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Background: Neoadjuvant immunotherapy is under intensive investigation for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). This study assesses the efficacy and immune response of neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy (nICT) in ESCC. Methods: In this phase II trial (ChiCTR2100045722), locally advanced ESCC patients receiving nICT were enrolled. The primary endpoint was the pathological complete response (pCR) rate. Multiplexed immunofluorescence, RNA-seq and TCR-seq were conducted to explore the immune response underlying nICT. Results: Totally 42 patients were enrolled, achieving a 27.0% pCR rate. The 1-year, 2-year DFS and OS rates were 89.2%, 64.4% and 97.3%, 89.2%, respectively. RNA-seq analysis highlighted T-cell activation as the most significantly enriched pathway. The tumour immune microenvironment (TIME) was characterised by high CD4, CD8, Foxp3, and PD-L1 levels, associating with better pathological regression (TRS0/1). TIME was categorised into immune-infiltrating, immune-tolerant, and immune-desert types. Notably, the immune-infiltrating type and tertiary lymphoid structures correlated with improved outcomes. In the context of nICT, TIM-3 negatively influenced treatment efficacy, while elevated TIGIT/PD-1 expression post-nICT correlated positively with CD8+ T cell levels. TCR-seq identified three TCR rearrangements, underscoring the specificity of T-cell responses. Conclusions: Neoadjuvant camrelizumab plus chemotherapy is effective for locally advanced, resectable ESCC, eliciting profound immune response that closely associated with clinical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1967, Grünbaum conjectured that any d-dimensional polytope with d + s ⩽ 2 d vertices has at least ϕ k (d + s , d) = d + 1 k + 1 + d k + 1 - d + 1 - s k + 1 k-faces. This conjecture along with the characterization of equality cases was recently proved by the author (A proof of Grünbaum's lower bound conjecture for general polytopes. Israel J. Math. 245(2), 991–1000 (2021)). In this paper, several extensions of this result are established. Specifically, it is proved that lattices with the diamond property (e.g., abstract polytopes) and d + s ⩽ 2 d atoms have at least ϕ k (d + s , d) elements of rank k + 1 . Furthermore, in the case of face lattices of strongly regular CW complexes representing normal pseudomanifolds with up to 2d vertices, a characterization of equality cases is given. Finally, sharp lower bounds on the number of k-faces of strongly regular CW complexes representing normal pseudomanifolds with 2 d + 1 vertices are obtained. These bounds are given by the face numbers of certain polytopes with 2 d + 1 vertices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hydroxynitrile lyases (HNLs) are a class of hydrolytic enzymes from a wide range of sources, which play crucial roles in the catalysis of the reversible conversion of carbonyl compounds derived from cyanide and free cyanide in cyanogenic plant species. HNLs were also discovered in non-cyanogenic plants, such as Arabidopsis thaliana, and their roles remain unclear even during plant growth and reproduction. Methods and results: The pattern of expression of the HNL in A. thaliana (AtHNL) in different tissues, as well as under abiotic stresses and hormone treatments, was examined by real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) and an AtHNL promoter-driven histochemical β-glucuronidase (GUS) assay. AtHNL is highly expressed in flowers and siliques, and the expression of AtHNL was dramatically affected by abiotic stresses and hormone treatments. The overexpression of AtHNL resulted in transgenic A. thaliana seedlings that were more tolerance to mannitol and salinity. Moreover, transgenic lines of A. thaliana that overexpressed this gene were less sensitive to abscisic acid (ABA). Altered expression of ABA/stress responsive genes was also observed in hnl mutant and AtHNL-overexpressing plants, suggesting AtHNL may play functional roles on regulating Arabidopsis resistance to ABA and abiotic stresses by affecting ABA/stress responsive gene expression. In addition, the overexpression of AtHNL resulted in earlier flowering, whereas the AtHNL mutant flowered later than the wild type (WT) plants. The expression of the floral stimulators CONSTANS (CO), SUPPRESSOR OF OVER EXPRESSION OF CO 1 (SOC1) and FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) was upregulated in plants that overexpressed AtHNL when compared with the WT plants. In contrast, expression of the floral repressor FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) was upregulated in AtHNL mutants and downregulated in plants that overexpressed AtHNL compared to the WT plants. Conclusion: This study revealed that AtHNL can be induced under abiotic stresses and ABA treatment, and genetic analysis showed that AtHNL could also act as a positive regulator of abiotic stress and ABA tolerance, as well as flowering time. [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.)

En-echelon joints are common in rocky slopes and faults, and their instability seriously threatens the safety of geotechnical engineering. Filling and reinforcing en-echelon joints in slopes is highly important for maintaining the safety of engineering and human beings. In view of this, this study aims to investigate the fracture behavior of en-echelon joints after filling and reinforcing to provide a reference for the filling and reinforcing work of slopes In this study, en-echelon gabbro samples with different crack angles were filled with cement slurry, a compression test was subsequently conducted, and the loading process was monitored via acoustic emission technology. The results showed that the compressive strength of the specimens after cementing the joints is increased by more than 30%, the compressive strength of the specimens with a β of 15°increased by up to 59%, and the stability of the specimens significantly improved. The shear failure of the filled and unfilled samples was the main failure at the peak load. There were two failure modes for the samples with different crack angles. The small dip angle samples were lightly broken, and the main cracks were distributed at the corner points of the samples. The large dip angle samples were broken considerably, and multiple fracture zones were present. Under pressure, the filled cement slurry weakened the stress concentration, and bore the compressive stress and shear stress, and the interface friction with the sample prevented the cracking and expansion of the crack, which resulted in a reinforcement effect on the sample. Our findings might act as a reference for the filling engineering of rock slopes with en-echelon joints. Highlights: Studying the effect of grouting reinforcement on the mechanical strength of rocks and fracture behavior is of great significance in engineering applications. The findings of this study might contribute to the field of filling defects and provide information that may help engineers with the filling and strengthening of rock slopes. In this study, the effects of filling cement on fracture behavior and strength of gabbro at different prefabricated joint angles were studied through compression tests, and the fracture mechanism of samples during loading was analyzed based on acoustic emission technology. Finally, the action mechanism of filling cement is explained. The filling cement slurry has remarkable reinforcement effect. Under the action of pressure, the filling cement slurry weakens the stress concentration, withstands the compressive stress and shear stress, and the interface friction with the sample prevents the crack cracking and expansion, which has a strengthening effect on the sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rock can undergo hardening deformation during compression and have a memory of the hardening action, which can be displayed when unloaded. This compression-hardening memory effect (CHME) is related to the micromechanical response of the heterogeneous rock microstructure. However, to date, the related mechanism has not been fully characterized. Here, we proposed a grain-based model (GBM) implemented by the Universal Distinct Element Code (UDEC) (version 6.0) to reproduce the cyclic compression test of Jinchuan granite and then investigate the CHME mechanism and its influence on the loading/unloading response of the rock. The results showed that the UDEC-GBM by the compression-hardening memory model (CHMM) reproduces the experimental hysteresis and hardening stress‒strain response, while the traditional linear elastic model (LEM) does not. The grain contact causes nonlinear deformation during compression, enhancing its compressive stiffness. When unloaded, the pre-enhanced compressive stiffness can be remembered, leading to hysteresis and plastic deformation. As a result, the synthetic sample can reserve some of the strain energy and create tensile stress zones, inducing intergranular microcracks and intragranular failure zones. As the peak compressive stress applied in the predisturbed stage increases, the CHME strength increases, influencing the deformation and failure of the synthetic rock sample. Overall, the synthetic rock sample's peak compressive strength decreases as the peak compressive stress applied in the predisturbed stage increases. We shed light on the micromechanical mechanism of CHME, which results from the irreversible increase in the compressive stiffness of grain contacts during compression. Highlights: The rock microstructure exhibits the compression-hardening memory effect (CHME), which can be characterized by the grain-based model. CHME stems from the irreversible enhancement of grain contact stiffness under compression. CHME can lead to the concentration of local tensile stress and rock failure upon unloading, thereby influencing subsequent mechanical responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the practical fixed-time consensus for nonlinear multi-agent systems (MASs) in the presence of denial-of-service (DoS) attack utilizing aperiodically intermittent event-triggered control protocol. Unlike predefining the distribution of DoS attack intervals, an attack detection algorithm is designed to identify the onset and cessation of attack intervals in a dynamic manner. Subsequently, by incorporating the aperiodically intermittent control scheme with the event-triggered mechanism, an efficient control protocol is designed that guarantees the fixed-time consensus for nonlinear MASs under DoS attacks and exhibits resilience against certain attack sequences. Furthermore, in order to address the Zeno and non-differentiable issues, the hyperbolic tangent function is employed in the design of nonlinear controller. Moreover, the control protocol utilizing a non-continuous monitoring event-triggered mechanism is also developed to save more communication resources. Finally, simulations are performed to verify the efficacy of the proposed control protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, most designs for landslide hazard control employ geotechnical measures as the primary strategy and vegetation measures as the supplemental strategy. However, few studies have investigated the synergistic protection effectiveness of combining geotechnical and vegetation measures. To evaluate the synergistic mechanism between roots and piles and the corresponding slope-protection effect, we focused on tap-like arbor roots and anti-slide piles and used 3D printing technology to efficiently build composite models of roots and soil. In addition, this study uses square steel to simulate anti-slide piles, conducts a series of experiments with different support modes, and monitors the deformation and failure processes of shallow soil slopes. The results show that (1) both roots and piles could improve the anti-sliding force; under the synergistic support of roots and anti-slide piles (SSRAP), the postpeak anti-sliding force attenuation rate decreases, with the residual anti-sliding force demonstrating a significant advantage. (2) Root-support measures can only control the deformation of the slope bottom, while pile-support measures can effectively control the deformation of different slope areas. (3) The slope surface is characterized by numerous small cracks with poor connectivity under root support. The process of crack expansion is obviously delayed under pile support, and the SSRAP inherits their respective advantages, further enhancing the slope integrity. These results fill the research gap in the synergistic mechanism of geotechnical and vegetation measures and present the development of effective strategies for the comprehensive prevention and control of landslide disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study a τ -matrix approximation based preconditioner for the linear systems arising from discretization of unsteady state Riesz space fractional diffusion equation with non-separable variable coefficients. The structure of coefficient matrices of the linear systems is identity plus summation of diagonal-times-multilevel-Toeplitz matrices. In our preconditioning technique, the diagonal matrices are approximated by scalar identity matrices and the Toeplitz matrices are approximated by τ -matrices (a type of matrices diagonalizable by discrete sine transforms). The proposed preconditioner is fast invertible through the fast sine transform (FST) algorithm. Theoretically, we show that the GMRES solver for the preconditioned systems has an optimal convergence rate (a convergence rate independent of discretization stepsizes). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first preconditioning method with the optimal convergence rate for the variable-coefficients space fractional diffusion equation. Numerical results are reported to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a noninvasive technique, ultrasound stimulation is known to modulate neuronal activity both in vitro and in vivo. The latest explanation of this phenomenon is that the acoustic wave can activate the ion channels and further impact the electrophysiological properties of targeted neurons. However, the underlying mechanism of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS)-induced neuro-modulation effects is still unclear. Here, we characterize the excitatory effects of LIPUS on spontaneous activity and the intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis in cultured hippocampal neurons. By whole-cell patch clamp recording, we found that 15 min of 1-MHz LIPUS boosts the frequency of both spontaneous action potentials and spontaneous excitatory synaptic currents (sEPSCs) and also increases the amplitude of sEPSCs in hippocampal neurons. This phenomenon lasts for > 10 min after LIPUS exposure. Together with Ca2+ imaging, we clarified that LIPUS increases the [Ca2+]cyto level by facilitating L-type Ca2+ channels (LTCCs). In addition, due to the [Ca2+]cyto elevation by LIPUS exposure, the Ca2+-dependent CaMKII-CREB pathway can be activated within 30 min to further regulate the gene transcription and protein expression. Our work suggests that LIPUS regulates neuronal activity in a Ca2+-dependent manner via LTCCs. This may also explain the multi-activation effects of LIPUS beyond neurons. LIPUS stimulation potentiates spontaneous neuronal activity by increasing Ca2+ influx. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the stability and interaction mechanism of the slope-pile-footing system under surcharge effects, the finite difference method (FDM) was adopted to analyze the response laws of the stability of the reinforced slope, evolution of the critical slip surface, stress characteristic of retaining structures, deformation and failure modes of the slope foundation and building footing under surcharge parameters, including the surcharge intensity, the surcharge position, and the surcharge width. The results show that surcharge parameters significantly affect the stability and the deformation characteristics of the slope-pile-footing system. Specifically speaking, with the increasing surcharge intensity and the decreasing surcharge position and width, the deformation and failure mode of the system will gradually evolve in a direction that is harmful to its stability. The interaction mechanism of the slope-pile-footing system is further clarified as the load transfer of the building footing, the generation of the additional stress in the slope foundation, and the adjustment of pile bending moment due to the stress redistribution. Correspondingly, the safety of anti-slide piles will determine the stability of the slope foundation and building footing. These findings are expected to provide guidance for the comprehensive development and utilization of filled slopes after reinforcement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of different types of roots on the soil is complex and still remains unclear. Four in-situ extrusion tests were conducted on two types of root systems, namely fibrous and tap root system, for three plants, Eleusine indica, Potentilla anserine, and Artemisia argyi, according to the classification in Botany, and the thrust-displacement curves and failure patterns of different samples were analysed by comparison to fill the aforementioned gap. Results reveal that the roots can reduce the characteristics of soil brittleness and enhance its capability to resist large deformation, and different root types contribute different effects to the strain-hardening behavior of the root-soil mass. The contribution of the fibrous root system to strength is limited, whilst the tap root system substantially enhances strength and stiffness. Results of failure patterns show that fibrous and tap root systems affect soil solidification and surface cracking reduction. However, the effect of the tap root system depends on the composition of lateral and tap roots: long and rich lateral roots are effective for resisting the creation of cracks, but thick tap roots with few and thin lateral roots may lead to several surface cracks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Repeated rainfall usually results in the weakening of the strength characteristics of the engineered rock masses, which can induce engineering accidents. To explore the effect of water-induced rock strength damage under the repeated action of saturation and drying, this study conducted compression experiments on red sandstone. Laboratory experiments were combined with numerical simulations aimed at analyzing strength damage patterns and crack evolution characteristics. The results show that drying–wetting cycles have a strong deterioration effect on the physico-mechanical properties, particularly during the initial cycle, which causes the greatest damage. As the number of cycles increases, the number of tensile cracks decreases, the number of tensile-shear cracks increases, and the number of compression-shear cracks is stable. The particle contact force chain becomes thicker and denser, and the particle displacement direction gradually changes from “center to both sides” to “center to top and bottom.” The crack evolution process under uniaxial compression was divided into four stages: crack-free, crack emergence, crack propagation, and crack sharp increase stage. When the cracks progressed to the crack propagation stage, macroscopic fracture of the rock was imminent. This may be an indicative precursor of rock damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge graph technology is widely applied in the domain of general knowledge reasoning with an excellent performance. For fine-grained professional fields, professional knowledge graphs can provide more accurate information in practical industrial scenarios. Based on an aviation assembly domain-specific knowledge graph, the article constructs a joint knowledge reasoning model, which combines a named entity recognition model and a subgraph embedding learning model. When performing knowledge reasoning tasks, the two models vectorize entities, relationships and entity attributes in the same space, so as to share parameters and optimize learning efficiency. The knowledge reasoning model, which provides intelligent question answering services, is able to reduce the assembly error rate and improve the assembly efficiency. The system can accurately solve general knowledge reasoning problems in the assembly process in actual industrial scenarios of general assembly and component assembly under interference-free conditions. Finally, this paper compares the proposed knowledge reasoning model based on knowledge representation learning and the question-answering system based on large-scale pre-trained models. In the application scenario of system functional testing in general assembly, the joint model attains an accuracy rate of 95%, outperforming GPT with 78% accuracy and enhanced representation through knowledge integration with 71% accuracy. [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.)

Ionic liquids (ILs) are generally considered eco-friendly alternatives to conventional industrial solvents, but they are hard to degrade and easily accumulate in the environment. Therefore, their long-term toxicities are especially vital to estimate their potential risk. However, the chronic toxicities of ILs over generations lacked intensive investigation. In the present work, acute toxicity and chronic toxicity of 1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium chloride ([Omim]Cl) and 1-dodecylpyridinium chloride ([DPy]Cl) were studied on Moina macrocopa with the first exposed generation (F0) and two successive recovery generation (F1 to F2). The acute results showed that both [Omim]Cl and [DPy]Cl exhibited high toxicity to M. macrocopa. The chronic results indicated that the exposure of [Omim]Cl and [DPy]Cl could inhibit the survivorship, body length, and reproduction of M. macrocopa and exhibited a significant dose-related decrease. Furthermore, these two types of ILs presented intergenerational toxicity in the water flea. And the toxic effects of [Omim]Cl disappeared in the recovery tests of F2 generation, while the [DPy]Cl toxic effects continued. Our research suggested a potential risk for the aquatic ecosystem induced by ILs. And the damage done by these chemicals to the aquatic environment is worthy of attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preterm birth (PTB) is the leading cause of infant mortality globally. Research has focused on developing predictive models for PTB without prioritizing cost-effective interventions. Physical activity and sleep present unique opportunities for interventions in low- and middle-income populations (LMICs). However, objective measurement of physical activity and sleep remains challenging and self-reported metrics suffer from low-resolution and accuracy. In this study, we use physical activity data collected using a wearable device comprising over 181,944 h of data across N = 1083 patients. Using a new state-of-the art deep learning time-series classification architecture, we develop a 'clock' of healthy dynamics during pregnancy by using gestational age (GA) as a surrogate for progression of pregnancy. We also develop novel interpretability algorithms that integrate unsupervised clustering, model error analysis, feature attribution, and automated actigraphy analysis, allowing for model interpretation with respect to sleep, activity, and clinical variables. Our model performs significantly better than 7 other machine learning and AI methods for modeling the progression of pregnancy. We found that deviations from a normal 'clock' of physical activity and sleep changes during pregnancy are strongly associated with pregnancy outcomes. When our model underestimates GA, there are 0.52 fewer preterm births than expected (P = 1.01e − 67, permutation test) and when our model overestimates GA, there are 1.44 times (P = 2.82e − 39, permutation test) more preterm births than expected. Model error is negatively correlated with interdaily stability (P = 0.043, Spearman's), indicating that our model assigns a more advanced GA when an individual's daily rhythms are less precise. Supporting this, our model attributes higher importance to sleep periods in predicting higher-than-actual GA, relative to lower-than-actual GA (P = 1.01e − 21, Mann-Whitney U). Combining prediction and interpretability allows us to signal when activity behaviors alter the likelihood of preterm birth and advocates for the development of clinical decision support through passive monitoring and exercise habit and sleep recommendations, which can be easily implemented in LMICs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assay for Transposase Accessible Chromatin by sequencing (ATAC-seq) accurately depicts the chromatin regulatory state and altered mechanisms guiding gene expression in disease. However, bulk sequencing entangles information from different cell types and obscures cellular heterogeneity. To address this, we developed Cellformer, a deep learning method that deconvolutes bulk ATAC-seq into cell type-specific expression across the whole genome. Cellformer enables cost-effective cell type-specific open chromatin profiling in large cohorts. Applied to 191 bulk samples from 3 brain regions, Cellformer identifies cell type-specific gene regulatory mechanisms involved in resilience to Alzheimer's disease, an uncommon group of cognitively healthy individuals that harbor a high pathological load of Alzheimer's disease. Cell type-resolved chromatin profiling unveils cell type-specific pathways and nominates potential epigenetic mediators underlying resilience that may illuminate therapeutic opportunities to limit the cognitive impact of the disease. Cellformer is freely available to facilitate future investigations using high-throughput bulk ATAC-seq data. The authors present a deep learning method that deconvolutes ATAC-seq samples into cell type-specific chromatin accessibility profiles. Applied on 191 samples, the method unveils cell type-specific pathways and nominates potential epigenetic mediators underlying resilience to Alzheimer's disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Central South University 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.)

With the increasing use and production of "green solvents" ionic liquids (ILs) and their known stability in the environment, the potential adverse effects of ILs have become a focus of research. In the present study, acute, chronic, and intergenerational toxic effects of an imidazolium-based ionic liquid, 1-decyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([Demim]PF6), on Moina macrocopa were investigated following the parental exposure. The results showed that [Demim]PF6 exhibited high toxicity to M. macrocopa, and the long-term exposure significantly inhibited the survivorship, development, and reproduction of the water flea. Furthermore, it is also observed that [Demim]PF6 induced toxic effects in the following generation of M. macrocopa, resulting in the complete cessation of reproduction in the first offspring generation, and the growth of the organisms was also significantly affected. These findings provided a novel insight into the intergenerational toxicity induced by ILs to crustaceans and suggested that these compounds pose potential risks to the aquatic ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Posterolateral approach has been advocated for the treatment of ankle fractures involving the posterior malleolus and satisfactory results were demonstrated in several studies. The Bartonicek classification based on 3-dimensional CT scanning was commonly used for treatment recommendation of posterior malleolar fracture (PMF). The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the clinical effect of the posterolateral approach for the treatment of PMF and present outcomes of patients with different types of Bartonicek classification. Method: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical outcomes of 72 patients with ankle fractures involving posterior malleolus (PM) from January 2016 to December 2018. Posterior malleolus fractures (PMFs) were all directly reduced and fixed by a posterolateral approach using lag screws and/or buttress plates. AOFAS score and VAS pain score were used as the primary functional outcome measures. The radiographic evaluation included the quality of the reduction and Kellgren–Lawrence (KL) osteoarthritis classification. According to the CT-based Bartonicek classification, all patients were classified into three groups: 42 type II, 18 type III and 12 type IV. Bartonicek type II patients were further divided into subtype IIa 19 cases, subtype IIb 16 cases and subtype IIc 7 cases. The radiological and functional outcomes were analyzed among different types and subtypes of Bartonicek classification. Results: Sixty-eight patients (94.5%) achieved good or excellent reduction of PMF after surgery. The mean AOFAS score was 81.35 ± 6.15 at 6 months and 90.56 ± 4.98 at the final follow-up, respectively. The VAS score was 6.62 ± 1.03 one week after surgery, and 1.20 ± 0.92 at the final follow-up. Radiological evaluation at the final follow-up showed that primary bone union was achieved in all patients and 65 patients (88.9%) got no (KL grade 0) or just doubtable (KL grade 1) post-traumatic osteoarthritis. AOFAS scores decreased significantly with the severity of Bartonicek classification at 6 month (p < 0.001) and final follow-up (p < 0.05), while there was no statistical difference of VAS pain score among different types of Bartonicek classification. Reduction quality and the presence of osteoarthritis was not correlated to Bartonicek classification either. Besides, AOFAS scores at the final follow-up were statistically different among three subtypes of Bartonicek type II fractures (p < 0.05), and Bartonicek subtype IIa fractures had the highest AOFAS scores as 93 ± 4.99. Presence and severity of osteoarthritis was lower in patients with subtype IIa PMF compared to other subtype groups, this finding was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The posterolateral approach could achieve good clinical outcomes in the treatment of posterior malleolus fracture. Patients with a Bartonicek type II fracture had a better functional outcome measured by the AOFAS score compared to other types. Bartonicek type IIa fractures got a higher AOFAS score and a lower incidence of osteoarthritis at the final follow-up than the other two subtypes. Classification of PMFs according to the Bartonicek classification was reliable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water-induced strength deterioration of rock mass is a crucial factor for rock slope instability. To better show the degradation process of rock slope water–rock interaction, we used bentonite as a water-sensitive regulator to build a new rock-like material that matches the features of water-induced strength degradation based on the cement-gypsum bonded materials. Twenty-five schemes of the material mixture proportion were designed using the orthogonal design method considering four factors with five variable levels, and a variety of experiments were conducted to obtain physico-mechanical parameters. In addition, one group of rock-like material proportion was selected and applied to the large-scale physical model test. The experiment results reveal that: (1) The failure mode of this rock-like material is highly similar to that of natural rock masses, and the physico-mechanical parameters vary over a wide range; (2) The bentonite content has a significant influence on the density, elastic modulus, and tensile strength of rock-like materials; (3) It is feasible to obtain the regression equation based on the linear regression analysis to determine the proportion of rock-like material; (4) Through application, the new rock-like material can effectively simulate or reveal the startup mechanism and instability characteristics of rock slopes under water-induced degradation. These studies can serve as a guide for the fabrication of rock-like material in the other model tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Juvenile hormone analogues (JHAs) are a kind of effective insecticide. These compounds have relatively low toxicity for fish, birds, and mammals, so they are increasingly used in insect pest control. However, JHAs may cause various adverse effects in crustaceans as in insects, because they have a close evolutionary relationship and possess similar juvenile hormone systems. To date, the chronic toxicities of JHAs over generations lacked intensive investigation. The present study evaluated the acute, chronic, and transgenerational effects of a terpenoid JHA, kinoprene, using the water flea Moina macrocopa. The result of acute exposure shows that kinoprene exhibited high toxicity to M. macrocopa. The chronic results indicate that kinoprene inhibited the survivorship, development, and reproduction of the organism. Moreover, the adverse effects induced by kinoprene continued in the F2 generation with no direct exposure but recovered in the F3 generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, the re-sequencing of our previous whole-genome sequencing (WGS) for selected individuals of Dazu-black goat (DBG) and Inner-Mongolia Cashmere goat (IMCG) breeds was used to detect and compare the differentiation in Indels depending on the reference genome of goat. Then, three selected candidate Indels rs668795676, rs657996810, and rs669452874 of the three genes SUFU, SYCP2L and GLIPR1L1, respectively, have been chosen, based on the results of prior GWAS across the genome, and examined for their association with body weight and dimensions (body height, body length, heart girth, chest width, cannon circumference, and chest depth) by kompetitive allele specific PCR assay for 342 goats from the three studied goat breeds (DBG, n = 203; ♂99, ♀104), IMCG (n = 65; 15♂, 50♀), and Hechuan white goat (HWG, n = 74; 34♂, 40♀) breeds. The analysis of 192.747 Gb WGS revealed an average 334,151 Indels in the whole genome of DBG and IMCG breeds. Chromosome 1 had a maximum number of mutations (Indels) of 58,497 and 55,527 for IMCG and DBG, respectively, while chromosome 25 had the least number of mutations of 15,680 and 16,103 for IMCG and DBG, respectively. The majority of Indels were either Ins or Del of short fragments of 1–5 bp, which covered 79.06 and 71.78% of the total number of Indels mutations in IMCG and DBG, respectively. Comparing the differences of Indels between the studied goat breeds revealed 100 and 110 unique Indels for IMCG and DBG, respectively. The Indels loci in the intron region were unique for both studied goat breeds which were related to 30 and 38 candidate genes in IMCG and DBG, respectively, including SUFU, SYCP2L, and GLIPR1L1 genes. Concerning rs669452874 locus, body height and body length of Del/Del genotype in DBG were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than that of Ins/Del genotype, while body height and body length of Del/Del genotype in IMCG were significantly higher (P < 0.01) than those of Ins/Ins genotype, whereas body height and body length and heart girth of Del/Del genotype in HWG were significantly higher (P < 0.01) than those of the Ins/Del and Ins/Ins genotypes. Thus, Del/Del genotype of rs669452874 locus can be used as a candidate molecular marker related to the body dimensions in the studied goat breeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To develop and validate a deep learning (DL) model based on quantitative analysis of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) images that predicts early recurrence (ER) after thermal ablation (TA) of colorectal cancer liver metastasis (CRLM). Methods: Between January 2010 and May 2019, a total of 207 consecutive patients with CRLM with 13,248 slice images at three dynamic phases who received CEUS within 2 weeks before TA were retrospectively enrolled in two centres (153 for the training cohort (TC), 32 for the internal test cohort (ITC), and 22 for the external test cohort (ETC)). Clinical and CEUS data were used to develop and validate the clinical model, DL model, and DL combining with clinical (DL-C) model to predict ER after TA. The performance of these models was compared by the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) with the DeLong test. Results: After a median follow-up of 56 months, 49% (99/207) of patients experienced ER. Three key clinical features (preoperative chemotherapy (PC), lymph node metastasis of the primary colorectal cancer (LMPCC), and T stage) were used to develop the clinical model. The DL model yielded better performance than the clinical model in the ETC (AUC: 0.67 for the clinical model, 0.76 for the DL model). The DL-C model significantly outperformed the clinical model and DL model (AUC: 0.78 for the DL-C model in the ETC; both, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The model based on CEUS can achieve satisfactory prediction and assist physicians during the therapeutic decision-making process in clinical practice. Key Points: • This is an exploratory study in which ablation-related contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) data from consecutive patients with colorectal cancer liver metastasis (CRLM) were collected simultaneously at multiple institutions. • The deep learning combining with clinical (DL-C) model provided desirable performance for the prediction of early recurrence (ER) after thermal ablation (TA). • The DL-C model based on CEUS provides guidance for TA indication selection and making therapeutic decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Characterization on the response of the jointed rock mass to the stress wave is of great significance for rock engineering and the prevention of dynamic geological disasters. A joint in the rock mass produces discontinuous deformation under dynamic loads and can be weakened on both stiffness and strength, which further affect stress wave propagation in a feedback manner. However, previous numerical models mainly used the linearly elastic model (LEM) (constant stiffness) and the nonlinear Bandis-Barton model (BBM) (compression-strengthening stiffness) to characterize the dynamic response of the rock mass which neglected dynamic damage and stiffness weakening of the joint. To overcome this problem, we adopted a modified BBM (MBBM) to establish an advanced numerical model of the dynamic response of the rock mass by the Universal Distinct Element Code (UDEC). The MBBM is capable of characterizing joint stiffness weakening attributed to the filled particle crushing, which can be also degraded into both LEM and BBM. Our model was well verified by experimental data on stress wave propagation through an artificial filled joint. Dynamic responses of rock masses containing a single joint, a set of parallel joints, and intersected joints were systematically investigated considering the amplitude and incident angle of the incident wave as well as the joint spacing. Results showed that weakening of the joint stiffness had an important impact on the wave transmission and effect of multiple reflections at joints. Compared with previous models, our model has prominent advantages and accuracy in simulating dynamic damage and weakening response of the rock mass. Highlights: A joint constitutive model considering stiffness weakening attribute to filled particle crushing was implemented in UDEC. Dynamic damage of the filled joint and its effect on stress wave propagation was quantitively characterized. Interaction between the stress wave and the rock mass with varied structures was systematically examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study a τ-preconditioner for non-symmetric linear system arising from a steady-state multi-dimensional Riemann-Liouville (RL) fractional diffusion equation. The generalized minimal residual (GMRES) method is applied to solve the preconditioned linear system. Theoretically, we show that the GMRES solver for the preconditioned linear system has a convergence rate independent of discretization stepsizes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first iterative solver with stepsize-independent convergence rate for the non-symmetric linear system. The proposed τ-preconditioner is diagonalizable by the sine transform matrix, thanks to which the matrix-vector multiplication in each iteration step can be fast implemented by the fast sine transform (FST). Hence, the total operation cost of the proposed solver for the non-symmetric problem is linearithmic. Numerical results are reported to show the efficiency of the proposed preconditioner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epoxy resin (EP) is a thermosetting resin with prominent performances and wide applications. However, the inherent brittleness limits its development in the engineering materials area. A liquid bio-based polyester polyol (LLP) with flexible long chains was synthesized in this study by melt polycondensation of corn straw lignin. After being compounded with EP (LLP/EP), the mechanical property, micromorphology and thermal behavior of the composite were evaluated. The experimental result indicated that the fracture brittleness of EP composite was decreased by importing the LLP. The bending and impact strength were up to 113.67 MPa and 51.29 kJ/m2 for 10%-LLP/EP, which were 5.25% and 27% higher than those of unmodified EP. The results of this work build new avenues for the efficient utilization of lignin and the development of low-cost, high-performance and well environmentally adaptable EP composite by renewable resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the challenge of measuring rock bridges in the field and the negligence of progressive damage and changes in stresses within a rock mass when defining rock bridges, it is questionable to evaluate mechanical properties of rock bridges using only geometric parameters. A demonstration is the scale effects of rock bridges, because the same geometric parameter may refer to different sizes and numbers of rock bridges, leading to erroneous equivalent rock mass responses. In this context, in-plane rock bridges in rock slope engineering were equivalent to rock bridges subjected to direct shear by conducting numerical simulations employing the Universal Distinct Element Code (UDEC) and described by constant geometric parameters, i.e., joint persistence, while the sizes and numbers of rock bridges were variant. In this way, the scale effects of rock bridges were investigated from the perspective of load–displacement curves, stress and displacement fields, crack propagations and AE characterizations. The results revealed that the mechanical properties of rock bridges deteriorated with decreasing scales. More specifically, the shear resistance and the area and value of stress concentration decreased with decreasing scale. Furthermore, an uneven distribution of displacement fields in an arc manner moving and degrading away from the load was observed, indicating the sequential failure of multiple rock bridges. It was also found that the propagation of tensile wing cracks was insensitive to scale, while the asperity of macro shear fracture mainly formed by secondary cracks decreased with decreasing scale. In addition, increasing the dispersion of rock bridges would overlap the failure precursors identified by intense AE activities. Based on the abovementioned results, the scale effects of rock bridges were characterized using existing rock bridge potential (RBP) index and degree of persistence (DoP) index. Interestingly, a scale threshold to possibly identify a rock bridge was found. Highlights: The mechanical properties of rock bridges deteriorated with decreasing scales. The scale effects of rock bridges were appropriately characterized using existing indices. A possible scale threshold to identify a rock bridge was found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stress thresholds are commonly used to quantify rock damage in many engineering constructions. In this study, we investigated the relationship between the crack damage stress threshold (σcd), peak strength (σucs) and shape parameter m. The effects of temperature, confining pressure and strain rate on m were also determined. The variation in the normalized quantity σcd/σucs of sandstone with shape parameter m is about 0.8; parameter m decreases with increases in confining pressure. The abrupt point of change in sandstone brittleness is approximately 40 MPa. When the confining pressure exceeds 40 MPa, m decreases slowly. When the strain rate is approximately 100 s−1, the strength and m-value of sandstone increase significantly. Also, m decreases with temperature. At approximately 600 °C, phase transformation of the quartz in sandstone occurs, plasticity increases and m decreases further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A model of a steep bedding rock slope with a slope angle of 50° and rock dip angle of 55° was designed and fabricated, and a large-scale shaking table test was carried out to investigate the acceleration, displacement, acoustic emission, and failure mode under earthquake action. In the vertical direction of the slope, the acceleration amplification factor significantly increased as the elevation increased. In the horizontal slope direction, the acceleration amplification factor decreased with the distance from the slope surface. Under the action of different input wave types, the acceleration response of the slope was markedly difference. The acceleration amplification factor exhibited the change law of first increasing and then decreasing with the increase in the input wave frequency, and became maximum when the frequency was 25 Hz. With the increase in the input wave amplitude, the acceleration amplification factor of the slope exhibited the trend of first increasing and then decreasing. The slope displacement and the acoustic emission parameters increased nonlinearly with the increase in the input wave amplitude, and the process can be divided into two stages: the slow increase period and the sharp increase period. Under seismic wave action, the deformation and failure evolution process of the slope included four stages: (1) the rock layer at the top of slope undergoes tension fracture; (2) the tensile cracks extend downward along the layer to form a locked segment at the toe of the slope; (3) the locked segment shear fractures through the sliding surface; (4) the slope suddenly becomes unstable and slides. The failure mode of the slope model was tension-shear sliding failure. Highlights: Acceleration response law of steep bedding rock slope under earthquake action was studied. Acoustic emission characteristics of steep bedding rock slope under earthquake action was analyzed. Deformation and failure modes of steep bedding rock slope under earthquake action were analyzed. Locked segment had play a key role on steep bedding rock slope stability under earthquake action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pore structure of rock changes significantly during the heat treatment process, which affects the internal emission rate of radon. This study introduces the results of radon emission rate of rock after high temperature and analyzes the effect of the pore structure in rock mass on radon emission. The results show that there is a good positive correlation between temperature and radon emission in rock mass within a certain temperature range, and the higher the temperature, the higher the radon concentration emission. Two igneous rocks have the rate which is highest after the treatment in 400 °C. The absorption and sealing of radon in the microcapillary are the main occurrences of radon in rock mass. This is reflected in the increase in microcapillary porosity and the decrease in DP, which changes the microstructure of the rock and increases the connectivity of the internal pore channels of the rock, thereby increasing the volume and length of the migration channels for radon. These results are helpful to understand the influencing mechanism of radon emission process in rocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An “on-off-on” fluorescent probe LK was synthesized from 2-benzoylpyridine and o-vanillin, which could sequentially detect Fe3+ and F− in DMSO/H2O solutions (v/v = 1/1, HEPES buffer, 1.0 mM, pH 7.0) with large Stokes shift (178 nm). LK exhibited not only high selectivity and sensitivity towards Fe3+ and F−, but also strong anti-interference ability to other ions. LK was coordinated with Fe3+ at a ratio of 2:1, with a binding constant (Ka) of 1.3 × 104 M− 1. The detection limits for Fe3+ and F− were 6.9 × 10− 8 M and 3.0 × 10− 7 M, respectively. Due to its excellent sensing performance, LK was successfully applied in actual water samples and test papers for the detection of Fe3+ and F−. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A better understanding of energy evolution during brittle failure of hard rock is critical for safe excavation of underground openings, insight into rockburst phenomena, and earthquake mechanisms. According to Griffith’s theory of crack propagation, the mechanical behavior of rock during crack propagation is analyzed from a theoretical perspective, and the conversion and distribution of elastic strain energy during crack propagation are then investigated. The analytical experiments are then carried out as a series of uniaxial compression tests of Silurian Longmaxi shale samples using a novel setup that combines X-ray micro-computed tomography with a uniaxial loading apparatus. Results show that the theoretical framework which describes energy conversion and distribution is reliable. On this basis, the evolution characteristics of energies, including elastic strain energy and surface energy, during the brittle failure process of hard rock are revealed. The results may provide a theoretical basis for the mitigation and prevention of rock-induced disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acoustic emission (AE) characterization is an effective technique to indirectly capture the failure process of quasi brittle rock. In previous studies, both experiments and numerical simulations were adopted to investigate the AE characteristics of rocks. However, as the most popular numerical model, the moment tensor model (MTM) cannot be constrained by the experimental result because there is a gap between MTM and experiments in principle, signal processing and energy analysis. In this paper, we developed a particle-velocity-based model (PVBM) that enabled direct monitoring and analysis of the particle velocity in the numerical model and had good robustness. The PVBM imitated the actual experiment and could fill in gaps between the experiment and MTM. AE experiments of marine shale under uniaxial compression were carried out, and the results were simulated by MTM. In general, the variation trend of the experimental result could be presented by MTM. Nevertheless, the magnitudes of AE parameters by MTM presented notable differences of more than several orders of magnitude compared with those by the experiment. We sequentially used PVBM as a proxy to analyse these discrepancies and systematically evaluate the AE characterization of rocks from the experiment to numerical simulation, considering the influence of wave reflection, energy geometrical diffusion, viscous attenuation, particle size and progressive deterioration of rock material. The combination of MTM and PVBM could reasonably and accurately acquire AE characteristics of the actual AE experiment of rocks by making full use of their respective advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study a model for recovering edges in an underlying image from a single blurred image whose entries are only partially known on randomly distributed indices. In the proposed model, blurred image, the underlying image and convolution kernel are all unknowns to be solved. Besides the classical convolution-type data fitting term for image deblurring, our model incorporates nuclear norm prior for blurred image, a total variation (TV) regularization prior for recovering edges, and Tikhonov regularization prior for the blur kernel. We develop a proximal alternating minimization (PAM) iterative method to solve the model and establish its convergence. Efficient implementations are proposed for solving the subproblems arising from PAM iterations. Numerical results are reported to show the performance of our proposed approach is better than the method using TV regularization prior on the blur kernel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One important challenge in the post-genomic era is to explore disease mechanisms by efficiently integrating different types of biological data. In fact, a single disease is usually caused through multiple genes products such as protein complexes rather than single gene. Therefore, it is meaningful for us to discover protein communities from the protein–protein interaction network and use them for inferring disease–disease associations. In this article, we propose a new framework including protein–protein networks, disease–gene associations and disease–complex pairs to cluster protein complexes and infer disease associations. Complexes discovered by our approach is superior in quality (Sn, PPV and ACC) and clustering quantity than other four popular methods on three PPI networks. A systematic analysis shows that disease pairs sharing more protein complexes (such as Glucose and Lipid Metabolic Disorders) are more similar and overlapping proteins may have different roles in different diseases. These findings can provide clinical scholars and medical practitioners with new ideas on disease identification and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1967, Grünbaum conjectured that any d-dimensional polytope with d + s ≤ 2d vertices has at least ϕ k (d + s , d) = ( d + 1 k + 1 ) + ( d k + 1 ) − ( d + 1 − s k + 1 ) k-faces. We prove this conjecture and also characterize the cases in which equality holds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To develop a radiomics model based on dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) to predict early and late recurrence in patients with a single HCC lesion ≤ 5 cm in diameter after thermal ablation. Procedures: We enrolled patients who underwent thermal ablation for HCC in our hospital from April 2004 to April 2017. Radiomics based on two branch convolution recurrent network was utilized to analyze preoperative dynamic CEUS image of HCC lesions to establish CEUS model, in comparison to the conventional ultrasound (US), clinical, and combined models. Clinical follow-up of HCC recurrence after ablation were taken as reference standard to evaluate the predicted performance of CEUS model and other models. Results: We finally analyzed 318 patients (training cohort: test cohort = 255:63). The combined model showed better performance for early recurrence than CUES (in training cohort, AUC, 0.89 vs. 0.84, P < 0.001; in test cohort, AUC, 0.84 vs. 0.83, P = 0.272), US (P < 0.001), or clinical model (P < 0.001). For late recurrence prediction, the combined model showed the best performance than the CEUS (C-index, in training cohort, 0.77 vs. 0.76, P = 0.009; in test cohort, 0.77 vs. 0.68, P < 0.001), US (P < 0.001), or clinical model (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The CEUS model based on dynamic CEUS radiomics performed well in predicting early HCC recurrence after ablation. The combined model combining CEUS, US radiomics, and clinical factors could stratify the high risk of late recurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study was designed and performed to assess the ability of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT) radiomics features combined with machine learning methods to differentiate between primary and metastatic lung lesions and to classify histological subtypes. Moreover, we identified the optimal machine learning method. Methods: A total of 769 patients pathologically diagnosed with primary or metastatic lung cancers were enrolled. We used the LIFEx package to extract radiological features from semiautomatically segmented PET and CT images within the same volume of interest. Patients were randomly distributed in training and validation sets. Through the evaluation of five feature selection methods and nine classification methods, discriminant models were established. The robustness of the procedure was controlled by tenfold cross-validation. The model's performance was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Results: Based on the radiomics features extracted from PET and CT images, forty-five discriminative models were established. Combined with appropriate feature selection methods, most classifiers showed excellent discriminative ability with AUCs greater than 0.75. In the differentiation between primary and metastatic lung lesions, the feature selection method gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT) combined with the classifier GBDT achieved the highest classification AUC of 0.983 in the PET dataset. In contrast, the feature selection method eXtreme gradient boosting combined with the classifier random forest (RF) achieved the highest AUC of 0.828 in the CT dataset. In the discrimination between squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma, the combination of GBDT feature selection method with GBDT classification had the highest AUC of 0.897 in the PET dataset. In contrast, the combination of the GBDT feature selection method with the RF classification had the highest AUC of 0.839 in the CT dataset. Most of the decision tree (DT)-based models were overfitted, suggesting that the classification method was not appropriate for practical application. Conclusion: 18F-FDG PET/CT radiomics features combined with machine learning methods can distinguish between primary and metastatic lung lesions and identify histological subtypes in lung cancer. GBDT and RF were considered optimal classification methods for the PET and CT datasets, respectively, and GBDT was considered the optimal feature selection method in our analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to their unique properties, paper-based biosensors have attracted attention as inexpensive devices for on-site analysis. To achieve fast and sensitive detection of analytes, immobilization of enzymes with high apparent activities on paper is highly desirable; however, this is challenging. Herein, we report an improved approach to attach a malathion degrading enzyme, PoOPHM9, on paper via an interlocking network of Pluronic F127 (PF127)–poly(acrylic acid)–enzyme conjugates. The addition of PF127 improved retention of enzymatic activity as the apparent kinetic constant Vmax of the immobilized enzyme increased two-fold compared with the paper prepared without PF127. The PF127–poly(acrylic acid)–PoOPHM9 papers provided rapid colorimetric detection of malathion at 0.1–50 mM. The detection was completed within 5 min using a smartphone and image analysis software. As a proof-of-concept, malathion-contaminated water, plant, and apple samples were analyzed with the papers successfully. This material is promising for on-site rapid analysis of malathion-contaminated samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]