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With the rapid development of depth sensor, more and more RGB-D videos could be obtained. Identifying the foreground in RGB-D videos is a fundamental and important task. However, the existing salient object detection (SOD) works only focus on either static RGB-D images or RGB videos, ignoring the collaborating of RGB-D and video information. In this paper, we first collect a new annotated RGB-D video SOD (ViDSOD-100) dataset, which contains 100 videos within a total of 9362 frames, acquired from diverse natural scenes. All the frames in each video are manually annotated to a high-quality saliency annotation. Moreover, we propose a new baseline model, named attentive triple-fusion network (ATF-Net), for RGB-D video salient object detection. Our method aggregates the appearance information from an input RGB image, spatio-temporal information from an estimated motion map, and the geometry information from the depth map by devising three modality-specific branches and a multi-modality integration branch. The modality-specific branches extract the representation of different inputs, while the multi-modality integration branch combines the multi-level modality-specific features by introducing the encoder feature aggregation (MEA) modules and decoder feature aggregation (MDA) modules. The experimental findings conducted on both our newly introduced ViDSOD-100 dataset and the well-established DAVSOD dataset highlight the superior performance of the proposed ATF-Net.This performance enhancement is demonstrated both quantitatively and qualitatively, surpassing the capabilities of current state-of-the-art techniques across various domains, including RGB-D saliency detection, video saliency detection, and video object segmentation. We shall release our data, our results, and our code upon the publication of this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GWASs have linked the 3p21.1 locus, which is associated with the expression levels of NEK4, to bipolar disorder. Here, we use integrative analyses of GWAS statistics and eQTL annotations to establish that elevated NEK4 expression in the hippocampus is associated with an increased risk of bipolar disorder. To further study this association, we generate transgenic male mice that conditionally overexpress NEK4 in the pyramidal neurons of the adult forebrain, or use AAV to overexpress NEK4 in the dorsal hippocampus. Compared to the control mice, male mice of both strains exhibit a shift from a diurnal anxiety state to a nocturnal normal or anxiolytic-like state. Overexpression of NEK4 also affects the circadian fluctuations in dendritic spine morphology and synaptic structure. Furthermore, we show that treatment with lithium ameliorates the effects of NEK4 overexpression in male mice. We then perform phosphoproteomic analyses to demonstrate that the diurnal and nocturnal phosphoproteomic profiles of male control and NEK4 overexpressing mice are different. These results suggest that male mice with different NEK4 expression levels may recapitulate some of the core features observed in patients with bipolar disorder, indicating that interruption of the homeostatic dynamics of synapses may underlie the emotional swings in bipolar disorder. The expression levels of NEK4 have been associated with bipolar disorder in GWAS. Here, the authors examine the physiological effects of overexpressing NEK4 in the hippocampus of mice, showing that it leads to aberrations in circadian traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Defective renal excretion and increased production of uric acid engender hyperuricemia that predisposes to gout. However, molecular mechanisms underlying defective uric acid excretion remain largely unknown. Here, we report a rare genetic variant of gout-unprecedented NUMB gene within a hereditary human gout family, which was identified by an unbiased genome-wide sequencing approach. This dysfunctional missense variant within the conserved region of the NUMB gene (NUMBR630H) underwent intracellular redistribution and degradation through an autophagy-dependent mechanism. Mechanistically, we identified the uric acid transporter, ATP Binding Cassette Subfamily G Member 2 (ABCG2), as a novel NUMB-binding protein through its intracellular YxNxxF motif. In polarized renal tubular epithelial cells (RTECs), NUMB promoted ABCG2 trafficking towards the apical plasma membrane. Genetic loss-of-function of NUMB resulted in redistribution of ABCG2 in the basolateral domain and ultimately defective excretion of uric acid. To recapitulate the clinical situation in human gout patients, we generated a NUMBR630H knock-in mouse strain, which showed marked increases of serum urate and decreased uric acid excretion. The NUMBR630H knock-in mice exhibited clinically relevant hyperuricemia. In summary, we have uncovered a novel NUMB-mediated mechanism of uric acid excretion and a functional missense variant of NUMB in humans, which causes hyperuricemia and gout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate 18F-FDG myocardial metabolism imaging (MMI) using a total-body PET/CT scanner and explore the feasible scan duration to guide the clinical practice. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 41 patients who underwent myocardial perfusion-metabolism imaging to assess myocardial viability. The patients underwent 18F-FDG MMI with a total-body PET/CT scanner using a list-mode for 600 s. PET data were trimmed and reconstructed to simulate images of 600-s, 300-s, 120-s, 60-s, and 30-s acquisition time (G600-G30). Images among different groups were subjectively evaluated using a 5-point Likert scale. Semi-quantitative evaluation was performed using standardized uptake value (SUV), myocardial to background activity ratio (M/B), signal to noise ratio (SNR), contrast to noise ratio (CNR), contrast ratio (CR), and coefficient of variation (CV). Myocardial viability analysis included indexes of Mismatch and Scar. G600 served as the reference. Results: Subjective visual evaluation indicated a decline in the scores of image quality with shortening scan duration. All the G600, G300, and G120 images were clinically acceptable (score ≥ 3), and their image quality scores were 4.9 ± 0.3, 4.8 ± 0.4, and 4.5 ± 0.8, respectively (P > 0.05). Moreover, as the scan duration reduced, the semi-quantitative parameters M/B, SNR, CNR, and CR decreased, while SUV and CV increased, and significant difference was observed in G300-G30 groups when comparing to G600 group (P < 0.05). For myocardial viability analysis of left ventricular and coronary segments, the Mismatch and Scar values of G300-G30 groups were almost identical to G600 group (ICC: 0.968-1.0, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Sufficient image quality for clinical diagnosis could be achieved at G120 for MMI using a total-body PET/CT scanner, while the image quality of G30 was acceptable for myocardial viability analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is the major complication of diabetes concomitant with gut dysbiosis and glycometabolic disorder, which are strongly associated with bile acid (BA) metabolism. Yet studies investigating the BA metabolism involving in DKD pathogenesis are limited. This study aimed to explore the metabolomic profiling of BAs in DKD and analyze its association with DKD progression. Methods: An ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was established to quantify BAs in the plasma, fecal and urine samples of patients with DKD or T2DM and healthy individuals (n = 30 for each group). The key BAs associated with DKD were identified by orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) and receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Polynomial regression and Pearson's correlation analyses were performed to assess the correlation between the key BAs and the clinical indicators reflecting DKD progression. Results: Metabolomic profiling of 50 kinds of BAs presented the markedly step-wise alterations of BAs in plasma and feces as well as the little in urine of patients with DKD. Eight kinds of BAs in the plasma, eight kinds in the feces and three kinds in the urine were abnormally expressed, accompanying with the increased conjugated/unconjugated ratios of cholic acid, deoxycholic acid, chenodeoxycholic acid, ursodeoxycholic acid and hyocholic acid in the plasma, and of cholic acid, chenodeoxycholic acid and lithocholic acid in the feces. Moreover, the increased plasma level of glycochenodeoxycholic acid, and the increased fecal levels of glycolithocholic acid, 7-ketodeoxycholic acid and chenodeoxycholic acid-3-β-D-glucuronide are strongly correlated with the clinical indicators reflecting DKD progression, including eGFR, 24 h urinary protein and 24 h urinary microalbumin. Conclusions: Our study for the first time disclosed the specific alterations of BA metabolism reflecting the step-wise progression of DKD, providing the basis for early identification and therapeutical strategies for DKD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to effectively utilize the nutrients in apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) kernel, the apricot kernel oil was extracted by two pressing methods, i.e. cold pressing method and hot pressing method. The apricot kernel oils obtained were firstly debitterized and refined, and then their physicochemical properties and oxidation activities were determined by Lovibond tintometer, Rancimat method, differential scanning calorimeter, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography-ion mobility mass spectrometry (GC-IMS). The results indicated that the baking pre-treatment on the apricot kernel in the hot pressing method increased the oil yield, changed the fatty acid profile, enriched the flavor characteristics, and prolonged the antioxidant properties of the oil. However, the apricot kernel oil in cold pressing method has a relatively lighter color and higher content of amygdalin. In conclusion, both cold and hot pressing methods are suitable pressing methods to obtain the apricot kernel oil that can meet people's edible standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to efficiently utilize the apricot kernel flour (AKF), the composite bread with the partial substitute of wheat flour was developed by evaluating its effects of protein content in AKF on the bread quality properties including the texture, color, specific volume and baking loss. In addition, the functional properties of protein in AKF were also investigated so as to understand its correlation with the composite bread quality. The results indicate that apricot kernel flour with different protein contents had a substantial impact on the composite bread's quality. At the same time, the emulsifying activity, water absorption capacity of water, foaming capacity and surface hydrophobicity of proteins in AKF are significantly correlated with the composite bread's quality characteristics, these factors may be the important impact of the composite bread's quality. Additionally, the composite bread made by 10% replacement of wheat flour with the AKF of medium-fat content (MAF) was bright in color, soft, had a small baking loss, a unique apricot kernel flavor and improved sensory properties. In summary, all the results indicate that the apricot kernel meal could be efficiently utilized by replacing a certain wheat flour to make the composite bread reducing its waste and Enriching bread nutrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, N-hydroxymethylacrylamide (N-MA) was first treated on cotton fabric by pad-dry processes following with argon plasma treatment to induce the graft copolymerization of N-MA on the fabric, and then the fabric was chlorinated with sodium hypochlorite to impart its antimicrobial property. The presence of N-MA on the cotton fabric surface was confirmed with Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) spectra, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The breaking strength, weight change, crystallinity, and antimicrobial property of the modified fabric were also characterized. The results showed that the fabric completely inactivated S. aureus and E. coli O157:H7 within 10 min of contact time and the antimicrobial property was rechargeable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Camouflaged object detection (COD) is to distinguish the target objects with varied sizes and shapes from the low-contrast real-world scenarios. Although deep learning-based methods have made great progress, it is still challenging to accurately detect and segment the complete and edge-preserving camouflaged objects. In this paper, we propose a novel cross-level context supplement network (CCSNet) to effectively utilize cross-level features to provide additional information, which can compensate for the deficiencies of the current level potentials. Specifically, we develop a selective cross-level aggregation (SCA) module to fully explore the cross-level different but complementary cues to detect camouflaged objects with different scales. It makes each level of the network adaptively focus on the informative features with the assist of the channel dependencies and spatial relationship provided by the adjacent levels. Furthermore, considering that the camouflaged objects are hardly distinguishable from the backgrounds, we design a location and boundary supplement (LBS) module to directly incorporate the global and edge information to different levels, thus enhancing the spatial coherence of interior regions and reducing the uncertainty of boundary regions. Comprehensive experiments are conducted on four public datasets to demonstrate the effectiveness of our CCSNet. In addition, we apply our model to two other dense pixel prediction tasks to further demonstrate the effectiveness and generalization ability of our network. The code, trained model and predicted maps will be available upon acceptance of this paper for publication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep learning techniques have been applied to the graph drawing of node-link diagrams to help figure out user preference of layout in recent research. However, when revisiting existing studies, only stress model and dimensional reduction methods are utilized in the unsupervised learning of graph drawing tasks since their gradient descent conditions can be easily constructed, and few works have explored their scalability on large graphs. In this paper, we propose a framework that can adapt most of the graph layout methods to a form of loss function and develop an implementation DeepFD, which takes the force-directed algorithm as the prototype to design the loss function. Our model is built with the graph-LSTM as encoder and multilayer perceptron as decoder and trained with dataset split from huge graphs with millions of nodes by Louvain. We design a set of qualitative and quantitative experiments to evaluate our method and compare with classical layout techniques such as F-R and K-K algorithms, while deep-learning based models with various architecture or loss function are adopted to perform ablation experiments. The results indicate that our developed approach can generate a high-quality layout of large graph within a low time cost, and the model we propose shows strong robustness and high efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mainstream RGB-T crowd counting methods use cross-modal complementary information to improve the counting accuracy. However, most of them neglect the effect of lighting variation on cross-modal data fusion. In this paper, we propose a Light-sensitive and Adaptive Fusion Network (LAFNet) for RGB-T crowd counting. Specifically, we present a Modality-specific Feature Extraction Module (MFEM) that fuses the lighting information, and a Light-sensitive and Adaptive Fusion Module (LAFM) that adjusts the fusion strategies of different modalities according to the lighting conditions of the input crowd images. Moreover, we propose an Improved Multi-scale Extraction Module (IMEM) to extract and fuse multi-modal at different scales. We evaluate our method on the RGBT-CC dataset and the experiment results show the validity of the model and its effectiveness in various scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nutritional programming has the potential to enhance digestible carbohydrate utilization in fish; however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The present study compared the metabolome, glucose metabolism-related gene expressions, and global DNA methylation between yellow catfish larvae, which were parental programmed by a high carbohydrate diet (HC) or not (CON). In total, 1509 differentially altered metabolites (DAMs) were identified. Among them, the contents of key intermediates of TCA cycle and pentose phosphate pathway, citrate, and D-glycero-L-galacto-octulose were higher in HC than in CON. Meanwhile, the contents of two epigenetic modification-related metabolites, 2-hydroxyglutaric acid and N1-acetylspermidine, differed significantly between HC and CON. Thirteen KEGG pathways were significantly enriched and were mainly linked to amino acid and lipid metabolism. Additionally, the pentose phosphate pathway was enriched. The mRNA expressions of glycolytic genes gk, pk, and pfk, as well as the glucose transport gene sglt1, were significantly higher in HC than in CON. Global DNA methylation was significantly higher in HC than in CON. These results suggested that high carbohydrate programming could improve glucose utilization in yellow catfish larvae by modulating the TCA cycle and pentose phosphate pathway, and enhancing the conversion of glucose to amino acids. Epigenetic modifications might be the underlying mechanisms by which nutritional programming affects glucose metabolism in fish, while 2-hydroxyglutaric acid and N1-acetylspermidine are two critical metabolites that mediate epigenetic modifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cough is a common symptom that affects patients' recovery and quality of life after esophagectomy. This study sought to investigate trends in postoperative cough and the factors that influence cough. Methods: A total of 208 of 225 patients were enrolled in this study. The Mandarin Chinese version of the Leicester Cough Questionnaire was administered the day before surgery and at three time points (1 week, 1 month, and 3 months) after esophagectomy to assess patient-reported outcomes. Results: All patients' LCQ-MC scores after surgery were lower than presurgery (P < 0.05), with the lowest score found 1 week after esophagectomy. Factors associated with a cough 1 week after surgery included clinical stage of cancer (OR 0.782, 95% CI 0.647–0.944, P = 0.011), anastomotic position (OR 1.241, 95% CI 1.069–1.441, P = 0.005), duration of surgery (OR 0.759, 95% CI 0.577–0.998, P = 0.049), and subcarinal lymph node dissection (OR 0.682, 95% CI 0.563–0.825, P < 0.001). Factors associated with a cough one month after surgery included clinical stage (OR 0.782, 95% CI 0.650–0.940, P = 0.009), anastomotic position (OR 1.293, 95% CI 1.113–1.503, P = 0.001), and maintaining a semi-reclining position (OR 1.440, 95% CI 1.175–1.766, P < 0.001). Factors associated with a cough 3 months after surgery were clinical stage (OR 0.741, 95% CI 0.591–0.928, P = 0.009) and anastomotic position (OR 1.220, 95% CI 1.037–1.435, P = 0.016). Conclusions: This study showed that the factors influencing postoperative cough differed over time following esophagectomy. These results may warrant prospective intervention to better manage patients undergoing surgery for esophageal cancer to prevent postoperative cough. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Currently, a standard, optimal surgical procedure is still lacking for gynecomastia. Despite the development of a variety of surgical interventions, these techniques were often limited to patients with Simon I and II. The present study aimed to introduce a novel technique for all types and grades of gynecomastia, and reported the preliminary results. Methods: Patients who received single axillary incision reverse sequence endoscopic nipple-sparing mastectomy (R-E-NSM) from March 2021 to March 2023 were enrolled at a single institution. The data from 3-month follow-up cut-off were collected prospectively and analyzed to determine the short-term esthetic and safety results of this technique, as well as the learning curve. Results: A total of 159 single axillary incision reverse sequence endoscopic nipple-sparing mastectomy procedures were performed in 81 gynecomastia patients. Among these 81 patients, 7 patients (8.6%) were classified as Simon grade I, 29 patients (35.8%) as grade IIa, 24 patients (29.6%) as grade IIb, and 21 patients (25.9%) as grade III. In the patient-reported cosmetic results, the overall satisfaction score was 8.4 ± 1.4. A total of 74.1% of patients were highly satisfied, and 25.9% were satisfied. The overall complication rate was 10.1%, and only 1 patient had a major complication. According to the cumulative sum plot analysis, approximately 12 cases were needed for surgeon B and 11 cases for surgeon C to decrease their operation time significantly. Conclusions: R-E-NSM is safe and effective for all Simon grade gynecomastia patients, with excellent cosmetic results and a short learning curve. However, a long-term follow-up assessment is still needed. Level of Evidence IV: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gastroparesis is a major complication following complete mesocolic excision (CME) and significantly impacts patient outcomes. This study aimed to create a machine learning model to pinpoint key risk factors before, during, and after surgery, effectively predicting the risk of gastroparesis after CME. Methods: The study involved 1146 patients with colon cancer, out of which 95 developed gastroparesis. Data were collected on 34 variables, including demographics, chronic conditions, pre-surgery test results, types of surgery, and intraoperative details. Four machine learning techniques were employed: extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM), and k-nearest neighbor (KNN). The evaluation involved k-fold cross-validation, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, calibration curves, decision curve analysis (DCA), and external validation. Results: XGBoost excelled in its performance for predictive models. ROC analysis showed high accuracy for XGBoost, with area under the curve (AUC) scores of 0.976 for the training set and 0.906 for the validation set. K-fold cross-validation confirmed the model's stability, and calibration curves indicated high predictive accuracy. Additionally, DCA highlighted XGBoost's superior patient benefits for intervention treatments. An AUC of 0.77 in external validation demonstrated XGBoost's strong generalization ability. Conclusion: The XGBoost-fueled predictive model for post-surgery colon cancer patients proved highly effective. It underlined gastroparesis as a significant post-operative issue, associated with advanced age, prolonged surgeries, extensive intraoperative blood loss, surgical techniques, low serum protein levels, anemia, diabetes, and hypothyroidism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lupus nephritis (LN) is an immunoinflammatory glomerulonephritis associated with renal involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Given the close relationship between plasma amino acids (AAs) and renal function, this study aimed to elucidate the plasma AA profiles in LN patients and identify key AAs and diagnostic patterns that distinguish LN patients from those with SLE and healthy controls. Participants were categorized into three groups: normal controls (NC), SLE, and LN. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was employed to quantify AA levels in human plasma. Principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) were utilized to identify key AAs. The diagnostic capacity of the models was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and area under the ROC curve (AUC) values. Significant alterations in plasma AA profiles were observed in LN patients compared to the SLE and NC groups. The OPLS-DA model effectively separated LN patients from the SLE and NC groups. A joint model using histidine (His), lysine (Lys), and tryptophan (Trp) demonstrated exceptional diagnostic performance, achieving an AUC of 1.0 with 100% sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy in predicting LN. Another joint model comprising arginine (Arg), valine (Val), and Trp also exhibited robust predictive performance, with an AUC of 0.998, sensitivity of 93.80%, specificity of 100%, and accuracy of 95.78% in distinguishing between SLE and LN. The joint forecasting models showed excellent predictive capabilities in identifying LN and categorizing lupus disease status. This approach provides a novel perspective for the early identification, prevention, treatment, and management of LN based on variations in plasma AA levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lower-grade gliomas (LGGs), despite their generally indolent clinical course, are characterized by invasive growth patterns and genetic heterogeneity, which can lead to malignant transformation, underscoring the need for improved prognostic markers and therapeutic strategies. This study utilized single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and bulk RNA-seq to identify a novel cell type, referred to as "Prol," characterized by increased proliferation and linked to a poor prognosis in patients with LGG, particularly under the context of immunotherapy interventions. A signature, termed the Prol signature, was constructed based on marker genes specific to the Prol cell type, utilizing an artificial intelligence (AI) network that integrates traditional regression, machine learning, and deep learning algorithms. This signature demonstrated enhanced predictive accuracy for LGG prognosis compared to existing models and showed pan-cancer prognostic potential. The mRNA expression of the key gene PTTG1 from the Prol signature was further validated through quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Our findings not only provide novel insights into the molecular and cellular mechanisms of LGG but also offer a promising avenue for the development of targeted biomarkers and therapeutic interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Integrating the spatial flow perspective, temporal trade-off perspective, and future tendency perspective enables a comprehensive assessment of nature's contributions to people (NCPs). However, assessments that integrate these perspectives and combine them with regional ecological restoration policy remain limited. Objectives: Based on the perspective of spatial flow and considering the two dimensions of nature's contributions and people's needs, we assessed and forecasted water-related NCPs, including water yield (NCP6), water purification (NCP7), and soil conservation (NCP8), from the Loess Plateau to downstream regions of the Yellow River in China. Methods: To forecast the future tendencies of the NCPs and their temporal trade-offs, we simulate land use changes based on rapid landscape restoration and slow landscape restoration under five shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) from 2020 to 2100. Results: The results showed that the spatial distributions of the values of the three NCPs differ greatly from the corresponding values of nature's contributions. The soil conservation NCP and water purification NCP will decrease under all scenarios, while the water yield NCP will be stable in most of the scenarios except SSP3. The soil conservation NCP showed a faster decrease under R2 compared to R1, with the highest rate observed at 2.11%. Conversely, the water purification NCP and water yield NCP experienced a faster decrease under R1 than under R2, with rates of 8.61% and 14.30% respectively. The rapid landscape restoration will have a more positive impact on the soil conservation NCP, and a more negative impact on the other two water-related NCPs than the slow landscape restoration. Conclusions: This assessment provides a forecast of the future benefits of landscape restoration from dual dimensions of nature's contributions and people's needs, indicating the importance of integrating the future changes in both dimensions when making regional landscape restoration policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To identify the biodistribution and diagnostic performance of a novel fibroblast activation protein (FAP) targeted positron emission tomography (PET) tracer, [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-GPFAPI-04, in patients with solid tumors in a head-to-head comparison with [18F]F-FDG. Methods: Twenty-six patients histologically proven with cancers of nasopharyngeal (n = 5), esophagus (n = 5), gastro-esophagus (n = 1), stomach (n = 7), liver (n = 3), and colorectum (n = 5) were recruited for [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-GPFAPI-04 and [18F]F-FDG PET/CT scans on consecutive days. The primary endpoint was the diagnostic efficacy, with the histological diagnosis and the follow-up results selected as the gold standard. The secondary endpoint was the background uptake pattern. Two experienced nuclear medicine physicians who were blinded to the gold standard results while having essential awareness of the clinical context reviewed the images and labeled lesions by consensus for subsequent software-assisted lesion segmentation. Additionally, background organs were automatically segmented, assisted by artificial intelligence. Volume, mean, and maximum standard uptake values (SUVmean and SUVmax) of all segmentations were recorded. P < 0.05 was deemed as statistically significant. Results: Significant glandular uptake of [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-GPFAPI-04 was detected in the thyroid, pancreas, and submandibular glands, while moderate uptake was observed in the parotid glands. The myocardium and myometrium exhibited 2–3 times higher uptake of the radiotracer than that of the background levels in blood and liver. A total of 349 targeted lesions, consisting of 324 malignancies and 25 benign lesions, were segmented. [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-GPFAPI-04 is more sensitive than [18F]F-FDG, especially for abdominopelvic dissemination (1.000 vs. 0.475, P < 0.001). Interestingly, [18F]F-FDG demonstrated higher sensitivity for lung metastasis compared to [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-GPFAPI-04 (0.845 vs. 0.682, P = 0.003). The high glandular uptake made it difficult to delineate lesions in close proximity and masked two metastatic lesions in these organs. Conclusion: Despite prominent glandular uptake, [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-GPFAPI-04 demonstrates favorable diagnostic performance. It is a promising probe scaffold for further development of FAP-targeted tumor theranostic agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When accounting for the social–ecological impact of an ecological restoration program, both objective environmental contexts and people's subjective perceptions are required. While this kind of environmental impact assessment lacks a comprehensive perspective. We use the difference-in-differences model to evaluate the effect of the greenness of the landscape after ecological migration in the Qilian Mountains in China; and analysis of variance and fixed effects models are used to evaluate the effects of such ecological restoration programs on local people's perceptions. The results show that the ecological migration program in the Qilian Mountains has been successful at not only significantly improving remotely sensed greenness at the landscape scale, but also at enhancing immigrants' environmental perceptions. These findings demonstrate the environmental impacts of ecological migration from a social–ecological perspective, and can provide methodological implications for landscape planning to support a better understanding of ecological restoration programs in the drylands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The characteristics of early-onset (onset age <50 years) and later-onset (onset age ≽ 50 years) cancers differ significantly. Identifying novel risk factors for both types of cancer is crucial for increasing awareness of cancer prevention and for reducing its burden. This study aimed to analyze the trends in incidence and risk factors for early-onset and late-onset cancers. We conducted a prospective study by drawing data from the Kailuan Study. This study included 6,741 participants with cancer (624 with early-onset cancer and 6,117 with later-onset cancer) and 6,780 matched controls among the 186,249 participants who underwent Kailuan health examinations from 2006 to 2019. The primary outcomes were cancer incidence rates, and associated risk factors for early- and later-onset cancer. Weighted Cox regression was used to calculate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals of each exposure factor for early- and later-onset cancer by cancer type. Population-attributable risk proportions were used to estimate the number of cases that could be prevented by eliminating a risk factor from the population. Except for liver cancer, incidence rates for nearly all types of cancer increased during the study period. Smoking, alcohol consumption, lipid metabolism disorders, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, fatty liver, and inflammation were associated with a significantly increased risk of cancer at multiple sites, but risk factors for cancer incidence differed by site. Smoking, alcohol consumption, inflammation, and hypertension were the major contributors to preventable cancer. The incidence of several different types of cancer, including early-onset cancer, is increasing in northeastern China. Differences in risk factors between early-onset and later-onset malignancies may contribute to the divergence in the observed changes in incidence trends between these two specific types of cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in stalled motor function recovery under the chronic phase. One of the reasons due to the presence of ongoing inflammation. Therefore, regulating the status of immune cells may help reopen the window for neural repair, which represents a potential therapeutic target. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether this could be achieved in mice with cervical 5 crush CSCI (4 W) by utilizing a concentration of 0.5 mg/kg of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to stimulate microglia/macrophages. Additionally, the mice underwent rehabilitation training for another 6 weeks. Our results showed that systemic injection of LPS enhanced the effects of forelimb rehabilitation training, as evaluated through single pellet grasping (SPG). Electrophysiological studies revealed the restoration of cortical drive to the injured side's forelimb muscles in the training combined with LPS group. Tract tracing studies demonstrated the reconstruction of cortical innervation to the cervical spinal cord. Furthermore, the levels of pro-inflammatory phenotype markers, such as inducible nitric oxide synthase (INOS) and CD68, decreased, while the expression of anti-inflammatory phenotype markers, including arginase 1 (ARG-1) and CD206, increased. Importantly, this phenotypic switch in microglia/macrophages was accompanied by an increase in phagocytic activity markers as indicated by BODIPY + IBA1 + staining. Collectively, our data suggests that low-dose LPS improves the effects of rehabilitation training by regulating the phenotypic transformation of microglia/macrophages in CSCI. This study provides a fresh perspective and intervention direction for the clinical treatment of chronic spinal cord injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Involving typically developing (TD) children in delivering interventions can be an effective strategy conducive to long-lasting and generalized behavior changes for their siblings with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this study, we recruited two sibling dyads and investigated the extent to which TD children could deliver the model-lead-test (MLT) strategy using a self-monitoring checklist when teaching a range of skills to their siblings with ASD. Using the multiple-baseline-across-behaviors design, we found that the self-monitoring checklist effectively produced a high level of treatment fidelity from TD children as they implemented the MLT strategy which, in turn, improved the target skills of their siblings with ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current representatives of the family Natrialbaceae within the class Halobacteria were subjected to phylogenetic, phylogenomic, and comparative genomic analyses. The current species of Halobiforma and Halomontanus were found to be related to those of Natronobacterium and Natronoglomus, respectively. According to the cutoff value of average amino acid identity (AAI) (≤ 76%) proposed to differentiate genera within the family Natrialbaceae, Halobiforma, and Natronoglomus should be merged with Natronobacterium and Halomontanus, respectively. Beyond these, four novel halophilic archaeal strains, CCL63T, AD-5T, CG52T, and KLK7T, isolated from three saline lakes and a saline-alkaline land in China, were simultaneously subjected to polyphasic classification. The phenotypic, phylogenetic, phylogenomic, and comparative genomic analyses indicated that strain CCL63T (= CGMCC 1.18663T = JCM 35096T) represents a novel genus of the family Natrialbaceae, strains AD-5T (= CGMCC 1.13783T = JCM 33734T) and CG52T (= CGMCC 1.17139T = JCM 34160T) represent two novel species of the genus Natronococcus, and strain KLK7T (= MCCC 4K00128T = KCTC 4307T) represents a novel species of Haloterrigena. Halovalidus salilacus gen. nov., sp. nov., Natronococcus wangiae sp. nov., Natronococcus zhouii sp. nov., and Haloterrigena salinisoli sp. nov. are further proposed based on these type strains accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantitative structure–property relationships have been extensively studied in the field of predicting retention times in liquid chromatography (LC). However, making transferable predictions is inherently complex because retention times are influenced by both the structure of the molecule and the chromatographic method used. Despite decades of development and numerous published machine learning models, the practical application of predicting small molecule retention time remains limited. The resulting models are typically limited to specific chromatographic conditions and the molecules used in their training and evaluation. Here, we have developed a comprehensive dataset comprising over 10,000 experimental retention times. These times were derived from 30 different reversed-phase liquid chromatography methods and pertain to a collection of 343 small molecules representing a wide range of chemical structures. These chromatographic methods encompass common LC setups for studying the retention behavior of small molecules. They offer a wide range of examples for modeling retention time with different LC setups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epilepsy is a common neurological disease. Increasing evidence has highlighted the role of miRNAs in the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of neurological diseases such as epilepsy. In this study, we established a lithium chloride–pilocarpine epilepsy mouse model, performed miRNA sequencing of hippocampal tissue samples, and compared the obtained miRNA expression profile with that of normal control mice to determine differences in expression levels. We found that 55 miRNAs were differentially expressed in status epilepticus mice compared with normal control mice, with 38 upregulated and 17 downregulated miRNAs. Through subsequent analysis of the five downregulated miRNAs (mmu-let-7a-1-3p, mmu-let-7a-2-3p, mmu-let-7c-5p, mmu-let-7d-5p, and mmu-let-7e-5p) with the most significant differences in expression, the key pathways involved included the MAPK signaling pathway and focal adhesion, among others. Therefore, we believe that let-7 family miRNAs may be potential therapeutic targets for epilepsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The interaction between CD47 and signal-regulatory protein-alpha (SIRPα) inhibits phagocytosis, and their clinicopathological characteristics have been evaluated in various diseases. However, the significance of CD47 and SIRPα expression, as well as the combined effect, in Extranodal Natural killer/T-cell Lymphoma (ENKTL) remains uncertain. Methods: In total, 76 newly diagnosed ENKTL patients (mean age 49.9 years, 73.7% male) were included in this study. CD47 and SIRPα expression were examined by immunohistochemistry. Survival analyses were conducted through Kaplan-Meier curves and the Cox regression model. Results: Seventy-one (93.4%) cases were categorized as the CD47 positive group and 59 (77.6%) cases were categorized as the SIRPα positive group. CD47-negative cases had more advanced-stage illness (P = 0.001), while SIRPα-positive cases showed significantly lower levels of high-density lipoprotein (P < 0.001). In univariable analysis, CD47, SIRPα expression, and their combination were significantly associated with prognosis (P < 0.05). In multivariable analysis, only positive SIRPα expression remained significantly associated with superior overall survival (Hazard ratio [HR] 0.446; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.207–0.963; P = 0.004). Furthermore, SIRPα expression could re-stratify the survival of patients in ECOG (< 2), advanced CA stage, PINK (HR), CD38-positive, PD1-positive, and CD30-positive groups. Conclusions: SIRPα status was a potential independent prognostic factor for ENKTL. The prognostic significance of CD47 expression and the interaction between CD47 and SIRPα in ENKTL need further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of convolutional neural networks (CNNs), salient object detection methods have made great progress in performance. Most methods are designed with complex structures to aggregate the multi-level feature maps, to reach the goal of filtering noise and obtaining rich information. However, there is no differentiation when dealing with the multi-level features, and only a uniform treatment is used in general. Based on the above considerations, in this paper, we propose a multi-branch feature fusion and refinement network (MFFRNet), which is a framework for treating low-level features and high-level features differently, and effectively fuses the information of multi-level features to make the results more accurate. We propose a detail optimization module (DOM) designed for the rich detail information in low-level features and a pyramid feature extraction module (PFEM) designed for the rich semantic information in high-level features, as well as a feature optimization module (FOM) for refining the fused feature of multiple levels. Extensive experiments are conducted on six benchmark datasets, and the results show that our approach outperforms the state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the event-triggered quantized stabilization of uncertain neutral systems. Specifically, based on the suitable Lyapunov functional and relax quadratic function negative determination property, event-triggered quantized controllers and other variable parameters are co-designed, allowing neutral network systems with or without uncertainties to stabilize asymptotically via variable separation approaches. Additionally, the feasible criteria are characterized as convex optimization problems. An example demonstrates the effectiveness and less conservativeness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The taxonomic status of some species of Halobellus, Haloferax, Halogranum, and Haloplanus within the family Haloferacaceae was elucidated by phylogenetic, phylogenomic, and comparative genomic analyses. The relative species of each genus should constitute a single species based on the overall genome-related indexes proposed for species demarcation. The cutoff values of AAI (72.1%), ANI (82.2%), and rpoB′ gene similarity (90.7%) were proposed to differentiate genera within the family Haloferacaceae. According to these standards, a novel genus related to the genus Halobaculum was proposed to accommodate Halobaculum halophilum Gai3-2 T and Halobaculum salinum NJ-3-1 T. Five halophilic archaeal strains, DT31T, DT55T, DT92T, SYNS20T, and YSMS11T, isolated from a tidal flat and a marine solar saltern in China, were subjected to polyphasic classification. The phenotypic, phylogenetic, phylogenomic, and comparative genomic analyses revealed that strains DT31T (= CGMCC 1.18923 T = JCM 35417 T), DT55T (= CGMCC 1.19048 T = JCM 36147 T), DT92T (= CGMCC 1.19057 T = JCM 36148 T), SYNS20T (= CGMCC 1.62628 T = JCM 36154 T), and YSMS11T (= CGMCC 1.18927 T = JCM 34912 T) represent five novel species of the genus Halobaculum, for which the names, Halobaculum lipolyticum sp. nov., Halobaculum marinum sp. nov., Halobaculum litoreum sp. nov., Halobaculum halobium sp. nov., and Halobaculum limi sp. nov., are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uncertainty principle reveals the intrinsic differences between the classical and quantum worlds, which plays a significant role in quantum information theory. By using ρ -absolute variance, we introduce the uncertainty of quantum channels and explore its properties. By using Cauchy–Schwarz inequality and the parallelogram law, we establish the product and summation forms of the uncertainty relations for arbitrary two quantum channels, respectively. The summation form of the uncertainty inequalities based on the ρ -absolute variance for arbitrary N quantum channels is also investigated, and the optimal lower bounds are presented. We illustrate our results by several typical examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution and mechanism of ground collapse caused by underground water pipeline leakage have become increasingly significant as more urban areas experience collapses. Based on the principle of similarity, and considering the engineering context of road collapses in Anqing City, Anhui Province, this study designed a 3 m × 2 m × 2 m rupture-collapse model test device. Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technology was employed to investigate the erosion process and collapse mechanisms caused by underground pipeline leakage. The results indicate that groundwater seepage provides the driving force for collapses, combined with the migration space provided by defects, collectively triggering the collapses. When groundwater seepage is minimal, the cohesive forces between soil particles maintain soil stability. As groundwater seepage increases, the soil particle framework is eroded, leading to soil structure destabilization and collapse initiation. The depth of collapse significantly influences stress evolution: stress evolution intensity beneath and above the collapse pit is positively correlated with the distance from the collapse pit bottom, but negatively correlated with the distance from the defect. The research provides insights for the early warning and management of ground collapse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Understanding the release characteristics of soil colloids is a prerequisite for studying the co-transport of colloids and pollutants in subsurface environment. As a crucial agricultural management measure, fertilization not only alters the material composition of farmland soil, but also significantly regulates the properties and release patterns of soil colloids. This study systematically investigated the regulatory mechanism of short-term cattle manure fertilization on the macroscopic release and microscopic properties of soil colloids with different particle sizes, providing a theoretical foundation for subsequent research on the fate and transport of agricultural non-point source pollutants. Results: The colloids in natural agricultural soil primarily consist of inorganic components. Graded extraction of the colloids has revealed that the combined proportion of colloids with particle sizes of 1–2 μm and 0.45–1 μm accounts for approximately 80.5%. Applying cattle manure inhibits the release of soil colloids, and the content of large particle size (1–2 μm) components increases. The content of organic colloids is increased due to the high total organic carbon (TOC) in cattle manure, particularly those with a particle size less than 1 μm. The characterization of organic colloid components revealed a significant increase in aromatic carbon and oxygen-containing functional groups, while the aliphatic content decreased. The response sequence regarding changes in functional groups within organic colloids induced by fertilization was as follows: –CH3, –CH2 > C–O > –OH > C=C. Fertilization promotes the release of 1:1-type inorganic mineral colloids, increasing the content of poorly crystalline minerals. The retention of aromatic carbon and oxygen-containing functional groups by poorly crystalline mineral colloids served as the primary mechanism leading to their increased content levels. Changes in environmental factors significantly impacted the release and properties of soil colloids. Conditions such as low cationic valence, high ionic strength, and high pH promoted the release of soil colloids. Conclusions: The short-term fertilization resulted in a reduction in the release of soil colloids and brought about significant alterations in their particle size composition and properties. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into understanding the impact of fertilization-induced colloid release on the environmental behavior of agricultural non-point source pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is characterized by a variety of subtypes, each defined by unique genetic and morphological features. This study utilizes single-cell RNA sequencing to explore the molecular heterogeneity of RCC. A highly proliferative cell subset, termed as "Prol," was discovered within RCC tumors, and its increased presence was linked to poorer patient outcomes. An artificial intelligence network, encompassing traditional regression, machine learning, and deep learning algorithms, was employed to develop a Prol signature capable of predicting prognosis. The signature demonstrated superior performance in predicting RCC prognosis compared to other signatures and exhibited pan-cancer prognostic capabilities. RCC patients with high Prol signature scores exhibited resistance to targeted therapies and immunotherapies. Furthermore, the key gene CEP55 from the Prol signature was validated by both proteinomics and quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction. Our findings may provide new insights into the molecular and cellular mechanisms of RCC and facilitate the development of novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anion exchanger 3 (AE3) is pivotal in regulating intracellular pH across excitable tissues, yet its structural intricacies and functional dynamics remain underexplored compared to other anion exchangers. This study unveils the structural insights into human AE3, including the cryo-electron microscopy structures for AE3 transmembrane domains (TMD) and a chimera combining AE3 N-terminal domain (NTD) with AE2 TMD (hAE3NTD2TMD). Our analyzes reveal a substrate binding site, an NTD-TMD interlock mechanism, and a preference for an outward-facing conformation. Unlike AE2, which has more robust acid-loading capabilities, AE3's structure, including a less stable inward-facing conformation due to missing key NTD-TMD interactions, contributes to its moderated pH-modulating activity and increased sensitivity to the inhibitor DIDS. These structural differences underline AE3's distinct functional roles in specific tissues and underscore the complex interplay between structural dynamics and functional specificity within the anion exchanger family, enhancing our understanding of the physiological and pathological roles of the anion exchanger family. This study provides structural insights into human AE3's role in pH regulation in excitable tissues, highlighting its structural differences from AE2 in anion transport regulation and their sensitivity to inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Migraine is one of the most common diseases worldwide while current treatment options are not ideal. New therapeutic classes of migraine, the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) antagonists, have been developed and shown considerable effectiveness and safety. The present study aimed to systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of atogepant, a CGRP antagonist, for migraine prophylaxis from the results of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Methods: The Cochrane Library, Embase, PubMed and https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ were searched for RCTs that compared atogepant with placebo for migraine prophylaxis from inception of the databases to Feb 1, 2024. Outcome data involving efficacy and safety were combined and analyzed using Review Manager Software version 5.3 (RevMan 5.3). For each outcome, risk ratios (RRs) or standardized mean difference (SMD) were calculated. Results: 4 RCTs with a total of 2813 subjects met our inclusion criteria. The overall effect estimate showed that atogepant was significantly superior to placebo in terms of the reduction of monthly migraine (SMD − 0.40, 95% CI -0.46 to -0.34) or headache (SMD − 0.39, 95% CI -0.46 to -0.33) days, the reduction of acute medication use days (SMD − 0.45, 95% CI -0.51 to -0.39) and 50% responder rate (RR 1.66, 95% CI 1.46 to 1.89), while no dose-related improvements were found between different dosage groups. For the safety, significant number of patients experienced treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) with atogepant than with placebo (RR 1.10, 95% CI 1.02–1.21) while there was no obvious difference between the five dosage groups. Most TEAEs involved constipation (RR 2.55, 95% CI 1.91–3.41), nausea (RR 2.19, 95% CI 1.67–2.87) and urinary tract infection (RR 1.49, 95% CI 1.05–2.11). In addition, a high dosage of atogepant may also increase the risk of treatment-related TEAEs (RR 1.64, 95% CI 1.02–2.63) and fatigue (RR 3.07, 95% CI 1.13–8.35). Conclusions: This meta-analysis suggests that atogepant is effective and tolerable for migraine prophylaxis including episodic or chronic migraine compared with placebo. It is critical to weigh the benefits of different doses against the risk of adverse events in clinical application of atogepant. Longer and multi-dose trials with larger sample sizes are required to verify the current findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the relationship between central venous pressure (CVP) and acute right ventricular (RV) dysfunction in critically ill patients on mechanical ventilation. Methods: This retrospective study enrolled mechanically ventilated critically ill who underwent transthoracic echocardiographic examination and CVP monitoring. Echocardiographic indices including tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), fractional area change (FAC), and tricuspid lateral annular systolic velocity wave (S') were collected to assess RV function. Patients were then classified into three groups based on their RV function and presence of systemic venous congestion as assessed by inferior vena cava diameter (IVCD) and hepatic vein (HV) Doppler: normal RV function (TAPSE ≥ 17 mm, FAC ≥ 35% and S' ≥9.5 cm/sec), isolated RV dysfunction (TAPSE < 17 mm or FAC < 35% or S' <9.5 cm/sec with IVCD ≤ 20 mm or HV S ≥ D), and RV dysfunction with congestion (TAPSE < 17 mm or FAC < 35% or S' <9.5 cm/sec with IVCD > 20 mm and HV S < D). Results: A total of 518 patients were enrolled in the study, of whom 301 were categorized in normal RV function group, 164 in isolated RV dysfunction group and 53 in RV dysfunction with congestion group. Receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed a good discriminative ability of CVP for identifying patients with RV dysfunction and congestion(AUC 0.839; 95% CI: 0.795–0.883; p < 0.001). The optimal CVP cutoff was 10 mm Hg, with sensitivity of 79.2%, specificity of 69.4%, negative predictive value of 96.7%, and positive predictive value of 22.8%. A large gray zone existed between 9 mm Hg and 12 mm Hg, encompassing 95 patients (18.3%). For identifying all patients with RV dysfunction, CVP demonstrated a lower discriminative ability (AUC 0.616; 95% CI: 0.567–0.665; p < 0.001). Additionally, the gray zone was even larger, ranging from 5 mm Hg to 12 mm Hg, and included 349 patients (67.4%). Conclusions: CVP may be a helpful indicator of acute RV dysfunction patients with systemic venous congestion in mechanically ventilated critically ill, but its accuracy is limited. A CVP less than10 mm Hg can almost rule out RV dysfunction with congestion. In contrast, CVP should not be used to identify general RV dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary glomerular disease (PGD) is an idiopathic cause of renal glomerular lesions that is characterized by proteinuria or hematuria and is the leading cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD). The identification of circulating biomarkers for the diagnosis of PGD requires a thorough understanding of the metabolic defects involved. In this study, ultra-high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry was performed to characterize the amino acid (AA) profiles of patients with pathologically diagnosed PGD, including minimal change disease (MCD), focal segmental glomerular sclerosis (FSGS), membranous nephropathy, and immunoglobulin A nephropathy. The plasma concentrations of asparagine and ornithine were low, and that of aspartic acid was high, in patients with all the pathologic types of PGD, compared to healthy controls. Two distinct diagnostic models were generated using the differential plasma AA profiles using logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic analyses, with areas under the curves of 1.000 and accuracies up to 100.0% in patients with MCD and FSGS. In conclusion, the progression of PGD is associated with alterations in AA profiles, The present findings provide a theoretical basis for the use of AAs as a non-invasive, real-time, rapid, and simple biomarker for the diagnosis of various pathologic types of PGD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable multi-story building designs are gaining increasing attention in light of the green development of the building industry. Recently, many studies have been conducted to determine the optimized embodied energy considering size of structural members and materials strength using a single objective function. In this context, the current study adopted a multi-objective function based on cost and Embodied Energy (EE) for the sustainable design of the entire multi-story building. A BuildingEnergy computer program is used to assess the energy consumption performance of a multi-story reinforcement cement concrete building. Based on the proposed method, an analysis is carried out to compare the optimal solutions for multi-story building. Furthermore, a detailed parametric study was conducted to explore the main factors for energy-efficient column and beam design. The results revealed that with a comparison of the most "carbon-friendly" and "cost-friendly" solutions, an added cost of 6–7% can contribute up to a 13% emission reduction. The sectional dimensions, steel rebar, concrete strengths, cost ratio, building height, and eccentricity remarkably influence sustainable design, cost optimization, and minimum carbon emission. Overall, this study could help to define cost-effective and energy-efficient structural members. Eventually, the EE is confirmed to be a feasible parameter for designing more sustainable multi-story RCC buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uncertainty principle is one of the most fundamental features in quantum mechanics and plays a significant role in quantum information processing. We establish tighter summation form of the uncertainty relations based on metric-adjusted skew information via operator representation of observables, which improves the existing results. By employing the methodologies of sampling coordinates of observables, we also present tighter product form of the uncertainty relations. Detailed examples are given to illustrate the advantages of our uncertainty relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation process of metallic glasses is complex. How the thermodynamic properties of the liquid affect the kinetic behavior and how the thermodynamically relevant parameters interrelate with the structural evolution during glass formation are still worthy of continued investigation. In this work, employing Cu50Zr50 as the object of study, we found that the distributions of atomic mean square displacements (MSDs) and atomic potential energy can be accurately fitted using an asymmetric double sigmoidal function. In particular, the intensity factor of the fitting curve exhibits a significant transition at a specific temperature (TA) and is mirrored in the variation of the fitting parameter for atomic potential energy distribution. Furthermore, calculations of the motility of atoms in different energy states show that atoms with high potential energy tend to have smaller displacements and vice versa. Employing Voronoi analysis, we identified that <0, 2, 8, 0> and <0, 3, 6, 1> predominantly dominate in high-energy atoms, while <0, 0, 12, 0> and <0, 1, 10, 6> are more common in low-energy atoms. These findings contribute to a new understanding of the correlation between kinetics and thermodynamics in metallic glass liquids from the perspective of microstructure and spatial distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve efficient structural design, it is crucial to reduce the cost of materials while ensuring structural safety. This study proposes an optimization method for design parameters (DPs) in a prestressed steel structure driven by multi-factor coupling. To accomplish this, a numerical proxy model of prestressed steel structures is established with integration of DPs and mechanical parameters (MPs). A data association-parameter analysis-optimization selection system is established. A correlation between DPs and MPs is established using a back propagation (BP) neural network. This correlation provides samples for parameter analysis and optimization selection. MPs are used to characterize the safety of the structure. Based on the safety grade analysis, the key DPs that affect the mechanical properties of the structure are obtained. A mapping function is created to match the MPs and the key DPs. The optimal structural DPs are obtained by setting structural materials as the optimization objective and safety energy as the constraint condition. The theoretical model is applied to an 80-m-span gymnasium and verified with a scale test physical model. The MPs obtained using the proposed method are in good agreement with the experimental results. Compared with the traditional design method, the design cycle can be shortened by more than 90%. Driven by the optimal selection method, a saving of more than 20% can be achieved through reduction of structural material quantities. Moreover, the cross-sectional dimensions of radial cables have a substantial influence on vertical displacement. The initial tension and cross-sectional size of the upper radial cable exhibit the most pronounced impact on the stress distribution in that cable. The initial tension and cross-sectional size of the lower radial cable hold the greatest sway over the stress distribution in that cable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adulteration and counterfeiting of tea products lead to economic losses and poses health concerns for consumers. This study proposed a novel method to rapidly discriminate the category of oolong tea, a famous Chinese semifermented tea, by applying an electronic nose (E-nose) and electronic tongue (E-tongue) system combined with a modified generative adversarial network (GAN) - temporal convolutional network (TCN) composite model. Specifically, the olfactory and gustatory fingerprint signals of tea samples are first collected by E-nose and E-tongue sensory systems, respectively. Considering the unbalanced scarcity and small-sample nature of data collection, a Wasserstein GAN model is employed to learn the data representations of E-nose and E-tongue signals and generate highly realistic training samples. Two improved temporal convolutional networks (TCNs) integrated with a squeeze-and-excitation attention module are proposed to learn the significant features and discover the internal patterns from the signals of the E-nose and E-tongue. Then, a dynamic fusion module (DFM) is developed to fuse the features of the E-nose and E-tongue to achieve information complementarity and enhancement. Finally, the fused information is sent to a classifier to predict the class label. The proposed approach is assessed using different performance metrics, and the experimental results reveal that an accuracy of 99.33% was achieved. The above research will provide a new approach for the rapid identification of different categories of oolong tea, which has a wide range of application prospects in the rapid classification and detection of other agricultural products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]