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In order to make the image copyright protection system can resist network attacks, and to solve the problems of unknown copyright owner, difficulty in data integrity verification and unauthorized redistribution, a digital image copyright protection method based on blockchain and zero trust mechanism was proposed. Firstly, after the copyright owner signs with the elliptic curve digital signature algorithm (ECDSA), the signature and copyright information are encrypted with the elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) algorithm, and the ciphertext and the generated image hashing are uploaded to the blockchain; Then, the smart contract is called to authenticate the copyright owner, the similarity of the hash value is used to detect the infringement of the verified image, the MD5 key generated by the image hashing value is used to encrypt the detected image, the ciphertext and encrypted image are uploaded to the interplanetary file system (IPFS), and the corresponding storage address is returned to the blockchain. Consumers can download ciphertext and encrypted images in IPFS as needed after completing asset evaluation and paying when calling the dual-smart contract to initiate copyright transaction. Experimental results show that the proposed method can not only authenticate the identity, but also realize double encryption of the image and copyright information. It can prevent the unauthorized use and redistribution of digital content, and improve the overall security of the image copyright protection system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fractional uncertain differential equations are used for forecast in this paper. It is crucial to provide an accurate estimation method since fractional uncertain differential equations hold memory effects and parameter estimation strongly depends on the accuracy of numerical schemes. A generalized moment estimation method is developed by the famous L 1 numerical scheme. Adam optimization algorithm is adopted in the minimum optimization problem and the obtained optimal parameters can pass the uncertain hypothesis test. Compared with the uncertain differential equations, the fractional one holds more parameter freedom degrees and captures long-term interactions of observed data. Finally, the applications to aftershock frequency and pharmacokinetics are provided as examples. It can be concluded that fractional uncertain differential equations lead to the higher forecast accuracy which also provides some potential works on "fractional deep learning" under uncertain environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Adequate sleep is closely related to people's health. However, with increasing age, the quality of sleep worsens. At the same time, among elderly individuals, frailty is also a disturbing factor, which makes elderly individuals more vulnerable to negative factors. To explore the relationship between the two, we conducted this study. Methods: In this paper, independent genetic variations related to insomnia, sleep duration and daytime sleepiness were selected as IVs, and related genetic tools were used to search published genome-wide association studies for a two-sample Mendelian randomization (TSMR) analysis. The inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method was used as the main Mendelian randomization analysis method. Cochran's Q test was used to test heterogeneity, MR‒Egger was used to test horizontal pleiotropy, and the MR-PRESSO test was used to remove outliers. Results: According to our research, insomnia (OR = 1.10, 95% CI 1.03–1.17, P = 2.59e−97), long sleep duration (OR = 0.66, 95% CI 0.37–1.17, P = 0.02), short sleep duration (OR = 1.30, 95% CI 1.22–1.38, P = 2.23e−17) and daytime sleepiness (OR = 1.49, 95% CI 1.25–1.77, P = 0.96e−4) had a bidirectional causal relationship with frailty. Conclusions: Our research showed that there is a causal relationship between sleep disturbances and frailty. This result was obtained by a TSMR analysis, which involves the use of genetic variation as an IV to determine causal relationships between exposure and outcome. Future TSMR studies should include a larger sample for analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To investigate the prevalence and influencing factors of frailty and pre-frailty in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients and thereby provide a scientific basis for effective avoidance of frailty in patients with CKD. Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, EBSCO, Cochrane Library, CNKI, VIP, CBMdisc, and Wanfang databases were searched for relevant studies published till December 31, 2021. The summary results were described as odds ratios (ORs) or standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). A meta-analysis was performed using StataSE12.0. Results: Fifteen published studies, which enrolled a total of 3294 CKD patients, met the inclusion criteria. The combined prevalence of frailty in CKD patients was 38.1% (95% CI 29.7–46.5%) and pre-frailty was 37.9% (95% CI 32.7–43.1%). The main factors influencing frailty in CKD patients were age (SMD 0.524, 95% CI 0.326–0.723), diastolic blood pressure (SMD − 0.294, 95% CI − 0.518 to − 0.071), body mass index (BMI) (SMD − 0.267, 95% CI − 0.471 to − 0.064), grip strength (SMD − 0.929, 95% CI − 1.233 to − 0.626), hemoglobin level (SMD − 0.346, 95% CI − 0.448 to − 0.243), serum albumin level (SMD − 0.533, 95% CI − 0.655 to − 0.411), Charlson Comorbidity Index (SMD 0.421, 95% CI 0.150–0.692), multiple medications (SMD 0.625, 95% CI 0.354–0.895), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score (SMD − 0.563, 95% CI − 0.846 to − 0.280), and female (OR 2.391, 95% CI 1.236–4.627). Conclusion: Frailty is common in CKD patients. The prevalence of frailty among CKD patients was related to age, diastolic blood pressure, BMI, grip strength, hemoglobin and serum albumin levels, Charlson Comorbidity Index, multiple medications, MMSE score, and female. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Bulimia nervosa (BN) is characterized by recurrent binge-eating episodes and inappropriate compensatory behaviors. This study investigated alterations in resting-state surface-based neural activity in BN patients and explored correlations between brain activity and eating behavior. Methods: A total of 26 BN patients and 28 healthy controls were enrolled. Indirect measurement of cerebral cortical activity and functional connectivity (FC) analyses were performed in Surfstat. A principal component analysis (PCA) model was used to capture the commonalities within the behavioral questionnaires from the BN group. Results: Compared with the healthy control group, the BN group showed decreased surface-based two-dimensional regional homogeneity in the right superior parietal lobule (SPL). Additionally, the BN group showed decreased FC between the right SPL and the bilateral lingual gyrus and increased FC between the right SPL and the left caudate nucleus and right putamen. In the FC–behavior association analysis, the second principal component (PC2) was negatively correlated with FC between the right SPL and the left caudate nucleus. The third principal component (PC3) was negatively correlated with FC between the right SPL and the left lingual gyrus and positively correlated with FC between the right SPL and the right lingual gyrus. Conclusion: We revealed that the right SPL undergoes reorganization with respect to specific brain regions at the whole-brain level in BN. In addition, our results suggest a correlation between brain reorganization and maladaptive eating behavior. These findings may provide useful information to better understand the neural mechanisms of BN. Level of evidence: V, descriptive study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors with high mortality and poor prognosis in women. There is an urgent need to discover new therapeutic targets for breast cancer metastasis. Herein, we identified that Apolipoprotein C1 (APOC1) was up-regulated in primary tumor of breast cancer patient that recurrence and metastasis by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Kaplan-Meier Plotter database showed that high levels of APOC1 in breast cancer patients were strongly associated with worse overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS). Mechanistically, APOC1 silencing significantly inhibits MAPK/ERK kinase pathway and restrains the NF-κB to decrease the transcription of target genes related to growth and metastasis in vitro. Based on this regulatory mechanism, we developed these findings into potential therapeutic drugs, glutathione (GSH) responsive nano-particles (NPs) were used for systemic APOC1 siRNA delivery, NPs (siAPOC1) silenced APOC1 expression, and subsequently resulted in positive anti-tumor effects in orthotopic and liver metastasis models in vivo. Taken together, GSH responsive NP-mediated siAPOC1 delivery was proved to be effective in regulating growth and metastasis in multiple tumor models. These findings show that APOC1 could be a potential biomarker to predict the prognosis of breast cancer patients and NP-mediated APOC1 silencing could be new strategies for exploration of new treatments for breast cancer metastasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change and global temperature increases both impact the environment, as seen through rising sea levels and the food crises. Emissions of carbon dioxide should be reduced to values as close to zero as possible by 2050. Manufacturers require large amounts of energy to produce electronic products. Flexible devices are some of the most popular electronic products. Advanced materials in the field of flexible devices are highly convenient. Electric and thermal conductivity are important properties for electronic devices. Low-temperature Sn52In is used in this study to effectively decrease the bonding temperature. The aim of this study is to investigate the reaction of eutectic Sn52In solder with Cu for low-temperature bonding and aging reactions. In addition, the storage time of In-based solder is extremely important because of the rapid reactions of Cu and In to form CuIn2 at room temperature. CuIn2 formation after room temperature storage possibly causes useless bonding. Failure joints occur due to In (solder) shortage time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predicting clinical response to repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in medication-resistant depression (MRD) has gained great importance in recent years. Mainly, the right subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC) functional connectivity has been put forward as biomarker in relation to rTMS clinical outcome. Even though the left and right sgACC may have different neurobiological functions, little is known about the possible lateralized predictive role of the sgACC in rTMS clinical outcome. In 43 right-handed antidepressant-free MRD patients, we applied a searchlight-based interregional covariance connectivity approach using the baseline 18FDG-PET scan—collected from two previous high-frequency (HF)-rTMS treatment studies delivering stimulation to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC)—and investigated whether unilateral or bilateral sgACC glucose metabolism at baseline would result in different predictive metabolic connectivity patterns. Regardless of sgACC lateralization, the weaker the sgACC seed-based baseline metabolic functional connections with the (left anterior) cerebellar areas, the significantly better the clinical outcome. However, the seed diameter seems to be crucial. Similar significant findings on sgACC metabolic connectivity with the left anterior cerebellum, also unrelated to sgACC lateralization, in relation to clinical outcome were observed when using the HCPex atlas. Although we could not substantiate that specifically right sgACC metabolic connectivity would predict HF-rTMS clinical outcome, our findings suggest considering the entire sgACC in functional connectivity predictions. Given that the interregional covariance connectivity results were significant only when using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and not with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), our sgACC metabolic connectivity observations also suggest the possible involvement of the (left) anterior cerebellum involved in higher-order cognitive processing as part of this predictive value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ketamine, a noncompetitive N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, is widely used in pediatric clinical practice. The neuroprotective and neurotoxic effects of ketamine on brain neurons during development remain controversial. The reason may be related to the different concentrations of ketamine used in practice and the small range of concentrations used in previous studies. In this study, cultured hippocampal neurons were treated with ketamine in a wide range of concentrations to comprehensively observe the effects of different concentrations of ketamine on neurons. We demonstrated that low concentrations of ketamine (10 μM, 100 μM and 1000 μM) promoted neuronal survival (p < 0.05) and reduced neuronal apoptosis (p < 0.05) compared with those of the control group. High concentrations of ketamine (2000 μM, 2500 μM and 3000 μM) reduced neuronal survival (p < 0.05) and promoted neuronal apoptosis (p < 0.05). The p38 MAPK inhibitor SB203580 reduced neuronal apoptosis induced by high concentrations of ketamine (2500 μM) (p < 0.05). Our findings indicate that ketamine exerts a dual effect on the apoptosis of primary cultured fetal rat hippocampal neurons in vitro and that the neurotoxic effects of ketamine are related to activation of the p38 MAPK signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Triadimefon is a typical systemic fungicide that is widely used in the management of powdery mildew, rust disease, and southern blight. In this study, we measured fungicide residue to profile its absorption, translocation, and accumulation in three representative vegetable crops (Pak choi, cucumber, and pepper) after over-application. The fungicides were applied through entire-plant spraying (EPS), root-irrigation (RI), and middle-leaf-daubing (MLD). The half-life of triadimefon depends on the application method and plant species. In EPS, the half-life was 5.42 days (Pak choi), 6.86 days (cucumber), and 6.73 days (pepper), while in RI it was 4.39 days (Pak choi), 6.30 days (cucumber), and 5.98 days (pepper). In the EPS treatment, triadimefon is translocated both upward/outside and downward/inner-side from the daubed leaves in all the three vegetable crops. The transfer amount to each organ reached a peak on the 2nd day after fungicide application. The mesophyll of Pak choi exhibited a higher fungicide deposition compared to the petiole. In cucumber and pepper, the leaves demonstrated the highest accumulation of triadimefon (approximately 0.3–0.5 mg·kg−1), followed by stems. Roots and fruits displayed the lowest levels of triadimefon accumulation. Furthermore, triadimefon was found to have an impact on chlorophyll content, root activity, as well as the activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase in Pak choi, indicating its potential as a plant growth regulator. These aforementioned studies provide novel insights for the safe and efficient application of triadimefon in the production of Pak choi, cucumber, and pepper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anxiety and fear are dysfunctional behaviors commonly observed in domesticated dogs. Although dogs and humans share psychopathological similarities, little is known about how dysfunctional fear behaviors are represented in brain networks in dogs diagnosed with anxiety disorders. A combination of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and graph theory was used to investigate the underlying structural connections of dysfunctional anxiety in anxious dogs and compared with healthy dogs with normal behavior. The degree of anxiety was assessed using the Canine Behavioral Assessment & Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ), a widely used, validated questionnaire for abnormal behaviors in dogs. Anxious dogs showed significantly decreased clustering coefficient ( C p ), decreased global efficiency ( E glob ), and increased small-worldness (σ) when compared with healthy dogs. The nodal parameters that differed between the anxious dogs and healthy dogs were mainly located in the posterior part of the brain, including the occipital lobe, posterior cingulate gyrus, hippocampus, mesencephalon, and cerebellum. Furthermore, the nodal degree ( K i ) of the left cerebellum was significantly negatively correlated with "excitability" in the C-BARQ of anxious dogs. These findings could contribute to the understanding of a disrupted brain structural connectome underlying the pathological mechanisms of anxiety-related disorders in dogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interval-valued systems with the general fractional derivative are defined on closed intervals on the real line R . Function spaces of the fractional integrals and derivatives are discussed. Then some fundamental theorems of the Caputo and Riemann–Liouville derivatives are provided, respectively. Finally, the interval-valued Gronwall inequalities are presented as one application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poor survival of seeds reduces the production efficiency of the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus in pond culture. We investigated the effects of sea mud on the movement-related behaviors of A. japonicus with different body sizes. Mud significantly decreased crawling behavior and wall-reaching behavior in small seeds (~ 1 g of body weight), but not in the large ones (~ 2.5 g of body weight). These behaviors were significantly greater in the large seeds of A. japonicus than those in the small individuals when they were both on the mud. This clearly suggests that mud has negative effects on the movement-related behaviors of small seeds, but not on large individuals. We further assessed the effects of inevitable transport stress on the movement-related behaviors of A. japonicus on mud. Significantly poorer performances in crawling behavior, wall-reaching behavior and struggling behavior were observed in stressed A. japonicus (both sizes) than those in unstressed groups. These new findings indicate that transport stress further increases the adverse effects on the movement-related behaviors of A. japonicus on mud. Moreover, we investigated whether adverse effects can be reduced when individuals are directly seeded onto artificial reefs. Crawling behavior, wall-reaching behavior and struggling behavior in stressed A. japonicus (both sizes) seeded onto artificial reefs were significantly greater than those on mud, whereas artificial reefs did not significantly improve the crawling and struggling behaviors of unstressed small seeds. These results collectively indicate that mud and transport stress show negative impacts on the movement-related behaviors of sea cucumbers. Artificial reefs greatly reduce these adverse effects and probably contribute to improving the production efficiency of sea cucumbers in pond culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the trend of technology development and carbon reduction, reducing the process temperature to prevent greenhouse effects is of great urgency. The back-end process of semiconductors is increasingly important because of the limitation of Moore's Law. High-temperature bonding is serious for semiconductor packages, which induces high cost and device damage. One of the critical ways to reduce the process temperature is to adopt low-temperature solders. In this study, we utilize the low-temperature solder Sn58Bi to achieve energy savings and device protection. The interfacial reactions between Sn58Bi and Cu after reflow and aging reactions were investigated. The solubility of Bi in Sn influences the Bi segregation at the interface. Partial Bi segregation, microvoids, and uneven Cu3Sn were observed at the interface after aging. There is no doubt that the aforementioned structures are unfavorable for solder joint strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper suggests a multi-layer neural network for deep learning based on fractional differential equations, and parallel computing is used to search an optimal structure. First, the Caputo derivative is approximated by L 1 numerical scheme and an unconstrained discretization minimization problem is presented. Then, parameters are adjusted by use of the Adam algorithm. Analytical approximate solutions of two fractional logistic equations (FLEs) are obtained which demonstrate the method's efficiency. Furthermore, with real-life data, fractional order and other parameters of FLEs are estimated by the gradient descent algorithm meanwhile. The proposed optimal NN method is used in forecasting. Through the comparative study, FLEs have more parameter freedom degrees and perform better than the classical logistic model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a new method for resolving measurement ambiguity in diffractive image microscopy (D.I.M.) for automated optical inspection (AOI) in advanced manufacturing. The D.I.M. is developed as a new microscopic profilometry for six-degrees-freedom (6DOF) surface reconstruction using a multiple-layer perceptron (MLP) to learn the underlying relationship between detected microscopic images and multiple surface geometric properties of the sample. To ensure the validity of the proposed method, there should be a one-to-one correspondence between the microscopic image and surface properties, and matching ambiguity has to be avoided through machine learning. Optical aberration exists in the microscope as the system default property is generally ineffective in generating the unique one-to-one corresponding optical transformation. By inserting additional aberration into the D.I.M., the degree of optical aberration can be quantitatively controlled to avoid mapping ambiguity between the detected diffractive image and the measured surface geometry. Experimental results showed that measurement accuracy can be achieved with a maximum height error of 1.33 μm and less than 0.123° in tilting angle. With the proposed AF-based D.I.M., it was verified that the original measurement ambiguity can be effectively avoided. Measurement errors can be further minimized by building a finer database. The proposed method is proven capable of measuring and reconstructing 3D surfaces by detecting the surface position and its orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is usually essential to reveal the relationship between continuous-time systems and discrete-time ones. First, a discrete-time recurrent neural network is presented by the Euler scheme in this paper. Then, the time step size is set to a bifurcation parameter and frequency domain approach is adopted for Hopf bifurcation analysis. Moreover, the periodic solutions are obtained by the harmonic balance method; then the stability conditions are presented. The critical step size is determined with which the discrete-time recurrent neural network can inherit the stable state of the continuous-time one. Finally, one numerical example of the discrete-time recurrent neural network is given to support the theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uranium (U) phytotoxicity is an inherently difficult problem in the phytoremediation of U-contaminated environments. Plant chelating and antioxidant systems play an authoritative role in resistance to abiotic stress. To reveal the toxicity of U, the changes of chelating system, osmoregulatory substances and antioxidant systems in Vicia faba roots were studied after short-term (24 h) U exposure. The results indicated that the development of lateral roots and root activity of V. faba were significantly inhibited with U accumulation. Compared with the control, plant chelating systems showed significant positive effects after U exposure (15 − 25 μM). Osmoregulatory substances (proline and soluble protein) increasingly accumulated in roots with increasing U concentration, and O2− and H2O2 rapidly accumulated after U exposure (15 − 25 μM). Thus, the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA), a marker of lipid peroxidation, were also significantly increased. Antioxidant systems were activated after U exposure but were inhibited at higher U concentrations (15 − 25 μM). In summary, although the chelating, osmotic regulation and antioxidant systems in V. faba were activated after short-term U exposure, the antioxidases (CAT, SOD and POD) were inhibited at higher U concentrations (15 − 25 μM). Therefore, the root cells were severely damaged by peroxidation, which eventually resulted in inhibited activity and arrested root development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salinity is one of the major abiotic factors that limits the growth and development of plants and the productivity of crops worldwide. Calcineurin B-like protein (CBL)-interacting protein kinases (CIPKs) have been shown to play a vital role in response to salt stress in plants. Although CIPKs have been widely identified in various species, the genome-wide identification of CIPKs and their expression patterns in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) are unclear. In the present study, a total of 20 BvCIPK genes were identified in the genome of sugar beet and classified into five major groups A–E based on the phylogenetic analysis, and the classification was supported by the intron/exon structures and the distribution of conserved motifs. The NAF (Asn-Ala-Phe)/FISL (Phe-Ile-Ser-Leu) and protein-phosphatase interaction (PPI) domains were found on the C-terminus of BvCIPKs. The 19 BvCIPK genes were unevenly distributed onto seven chromosomes of sugar beet, and one gene was mapped onto unassembled scaffold based on the current genome database. Furthermore, the majority of BvCIPKs were significantly up-regulated by 50 and 100 mM NaCl. Notably, the expression levels of BvCIPK15 in shoots under two levels of NaCl were 7.4- and 4.7-fold higher than those under control condition, respectively. These results implied that BvCIPKs might be involved in the salt response of sugar beet. The findings of present study may provide new insights into the further molecular dissection of biological functions for salt tolerance in sugar crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Rheumatologie is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Empathy impairments have been linked to alcohol dependence even during abstinent periods. Nonetheless, the neural underpinnings of abstinence-induced empathy deficits remain unclear. In this study, we employed connectome-based predictive modeling (CPM) by using whole brain resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) to predict empathy capability of abstinent alcoholics (n = 47) versus healthy controls (n = 59). In addition, the generalizability of the predictive model (i.e., one group treated as a training dataset and another one treated as a test dataset) was performed to determine whether healthy controls and abstinent alcoholics share common neural fingerprints of empathy. Our results showed that abstinent alcoholics relative to healthy controls had decreased empathy capacity. Although no predictive models were observed in the abstinence group, we found that individual empathy scores in the healthy group can be reliably predicted by functional connectivity from the default mode network (DMN) to the sensorimotor network (SMN), occipital network, and cingulo-opercular network (CON). Moreover, the identified connectivity fingerprints of healthy controls could be generalized to predict empathy in the abstinence group. These findings indicate that neural circuits accounting for empathy may be disrupted by alcohol use and the impaired degree varies greatly among abstinent individuals. The large inter-individual variation may impede identification of the predictive model of empathy in alcohol abstainers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the eight-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) in Chinese patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods: The survey was conducted with a consecutive sampling of 158 Chinese SLE patients attending public hospitals from January to March 2021. We used the translated Chinese version of the MMAS-8 to collect related data. Reliability, item, and factor analyses were used to test the reliability and validity of the MMAS-8 scale in the selected patients. The internal consistency reliability was evaluated using Cronbach's α coefficient. Test–retest reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) in a subset of 30 participants. Construct validity was evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis and correlations between the Self-efficacy for Appropriate Medication Use Scale (SEAMS) and related measures. Results: The internal consistency reliability of the Chinese version of the MMAS-8 was high (Cronbach's α = 0.817), and the test–retest reliability was excellent (intraclass correlation = 0.947; P < 0.001). There were significant differences in the F test and t test between the two extreme groups before and after the ranking of 27% of the questionnaire scores (P < 0.001). The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) value of construct validity was 0.860. The spherical test value of Bartlettgers was 417.8822. Factor analysis yielded three components that accounted for 69.375% of the total variance. Exploratory factor analysis identified three dimensions of the Chinese version of the MMAS-8. In terms of criterion validity, the correlation of the MMAS-8 score in SEAMS indicated that the convergent validity was good (r = 0.926; P < 0.001). Conclusions: This study shows that the Chinese version of the Medication Adherence Scale-8 is a reliable and valid tool for assessing medication adherence in Chinese SLE patients. Key Points • Many factors affect medication adherence in SLE patients. • Many questionnaires measure medication adherence levels. • There is a lack of reliable validation of medication adherence questionnaires specifically for SLE patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uranium (U) is a non-essential and toxic element, so it is necessary to study the physiological mechanism of plant response to U stress. The present study evaluated the growth status, reactive oxygen metabolism and osmotic regulation system in radish (Raphanus sativus) under U stress (0, 25, 50 and 100 μM). The results showed that U had no significant effect on the germination of radish seeds but inhibited the growth of seedlings, such as reduced root activity and increased plasma membrane permeability. U is mainly distributed in radish roots, so it poisons the roots more than the aboveground parts. When U concentration was 25 μM, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) activities in radish were increased to cope with the oxidative stress caused by U stress, and the accumulation of proline and soluble sugar was increased to maintain cell turgor. However, under high concentration (100 μM), the damage of radish root was serious; thus, the SOD, CAT and soluble sugar could not respond to U stress. In conclusion, the identification and characterization of U-stress responses in genuine U-tolerant plants would improve our knowledge on the detoxification of this radionuclide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to develop tractable large deviation approximations for the empirical measure of a small noise diffusion. The starting point is the Freidlin–Wentzell theory, which shows how to approximate via a large deviation principle the invariant distribution of such a diffusion. The rate function of the invariant measure is formulated in terms of quasipotentials, quantities that measure the difficulty of a transition from the neighborhood of one metastable set to another. The theory provides an intuitive and useful approximation for the invariant measure, and along the way many useful related results (e.g., transition rates between metastable states) are also developed. With the specific goal of design of Monte Carlo schemes in mind, we prove large deviation limits for integrals with respect to the empirical measure, where the process is considered over a time interval whose length grows as the noise decreases to zero. In particular, we show how the first and second moments of these integrals can be expressed in terms of quasipotentials. When the dynamics of the process depend on parameters, these approximations can be used for algorithm design, and applications of this sort will appear elsewhere. The use of a small noise limit is well motivated, since in this limit good sampling of the state space becomes most challenging. The proof exploits a regenerative structure, and a number of new techniques are needed to turn large deviation estimates over a regenerative cycle into estimates for the empirical measure and its moments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, fractional derivatives with respect to general kernel functions have been investigated extensively. Since the classical equidistant partition makes numerical analysis much more complicated, numerical methods for such general fractional differential equations become challenging. In order to address this problem, a non-equidistant partition is adopted for numerical discretization and a predictor–corrector scheme is proposed in space A C δ [ a , b ] . The coefficients of the rectangle and trapezoidal formulae are derived, respectively. Numerical examples are illustrated which show the efficiency in comparative study of fractional differential equations with different memory effects. This study also provides a numerical tool to determine which fractional derivative is better in real-world applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Rare Metals is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Soil salinity is a growing problem for agricultural productivity worldwide. Our previous studies showed that tetraploid cultivar exhibited more tolerant to salinity than diploid one in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) by maintaining higher ratio of K+/Na+ and stronger capacity of selective absorption for K+ over Na+. Several kind of K+ and Na+ transport systems, such as inward-rectifier shaker K+ channel (AKT1), high-affinity K+ transporter 5 (HAK5), shaker-like K+ outward rectifying channel (SKOR), high-affinity K+ transporter 1;5 (HKT1;5), tonoplast Na+/H+ antiporter 1 (NHX1), and plasma membrane Na+/H+ antiporter 1 (SOS1), have been documented to play key roles in ion homeostasis. However, the precise mechanisms underlying the control of K+ and Na+ homeostasis in sugar beet still remained unknown. Here, the expression patters of six genes BvAKT1, BvHAK5, BvSKOR, BvHKT1;5, BvSOS1 and BvNHX1 were investigated in both diploid and tetraploid exposed to 50 and 300 mM NaCl, and a hypothetical model for ions transporters regulating K+/Na+ homeostasis was proposed. Results showed that BvAKT1 was significantly induced in roots of tetraploid at 12 h under 300 mM NaCl. BvHAK5 was observably repressed by salinity in roots of both diploid and tetraploid, whereas its transcript levels were 85.1% and 105.4% higher in tetraploid than those in diploid at 12 and 24 h at 300 mM NaCl, respectively. BvSKOR was increased significantly in roots of tetraploid at 12, 24 and 72 h under 300 mM NaCl. BvHKT1;5 was up-regulated remarkably in roots of both diploid and tetraploid at 72 h under 50 and 300 mM NaCl, and its expression levels were 43.9% lower in tetraploid than in diploid under 50 mM NaCl, but 2.6-fold higher under 300 mM NaCl. The expression levels of BvSOS1 in roots were 88.5% higher in tetraploid than in diploid at 12 h under 300 mM NaCl. BvNHX1 was clearly induced in shoots of tetraploid, while maintained lower level in diploid under 300 mM NaCl. Taken together, these results implied that BvAKT1, BvHAK5, BvSKOR, BvHKT1;5, BvSOS1 and BvNHX1 play vital roles in synergistically controlling K+ and Na+ homeostasis at the whole plant level. The present study provides molecular insights into understanding salt tolerance of autotetraploid in sugar beet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intersubject variability is a fundamental characteristic of brain organizations, and not just "noise". Although intrinsic functional connectivity (FC) is unique to each individual and varies across brain gray-matter, the underlying mechanisms of intersubject functional variability in white-matter (WM) remain unknown. This study identified WMFC variabilities and determined the genetic basis and macroscale imaging in 45 healthy subjects. The functional localization pattern of intersubject variability across WM is heterogeneous, with most variability observed in the heteromodal cortex. The variabilities of heteromodal regions in expression profiles of genes are related to neuronal cells, involved in synapse-related and glutamic pathways, and associated with psychiatric disorders. In contrast, genes overexpressed in unimodal regions are mostly expressed in glial cells and were related to neurological diseases. Macroscopic variability recapitulates the functional and structural specializations and behavioral phenotypes. Together, our results provide clues to intersubject variabilities of the WMFC with convergent transcriptomic and cellular signatures, which relate to macroscale brain specialization. Jiao Li et al. evaluate the genetic basis underlying white matter functional connectivity variabilities in healthy human subjects. Their results shed light on how transcriptomic and cellular signatures converge to relate to macroscale brain specialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is a fundamental problem to determine a starting point in fractional differential equations which reveals the memory length in real life modeling. This paper describes it by an inverse problem. Fixed point theorems such as Krasnoselskii's and Schauder type's and nonlinear alternative for single–valued mappings are presented. Through existence analysis of the inverse problem, the range of the initial value points and the memory length of fractional differential equations are obtained. Finally, three examples are demonstrated to support the theoretical results and numerical solutions are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A general fractional calculus is described using fractional operators with respect to another function, and some often used propositions are presented in this framework. Together with the continuous time random walk (CTRW), a general time-fractional Fokker–Planck equation is derived and the governing equation meets the general fractional derivative. Finally, various new probability density functions are proposed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early detection of cervical lesions, accurate diagnosis of cervical lesions, and timely and effective therapy can effectively avoid the occurrence of cervical cancer or improve the survival rate of patients. In this paper, the spectra of tissue sections of cervical inflammation (n = 60), CIN (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia) I (n = 30), CIN II (n = 30), CIN III (n = 30), cervical squamous cell carcinoma (n = 30), and cervical adenocarcinoma (n = 30) were collected by a confocal Raman micro-spectrometer (LabRAM HR Evolution, Horiba France SAS, Villeneuve d'Ascq, France). The Raman spectra of six kinds of cervical tissues were analyzed, the dominant Raman peaks of different kinds of tissues were summarized, and the differences in chemical composition between the six tissue samples were compared. An independent sample t test (p ≤ 0.05) was used to analyze the difference of average relative intensity of Raman spectra of six types of cervical tissues. The difference of relative intensity of Raman spectra of six kinds of tissues can reflect the difference of biochemical components in six kinds of tissues and the characteristic of biochemical components in different kinds of tissues. The classification models of cervical inflammation, CIN I, CIN II, CIN III, cervical squamous cell carcinoma, and cervical adenocarcinoma were established by using a support vector machine (SVM) algorithm. Six types of cervical tissues were classified and identified with an overall diagnostic accuracy of 85.7%. This study laid a foundation for the application of Raman spectroscopy in the clinical diagnosis of cervical precancerous lesions and cervical cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is one of the most common chronic diseases among the elderly people. The T2DM increases the risk of cardio-cerebrovascular disease (CCD), and the main pathological change of the CCD is atherosclerosis (AS). Meanwhile, the carbonic anhydrases (CAs) are involved in the formation and progression of plaques in AS. However, the exact physiological mechanism of carbonic anhydrase III (CAIII) has not been clear yet, and there are also no correlation study between CAIII protein and T2DM with CCD. The 8-week old diabetic mice (db/db−/− mice) and wild-type mice (wt mice) were feed by a normal diet till 32 weeks, and detected the carotid artery vascular opening angle using the method of biomechanics; The changes of cerebral cortex and myocardium were watched by the ultrastructure, and the autophagy were observed by electron microscope; The tissue structure, inflammation and cell injury were observed by Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining; The apoptosis of cells were observed by TUNEL staining; The protein levels of CAIII, IL-17, p53 were detected by immunohistochemical and Western Blot, and the Beclin-1, LC3, NF-κB were detected by Western Blot. All statistical analysis is performed using PRISM software. Compared with wt mice, db/db−/− mice' carotid artery open angle increased significantly. Electron microscope results indicated that autophagy in db/db−/− mice cerebral cortex and heart tissue decreased and intracellular organelle ultrastructure were damaged. HE staining indicated that, db/db−/− mice' cerebral cortex and heart tissue stained lighter, inflammatory cells infiltration, cell edema were obvious, myocardial fibers were disorder, and myocardial cells showed different degrees of degeneration. Compared with wt mice, TUNEL staining showed that there was obviously increase in db/db−/− mice cortex and heart tissue cell apoptosis. The results of immunohistochemistry and Western Blot indicated that CAIII, Beclin-1 and LC3II/I expression levels conspicuously decreased in cortex and heart tissue of db/db−/− mice, and the expression level of IL-17, NF-κB and p53 obviously increased. The carotid artery' vascular stiffness was increased and which was probably related with formation of AS in diabetic mice. And the autophagy participated in the occurrence and development of diabetic CCD. CAIII protein might somehow be involved in the regulation of autophagy probably through affecting cell apoptosis and inflammation, but the underlying mechanism remains to be further studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introducing small molecule-bridged hydrogen bonds (HBs) between polymer chains has been reported to effectively reduce the interchain cooperativity despite of strengthening the intermolecular interaction. Here, a systematic investigation on tuning the Johari-Goldstein β (βJG) relaxation by adding various low-molecular-weight phenols in poly(n-alkyl methacrylate)s is carried out to further clarify the anomalous dynamics. Given these small molecules capable of coupling the motion with pendent groups of host polymers due to forming at least two HBs per molecule, poly(n-alkyl methacrylate) mixtures exhibit rich dynamic changes in the βJG-properties and α, βJG separations. An increased loading of phenols with a small size and strong inter-HB strength (Δυi) clearly benefits for significant retardation and suppression of the βJG-relaxation, narrows the α, βJG separation and converges the βJG-peak with the α-peak, which demonstrates the alleviation of inter-chain topological constraints. However, small molecules with a relatively big size and weak Δυi are found to amplify the magnitude of the α, βJG separation of poly(butyl methacrylate), even though experimental results of changes in α-dispersion and dynamic fragility confirm a reduction of the coupling factor n in all of these hybrids. The counterintuitive phenomenon suggests that the crossover time tc in the Coupling Model is no longer a universal quantity if the inter-chain interaction of polymers is strengthened by HBs. These compelling findings shed vital insights into the HB-induced anomalous dynamics, and provide essential guidance for tailoring the βJG behavior and designing glassy polymeric materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Major depressive disorder (MDD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) are severe and difficult-to-treat psychiatric illnesses with high rates of comorbidity. Although both disorders are treated with serotonergic based psychotropic agents, little is known on the influence of the serotonergic neurotransmitter system on the occurrence of comorbid GAD when clinically depressed. To investigate this poorly understood clinical question, we examined the involvement of frontolimbic post-synaptic 5-HT2A receptors in 20 medication-resistant depressed (MRD) patients with half of them diagnosed with comorbid GAD with 123I-5-I-R91150 SPECT. To explore whether 5-HT2A receptor-binding indices (BI) associated with comorbid GAD could be related to distinct psychopathological symptoms, all were assessed with the symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R). MRD patients with comorbid GAD displayed significantly higher 5-HT2A receptor BI in the hippocampal–amygdala complex, compared to MRD patients without GAD. Correlation analyses revealed that the 5-HT2A receptor BI in these areas were significantly related to the SCL-90-R subscale hostility (HOS), especially for those MRD patients with comorbid GAD. Comorbid MRD-GAD may be characterized with increased hippocampal–amygdala 5-HT2A receptor BI which could represent enhanced levels in hostility in such kinds of patients. Adapted psychotherapeutic interventions may be warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A convolution perfectly matched layer (CPML) can efficiently absorb boundary reflection in numerical simulation. However, the CPML is suitable for the first-order elastic wave equation and is difficult to apply directly to the second-order elastic wave equation. In view of this, based on the first-order CPML absorbing boundary condition, we propose a new CPML (NCPML) boundary which can be directly applied to the second-order wave equation. We first systematically extend the first-order CPML technique into second-order wave equations, neglecting the space-varying characteristics of the partial damping coefficient in the complex-frequency domain, avoiding the generation of convolution in the time domain. We then transform the technique back to the time domain through the inverse Fourier transform. Numerical simulation indicates that the space-varying characteristics of the attenuation factor have little influence on the absorption effect and increase the memory at the same time. A number of numerical examples show that the NCPML proposed in this study is effective in simulating elastic wave propagation, and this algorithm is more efficient and requires less memory allocation than the conventional PML absorbing boundary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fractional differential equation approach is frequently used to describe long-term interactions in nonlinear systems. However, it results in difficulty in inverse problems as well as the numerical treatment. Numerical analysis of intermediate value problems and the well-posedness are investigated in this study. Two high order numerical methods for solving intermediate value problems are proposed. Convergence and sensitivity analysis are provided. A comparison is provided by a well-chosen example. The estimated order of the convergence shows the sharpness of our analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social cognition plays a crucial role in the development and treatment of cocaine dependence. However, studies investigating social cognition, such as empathy and its underlying neural basis, are lacking. To explore the neural interactions among reward and memory circuits, we applied effective connectivity analysis on resting-state fMRI data collected from cocaine-dependent subjects. The relationship between effective connectivity within these two important circuits and empathy ability - evaluated with the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) - was assessed by machine learning algorithm using multivariate regression analysis. In accordance with the neurocircuitry disruptions of cocaine addiction, the results showed that cocaine-dependent subjects relative to healthy controls had altered resting state effective connectivity between parts of the memory and reward systems. Furthermore, effective connectivity between the memory and reward system could predict the fantasy empathy (FE) subscale scores in cocaine dependence. Overall, our findings provide further evidence for the neural substrates of social cognition in cocaine-dependent patients. These new insights could be useful for the development of new treatment programs for this substance dependency disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a real-time loop-mediated isothermal amplification (Rti-LAMP) combined with immunomagnetic beads separation (IMS) and ethidium bromide monoazide (EMA) treatment was developed for the rapid and ultrasensitive detection of viable Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7 in milk without enrichment. Polyclonal antibodies against E. coli O157:H7 flagellum and specific immunomagnetic beads (IMBs) were prepared. The capture efficiency of target bacteria was more than 95% by adding 50 μL of prepared IMBs into 1 mL of E. coli sample for incubation at 37 °C for 20 min. Then, Gly-HCl buffer (0.2 M, pH 2.2) was a key to the effective eluting and separating of bacteria from IMB-bacterial complexes. The eluted bacteria were resuspended with 20 μL TZ lysing solution and boiled at 99.5 °C for 10 min, as a DNA template of Rti-LAMP. The development of IMS-Rti-LAMP assay could specifically detect viable E. coli O157:H7 as low as 2.7 CFU/mL in pure culture. Furthermore, the optimum volume for detection of E. coli O157:H7 in milk was 1 mL of the sample by IMS-Rti-LAMP assay. Before Gly-HCl elution, 4 μg/mL of EMA was used to treat bacterial cells which significantly inhibited DNA amplification derived from dead cells in Rti-LAMP. The limit of detection (LOD) of viable E. coli O157:H7 in milk was 6 CFU/mL by the IMS-EMA-Rti-LAMP, and the whole assay could be completed in 4 h. The development of IMS-EMA-Rti-LAMP assay was a rapid, ultrasensitive, and specific detection of viable E. coli O157:H7 in milk without enrichment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The salience network (SN) anchored by the anterior insula and cingulate is crucial for the autonomic control of body homeostasis. Resting-sate fMRI studies have linked intrinsic SN connectivity with multiple autonomic measures, but little is known about the structural organization of this system relating to cardiac vagal function. To address the above issue, the current study used covariance analysis of MRI-based gray matter volume (GMV) to map structural covariance of SN with two independent datasets, and then determined whether interregional structural connections within SN related to individual differences in vagally-mediated heart rate variability (HRV). The results showed a significant positive association between structural covariance of the SN and vagal component of HRV in two independent samples. More importantly, the conjunction and pooled data analysis revealed that structural correlation from left anterior insula to dorsal anterior cingulate cortex positively interacted with vagally-mediated HRV. The current results demonstrated a crucial role of the SN in the cortical modulation of efferent vagal activity to the heart, and provided new insight into structural neural network implicated in cardiac vagal control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sucrose non-fermenting-1-related protein kinase 2s (SnRK2s) have been shown to play critical roles in the response to environmental stresses in higher plants. Although the SnRK2 genes family has been identified in various plants, little is reported regarding SnRK2s in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.), which is one of the most important crops for both food and sugar production. In the current study, the SnRK2s genes are identified in the sugar beet genome by bioinformatics, and their expression patterns under salinity conditions are tested by the qRT-PCR method. Results showed that a total of six BvSnRK2 genes are identified and characterized from the genome of sugar beet and are further classified into three distinct groups (Group 1, 2, and 3). All BvSnRK2s contained a highly conserved N-terminal kinase region and a greatly divergent C-terminal region. Except for BvSnRK2.4, most of the BvSnRK2 genes were disrupted by eight introns with size ranging from 82 to 2164 bp. Moreover, the expression levels of the BvSnRK2s genes were strongly enhanced by salt treatments, which may be an indicator of potential roles in the response to salinity. The present work is the first systematic analysis of the SnRK2 family genes in sugar beet. The results from this study provide a novel insight for the functional exploration and application of the SnRK2s genes for crop improvement, especially in sugar crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RIPK3 amyloid complex plays crucial roles during TNF-induced necroptosis and in response to immune defense in both human and mouse. Here, we have structurally characterized mouse RIPK3 homogeneous self-assembly using solid-state NMR, revealing a well-ordered N-shaped amyloid core structure featured with 3 parallel in-register β-sheets. This structure differs from previously published human RIPK1/RIPK3 hetero-amyloid complex structure, which adopted a serpentine fold. Functional studies indicate both RIPK1-RIPK3 binding and RIPK3 amyloid formation are essential but not sufficient for TNF-induced necroptosis. The structural integrity of RIPK3 fibril with three β-strands is necessary for signaling. Molecular dynamics simulations with a mouse RIPK1/RIPK3 model indicate that the hetero-amyloid is less stable when adopting the RIPK3 fibril conformation, suggesting a structural transformation of RIPK3 from RIPK1-RIPK3 binding to RIPK3 amyloid formation. This structural transformation would provide the missing link connecting RIPK1-RIPK3 binding to RIPK3 homo-oligomer formation in the signal transduction. Receptor Interacting Protein Kinase 3 (RIPK3) has a key role in TNF-induced necroptosis. Here, the authors combine solid state NMR measurements, MD simulations and cell based assays to characterize mouse RIPK3 and they present the structure of the RIPK3 amyloid core. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Laplace transform is important for exact solutions of linear differential equations and frequency response analysis methods. In comparison with the continuous–time systems, less results can be available for fractional difference equations. This study provides some fundamental results of two kinds of fractional difference equations by use of the Laplace transform. Some discrete Mittag–Leffler functions are defined and their Laplace transforms are given. Furthermore, a class of variable–order and short memory linear fractional difference equations are proposed and the exact solutions are obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]