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Vascular tree disentanglement and vessel type classification are two crucial steps of the graph-based method for retinal artery-vein (A/V) separation. Existing approaches treat them as two independent tasks and mostly rely on ad hoc rules (e.g. change of vessel directions) and hand-crafted features (e.g. color, thickness) to handle them respectively. However, we argue that the two tasks are highly correlated and should be handled jointly since knowing the A/V type can unravel those highly entangled vascular trees, which in turn helps to infer the types of connected vessels that are hard to classify based on only appearance. Therefore, designing features and models isolatedly for the two tasks often leads to a suboptimal solution of A/V separation. In view of this, this paper proposes a multi-task siamese network which aims to learn the two tasks jointly and thus yields more robust deep features for accurate A/V separation. Specifically, we first introduce Convolution Along Vessel (CAV) to extract the visual features by convolving a fundus image along vessel segments, and the geometric features by tracking the directions of blood flow in vessels. The siamese network is then trained to learn multiple tasks: i) classifying A/V types of vessel segments using visual features only, and ii) estimating the similarity of every two connected segments by comparing their visual and geometric features in order to disentangle the vasculature into individual vessel trees. Finally, the results of two tasks mutually correct each other to accomplish final A/V separation. Experimental results demonstrate that our method can achieve accuracy values of 94.7%, 96.9%, and 94.5% on three major databases (DRIVE, INSPIRE, WIDE) respectively, which outperforms recent state-of-the-arts.

The fast-developing information technology has imposed an urgent need for effective solutions to overcome the limitations of integration density in chips with smaller size but higher performance. van der Waals heterojunctions built with two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors have been widely studied due to their 2D nature, and their unique electrical and photoelectronic properties are quite attractive in realizing multifunctional devices toward multitask applications. In this work, black phosphorus (BP)/MoS2 heterojunctions have been used to build electronic devices with various functionalities. A p-n diode is achieved based on the vertically stacked BP/MoS2 heterojunction exhibiting an ideal factor of 1.59, whereas a laterally stacked BP/MoS2 heterojunction is implemented to fabricate a photodetector that shows a photodetection responsivity of 2000 mA/W at a wavelength of 1300 nm. Furthermore, a ternary inverter has been realized using a BP field-effect transistor in-series with a lateral BP/MoS2 heterojunction. Such results have unambiguously demonstrated the superiority of BP/MoS2 heterojunction in realizing multiple functionalities and have offered a new pathway for the design and engineering of future circuitry and device integration based on novel 2D semiconductors.

We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the effect of negative pressure wound therapy compared with conventional wound dressings on closed incisions in orthopaedic trauma surgery. A systematic literature search up to October 2021 was done and 12 studies included 3555 subjects with closed incisions in orthopaedic trauma surgery at the start of the study: 1833 of them were provided with negative pressure wound therapy and 1722 were conventional wound dressings. They were reporting relationships about the effect of negative pressure wound therapy compared with conventional wound dressings on closed incisions in orthopaedic trauma surgery. We calculated the odds ratio (OR) and mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to assess the effect of negative pressure wound therapy compared with conventional wound dressings on closed incisions in orthopaedic trauma surgery using the dichotomous and continuous methods with a random or fixed-effect model. Negative pressure wound therapy had significantly lower deep surgical site infection (OR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.48-0.88, P = .005), superficial surgical site infection (OR, 0.23; 95% CI, 0.11-0.49, P = .31), and wound dehiscence (OR, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.21-0.80, P = .009) compared with conventional wound dressings in subjects with closed incisions in orthopaedic trauma surgery. However, negative pressure wound therapy had no significant effect on the length of hospital stay (MD, 0.29; 95% CI, -2.00- 2.58, P = .80) compared with conventional wound dressings in subjects with closed incisions in orthopaedic trauma surgery. Negative pressure wound therapy had significantly lower deep surgical site infection, superficial surgical site infection, and wound dehiscence; however, negative pressure wound therapy had no beneficial effect on the length of hospital stay compared with conventional wound dressings in subjects with closed incisions in orthopaedic trauma surgery. Further studies are required to validate these findings.

Sorafenib, a multi-kinase inhibitor, is recommended as a new standard therapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, it also exhibits severe cardiotoxicity and the toxicity mechanisms are not completely elucidated. Recent studies suggested that sorafenib-enhanced ROS may partially contribute to its anti-HCC effect, which implies that redox mechanism might also be involved in sorafenib's cardiotoxicity. In this study, we aimed to investigate if sorafenib is able to induce oxidative stress and how this may impair cellular functions in cardiomyocyte, ultimately accounting for its cardiotoxicity. Our results showed that in isolated rat hearts, sorafenib caused ventricular arrhythmias and left ventricular dysfunction, which were alleviated by the antioxidant N-(2-mercaptopropionyl)-glycine (MPG). In isolated ventricular myocytes, sorafenib increased diastolic intracellular Ca2+ levels, decreased Ca transients and the occurrence of Ca2+ waves. These changes were eliminated by MPG, CaMKII inhibitor KN-93 and the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP)inhibitor cyclosporin A (CsA). Moreover, the levels of oxidized and phosphorylated CaMKII were significantly increased. Sorafenib elevated ROS levels, which was reversed by CsA and MPG; additionally, sorafenib reduced the activity of mitochondrial complex III and augmented mitochondrial ROS production. In vivo rats treated with sorafenib exhibited a reduction of antioxidant defence and abnormal histological alterations including hypertrophy, increased fibrosis, disordered myofibrils and damaged mitochondria, which were protected by MPG. We conclude that sorafenib induces the disruption of Ca2+ homoeostasis and cardiac injury via enhanced ROS potentially through inhibiting mitochondrial complex III, the opening of mPTP and overactivating CaMKII. These results provide a potential strategy for preventing or reducing cardiotoxicity of sorafenib.

Background This study investigated cognitive and emotional functioning in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders (DICCD). Methods Thirty patients with ADHD, 26 with DICCD, 22 with ADHD+DICCD were recruited from the outpatient department of Shanghai Changning Mental Health Center, plus 20 healthy controls (HC). Differences between the groups in cognitive and emotional functioning were examined using Golden’s Stroop and Emotional Stroop tests. For Emotional Stroop Mean reaction time (RT) of positive word (POS) and negative word (NEG) with color congruence (C) or incongruence (I) were recorded as POS-C, POS-I, NEG-C and NEG-I, respectively. Results For Golden’s interference scores (IGs), both errors and RTs in the ADHD group were higher than in the other groups. Longer mean RTs of POS-C, POS-I, NEG-C and neural word (NEU) of the ADHD group, and NEG-I of ADHD+DICCD and DICCD groups were observed compared to HC. After 12 weeks of methylphenidate treatment, differences between ADHD subgroups and HC on Golden’s Stroop RT disappeared, but differences in Golden’s Stroop errors and Emotional Stroop mean RTs remained. The ADHD+DICCD group showed longer mean RTs in NEG-C, NEG-I and NEU of the Emotional Stroop test than the ADHD group. Conclusions Our study shows that regardless of emotional responding, deficit in cognitive control is the core symptom of ADHD. However, emotionally biased stimuli may cause response inhibitory dysfunction among DICCD with callous-unemotional traits, and the comorbidity of ADHD and DICCD tends to account for the negative emotional response characteristic of DICCD. These deficits may be eliminated by medication treatment in ADHD, but not the ADHD with comorbid DICCD. Our results support the notion that ADHD with comorbid DICCD is more closely related to DICCD than to ADHD.

Highlights • We provide the possible methods for psychological crisis intervention during the outbreak period of new coronavirus pneumonia from experience in Shanghai. As we mentioned: an effective PCI surely requires the two-pronged approaches, online and onsite psychotherapy are recommended ., Since the middle of December 2019, human-to-human transmission of novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP) has occurred among close contacts. At the same time, greater attention should be paid to psychological crisis intervention (PCI) among affected populations, for the timely prevention of inestimable damage from a secondary psychological crisis. PCI has been initiated via remote (telephone and internet) and onsite medical services to help medical workers, patients, and others affected to overcome any psychological difficulties. This paper outlines experiences based on the work of the Shanghai Medical Team.

Background. The cross-sectional study is aimed at investigating the relationship between cortisol, testosterone, and metabolic characteristics among male schizophrenics. Methods. 174 patients were grouped based on their risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) into the non-MetS, high-risk-MetS (HR-MetS), or MetS groups. Metabolic indices (body mass index (BMI), mean arterial pressure (MAP), cholesterol, triglyceride, and fasting blood glucose (FBG)) were associated with cortisol and testosterone levels using correlation analysis. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to associate the correlations between the WHO Quality of Life–BREF (WHOQOL–BREF) score and the five metabolic indices. Results. The WHOQOL–BREF score for the non-MetS group significantly differed from the scores of the HR-MetS and MetS groups. The triglyceride level was positively correlated with the cortisol level, while all five metabolic indices were negatively correlated with testosterone level. Stepwise regression analysis produced a model predicting WHOQOL–BREF scores with four variables including MAP, intelligence quotient (IQ), FBG, and age. The correlation analysis then showed that there was a weak linear correlation between the testosterone level and all five metabolic indices. Conclusions. Among the five metabolic indices, the risks of hypertension and hyperglycemia are correlated with the quality of life in male schizophrenics rather than those of obesity or hyperlipidemia.

A series of mesoporous nano-MgO-ZrO2 with various Mg:Zr atomic ratios were prepared via simple co-precipitation process without addition of a template. It was demonstrated by XRD, N2 adsorption-desorption and TEM that these samples still kept well mesoporous structure even after calcination at 600 °C. During the preparation process, divalent Mg2+ ions could be incorporated into tetragonal ZrO2 lattice to form a solid solution. More important, the surface basic density of these catalysts closely depended on their Mg content. Then, the resulting MgO-ZrO2 catalysts were used as basic catalysts for the dipropyl carbonate (DPC) synthesis via transesterification of n-propanol and dimethyl carbonate. The relationship between the basic property of solid base and their catalytic performance was clarified in detail. Among all the materials, the catalyst with Mg:Zr atomic ratio = 0.5 showed the best catalytic performance. Under the suitable reaction conditions, the yield of DPC could reach 98.5% with 100% selectivity. In addition, based on the reusability test and catalyst characterization, this catalyst exhibited extraordinary structure stability and it could be reused at least four times without obvious loss of reactivity.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the traits of neuropsychological functioning deficits in patients with attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with comorbid disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders (DICCD). METHODS: Twenty out-patients with ADHD, 20 with ADHD with comorbid DICCD, and 20 with DICCD, all aged 6-16 years, were enrolled in this study, with 20 healthy subjects matched for age, gender and IQ serving as the healthy controls. The patients were diagnosed according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Revision (DSM-5). All the subjects were assessed with Golden Stroop test and emotional Stroop test to evaluate their response inhibition and emotional responding. RESULTS: In Golden Stroop test, the interference scores (IGs) of errors and reaction time both differed significantly among the groups (P < 0.05), and were the highest in patients with ADHD only. In emotional Stroop test, the mean reaction time (MRT) showed significant differences among the groups (P < 0.05); the MRT of positive- congruent trials in ADHD with comorbid DICCD group was shorter than that in ADHD group but longer than that in group DICCD; the MRT in the 3 case groups were all longer than that in the control group. The MRT of both positive-incongruent trials and negative-congruent trials in ADHD with comorbid DICCD group and DICCD group was shorter than that in ADHD group but longer than that in the control group. The MRT of negative- incongruent trials in DICCD group was shorter than that in ADHD group and ADHD with comorbid DICCD group but longer than that in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The response inhibition deficit and abnormal emotional responding are the core symptoms of ADHD. Bias emotional stimuli may render response inhibitory dysfunction in patients with DICCD with callous-unemotional traits of emotional responding disorder, especially in dealing with negative emotional trials, while the comorbidity of ADHD and DICCD tends to have the emotional response trait of DICCD.

To meet the challenge of continuously increasing global energy demands, organic-inorganic halide based perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have garnered great attention from the photovoltaic research community for their low cost and high efficiency. The efficiency of perovskite-based mesoscopic solar cells increases rapidly, from 3.8% in 2009 to 22.1% in 2016. N-type metal-oxide electron transport layer, as one of the important components in mesoscopic PSCs (MPSCs), acts as not only a scaffold layer for the growth of perovskite crystals, but also a layer to supply transfer pathways for electrons injected from perovskites. In this review, we discussed recent published reports of MPSCs with the focus on n-type metal-oxide electron transport layer in MPSCs. The scaffold materials, scaffold nanostructure, and scaffold/perovskite interface engineering are considered, and the effects of these modifications of scaffolds on the performance of MPSCs are summarized in this review.

The neural networks that constitute corticostriatothalamocortical circuits between prefrontal cortex and subcortical structure provide a heuristic framework for bridging gaps between neurocircuitry and executive dysfunction in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). “Cool” and “Hot” executive functional theory and the models of dual pathway are supposed to be applied within the neuropsychology of ADHD. The theoretical model elaborated response inhibition and delayed gratification in ADHD. We aimed to review and summarize the literature about the circuits on ADHD and ADHD-related comorbidities, as well as the effects of neurocircuitry on the executive dysfunction in ADHD.

The neurocircuitries that constitute the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical (CSTC) circuit provide a framework for bridging gaps between neuroscience and executive function in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but it has been difficult to identify the mechanisms for regulating emotional problems from the understanding of ADHD comorbidity with disruptive behavior disorders (DBD). Research based on “cool” and “hot” executive functional theory and the dual pathway models, which are thought of as applied response inhibition and delay aversion, respectively, within the neuropsychological view of ADHD, has shed light on emotional responding before and after decontextualized stimuli, while CSTC circuit-related domains have been suggested to explain the different emotional symptoms of ADHD with or without comorbid DBD. This review discusses the role of abnormal connections in each CSTC circuit, especially in the emotion circuit, which may be responsible for targeted executive dysfunction at the neuroscience level. Thus, the two major domains – abstract thinking (cool) and emotional trait (hot) – trigger the mechanism of onset of ADHD.

The prefrontal cortex is the superlative structure of brain that needs the longest developmental and maturational duration that highlights the region of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in neuroimaging studies. Prefrontal cortex functions generate enormously complex and its abundant feedback neurocircuitries with subcortical structures such as striatum and thalamus established through dual neural fibers. These microneurocircuitries are called corticostriatothalamocortical (CSTC) circuits. The CSTC circuits paly an essential role in flexible behaviors. The impaired circuits increase the risk of behavioral and psychological symptoms. ADHD is an especial developmental stage of paediatric disease. It has been reported that the CSTC circuits dysfunctions in ADHD are related to homologous symptoms. This study aimed to review the symptoms of ADHD and discuss the recent advances on the effects of the disease as well as the new progress of treatments with each circuit.