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Flight delay identification is an important way to coordinate the operation time of airport ground service providers and improve the efficiency of airport operations. By analyzing the flight turnaround operation process, considering the randomness and synchronization of the turnaround process, and using Colored Petri Nets and Python (4.0.1), we explore the correlation between various links in the flight turnaround process and the take-off delay at the next station. This paper is committed to improving the service performance of airports and airlines, dynamically predicting flight delays, and providing guidance for avoiding excessive time in the actual operation of bad combinations. The results show that there are six kinds of bad combinations in the departure slip-out link, which is the most likely to affect the transit time. The maximum lifting degree in the bad combination is 2.043, and the maximum average delay time in the bad combination is 22.5 min. When the combination of passenger boarding and departure slip-out time is too long, it has a great positive correlation with delay. When the other links are in a state of being able to pass the station on time, the departure time and baggage loading and unloading are the two links that most affect the flight delay value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Creating new insecticide lead compounds based on the design and modification of natural products is a novel process, of which chlorfenapyr is a typical successful example. Chlorfenapyr is an arylpyrrole derivative that has high biological activity, a wide insecticidal spectrum, and a unique mode of action. For decades, a series of chlorfenapyr derivatives were designed and synthesized continuously, of which many highly active insecticidal compounds were discovered sequentially. However, due to the widespread application of chlorfenapyr and its degradation properties, some adverse effects, including pest resistance and environmental toxicity, occurred. In this review, a brief history of the discovery and development of chlorfenapyr is first introduced. Then, the synthesis, structural modification, structure activity relationship, and action mechanism of arylpyrroles are summarized. However, challenges and limitations still exist, especially in regard to the connection with pest resistance and environmental toxicology, which is discussed at the end of this review. This comprehensive summary of chlorfenapyr further promotes its progress and sensible application for pest management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traumatic brain injury usually triggers glial scar formation, neuroinflammation, and neurodegeneration. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these pathological features are largely unknown. Using a mouse model of hippocampal stab injury (HSI), we observed that miR-331, a brain-enriched microRNA, was significantly downregulated in the early stage (0–7 days) of HSI. Intranasal administration of agomir-331, an upgraded product of miR-331 mimics, suppressed reactive gliosis and neuronal apoptosis and improved cognitive function in HSI mice. Finally, we identified IL-1β as a direct downstream target of miR-331, and agomir-331 treatment significantly reduced IL-1β levels in the hippocampus after acute injury. Our findings highlight, for the first time, agomir-331 as a pivotal neuroprotective agent for early rehabilitation of HSI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study looks into a new composite bridge deck structure that employs a corrugated steel plate as the base. The goal is to address the shortcomings of traditional deck-bearing capacity, stiffness, and stress performance. Specifically, this study investigates the shear performance and slip characteristics of this structure. To achieve this, the study analyzes the shear behavior and slip tendencies of the composite bridge deck. The study focuses on the role of shear studs and PBL (Perfobond Leiste) perforated steel plates as essential components for shear connections. The shear performance of the composite deck is analyzed based on the structure of shear connection keys such as shear studs and PBL perforated steel plates. The advantages of composite decks in terms of stiffness, self-weight, load-bearing capacity, shear resistance, slip resistance, etc., are discussed to provide a theoretical reference for practical engineering applications. The shear resistance of shear stud shear keys is investigated through shear push-out experiments, and the shear resistance of shear studs is investigated through finite element simulations based on the ABAQUS 2020 finite element software. The results showed that the shear load capacity of the shear studs increased with the increase in the height-to-diameter ratio for different diameters of the shear studs, and the range of increases was from 2% to 23%. However, when the diameter of the shear stud exceeded 22 mm, the ultimate shear capacity of the shear stud increased with the increase in the height-to-diameter ratio, and the magnitude of the increase slowed down. For the actual design of the composite deck, it is recommended to maintain a shear stud height-to-diameter ratio within the range of 9 to 12. When using a composite deck with a PBL open-hole steel plate, the maximum longitudinal slip at the plate end and within the span is only 0.28 mm and 0.0158 mm, respectively. These values are 31% and 36% lower than those of the composite deck with a peg shear key. Additionally, the vertical peeling within the span of the PBL open-hole steel plate is merely 0.46 mm, showing a 21% reduction compared to that of the shear studs. It can be seen that the PBL perforated steel plates are more effective than the shear studs in resisting slip and peel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optimization of imaging accuracy and speed is a crucial issue in the development of computer-generated holograms (CGH) for three-dimensional (3D) displays. This paper proposes an optimized iterative algorithm based on the angular spectrum method (ASM) to achieve high-quality holographic imaging across multiple planes. To effectively utilize spatial resources for multi-image reconstruction and mitigate the speckle noise caused by the overlapping of target images, constraint factors are introduced between different layers within the same region. The seeking rule of the constraint factor is also analyzed. By utilizing both constraint factors and variable factors, the presented method is able to calculate phase holograms for target figure imaging at four different planes. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method effectively improves the overall quality of the different planes, thus holding great potential for wide-ranging applications in the field of holography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the technology scales down, two-dimensional (2D) NAND flash memory has reached its bottleneck. Three-dimensional (3D) NAND flash memory was proposed to further increase the storage capacity by vertically stacking multiple layers. However, the new architecture of 3D flash memory leads to new sources of errors, which severely affects the reliability of the system. In this paper, for the first time, we derive the channel probability density function of 3D NAND flash memory by taking major sources of errors. Based on the derived channel probability density function, the mutual information (MI) for 3D flash memory with multiple layers is derived and used as a metric to design the quantization. Specifically, we propose a dynamic programming algorithm to jointly optimize read-voltage thresholds for all layers by maximizing the MI (MMI). To further reduce the complexity, we develop an MI derivative (MID)-based method to obtain read-voltage thresholds for hard-decision decoding (HDD) of error correction codes (ECCs). Simulation results show that the performance with jointly optimized read-voltage thresholds can closely approach that with read-voltage thresholds optimized for each layer, with much less read latency. Moreover, the MID-based MMI quantizer almost achieves the optimal performance for HDD of ECCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immunological memory is the key source of protective immunity against pathogens. At the current stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, heterologous combinations of exposure to viral antigens during infection and/or vaccination shape a distinctive immunological memory. Immune imprinting, the downside of memory, might limit the generation of de novo immune response against variant infection or the response to the next-generation vaccines. Here, we review mechanistic basis of immune imprinting by focusing on B cell immunobiology and discuss the extent to which immune imprinting is harmful, as well as its effect on SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the standards of bridge design and construction continue to improve, more and more combination bridges are being put into use. The public's demand for aesthetically pleasing bridges is also increasing, making it necessary to use the special structure of steel–concrete combinations, continuous V-shaped piers, and continuously stiffened bridges. This structure has the structural and mechanical characteristics of both a continuous girder and a V-shaped pier bridge. The span can be reduced to a certain extent because the support of the V-shaped piers can be applied directly to the main girder. The spanning capacity of the bridge is generally greater than that of a combined steel–concrete girder bridge with vertical piers. The whole bridge is continuous, without expansion joints, making it more stable and safe for traffic. At present, research on this structural bridge type is not yet complete. In this paper, the structural system and dynamic characteristics of this bridge are investigated in the context of real-life engineering. Firstly, the self-vibration characteristics of the three structures were analyzed, and their effects on the self-vibration characteristics were studied by varying the height of the crossbeam at the V-shaped piers' support, the main beam stiffness, and the V-shaped piers' stiffness in the three structures. The results show that the increase in main beam stiffness can effectively improve the vertical stiffness of the three structures, with the most obvious effect on structure one and the least effect on structure two; the increase in V-shaped pier stiffness causes a huge improvement in the transverse stiffness of the three structures. Subsequently, a two-unit rod system model of the background bridge was established using the finite element method, and the original model was improved by calculating the equivalent shear stiffness of the shear nail group so that it could simulate the shear joints more accurately. The effects of the shear connectors on the self-vibration characteristics of the steel–concrete combined continuous beam–V-shaped piers and continuous rigid-frame bridge were investigated through theoretical analysis and finite element simulation. It was found that due to the existence of flexible shear connectors, the interface between the steel beam and concrete slab in the combined beam has a slippage effect which causes the deformation to become unsynchronized, and there is a certain difference between vibration patterns. The stiffness of the shear connectors has a certain effect on the self-vibration frequency of the bridge. The damage to the local shear connectors does not have a large effect on the self-vibration frequency of the overall structure, but the damage to the shear connectors at the beginning of the connection between the V-shaped piers and the main beam is greater than that of the other areas. Damage to shear joints should be given special consideration in comparison to other areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: High-quality early embryos are essential for accelerating animal reproduction and genetic modification of mammals, and oxidative stress is strongly associated with a decline in in vitro embryo developmental potential. During in vitro culture, the most direct and effective approach to alleviate oxidative stress is to add antioxidants to the in vitro culture medium. In this study, maslinic acid (MA), a pentacyclic triterpenoid acid in olive plants possessing antioxidant capacities due to its ability to scavenge free radicals, ameliorated the in vitro developmental capability of porcine embryos from parthenogenetic activation and somatic cell nuclear transfer. MA also enhanced oxidation resistance, maintained mitochondrial function, and inhibited apoptosis in porcine early-stage embryos. As a pentacyclic triterpene, MA exhibits effective free radical scavenging capabilities. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of MA on porcine early-stage embryonic development, oxidation resistance and mitochondrial function. Our results showed that 1 μM was the optimal concentration of MA, which resulted in dramatically increased blastocyst formation rates and improvement of blastocyst quality of in vitro-derived embryos from parthenogenetic activation (PA) and somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). Further analysis indicated that MA supplementation not only significantly decreased the abundance of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and dramatically increased the abundance of intracellular reductive glutathione (GSH) in porcine early-stage embryos, but also clearly attenuated mitochondrial dysfunction and inhibited apoptosis. Moreover, Western blotting showed that MA supplementation upregulated OCT4 (p < 0.01), SOD1 (p < 0.0001) and CAT (p < 0.05) protein expression in porcine early-stage embryos. Collectively, our data reveal that MA supplementation exerts helpful effects on porcine early embryo development competence via regulation of oxidative stress (OS) and amelioration of mitochondrial function and that MA may be useful for increasing the in vitro production (IVP) efficiency of porcine early-stage embryos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traumatic brain injury usually results in neuronal loss and cognitive deficits. Promoting endogenous neurogenesis has been considered as a viable treatment option to improve functional recovery after TBI. However, neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) in neurogenic regions are often unable to migrate and differentiate into mature neurons at the injury site. Transglutaminase 2 (TGM2) has been identified as a crucial component of neurogenic niche, and significantly dysregulated after TBI. Therefore, we speculate that TGM2 may play an important role in neurogenesis after TBI, and strategies targeting TGM2 to promote endogenous neural regeneration may be applied in TBI therapy. Using a tamoxifen-induced Tgm2 conditional knockout mouse line and a mouse model of stab wound injury, we investigated the role and mechanism of TGM2 in regulating hippocampal neurogenesis after TBI. We found that Tgm2 was highly expressed in adult NSPCs and up-regulated after TBI. Conditional deletion of Tgm2 resulted in the impaired proliferation and differentiation of NSPCs, while Tgm2 overexpression enhanced the abilities of self-renewal, proliferation, differentiation, and migration of NSPCs after TBI. Importantly, injection of lentivirus overexpressing TGM2 significantly promoted hippocampal neurogenesis after TBI. Therefore, TGM2 is a key regulator of hippocampal neurogenesis and a pivotal therapeutic target for intervention following TBI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Insect cell lines have often been employed in pest management, where they have been used as tools to evaluate the activity and explore the toxic mechanisms of insecticide candidate compounds. This review summarizes the progression of insect cell line establishment, then introduces several recent studies based on insect cell lines coupled with advanced technologies. These cell-based studies could increase efficiency and reduce the cost of insecticide studies, providing a global and in-depth perspective to reveal and verify the mode of action of insecticides. During the past decades, research on insect cell culture has grown tremendously. Thousands of lines have been established from different species of insect orders, originating from several tissue sources. These cell lines have often been employed in insect science research. In particular, they have played important roles in pest management, where they have been used as tools to evaluate the activity and explore the toxic mechanisms of insecticide candidate compounds. This review intends to first briefly summarize the progression of insect cell line establishment. Then, several recent studies based on insect cell lines coupled with advanced technologies are introduced. These investigations revealed that insect cell lines can be exploited as novel models with unique advantages such as increased efficiency and reduced cost compared with traditional insecticide research. Most notably, the insect cell line-based models provide a global and in-depth perspective to study the toxicology mechanisms of insecticides. However, challenges and limitations still exist, especially in the connection between in vitro activity and in vivo effectiveness. Despite all this, recent advances have suggested that insect cell line-based models promote the progress and sensible application of insecticides, which benefits pest management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landslide susceptibility evaluation can accurately predict the spatial distribution of potential landslides, which offers great usefulness for disaster prevention, disaster reduction, and land resource management. Aiming at the problems of insufficient samples for landslide compilation, difficulty in expanding landslide samples, and insufficient expression of nonlinear relationships among evaluation factors, this paper proposes a new evaluation method of landslide susceptibility combining deep autoencoder and multi-scale residual network (DAE-MRCNN). In the first step, a deep autoencoder network was used to learn the feature expression of the original landslide data in order to acquire effective features in the data. Next, a multi-scale residual network was constructed; specifically, the model was improved into a deep residual network model by adding skip connections in the convolutional layer. In addition, the multi-scale idea was utilized to fully extract the scale characteristics of the evaluation factors. Finally, the model was used for feature training, and the results were input into the Softmax classifier to complete the prediction of landslide susceptibility. For this purpose, a machine learning method and two state-of-the-art deep learning methods, namely SVM, CPCNN-ML, and 2D-CNN, were utilized to model landslide susceptibility in Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province. The proposed method produced the highest model performance of 0.891, followed by 0.842, 0.869, and 0.873. The experimental results show that the DAE-MRCNN method can fully express the complex nonlinear relationships among the evaluation factors, alleviate the problem of insufficient samples in convolutional neural networks (CNN) training, and significantly improve the accuracy of susceptibility prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The symptoms of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) severely affect the life quality of the elderly population. Low-level laser therapy, heat therapy, and massage therapy are widely used as independent treatments for joint disorders. However, there are very limited reports of a combination of these therapies into an integrated device for KOA so far. This study aims to develop a novel hybrid therapeutic device that can meet various requirements for knee therapy. Our hybrid therapeutic device (CUHK-OA-M2) integrated with low-level laser therapy, heat therapy, and local massage therapy can effectively provide patients with KOA with relief from their clinical symptoms. A pilot test of 50 community-dwelling elderly volunteers with KOA was performed. Finally, 43 volunteers completed two treatment periods (30 days each) and two post-treatment periods (30 days each). The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) scores were collected and analyzed after each period. The outputs of the low-level laser, heating, and massage therapies significantly decreased the WOMAC scores in terms of pain, stiffness, function and total WOMAC after two treatment periods (p < 0.05). Although the score increased slightly after the post-treatment period, it was still lower than the baseline, indicating the treatment outcome could last for an extended period. Therefore, our CUHK-OA-M2 device, as an integrated multi-functional hybrid therapeutic device, is therapeutically significant for treating osteoarthritis symptoms on the knee joints of elderly subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consistent with our expectations, a reduced STING mRNA expression level was observed in the hippocampi of agomir-let-7i-treated HSI mice compared to scramble-treated HSI mice ( I F SB (2,6) sb i = 169.3, I p i < 0.001; Sham vs. Intranasal Administration of Agomir-let-7i Improves Cognitive Function in Mice with Traumatic Brain Injury. Right panel, HEK-293 T cells were co-transfected with a luciferase reporter construct containing wild-type or mutated human STING 3'UTR and assessed for luciferase activity 72 h after transfection (n = 3). [Extracted from the article]

Buprofezin (BUP) is an insecticide used for control of sucking pests. Its widespread use has raised concerns about possible adverse effects on the environment, and especially human health. The mechanism of toxicity of BUP, with respect to human health, is still unclear. Consequently, human A549 cells were employed to clarify the cytotoxicity and toxic mechanism of BUP at the molecular and cellular levels. The outcomes revealed BUP latent toxicity to A549 in a time- and dose-related way. Moreover, BUP induced mitochondrial dysfunction associated with mitochondrial membrane potential collapse, mitochondrial calcium overload, and ROS aggregation, ultimately resulting in the apoptosis and autophagy of A549 cells. Symbolic apoptotic and autophagic modifications were detected, including leakage of cyt-c, elevation of Bax/Bcl-2, activation of cas-9/-3, constitution of autophagic vacuoles, promotion of Beclin-1, conversion of LC3-II, and reduction of p62. Additionally, in total, 1216 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were defined after BUP treatment. Several apoptosis- and autophagy-related genes, such as BCL2, ATG5, and ATG16, down- or upregulated at the RNA transcription level, and functional DEGs enrichment analysis showed their involvement in the metabolism of xenobiotics by cytochrome P450, mTOR signalling pathway, and AMPK signalling pathway. Results confirmed that BUP could induce cytotoxicity associated with mitochondria-mediated programmed cell death in A549 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a finite alphabet iterative decoder (FAID) named rate-compatible mutual-information-maximizing quantized shuffled min-sum (RC-MIM-QSMS) decoder, for decoding quasi-cyclic low-density parity-check (QC-LDPC) codes with various code rates. Our proposed decoder exchanges the coarsely quantized messages represented by symbols from finite alphabets and adopts single-input lookup tables (LUTs) to implement the node updates. To construct the LUTs used for decoding, we first propose a modified density evolution by considering the shuffled schedule to generate the LUTs which vary with different layers and iterations. Furthermore, to reduce the memory requirement for storing the LUTs, we optimize the constructed LUTs into a unique set of LUTs that only change with different decoding iterations. To the best of our knowledge, the RC-MIM-QSMS decoder is the first one to integrate the rate compatibility of LDPC codes with the shuffled decoding schedule. Simulation results show that the proposed RC-MIM-QSMS decoder outperforms the floating-point shuffled belief propagation decoder in the high signal-to-noise region and achieves comparable convergence speed to other state-of-the-art FAIDs. Moreover, the RC-MIM-QSMS decoder is able to save up to 93.22 % memory requirement compared to the benchmark MIM-FAIDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chlorfenapyr (CHL) is a type of insecticide with a wide range of insecticidal activities and unique targets. The extensive use of pesticides has caused an increase in potential risks to the environment and human health. However, the potential toxicity of CHL and its mechanisms of action on humans remain unclear. Therefore, human liver cells (HepG2) were used to investigate the cytotoxic effect and mechanism of toxicity of CHL at the cellular level. The results showed that CHL induced cellular toxicity in HepG2 cells and induced mitochondrial damage associated with reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and mitochondrial calcium overload, ultimately leading to apoptosis and autophagy in HepG2 cells. Typical apoptotic changes occurred, including a decline in the mitochondrial membrane potential, the promotion of Bax/Bcl-2 expression causing the release of cyt-c into the cytosol, the activation of cas-9/-3, and the cleavage of PARP. The autophagic effects included the formation of autophagic vacuoles, accumulation of Beclin-1, transformation of LC3-II, and downregulation of p62. Additionally, DNA damage and cell cycle arrest were detected in CHL-treated cells. These results show that CHL induced cytotoxicity associated with mitochondria-mediated programmed cell death (PCD) and DNA damage in HepG2 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnesium (Mg)-based implants were extensively developed and tested to improve the shortages of traditional hard metal implants. Unlike the nail, screw, and plate, pure Mg wire is rarely applied in the musculoskeletal system because of its poor mechanical properties. Therefore, we developed the magnesium–zinc–gadolinium (ZG21) alloy wire, which presented good mechanical properties. Before the in vivo study, the in vitro tests were carried out in this study. The ZG21 wire was scanned by SEM/EDS. The changing rate of weight and pH values were recorded during degradation. The corrosion interface was scanned by SEM/EDS. The cytotoxicity of metal extracts, Mg, Zn, and Gd ions was tested. The osteogenic and angiogenic potential was also evaluated. The ZG21 wire degraded at a stable speed in 14 days. The extracts were diluted ten times, and the correspondent ion concentration presented low cytotoxicity for cell lines of pre-osteoblasts, fibroblasts, and endothelial vessel cells. Pre-osteoblast cell lines cultured with 10% extracts presented significantly higher osteogenic potential. Endothelial vessel cell lines cultured with 2.5, 5, and 10 mM Mg2+ presented significantly higher angiogenic potential. The ZG21 wire could maintain an intact structure when making a surgical knot. Its degradation process and products presented low toxicity and potential for osteogenesis and angiogenesis. The ZG21 wire could be identified as a safe and bioactive material for further in vivo musculoskeletal regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The overexpression of the human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) gene is present in 20~25% of breast cancer (BC) patients, contributing to an inferior prognosis. Recent clinical trials showed that pyrotinib has promising antitumor activities and acceptable tolerability for those patients (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03080805 and NCT02422199). Therefore, this study aims to assess the cost-effectiveness of pyrotinib plus capecitabine versus lapatinib plus capecitabine for patients with HER2-positive metastatic BC after prior trastuzumab. Methods: A lifetime-partitioned survival model was established to evaluate health and economic outcomes with different treatment strategies. The primary outcome was the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). Data were derived from the published literature, clinical trials, expert opinions, and other local charges. Sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the robustness of the findings. Scenario analyses were developed to make further evaluations. Results: The pyrotinib regimen had significant advantages over the lapatinib regimen after enrolling in the National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL), with cost savings of USD 15,599.27 and a gain of 0.53 QALYs. Meanwhile, before enrolling in NRDL, the pyrotinib regimen afforded the same QALYs at a higher incremental cost of USD 45,400.64 versus the lapatinib regimen, producing an ICER of USD 85,944.79 per QALY. Scenario analyses yielded similar results. Sensitivity analyses suggested stability in the cost-effectiveness findings. Conclusions: Compared to lapatinib plus capecitabine, the pyrotinib plus capecitabine enrolled in NRDL is a cost-effective alternative second-line treatment for patients with HER2-positive metastatic BC in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamic characteristics of bridge structures are important in wind stability analysis, seismic design, fatigue assessment, health inspection, and maintenance of bridge structures; however, the mechanical and dynamic properties of different bridge types are different. A long-span cable-stayed bridge has the advantages of large flexibility, long natural vibration period, low natural frequency, dense spectrum, and denser modal than those of general structures. In this paper, the dynamic characteristics of a cable-stayed bridge with single pylon and single cable plane in the maximum cantilever stage and the complete bridge are analyzed. The single-tower cable-stayed bridge has some unique characteristics, such as lower cost, and a more beautiful appearance, but its torsional rigidity is lower, which increases the risk of wind damage and earthquake damage. Therefore, a finite element analysis of this bridge in the maximum cantilever state is carried out, and the influences of the main components' rigidity, the inclination angles of the stayed cables, the supporting conditions, and the locations of the auxiliary piers are analyzed for the sustainability of this type of cable-stayed bridge. The analysis results show that a cable-stayed bridge with single pylon and single cable plane has more flexibility, and that the lateral rigidity and torsional rigidity are smaller. Structure rigidity, dip angles of the stayed cables, and positions of the auxiliary piers all have significant influences on the dynamic characteristics of cable-stayed bridges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computed tomography (CT) images play an important role due to effectiveness and accessibility, however, motion artifacts may obscure or simulate pathology and dramatically degrade the diagnosis accuracy. In recent years, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have achieved state-of-the-art performance in medical imaging due to the powerful learning ability with the help of the advanced hardware technology. Unfortunately, CNNs have significant overhead on memory usage and computational resources and are labeled 'black-box' by scholars for their complex underlying structures. To this end, an interpretable graph-based method has been proposed for motion artifacts detection from head CT images in this paper. From a topological perspective, the artifacts detection problem has been reformulated as a complex network classification problem based on the network topological characteristics of the corresponding complex networks. A motion artifacts detection method based on complex networks (MADM-CN) has been proposed. Firstly, the graph of each CT image is constructed based on the theory of complex networks. Secondly, slice-to-slice relationship has been explored by multiple graph construction. In addition, network topological characteristics are investigated locally and globally, consistent topological characteristics including average degree, average clustering coefficient have been utilized for classification. The experimental results have demonstrated that the proposed MADM-CN has achieved better performance over conventional machine learning and deep learning methods on a real CT dataset, reaching up to 98% of the accuracy and 97% of the sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the insufficient accuracy and accumulated error of the point cloud registration of LiDAR-inertial odometry (LIO) in an urban environment, we propose a LiDAR-inertial-GNSS fusion positioning algorithm based on voxelized accurate registration. Firstly, a voxelized point cloud downsampling method based on curvature segmentation is proposed. Rough classification is carried out by the curvature threshold, and the voxelized point cloud downsampling is performed using HashMap instead of a random sample consensus algorithm. Secondly, a point cloud registration model based on the nearest neighbors of the point and neighborhood point sets is constructed. Furthermore, an iterative termination threshold is set to reduce the probability of the local optimal solution. The registration time of a single frame point cloud is increased by an order of magnitude. Finally, we propose a LIO-GNSS fusion positioning model based on graph optimization that uses GNSS observations weighted by confidence to globally correct local drift. The experimental results show that the average root mean square error of the absolute trajectory error of our algorithm is 1.58m on average in a large-scale outdoor environment, which is approximately 83.5% higher than that of similar algorithms. It is fully proved that our algorithm can realize a more continuous and accurate position and attitude estimation and map reconstruction in urban environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overcoming the lack of drugs for the treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI) has long been a major challenge for the pharmaceutical industry. MiRNAs have emerged as potential targets for progress assessment and intervention against TBI. The brain-enriched miRNA let-7i has been proposed as an ideal candidate biomarker for TBI, but its regulatory roles in brain injury remain largely unknown. Here, we find that the expression of let-7i is significantly downregulated in the early stages of a hippocampal stab wound injury. The noninvasive intranasal administration of let-7i agomir significantly improves cognitive function and suppresses neuroinflammation, glial scar formation, and neuronal apoptosis in TBI mice. Mechanically, STING is a direct downstream target of let-7i after brain injury. Furthermore, the intranasal delivery of let-7i agomir can also effectively inhibit STING and is beneficial for inflammation resolution and neuronal survival in a mouse model of pial vessel disruption stroke. Consequently, let-7i agomir is a promising candidate for clinical application as a chemically engineered oligonucleotides-based therapeutic for brain injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a LiDAR-Visual-Inertial Odometry (LVIO) based on optimized visual point-line features, which can effectively compensate for the limitations of a single sensor in real-time localization and mapping. Firstly, an improved line feature extraction in scale space and constraint matching strategy, using the least square method, is proposed to provide a richer visual feature for the front-end of LVIO. Secondly, multi-frame LiDAR point clouds were projected into the visual frame for feature depth correlation. Thirdly, the initial estimation results of Visual-Inertial Odometry (VIO) were carried out to optimize the scanning matching accuracy of LiDAR. Finally, a factor graph based on Bayesian network is proposed to build the LVIO fusion system, in which GNSS factor and loop factor are introduced to constrain LVIO globally. The evaluations on indoor and outdoor datasets show that the proposed algorithm is superior to other state-of-the-art algorithms in real-time efficiency, positioning accuracy, and mapping effect. Specifically, the average RMSE of absolute trajectory in the indoor environment is 0.075 m and that in the outdoor environment is 3.77 m. These experimental results can prove that the proposed algorithm can effectively solve the problem of line feature mismatching and the accumulated error of local sensors in mobile carrier positioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphorus (P) is an essential macroelement supporting maize productivity and low-P stress is a limiting factor of maize growth and yield. Improving maize plant tolerance to low P through molecular breeding is an effective alternative to increase crop productivity. In this study, a total of 111 diverse maize inbred lines were used to identify the favorable alleles and nucleotide diversity of candidate ZmNAC9, which plays an important role in response to low P and regulation in root architecture. A significant difference was found under low- and sufficient-P conditions for each of the 22 seedling traits, and a total of 41 polymorphic sites including 32 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 9 insertion and deletions (InDels) were detected in ZmNAC9 among 111 inbred lines. Among the 41 polymorphic studied sites, a total of 39 polymorphic sites were associated with 20 traits except for the dry weight of shoots and forks, of which six sites were highly significantly associated with a diverse number of low-P tolerant root trait index values by using a mixed linear model (MLM) at −log10 P = 3.61. In addition, 29 polymorphic sites under P-sufficient and 32 polymorphic sites under P-deficient conditions were significantly associated with a diverse number of seedling traits, of which five polymorphic sites (position S327, S513, S514, S520, and S827) were strongly significantly associated with multiple seedling traits under low-P and normal-P conditions. Among highly significant sites, most of the sites were associated with root traits under low-P, normal-P, and low-P trait index values. Linkage disequilibrium (LD) was strong at (r2 > 1.0) in 111 inbred lines. Furthermore, the effect of five significant sites was verified for haplotypes in 111 lines and the favorable allele S520 showed a positive effect on the dry weight of roots under the low-P condition. Furthermore, the expression pattern confirmed that ZmNAC9 was highly induced by low P in the roots of the P-tolerant 178 inbred line. Moreover, the subcellular localization of ZmNAC9 encoded by protein was located in the cytoplasm and nucleus. Haplotypes carrying more favorable alleles exhibited superior effects on phenotypic variation and could be helpful in developing molecular markers in maize molecular breeding programs. Taken together, the finding of this study might lead to further functions of ZmNAC9 and genes that might be involved in responses to low-P stress in maize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on space-selective crystallization of congruent and polar Sr2TiSi2O8 crystals in a stoichiometric SrO-TiO2-SiO2 glass induced by (1030 nm, 300 fs) femtosecond laser irradiation. This allows us to compare with non-congruent laser-induced crystallization of polar LiNbO3 in non-stoichiometric Li2O-Nb2O5-SiO2 glass and gain information on the mechanism of nanocrystals orientation with the laser polarization that we pointed out previously. Using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), second harmonic generation (SHG), and electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD), we studied the laser-induced crystallization according to the laser processing parameters (pulse energy, pulse repetition rate, scanning speed). We found (1) a domain where the laser track is filled with crystals not perfectly textured (low energy), (2) a domain where an amorphous volume remains surrounded by a crystallized shell (high energy). This arises from Sr out-diffusion and may give rise to the crystallization of both SrTiO3 and Sr2TiSi2O8 phases at low speed. In the one-phase domain (at higher speed), the possibility to elaborate a tube with a perfect Fresnoite texture is found. A significant difference in size and morphology whereas the crystallization threshold remains similar is discussed based on glass thermal properties. Contrarily to Li2O-Nb2O5-SiO2 (LNS) glass, no domain of oriented nanocrystallization controlled by the laser polarization has been found in SrO-TiO2-SiO2 (STS) glass, which is attributed to the larger crystallization speed in STS glass. No nanogratings have also been found that is likely due to the congruency of the glass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper builds an optimal carbon-energy combined-flow (OCECF) model to optimize the carbon emission and energy losses of power grids simultaneously. A novel multi-agent cooperative reduced-dimension Q(λ) (MCR-Q(λ)) is proposed for solving the model. Firstly, on the basis of the traditional single-objective Q(λ) algorithm, the solution space is reduced effectively to shrink the size of Q-value matrices. Then, based on the concept of ant cooperative cooperation, multi-agents are used to update the Q-value matrices iteratively, which can significantly improve the updating rate. The simulation in the IEEE 118-bus system indicates that the proposed technique can decrease the convergence speed by hundreds of times as compared with conventional Q(λ), keeping high global stability, which is very suitable for dynamic OCECF in a large and complex power grid compared with other algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seismic activities show a space-time symmetry in some research. They have been recently studied using complex network theory. Earthquake network similarity is studied by us from seismic catalogs in the same region for a given period of time. In this paper, we first calculate the distance between feature vectors which represent the topological properties of different networks. A hierarchical clustering of earthquake networks in the same region is shown by using this method. It is found that similar networks are not the networks of adjacent years but those with decades time difference. To study the period of similar earthquake networks in the same region, we use wavelet analysis to obtain the possible periods at different time scales of the regions of the world, California and Japan. It is found that some of the possible periods are consistent with the results which have been already found by seismologists. The study of similar seismic activities from the perspective of the complex network will help seismologists to study the law of earthquake occurrence in a new way, which may provide possible research thinking for earthquake prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper designs an accurate and low-cost phishing detection sensor by exploring deep learning techniques. Phishing is a very common social engineering technique. The attackers try to deceive online users by mimicking a uniform resource locator (URL) and a webpage. Traditionally, phishing detection is largely based on manual reports from users. Machine learning techniques have recently been introduced for phishing detection. With the recent rapid development of deep learning techniques, many deep-learning-based recognition methods have also been explored to improve classification performance. This paper proposes a light-weight deep learning algorithm to detect the malicious URLs and enable a real-time and energy-saving phishing detection sensor. Experimental tests and comparisons have been conducted to verify the efficacy of the proposed method. According to the experiments, the true detection rate has been improved. This paper has also verified that the proposed method can run in an energy-saving embedded single board computer in real-time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A modified polyphosphazene was synthesized using a mixed substitution at phosphorus consisting of 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxy side groups and anionic trifluoroborate groups. The primary goal was to increase the low lithium ion conductivities of the conventional lithium salt containing poly[2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxy-phosphazene] (MEEP) by the immobilized anionic groups. As in previous studies, the mechanical stability was stabilized by UV induced radiation cross linking. By variation of the molar ratio between different side groups, mechanical and electrochemical properties are controllable. The polymer demonstrated large electrochemical stability windows ranging between 0 and 4.5 V versus the Li/Li+ reference. Total and lithium conductivities of 3.6 × 10−4 S·cm−1 and 1.8 × 10−5 S·cm−1 at 60 °C were revealed for the modified MEEP. When observed in special visualization cells, dendrite formation onset time and short-circuit time were determined as 21 h and 90 h, respectively, under constant current polarization (16 h and 65 h for MEEP, both with 15 wt % LiBOB), which hints to a more stable Li/polymer interface compared to normal MEEP. The enhanced dendrite suppression ability can be explained by the formation of a more conductive solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) and the existence of F-contained SEI components (such as LiF). With the addition of ethylene carbonate–dimethyl carbonate (EC/DMC) to form MEE-co-OBF3P gel polymer, both total and lithium conductivity were enhanced remarkably, and the lithium transference numbers reached reasonable values (σtotal = 1.05 mS·cm−1, σLi+ = 0.22 mS·cm−1, t Li + = 0.18 at 60 °C). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-temperature interdiffusion within a hot-dipped aluminide (Al-10 wt.% Si) coating on an IN738 superalloy was investigated at 1050 °C in air and in air plus water vapour. The resulting morphology of in situ diffusion barrier layer (DBL) within the aluminide coating is affected by oxidizing atmospheres; DBL can effectively retard the interdiffusion of aluminium within the coating. The location of the in situ DBL is governed by the partial pressure of oxygen at different depths from the oxide scales in both atmospheres. Meanwhile, the diffusion fluxes of different elements led to DBLs with different morphologies in the aluminide coating on the Ni-based alloy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The circular economy has been widely developed in China and other countries. However, China has been the most proactive country in upgrading its economic model by enacting a Circular Economy Promotion Law (CEPL). Nearly 10 years have passed since the adoption of the CEPL, and it is thus essential to evaluate the progress of circular economy development to see if the targets have been achieved. Although it is extremely difficult to evaluate the role of the CEPL in the development of a circular economy in China, we think that if we can estimate the circular degree of the Chinese economy and identify the changes of some key indicators before and after the adoption of the CEPL, it will be helpful in judging whether the CEPL has played a key role in promoting the transition of the economic development model. Since the existing circular economy indicators and evaluation systems have focused mainly on the recycling of resources, we designed a methodology based on the material flow that can be used to evaluate the circular degree of the whole national economy. Through a detailed observation of the circular economy indicators of China, we conclude that the CEPL has not yet played a significant role in promoting the circular economy as was previously believed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we report a low-cost synthetic approach for the direct fabrication of large-area Au nanourchin arrays on indium tin oxide (ITO) via a facile galvanic-cell-reaction-driven deposition in an aqueous solution of chloroauric acid and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP). The homogeneous Au nanourchins are composed of abundant sharp nanotips, which can served as nanoantennas and increase the local electromagnetic field enhancement dramatically. Finite element theoretical calculations confirm the strong electromagnetic field can be created around the sharp nanotips and located in the nanogaps between adjacent tips of the Au nanourchins. In addition, the interparticle nanogaps between the neighboring Au nanourchins may create additional hotspots, which can induce the higher electromagnetic field intensity. By using rhodamine 6G as a test molecule, the large-area Au nanourchin arrays on ITO exhibit active, uniform, and reproducible surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effect. To trial their practical application, the Au nanourchin arrays are utilized as SERS substrates to detect 3,3’,4,4’-tetrachlorobiphenyl (PCB-77) one congener of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) as a notorious class of persistent organic pollutants. The characteristic Raman peaks can be still identified when the concentration of PCB-77 is down to 5 × 10−6 M. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A deficiency in the macronutrient phosphate (Pi) brings about various changes in plants at the morphological, physiological and molecular levels. However, the molecular mechanism for regulating Pi homeostasis in response to low-Pi remains poorly understood, particularly in maize ( Zea mays L.), which is a staple crop and requires massive amounts of Pi. Therefore, in this study, we performed expression profiling of the shoots and roots of maize seedlings with Pi-tolerant genotype at both the transcriptomic and proteomic levels using RNA sequencing and isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ). We identified 1944 differentially expressed transcripts and 340 differentially expressed proteins under low-Pi conditions. Most of the differentially expressed genes were clustered as regulators, such as transcription factors involved in the Pi signaling pathway at the transcript level. However, the more functional and metabolism-related genes showed expression changes at the protein level. Moreover, under low-Pi conditions, Pi transporters and phosphatases were specifically induced in the roots at both the transcript and protein levels, and increased amounts of mRNA and protein of two purple acid phosphatases (PAPs) and one UDP-sulfoquinovose synthase (SQD) were specifically detected in the roots. The new insights provided by this study will help to improve the P-utilization efficiency of maize.

Techniques based on the elasto-magnetic (EM) effect have been receiving increasing attention for their significant advantages in cable stress/force monitoring of in-service structures. Variations in ambient temperature affect the magnetic behaviors of steel components, causing errors in the sensor and measurement system results. Therefore, temperature compensation is essential. In this paper, the effect of temperature on the force monitoring of steel cables using smart elasto-magneto-electric (EME) sensors was investigated experimentally. A back propagation (BP) neural network method is proposed to obtain a direct readout of the applied force in the engineering environment, involving less computational complexity. On the basis of the data measured in the experiment, an improved BP neural network model was established. The test result shows that, over a temperature range of approximately &minus;10 &deg;C to 60 &deg;C, the maximum relative error in the force measurement is within ±0.9%. A polynomial fitting method was also implemented for comparison. It is concluded that the method based on a BP neural network can be more reliable, effective and robust, and can be extended to temperature compensation of other similar sensors.

The ERK/HIF-1α signaling pathway is believed to play an important role in the genesis of progressive fibrosis. An increasing expression of HIF-1α and ERK accompanies CCl4-induced liver fibrosis in rats. Curcumin is verified to have antifibrotic effects in several kinds of liver fibrosis models. There is no specific evidence illustrating a connection between curcumin and the HIF-1α/ERK pathway in rat liver fibrosis induced by CCl4. In this study, liver fibrosis was induced by CCl4 in treated rats. The data demonstrated that curcumin was able to attenuate liver fibrosis and inhibit the proliferation of HSC. Moreover, curcumin could remarkably elevate the hepatic function by decreasing serum levels of ALT, AST and ALP, and increasing levels of ALB, TP and α-SMA, Col III mRNA expression. Meanwhile, ECM status could also be reflected by curcumin treatment. The alleviation with curcumin treatment was associated with inhibition of HIF-1α and phosphor-ERK. This study indicates that curcumin alleviates fibrosis by reducing the expression of HIF-1α partly through the ERK pathway.

Specific biopharmaceutics classification investigation and study on phamacokinetic profile of a novel drug candidate (2-methylcarbamoyl-4-{4-[3- (trifluoromethyl) benzamido] phenoxy} pyridinium 4-methylbenzenesulfonate monohydrate, NCE) were carried out. Equilibrium solubility and intrinsic dissolution rate (IDR) of NCE were estimated in different phosphate buffers. Effective intestinal permeability (P(eff)) of NCE was determined using single-pass intestinal perfusion technique in rat duodenum, jejunum and ileum at three concentrations. Theophylline (high permeability) and ranitidine (low permeability) were also applied to access the permeability of NCE as reference compounds. The bioavailability after intragastrical and intravenous administration was measured in beagle dogs. The solubility of NCE in tested phosphate buffers was quite low with the maximum solubility of 81.73 μg/mL at pH 1.0. The intrinsic dissolution ratio of NCE was 1 × 10⁻⁴ mg·min⁻¹·cm⁻². The P(eff) value of NCE in all intestinal segments was more proximate to the high-permeability reference theophylline. Therefore, NCE was classified as class II drug according to Biopharmaceutics Classification System due to its low solubility and high intestinal permeability. In addition, concentration-dependent permeability was not observed in all the segments, indicating that there might be passive transportation for NCE. The absolute oral bioavailability of NCE in beagle dogs was 26.75%. Therefore, dissolution promotion will be crucial for oral formulation development and intravenous administration route will also be suggested for further NCE formulation development. All the data would provide a reference for biopharmaceutics classification research of other novel drug candidates.

Recent genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified 15q25.1 as a lung cancer susceptibility locus. Here, we sought to explore the direct carcinogenic effects of genetic variants in this region on the risk of developing lung adenocarcinoma (ADC). Five common SNPs (rs8034191, rs16969968, rs1051730, rs938682, and rs8042374) spanning the 15q25.1 locus were assayed in a case-control study examining a cohort of 301 lung ADCs and 318 healthy controls. Stratification analysis by gender, smoking status, and tumor, node, metastasis (TNM) classification, was performed. In addition, sections from ADC tissue and normal tissue adjacent to tumors were stained with an anti-CHRNA3 (cholinergic receptor nicotinic α3) antibody by immunohistochemistry in 81 cases. Our results demonstrate that rs8042374, a variant of the CHRNA3 gene, is associated with an increased risk of ADC with an OR of 1.76 (95% CI: 1.17-2.65, p=0.024). This variant was linked to a greater risk of ADC in female nonsmokers (OR (95% CI): 1.81 (1.05-3.12), p=0.032) and female stage I+II cases (OR (95% CI): 1.92 (1.03-3.57), p=0.039). Although located within the same gene, rs938682 showed protective effects for smokers, stage III+IV cases, and male stage III+IV cases. Additionally, the CHRNA3 protein level in ADC tissue was slightly higher than in the surrounding normal lung tissue, based on immunohistochemical analysis. Our results suggest that the CHRNA3 polymorphism functions as a genetic modifier of the risk of developing lung ADC in the Chinese population, particularly in nonsmoking females.

DNA hypomethylation and/or hypermethylation are presumed to be early events in carcinogenesis, and one or more DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) have been suggested to play roles in carcinogenesis of gastric cancer (GC). However, there have been no systematic studies regarding the association between DNMT gene polymorphisms and GC risk. Here, we examined the associations of 16 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from DNMT1 (rs2114724, rs2228611, rs2228612, rs8101866, rs16999593), DNMT2 (rs11695471, rs11254413), DNMT3A (rs1550117, rs11887120, rs13420827, rs13428812, rs6733301), DNMT3B (rs2424908, rs2424913, rs6087990) and DNMT3L (rs113593938) with GC in the Southern Chinese population. We assessed the associations of these 16 SNPs with GC in a case-control study that consisted of 242 GC cases and 294 controls, using the Sequenom MALDI-TOF-MS platform. Association analyses based on the χ(2) test and binary logistic regression were performed to determine the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95%CI) for each SNP. We found that rs16999593 in DNMT1, rs11254413 in DNMT2 and rs13420827 in DNMT3A were significantly associated with GC susceptibility (OR 1.45, 0.15, 0.66, respectively; 95% CI 1.00-2.11, p = 0.047; 0.08-0.27, p < 0.01; 0.45-0.97, p = 0.034, respectively, overdominant model). These results suggested that DNMT1, DNMT2 and DNMT3A may play important roles in GC carcinogenesis. However, further studies are required to elucidate the mechanism.