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This study aimed to assess the associations of total body fat and fat distribution with bone mineral density (BMD) among children and adolescents in this cross-sectional study. A total of 1032 boys and 897 girls aged 6-17 years were enrolled between May 2019 and June 2019 in Guangzhou, China. BMD, total body fat (fat mass index [FMI] and body fat percentage [BF%]), and fat distribution (trunk-to-limb and android-to-gynoid ratios) were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Inverse probability of treatment weighting regression was used to explore the association between fat and BMD. Traditional regression of covariate adjustment was applied as sensitivity analysis. Regression with inverse probability weighting suggested BF% and android-to-gynoid ratio were negatively associated with BMD in boys (β = - 0.12 and - 0.16, respectively; P 0.05). Android-to-gynoid ratio was also inversely associated with BMD in girls (β = - 0.08, P 0.05). When stratified by age, the negative associations were retained in boys aged 12-17 years (β = - 0.23 and - 0.25, respectively; P 0.001). But for girls, it showed a positive association of FMI with BMD in the 6-9 years group (β = 0.33, P 0.001) and a negative association between the android-to-gynoid ratio and BMD in the 10-17 years group (β = - 0.10, P 0.05). Traditional regression supported the robustness of the results. Conclusion: Total body fat is positively associated with BMD in younger girls but inversely associated in older boys. As for abdominal adipose, it is associated with lower BMD in both older boys and girls. What is Known: • The lean mass has been consistently positively associated with bone mineral density (BMD) among children and adolescents. However, the impact of fat mass on BMD remained controversial. • Beyond total body fat, site-specific fat mass, especially abdominal adiposity, might impede bone formation. What is New: • The associations of total body fat and fat distribution with BMD in children and adolescents were gender- and age-specific. • More attention should be paid to the abdominal fat accumulation to promote bone health in older children.

Phthalates have been shown to have adverse effects on neurodevelopment, which may be gender-specific. However, the association between prenatal mixed exposure to phthalates and children's neurodevelopment remains inconsistent. We measured 15 prenatal serum phthalate levels and evaluated children's neurodevelopmental indicators using Gesell Developmental Schedule (GDS) (n = 750). Generalized linear regression was fitted to examine the association. Among boys, mono-2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl phthalate (MEHHP) had adverse effects on gross motor [odds ratio (OR): 7.38, 95% confidence interval (CI):1.42, 38.46]. For gross motor in boys, joint effect was discovered between mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP) and MEHHP. Moreover, synergistic effects were found for MEHP with vanadium and cadmium, and antagonistic effects for MEHP with magnesium, calcium, titanium, iron, copper, selenium, rubidium, and strontium. We did not find statistically significant relationships in girls. In the 1st trimester, adverse effects were identified between mono-2-ethyl-5-oxoyhexyl phthalate (MEOHP) and adaptation (P = 0.024), and monomethyl phthalate (MMP) with social area (P = 0.017). In the 2nd trimester, MEHHP had adverse effects on social area (P = 0.035). In summary, we found boys may be more vulnerable to the neurotoxicity than girls in gross motor, and we also discovered the detrimental effects of phthalates on children's neurodevelopment in the 1st and 2nd trimesters. Therefore, the supplementation of appropriate elements in the 1st and 2nd trimesters may help reduce the adverse effects of phthalates on children's neurodevelopment, especially among boys.

Background Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) and total mesorectal excision are standard treatment regimen for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). This sphincter-saving treatment strategy may be accompanied by a series of anorectal functional disorders. Yet, prospective studies that dynamically evaluating the respective roles of radiotherapy, chemotherapy and surgery on anorectal function are lacking. Patients/design The study is a prospective, observational, controlled, multicentre study. After screening for eligibility and obtaining informed consent, a total of 402 LARC patients undergoing NCRT followed by surgery, or neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery, or surgery only would be included in the trial. The primary outcome measure is the average resting pressure of anal sphincter. The secondary outcome measures are maximum anal sphincter contraction pressure, Wexner continence score and low anterior resection syndrome (LARS) score. Evaluations will be carried out at the following stages: baseline (T1), after radiotherapy or chemotherapy (before surgery, T2), after surgery (before closing the temporary stoma, T3), and at follow-up visits (every 3 to 6 months, T4, T5……). Follow-up for each patient will be at least 2 years. Discussion We expect the program to provide more information of neoadjuvant radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy on anorectal function, and to optimize the treatment strategy to reduce anorectal dysfunction for LARC patients. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05671809). Registered on 26 December 2022.

The main chemical component of high-silicon iron tailings (HSITs) is SiO

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is a critical cosubstrate for enzymes involved in supplying energy to the brain. Nicotinamide riboside (NR), an NAD

Since the early 2000s, China has carried out extensive “grain-for-green” and grazing exclusion practices to combat desertification in the desertification-prone region (DPR). However, the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of these practices remain unclear. We quantify and compare the changes in fractional vegetation cover (FVC) with economic and population data in the DPR before and after the implementation of these environmental programmes. Here we show that climatic change and CO2 fertilization are relatively strong drivers of vegetation rehabilitation from 2001-2020 in the DPR, and the declines in the direct incomes of farmers and herders caused by ecological practices exceed the subsidies provided by governments. To minimize economic hardship, enhance food security, and improve the returns on policy investments in the DPR, China needs to adapt its environmental programmes to address the potential impacts of future climate change and create positive synergies to combat desertification and improve the economy in this region.

With the fast-developing deep learning models in the field of autonomous driving, the research on the uncertainty estimation of deep learning models has also prevailed. Herein, a pyramid Bayesian deep learning method is proposed for the model uncertainty evaluation of semantic segmentation. Semantic segmentation is one of the most important perception problems in understanding visual scene, which is critical for autonomous driving. This study to optimize Bayesian SegNet for uncertainty evaluation. This paper first simplifies the network structure of Bayesian SegNet by reducing the number of MC-Dropout layer and then introduces the pyramid pooling module to improve the performance of Bayesian SegNet. mIoU and mPAvPU are used as evaluation matrics to test the proposed method on the public Cityscapes dataset. The experimental results show that the proposed method improves the sampling effect of the Bayesian SegNet, shortens the sampling time, and improves the network performance.

In this article we report on a hexactinellid sponge new to science, Walteria demeterae sp. nov. , which was collected from the northwestern Pacific seamounts at depths of 1 271–1 703 m. Its tubular and basiphytous body, extensive lateral processes, numerous oval lateral oscula which are irregularly situated in the body wall, the presence of microscleres with oxyoidal, discoidal and onychoidal outer ends, and the absence of anchorate discohexasters, indicate it belongs to the genus Walteria of family Euplectellidae, which is also supported by molecular phylogenetic evidence from 18S, 28S, 16S and COI sequences. The unique morphotype, which is structured by a thin and rigid framework of body wall and lateral processes consisting of diactins, characterizes it as a new species. Local aggregations of individuals of this new species coupled with their associated macrofauna in the Suda Seamount are reported, highlighting its functional significance in providing biogenic microhabitats in the deep sea.

Alentiana has only one member, A. aurantiaca ( Verrill, 1885 ), commensal with sea anemone (Bolocera tuediae). Here, Alentiana palinpoda sp. n., a second member in the genus Alentiana (subfamily Lepidastheniinae), a new commensal polynoid is described, based on a specimen collected from a deep-water seamount in the Northwest Pacific Ocean. The new species is characterized by large elytra that completely cover the dorsum and are present in every third segment in the posterior regions. Neuropodia are truncated, with two types of neurochaetae; supraacicular chaetae toothed on one side with a slightly inflated end, and subacicular chaetae that are heavy and smooth; the prechaetal lobe is larger than the postchaetal lobe, with the ventral part rolling upward and backward.

A new species of the nereidid annelid, genus Nicon Kinberg, 1866, from KIOST Seamount, Northwest Pacific deep water is described. Nicon is a genus characterized by lacking paragnaths or papillae on the pharynx and composed of nine species worldwide, distributed from shallow water to deep sea. Nicon ablepsia sp. nov. here described is characterized by the lack of eyes on the prostomium, prolonged tentacular cirri reaching to chaetiger 6, notochaetae homogomph spinigers, neurochaetae homogomph spinigers and heterogomph falcigers. Phylogenetic relationships of Nicon remain undetermined based on molecular data. In this study, we constructed molecular Maximum-Likelihood phylogenetic tree from 29 nereidid species based on four marker genes: mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene; nuclear 18S rRNA gene and 28S rRNA gene. Our analysis suggest the Nicon is clustered within Nereidinae, and nereidinae is not recovered as monophyletic. A key to species of Nicon is provided.

Background Synchronous multiple primary lung cancers associated with small non-dominant nodules are commonly encountered. However, the incidence, follow-up, and treatment of small non-dominant tumors have been but little studied. We explored the prevalence and management of small non-dominant tumors and factors associated with interval growth. Methods This observational, consecutive, retrospective single-center study enrolled patients diagnosed with synchronous multiple primary lung cancers and small non-dominant tumors (≤ 6 mm in diameter) who underwent resection of the dominant tumor. The incidence, follow-up, and management of small non-dominant tumors and predictors of nodule growth were analyzed. Results There were 88 patients (12% of all lung cancer patients) with pathological diagnoses of synchronous multiple primary lung cancers. A total of 131 (18%) patients were clinically diagnosed with at least one small (≤ 6 mm in diameter) multiple primary lung cancer non-dominant tumor. 94 patients with 125 small-nodule non-dominant tumors clinically diagnosed as multiple primary lung cancers were followed-up for at least 6 months. A total of 29 (29/125, 23.2%) evidenced small pulmonary nodules (≤ 6 mm in diameter) that exhibited interval growth on follow-up computed tomography (CT). On multivariate analysis, a part-solid nodule (compared to a pGGN) (OR 1.23; 95% CI 1.08–1.40) or a solid nodule (compared to a pGGN) (OR 3.50; 95% CI 1.94–6.30) predicted small nodule interval growth. Conclusion We found a relatively high incidence of multiple primary lung cancers with small non-dominant tumors exhibiting interval growth on follow-up CT, suggesting that resection of non-dominant tumors at the time of dominant tumor resection, especially when the nodules are part-solid or solid, is the optimal treatment.

Repair of spinal cord injury (SCI) depends on microenvironment improvement and the reconnection between injured axons and regenerated neurons. Here, we fabricate a GelMA-MXene hydrogel nerve conduit with electrical conductivity and internal-facing longitudinal grooves and explore its function in SCI repair. It is found that the resultant grooved GelMA-MXene hydrogel could effectively promote the neural stem cells (NSCs) adhesion, directed proliferation and differentiation in vitro. Additionally, when the GelMA-MXene conduit loaded with NSCs (GMN) is implanted into the injured spinal cord site, effective repair capability for the complete transection of SCI was demonstrated. The GMN group shows remarkable nerve recovery and significantly higher BBB scores in comparison to the other groups. Therefore, GMN with the microgroove structure and loaded with NSCs is a promising strategy in treating SCI.

The aim of low-light image enhancement algorithms is to improve the luminance of images. However, existing low-light image enhancement algorithms inevitably cause an enhanced image to be over- or underenhanced and cause color distortion, both of which prevent the enhanced images from obtaining satisfactory visual effects. In this paper, we proposed a simple but effective low-light image enhancement algorithm based on a membership function and gamma correction (MFGC). First, we convert the image from the RGB (red, green, blue) color space to the HSV (hue, saturation, value) color space and design a method to achieve the self-adaptation computation of traditional membership function parameters. Then, we use the results of the membership function as the γ value and adjust coefficient c of the gamma function based on the characteristics of different images with different gray levels. Finally, we design a linear function to avoid underenhancement. The experimental results show that our method not only has lower computational complexity but also greatly improves the brightness of low-light areas and addresses uneven brightness. The images enhanced using the proposed method have better objective and subjective image quality evaluation results than other state-of-the-art methods.

Phase retrieval is to calculate the phase from the direct information of the intensity of focus and defocus. Classical methods include the phase retrieval algorithm based on the transport of intensity equation (TIE) and iteration. The phase retrieval algorithm based on TIE can directly obtain the absolute phase without reference beam and phase unwrapping but is sensitive to noise. On the other hand, the intensity difference method needs to be used to approximate the intensity differential when solving the algorithm. Therefore, the defocus distance between intensity images has great influence on the accuracy of retrieval results. The phase retrieval algorithm based on TIE will be limited if it is extended to the phase retrieval of large objects. In order to widen its application range, an adaptive phase retrieval algorithm based on convolutional neural network under all defocus distances is proposed. The new algorithm consists of two important components: phase retrieval algorithm module and convolutional neural network optimization module. Firstly, the preliminary retrieval results are obtained by the phase retrieval algorithm module at different defocus distances, and then the accuracy of the results is further improved by the convolutional neural network module. The experimental results illustrate that the proposed algorithm is not only suitable for different defocus distances but also has good accuracy and stability.

Knoevenagel condensation of acetylacetone and aromatic aldehyde catalyzed by L-proline in the choline chloride-based deep eutectic solvents was achieved. High yields are up to 96.6%. Mild reaction conditions, enhanced rates, improved yields, recyclability of deep eutectic solvents containing L-proline, and reagents’ reactivity which is different from that in standard organic solvents are the remarkable features observed in deep eutectic solvents. The deep eutectic solvents containing catalyst was recycled in four subsequent runs with no decrease in activity.

The Knoevenagel condensation of acetylacetone and aromatic aldehyde catalyzed by lipase from porcine pancreas(PPL) and α-amylase from hog pancreas in ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents was achieved for the first time. The highest yields is up to 96.1%. Mild reaction conditions, enhanced rates, improved yields and reagents’ reactivity which is different from that in standard organic solvents are the remarkable features observed in ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents.

Background Stapled haemorrhoidopexy (SH) has resulted in a unique collection of procedural complications with postoperative mucocele a particularly rare example. This study is designed to comprehensively describe the characteristics of rectal mucocele and discuss its pathogenesis following SH surgery. Methods A database of patients presenting with a rectal mucocele following an SH procedure was established and studied retrospectively. Results Seven patients (5 males; median age 32 years, range 20–75 years) were identified. All patients complained of variable anal discomfort with 5/7 presenting with inconstant anal pain, 2 with de novo evacuatory difficulty. These cases appeared at a median time of 6 months (range 2–84 months) after SH surgery. Conclusion Rectal Mucocele develops when mucosal fragments become embedded and isolated under the mucosa. It is a preventable complication of SH surgery by ensuring correct purse string placement prior to stapled haemorrhoid excision.

Galectin-1 is found in the vasculature and has been confirmed to promote angiogenesis in several cancer models. Furthermore, galectin-1 has been demonstrated to improve the recovery of cerebral ischemia. However, whether vascular remodeling contributes to this improvement is still unknown. In the present study, photochemical cerebral ischemia was induced in both galectin-1-treated (2 μg/day, i.c.v, 3 days) and galectin-1 knockout mice. Laser speckle imaging and immunofluorescent staining demonstrated that circulation and vascular remodeling in the ischemic cortex were improved by galectin-1 treatment but disrupted in galectin-1 knockout mice. Western blot analysis showed that the expression of matrix metallopeptidase-9 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was regulated by galectin-1 in vivo. To determine how galectin-1 influences endothelial cells, the expression of galectin-1 in bEnd.3 cells was increased by transfection with an expression plasmid and knocked down by siRNA. As demonstrated by quantitative RT-PCR and western blot analysis, the expression of metallopeptidase-9, VEGF, and VEGF receptors was upregulated by galectin-1 overexpression but downregulated after galectin-1 knockdown. Flow cytometry, Transwell assay, and capillary-like tube formation assay were performed on cells after gene manipulation as well as cells treated by exogenous galectin-1 after anoxia. It demonstrated that galectin-1 potentiated the cell proliferation, migration capacity, and tube formation ability. Taken together, these data suggest that by targeting vascular remodeling, galectin-1 contributes to the restoration of blood flow, which promotes the recovery of mice after cerebral ischemic insults.

Community detection that discovers all densely connected communities in a network has been studied a lot. In this paper, we study online community search for query-dependent communities, which is a different but practically useful task. Given a query vertex in a graph, the problem is to find meaningful communities that the vertex belongs to in an online manner. We propose a community model based on the k-truss concept, which brings nice structural and computational properties. We design a compact and elegant index structure which supports the efficient search of k-truss communities with a linear cost with respect to the community size. We also investigate the k-truss community search problem in a dynamic graph setting with frequent insertions and deletions of graph vertices and edges. In addition, to support k-truss community search over massive graphs which cannot entirely fit in main memory, we propose I/O-efficient algorithms for query processing under the semi-external model. Extensive experiments on massive real-world networks demonstrate the effectiveness of our k-truss community model, the efficiency, and the scalability of our in-memory and semi-external community search algorithms.

During investigation of pathogenic Alternaria in China, nine Alternaria isolates were obtained from two Caryophyllaceae plants. Based on morphological and multilocus phylogenetic approaches and pathogenicity tests, three pathogenic species of Alternaria including two new species and a new record in China were identified. Phylogenetically, the present species were confirmed and grouped within two clades out of three in section Gypsophilae: clade I (Alternaria hispanica sp. nov. and A. vaccariae) and clade II (Alternaria barbata sp. nov.). Morphological comparison was conducted between the two new species and their closely related ones which verified the phylogenetic results. The two novel species were described and illustrated here.

Metal elements are present in the human body, and their levels in the blood have important impacts on health. In this study, 2488 Chinese individuals were included in a genome-wide association study of 21 serum metal levels, with approximately 179,000 East Asian individuals in a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis, and 628,000 Europeans in a two-sample MR analysis. We identified two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs35691438 and rs671 that were significantly associated with serum copper levels (SCLs). The bidirectional two-sample MR analysis in the East Asian population showed that gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase levels have a causal effect on SCLs. SCLs have causal effects on six outcomes, namely risks of esophageal varix, glaucoma, sleep apnea syndrome, and systemic lupus erythematosus, white blood cell count, and usage of drugs affecting bone structure and mineralization. The two-sample MR analyses in the European population showed causal effects of erythrocyte copper levels on risks of carpal tunnel syndrome and compression fracture. Our results provide original insights into the causal relationship between blood metal levels and multiple human phenotypes.

Long non-coding (lnc) RNA plays important roles in many cellular processes. The function of the vast majority of lncRNAs remains unknown. Here we identified that lncRNA-1700113A16RIK existed in skeletal muscle stem cells (MuSCs) and was significantly elevated during MuSC differentiation. Knockdown of 1700113A16RIK inhibits the differentiation of muscle stem cells. In contrast, overexpression of 1700113A16RIK promotes the differentiation of muscle stem cells. Further study shows the muscle specific transcription factor Myogenin (MyoG) positively regulates the expression of 1700113A16RIK by binding to the promoter region of 1700113A16RIK. Mechanistically, 1700113A16RIK may regulate the expression of myogenic genes by directly binding to 3’UTR of an important myogenic transcription factor MEF2D, which in turn promotes the translation of MEF2D. Taken together, our results defined 1700113A16RIK as a positive regulator of MuSC differentiation and elucidated a mechanism as to how 1700113A16RIK regulated MuSC differentiation.

Manganese (Mn)-induced neurotoxicity has aroused public concerns for many years, but its precise mechanism is still poorly understood. Herein, we report the impacts of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/Akt) signaling pathway in mediating neurological effects induced by manganese sulfate (MnSO4) exposure in PC12 cells. In this study, cells were treated with MnSO4 for 24 h in the absence or presence of LY294002 (a special inhibitor of PI3K). We investigated cell viability and apoptosis signals, as well as levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), catalase (CAT), and malondialdehyde (MDA). The mRNA levels of B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax), and Caspase-3 were also quantified through real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR); protein levels of serine/threonine protein kinase (Akt) and forkhead box O3A (Foxo3a) were determined by western blot. Increasing of MnSO4 doses led to decreased SOD, GSH-Px, and CAT activities, while the level of MDA was upregulated. Moreover, cell apoptosis was significantly increased, as the mRNA of Bcl-2 and Caspase-3 was significantly decreased, while Bax mRNA was increased. Phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt) and Foxo3a (p-Foxo3a) were upregulated in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, LY294002 pretreatment reduced the activity of SOD, GSH-Px, and CAT but elevated MDA levels. Meanwhile, LY294002 pretreatment also increased cell apoptosis given the upregulated Bax and Caspase-3 mRNAs and decreased Bcl-2 mRNA. In summary, the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway can be activated by MnSO4 exposure and mediate MnSO4-induced neurotoxicity.

Granger causality analysis emerges as a typical method for inferring causal interactions in economics variables. Yet the traditional pairwise approach to Granger causality analysis may not clearly distinguish between direct causal influences from one economic variable to another and indirect ones acting through a third economic variable. In order to differentiate direct Granger causality from indirect one, a conditional Granger causality measure is derived based on the parametric dynamic quantile regression model. The proposed method can characterize the causal interactions on the entire distribution in more detail. Simulations are carried out to illustrate that the proposed tests have reasonable size and power against a variety of empirically plausible alternatives in finite samples. An economic application considers the causal relations between the stock trading volume, the stock returns, and the exchange rates for both domestic and cross-country markets by using the daily data of three financial markets: China, Japan, and South Korea. The results demonstrate that the causal effects of stock returns and stock trading volume that exert on the exchange rate are not direct at high quantile in China; besides, no direct causality is found running from stock returns to stock trading volume at high quantile in South Korea. In contrast to Granger causality in mean and Granger causality in quantile, our results provide a comprehensive and theoretically consistent extension of Granger causality to capture causal patterns in general multivariate systems, financial markets in particular.

Two image enhancement contrast methods are proposed in this paper for low-intensity images. The first method (LEAM) is a new greyscale mapping function, and it can be significantly enhanced in the low grey range and compressed slowly in the high grey range, which is beneficial for retaining more image details; the second method (LEAAM) is based on the data characteristics of a histogram combined with the first mapping function, which adaptively sets the gamma value to correct the image. The experimental results show that compared with a traditional mapping function, LEAM is more effective at enriching image details and enhancing visual effects, and LEAAM, compared with a recent low-illumination image enhancement algorithm, achieves good performance for average gradient, information entropy and contrast index; additionally, the overall visual effect is the best compared with other methods.