Search

ObjectivesMethodsResultsConclusionThis study aimed to examine ethnic disparities in the prevalence of diabetes and its association with sleep disorders among the older adults Han and ethnic minority (Bai, Ha Ni, and Dai) population in rural southwest China.A cross-sectional survey of 5,642 was conducted among the rural southwest population aged ≥60 years, consisting of a structured interview and measurement of fasting blood glucose, height, weight, and waist circumference. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to assess sleep quality.The overall prevalence of diabetes and sleep disorder was 10.2% and 40.1%, respectively. Bai participants had the highest prevalence of diabetes (15.9%) and obesity (9.9%)(P < 0.01), while Ha Ni participants had the lowest prevalence of diabetes (5.1%) and obesity (3.4%)(P < 0.01). The highest prevalence of sleep disorder (48.4%) was recorded in Bai participants, while Dai participants had the lowest prevalence of sleep disorder (25.6%)(P < 0.01). In all four studied ethnicities, females had a higher prevalence of sleep disorder than males (P < 0.01), and the prevalence of sleep disorder increased with age (P < 0.01). The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated older adults with sleep disorder had a risk of developing diabetes (P < 0.05). Moreover, the higher educational level, family history of diabetes, and obesity were the main risk factors for diabetes in participants (P < 0.01).There are stark ethnic disparities in the prevalence of diabetes and sleep disorders in southwest China. Future diabetes prevention and control strategies should be tailored to address ethnicity, and improving sleep quality may reduce the prevalence of diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractObjectiveMethodsResultsConclusionTo analyze the application effects of low-dose bupivacaine and ropivacaine combined with epidural anesthesia.The primary outcome measure was the anesthesia effect, assessed by the excellent anesthesia rate. Secondary outcomes included the occurrence of adverse reactions, blood pressure, and serum prolactin levels at different time points. The anesthesia effect, serum prolactin levels, occurrence of adverse reactions, and MAP at various time points [before anesthesia (T0), 5 min after anesthesia (T1), at the start of surgery (T2), at delivery of the fetus (T3), and at closure of the abdomen (T4)] were compared between the two groups.① Anesthesia effect: The excellent anesthesia rate was 71.88% in the control group and 93.94% in the observation group, with a significantly higher rate in the observation group than in the control group (p = 0.017). ② Serum prolactin levels: The serum prolactin levels in both groups increased significantly after surgery compared to before surgery (p < 0.001); however, there was no statistically significant difference in serum prolactin levels between the two groups before and after surgery (p = 0.651). ③ Occurrence of adverse reactions: The occurrence rate of adverse reactions was 28.13% in the control group and 9.09% in the observation group, with a significantly lower rate in the observation group than in the control group (p = 0.048).In cesarean sections for pregnant women with coexisting mental illness, low-dose ropivacaine demonstrates significantly better anesthesia efficacy, blood pressure stability, and anesthesia safety compared to low-dose bupivacaine. Both low-dose bupivacaine and ropivacaine result in increased prolactin levels postpartum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six species in two genera of the family Cheiracanthiidae Wagner, 1887 are studied from Hainan Island, China, including two new species: Cheiracanthium bawanglingense sp. n. (♀♂) and Eutittha hainanensis sp. n. (♀). Cheiracanthium ningmingense Zhang and Yin, 1999 syn. n. is synonymised with C. exquestitum Zhang and Zhu, 1993, and C. adjacensoides Song, Chen and Hou, 1990 stat. resurr. (♀♂) is removed from synonymy with C. approximatum O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1885. Cheiracanthium insigne O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1874 (♀♂) and C. taegense Paik, 1990 (♀♂) are reported from Hainan Province, China, for the first time. Photos of habitus and genitalia and a distribution map of all species are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to reduce the safety risk caused by icing on asphalt pavement, we propose a new method to prepare a superhydrophobic coating (SHC) on asphalt mixture surfaces for anti-icing purposes. The nano-SiO2 particles modified by a coupling agent (KH550), and oxysilane were sprayed on the asphalt mixture surfaces to prepare the SHC. Fourier transform infra-red spectra prove that Si-O-Si and C–H are the main components of the superhydrophobic materials, and the coupling agent has a good cross-linking effect. SEM images reveal that SHCs have a micro nano-binary composite structure, and show excellent super-hydrophobicity. Moreover, when the spraying amount of the SHC with nano-SiO2 (30 nm), KH550 (4 ml), MTMS (6 ml) and DMDS (4 ml) on asphalt mixture was 40 ml, the contact angle presented the highest value of 154.2°. The anti-icing tests confirm that the SHCs can effectively delay the freezing time of surface water and decrease the adhesion force between the ice and the pavement. The simulated rainfall test verifies that the superhydrophobic properties of SHCs become worse after water washing. After 2 h of droplet impact, the contact angle of the SHC surface on asphalt mixture is still close to 150°, and SHCs still have good hydrophobic properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brain tumor accounts for about 1.6% of incidence and 2.5% of mortality of all tumors, and the median survival for brain tumor patients is only about 20 months. The treatment for brain tumor still faces many challenges, such as the blood-brain barrier (BBB), blood-brain tumor barrier (BBTB), the overexpressed efflux pumps, the infiltration, invasion, high heterogeneity of tumor cells, drug resistance and immune escape caused by tumor microenvironment (TME) and cancer stem cells (CSC). This review attempts to clarify the challenges for multi-functional nano drug delivery systems (NDDS) to cross the BBB and target the cancer cells or organelles, and also provides a brief description of the different types of targeted multi-functional NDDS that have shown potential for success in delivering drugs to the brain. Further, this review also summarizes the research progress of multi-functional NDDS in the combination therapy of brain tumors from the following sections, the combination of chemotherapy drugs, chemotherapy-chemodynamic combination therapy, chemotherapy-immunization combination therapy, and chemotherapy-gene combination therapy. We also provide an insight into the recent advances in designing multi-functional NDDS for combination therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess the clinical value of serum complement component 1q (C1q) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels in predicting the response to combined immunotherapy in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. We conducted a retrospective study of 44 patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma who received combined immunotherapy in our hospital. Serum IgG and C1q levels were collected before and three weeks after immunotherapy treatment, together with other data on clinical and demographic characteristics. Twenty seven patients (61.4%) showed partial response (PR), 13 (29.5%) stable disease (SD), and 4 (9.1%) progressive disease (PD). None of the patients presented complete response (CR). The PR group displayed lower IgG and higher C1q levels both before and after immunotherapy than patients showing SD or PD. The IgG reduction (59.3%) and C1q increment (70.3%) in the PR group three weeks post-treatment were significantly larger than those in patients showing SD or PD. Moreover, the pretreatment C1q level and the post-treatment change of C1q levels were strongly associated with the immunotherapy response. High pre- and post-treatment C1q levels and reduced post-treatment IgG levels correlate with efficacy of combined immunotherapy in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Serum baseline C1q level may predict immunotherapy response in such patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roof vertex information is vital for 3D roof structures. Reconstructing 3D roof structures from point cloud data using traditional methods remains a challenge because their extracted roof vertices are affected by uncertainty and additional errors from roof plane segmentation and supplementary sub-steps for extracting primitives. In this study, instead of segmenting roof planes and then extracting primitives based on them, a flexible rule-based method is proposed to directly detect the vertices of building roofs from point cloud data without the requirement of training data. The point cloud data is first voxelized with a dominant direction-based rotation. Based on the different features of the interior roof points and vertices, rules for voxel filtering and structure line determination are defined to extract the roof vertices. The experimental results on a custom dataset in Trondheim, Norway demonstrate that the proposed method can effectively and accurately extract roof vertices from point cloud data. The comparative experimental results with an unfine-tuned deep learning-based method on custom and benchmark datasets with different point densities further show that the proposed method has good generalization and can adapt to changes of datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To compare the clinical efficacy of High intensity-focused ultrasound(HIFU) for different types of adenomyosis classified by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A total of 227 patients with adenomyosis who underwent HIFU treatment in Suining Central Hospital from January 2014 to December 2019 were included. Based on the preoperative pelvic MRI examination and Kishi isometric classification method, the patients were divided into 4 types according to the location of lesions. There were 82 cases of type I (endogenous type), 75 cases of type II (exogenous type), 34 cases of type III (nodular type), and 36 cases of type IV (heterogeneous type). The results of HIFU treatment for four types of adenomyosis and intraoperative adverse effects were analyzed. The changes of lesion size, dysmenorrhea, and menstrual volume were analyzed at 3 and 6 months after the operation. (1) adverse effects: All patients successfully accepted HIFU treatment under sedation and analgesia. Grade A adverse effects occurred in 51 cases (22.47%) and grade B adverse effects in 3 cases (1.32%). The incidence of adverse effects in type I–IV patients was 21.95%, 22.66%, 23.53%, and 30.56%, respectively. There was no significant difference in the incidence of grade A and B adverse effects in all types, and no grade C–F adverse effects occurred. (2) Ablation effect: The ablation rate of type III(nodular type)patients was (74.7 ± 20.3) %, which was significantly higher than that of the other three types (p <.05). (3) Changes in lesion size: the lesion size of all patients decreased after treatment and the reduction rate gradually increased with time. At 6 months after the operation, the lesion reduction rate of type III patients was (70.8 ± 14.8) %, higher than that of the other three types patients (p <.05). There was no significant difference in the reduction rate of type I, type II and type IV. (4) Remission of menorrhagia: At 6 months after the operation, the total remission rate of type III patients was 100%, while the total remission rate of type IV patients (65.4%, 17/26) that was lower than that of type I, II and III patients(p <.05). (5) Dysmenorrhea relief: At 6 months after the operation, the total dysmenorrhea relief rate of type III patients was 100% and the complete relief rate (28.1%, 18/31) was higher than that of the other three types, which was significant differences (p <.05). HIFU is safe and effective in the treatment of different types of adenomyosis, the therapeutic effect of HIFU in patients with type III adenomyosis is better than that of the other three types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: Chrysanthemum indicum stems; natural cellulose fibers; activated carbon; methylene blue; ; ; ; EN Chrysanthemum indicum stems natural cellulose fibers activated carbon methylene blue ZH 9323 9334 12 11/21/22 20221220 NES 221220 Introduction The need to maximize the use of resources and minimize waste, particularly with respect to agricultural residues, is being realized across the globe. The presence of the three prominent cellulose peaks represents that the cellulose has a monoclinic crystal form and the alkali treatment has not transformed the cellulose into other forms (Chen, Jakes, and Foreman [3]). Natural cellulose fibers, Chrysanthemum indicum stems, activated carbon, activated carbon, methylene blue To study the influence of dye solution with different pH on adsorption efficiency, 40 mg fibers were placed in 20 mL MB solutions with different pH values, the initial concentration of MB solution being 50 mg L SP -1 sp , and the pH value was controlled between 2 to 11, at room temperature for 24 h. [Extracted from the article]

In this article, the strength characteristics of the cement mortar with waste glass powder of different size and content at different ages were studied. The mechanism of strength development was analysed from the microstructure of mortar specimens based on scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electronic dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The results show that the compressive strength and flexural strength of the mortar specimens increase significantly with a higher age. There is an optimal content of glass powder corresponding to the maximum strength. The glass powder of smaller particle size clearly promotes the development of compressive strength and flexural strength in the mortar specimens. It is found from SEM-EDS that glass cement mortar has a larger amount of internal hydration products and higher density compared with ordinary cement mortar. The density of cement mortar incorporating 15 wt% glass powder increases gradually with the decrease of glass particle size. The hydration products and compactness of the cement mortar adding 200–500 mesh glass powder experience an increase and then a decrease with a rise in the glass content. The strength enhancement with the addition of glass powder are mainly attributed to the microaggregate filling effect and pozzolanic effect of the glass powder, as well as to changes in the interfacial transition zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the call for implementing national waste classification, this paper proposes an intelligent waste classification system based on the improved MobileNetV3-Large, which can raise the national awareness of waste classification through the combination of software and hardware. The software module is based on WeChat applet and offers functions for image recognition, text recognition, speech recognition, points-based quiz and so on. The hardware module is based on Raspberry Pi and covers image shooting, image recognition, automatic classification with automatic announcement and so on. The algorithm model applied to the image classification adopts a network model based on MobileNetV3-Large. This network model is enabled to classify garbage images through deep separable convolution, inverse residual structure, lightweight attention structure and the hard_ swish activation function. The text classification model adopts a network model based on LSTM, extracts text features through word embedding, enhancing the effect of garbage text classification. After testing, the system can leverage deep learning to realise intelligent garbage classification. The image recognition accuracy of the algorithm model was found to reach 81%, while the text recognition accuracy was as high as 97.61%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular targeted therapy significantly improved the therapeutic efficacy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with driver gene mutations but also with new toxicity profiles. Although most patients treated with these drugs developed relatively controllable toxicity, significant pulmonary toxicity events, including interstitial lung disease, occurred in a small proportion of patients and can lead to discontinuation or even be life-threatening. Pulmonary toxicity associated with these anti-tumor drugs is a problem that cannot be ignored in clinical practice. The prompt diagnosis of drug-related lung injury and the consequent differential diagnosis with other forms of pulmonary disease are critical in the management of pulmonary toxicity. Current knowledge of the pathophysiology and management of pulmonary toxicity associated with these targeted drugs is limited, and participants should be able to identify and respond to the development of drug-induced pulmonary toxicity. This review offers information about the potential pathogenesis, risk factors and management for the development of these events based on the available literature. This review focused on pulmonary toxicities in driver gene-positive NSCLC therapy by describing the related adverse events to promote the awareness and management of this important toxicity related to antitumor-targeted therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epoxy resin, a high-performance thermosetting polymer with good mechanical properties, has been widely used as a structural composite and adhesive agent for various industries. However, epoxy resins suffer from brittle characteristics owing to their highly cross-linked structure. Such a shortage has restricted their application. In this regard, adding a suitable filler to the epoxy resin has been intensively studied and employed as a feasible strategy to overcome this shortage. Different types of fillers, including those with size classified under nano-range, and those not in nano-range, can be used for this purpose. In particular, the uses of nanoparticles as fillers have attracted much attention due to their unique intrinsic properties and high interfacial area that enables effective interaction with the epoxy resin. This paper aims to provide a brief review of the current research associated with the uses of nano and non-nano fillers in reinforcing epoxy resin. Interestingly, by comparing the data collected from past published works, it was found that the amount of non-nano filler required to reinforce epoxy resin is about 10 to 100 times more than the amount needed when nanofillers were applied. In this paper, the properties of the epoxy resins (after being added with either nano or non-nano fillers), research gaps, and prospects of the research area are delineated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the call for implementing national waste classification, this paper proposes an intelligent waste classification system based on the improved MobileNetV3-Large, which can raise the national awareness of waste classification through the combination of software and hardware. The software module is based on WeChat applet and offers functions for image recognition, text recognition, speech recognition, points-based quiz and so on. The hardware module is based on Raspberry Pi and covers image shooting, image recognition, automatic classification with automatic announcement and so on. The algorithm model applied to the image classification adopts a network model based on MobileNetV3-Large. This network model is enabled to classify garbage images through deep separable convolution, inverse residual structure, lightweight attention structure and the hard_ swish activation function. The text classification model adopts a network model based on LSTM, extracts text features through word embedding, enhancing the effect of garbage text classification. After testing, the system can leverage deep learning to realise intelligent garbage classification. The image recognition accuracy of the algorithm model was found to reach 81%, while the text recognition accuracy was as high as 97.61%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, Internet technology has developed rapidly. This paper aims to study and analyse the impact of privacy protection on consumer adoption behaviour of service platform. This paper constructs a relationship model between service platform privacy protection and consumer platform adoption behaviour. At the same time, the differences of consumer related factors in different environments are investigated. Spss19.0 is also used 0 make statistical analysis on the “Taobao platform” scheme and the overall survey data, and calculate the overall reliability test of 22 items. Its Cronbach’s a value is 0.807. The survey data is statistically analysed in the “WeChat platform” scenario, and the overall reliability test of 22 items is calculated, and the Cronbach’s a value is 0.886. The experiment also found that the reliability of each measurement item of privacy concern was very good. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cytochrome P450 superfamily (CYPs) is a group of metabolic enzymes involved in drug biotransformation/metabolism. It is the most important drug metabolic enzyme; however, its mechanism of action remains unclear. We investigated the expression of CYP2B6 in HeLa cells induced by interleukin-6 (IL-6) and explored the relationship between differentially expressed chondrocytes 1 (DEC1) and CYP2B6 via luciferase reporter, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and ELISA assays. We observed the expression of CYP2B6 in HeLa cells exhibited a time-dependent decrease under the effect of IL-6, and the expression of CYP2B6 down-regulated by IL-6was negatively correlated with DEC1. After overexpression or knockdown of DEC1 in HeLa cells, the expression of CYP2B6 decreased or increased. The luciferase reporter assay and ChIP assay confirmed that DEC1 inhibited the expression of CYP2B6 by binding to the CYP2B6 promoter. ELISA results showed that high expression of DEC1 or low expression of CYP2B6 can promote the secretion of IL-6 in HeLa cells, and the secreted IL-6 can continually downregulate the expression of CYP2B6 in HeLa cells. Our results indicate that DEC1/CYP2B6 pathway in the inflammatory environment of tumours, and this provides a small amount of theoretical basis for the study of genes encoding drug-metabolising enzymes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Streptococcus pyogenes (group A Streptococcus, GAS) is a strict human pathogen causing a broad spectrum of diseases and a variety of autoimmune sequelae. The pathogenesis of GAS infection mostly relies on the production of an extensive network of cell wall-associated and secreted virulence proteins, such as adhesins, toxins, and exoenzymes. PrsA, the only extracellular parvulin-type peptidyl-prolyl isomerase expressed ubiquitously in Gram-positive bacteria, has been suggested to assist the folding and maturation of newly exported proteins to acquire their native conformation and activity. Two PrsA proteins, PrsA1 and PrsA2, have been identified in GAS, but the respective contribution of each PrsA in GAS pathogenesis remains largely unknown. By combining comparative proteomic and phenotypic analysis approaches, we demonstrate that both PrsA isoforms are required to maintain GAS proteome homeostasis and virulence-associated traits in a unique and overlapping manner. The inactivation of both PrsA in GAS caused remarkable impairment in biofilm formation, host adherence, infection-induced cytotoxicity, and in vivo virulence in a murine soft tissue infection model. The concordance of proteomic and phenotypic data clearly features the essential role of PrsA in GAS full virulence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the introduction of antibiotics into clinical practices in the 1940s, antibiotics have become an integral part of animal production to meet the increasing human demand for animal-derived foods. As a result, industrial-scale animal production has emerged as a hotspot for the evolution and dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), thereby potentially contributing to a looming public health crisis. The knowledge of ARGs in livestock systems has been greatly expanded with the recent development of rapid molecular tools. However, comprehensive reviews on ARGs in the animal industry and possible mitigation solutions are still lacking from a One Health perspective. Here we provide this review focusing on human health risks associated with the antimicrobial (antibiotic and metal) usages, ARGs in livestock animals and aquaculture systems in a One Health perspective to untangle the complexities of ARGs across animals, environments and humans. Specifically, this review covers (1) antimicrobials usages in the animal industry, (2) ARGs in animals affected by selective agents, (3) animal-to-human direct/indirect ARG transmission pathways, and (4) mitigation approaches. We highlighted the burden of using antimicrobials in animals for public and environmental health, and also the urgent needs for mitigating the spread of antibiotic resistance from the livestock and aquaculture industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterogeneous treatment effect estimation is an essential element in the practice of tailoring treatment to suit the characteristics of individual patients. Most existing methods are not sufficiently robust against data irregularities. To enhance the robustness of the existing methods, we recently put forward a general estimating equation that unifies many existing learners. But the performance of model-based learners depends heavily on the correctness of the underlying treatment effect model. This paper addresses this vulnerability by converting the treatment effect estimation to a weighted supervised learning problem. We combine the general estimating equation with supervised learning algorithms, such as the gradient boosting machine, random forest, and artificial neural network, with appropriate modifications. This extension retains the estimators' robustness while enhancing their flexibility and scalability. Simulation shows that the algorithm-based estimation methods outperform their model-based counterparts in the presence of nonlinearity and non-additivity. We developed an R package, RCATE, for public access to the proposed methods. To illustrate the methods, we present a real data example to compare the blood pressure-lowering effects of two classes of antihypertensive agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractLiquiritigenin is a natural medicine. However, its inhibitory effect and its potential mechanism on bladder cancer (BCa) remain to be explored. It was found that it could be visualized that the transplanted tumours in the low-dose liquiritigenin -treated group and the high-dose liquiritigenin -treated group were smaller than those in the model group. Liquiritigenin treatment led to alterations in Lachnoclostridium, Escherichia-Shigella, Alistipes and Akkermansia. Non-targeted metabolomics analysis showed that a total of multiple differential metabolites were identified between the model group and the high-dose liquiritigenin-treated group. This provides a new direction and rationale for the antitumour effects of liquiritigenin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work was undertaken to study the immunomodulatory effects of long-term exposure to varying levels of lead (Pb) in workers. A total of 49 people who underwent occupational health examinations from 2009 to 2018 were selected as study subjects. Differences between the two group populations regarding the levels of T-lymphocytes, B-lymphocytes, natural killer (NK) cells, and granulocytes, as well as the levels of TH1/TH2/TH17 cytokines, were evaluated. The results indicated that the percentages of CD3+ cells in the high-Pb group were significantly higher than those in the low-Pb counterparts (p <.05). In contrast, the percentages of CD3−CD16+CD56+ cells were significantly lower in the high-Pb workers. There were no significant differences in other immunommy cells and TH1/TH2/TH17 cytokine between the groups. CD3+ cell levels in workers positively correlated with blood Pb levels (Rs = 0.378, p =.007), while the expression of CD3−CD16+CD56+ cells was negatively correlated (Rs = −0.320, p =.025). There was no significant correlation between blood Pb concentration and the other immune endpoints evaluated here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractPurpose: To examine effects of aerobic exercise interventions on brain via the structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), as well as functional change during working memory (WM) task using fMRI in deaf children.Method: The study applied a cluster randomized controlled design. Twelve deaf children in the intervention group were required to complete an eleven-week aerobic exercise intervention, while other twelve age and gender matched deaf children in the control group were required to keep their normal daily life. Task fMRI images of each participant were acquired in the baseline and post intervention period. The surface-based morphometry (SBM) analysis and functional activation analysis were employed to probe the effects of 11-week aerobic exercise on cerebral structural and functional in deaf children, respectively.Results: The 11-week aerobic exercise intervention did not change brain structure in deaf children. However, behavior performance (reaction time and mean accuracy rate) presented significant improvements after the 11-week aerobic exercise intervention. Compared to the control group, the intervention group showed decreased reaction time in the 2-back (p < 0.001) and 2-0 back (p < 0.001), and increased mean accuracy rate during 2-back (p = 0.034). Furthermore, enhanced brain activations in the left supplementary motor cortex (p < 0.05, FDR-corrected) and left paracentral lobule (p < 0.05, FDR-corrected) were observed in the intervention group.Conclusion: 11-week aerobic exercise intervention may not be able to modulate brain structure in deaf children, but may have significantly positive effects on behavior performance and brain functional activation during WM task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the problem that the traditional power line inspection cannot accurately obtain the height of the tree barriers under the power line, this study takes a forest area in Guilin City and a power line corridor in Yinchuan City as the research object, and combines watershed segmentation algorithm and local maximum algorithm to study the height of the tree barriers under power line. The results show that the watershed segmentation algorithm and the local maximum algorithm can accurately extract the height of tree barriers in power lines. In the Guilin experiment, there is a good correlation between the extracted height of different trees and the measured height, The correlation coefficients (R2) for osmanthus, eucalyptus, and pine trees are 0.9368, 0.8923, and 0.8227, respectively. In the experiment in Yinchuan, the tree height extracted by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and LiDAR also has a good correlation with the measured height, with correlation coefficients (R2) of 0.926 and 0.952, respectively. These two experiments have verified the feasibility of watershed segmentation algorithm and local maximum algorithm in extracting the height of tree barriers under power lines, which is of great significance for monitoring and warning of tree barriers under power lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seven new pentasaccharides (1–7), rehmaglupentasaccharides A-G, were isolated from the air-dried roots of Rehmannia glutinosa. Their structures were established from the spectroscopic data obtained and by chemical evidence. The known verbascose (8) and stachyose (9) were also obtained in the current investigation, and the structure of stachyose was unequivocally defined using X-ray diffraction data. Compounds 1–9 were tested for their cytotoxicity against five human tumor cell lines, influence on dopamine receptor activation, and proliferation effects against Lactobacillus reuteri. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing evidence suggested that the risk of tuberculosis (TB) infection was associated to the variations in temperature and PM2.5. A total of 9,111 cases of TB were reported in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China from 2013 to 2015 on a daily basis, and 57.2% of them were male. The TB risk was more prominent for a lower temperature in males (RR of 1.724, 95% CI: 1.241, 2.394), the aged over 64 years (RR of 2.241, 95% CI: 1.554, 3.231), and the high mobility occupation subpopulation (RR of 2.758, 95% CI: 1.745, 4.359). High concentration of PM2.5 showed a short-term effect and was only associated with an increased risk in the early stages of exposure for the female, and aged 36–64 years group. There were 15.06% (1370 cases) of cases of TB may be attributable to the temperature, and 2.94% (268 cases) may be attributable to the increase of PM2.5 exposures. Low temperatures may be associated with significantly increase in the risk of TB, and high PM2.5 concentrations have a short-term association on increasing the risk of TB. Strengthening the monitoring and regular prevention and control of high risk groups will provide scientific guidance to reduce the incidence of TB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loss of corneal transparency is one of the major causes of visual loss, generating a considerable health and economic burden globally. Corneal transplantation is the leading treatment procedure, where the diseased cornea is replaced by donated corneal tissue. Despite the rise of cornea donations in the past decade, there is still a huge gap between cornea supply and demand worldwide. 3D bioprinting is an emerging technology that can be used to fabricate tissue equivalents that resemble the native tissue, which holds great potential for corneal tissue engineering application. This study evaluates the manufacturability of 3D bioprinted acellular corneal grafts using low-cost equipment and software, not necessarily designed for bioprinting applications. This approach allows access to 3D printed structures where commercial 3D bioprinters are cost prohibitive and not readily accessible to researchers and clinicians. Two extrusion-based methods were used to 3D print acellular corneal stromal scaffolds with collagen, alginate, and alginate-gelatin composite bioinks from a digital corneal model. Compression testing was used to determine moduli. The printed model was visually transparent with tunable mechanical properties. The model had central radius of curvature of 7.4 mm, diameter of 13.2 mm, and central thickness of 0.4 mm. The compressive secant modulus of the material was 23.7 ± 1.7 kPa at 20% strain. 3D printing into a concave mold had reliability advantages over printing into a convex mold. The printed corneal models exhibited visible transparency and a dome shape, demonstrating the potential of this process for the preparation of acellular partial thickness corneal replacements. The modified printing process presented a low-cost option for corneal bioprinting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collective Intelligence (CI) is important for groups that seek to address shared problems. CI in human groups can be mediated by educational technologies. The current paper presents a framework to support design thinking in relation to CI educational technologies. Our framework is grounded in an organismic-contextualist developmental perspective that orients enquiry to the design of increasingly complex and integrated CI systems that support coordinated group problem solving behaviour. We focus on pedagogies and infrastructure and we argue that project-based learning provides a sound basis for CI education, allowing for different forms of CI behaviour to be integrated, including swarm behaviour, stigmergy, and collaborative behaviour. We highlight CI technologies already being used in educational environments while also pointing to opportunities and needs for further creative designs to support the development of CI capabilities across the lifespan. We argue that CI education grounded in dialogue and the application of CI methods across a range of project-based learning challenges can provide a common bridge for diverse transitions into public and private sector jobs and a shared learning experience that supports cooperative public-private partnerships, which can further reinforce advanced human capabilities in system design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel calix[6] arene polymer stationary phase (C6A-PEG) is reported that combines the π-electron-rich cavity of calix[6] arene (C6A) with polyethylene glycol (PEG) units for gas chromatography (GC). Thermogravimetric analysis revealed a 5% weight loss of C6A-PEG at 318 °C, and its static-coated capillary column showed high efficiency of 2924 plates/m (k = 3.48) determined by 1-octanol at 120 °C. As a result, the moderate polar C6A-PEG column showed clearly advantageous performance for the Grob reagent and a mixture of 25 analytes with high selectivity for hydrogen-bonded acids. Also, it exhibited high resolving performance for various isomer mixtures, in particular high-resolution performance (R > 2.2) for the challenging toluidine and dimethylaniline systems with distinct advantages compared to the C6A and PEG columns (R < 1.5 for some pairs). This work demonstrates the potential of calixarene-based polymers as novel stationary phases for gas chromatographic analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explored the incidence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections in 131 patients with multiple myeloma (MM), 53 of whom received daratumumab (Dara) treatments. The Dara group had more RRMM patients than the group without Dara. CMV infection was significantly more common in patients treated with Dara (16.98%) than in patients treated with regimens without Dara (2.56%). During Dara treatments, 24.53% of patients developed CMV and/or EBV infections. Patients who developed infections had significantly lower levels of albumin and lymphocytes in their peripheral blood. The median time from the first Dara infusion to infection was 27 days. We observed NK cell depletion and T cell expansion during Dara-treatment. Patients with CMV and/or EBV infections had significantly lower numbers of NK cells, total T cells, and CD8 + T cells at 1 month, and lower numbers of CD8 + T cells at 2 months after the first Dara infusion than those without infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atopic dermatitis (AD) exhibits difference in immune polarization between Caucasians and Asian races due to which an evaluation of the efficacy and safety of Pimecrolimus (PIM) in Asian population is called for. The current study addresses the need via a sub-group analysis of the PETITE study (NCT00120523) to evaluate the safety and efficacy of PIM in Chinese infants. Patients with AD (≥3 months–<12 months of age) were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to either PIM 1% cream or topical corticosteroids (TCS). The primary endpoint was safety. The secondary endpoint was efficacy. 120 patients were randomized to either PIM 1% or TCS (n = 61 for PIM, n = 59 for TCS). The most often reported adverse events were reported by similar proportions of patients treated with PIM or TCS. There was a progressive increase in overall IGA treatment success in infants treated with PIM (82.9%, p <.05, 95% CI: 70.4, 95.3) after 26 weeks which was comparable to the TCS group (88.5%, p <.05, 95% CI: 79.8, 97.1). PIM showed an early and sustained efficacy in the Chinese sub-population with a substantial corticosteroid-sparing effect in patients with AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effect of L-PRF on promoting full-thickness skin grafting for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcer wounds and attempted to characterize the mechanism. In a retrospective study, we centrifugated 10–20 ml of venous blood at 1006.2 g for 20 min. The fibrin clot between the top oligocellular plasma layer and the bottom erythrocyte layer was extracted and directly used, without compression, to cover the wound after debridement. Patients who received L-PRF before skin grafting underwent surgery earlier than patients in the control group. Skin necrosis occurred in 7 patients (28%) in the L-PRF group and 16 (64%) in the control group. The difference was statistically significant, P <.05. The postoperative infection rate in the control group (56%) was significantly higher than that in the L-PRF group (24%), P <.05. During a mean follow-up of 1 year, ulcer recurrence occurred in 9 patients (36%) in the control group compared with 4 patients (16%) in the L-PRF group, P <.05. The final amputation rate was also higher in the control group (48%) than in the L-PRF group (20%). The difference is statistically significant, P <.05. The Maryland scale score and SF-36 score of the two groups of patients after treatment were significantly better than those before treatment, and the difference was statistically significant (P <.05). The L-PRF group (94.80 ± 4.14) had better foot scores at the last follow-up after treatment than the control group (88.84 ± 5.22) (P <.05). The results showed that L-PRF played a positive role in the treatment of Wagner grade 4 ulcer gangrene with free full-thickness skin grafts. What is the context? ● Diabetic foot is a serious complication in the later stage of the disease course of diabetic patients. The incidence rate is increasing year by year. In severe cases, it can lead to amputation or even death. ● For diabetic ulcer wounds, dressings such as L-PRF or autologous fat are often used in the initial stage to speed up wound healing. For advanced wounds, especially patients with local tissue gangrene, simple wound dressings cannot meet the needs of wounds. People often use skin flaps or different types of skin grafts to treat advanced wounds. ● Flap or skin grafting has been shown to be effective, but because of the patient's own neurovascular injury and infection, the rate of graft necrosis and ulcer recurrence is extremely high. What is new? ● This study discusses the treatment of advanced wounds in diabetes. After thorough debridement and before skin grafting, we first covered the wound with L-PRF and observed the wound condition. Studies have shown that the use of L-PRF can allow the original poor wound to be reconstructed: the content of growth factors and growth-related cells is increased, blood circulation is improved and granulation tissue growth, bone and tendon exposure is improved, and infection is controlled. What is the impact? ● This study provides evidence that using L-PRF to reconstruct wounds can greatly shorten the preparation time for elective surgery. Reconstructed wounds can better accept free skin grafts, and the incidence of postoperative complications and amputation (particularly, toe amputation) is also lower. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Opioid use in pregnant women is a growing public health concern and is shown to be associated with lower infant birth weights. Placental volume changes in prior studies correlated with various maternal and fetal conditions. We aimed to identify differences between placental volumes in pregnant women with opioid use, and control pregnant women without drug use. We prospectively recruited 27 healthy pregnant women and 17 pregnant women with opioid use disorder who were on medication-assisted treatment (MAT). All women underwent placenta/fetal MRI at 27–39 weeks gestation on a 3 Tesla MR scanner. Placental volumes were measured in a blinded fashion using a previously validated technique. Multiple linear regression was used to identify associations of placental volume with multiple maternal and fetal clinical factors. The significance threshold was set at p <.05. Placental volume was significantly associated with gestational age at MRI (p <.0001), fetal sex (p =.027), MAT with smoking (p =.0008), MAT with polysubstance use (p =.01), and maternal BMI (p =.032). Placental volume was not associated with opioid MAT alone in our cohort. For pregnant women on medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder, there was no significant difference in placental volume compared to healthy pregnant women. However, concomitant smoking and polysubstance use in the setting of medication-assisted treatment may be detrimental to placental health. To our knowledge, this is the first study assessing placental volume in opioid use on prenatal MRI. These results support the benefit of medication-assisted treatment during pregnancy; however additional studies are needed to further elucidate the impact of opioid use on placental and fetal development and postnatal outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemotherapy, as the main treatment for breast cancer, inevitably damages normal tissues due to the lack of targeting. Various nano targeting drug delivery systems (TDDS) have the potential to be developed as anticancer therapeutics. Although mono-ligand-directed liposomes have been used with some success, dual-ligand-directed liposomes exhibit promising advantages. In current work, we synthesized a Y-shaped ligand covalently linking fructose and biotin (Fru-Bio-Chol) to prepare a dual-targeting liposome Fru-Bio-Lip for breast cancer. The targeting ability was evaluated by comparing the Fru-Bio-Lip with the non-modified liposome (Lip), fructose or biotin mono modified liposomes (Fru-Lip and Bio-Lip), and another dual-targeting liposome (Fru + Bio-Lip) physically mixing fructose and biotin mono modified ligands (Fru-Chol and Bio-Chol). The cellular uptake of Fru-Bio-Lip is 3.27-, 1.81-, 2.19-, 1.15-times that of Lip, Fru-Lip, Bio-Lip and Fru + Bio-Lip on 4T1 cells, and 3.11-, 1.80-, 1.89-, 1.15-times on MCF-7 cells. Additionally, the uptake mechanism indicates the uptake of Fru-Bio-Lip is energy-dependently achieved through multiple endocytosis pathway with a dual recognition of fructose and biotin by GLUT5 and SMVT. The cytotoxicity and apoptosis assay show PTX-Fru-Bio-Lip among liposomes have the strongest proliferation inhibitory effect on breast cancer cells, and the apoptosis rate is 1.7-times that of PTX-Lip. In vivo images indicate Fru-Bio-Lip have the strongest tumour enrichment ability, which is 2.76-, 1.60-, 1.96-, 1.40-times that of Lip, Fru-Lip, Bio-Lip and Fru + Bio-Lip, respectively. Overall, the fructose and biotin covalently modified liposomes improved breast cancer targeting ability, demonstrating great potential as a drug delivery system for breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the aim of guaranteeing the interests and health of tourists, this study comprehensively evaluates the suitability of the environment in different cities in China for tourism by considering the impacts of climate, vegetation and environmental factors on health. The Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI), total precipitation (PREC), Vegetation Leaf Area Index (LAI), concentration of particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5), and the downward UV radiation at the surface (UVB) are used as indices. In addition, the Delphi–AHP–TOPSIS algorithm is introduced and is used for the comprehensive evaluation of the environmental suitability of 684 cities in China for tourism in 2019. It is found that Chinese cities vary greatly in terms of the suitability of their environments for tourism. Among the factors that affect the environmental suitability, the LAI is important, with an increase in the LAI generally being advantageous. In contrast, an increase in the PM2.5 concentration is a key factor that limits the environmental suitability of an area. Thus, urban landscaping and control of the atmospheric quality are essential and effective ways of improving the suitability of the environment of cities in China for tourists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) is a clinically important causative agent of acute respiratory diseases in postweaning calves and feedlot cattle and causes numerous economic losses to the cattle industry. In June 2018, an outbreak of an acute respiratory disease occurred among 4- to 10-month-old calves on three intensive beef cattle farms in Heilongjiang Province, Northeast China, with a 27.42% morbidity rate (329/1200) and a > 25% mortality rate (85/329). Using next-generation sequencing, we comprehensively analyzed microbial diversity in the lung samples of the diseased cattle and found that the causative agent of this epidemic outbreak is mainly a bovine orthopneumovirus named BRSV strain DQ. We then isolated and confirmed the virus by RT-PCR and an indirect immunofluorescence assay. Phylogenetic analysis of genes G, F, N, NS1, NS2, and SH of BRSV strain DQ showed that this strain shares the highest genetic similarity with strains USII/S1, 15489, V41, and NY487834 belonging to subgroup III of BRSV. This is the first report of subgroup III strain of BRSV presence in China. Heilongjiang Province is a major cattle-breeding province in China; therefore, it is necessary to test for BRSV in the cattle trade and to conduct region-extended epidemiological surveillance for BRSV in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microbial community structures, sulfur speciation, and their correlations in soil samples in and around Xiangtan Liejiaqiao Coal Gangue Dump in Hunan province south of China were analyzed with gene sequencing, sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy (XANES), and principal components analysis (PCA). The gene sequencing results showed that the microbes in soil samples fell into six phyla, i.e., Nitrospira, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Deferribacteres, and Ktedonobacteria. The dominant bacteria species in the four samples were Moorella glycerini, Escherichia coli, Leptospirillum ferriphilum, Ferrimicrobium acidiphilum, Sulfobacillus benefaciens, and Desulfomonile tiedjei. According to the XANES results, sulfur speciation in soil samples was composed of sulfate, sulfite, thiosulfate, and organic sulfur. The PCA analysis among physicochemical characteristics, sulfur speciation, and distributions of microbes showed that oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) was correlated to the bacterial population of Proteobacteria, while pH was correlated to Ktedonobacteria. Furthermore, the correlation between sulfur speciation (sulfate and thiosulfate) and microbes (Deferribacteres, Nitrospira, and Actinobacteria) was particularly significant. Sulfite and glutathione also presented a strong correlation with Ktedonobacteria and Proteobacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the mean square consensus problem for stochastic multi-agent systems with nonlinear protocols is concerned. In particular, the topological structure of the system is characterised by state-dependent directed graph, in which the edges are described by nonlinear function related to the states and possess much better performance than before. A novel proposition based on matrix theory is proposed to conquer the challenges of time-invariant asymmetric matrix. In view of the communication burden and practically, a time-dependent event-triggered strategies are explored, where the control input on each agent is updated only when a certain triggering condition is violated. Then, some sufficient conditions for mean square consensus of stochastic multi-agent with state-dependent topology are established. Furthermore, a positive lower bound for inter-event times can be found such that the Zeno phenomenon is eliminated. Finally, a simulation example is utilised to illustrate the validly of developed theoretical results and the effectiveness of the control protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study examined the effects of an 11-week exercise intervention on brain activity during a working memory (WM) task and resting-state functional network connectivity in deaf children. Twenty-six deaf children were randomly assigned to either an 11-week exercise intervention or control conditions. Before and after the exercise intervention, all participants were scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during N-back task performance and a resting state. The behavioural results showed that the exercise intervention improved WM performance. Task activation analyses showed an increase in the parietal, occipital, and temporal gyri and hippocampus and hippocampus (HIP). In addition, WM performance improvements were associated with greater activation in the left HIP region. Resting-state functional connectivity (Rs-FC) between HIP and certain other brain areas shown a significant interaction of group (exercise versus no exercise) and time (pre- and postintervention). Moreover, connectivity between the left HIP and left middle frontal gyrus was related to improved WM performance. These data extend current knowledge by indicating that an exercise intervention can improve WM in deaf children, and these enhancements may be related to the WM network plasticity changes induced by exercise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]