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The purpose of clustering is to partition data similar with each other into a same group and partition data dissimilar with each other into different groups. However, in most existing fuzzy clustering approaches, the membership degrees of an individual belonging to different clusters are relied on the different distances between the individual and different cluster centroids, the similarity between the individual and data in different clusters are ignored, besides, the outliers cannot be distinguished effectively. For improving the clustering performance and addressing the problems in most existing fuzzy clustering approaches, based on the concept that data close to each other should be grouped together and be assigned to a same cluster, in this paper, we present a novel efficient fuzzy clustering approach, in which the adaptive local neighborhood information of each data referring to different clusters is taken into consideration; an entirely new idea that the membership degree values of an individual referring to different clusters should not only depend on the distances between the individual and different cluster centers, but also rely on the distances between the individual and several nearest neighbor data in different clusters is put forward; a new scheme to search for the outliers is presented, a method for identifying the different importance of different features is introduced. Experiments on synthetic and publicly real-world datasets were conducted, the clustering results show that the approach put forward can yield consistently satisfying clustering performance and has significant advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, motor vehicle ownership has increased worldwide year by year, which causes that the accurate prediction of traffic flow on urban road networks becomes more important. However, the dual dependence on the micro layer and the macro layer creates a huge challenge for the prediction task. Previous models lack comprehensive analysis of the macro features at different time granularities. In this paper, we propose a novel Dual Flow Fusion Graph Convolutional Network (DFFGCN) to solve this problem. For capturing more macro features, we build the interactions between the micro layer and the macro layer at more time granularities. Then the spatial-temporal normalization model is introduced to separate the temporal and spatial influences. Therefore, the proposed DFFGCN has a better learning ability compared with other advanced models. Finally, we give experiments to show the effectiveness and superiority of our proposed model. Experimental results on three traffic datasets demonstrate that DFFGCN can achieve state-of-the-art performance consistently. And the ablation studies confirm the importance of each element of DFFGCN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Swin Transformer is an important work among all the attempts to reduce the computational complexity of Transformers while maintaining its excellent performance in computer vision. Window-based patch self-attention can use the local connectivity of the image features, and the shifted window-based patch self-attention enables the communication of information between different patches in the entire image scope. Through in-depth research on the effects of different sizes of shifted windows on the patch information communication efficiency, this article proposes a Dual-Scale Transformer with double-sized shifted window attention method. The proposed method surpasses CNN-based methods such as U-Net, AttenU-Net, ResU-Net, CE-Net by a considerable margin (Approximately 3% ∼ 6% increase), and outperforms the Transformer based models single-scale Swin Transformer(SwinT)(Approximately 1% increase), on the datasets of the Kvasir-SEG, ISIC2017, MICCAI EndoVisSub-Instrument and CadVesSet. The experimental results verify that the proposed dual scale shifted window attention benefits the communication of patch information and can enhance the segmentation results to state of the art. We also implement an ablation study on the effect of the shifted window size on the information flow efficiency and verify that the dual-scale shifted window attention is the optimized network design. Our study highlights the significant impact of network structure design on visual performance, providing valuable insights for the design of networks based on Transformer architectures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancement of oxidative stress and resultant neuronal injury play important roles in initiating cognitive impairment during the aging process. Thus, attenuating oxidative injury is regarded as a profitable therapeutic strategy for age-associated cognitive impairment. Previous studies showed that gliclazide (Gli) had a protective role in neuronal injury from cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. However, whether Gli has a profitable effect on age-associated cognitive impairment remains largely unclear. The present study showed that Gli held the potential to attenuate neuronal apoptosis in D-gal-induced senescent cells and aging mice. Additionally, Gli could alleviate synaptic injury and cognitive function in D-gal-induced aging mice. Further study showed that Gli could attenuate oxidative stress in D-gal-induced senescent cells and aging mice. The p38 MAPK pathway was predicted as the downstream target of Gli retarding oxidative stress using in silico analysis. Further studies revealed that Gli attenuated D-gal-induced phosphorylation of p38 and facilitated Nrf2 nuclear expression, indicating that the anti-oxidative property of Gli may be associated with the p38 MAPK pathway. The study demonstrates that Gli has a beneficial effect on ameliorating D-gal-induced neuronal injury and cognitive impairment, making this compound a promising agent for the prevention and treatment of age-associated cognitive impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This meta-analysis assesses antiphospholipid antibodies' (aPLs) impact on heart valve disease in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) patients. We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and Web of Science up to January 2024 for comparative studies of heart valve disease in aPL-positive versus aPL-negative SLE patients. Fixed-effect or random-effect models were used to synthesize data, with I2 and sensitivity analyses for heterogeneity and the trim-and-fill method for publication bias. Including 25 studies with 8089 patients, of which 919 had valvular changes, aPLs significantly increased the risk of heart valve disease (OR = 2.24, 95% CI: 1.58–3.18, p < 0.001). Lupus anticoagulant (LA) indicated the highest risk (OR = 4.90, 95% CI: 2.26–10.60, p < 0.001), anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) doubled the risk (OR = 2.69, 95% CI: 1.47–4.93, p = 0.001), and anti-β2 glycoprotein I (aβ2GPI) showed a 70% increase (OR = 1.70, 95% CI: 1.17–2.45, p = 0.005). Valve-specific analysis indicated the mitral valve was most commonly involved (26.89%), with higher occurrences in aPL-positive patients (33.34% vs. 15.92%, p = 0.053). Aortic and tricuspid valve involvements were 13.11% vs. 5.42% (p = 0.147) and 12.03% vs. 8.52% (p = 0.039), respectively. Pulmonary valve disease was rare and similar across groups (1.01% in aPL-positive vs. 1.52% in aPL-negative). Significantly, only tricuspid valve disease showed increased risk in aPL-positive patients (OR = 2.66, 95% CI: 1.05–6.75, p = 0.039). APLs notably increase the risk of heart valve disease in SLE patients, with a pronounced effect on tricuspid valve involvement. Regular cardiac assessments for aPL-positive SLE patients are crucial for timely intervention and improved prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal oxide semiconductors have been proven to be a very effective photocatalytic material. In this study, Au-WO3 was successfully synthesized through a microwave irradiation-assisted one-pot method. The results demonstrated that the hydration degree of WO3·nH2O could be controlled by Au, and the nanorods could be refined. When the optimum Au modification level was 5.4 wt.%, the specific surface area of WO3·nH2O increased from 36.67 m2 g−1 to 71.72 m2 g−1, indicating that active sites on the catalyst surface were added. The photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) is considered to assess the photocatalytic performance of the Au-WO3 nanoparticles under visible light. The deterioration of the sample increased initially, then decreased as the Au level increased. The photocatalytic degradation capacity was strongest when the Au content was 5.4 wt.%, and the degradation rate was 0.0084 min−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) and acute viral infection, such as SARS-CoV-2, is unclear. This study aims to assess symptoms, antiphospholipid antibody (aPL) fluctuations, and complication risks in APS patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. APS patients from Peking Union Medical College Hospital during the COVID-19 outbreak (October–December 2022) were included. Age- and gender-matched APS patients without infection served as controls. Data on demographics, symptoms, treatments, and serum aPL levels were analyzed. Of 234 APS patients, 107 (45.7%) were infected with SARS-CoV-2. Typical symptoms included high fever (81.3%), cough/expectoration (70.1%), and pharyngalgia (52.3%). Age- and gender-based matching selected 97 patients in either infected or uninfected group. After infection, anti-β-2-glycoprotein I-IgG (aβ2GP1-IgG) increased from 4.14 to 4.18 AU/ml, aβ2GP1-IgM decreased from 9.85 to 7.38 AU/ml, and anticardiolipin-IgA (aCL-IgA) significantly increased with a median remaining at 2.50 APLU/ml. Lupus anticoagulants and other aPLs remained stable. Arterial thrombosis incidence increased from 18 (18.6%) to 21 (21.6%), while venous thrombosis incidence did not change. Additionally, 7 (6.5%) patients presented either new-onset or worsening thrombocytopenia, characterized by a significant decline in platelet count (no less than 10 × 109/L) within two weeks of SARS-CoV-2 infection, all of which recovered within 2 weeks. Acute SARS-CoV-2 infection may induce or worsen thrombocytopenia but does not substantially increase thrombotic events in APS. The process of SARS-CoV-2 infection was related to mild titer fluctuation of aβ2GP1-IgG, aβ2GP1-IgM and aCL-IgA in APS patients, necessitating careful monitoring and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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α-AlH3 is regarded as one of the most promising hydrogen storage materials due to its high hydrogen storage capacity (10.1 wt.%, 148 kg·m−3). However, in practical applications, the associated hydrogen release temperature remains relatively high. To effectively address this issue, hollow structured Fe@C nanorods derived from Fe-MOF are introduced as highly efficient catalyst to optimize the dehydrogenation properties of α-AlH3. Comparatively, the initial hydrogen release temperature of α-AlH3 + 3 wt.% Fe@C is reduced to 94.2 °C, which is significantly lower than that of pure α-AlH3 (137.8 °C). At 100 and 120 °C, it exhibits hydrogen capacities of 5.38 wt.% and 7.47 wt.%, respectively, whereas pure α-AlH3 only delivers hydrogen capacities of 0.24 wt.% and 5.94 wt.% under the same temperatures. The density functional theory (DFT) calculations further indicate that the existence of Fe@C catalyst can make the length of Al–H bond increase, which is more conducive to the release of hydrogen. The results show that the synergistic effect of Fe and porous carbon in Fe@C nanorods can improve the hydrogen desorption kinetics of α-AlH3, providing a good prospect for the application of α-AlH3 in hydrogen storage fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon-based hydrogels have emerged as a promising material for wearable strain and pressure sensors due to their excellent conductive and mechanical flexibility. However, some shortcomings such as limited stretchability and susceptibility to phase separation have led to a narrow range of applications. In this study, a GPEC hydrogel was prepared by incorporating metal ions and oxidized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (oxCNTs) into a double-network (DN) hydrogel consisting of gum arabic (GA) and a copolymer polymerized by acrylamide (AM), acrylic acid (AA) and N-methylolacrylamide (NMAM). The uniformly distributed oxCNTs and metal ions formed a three-dimensional (3D) structure of the hydrogel through a large amount of metal complex bonds and hydrogen bonds. The strong interaction improved the mechanical properties of the hydrogels, with an elongation at break of 1957% and a strength at break of 915 kPa. Furthermore, the hydrogels exhibited excellent self-adhesive and self-healing properties. The hydrogel also exhibits high conductivity due to the embedded metal ions and oxCNTs forming a conductive network. The as-prepared strain sensor revealed ultra-high sensitivity (GF = 3.08) and fast response (72 ms). Moreover, the GPEC hydrogel exhibits high pressure sensitivity (2.27 kPa−1 in the range of 0–10 kPa and 0.08 kPa−1 in the range of 20–80 kPa) when assembled into a pressure sensor. Consequently, the GPEC hydrogel sensor could be used to monitor the full range of human motion and could be incorporated into pressure sensing devices for handwriting recognition. Research highlights: The oxCNTs are uniformly dispersed in the GA solution via the hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic polypeptide chain. The GPEC hydrogel was fully physically cross-linked. The extensive physical and chemical interactions result in the GPEC hydrogel exhibiting favorable mechanical properties, self-adhesive characteristics, and self-healing properties. The incorporation of LiCl and EG into the GPEC hydrogel conferred upon it remarkable environmental stability. The GPEC hydrogel-based sensor exhibits both strain and pressure sensing properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conductive hydrogels with adjustable mechanical properties, good flexibility, and high sensitivity are considered to be promising and reliable materials for next-generation wearable devices. To enhance the mechanical properties of hydrogels, double-network (DN) strategy was always brought in hydrogel preparation. However, chemical crosslinks in DN hydrogel will lead to lack self-recovery properties and biocompatibility. Thus, we developed a fully physical crosslinked DN gel by a large quantities of metal chelation and hydrogen bonds by adding ions in mixture of gum arabic (GA) and copolymer polymerized by acrylamide (AM), acrylic acid (AA), and N-Methylolacrylamide (NMAM). This hydrogel (we named GPFE gel) exhibited excellent mechanical properties such as superb tensile strain (2340%), tensile strength (198 KPa), and high toughness (1.59 MJ/m3). Besides, benefiting from the large number of hydrogen bonds brought by the introduction of EG, GPFE gel also showed intriguing self-healing property (97.0% healing efficiency after 2 h), adhesive property (both in the air and underwater), and environmental stablity (could be used normally at –20 °C). Wearable flexible sensors prepared directly from GPFE gel can sensitively monitor both daily activities and slight physiological movements, exhibiting high sensitivity (GF = 2.16) and a wide strain detection window (to eleven times the original length). Therefore, the prepared GPFE gel as a high-performance wearable flexible sensor in this study shows tremendous potential applications in a complex environment. Highlights: The GPFE gel was a fully physical crosslinked double-network (DN) hydrogel with excellent mechanical properties. The addition of GA to the GPFE gel served to render it transparent while simultaneously conferring upon it the desirable properties of self-adhesion, both in the air and underwater. The GPFE gel exhibited an intriguing self-healing property, with 97.0% healing efficiency observed after 2 h. The GPFE gel demonstrated environmental stability, with no adverse effects observed when used at temperatures as low as –20 °C. The GPFE gel exhibited high sensitivity (GF = 2.16) with a wide strain detection window (to eleven times the original length). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intestinal homeostasis is maintained by the response of gut-associated lymphoid tissue to bacteria transported across the follicle associated epithelium into the subepithelial dome. The initial response to antigens and how bacteria are handled is incompletely understood. By iterative application of spatial transcriptomics and multiplexed single-cell technologies, we identify that the double negative 2 subset of B cells, previously associated with autoimmune diseases, is present in the subepithelial dome in health. We show that in this location double negative 2 B cells interact with dendritic cells co-expressing the lupus autoantigens DNASE1L3 and C1q and microbicides. We observe that in humans, but not in mice, dendritic cells expressing DNASE1L3 are associated with sampled bacteria but not DNA derived from apoptotic cells. We propose that fundamental features of autoimmune diseases are microbiota-associated, interacting components of normal intestinal immunity. Intestinal homeostasis is maintained by interactions between the gut-associated lymphoid tissue and the resident flora. Here Montorsi et al use multiplexed single cell omics to describe double negative type 2 B cells and DNASE1L3-expressing dendritic cells that interact and associate with microbiota on the human gut antigenic front line. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) of biomass is a promising technology that can convert biomass into fuels. To understand how the metal oxides modified HZSM-5 catalysts enhance the formation of desirable hydrocarbons as well as suppress the coke formation during catalytic pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass, three types of metal (molybdenum (Mo), gallium (Ga), and tungsten (W)) oxides modified HZSM-5 catalysts were prepared. The activity of the catalysts was evaluated on a micro-reactor system. The effects of the atmosphere, metal oxide types, loading amounts of metal oxide, and catalysis temperature were all discussed. The introduction of hydrogen significantly enhanced the formation of hydrocarbons and decreased the coke formation. The yield of aliphatic products was further increased by 60%, while coke formation was suppressed by 52% using metal oxide-modified HZSM-5. Among these catalysts, HZSM-5 modified by molybdenum oxide obtained the highest hydrocarbon yield of 49.6%. HZSM-5 modified by gallium oxide obtained the highest aliphatic hydrocarbon yield of 30.4%. Compared to the control test using the HZSM-5 catalyst, coke yields were also decreased by 36%, 38%, and 35% for HZSM-5 modified by molybdenum oxide, gallium oxide, and tungsten oxide, respectively. HZSM-5 modified by molybdenum oxide was selected to further investigate the effects of loading amounts, catalysis temperature, and biomass to catalysts ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the robust strategy optimization problem for networked evolutionary games (NEGs) with pseudo-players and disturbance inputs using semi-tensor product of matrices, and presents a number of new results. First, we convert the evolutionary dynamics of the NEGs into an algebraic formulation. Secondly, we calculate the profile set in which the total payoff of the game will not less than a given value, and give two algorithms to find the largest robust profile control invariant set and the robust convergence region of this invariant set. Thirdly, the design method of profile feedback control, which can be used to regulate the strategies of the pseudo-players, is given to make the overall benefit of the game reach a certain threshold. Finally, an illustrative example is given to show the effectiveness of our main results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The screening of new strains of high-efficiency ammonia–nitrogen degrading bacteria and the research on the treatment of high-concentration ammonia–nitrogen livestock and poultry wastewater by immobilized complex flora is still lacking, especially the research on different ratios between complex flora and operating factors. In this experiment, a new strain of ammonia–nitrogen degrading bacteria was screened from activated sludge. The species was determined by ITS sequencing, and the optimal operating conditions were explored by the simulated wastewater experiment. Build a complex flora with flocculant-producing bacteria preserved in the laboratory. Explore the effects of water temperature, pH, and initial ammonia–nitrogen concentration on the treatment of livestock wastewater with high ammonia–nitrogen by immobilized complex flora. The most similar of this strain is Phialemoniopsis curvata TWCC 58054 s, and the degradation rate of ammonia–nitrogen is 96.90% under the conditions of ammonia–nitrogen concentration of 50.00 mg/L, the water temperature of 30 ℃, pH = 7.2–7.4, and shaking culture for 7 days. At 400.00 mg/L, the water temperature of 30 ℃, pH = 8, shaking culture for 36 h, the degradation rate of ammonia–nitrogen was 57.39%. The optimal ratio of ammonia–nitrogen degrading bacteria to flocculant-producing bacteria is 1:3, and the ammonia–nitrogen degradation rate of immobilized complex bacteria is 85.43–89.84% after shaking culture for 36 h at the influent ammonia–nitrogen concentration of 400.00–500.00 mg/L, the water temperature of 30 ℃ and pH value of 8. The experimental results provided a new type of high-efficiency ammonia–nitrogen degrading bacteria, and described in detail the effects of the ratio of complex bacteria, pH, water temperature, influent concentration, on its treatment of livestock wastewater. It fills the gap of the new strain in ammonia–nitrogen degradation ability and immobilized complex flora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Dental health has been getting increased attention. Timely detection of non-normal teeth (caries, residual root, retainer, teeth filling, etc.) is of great importance for people's health, well-being, and quality of life. This work proposes a rapid detection of non-normal teeth based on improved Mask R-CNN, aiming to achieve comprehensive screening of non-normal teeth on dental X-ray images. Methods: An improved Mask R-CNN based on attention mechanism was used to develop a non-normal teeth detection method trained on a high-quality annotated dataset, which can segment the whole mask of each non-normal tooth on the dental X-ray image immediately. Results: The average precision (AP) of the proposed non-normal teeth detection was 0.795 with an intersection-over-union of 0.5 and max detections (maxDets) of 32, which was higher than that of the typical Mask R-CNN method (AP = 0.750). In addition, validation experiments showed that the evaluation metrics (AP, recall, precision-recall (P-R) curve) of the proposed method were superior to those of the Mask R-CNN method. Furthermore, the experimental results indicated that proposed method exhibited a high sensitivity (95.65%) in detecting secondary caries. The proposed method took about 0.12 s to segment non-normal teeth on one dental X-ray image using the laptop (8G memory, NVIDIA RTX 3060 graphics processing unit), which was much faster than conventional manual methods. Conclusion: The proposed method enhances the accuracy and efficiency of abnormal tooth diagnosis for practitioners, while also facilitating early detection and treatment of dental caries to substantially lower patient costs. Additionally, it can enable rapid and objective evaluation of student performance in dental examinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Au-Ag alloy nanostars based flexible paper surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy sensors were fabricated through simple nanostar coating on regular office paper, and the surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy detection performances were investigated using crystal violet dye analyte. Au-Ag nanostars with sharp tips were synthesized via metal ions reduction method. Transmission electron microscope images, X-Ray diffraction pattern and energy dispersive spectroscopy elemental mapping confirmed the nanostar geometry and Au/Ag components of the nanostructure. UV-Vis-NIR absorption spectrum shows wide local surface plasmon resonance induced optical extinction. In addition, finite-difference time-domain simulation shows much stronger electromagnetic field from nanostars than from sphere nanoparticle. The effect of coating layer on Raman signal intensities was discussed, and optimized 5-layer coating with best Raman signal was obtained. The Au-Ag nanostatrs homogeneously distribute on paper fiber surface. The detection limit is 10−10 M, and the relationship between analyte concentrations and Raman signal intensities shows well linear, for potential quantitative analysis. The calculated enhancement factor is 4.795×106. The flexible paper surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy sensors could be applied for trace chemical and biology molecule detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on virtualization technologies, virtual machines (VMs) provide computing services and network resources for cloud users over the Internet. When cloud users use VMs for an extended period of time, requests generated by other cloud users are easily blocked. When cloud users no longer use VMs, requests' throughput will be decreased substantially. We propose a multi-input cloud resource allocation strategy with limited buffer and VM synchronization failure, which can improve the throughput of requests. A limited buffer is added to the system to reduce the possible blocking behaviors in the proposed strategy. Moreover, we assume that a physical machine failure will put all the VMs in failure states. The system recovery will take a period of time after the failure, which is called repair time. After the failure is repaired, the system continues to provide services for cloud users. A 2-dimensional Markov chain is established to measure the performance indexes of requests. In addition, we show the blocking rate, the loss rate, the throughput, the average quantity, and the average latency of requests by system state transition probability matrix and analyze their changing trends through numerical experiments. Finally, considering the balance between requests' blocking rate and requests' throughput, we construct a system profit function to ascertain the optimal number of request streams and obtain the maximal system profit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydrolysis of ammonia borane is secure and promising for producing and employing hydrogen in mild conditions. Synthesis of bimetallic catalysts is an efficient way to boost the hydrogen generation rate. The regulation and control of synergistic effect is a key role for rational design of bimetallic catalysts with high performance. Herein, the bimetallic CoCu catalysts were prepared using co-reduction and sequential reduction methods, respectively, to control the ratio and distribution of Co and Cu. The as-prepared catalysts exhibited excellent catalytic performance due to the synergistic effect between Co and Cu, and the appropriate ratio of Co and Cu was studied. The distribution of Co and Cu in catalysts have the significant influence on the catalytic performance in AB hydrolysis. The stronger interaction between Co and Cu in Co1Cu1/g–C3N4, in which Cu is in intimate contact with Co, optimized the electronic structure of catalyst surface and facilitated the reaction process. Therefore, the hydrogen generation rate over Co1Cu1/g–C3N4 was much higher than that over the catalysts prepared by the sequential reduction method. This work provides a fundament understanding of the structure–activity relationships of catalysts, and the essential insights into the preparation of catalysts for hydrogen generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Secretory breast carcinoma is a rare histological subtype of invasive breast cancer and considered with an indolent clinical behavior. This study was conducted to analyze the clinicopathological features of patients with secretory breast carcinoma (SBC), explore the outcome, and compare the prognostic difference with invasive ductal breast carcinoma (IDC). Methods and materials: Patients with SBC diagnosed between 2006 and 2017 from Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center were included in the study, excluding patients with previous malignant tumor history and incomplete clinical data or follow-up records. Peculiar clinicopathological and immunohistochemical features of the cases were fully described. Clinical data of 4979 cases of IDC were also evaluated during this period. After propensity score matching, prognostic analysis of SBCs and IDCs was calculated by Kaplan–Meier method and landmark analysis method. Results: The data of 52 patients diagnosed with SBC were identified from the pathological files. Among them, 47 patients were women, and 5 were men. The median age of the 52 SBCs was 46 years (mean, 48.1 years; range, 10–80 years). The tumor sizes ranged from 0.3 to 6.8 cm, with a mean of 3.5 cm. Eight patients (15.4%) had positive axillary lymph node involvement. The molecular classification was mostly triple-negative breast cancer (65.4%). Fluorescence in situ hybridization confirmed the presence of ETV6::NTRK3 rearrangement in 16 of 18 cases (88.9%). Furthermore, Kaplan–Meier survival analysis and landmark analysis demonstrated that there were no statistically significant differences in DFS and OS between SBC and IDC patients. Conclusion: Although SBCs are generally associated with a favorable prognosis, our work exhibited that the clinicopathological features of SBC were partly different from former understandings, indicating that therapeutic procedure should be prudent. Further studies are necessary to fully identify the clinical behavior and predictive markers to improve diagnosis and management in this unique subtype of breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since quinolone is a kind of synthetic broad-spectrum antibacterial drugs, with the widespread use of this class of antibiotics, the risk and harm to human health have been attendant to the sewage containing quinolones which are discharged into the environment. Photocatalysis is considered as a promising technology for antibiotic degradation for its strong redox properties and reaction rate. As a metal oxidizing substance, Bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) is such a popular and hot material for the degradation of organic pollutants recently due to its good photocatalytic activity and chemical stability. Numerous studies have confirmed that BiVO4 composites can overcome the shortcomings of pure BiVO4 and cleave the main structure of quinolone under photocatalytic conditions. This paper mainly outlines the research progress on the preparation of BiVO4 composites and the degradation of quinolone antibiotics from the perspective of improving the catalysis and degrading the efficiency mechanism of BiVO4 composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is currently gaining an increasing global interest. Intestinal epithelial barrier dysfunction is crucial toward developing IBD; however, the underlying mechanisms are not yet elucidated. This study is aimed at elucidating the function of CRL4DCAF2, an E3 ligase, toward mediating intestinal homeostasis. Methods: Colon samples were collected from patients with IBD and healthy individuals to examine the expression of CRL4DCAF2. CRL4DCAF2 conditional knockdown in mouse intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) (DCAF2EKD) were constructed. DCAF2EKD and their littermate control (DCAF2EWT) were treated with dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) to induce acute colitis. Transcriptome analysis was performed on inflamed colon samples obtained from the mice. Cell cycle regulators were evaluated using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), while tight junction and apoptosis proteins were examined via immunofluorescence and western blot. Results: CRL4DCAF2 expression was significantly decreased in the inflamed IBD epithelium, and low expression of CRL4DCAF2 associated with high recurrence risk. Mice with DCAF2 specific knockout in IECs suffer from embryonic death. Multiple genes involved in cell proliferation, immune response, and gap junction were differentially expressed in inflamed colon from DCAF2EKD compared with DCAF2EWT. Furthermore, conditional downregulation of CRL4DCAF2 in the intestinal epithelium induced primarily epithelial damage, increased intestinal permeability, and diminished tight junction protein expression. In vivo and in vitro cell transfection experiments revealed that CRL4DCAF2 enhanced cell proliferation by promoting p21 ubiquitination and degradation, thereby inhibiting G2/M cell cycle. In addition, CRL4DCAF2 can also inhibit IEC apoptosis and promote cell autophagy. Conclusions: CRL4DCAF2 downregulation in IECs promotes intestinal barrier dysfunction and inhibits IEC proliferation, thus making it more susceptible to inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Microvascular manifestations constitute a subtype of antiphospholipid syndrome, and those patients have relatively poor prognoses, so it is important to find markers for microvascular manifestations. This study was conducted to explore whether serum calprotectin could be a predictor of microvascular manifestations in antiphospholipid antibody (aPL)-positive patients. Methods: Consecutive patients with persistent aPL positivity referred to Peking Union Medical College Hospital and age- and sex-matched health controls (HCs) were included. Microvascular manifestations included antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) nephropathy, livedo reticularis, valvular lesions, non-stroke central nervous system manifestations, myocarditis, catastrophic APS, and other microvascular manifestations confirmed by pathology, imaging, or clinical diagnosis. Calprotectin was measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The cutoff value was defined as mean + 2 standard deviations of HCs. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to analyze risk factors. Pearson correlation analysis was used to detect the correlation between calprotectin and other laboratory data. Results: Of the 466 patients included in the study, 281 (60.3%) patients met the 2006 Sydney Revised Classification Criteria; among the latter, 77.2% were patients with primary APS. The mean age was 39.10 ± 13.05 years old, and 77.0% were female. Thirty-eight age- and sex-matched HCs were included in the study. Serum calprotectin levels were increased in aPL-positive patients compared with HCs (649.66 ± 240.79 vs 484.62 ± 149.37 ng/ml, p < 0.001), and were increased in patients with microvascular manifestations compared with patients without (693.03 ± 271.90 vs 639.43 ± 232.06 ng/ml, p = 0.044). The cutoff value was 783.36 ng/ml. Ninety-three patients (20.0%) were positive for calprotectin. Calprotectin positivity was independently associated with microvascular manifestations (odds ratio [OR] 1.90, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.07–3.36) and platelet count (PLT) < 100 (OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.08–3.88). Age (OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.96–1.00), systemic lupus erythematosus (OR 2.08, 95% CI 1.15–3.75), calprotectin positivity (OR 1.83, 95% CI 1.02–3.26), hypertension (OR 2.73, 95% CI 1.36–5.45), hemolytic anemia (OR 2.66, 95% CI 1.13–6.23), and anti-β2GPI antibodies (OR 2.06, 95% CI 1.11–3.83) could independently predict microvascular manifestations in aPL-positive patients. Serum calprotectin negatively correlated with PLT (R = − 0.101, p = 0.031). Conclusion: Serum calprotectin levels are increased in aPL-positive patients and could be a potential predictor of microvascular manifestations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present numerical results for three-dimensional (3D) solitons with symmetries of the semi-vortex (SV) and mixed-mode (MM) types, which can be created in spinor Bose–Einstein condensates of Rydberg atoms under the action of the spin–orbit coupling (SOC). By means of systematic numerical computations, we demonstrate that the interplay of SOC and long-range spherically symmetric Rydberg interactions stabilize the 3D solitons, improving their resistance to collapse. We find how the stability range depends on the strengths of the SOC and Rydberg interactions and the soft-core atomic radius. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, for the safe and efficient cooperation of high-speed trains, a sliding-mode adaptive control strategy is investigated for cooperative control of trains subject to state constraints and input saturation. Firstly, in order to guarantee the safety of inter-train distance and over-speed protection, the position and speed limitations which could be seen as state constraints are integrated as the hybrid prescribed performance. Then, a sliding-mode surface is selected and a sliding-mode adaptive control protocol is designed to meet the input saturation and hybrid prescribed performance for the multi-train systems. Afterwards, a Barrier Lyapunov Function is designed to prove the stability of multi-train systems subject to state constraints and input saturation. Using the sliding-mode adaptive control and hybrid prescribed performance control methods, the safe and efficient operation of trains can be realized. Finally, the effectiveness of proposed method is given by the simulation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The investigation of micropore structure changes by H2O2-coal reactions can provide an understanding of macroscopic effects of oxidant stimulation on coalbed methane (CBM) diffusion and seepage behavior. In this study, we prepared H2O2 to oxidize coals with three different ranks, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-pressure mercury intrusion (HPMI), low-temperature N2 adsorption (LT-N2A), low field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) tests were conducted to characterize variations in micropore structures of the coals treated with H2O2. The results showed that H2O2 treatment can change, to varying degrees, the pore structure characteristics of coals with different rank. The SEM results showed that coal surface structures were destroyed by oxidation and dissolution, and pores and fissures became more developed after H2O2 treatment. The HPMI and LT-N2A tests revealed that the porosity, total pore volume, maximum pore throat diameter and average pore diameter of coals with different rank generally increased after H2O2 treatment. The HPMI-derived fractal dimensions of seepage pores decreased after oxidation, indicating that the heterogeneity of pore structure was weakened and the connectivity was improved. The fractal dimensions of adsorption pores derived from LT-N2A generally showed a downward trend, indicating that oxidation can reduce the roughness and complexity of adsorption pores, and improve the pore connectivity. The results of LF-NMR tests also corroborated the above findings. The mechanism of coal permeability enhancement by H2O2 treatment is reflected mainly in the oxidation and dissolution of organics and inorganic minerals. Thus, H2O2 treatment can lead to more significant oxidation effects on low- and medium-rank coals. This study suggests that H2O2 can be used for fracturing addition fluid in low- to medium-rank coals to improve coal permeability, thereby remove plugging and enhancing CBM recovery effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the global structures of the non-selfsimilar solutions for n-dimensional (n-D) non-homogeneous Burgers equation, in which the initial data has two different constant states, which are separated by a (n − 1)-dimensional sphere. We first obtain the expressions of n-D shock waves and rarefaction waves emitting from the initial discontinuity. Then, by estimating the new kind of interactions of the related elementary waves, we obtain the global structures of the non-selfsimilar solutions, in which ingenious techniques are proposed to construct the n-D shock waves. The asymptotic behaviors with geometric structures are also proved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integral blisk blades are typical complex curved structures with small thickness, low stiffness, and complex boundaries. Due to the high material removal rate during the machining process, they are prone to force-induced deformation, resulting in significant machining errors. This seriously contradicts the requirements for high design accuracy and surface accuracy in the aerospace industry. Therefore, accurately predicting the distribution pattern of deformation caused by dynamic milling forces during the machining process and proposing reasonable error compensation strategies are urgent issues to be solved in the manufacturing of integral blisk blade. Firstly, this paper establishes a prediction model for the deformation distribution during the milling process of the integral blisk blade. Secondly, based on the finite element deformation prediction model of blades, the selection of blade milling processing methods and parameters was completed with the goal of minimizing machining deformation. Finally, a reverse reconstruction geometric modeling compensation strategy is proposed, and the tool path program containing the deformation error compensation amount is regenerated. The prediction model and compensation strategy proposed in this paper were validated through milling experiments and profile accuracy measurement experiments on a certain aeroengine integral blisk blade. The results showed that the prediction model has high reliability, with an average error of 7.96%; the new compensation strategy can reduce the tool-yielding error to within the tolerance range. This study will provide technical support for improving the machining accuracy and efficiency of integral blisk blade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the complexity and diversity of cloud requests in the cloud environment, cloud requests are divided into primary requests (PRs) with high priority and secondary requests (SRs) with low priority. We introduce the entry threshold and the entry probability to control the entry of SRs. If the number of busy virtual machines (VMs) is greater than or equal to the entry threshold, the recently arrived SR will enter the system with an entry probability that is inversely proportional to the number of busy VMs. Based on the proposed cloud resource allocation strategy with entry control, a discrete-time queueing model is constructed, and the expressions of performance indicators are derived. Compared with the conventional cloud resource allocation strategy without entry control, the proposed cloud resource allocation strategy with entry control can effectively improve the service experience of PRs. For example, when the arrival rate of PRs is equal to 0.5, under the parameter settings given by experiments, the proposed cloud resource allocation strategy can reduce the blocking rate of PRs by 47% and increase the throughput rate of PRs by 55% at most. Finally, we construct a revenue function to obtain the optimal entry thresholds and maximum revenues under different conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To investigate microvascular alterations in the Glisson system of biliary atresia (BA) patients after Kasai portoenterostomy (KP) using three-dimensional (3D) virtual histopathology based on X-ray phase-contrast CT (PCCT). Methods: Liver explants from BA patients were imaged using PCCT, and 32 subjects were included and divided into two groups: KP (n = 16) and non-KP (n = 16). Combined with histological analysis and 3D visualization technology, 3D virtual histopathological assessment of the biliary, arterial, and portal venous systems was performed. According to loop volume ratio, 3D spatial density, relative surface area, tortuosity, and other parameters, pathological changes of microvasculature in the Glisson system were investigated. Results: In the non-KP group, bile ducts mostly manifested as radial multifurcated hyperplasia and twisted into loops. In the KP group, the bile duct hyperplasia was less, and the loop volume ratio of bile ducts decreased by 13.89%. Simultaneously, the arterial and portal venous systems presented adaptive alterations in response to degrees of bile duct hyperplasia. Compared with the non-KP group, the 3D spatial density of arteries in the KP group decreased by 3.53%, and the relative surface area decreased from 0.088 ± 0.035 to 0.039 ± 0.015 (p <.01). Deformed portal branches gradually recovered after KP, with a 2.93% increase in 3D spatial density and a decrease in tortuosity from 1.17 ± 0.06 to 1.14 ± 0.04 (p <.01) compared to the non-KP group. Conclusion: 3D virtual histopathology via PCCT clearly reveals the microvascular structures in the Glisson system of BA patients and provides key insights into the morphological mechanism of microvascular adaptation induced by biliary tract dredging after KP in BA disease. Key Points: • 3D virtual histopathology via X-ray phase-contrast computed tomography clearly presented the morphological structures and pathological changes of microvasculature in the Glisson system of biliary atresia patients. • The morphological alterations of microvasculature in the Glisson system followed the competitive occupancy mechanism in the process of biliary atresia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized pathologically by α-synuclein (α-syn) aggregation. In PD, the current mainstay of symptomatic treatment is levodopa (L-DOPA)-based dopamine (DA) replacement therapy. However, the development of dyskinesia and/or motor fluctuations which is relevant to levodopa is restricting its long-term utility. Given that the ability of which is to modulate the striato-thalamo-cortical loops and function to modulate basal ganglia output, the adenosinergic pathway (AP) is qualified as a potential promising non-DA target. As an indispensable component of energy production pathways, AP modulates cellular metabolism and gene regulation in both neurons and neuroglia cells through the recognition and degradation of extracellular adenosine. In addition, AP is geared to the initiation, evolution, and resolution of inflammation as well. Besides the above-mentioned crosstalk between the adenosine and dopamine signaling pathways, the functions of adenosine receptors (A1R, A2AR, A2BR, and A3R) and metabolism enzymes in modulating PD pathological process have been extensively investigated in recent decades. Here we reviewed the emerging findings focused on the function of adenosine receptors, adenosine formation, and metabolism in the brain and discussed its potential roles in PD pathological process. We also recapitulated clinical studies and the preclinical evidence for the medical strategies targeting the Ado signaling pathway to improve motor dysfunction and alleviate pathogenic process in PD. We hope that further clinical studies should consider this pathway in their monotherapy and combination therapy, which would open new vistas to more targeted therapeutic approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soybean agglutinin (SBA) is a main anti-nutritional factor in soybean. SBA exhibits its anti-nutritional functions by binding to intestinal epithelial cells. Keratin8 (KRT8), Keratin18 (KRT18) and Actin (ACTA) are the representative SBA-specific binding proteins. Such cytoskeletal proteins act a crucial role in different cell activities. However, limited reports reveal what the signal transduction pathway of apoptosis caused by SBA when binding to KRT8, KRT18 and ACTA. We aimed to evaluate the effects of SBA on cell apoptosis and the expression of the cytoskeletal protein (KRT8, KRT18 and ACTA), reveal the roles of these cytoskeletal proteins or their combinations on SBA-induced cell apoptosis in IPEC-J2 cell line, evaluate the influences of SBA on the mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum stress and death receptor-mediated apoptosis signal pathway and to show the roles of KRT8, KRT18 and ACTA in different apoptosis signal pathways induced by SBA. The results showed that SBA induced the IPEC-J2 cell apoptosis and decreased the mRNA expression of KRT8, KRT18 and ACTA (p < 0.05). The degree of effect of three cytoskeleton proteins on cell apoptosis was ACTA > KRT8 > KRT18. The roles of these three cytoskeletal proteins on IPEC-J2 apoptotic rates had a certain accumulation effect. SBA up-regulated mitochondrial fission variant protein (FIS1) and fusion protein (Mfn2) promoted CytC and AIF in mitochondria to enter the cytoplasm, activated caspase-9 and caspase-3, damaged or declined mitochondrial function and reduced ATP synthesis (p < 0.05). Also, SBA up-regulated the expression of GRP78, XBP-1, eIF2α, p-eIF2α and CHOP (p < 0.05), down-regulated the expression level of ASK1 protein (p < 0.05). SBA led to the recruitment of FADD to the cytoplasmic membrane and increased the expression of FasL, resulting in caspase-8 processing. SBA up-regulated the expression level of Bax protein and decreased cytosolic Bcl-2 and Bid (p < 0.05). In addition, there was a significant negative correlation between the gene expression of cytoskeleton proteins and apoptosis, as well as the expression of key proteins of apoptosis-related signal transduction pathways. In conclusion, SBA induced the activation of the mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum stress and the death receptor-mediated apoptosis signal pathway and the crosstalk between them. The effect of SBA on these three pathways was mainly exhibited via down-regulation of the mRNA expression of the three cytoskeletal expressions. This study elucidates the molecular mechanism and signaling pathway of SBA that lead to apoptosis from the perspective of cell biology and molecular biology and provides a new perspective on the toxicity mechanism of other food-derived anti-nutrients, medical gastrointestinal health and related cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast cancer is the malignant tumor with the highest incidence in women worldwide. It is highly heterogeneous, has a high incidence of drug resistance, recurrence, and metastasis, and is one of the malignant tumors with the highest mortality rate. The early diagnosis, treatment monitoring, and prognosis assessment of breast cancer are the key factors affecting the survival of patients. However, due to the lack of specific biomarkers, breast cancer is still an essential factor affecting women’s quality of life and physical and mental health. Long non-coding RNA can regulate various genes and different signaling pathways and plays an essential role in the occurrence and development of tumors. Recent studies have found that the abnormal expression of circulating long non-coding RNA in serum, saliva, and other biological body fluids plays a significant role in early diagnosis, pathological classification, stage, therapeutic effect monitoring, and prognosis evaluation of breast cancer. This article will review the potential application value of circulating lncRNA in breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The method of the maximum function of accumulated spectra based on the genetic algorithm is applied for the first time to three-dimensional (3D) wind field retrieval by Doppler wind lidar on an airborne platform. The algorithm can obtain the 3D wind field directly from the origin spectra of different directions regardless of the radial wind velocity inversion accuracy. To validate the reliability of this algorithm for application on an airborne platform, a 1.54-μm all-fiber airborne pulsed coherent Doppler lidar was installed on an aircraft to conduct field experiments. The measured wind fields were compared with those obtained through the sounding balloon and the ground-based lidar. For the sounding balloon, the average errors of wind speed and the wind direction are 0.539 m/s and 5.12°; while for the ground-based lidar, the average errors are 0.504 m/s and 4.18°, respectively. In addition, the two inversion results are in good consistency by comparison with the least square method. The genetic algorithm shows higher accuracy even though the detectability is low. The proposed algorithm, as an efficient and accurate calculation model, would be a good tool in the airborne platform for wind retrieval. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are of great significance in the pathogenesis and progression of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). LncRNA tumorigenicity 7 antisense RNA 1 (ST7-AS1) is a newly identified lncRNA serving as an oncogene or tumor suppressor in different tumors; however, the role of ST7-AS1 in PTC remains completely unknown. In this study, ST7-AS1 was mainly distributed in the cytoplasm of PTC cells and presented reduced expression in THCA tumors and PTC cell lines. Functional experiments revealed that overexpressed ST7-AS1 inhibited the viability and proliferation of PTC cells, whereas accelerated the apoptosis of PTC cells. The expression of miR-181b-5p was upregulated and it bound with ST7-AS1 in PTC cells. Moreover, TRIM3 exhibited downregulated expression level in PTC cells and ST7-AS1 elevated TRIM3 expression via harboring miR-181b-5p. Rescue experiments illuminated that knockdown of TRIM3 reversed ST7-AS1 overexpression-induced promotion on PTC cell proliferation and suppression on PTC cell apoptosis. Overall, overexpression of ST7-AS1 enhances apoptosis and represses proliferation of PTC cells via targeting the miR-181b-5p/TRIM3 axis, which may help broaden the horizon and establish the foundation to develop therapeutic strategies for PTC in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are toxic persistent organic pollutants and bioaccumulative chemicals, which affect the environment and ecology. PFASs in the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and receiving river downstream were investigated. Fourteen out of eighteen PFASs were detected, ranging from 197 to 0.14 ng L−1. The main pollutants were 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoro-2-(1,1,2,2,3,3,3-heptafluoro-propoxy) propanoic acid (HFPO-DA), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). The concentration of HFPO-DA (181 ng L−1) was the highest in influent, which indicated the use and emission of PFASs in the sewage collection region of WWTP changed from legacy to emerging ones. However, PFOS from catering wastewater as the main source was dominant PFASs in the reclaimed water. Biological treatment could be effective in the removal of PFASs, especially for HFPO-DA. HFPO-DA could directly bind to cytochrome P450 and bring potential ecotoxicity to the surrounding environment, and the ecological risk of degradation products should be under consideration. Coagulation might result in PFASs release from sludge. More attention should be paid to sewage treatment process decision of WWTP for the control of PFASs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: To investigate whether microsatellite instability (MSI) is an important prognostic biomarker for endometrioid endometrial cancer (EEC). Methods: The PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Cooperative Library databases were searched from inception to July 2021. Overall survival, disease-free survival, progression-free survival, EEC-specific survival, recurrence-free survival, and the recurrence rate were pooled to analyze the correlation between MSI and EEC. In addition, Egger's regression analysis and Begg's test were used to detect publication bias. Results: 17 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in our meta-analysis with a sample size of 4723, and the included patients with endometrioid cancer (EC) all were EEC. The pooled hazard ratios (HR) in patients with EEC showed that MSI was significantly associated with shorter overall survival [HR = 1.37, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.00–1.86), p = 0.048, I2 = 60.6%], shorter disease-free survival [HR = 1.99, 95% CI (1.31–3.01), p = 0.000, I2 = 67.2%], shorter EEC-specific survival [HR = 2.07, 95% CI (1.35–3.18), p = 0.001, I2 = 31.6%] and a higher recurrence rate [Odds ratios (OR) = 2.72, 95% CI (1.56–4.76), p = 0.000, I2 = 0.0%]. In the early-stage EEC subgroup, MSI was significantly associated with shorter overall survival [HR = 1.47, 95% CI (1.11–1.95), p = 0.07], shorter disease-free survival [HR = 4.17, 95% CI (2.37–7.41), p = 0.000], and shorter progression-free survival [HR = 2.41, 95% CI (1.05–5.54), p = 0.039]. No significant heterogeneity was observed in overall survival (I2 = 20.9%), disease-free survival (I2 = 0.0%), or progression-free survival (I2 = 0.0%) in patients with early-stage EEC. Meanwhile, publication bias was not observed, and the p-value for Egger's test of overall survival, disease-free survival, and EEC-specific survival were p = 0.131, p = 0.068, and p = 0.987, respectively. Conclusion: MSI is likely an important biomarker for poor prognosis in patients with EEC, and this correlation is even more certain in patients with early-stage EEC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infection is the most common complications of percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) in treating urinary calculi. However, the risk factors for developing infectious complications after surgery have not been clarified, and the predictive value of some factors is controversial. This study aimed to assess the risk factors for postoperative infectious complications of PCNL. We performed a systematic search of PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE to obtain studies reporting risk factors for postoperative infection complications after PCNL. In this review, demographic factors, laboratory test factors, and perioperative factors were evaluated. The odds ratio (OR) or mean difference (MD) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated to assess the risk factors. A total of 18 studies were included, with a total of 7161 study patients with a mean age of 46.4 to 55.5 years and an incidence of infectious complications after PCNL ranging from 2.4% to 40.4%. Twelve factors were identified as independent risk factors for post-PCNL infection complications (P < 0.05), female (OR = 1.60, 95% CI 1.23–2.07), positive urine culture (UC) (OR = 3.16, 95% CI 2.11–4.74), positive renal pelvis urine culture (RPUC) (OR = 5.81, 95% CI 1.75–19.32), positive stone culture (SC) (OR = 5.11, 95% CI 1.46–17.89), positive urine leukocyte (OR = 3.61, 95% CI 2.45–5.34), infected stones (OR = 7.00, 95% CI 1.27–38.55), elevated blood leukocyte (MD = 0.71, 95% CI 0.31–1.10), elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (MD = 0.55, 95% CI 0.43–0.66), preoperative stenting (OR = 1.55, 95% CI 1.10–2.20), multiple puncture access (OR = 2.58, 95% CI 1.75–3.82), prolonged operative time (MD = 10 20, 95% CI 4.80–15.60), and postoperative residual stone (OR = 1.56, 95% CI 1.24–1.98). Female, UC positivity, RPUC positivity, SC positivity, urine leukocyte positivity, infected stones, elevated peripheral blood leukocytes, elevated NLR, preoperative stent implantation, multiple puncture channels, prolonged operation time, and postoperative residual stones were identified as independent risk factors for infection complications after PCNL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies have examined the causes and harms of problematic Internet use (PIU). However, less is known about whether and how PIU influences the users' psychological well-being (PWB). To address these concerns, the study explores the impact of PIU on PWB with a special focus on the potential mediating role of anhedonia, which is a negative and core characteristic of depression. A total of 434 participants from two universities completed the questionnaires, which included the Internet Game Cognitive-Addiction (IGCA), Temporal Experience of Pleasure (TEP), and the PWB scales. Data were analyzed with structural equation modeling methods. Results show that PIU has a negative impact on PWB as assessed by the PWB scale, whereas anhedonia as measured by the TEP is a key mediator for explaining this relationship. Potential implications of the major findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation-mediated microglial polarization and chronic neuroinflammation play a crucial role in the process of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The previous study has shown that cattle encephalon glycoside and ignotin (CEGI) exerted an anti-inflammatory effect and inhibited inflammatory cytokines release by downregulating the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) pathway in AD models. However, it is not clear whether CEGI can inhibit NLRP3 inflammasome activation and regulate the polarization of microglia in AD and whether its effects rely on TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. In the present study, we found that CEGI attenuated amyloid-β (Aβ)1–42-induced apoptosis, increased Aβ degrading enzymes (insulin-degrading enzyme and neprilysin), and promoted the clearance of Aβ1-42 in BV2 cells. CEGI also restrained the expression of NLRP3 and M1 microglial marker (inducible nitric oxide synthase) and elevated the expression of M2 microglial markers (arginase-1 and CD206). Meanwhile, knockdown of TLR4 with small interfering RNA proved that TLR4/NF-κB signaling was involved in the effects of CEGI. Furthermore, the roles of CEGI in inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation, modulating microglia M1/M2 polarization, and increasing Aβ degrading enzyme expression were further validated in vivo using APP/PS1 mice. In conclusion, CEGI promotes Aβ degradation and protects microglia against Aβ1-42-induced neurotoxicity by preventing NLRP3 inflammasome activation and regulating M1/M2 polarization via TLR4/NF-κB pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The SETD3 enzyme has been identified as the methyltransferase for the His73 methylation in β-actin, and such methylation plays an important role in regulating the actin's biochemical properties and fine-tuning the protein's cellular roles. Further studies have demonstrated that SETD3 may be able to methylase some other residues, including lysine and methionine, that substitute His73 in the β-actin peptide. The activity of SETD3 on the Met73 peptide is low without turnover. Interestingly, it has been shown that the N255V and N255A mutations of SETD3 can increase the activity by about 3-fold for the methionine methylation, while such mutations lead to a significant reduction of kcat for the His73 methylation. The detailed mechanism that leads to such increase of the activity for the Met73 methylation as a result of the mutations has not been understood. In this work, QM/MM molecular dynamics (MD) and potential of mean force (PMF) free energy simulations are undertaken for investigating structural, dynamic, and energetic properties involving the complex of SETD3 and Met73 peptide and to study the SETD3-catalyzed methionine methylation and the effects of the N255V mutation. It is demonstrated that the free energy barrier in the case of the methionine methylation in SETD3 is about 10 kcal/mol higher than that for the histidine methylation. Moreover, the free energy barrier for the methionine methylation in the N255V mutant is about 1 kcal/mol lower than that in the wild-type enzyme. These results agree with previous experimental observation. The origin of the free-energy barrier changes as a result of the H to M substitution on the β-actin peptide and the N255V mutation of SETD3 is discussed based on the data obtained from the simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]