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In recent decades, with the large-scale construction and rapid development of half-through arch bridges, as well as the increase of bridge service time, the suspender damage of arch bridge has become increasingly prominent. Therefore, real-time monitoring and regular detection of the health of arch bridge suspenders and timely detection and accurate judgment of the damage location and extent of suspenders are of great engineering significance for evaluating the reliability and residual life of arch bridge structures. By analyzing the main difficulties and existing problems of suspender damage identification, this paper takes the change rate of modal curvature as the damage index, introduces fireworks algorithm into the neural network model, optimizes the optimization process of neural network weight and threshold, and proposes a prediction model based on improved BP neural network by fireworks algorithm. According to the measured data of the damage degree of a long-span arch bridge in daily monitoring and on-site inspection, the proposed prediction method is applied to verify the effectiveness and accuracy in engineering health detection. On this basis, the improved BP neural network by fireworks algorithm is used to predict the suspender damage of a certain long-span half-through arch bridge, which provides an important basis for the actual bridge safety assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sports apps are third-party applications for smartphones or wearables that can help users record fitness data and guide their exercise behavior. Many Chinese college students are compelled to use sports apps for running exercises to improve their physical health and cultivate extracurricular exercise habits; however, the acceptance and use of sports apps by college students in mandatory situations requires elucidation. We explored the influencing factors of university students' behavioral intention and usage behavior to use sports apps in mandatory situations by combining the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology and the Self-Determination Theory. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 249 students of Liaoning University of Technology by using non-probabilistic convenient sampling. Data analysis was performed by employing partial least squares structural equation modeling. The results showed that (1) the research model explained 66% (R2 = 0.66) of the variance in behavioral intention and 30% (R2 = 0.30) of the variance in usage behavior; (2) performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and autonomous motivation significantly positively affected behavioral intention, while controlled motivation negatively affected behavioral intention; and (3) behavioral intention, autonomous motivation, and controlled motivation significantly positively affected usage behavior. The influence of facilitating conditions on usage behavior was non-significant. The results will help technical developers and schools to better understand the influencing factors of college students' use of sports apps in mandatory situations, and formulate corresponding improvement strategies and policies to further promote the role sports apps play in college students' exercise behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. During total knee arthroplasty (TKA), surgeons mobilize the patella to facilitate clear visualization of the articular surfaces and allow better prosthesis placement. According to the manipulation, this manipulation can be divided into patellar eversion and noneversion. However, the effect of patellar eversion in TKA is controversial, with substantial variability in clinical practice. This systematic review is aimed at assessing the adverse effects of patellar eversion and patellar noneversion duration in TKA. Methods. This updated systematic literature review identified randomized controlled trials comparing patellar eversion and noneversion durations in TKA. Two investigators independently extracted data and evaluated the quality of the studies. A meta-analysis was performed using RevMan version 5.3. Results. Nine studies with a total of 608 patients (730 knees) were included. Of these, 374 knees were classified in the eversion group and 356 knees in the noneversion group. The quality of the studies was high. The results showed that patellar eversion could increase the postoperative complication rate (relative risk RR = 1.67 ; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.09–2.54; P = 0.02) and postoperative pain before discharge (mean deviation MD = 0.19 ; 95% CI, 0.04–0.34; P = 0.01), compared to noneversion. Additionally, patellar eversion could prolong the time until the patient is able to raise the leg while straightened (MD = 0.42 ; 95% CI, 0.24–0.59; P < 0.00001) and increase the length of stay (MD = 0.65 ; 95% CI, 0.05–1.25; P = 0.03). However, patellar eversion did not influence postoperative pain at 1 year (MD = 0.02 ; 95% CI, -0.23–0.28; P = 0.85), operative time (MD = − 2.66 ; 95% CI, -8.84–3.52; P = 0.40), recovery of quadriceps force throughout the follow-up period, and Insall–Salvati ratio (MD = − 0.04 ; 95% CI, [-0.11–0.02]; P = 0.23). Conclusions. The patellar eversion could increase the postoperative complication rate and postoperative pain. Current evidence supports the avoidance of patellar eversion in TKA. Further large-sample and long-term trials are required to validate these results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to the advantages of scientific computation and the data feature support provided by artificial intelligence technology, the theoretical exploration and application research of new computing methods for large generators, one of the most expensive energy equipment in a power system, has become a research hotspot toward solving the bearing limit and operation capacity under abnormal working conditions. Because of many factors affecting the distribution of negative sequence loss and temperature rise that have an extremely complex nonlinear relationship, the traditional calculation and prediction methods of negative sequence conditions cannot suitably reflect the time accumulation effect. Therefore, a prediction method of rotor steady-state negative sequence heating based on radial basis function process neural network is proposed in this paper, and a negative sequence working condition prediction model is established. Accordingly, this study focuses on the study of the relationship among negative sequence heating characteristics, negative sequence component proportion, and transverse slot; additionally, their influence degree, variation relationship, and main principles are further explored that provide a theoretical basis for the design and operation of large generators. As observed from the test results, the steady-state negative sequence condition prediction method based on the improved genetic algorithm radial basis function process neural network features high accuracy; it is a feasible prediction method, specifically for negative sequence conditions of large generators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This paper proposes a novel approach for structural damage identification with a limited number of modal measurements and ultra‐sparse Bayesian regression. An iterative Cross Modal Strain Energy (CMSE) method is proposed for establishing the linear regression model. It can be applied to enlarge the number of available modes, thus alleviating the problem of insufficient mode orders. In addition, the proposed approach can also be used to solve the identification of incomplete measurements by combining with a dynamic condensation process. The condensed system matrices of the damaged structure are updated iteratively by the identified damage severity vector. A major contribution of this study is that the most advanced Bayesian linear regression estimator, called Horseshoe (HS), is first introduced to provide an ultra‐sparse regularization. Owning to the particular choice of a half‐Cauchy prior to the global and local scale hyper‐parameters, using HS can provide a sparser solution than the Bayesian lasso (BL). Therefore, this approach is extremely suitable for structural damage identification with sparse solutions in nature. Other advantages of using HS consist of the easy implementation of Gibbs sampling, effective convergence rate and hyper‐parameter tuning, good stability, and the ability to conduct the indeterminate inverse identification arising from insufficient mode order. The effectiveness and performance of the proposed approach are validated by numerical and experimental studies, considering the effects of measurement noise and a limited number of modal measurements with an insufficient number of mode orders and incomplete measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Thermal management of large‐scale Li‐ion battery packs is of great significance to their safety and life cycle, which would impact their applicability in electric vehicles. Of the many strategies developed for this purpose, indirect liquid cooling has already demonstrated quite high potentials in thermal regulation of such battery systems. In this study, a compact lightweight serpentine wavy channel configuration was chosen to construct an indirect liquid cooling system for a battery module of cylindrical Li‐ion cells. The serpentine channel has a number of six internal minichannels. Experimental test data were used to conduct a comprehensive thermal analysis to examine the highest temperature, the maximum temperature difference, and the heat accumulation percentages, and so forth within the battery pack. Results have revealed the ability of the cooling system to maintain the module temperature within appropriate working conditions for electric vehicle applications for most cycling tests including two driving cycles. Furthermore, the analysis insights raised by this study could be useful in understanding the cooling performance of the liquid‐based thermal management systems for electric vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calcitonin was discovered as a peptide hormone that was known to reduce the calcium levels in the systemic circulation. This hypocalcemic effect is produced due to multiple reasons such as inhibition of bone resorption or suppression of calcium release from the bone. Thus, calcitonin was said as a primary regulator of the bone resorption process. This is the reason why calcitonin has been used widely in clinics for the treatment of bone disorders such as osteoporosis, hypercalcemia, and Paget's disease. However, presently calcitonin usage is declined due to the development of efficacious formulations of new drugs. Calcitonin gene-related peptides and several other peptides such as intermedin, amylin, and adrenomedullin (ADM) are categorized in calcitonin family. These peptides are known for the structural similarity with calcitonin. Aside from having a similar structure, these peptides have few overlapping biological activities and signal transduction action through related receptors. However, several other activities are also present that are peptide specific. In vitro and in vivo studies documented the posttreatment effects of calcitonin peptides, i.e., positive effect on bone osteoblasts and their formation and negative effect on osteoclasts and their resorption. The recent research studies carried out on genetically modified mice showed the inhibition of osteoclast activity by amylin, while astonishingly calcitonin plays its role by suppressing osteoblast and bone turnover. This article describes the review of the bone, the activity of the calcitonin family of peptides, and the link between them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous advancement of medical technology, the survival rate of high-risk children is increasing year by year, but the developmental problems that have gradually become apparent in the later stages have a serious impact on the quality of life of children. Amplitude-integrated EEG is an EEG monitoring technology developed for clinical use in newborns in recent years. Therefore, to better detect neuromata development in high-risk children, this study explores the validity prediction of amplitude-integrated EEG in early neuromata development in high-risk children. For 100 high-risk children, amplitude-integrated EEG was used for monitoring, and the exercise scale and validity predictors in the Bailey Infant Development Scale were used to assess whether high-risk children had neurobehavioral abnormalities. The experimental results show that the application of amplitude-integrated EEG can make accurate and effective predictions of early neuromata development outcomes in high-risk children. Compared with traditional neurological examination methods, it has higher sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and consistency in predicting the early neuromata development outcomes of high-risk children. It is suitable for application and promotion in China and has a good application value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young's modulus, failure strength, and failure strain of precracked graphene are investigated via finite element method based on molecular structure mechanics in this research. The influence of distribution, length, and orientation of precrack and graphene sizes on these mechanical properties is analyzed. The ratio of precrack length and graphene width is defined as P value, and its particular value Pc can be found, at which the variation trends of Young's modulus, failure strength, and strain have changes with increasing P value. In addition, the fracture toughness of precracked graphene is investigated, and the stress intensity factor (SIF) is calculated according to the Griffith criterion in classical fracture mechanics. The numerical values of the SIF are about 3.20-3.37 MPa√m, which are compared with the experimental results, and the simulations verify the applicability of the classical fracture mechanics to graphene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We show by this study that a decrease in HRR1 in IPAH patients is associated with severe limitation of exercise capacity. HRR1 < 16 beats and CI just after completion of a CPET could be an indicator of poor prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying communication signals under low SNR environment has become more difficult due to the increasingly complex communication environment. Most relevant literatures revolve around signal recognition under stable SNR, but not applicable under time-varying SNR environment. To solve this problem, we propose a new feature extraction method based on entropy cloud characteristics of communication modulation signals. The proposed algorithm extracts the Shannon entropy and index entropy characteristics of the signals first and then effectively combines the entropy theory and cloud model theory together. Compared with traditional feature extraction methods, instability distribution characteristics of the signals’ entropy characteristics can be further extracted from cloud model’s digital characteristics under low SNR environment by the proposed algorithm, which improves the signals’ recognition effects significantly. The results from the numerical simulations show that entropy cloud feature extraction algorithm can achieve better signal recognition effects, and even when the SNR is −11 dB, the signal recognition rate can still reach 100%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research shows that the consumption of soybean foods can reduce the incidence rate of bone fractures in women after menopause. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different complex of soy β‐conglycinin (7S) and isoflavones (7S‐ISO) on osteoporosis in ovariectomized rats. All treatments were administrated intragastrically to the groups every afternoon for 3 months. The treatments were administrated at 1 mL·(100 g)−1, the animals were given 50 mg·kg−1·d−1 ISO, and the concentration of protein was about 2 wt. %. The bone mineral density (BMD) and the bone biomechanics results of left tibia' maximum load in the 7S‐ISO group is significantly higher than in the ovariectomized group and the 7S group (p <.05). Otherwise, the serum tartrate‐resistant acid phosphatase (s‐TRACP), serum osteocalcin (s‐BGP), and serum estradiol (s‐E2) levels in 7S‐ISO were all significantly different from the OVX, OVX + casein, and the OVX + 7S group (p <.05). The serum calcium (s‐Ca) level was not significantly different among all the groups. 7S‐ISO may exhibit moderate estrogenic activities and as compared to 7S and ISO in osteoporosis (OP) of ovariectomized rats. Practical applications: The effects of soy proteins on the health of females have always been a concern. It has been extensively reported soy 7S globulin (7S) as a type of trimer glycoprotein can depress blood fats. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different complex of soy β‐conglycinin and isoflavones (ISO), the main storage proteins and polyphenols in soy, on osteoporosis in ovariectomized rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT A novel colorimetric and fluorescent pH sensor derived from iminocoumarin and thiophene-carboxaldehyde was designed and synthesized. The structures of the dye and related compounds were characterized by IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and mass spectra. Color change from green to yellow of the new sensor solution in ethanol-water with the decrease in the pH value from 7 to 2 was observed by the naked eye. Under acidic conditions, the intensity of the maximum fluorescence emission peak of the sensor increased gradually with the decrease in the acidity of the solution (the increase in the pH value from 2 to 7) and attained to the maximum value at about pH 6. Under basic conditions, the fluorescence intensity of the emission peak of the sensor did not exhibit a distinct change at pH ≤ 11.85, and the fluorescence was quenched at pH 13.36, concomitant with the green color of the solution turning pale. The sensor can be used as a fluorescent pH probe in the presence of common metal cations and anions without interference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the explosive growth of data in the Internet, more and more applications are being deployed on Big Data platforms. However, as the scale of data continues to increase, the probability of anomalies in the platform is also increasing. However, traditional anomaly detection techniques cannot effectively handle the massive amount of historical data and can hardly meet the security requirements of big data platforms. In order to solve the above problems, this paper proposes a security anomaly detection method for big data platforms based on quantum optimization clustering. Firstly, a framework of big data platform anomaly detection system is designed based on distributed software architecture through Hadoop and Spark big data open source technology. The system achieves effective detection of network anomalies by collecting and analyzing big data platform server log data. Secondly, an offline anomaly detection algorithm based on quantum ant colony optimized affinity propagation clustering is designed for various anomalies mined from historical data. The bias parameters of the affinity propagation clustering are treated as individual ants to construct an ant colony, and the clustering accuracy is set as fitness. Finally, in order to improve the accuracy of the optimal path search of the ant colony, quantum bit encoding is applied to the ant colony position to refine the granularity of the individual ant colony position update. The experimental results show that the proposed method can effectively complete the anomaly clustering detection of massive data. With a reasonable threshold, the quantum ant colony–based affinity propagation clustering has high detection accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cover image is based on the Research Article I Structural damage identification with limited modal measurements and ultra-sparse Bayesian regression i by Mingqiang Xu et al., https://doi.org/10.1002/stc.2729. GLO:VUV/01jun21:stc2778-toc-0001.jpg PHOTO (COLOR): . gl. [Extracted from the article]

Summary: The drive‐by bridge health monitoring is to assess the bridge condition using the acceleration responses measured on the body or axle of instrumented vehicles. The vehicle responses are greatly affected by the road surface roughness that makes the bridge dynamic information blurred. Instead of direct using vehicle responses for the bridge monitoring, the dynamic response of contact point (CP) between the vehicle and bridge is further explored to enhance the drive‐by bridge modal identification. A novel three‐step framework is proposed to extract the components related to the bridge vibration from vehicle responses. The first step is to identify the input forces of two successive vehicles by solving the combined state‐input estimation problem using dual Kalman filter. The CP responses of two contact points are calculated using the input forces and vehicle parameters. In the second step, the subtraction technique is applied to the identified CP responses of the two instrumented vehicles and the effect of the road surface roughness can be significantly reduced. Finally, an automatic singular spectrum analysis technique (auto SSA) is incorporated to decompose the response residual. Then the mono‐component modes related to the bridge response are extracted from the response residual for drive‐by bridge modal identification and/or the nonstationary characteristic identification of vehicle–bridge interaction (VBI) system. Results of numerical and experimental study demonstrate that the method can significantly suppress the vehicle response component and reduce the effect of road surface roughness to enhance the bridge modal identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The maximum temperature difference of Tianshan Road can reach 77.4°C in a year. Under such complex mechanical environment, the mechanical properties of rock mass and structural planes will change significantly as the increase of freeze-thaw cycles (FTC). Consequently, the FTC has become a key factor in the instability and failure of rocky slopes along the Tianshan Road. In this paper, the progressive deformation of rocky slopes and sudden failure process after critical instability were studied through the FTC tests of rock mass and structural planes, discrete element method, and theoretical analysis. The results show that the structural planes and internal microcracks of the rock mass expand under the action of the FTC, causing a gradual decrease in the stability of the slope. The dynamic collapse of the rocky slope has a certain degree of randomness caused by the spatial distribution of structural planes and the interaction between the rock fragments. Due to the limitation of the slipping space and the tilt angle of the trailing edge of the slope, long-distance migration did not occur, and the in situ accumulation of the slope was obvious after failure. The analysis method in this paper can provide an important reference for guiding the catastrophe mechanism analysis and protection of engineering slopes in cold regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Gastric cancer (GC) is a malignant tumour that originates in the gastric mucosal epithelium and is associated with high mortality rates worldwide. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been identified to play an important role in the development of various tumours, including GC. Yet, lncRNA biomarkers in a competing endogenous RNA network (ceRNA network) that are used to predict survival prognosis remain lacking. The aim of this study was to construct a ceRNA network and identify the lncRNA signature as prognostic factors for survival prediction. Methods. The lncRNAs with overall survival significance were used to construct the ceRNA network. Function enrichment, protein-protein interaction, and cluster analysis were performed for dysregulated mRNAs. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression was performed to screen the potential prognostic lncRNAs. RT-qPCR was used to measure the relative expression levels of lncRNAs in cell lines. CCK8 assay was used to assess the proliferation of GC cells transfected with sh-lncRNAs. Results. Differentially expressed genes were identified including 585 lncRNAs, 144 miRNAs, and 2794 mRNAs. The ceRNA network was constructed using 35 DElncRNAs associated with overall survival of GC patients. Functional analysis revealed that these dysregulated mRNAs were enriched in cancer-related pathways, including TGF-beta, Rap 1, calcium, and the cGMP-PKG signalling pathway. A multivariate Cox regression analysis and cumulative risk score suggested that two of those lncRNAs (LINC01644 and LINC01697) had significant prognostic value. Furthermore, the results indicate that LINC01644 and LINC01697 were upregulated in GC cells. Knockdown of LINC01644 or LINC01697 suppressed the proliferation of GC cells. Conclusions. The authors identified 2-lncRNA signature in ceRNA regulatory network as prognostic biomarkers for the prediction of GC patient survival and revealed that silencing LINC01644 or LINC01697 inhibited the proliferation of GC cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. To assess the differences in accommodation and binocular vision in children with myopic anisometropia and determine the correlation with anisometropia. Method. A total of 110 patients with myopia aged 8–15 years were recruited from June 2021 to February 2022 from the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University. Based on the interocular differences of spherical equivalent refraction, patients were divided into the isometropia (35 children), low anisometropia (LA group, 42 children), and high anisometropia (HA group, 33 children). The variables assessed were refraction, heterophoria, amplitude of accommodation (AMP), accommodative response (AR), gradient AC/A, positive and negative relative accommodation (PRA/NRA), and near stereopsis in the three groups. Pearson's correlation coefficient tests were used to investigate the possible association between each parameter and interocular differences (IODs). Results. Among 110 subjects, there were 49 males and 61 females with a mean age of 11.39 ± 2.28 years. Compared with those in the isometropia group, AMP was lower and near stereopsis was higher in the LA group, and the distance and near heterophoria, PRA, AR, and near stereopsis were higher, and PRA, AMP, and gradient AC/A were lower in the HA group (all P < 0.05). Compared with those in the LA group, the near stereopsis, AR, and the near stereopsis were higher in the HA group, and the gradient AC/A was lower (all P < 0.05). However, no significant differences existed in the negative relative accommodation (P > 0.05). The distance and near heterophoria, AR, AMP, and near stereopsis were observed to be correlated with IODs, respectively (r = −0.259, p = 0.006 ; r = −0.201, p = 0.036 ; r = 0.306, p = 0.001 ; r = −0.315, p = 0.001 ; r = 0.535, p < 0.001). Conclusion. Our results suggested that with the increase of anisometropia, distance and near heterophoria, AR, AMP, and near stereopsis had a tendency to get worse in children with myopic anisometropia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Washed microbiota transplantation (WMT) as the improved methods of fecal microbiota transplantation has been employed as a therapeutic approach for ameliorating symptoms associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this context, colonic transendoscopic enteral tubing (TET) has been utilized as a novel procedure for administering WMT. Methods. Data of children with ASD who received WMT by TET were retrospectively reviewed, including bowel preparation methods, TET operation time, success rate, tube retention time, the comfort of children, adverse events, and parent satisfaction. Results. A total of 38 participants underwent 124 colonic TET catheterization procedures. The average time of TET operation was 15 minutes, and the success rate was 100% (124/124). There was no significant difference in TET operation time between high-seniority physicians and low-seniority physicians. In 123 procedures (99%), the TET tube allowed the completion of WMT treatment for 6 consecutive days. In 118 procedures (95.2%), the tube was detached spontaneously after the end of the treatment course, and the average TET tube retention time was 8 days. There was no incidence of tube blockage during the treatment course. No severe adverse events occurred during follow-up. Parents of all participants reported a high level of satisfaction with TET. Conclusion. Colonic TET is a safe and feasible method for WMT in children with ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to analyze the displacement and stress of thin plate for cement concrete pavement with rectangle shape and resting on Winkler soil foundation, an analysis model was set up based on the theory of elastic thin plate on Winkler foundation. According to elasticity Kirchhoff theory of thin plates and Winkler soil foundation model, the expressions of displacement and stress were yielded by using the inverse Hankel transform. Numerical method was employed to calculate displacement and stress of the thin plate. Results showed that displacement and stress corresponded with using the method from Code for Highway Design-Pavement. Results showed that the method can provide a new computation method for displacement and stress of the thin plate about cement concrete pavement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the expression of Cripto-1 and the role of macrophage polarization in immune response after allogeneic transfusion were analyzed by constructing a mouse model of allogeneic transfusion. In order to analyze the effects of miR-449a on the PI3K/AKT/NF-κB signaling pathway and the expression of downstream related regulatory factors under normal and abnormal conditions, we adopt in vitro and in vivo experiments separately. The molecular mechanism of PI3K/AKT/NF-κB signaling pathway was analyzed by blocking or activating gene expression and western blotting. Experiment in vitro has confirmed that inhibition of miR-449a increased the protein expression of Cripto-1. In vivo experiments confirmed that allogeneic transfusion reduced the expression of Cripto-1, which further inhibited NF-κB signaling pathway through AKT/PI3K phosphorylation, regulated macrophage polarization, inhibited M1 polarization of macrophages, promoted M2 polarization, and thus affected immune response of the body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autosomal recessive hearing impairment with postlingual onset is rare. Exceptions are caused by mutations in the TMPRSS3 gene, which can lead to prelingual (DFNB10) as well as postlingual deafness (DFNB8). TMPRSS3 mutations can be classified as mild or severe, and the phenotype is dependent on the combination of TMPRSS3 mutations. The combination of two severe mutations leads to profound hearing impairment with a prelingual onset, whereas severe mutations in combination with milder TMPRSS3 mutations lead to a milder phenotype with postlingual onset. We characterized a Chinese family (number FH1523) with not only prelingual but also postlingual hearing impairment. Three mutations in TMPRSS3, one novel mutation c.36delC [p.(Phe13Serfs⁎12)], and two previously reported pathogenic mutations, c.916G>A (p.Ala306Thr) and c.316C>T (p.Arg106Cys), were identified. Compound heterozygous mutations of p.(Phe13Serfs⁎12) and p.Ala306Thr manifest as prelingual, profound hearing impairment in the patient (IV: 1), whereas the combination of p.Arg106Cys and p.Ala306Thr manifests as postlingual, milder hearing impairment in the patient (II: 2, II: 3, II: 5), suggesting that p.Arg106Cys mutation has a milder effect than p.(Phe13Serfs⁎12). We concluded that different combinations of TMPRSS3 mutations led to different hearing impairment phenotypes (DFNB8/DFNB10) in this family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The computation of image segmentation has become more complicated with the increasing number of thresholds, and the option and application of the thresholds in image thresholding fields have become an NP problem at the same time. The paper puts forward the modified discrete grey wolf optimizer algorithm (MDGWO), which improves on the optimal solution updating mechanism of the search agent by the weights. Taking Kapur’s entropy as the optimized function and based on the discreteness of threshold in image segmentation, the paper firstly discretizes the grey wolf optimizer (GWO) and then proposes a new attack strategy by using the weight coefficient to replace the search formula for optimal solution used in the original algorithm. The experimental results show that MDGWO can search out the optimal thresholds efficiently and precisely, which are very close to the result examined by exhaustive searches. In comparison with the electromagnetism optimization (EMO), the differential evolution (DE), the Artifical Bee Colony (ABC), and the classical GWO, it is concluded that MDGWO has advantages over the latter four in terms of image segmentation quality and objective function values and their stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thresholding segmentation based on fuzzy entropy and intelligent optimization is one of the most commonly used and direct methods. This paper takes fuzzy Kapur’s entropy as the best optimal objective function, with modified quick artificial bee colony algorithm (MQABC) as the tool, performs fuzzy membership initialization operations through Pseudo Trapezoid-Shaped (PTS) membership function, and finally, according to the image’s spacial location information, conducts local information aggregation by way of median, average, and iterative average so as to achieve the final segmentation. The experimental results show that the proposed FMQABC (fuzzy based modified quick artificial bee colony algorithm) and FMQABCA (fuzzy based modified quick artificial bee colony and aggregation algorithm) can search out the best optimal threshold very effectively, precisely, and speedily and in particular show exciting efficiency in running time. This paper experimentally compares the proposed method with Kapur’s entropy-based Electromagnetism Optimization (EMO) method, standard ABC, and FDE (fuzzy entropy based differential evolution algorithm), respectively, and concludes that MQABCA is far more superior to the rest in terms of segmentation quality, iterations to convergence, and running time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To explore the role and mechanism of interleukin-8-mediated autophagy regulation of gastric cancer (GC) cells in GC. Methods. After cell culture, the SGC7901 cell line was separated into the control group and IL-8 (20 ng/mL) group, IL-8 (40 ng/mL) group, and IL-8 (60 ng/mL) group, to verify the effects of the PI3K/Akt signal path on the modulation of autophagy in GC cells. Western blot detected autophagy markers, ATG12-ATG5 complexes, autophagy-associated pathways, and apoptosis-associated factors in GC cells. Transwell was utilized to identify invasion capability. Results. Compared with the control group, the expression of LC3II, Atg5, ATG7, Beclin1, Bax, C-cas3, C-cas9, P-PI3K, P-Akt, and ATG12-ATG5 was remarkably elevated in the IL-8 (60 ng/mL) group, IL-8 (20 ng/mL) group, and the IL-8 (40 ng/mL) group. The expression of P62 and Bcl-2 in the IL-8 (60 ng/mL) group was also lower than that of the IL-8 (20 ng/mL) group and IL-8 (40 ng/mL) group, in contrast to the controls. The invasive quantity of GC SGC7901 cells in the IL-8 (60 ng/mL) group was also remarkably higher in contrast to the IL-8 (20 ng/mL) and IL-8 (40 ng/mL) groups. The relative expressions of LC3II, Atg5, ATG7, Beclin1, Bax, C-cas3, C-cas9, P-PI3K, P-Akt, and ATG12-ATG5 complex proteins in LY294002 group were considerably elevated. LC3II, Atg5, ATG7, Beclin1, Bax, C-cas3, C-cas9, P-PI3K, P-Akt, and ATG12-ATG5 were decreased in the IL-8 + LY294002 group. The relative expressions of P62 and Bcl-2 proteins in the IL-8 + LY294002 group were remarkably elevated, and the invasion of SGC7901 cells in the IL-8 group was elevated. In contrast to the IL-8 group, the invasion quantity of gastric cancer SGC7901 cells in the IL-8 + LY294002 group was considerably decreased. Conclusion. IL-8 promotes autophagy and aggression and suppresses apoptosis of GC SGC7901 cells by regulating PI3K/AKT pathway phosphorylation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cerebral infarction is a common disease with a higher disability and fatality rates. The incidence rates of cerebral infarction or cerebral ischemic stroke gradually increase with aging and cerebrovascular disease progression. This study is aimed at evaluating the effects of HMGA2 on cerebral infarction-induced brain tissue damage and its underlying mechanisms. Adult Sprague Dawley rats were pretreated with sh-HMGA2 before cerebral infarction operation. The effect of HMGA2 on the arrangement, distribution, and morphological structure of neurons and the cell apoptosis ratio in brain tissue were detected via hematoxylin and eosin staining, brain-water content, TTC staining, and TUNEL staining. The results from ELISA assay, qPCR, and western blot indicated that downregulation of HMGA2 mitigated inflammatory stress via regulating the expression of TLR4/NF-κB. In addition, results showed that suppressed HMGA2 attenuated the neurological dysfunction of brain injury rats and markedly reduced infarct volume. HMGA2 might be able to alleviate the damage associated with cerebral infarction-induced inflammatory response and cell apoptosis. Moreover, downregulation of HMGA2 had a protective effect on the brain damage derived from cerebral infarction by mediating the TLR4/NF-κB pathway. In conclusion, the current study demonstrated that downregulation of HMGB2 decreased the infarct size, inflammatory responses, and apoptosis in cerebral injury and further had neuroprotective effects against cerebral infarction-induced brain damage. Finally, these results indicated that the downregulation of the TLR4/NF-κB pathway after ischemia by HMGB2 inhibition is a potential mechanism of the neuroprotective effect of cerebral injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an improved transient negative-sequence calculation formula for a large-capacity nuclear power generator system under unbalanced network conditions. Because of the disadvantages of traditional transient negative-sequence ratings, I2 *2 t is concluded to be inadequate for rating the generator imbalance capability. In fact, many factors, such as the possible fault asymmetry, the duration of the fault and non-periodic components, should also be considered when rating a generator. According to the inherent relation between rotor heating and generator imbalance capability, the non-periodic component is added to the improved transient negative-sequence formula. In this paper, an AP1000 nuclear turbo-generator was examined as a model to systematically analyse the electromagnetic properties and generator transient negative-sequence capability affected by different types of typical short circuits. A comprehensive comparison based on accident examples, experimental results and extensive simulations shows that the improved transient negative-sequence formula not only significantly enhances the assessment accuracy of large-capacity generator imbalance capability but also provides a theoretical reference for the related research of large-capacity generator systems. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs) have been linked to the genesis and progression of certain cancers. The role and regulation mechanism of cancer-derived exosomal miRNAs in CRC, however, remain unknown. Methods. To address this, we first used miRNA sequencing to describe the miRNA profiles of circulating exosomes in order to identify miRNAs that were differently expressed between patients with CRC and healthy controls. Transmission electron microscopy, nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), and western blot were used to analyze exosomes generated from CRC cells. CCK-8, wound healing, and Transwell tests were used to see whether exosomes affected CRC cell proliferation, metastasis, and apoptosis, respectively. We chose and identified hsa-miR-3937, which was abundant in tumor-generated exosomes, based on earlier RNA sequencing data of exosomes obtained and extracted from seven matched specimens of tumor tissues and surrounding normal tissues of CRC patients. Results. The role of hsa-miR-3937 in CRC cells was found, and silencing of hsa-miR-3937 decreased CRC cell invasion and migration in a Transwell experiment. Furthermore, we discovered that there was no link between hsa-miR-3937 expression and CRC cell apoptosis. Initially, it was discovered that BCL2L12 was the target gene of hsa-miR-3937, and the TCGA database highlighted the potential therapeutic relevance of BCL2L12. Furthermore, to identify hsa-miR-3937 as a biomarker of CRC, we used peripheral blood samples rather than patient tissues and extracted exosomes from plasma samples. To assess the expression levels and predictive usefulness of plasma exosomal hsa-miR-3937 in CRC, we performed RT-qPCR to identify hsa-miR-3937 levels in all samples. We also gathered clinicopathological information in order to look for links between aberrant hsa-miR-3937 expression and clinicopathological characteristics. The pathologic stage of CRC patients was linked to hsa-miR-3937 expression levels, and the same was true for the T stage. ROC curve study revealed that hsa-miR-3937 outperforms CEA and CA199. The combination of hsa-miR-3937, CEA, and CA199 exhibited the highest sensitivity for CRC diagnosis. Conclusions. Our findings show that the tumor-originated exosomal hsa-miR-3937 is a potential and effective liquid biopsy marker for colorectal cancer detection and therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Adding vitamin E to highly cross-linked polyethylene liners is frequently performed in clinical practice, aiming at reducing liner wear, increasing liner survival, and delaying revision surgery. This study is aimed at evaluating the revision rate, total femoral head penetration, and postoperative clinical function of highly cross-linked polyethylene liners with and without vitamin E in total hip arthroplasty. Methods. We conducted a systematic literature search to identify the use of highly cross-linked vitamin E liners compared to other liners in patients who received total hip arthroplasty (THA) before April 2021. The study quality assessment and data collection were conducted by two independent reviewers. Studies were artificially grouped, and vitamin E-enhanced liners (VE-PE) were compared with vitamin E-free liners (non-VE-PE). Analyses were executed using Review Manager version 5.4.1. Results. From the preliminary screening of 568 studies, fourteen studies met the research criteria. Compared to non-VE-PE, using VE-PE reduced the all-cause revision rate (odds ratio = 0.54 ; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.40, 0.73; P < 0.0001). The total femoral head penetration of the VE-PE was lower than that of the non-VE-PE (mean difference = − 0.10 ; 95% CI -0.17, -0.03; P = 0.007). However, there was no difference in clinical function, including the Harris Hip Score and EuroQol Five-Dimension Questionnaire scores. Conclusion. Compared to the liners without vitamin E, the addition of vitamin E to liners could reduce the all-cause revision rate by approximately 46% in the short-term follow-up. In addition, even though addition of vitamin E could also slow down femoral head penetration, there is no contribution to clinical function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nardostachyos Radix et Rhizoma (nardostachys) is the root and rhizome of Nardostachys jatamansi DC. Recent studies have shown that nardostachys may exert an anti-PD effect. In this study, the UHPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap-MS method was used to analyze the brain components of nardostachys in rats. Based on the results of UHPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap-MS analysis, nardosinone was identified to be the most effective anti-PD compound in nardostachys. To further verify this inference, a mouse PD model was established and the effect of nardosinone on PD mice was determined using classic behavioral tests. The results showed that nardosinone was indeed effective for relieving PD symptoms in mice. Moreover, network pharmacology analysis was used to elucidate the mechanism underlying the anti-PD effect of nardosinone. Dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2) was identified as the key target of nardosinone-PD interaction network, which was further verified by molecular docking and Western blotting. The results demonstrated that nardosinone and DRD2 could interact with each other. Furthermore, the expression level of DRD2 was decreased in the brain tissue of PD mice, and nardosinone could restore its expression to a certain extent. In conclusion, our findings suggest that nardosinone may reduce the motor and cognitive symptoms in the animal PD model by regulating DRD2 expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional multiview distributed video coding scheme using regional unified coding may lead to distortion problem of decoding estimation of the intense motion region. This paper presents a novel multiview distributed video coding algorithm. In the main perspective, gaining the intense motion regions of Wyner-Ziv frame according to the criteria of ROI, the algorithm extracts their DCT low-frequency coefficients for the entropy coding, in order to generate the best temporal side information. For the nonintense motion regions, the algorithm utilizes motion compensation interpolation (MCI) to generate side information. Finally, side information based on fusion of temporal and spatial side information will be gained. Experimental results show that our proposed algorithm can gain more accurate motion estimation in the intense motion region. Quality of decoded image is improved with the same transmit rate; thus, energy consumption of sensor nodes will be decreased ultimately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Survival of patients with portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT) is extremely poor; transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is a treatment for patients with HCC and PVTT. Some studies showed that hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) might improve the survival of HCC with PVTT. There were few researches of combining TACE with HAIC for patients with HCC and PVTT. Aim. This study was aimed at comparing overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) following treatment with conventional transarterial chemoembolization plus hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (cTACE-HAIC) or conventional transarterial chemoembolization (cTACE) alone in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT). Methods. From January 2011 to December 2016, 155 patients with HCC and PVTT who received cTACE-HAIC (cTACE-HAIC group) (n = 86) or cTACE alone (cTACE group) (n = 69) were retrospectively evaluated. Propensity score matching (PSM) reduced the confounding bias and yielded 60 matched patient pairs. The tumors' responses were evaluated using the modified response evaluation criteria in solid tumors (mRECIST). OS and PFS of groups were compared using the Kaplan-Meier method, log-rank test, and Cox proportional hazard regression models. Results. The median follow-up duration was 93 months (range: 1–93 months). The cTACE-HAIC group's OS (9.0 months) and PFS (6.0 months) were significantly longer than the cTACE group's OS (5.0 months) and PFS (2.0 months) (p = 0.018 and p = 0.045 , respectively) in the matched cohort. Multivariate analyses showed that cTACE-HAIC was independently associated with OS (hazard ratio (HR) 0.602, p = 0.010) and PFS (HR 0.66, p = 0.038). The matched groups did not differ regarding grade 3 or 4 adverse events. Conclusion. cTACE-HAIC was superior to cTACE alone regarding OS and PFS in patients with HCC and PVTT. Treatment-associated toxicities were generally well tolerated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Male infertility induced by heat stress has been attracting more and more attention. Heat stress not only causes apoptosis of spermatocytes but also has adverse effects on Sertoli cells, further damaging spermatogenesis. Lycium barbarum polysaccharide (LBP) is the main bioactive component of Lycium barbarum, which has a protective effect on male reproduction, but its mechanism is still unclear. In this study, our results proved that LBP blocked the inhibitory effect on the proliferation activity of Sertoli cells after heat stress, reversed the dedifferentiation of Sertoli cells induced by heat stress, and ameliorated the structural integrity of the blood-testis barrier. In addition, it increased the expression of the androgen receptor and activated Akt signaling pathway to resist heat-stress-induced injury of Sertoli cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution has become a critical issue in human's life. Predicting the changing trends of air pollutants would be of great help for public health and natural environments. Current methods focus on the prediction accuracy and retain the forecasting time span within 12 hours. Shorter time span decreases the practicability of these perditions, even with higher accuracy. This study proposes an attention and autoencoder (A&A) hybrid learning approach to obtain a longer period of air pollution changing trends while holding the same high accuracy. Since pollutant concentration forecast highly relates to time changing, quite different from normal prediction problems like autotranslation, we integrate "time decay factor" into the traditional attention mechanism. The time decay factor can alleviate the impact of the value observed from a longer time before while increasing the impact of the value from a closer time point. We also utilize the hidden states in the decoder to build connection between history values and current ones. Thus, the proposed model can extract the changing trend of a longer history time span while coping with abrupt changes within a shorter time span. A set of experiments demonstrate that the A&A learning approach can obtain the changing trend of air pollutants, like PM2.5, during a longer time span of 12, 24, or even 48 hours. The approach is also tested under different pollutant concentrations and different periods and the results validate its robustness and generality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Male infertility induced by heat stress has been attracting more and more attention. Heat stress not only causes apoptosis of spermatocytes but also has adverse effects on Sertoli cells, further damaging spermatogenesis. Lycium barbarum polysaccharide (LBP) is the main bioactive component of Lycium barbarum, which has a protective effect on male reproduction, but its mechanism is still unclear. In this study, our results proved that LBP blocked the inhibitory effect on the proliferation activity of Sertoli cells after heat stress, reversed the dedifferentiation of Sertoli cells induced by heat stress, and ameliorated the structural integrity of the blood-testis barrier. In addition, it increased the expression of the androgen receptor and activated Akt signaling pathway to resist heat-stress-induced injury of Sertoli cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Male infertility induced by heat stress has been attracting more and more attention. Heat stress not only causes apoptosis of spermatocytes but also has adverse effects on Sertoli cells, further damaging spermatogenesis. Lycium barbarum polysaccharide (LBP) is the main bioactive component of Lycium barbarum, which has a protective effect on male reproduction, but its mechanism is still unclear. In this study, our results proved that LBP blocked the inhibitory effect on the proliferation activity of Sertoli cells after heat stress, reversed the dedifferentiation of Sertoli cells induced by heat stress, and ameliorated the structural integrity of the blood-testis barrier. In addition, it increased the expression of the androgen receptor and activated Akt signaling pathway to resist heat-stress-induced injury of Sertoli cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Male infertility induced by heat stress has been attracting more and more attention. Heat stress not only causes apoptosis of spermatocytes but also has adverse effects on Sertoli cells, further damaging spermatogenesis. Lycium barbarum polysaccharide (LBP) is the main bioactive component of Lycium barbarum, which has a protective effect on male reproduction, but its mechanism is still unclear. In this study, our results proved that LBP blocked the inhibitory effect on the proliferation activity of Sertoli cells after heat stress, reversed the dedifferentiation of Sertoli cells induced by heat stress, and ameliorated the structural integrity of the blood-testis barrier. In addition, it increased the expression of the androgen receptor and activated Akt signaling pathway to resist heat-stress-induced injury of Sertoli cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Male infertility induced by heat stress has been attracting more and more attention. Heat stress not only causes apoptosis of spermatocytes but also has adverse effects on Sertoli cells, further damaging spermatogenesis. Lycium barbarum polysaccharide (LBP) is the main bioactive component of Lycium barbarum, which has a protective effect on male reproduction, but its mechanism is still unclear. In this study, our results proved that LBP blocked the inhibitory effect on the proliferation activity of Sertoli cells after heat stress, reversed the dedifferentiation of Sertoli cells induced by heat stress, and ameliorated the structural integrity of the blood-testis barrier. In addition, it increased the expression of the androgen receptor and activated Akt signaling pathway to resist heat-stress-induced injury of Sertoli cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herb-pairs are the basic units of composition in Chinese herbal formulae, where the bridge linking Chinese medicine and prescription consists of two Chinese medicine herbs. The Suanzaoren-Wuweizi herb-pair (SWHP) is commonly used as a sedative or tranquilizer. SWHP has been demonstrated to exert an antianxiety effect in animal models of anxiety. However, little information about its mechanism is available and the effects of SWHP have not been investigated. This study examined the effects of SWHP on ameliorating anxiety-like behaviors by regulating endocannabinoids system (ECS)—brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)—extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERK) signaling pathway expression, induced by restraint stress (RS) procedures. The antianxiety effects of SWHP on RS rats were then examined through the open-field test (OF) and the elevated plus maze test (EPM). The concentration of BNDF, ERK1/2, p-ERK1/2, cAMP-response element binding protein (CREB), and p-CREB expression in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus of the rats was then measured by western blot. The number of positive cells of CB1 and CB2 in the rats' hippocampus CA1 region was measured by immunohistochemistry. These results gave compelling evidence that SWHP could modify anxiety-like behaviors of RS rats through regulation of the ECS-BDNF-ERK signaling pathway. Our study demonstrated that SWHP improved anxiety-like behaviors in RS rat models by regulating the ECS-BDNF-ERK signaling pathway. The findings indicate that SWHP may have a therapeutic application in the RS model of anxiety disorder, which proposes a potential new direction for research into anxiety disorders regarding mechanisms and the development of novel antianxiety drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Members of genus Sphingopyxis are frequently found in diverse eco-environments worldwide and have been traditionally considered to play vital roles in the degradation of aromatic compounds. Over recent decades, many aromatic-degrading Sphingopyxis strains have been isolated and recorded, but little is known about their genetic nature related to aromatic compounds biodegradation. In this study, bacterial genomes of 19 Sphingopyxis strains were used for comparative analyses. Phylogeny showed an ambiguous relatedness between bacterial strains and their habitat specificity, while clustering based on Cluster of Orthologous Groups suggested the potential link of functional profile with substrate-specific traits. Pan-genome analysis revealed that 19 individuals were predicted to share 1,066 orthologous genes, indicating a high genetic homogeneity among Sphingopyxis strains. Notably, KEGG Automatic Annotation Server results suggested that most genes pertaining aromatic compounds biodegradation were predicted to be involved in benzoate, phenylalanine, and aminobenzoate metabolism. Among them, β-ketoadipate biodegradation might be the main pathway in Sphingopyxis strains. Further inspection showed that a number of mobile genetic elements varied in Sphingopyxis genomes, and plasmid-mediated gene transfer coupled with prophage- and transposon-mediated rearrangements might play prominent roles in the evolution of bacterial genomes. Collectively, our findings presented that Sphingopyxis isolates might be the promising candidates for biodegradation of aromatic compounds in pollution sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The involvement of immune dysfunction in the pathogenesis of lung cancer has been extensively studied. However, the potential molecular mechanisms through which the tumor immune response affects drug resistance are still unclear. Accordingly, in this study, we evaluated deviations in the immune cell landscape among patients with different stages of lung adenocarcinoma to identify key microRNAs and their targets associated with patient outcomes. CIBERSORT was used for estimating the proportions of immune cells in various lung tissues. Significantly different adaptive and innate immune cell types, including memory B cells, CD8+ T cells, resting dendritic cells, and resting mast cells, were selected. Comparative studies and survival analyses were carried out. We found that potential genes and microRNAs involved in immune responses were associated with patient outcomes. Specifically, miR-582/CD1B, which are involved in resting and activated dendritic cells, may be potential novel biomarkers for immunotherapy. An independent dataset of miRNA microarray profiles was used to validate the expression of mature miR-582-5p in patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma. Alternative treatments, including immunotherapies and chemotherapy, are urgently needed to improve outcomes in patients with lung cancer. Thus, our findings could provide insights into the selection of novel microRNAs targeting immune genes and could improve the efficacy of immunotherapy by disrupting tumor function and promoting immune infiltration in patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. To evaluate the effect of preoperative intravitreal conbercept (IVC) injection on patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). Methods. Medical records of patients who underwent vitrectomy due to complications of PDR were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were grouped as the IVC group and non-IVC group according to preoperative IVC. Preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative data of both eyes were collected. The main outcome measures were best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure (IOP), central retinal thickness (CRT), and incidence of tractional retinal detachment (TRD). Results. A total of 37 cases were included, 16 in the IVC group and 21 in the non-IVC group. Preoperative IVC significantly reduced surgical duration (IVC vs. non-IVC, 88.9 ± 11.9 min vs. 97.8 ± 12.8 min, p < 0.05). In the vitrectomized eye, no significant difference existed between the IVC group and non-IVC group regarding postoperative BCVA (logMAR, 1.20 ± 0.53 vs. 1.27 ± 0.54, p = 0.68), IOP (16.5 ± 2.9 mmHg vs. 15.6 ± 3.7 mmHg, p = 0.44), and CRT (330.1 ± 35.2 μm vs. 319.2 ± 32.5 μm, p=0.34). In the fellow eye, 6 cases in the IVC group were diagnosed with TRD during postoperative follow-up, while only 2 cases were diagnosed in the non-IVC group (p < 0.05). Conclusion. Preoperative intravitreal injection of conbercept has effectively facilitated vitrectomy in PDR patients, but it potentially promotes tractional retinal detachment in the fellow eye following preoperative injection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High Nb-containing TiAl alloys have good oxidation resistance and mechanical properties, but the microstructure and the properties are substantially affected by the segregation. To quantitatively investigate the segregation behavior of Al during solidification, microstructures of directionally solidified (DS) Ti-45Al-8Nb (in atomic percent) alloy prepared at withdrawing rates of 30 μm/s and 200 μm/s and a temperature gradient of 4200 K/m were observed by optical microscope and electronic probe microanalyzer. The microsegregations were characterized by wave dispersive spectroscopy. The results show that the DS ingots include the no melting zone, directionally solidified zone with columnar grains, mushy zone, and quenched liquid zone. The primary dendritic arm spacings are 353 μm and 144 μm, respectively, for the two ingots. But the solidified microstructures of the ingots are large lamellar colonies, which contain a few B2 patches and γ bands induced by microsegregation. From dendritic zone to columnar zone, the volume fractions of B2 patches and γ bands decrease. The segregation extents of Al and Nb decrease with the increase of solidification rate. There exists an obvious back diffusion process of Al during solidification and cooling after solidification. According to evolution of Al concentration profiles from mushy zone to columnar grain zone, interdiffusion coefficient for Al in β-Ti at near solidus temperature is semiquantitatively calculated, and the value is (6 – 11) × 10−11 m2/s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hereditary nonsyndromic hearing loss is extremely heterogeneous. Mutations in the POU class 4 transcription factor 3 (POU4F3) are known to cause autosomal dominant nonsyndromic hearing loss linked to the loci of DFNA15. In this study, we describe a pathogenic missense mutation in POU4F3 in a four-generation Chinese family (6126) with midfrequency, progressive, and postlingual autosomal dominant nonsyndromic hearing loss (ADNSHL). By combining targeted capture of 129 known deafness genes, next-generation sequencing, and bioinformatic analysis, we identified POU4F3 c.602T>C (p.Leu201Pro) as the disease-causing variant. This variant cosegregated with hearing loss in other family members but was not detected in 580 normal controls or the ExAC database and could be classified as a “pathogenic variant” according to the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics guidelines. We conclude that POU4F3 c.602T>C (p.Leu201Pro) is related to midfrequency hearing loss in this family. Routine examination of POU4F3 is necessary for the genetic diagnosis of midfrequency hearing loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The U-shaped girder is a type of open thin-walled structure, which is used in urban rail transit engineering. Although it employs polypropylene fiber concrete to avoid cracks, the girder is still easier to crack than other traditional structures owing to its special open thin-walled cross section. In this study, a cracking accident of a U-shaped girder, which happened during the prestressed steel tensioning, was studied by field investigation and mechanical analysis through the finite element (FE) method. An outline of the cracks was presented. The nonlinear material properties of the polypropylene fiber concrete and steel were discussed and used in the finite element model. The effects of the main design parameters, such as the flange slab thickness, anchorage position, and prestressed steel layout, were evaluated based on the results of the FE analysis. The results indicate that the extremely low rigidity of the web and oversize of the web longitudinal prestressed steels are the main reasons for the cracks. The risk of cracks can be reduced by increasing the thickness of the flange slab and changing the anchorage position and prestressed steel layout. Some suggestions are provided for avoiding cracks based on the results of the research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Synonymous mutation is the single nucleotide change that does not cause an amino acid change but can affect the rate and efficiency of translation. So recent increase in our knowledge has revealed a substantial contribution of synonymous mutations to human disease risk and other complex traits. Nevertheless, there are still rarely synonymous mutation prediction methods. Methods. Nonsynonymous and synonymous coding SNPs show similar likelihood and effect size of human disease association. Here we defined synonymous and missense variation as single nucleotide substitution variation. And then we evaluated the intolerance of genic transcripts to single nucleotide substitution variation based on gnomAD 123136 individuals. After regressing all variations on common variations, we defined residuals of regression model as every genomics region intolerance scores. Results. We constructed a total of 24799 nonoverlapped region-based intolerance score by their intolerance to single nucleotide substitution variation (Syntool). The results show that Syntool score can discriminate synonymous disease causing mutations in Human Gene Mutation Database (HGMD Professional) and ClinVar database much better than others. Taken together, this study provides a novel prediction system for synonymous mutations, called Syntool, which could be helpful in identifying candidate synonymous disease causing mutations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hereditary hearing loss is characterized by a high degree of genetic heterogeneity. Mutations in the TMPRSS3 (transmembrane protease, serine 3) gene cause prelingual (DFNB10) or postlingual (DFNB8) deafness. In our previous study, three pathogenic mutations in TMPRSS3 were identified in one Chinese family. To evaluate the importance of TMPRSS3 mutations in recessive deafness among the Chinese, we screened 150 autosomal recessive nonsyndromic hearing loss (ARNSHL) families and identified 6 that carried seven causative TMPRSS3 mutations, including five novel mutations (c.809T>A, c.1151T>G, c.1204G>A, c.1244T>C, and c.1250G>A) and two previously reported mutations (c.323-6G>A and c.916G>A). Each of the five novel mutations was classified as severe, by both age of onset and severity of hearing loss. Together with our previous study, six families were found to share one pathogenic mutation (c.916G>A, p.Ala306Thr). To determine whether this mutation arose from a common ancestor, we analyzed six short tandem repeat (STR) markers spanning the TMPRSS3 gene. In four families, we observed linkage disequilibrium between p.Ala306Thr and STR markers. Our results indicate that mutations in TMPRSS3 account for about 4.6% (7/151) of Chinese ARNSHL cases lacking mutations in SLC26A4 or GJB2 and that the recurrent TMPRSS3 mutation p.Ala306Thr is likely to be a founder mutation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quercitrin is a well-known flavonoid that is contained in Flos Albiziae, which has been used for the treatment of anxiety. The present study investigated the anxiolytic-like effects of quercitrin in experimental models of anxiety. Compared with the control group, repeated treatment with quercitrin (5.0 and 10.0 mg/kg/day, p.o.) for seven days significantly increased the percentage of entries into and time spent on the open arms of the elevated plus maze. In the light/dark box test, quercitrin exerted an anxiolytic-like effect at 5 and 10 mg/kg. In the marble-burying test, quercitrin (5.0 and 10.0 mg/kg) also exerted an anxiolytic-like effect. Furthermore, quercitrin did not affect spontaneous locomotor activity. The anxiolytic-like effects of quercitrin in the elevated plus maze and light/dark box test were blocked by the serotonin-1A (5-hydroxytryptamine-1A (5-HT1A)) receptor antagonist WAY-100635 (3.0 mg/kg, i.p.) but not by the γ-aminobutyric acid-A (GABAA) receptor antagonist flumazenil (0.5 mg/kg, i.p.). The levels of brain monoamines (5-HT and dopamine) and their metabolites (5-hydroxy-3-indoleacetic acid, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, and homovanillic acid) were decreased after quercitrin treatment. These data suggest that the anxiolytic-like effects of quercitrin might be mediated by 5-HT1A receptors but not by benzodiazepine site of GABAA receptors. The results of the neurochemical studies suggest that these effects are mediated by modulation of the levels of monoamine neurotransmitters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]