo arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR) surgery, while few studies investigate the optimal timing of celecoxib administration. This study aimed to explore the analgesic effect of preoperative versus postoperative administration of celecoxib in ARCR-treated patients. Methods: A total of 106 ARCR-treated patients were enrolled and randomized at a 1:1 ratio into preoperative analgesia group (N = 53) and postoperative analgesia group (N = 53). The pain visual analog scale (VAS) score at rest or flexion, salvage consumption of pethidine, patient's satisfaction score, modified University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) score and adverse events were evaluated. Results: Pain VAS scores at rest at 12 h and D1 (but not D2, D3 or D7) and pain VAS scores at flexion at 12 h, D1 and D2 (but not D3 or D7) were decreased in preoperative analgesia group compared to postoperative analgesia group. Meanwhile, rescue analgesia rate and 7-day pethidine consumption in preoperative analgesia group were lower than that in postoperative analgesia group. Besides, the overall satisfaction scores at D1 and D3 (but not at D7 or M3) were elevated in preoperative analgesia group compared to postoperative analgesia group. However, no difference of modified UCLA scores at D7 or M3, or the occurrences of adverse events were found between the two groups. Conclusions: Celecoxib preoperative administration remits acute pain and facilitates satisfaction but does not improve long-term shoulder joint function recovery compared to its postoperative administration in patients who undergo ARCR surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused a global pandemic. Here we profiled the humoral response against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by measuring immunoglobulin (Ig) A, IgM, and IgG against nucleocapsid and spike proteins, along with IgM and IgG antibodies against receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein and total neutralizing antibodies (NAbs). We tested 279 plasma samples collected from 176 COVID-19 patients who presented and enrolled at different stages of their disease. Plasma dilutions were optimized and based on the data, a single dilution of plasma was used. The mean absorbance at 450 nm was measured for Ig levels and NAbs were measured using geometric mean titers. We demonstrate that more severe cases have a late-onset in the humoral response compared to mild/moderate infections. All the antibody titers continue to rise in patients with COVID-19 over the disease course. However, these levels are mostly unrelated to disease severity. The appearance time and titers of NAbs showed a significant positive correlation to the antibodies against spike protein. Our results suggest the late onset of antibody response as a risk factor for disease severity, however, there is a limited role of antibody titers in predicting disease severity of COVID-19. Lili Ren et al. investigate antibody response from 176 COVID-19 patients who presented different stages of their disease. This study suggests the late onset of antibody response as a risk factor for disease severity and a limited role of antibody titers in predicting the disease severity of COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allometry, a growth pattern in which different parts of an organism grow at defined rates, is a common feature of fish and can be influenced by environmental factors. The rare minnow Gobiocypris rarus Ye et Fu, 1983 undergoes allometric growth, and this study investigated its allometry patterns and assessed whether the culture environment affects them by comparing growth patterns in conventional (CV) and specific pathogen-free (SPF) stocks using 14 morphological characters. A U-shaped pattern of allometric growth was found in both groups, characterized by higher growth rates of the head and caudal regions than the trunk region. Although the overall allometric growth pattern was similar between these two inbred groups of rare minnows, allometric coefficients for morphometric characters before inflection were higher for SPF fish than CV fish. Growth rates of total length and body mass were also higher for SPF than CV individuals. These results indicate that the environment does play a vital role in rare minnow growth and development, and that a clean culture environment and a U-shaped pattern of allometric growth are highly beneficial for its early growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed the patterns of functional and structural connectivity abnormalities in patients with Parkinson's disease with freezing of gait (PD FOG+) compared with those without freezing (PD FOG−) and healthy controls (HCs). Resting state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) scans were obtained from 14 PD FOG+, 16 PD FOG− and 16HCs. Between-group difference in pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) functional connectivity (FC) was performed to assess FC dysfunction. Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) was applied to compare white matter (WM) impairment across the whole brain between groups. PD FOG+ patients exhibited abnormal PPN FC, compared with HCs and with PD FOG−, mainly in the corticopontine-cerebellar pathways (in the bilateral cerebellum and in the pons), as well as the visual temporal areas (in the right middle temporal gyrus and in the right inferior temporal gyrus). Moreover, PD FOG+ patients, showed more pronounced WM abnormalities, relative to controls, including the interhemispheric connections of corpus callosum, the cortico-cortical WM tracts of the cingulum, the superior longitudinal fasciculus and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, the corticofugal tract (cerebral peduncles, internal capsule, corona radiata), as well as tracts connecting the thalamus (thalamic radiation). This study suggests that FOG in PD is associated with abnormal PPN FC network, mainly affecting the corticopontine-cerebellar pathways as well as visual temporal areas involved in visual processing, and with diffuse WM deficits extending to motor, sensory and cognitive regions. Combining rs-fMRI and DTI method, our study should advance the understanding of neural mechanisms underlying FOG in PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An 8-week feeding trial was conducted to detect the optimal dietary protein and energy, as well as the effects of protein to energy ratio on growth, for the rare minnow ( Gobiocypris rarus), which are critical to nutrition standardization for model fish. Twenty-four diets were formulated to contain three gross energy (10, 12.5, 15 kJ/g), four protein (20%, 25%, 30%, 35%), and two lipid levels (3%, 6%). The results showed that optimal dietary E/P was 41.7-50 kJ/g for maximum growth in juvenile rare minnows at 6% dietary crude lipid. At 3% dietary lipid, specific growth rate (SGR) increased markedly when E/P decreased from 62.5 kJ/g to 35.7 kJ/g and gross energy was 12.5 kJ/g, and from 75 kJ/g to 42.9 kJ/g when gross energy was 15.0 kJ/g. The optimal gross energy was estimated at 12.5 kJ/g and excess energy decreased food intake and growth. Dietary lipid exhibited an apparent protein-sparing effect. Optimal protein decreased from 35% to 25%-30% with an increase in dietary lipid from 3% to 6% without adversely effecting growth. Dietary lipid level affects the optimal dietary E/P ratio. In conclusion, recommended dietary protein and energy for rare minnow are 20%-35% and 10-12.5 kJ/g, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parkinson's disease (PD) can be classified into the tremor dominant (TD) subtype and the postural instability gait difficulty (PIGD) subtype, which present with different clinical courses and prognoses. However, the symptom-specific intrinsic neural mechanisms underlying the subtypes of PD still remain elusive. In the current study, we utilized resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) combined with the regional homogeneity (ReHo) method to investigate the modulations of neural activity in 13 patients with predominantly PIGD (p-PIGD) and 15 patients with predominantly TD (p-TD) in the resting state. Compared with healthy controls, the p-PIGD and the p-TD groups both displayed ReHo changes in the default mode network (DMN). By contrast, the p-TD group exhibited more ReHo alterations in the cerebellum involved in the cerebello-thalamo-cortical (CTC) loops, whilst the p-PIGD group in extensive cortical and sub-cortical areas, including the frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal, limbic lobes, basal ganglia and thalamus, which are involved in the striatal-thalamo-cortical (STC) loops. Direct comparison between the two groups showed significant ReHo alterations in the primary visual cortex. Our findings underscore the differential involvement of the STC and CTC circuits underlying the two subtypes of PD. Moreover, relatively widespread neural activity abnormality, especially in the motor-related regions as well as the visual network, is apparently a characteristic feature of PIGD symptoms. This study could shed light on the underlying pathophysiology and clinical heterogeneity of PD presentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is a human pathogen that causes hand, foot, mouth disease and neurological complications. Although EV71, as well as other enteroviruses, initiates a remodeling of intracellular membrane for genomic replication, the regulatory mechanism remains elusive. By screening human cDNA library, we uncover that the Golgi resident protein acyl-coenzyme A binding domain-containing 3 (ACBD3) serves as a target of the 3A protein of EV71. This interaction occurs in cells expressing 3A or infected with EV71. Genetic inhibition or deletion of ACBD3 drastically impairs viral RNA replication and plaque formation. Such defects are corrected upon restoration of ACBD3. In infected cells, EV71 3A redirects ACBD3, to the replication sites. I44A or H54Y substitution in 3A interrupts the binding to ACBD3. As such, viral replication is impeded. These results reveal a mechanism of EV71 replication that involves host ACBD3 for viral replication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coronaviruses (CoVs) continuously threaten human health. However, to date, the evolutionary mechanisms that govern CoV strain persistence in human populations have not been fully understood. In this study, we characterized the evolution of the major antigen-spike (S) gene in the most prevalent human coronavirus (HCoV) OC43 using phylogenetic and phylodynamic analysis. Among the five known HCoV-OC43 genotypes (A to E), higher substitution rates and dN/dS values as well as more positive selection sites were detected in the S gene of genotype D, corresponding to the most dominant HCoV epidemic in recent years. Further analysis showed that the majority of substitutions were located in the S1 subunit. Among them, seven positive selection sites were chronologically traced in the temporal evolution routes of genotype D, and six were located around the critical sugar binding region in the N-terminal domain (NTD) of S protein, an important sugar binding domain of CoV. These findings suggest that the genetic drift of the S gene may play an important role in genotype persistence in human populations, providing insights into the mechanisms of HCoV-OC43 adaptive evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]