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(1) Background: The microstructural alterations of the peripapillary choriocapillaris in high myopes remain elusive. Here, we used optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) to explore factors involved in these alterations. (2) Methods: This cross-sectional control study included 205 young adults' eyes (95 with high myopia and 110 with mild to moderate myopia). The choroidal vascular network was imaged using OCTA, and the images underwent manual adjustments to determine the peripapillary atrophy (PPA)-β zone and microvascular dropout (MvD). The area of MvD and the PPA-β zone, spherical equivalent (SE), and axial length (AL) were collected and compared across groups. (3) Results: The MvD was identified in 195 eyes (95.1%). Highly myopic eyes exhibited a significantly greater area for the PPA-β zone (1.221 ± 0.073 vs. 0.562 ± 0.383 mm2, p = 0.001) and MvD (0.248 ± 0.191 vs. 0.089 ± 0.082 mm2, p < 0.001) compared with mildly to moderately myopic eyes, and a lower average density in the choriocapillaris. Linear regression analysis showed that the MvD area correlated with age, SE, AL, and the PPA-β area (all p < 0.05). (4) Conclusions: This study found that MvDs represent choroidal microvascular alterations in young-adult high myopes, which were correlated with age, SE, AL, and the PPA-β zone. In this disorder, OCTA is important for characterizing the underlying pathophysiological adaptations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a gynaecological endocrine disease. The objective of the present study was to investigate the role of GTPase immunity-associated protein (GIMAP) 7 in PCOS. A PCOS rat model was established using dehydroepiandrosterone injection. The data showed that GIMAP7 was mainly located in granulosa cells and was abundantly expressed in the ovarian granulosa cells of PCOS rats. GIMAP7 silencing decreased blood glucose levels, HOMA-IR scores, and number of cystic follicles. In addition, GIMAP7 silencing corrected erratic oestrous cycles, inhibited apoptosis and reduced c-caspase-3 protein expression in the ovarian tissues of PCOS rats. GIMAP7 silencing reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) but increased glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels in the serum and ovarian tissues of PCOS rats. The effects of GIMAP7 were further investigated in human ovarian granulosa KGN cells. GIMAP7 silencing increased the viability, promoted proliferation, and increased the percentage of S-phase KGN cells. The apoptosis rate was significantly decreased by GIMAP7 silencing. GIMAP7 also inhibited oxidative stress in KGN cells, resulting in decreased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and MDA and increased levels of GSH and SOD. Notably, GIMAP7 inhibited the sonic hedgehog (SHH) signalling pathway, and GIMAP7 silencing increased the expression of the SHH signalling pathway downstream genes SHH, SMO, and Gli1. Inhibition of the SHH signalling pathway using cyclopamine reduced the effect of GIMAP7 silencing on KGN cells. This study proved that GIMAP7 promotes oxidative stress and apoptosis in ovarian granulosa cells in PCOS by inhibiting the SHH signalling pathway. Highlights: 1. GIMAP7 is upregulated in ovary granulosa cells of PCOS rat; 2. GIMAP7 shRNA relieves the symptoms of PCOS rats; 3. GIMAP7 shRNA inhibits the apoptosis and oxidative stress of KGN cells; 4. GIMAP7 inhibits sonic hedgehog signalling pathway in KGN cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Curvature conservation is a common feature for the physical properties with topological constraints, from the macroscopic cosmic string loops to the microscopic quantized vortex rings in the superfluid. Interestingly, ferroelectric domain-wall curvature is important to determine its conduction, which is the key parameter for designing domain-wall nanoelectronic devices. Here, we demonstrate the curvature conservation of the charged domain walls confined in ferroelectric topological structures with specific domain symmetry by combining piezoelectric force microscopy, conducting atomic force microscopy, and phase-field simulations. Significantly, the intrinsic conductivity of the charged domain walls exhibits an inverse functional relationship with the local domain-wall curvature in the ferroelectric BiFeO 3 nano-islands, which can also be precisely and continuously modulated by applying an electric field. This work provides us with an insightful understanding of the conduction mechanism of charged domain walls confined in ferroelectric topological structures with a high degree of spatial symmetry, which paves the way for the application of charged domain walls as flexible conducting channels with continuously changing resistance states to be used for ferroelectric domain-wall memristors. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) is a major cause of chronic liver diseases. Inflammatory response is a basic pathological feature of ALD. Mucosal-associated invariant T(MAIT) cells are a novel population of innate immune cells, which may be depleted in various inflammatory diseases. However, the changes of MAIT cell in ALD remains unclear. Results: In this study, the levels of MAIT cell were significantly decreased in patients with alcoholic fatty liver disease, alcoholic cirrhosis, and mixed cirrhosis (alcoholic + viral). Furthermore, the reduction of circulating MAIT cells was correlated with liver function in patients with cirrhosis. Functional changes among circulating MAIT cells in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis, including increased production of IL-17A and perforin, and reduced production of TNF-α. Plasma cytokine and chemokine levels were quantified using multiple immunoassays and ELISA. Serum levels of chemokine IL-8 were correlated with MAIT cell frequency in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis. Moreover, no differences were observed in the expression of CCR6, CXCR6, and PD-1 in circulating MAIT cells of patients with alcoholic cirrhosis. The MAIT cells in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis were prone to apoptosis, which was promoted by IL-12, IL-18, and IL-8. Conclusions: Our findings indicate persistent MAIT cell loss during alcohol-related liver disease and suggest that MAIT cells can be promising indicator and therapeutic targets in ALD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Image deblurring is a fundamental problem in imaging field which often needs to recover the important structure of images. This paper addresses the image deblurring problem by considering an image as a combination of its cartoon (the piecewise smooth part of the image) and texture (the oscillation part of the image) components. To recover both of these parts, we propose the use of coupled analysis-based sparse representations to regularize the cartoon structure and the texture part of the image. We apply anisotropic total variation with a quadratic term to enhance the edges existing in the cartoon part. Furthermore, we develop a multivariable Bregman optimization method to solve the proposed image restoration model by combining the alternating minimization method and the split Bregman iteration. The experiments show that the proposed algorithm not only performs well for image decomposition, but also outperforms the previously established methods in terms of the visual residual error, the structure similarity index and the peak signal-to-noise ratio for image deblurring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the occurrence and risk factors of acute kidney injury (AKI) in ventilated newborns. Methods: In total, 139 newborns receiving mechanical ventilation (MV) were reviewed in this retrospective study. The demographic and clinical data were collected. Then, the independent risk factors for AKI were evaluated using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Results: The incidence rate of AKI was 15.11% (21/139) in ventilated newborns. Univariate analysis showed significant differences in gestational age, birth weight, Apagar scores, the highest oxygen concentration, serum creatinine levels at admission and 48 h after MV, history of asphyxia, urine output at 48 h after MV, invasive MV, noninvasive MV, and outcomes between AKI and non-AKI groups (all p <.05). The lower gestational age (odd ratio (OR): 1.194, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.013–1.407, p =.035), the increased use of invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) (OR: 4.790, 95% CI: 1.115–20.575, p =.035), and lower birth weight (OR: 0.377, 95% CI: 0.178–0.801, p =.011) were independent risk factors for the occurrence of AKI. Additionally, higher stage of AKI was significantly associated with poor prognosis of AKI (p =.018). Conclusion: In this retrospective study, it was found that lower gestational age, birth weight, and increased use of IMV were independent risk factors for AKI in ventilated newborns. The poor prognosis might be indicated by the higher AKI stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maximum throughput serves as a fundamental metric for evaluating the performance of mobile ad hoc networks. However, the actual maximum throughput still remains significantly unknown in such networks. This paper studies the actual maximum throughput of mobile ad hoc networks under a general routing scheme with reed-solomon coding, where a source node first encodes a group of g packets into w (w≥g) code blocks, and then these code blocks are transmitted to distinct relay nodes, which forward them to destination node. The original g packets can be decoded once the destination node receives any g code blocks. To explore the actual maximum throughput, we first establish two Markov chain models to capture the fastest packet sending and receiving processes at source and destination nodes under the considered routing scheme. Based on the Markov chain models, we then derive a closed-form expression for the maximum throughput in such networks. Finally, extensive simulations and theoretical results are presented to validate the accuracy of our theoretical maximum throughput analysis in mobile ad hoc networks and to illustrate how network parameters influence the maximum throughput performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferroelectric tunnel junctions have attracted intensive research interest due to the fundamental physics and potential applications in high-density data storage and neuromorphic computation. However, the intrinsic physical origin, especially at atomic scale, of polarization-controllable tunneling current is still controversial due to the degradation of ferroelectric polarization and the extrinsic conduction induced by defects or oxygen vacancies. Here, a large tunneling electroresistance effect of over 10,000% in a thick (∼15 nm) tetragonal-phase BiFeO 3 thin film is observed, where a nanoscale point-contact geometry is delicately designed to reduce the extrinsic defect effects. By combining transmission electron microscopy and first-principles calculations, the atomic and electronic structures of BiFeO 3 tunneling layer are investigated. The corresponding results indicate the different charge transfer occurs at the top and bottom interface, which induces distinct tunneling barrier asymmetry when the polarization direction is opposite. Graphical abstract [Display omitted]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have indicated that sentences are comprehended via widespread brain regions in the fronto-temporo-parietal network in explicit language tasks (e.g., semantic congruency judgment tasks), and through restricted temporal or frontal regions in implicit language tasks (e.g., font size judgment tasks). This discrepancy has raised questions regarding a common network for sentence comprehension that acts regardless of task effect and whether different tasks modulate network properties. To this end, we constructed brain functional networks based on 27 subjects’ fMRI data that was collected while performing explicit and implicit language tasks. We found that network properties and network hubs corresponding to the implicit language task were similar to those associated with the explicit language task. We also found common hubs in occipital, temporal and frontal regions in both tasks. Compared with the implicit language task, the explicit language task resulted in greater global efficiency and increased integrated betweenness centrality of the left inferior frontal gyrus, which is a key region related to sentence comprehension. These results suggest that brain functional networks support both explicit and implicit sentence comprehension; in addition, these two types of language tasks may modulate the properties of brain functional networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coexistence of F−, Ca2+, nitrates, and other pollutants in water body has aroused widespread concern. In this research, a novel quartz sand biofilm reactor was established, aiming to study the key factors of different carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratios (5:1, 4:1, and 3:1), initial Ca2+ concentration (180 mg L−1, 144 mg L−1, and 108 mg L−1), and hydraulic retention time (HRT) (4 h, 6 h, and 8 h) on simultaneous Ca2+ precipitation, F− removal, and denitrification. Results showed that the removal efficiencies of Ca2+, F−, and nitrate were 55.04%, 82.64%, and 97.69% under the low C/N ratio of 3:1, initial Ca2+ concentration of 180 mg L−1, and HRT of 8 h. 3-D Excitation-Emission Fluorescence Spectroscopy (3-D EEM) demonstrates that extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) was generated during the growth metabolism. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffractometer images showed that Ca2+, F− removed in the form of CaCO 3 , Ca 5 (PO 4) 3 F and CaF 2 under Acinetobacter sp. H12 induction. Moreover, high-throughput sequencing results display that the biomineralized bacteria Acinetobacter sp. H12 exerted great influence in the bioreactor. This research will underpin the practical use of multiple pollutants such as F− and Ca2+ wastewater under the different C/N ratios. [Display omitted] • A novel bioreactor for simultaneously remove Ca2+, F− and nitrate was established. • Ca2+, F− removed in the form of CaCO 3 , Ca 5 (PO 4) 3 F and CaF 2. • 3.3D-EEM showed the effect of C/N ratio on the secretion of EPS by strain H12. • Acinetobacter sp. H12 exhibited good removal potential under low C/N wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] A protein corona forms around nanoparticles when they are intravenously injected into the bloodstream. The composition of the protein corona dictates the interactions between nanoparticles and the biological systems thus their immune evasion, blood circulation, and biodistribution. Here, we report for the first time the impact of nanoparticle stiffness on protein corona formation using a unique emulsion core silica shell nanocapsules library with a wide range of mechanical properties over four magnitudes (700 kPa to 10 GPa). The nanocapsules with different stiffness showed distinct proteomic fingerprints. The protein corona of the stiffest nanocapsules contained the highest amount of complement protein (Complement C3) and immunoglobulin proteins, which contributed to their high macrophage uptake, confirming the important role of nanocapsules stiffness in controlling the protein corona formation thus their in vitro and in vivo behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the intelligent recognition problem of radar detection targets. Aiming at the low accuracy and slow speed of millimeter-wave radar clustering point cloud information, a feature algorithm of millimeter-wave radar suitable for detecting targets is proposed. In the detection of targets by millimeter-wave radar, distance is the biggest factor affecting the number and degree of sparsity. A method that combines the feature information of the point cloud with the KD tree proximity search algorithm and the DBSCAN clustering algorithm is proposed, which can adapt to the problems of uneven target point cloud, small amount of data and slow clustering speed. The improved algorithm can use the KD tree to quickly find adjacent points and calculate the distance between adjacent points. The corresponding number of thresholds is set according to the distance where the target is located, and the radius of the target area reflected by the millimeter-wave radar plus the distance of the last threshold point is used as the neighborhood radius of the improved algorithm. Therefore, fast and adaptive parameter adjustment of the millimeter-wave radar can be realized. Simulation tests show that the improved clustering algorithm has better parameters. The accuracy of the improved algorithm is increased by 4.2%, and it also greatly improves the clustering speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a vision-threatening diabetic complication that is characterized by microvasculature impairment and immune dysfunction. The present study demonstrated that M2 microglia intensively participated in retinal microangiopathy in human diabetic proliferative membranes, mice retinas, retinas of mice with oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) mice, and retinas of streptozotocin-induced DR mice. Further in vivo and in vitro experiments showed that exosomes derived from M2 polarized microglia (M2-exo) could reduce pericyte apoptosis and promote endothelial cell proliferation, thereby promoting vascular remodeling and reducing vascular leakage from the diabetic retina. These effects were further enhanced by M2-exo that facilitated M2 polarization of retinal microglia. Collectively, the study demonstrated the capability of M2-exo to induce retinal microvascular remodeling, which may provide a new therapeutic strategy for the treatment of DR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Restoration of submerged macrophytes is an efficient way for endogenous nutrient control and aquatic ecological restoration, but slow growth and limited reproduction of submerged macrophytes still exist. In this research, the effect of ferrous on the seed germination and growth of Vallisneria natans (V. natans) were studied through aquatic simulation experiments and its influence on the rhizosphere microbial community was also explored. The seed germination, growth, and physiological and ecological parameters of V. natans were significantly affected by the ferrous treatments. Ferrous concentration above 5.0 mg/L showed significant inhibition of seed germination of V. natans and the best concentration for germination was 0.5 mg/L. During the growth of V. natans, after ferrous was added, a brief period of stress occurred, which then promoted the growth lasting for about 19 days under one addition. The diversity and richness of the rhizospheric microbial were increased after the ferrous addition. However, the function of the rhizospheric microbial community showed no significant difference between different concentrations of ferrous adding in the overlying water. Ferrous addition affected the growth condition of plants (content of CAT, Chl a , Chl b , etc.), thus indirectly affecting the rhizospheric microbial community of V. natans. These impacts on V. natans and rhizosphere microorganisms could generalize to other submerged macrophytes in freshwater ecosystems, particularly which have similar habits. These findings would contribute to the ecological evaluation of ferrous addition or iron-containing water, and provide a reference for submerged macrophytes restoration and ecological restoration in freshwater ecosystems. [Display omitted] • 0.5 mg/L ferrous addition significantly improved the germination of V. natans seeds. • Ferrous addition contributed to promoting growth and leaf chlorophyll content. • The diversity and richness of rhizosphere microbes of V. natans were increased. • Addition ferrous can be utilized in promoting submerged macrophytes restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sensory quality is very important for scenic waters. It's necessary to find out the key factors influencing sensory quality of scenic waters and then take corresponding measures to improve it. In this study, transparency, turbidity and surface chroma were chosen as the main sensory quality indexes whose key influencing factors were analyzed by structural equation model (SEM). The results indicated that water's transparency, turbidity and surface chroma were all mainly influenced by suspended solid (SS). Meanwhile, transparency was also influenced by Chlorophyll a (Chl a), pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), particle size and nutrients. Turbidity was influenced by Chl a and particle size as well. To verify this result and improve water's sensory quality, three constructed wetlands (CWs) were set up and operated. CWs could effectively improve the sensory quality of water bodies. When hydraulic retention time (HRT) was 2 days, the water' transparency increased from 18.00 ± 2.83 cm to about 100 cm, the removal rate of turbidity was 56.26% ∼ 97.11%, and the average removal rate of surface chroma of the three CWs was 72.56%, 70.31% and 63.36%, respectively. To get a better improvement effect, planting and extending HRT were feasible measures. The mechanism analysis showed that removing SS, especially large particles in water was the main reason for improving sensory quality by CWs, followed by removing Chl a. The operational results of CWs proved that SS was certainly the key influencing factor of water's sensory quality. [Display omitted] • SS was the key factor affecting scenic waters' sensory quality. • Particle size, Chl a, etc. could also affect scenic waters' sensory quality. • Planting and extending HRT could further improve sensory quality. • Constructed wetlands improved water's sensory quality mainly by removing SS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. To investigate the relationship between aqueous humor cytokines and structural characteristics based on optical coherence tomography (OCT) in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME). Methods. Forty eyes of 28 patients with DME diagnosed in the Affiliated Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University at Hangzhou were included. All patients collected aqueous humor during anti-VEGF treatment, and the IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, VEGF, VCAM-1, ICAM-1, TGF-β1, FGF, and MCP-1 concentrations were detected. OCT examination was performed before anti-VEGF treatment and 1 month after anti-VEGF operation. Central macular thickness (CMT), macular volume (MV), choroidal thickness (CT), and the number of hyperreflective foci (HRF) were obtained for analysis. Each eye was determined whether there is subretinal effusion (SRD), cystoid macular edema (CME), and diffuse retinal thickening (DRT). Results. The levels of IL-6 and FGF in DME patients with SRD were significantly higher than those without SRD (all P < 0.05). The level of VEGF in DME patients with CME was significantly higher than that in DME patients without CME (P = 0.005); IL-6, TGF-β1, and MCP-1 were significantly higher in DME patients with DRT than that without DRT (all P < 0.05). There was no significant correlation between aqueous humor cytokines and retinal thickness and retinal volume. However, the thinner the CT, the higher the level of aqueous humor cytokines IL-6 (r = −0.313, P = 0.049) and FGF (r = −0.361, P = 0.022). A multivariate linear regression analysis showed that IL-6 was significantly correlated with CT (P = 0.002) and SRD (P = 0.017), FGF was also significantly correlated with CT (P = 0.002) and SRD (P = 0.005), and TGF-β1 was correlated with triglycerides (P = 0.030) and HRF (P = 0.021). Conclusion. DME patients with significant macular cystoid edema changes may be related to high VEGF concentrations and thin CT; meanwhile, the presence of SRD or a high number of HRF on OCT macular scans in DME patients may indicate high levels of intraocular inflammatory factors. Thus, OCT morphology characteristics to some extent reflect intraocular inflammatory factors and VEGF levels and may guide treatment alternatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A kind of bent multimode fiber (MMF) vector magnetic sensor based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) was proposed. By plating gold film on the curved part of the bent multimode fiber, the surface plasmon mode (SPM) was excited via a whispering gallery mode (WGM). Fabricating the structure only required bending the fiber and plating it with gold, which perfectly ensured the integrity of the fiber and made it more robust compared with other structures. The sensor used magnetic fluid (MF) as the magnetically sensitive material. Through monitoring the shift of the surface plasmon resonance dip, the as-fabricated sensor not only had a high magnetic field intensity sensitivity of 9749 pm/mT but could also measure the direction of a magnetic field with a high sensitivity of 546.5 pm/°. The additional advantages of the proposed sensor lay in its easy fabrication and good integrity, which make it attractive in the field of vector-magnetic-field sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Soybean (Glycine max) is one of the most important crops world‐wide. Under low nitrogen (N) condition, soybean can form a symbiotic relationship with rhizobia to acquire sufficient N for their growth and production.Nodulation signaling controls soybean symbiosis with rhizobia. The soybean Nodule Inception (GmNINa) gene is a central regulator of soybean nodulation. However, the transcriptional regulation of GmNINa remains largely unknown. Nodulation is sensitive to salt stress, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear.Here, we identified an NAC transcription factor designated GmNAC181 (also known as GmNAC11) as the interacting protein of GmNSP1a. GmNAC181 overexpression or knockdown in soybean resulted in increased or decreased numbers of nodules, respectively. Accordingly, the expression of GmNINa was greatly up‑ and downregulated, respectively. Furthermore, we showed that GmNAC181 can directly bind to the GmNINa promoter to activate its gene expression. Intriguingly, GmNAC181 was highly induced by salt stress during nodulation and promoted symbiotic nodulation under salt stress.We identified a new transcriptional activator of GmNINa in the nodulation pathway and revealed a mechanism by which GmNAC181 acts as a network node orchestrating the expression of GmNINa and symbiotic nodulation under salt stress conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tone mapping reproduces the true radiance map of a scene from a high dynamic range (HDR) image while preserving sharp edges. Popular approaches extract base and texture layers from an HDR image, adjust and combine them to obtain the final results. Due to the drawbacks of the priors used in layer decomposition, these methods suffer from over-enhancement and halo artifacts. In this paper, to suppress halo artifacts while preserving sharp edges, we propose a new layer decomposition model for tone mapping. We apply L1 regularized anisotropic total variation to model the piecewise part, and impose an L0 regularized two-directional gradient prior on the detail structures to achieve efficient structural layer decomposition. Experiments show that our method outperforms state-of-the-art methods on image decomposition and tone mapping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study evaluated the effect of SGLT-2 inhibitor, empagliflozin, on blood pressure reduction in Chinese elderly hypertension patients with type 2 diabetes and investigated its possible mechanisms. 124 patients were randomized to receive 25 mg empagliflozin QD, or placebo double blind for 12 weeks. Patients underwent 24-h ABPM. Endothelial function and arterial stiffness were also measured prior to randomization and at week 12. At week 12, adjusted mean difference versus placebo in change from baseline in mean 24-h SBP was − 8.14 mmHg (95% CI − 10.32, − 3.96, P = 0.005). At week 12, adjusted mean difference versus placebo in change from baseline in mean 24-h DBP was − 5.27 mmHg (95% CI − 8.19, − 1.35, P < 0.001). Changes in office BP were consistent with ABPM. Empagliflozin was well tolerated. Empagliflozin was associated with significant and clinically meaningful reductions in BP versus placebo in Chinese elderly patients with type 2 diabetes and hypertension. The underlying mechanisms possiblely at least in part were the improvements of endothelial function and arterial stiffness associated with empagliflozin. Registration number: ChiCTR2100054678, Registration date: December 23, 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study evaluated the effects of dapagliflozin, a SGLT2 inhibitor, or dapagliflozin plus metformin versus metformin monotherapy in patients with metabolic syndrome. This study included patients who admitted in Jiangxi Provincial People's Hospital from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2019 and were diagnosed with metabolic syndrome. A total of 248 participants were randomly assigned to divide into three groups: dapagliflozin group; metformin group; dapagliflozin in combined with metformin group. Dapagliflozin group and metformin group were associated with similar improvements in components of metabolic syndrome. Relative to dapagliflozin or metformin monotherapy, dapagliflozin combined with metformin provided greater improvements in components of metabolic syndrome. So did HOMA-IR scores, fasting plasma insulin and inflammatory indicators (hsCRP, PMN/HDL-C and Monocytes/HDL-C). Dapagliflozin improved all components of metabolic syndrome in patients with metabolic syndrome. Furthermore, dapagliflozin combined with metformin showed more meaningful improvements in any of components of metabolic syndrome than dapagliflozin or metformin monotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Restoration of submerged macrophytes in freshwater ecosystems is a widely utilized and effective way for controlling eutrophication, but it's not enough for the endogenous nutrient removal. Incubation experiments were conducted in this study to explore the effects of ferrous addition on the nutrients and rhizosphere microorganisms. The ferrous addition with different dosages has different effects on the phosphorus (P), nitrogen (N) and other properties in the freshwater ecosystem with submerged macrophyte growth. The ferrous addition can affect the nitrogen cycling of water and sediments significantly by affecting the functional bacteria related to the nitrogen cycling in rhizosphere sediment. The genera related to denitrification (e.g., Thiobacillus), ammonification (e.g., Chitinophaga) and nitrification (e.g., Nitrospira) were enriched with the ferrous addition above 0.5 mg/L. On the contrary, the relative abundance of Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1 which was related to dissimilarity nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) decreased after ferrous addition. The relative abundance of functional genera associated with iron cycle were enriched, especially the Ferritrophicum and Thiobacillus. Ferrous addition can successfully control phosphorus levels in the water at a low concentration (0.02 mg/L) and help with the stabilization of phosphorus in sediment. Considering the effects of iron on nutrients and microorganisms at different dosages, 5.0 mg/L is recommended to promote endogenous nitrogen removal and sediment phosphorus stabilization in freshwater ecosystems with submerged macrophytes. These findings contribute to the ecological evaluation of ferrous addition, and provide a reference or strategy for ecological restoration with submerged macrophyte especially V. natans in freshwater ecosystems. [Display omitted] • Ferrous addition over 1.0 mg/L can significantly increase the TN content in overlying water. • Ferrous addition over 5.0 mg/L can significantly promote the removal of nitrogen in sediment. • Ferrous addition improves the relative abundance of the functional genera of nitrogen and iron cycle. • Ferrous addition decreases the relative abundance of Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Image color correction aims to eliminate color differences between images, especially for color consistency in panoramic or stereoscopic images. Nowadays, the global color correction methods cannot correct local color differences, while the local color correction methods usually lead to structural inconsistency between local regions and image clarity reduction. To address these problems, we propose a matting-based residual optimization for structurally consistent image color correction (MROC). Inspired by the residual image, we formulate the image color correction problem as the optimization of a residual image between the input target image and the resulting image. The residual image is initialized and improved by the soft matting method with a closed-form solution. Besides, a data term is introduced to identify those pixels with higher color and structural consistencies and preserve these pixels during optimization. The whole computational infrastructure operates at the pixel level to correct local color differences while maintaining image clarity. Experimental results demonstrate that the performance of the proposed MROC method is superior to the state-of-the-art image color correction methods. Furthermore, the proposed matting-based residual optimization can also be incorporated in a variety of color correction methods, with enhanced outcomes justified by a group of image quality assessment metrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to reveal the potential relationship between personal characteristics of e-bike riders and illegal occupation of motor vehicle lane. To this end, a questionnaire survey was conducted and 350 valid copies of responses were retrieved from the e-bike riders. Depending on the number of motor vehicle lanes occupied, the risky behavior of illegal occupation was divided into four intervals: intervals A, B, C, and D. The disaggregate theory has high adaptability to the analysis of individual traffic behavior. In this study, the multinomial logit model was used, and eight personal characteristics of e-bike riders were selected. The aforementioned four intervals were the four selection limbs, and a measurement model calculating the influence of personal characteristics on the behavior of illegal occupation was built. The theory of elasticity was employed to analyze the sensitivity degree of each influence factor. The results showed that the absolute values of elasticity of all tested influence factors, including age, educational level, and eye vision, were less than 1.000. However, on the four intervals, the elasticity of riders' temperament was 1.203, 1.656, 1.554, and 1.355, respectively, and elasticity of riding proficiency was 2.782, 3.883, 3.453, and 2.932, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diffusion-weighted MRI (DW-MRI), the only non-invasive technique for probing human brain white matter structures in vivo, has been widely used in both fundamental studies and clinical applications. Many studies have utilized diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and tractography approaches to explore the topological properties of human brain anatomical networks by using the single tensor model, the basic model to quantify DTI indices and tractography. However, the conventional DTI technique does not take into account contamination by the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which has been known to affect the estimated DTI measures and tractography in the single tensor model. Previous studies have shown that the Fluid-Attenuated Inversion Recovery (FLAIR) technique can suppress the contribution of the CSF to the DW-MRI signal. We acquired DTI datasets from twenty-two subjects using both FLAIR-DTI and conventional DTI (non-FLAIR-DTI) techniques, constructed brain anatomical networks using deterministic tractography, and compared the topological properties of the anatomical networks derived from the two types of DTI techniques. Although the brain anatomical networks derived from both types of DTI datasets showed small-world properties, we found that the brain anatomical networks derived from the FLAIR-DTI showed significantly increased global and local network efficiency compared with those derived from the conventional DTI. The increases in the network regional topological properties derived from the FLAIR-DTI technique were observed in CSF-filled regions, including the postcentral gyrus, periventricular regions, inferior frontal and temporal gyri, and regions in the visual cortex. Because brain anatomical networks derived from conventional DTI datasets with tractography have been widely used in many studies, our findings may have important implications for studying human brain anatomical networks derived from DW-MRI data and tractography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) is essential in enabling safe, reliable, and efficient transportation services. It serves as serve as the foundation for vehicles to communicate with each other and everything around them. One fundamental element in C-V2X is positioning, namely extracting the vehicle's absolute and relative positions concerning other objects such as buildings, pedestrians, traffic signs, and other vehicles. However, its feasibility in enabling vehicular positioning has not been fully explored yet. In this paper, key performance indicators (KPIs) for C-V2X positioning have been described firstly. Then positioning challenges and conventional positioning methods for C-V2X are reviewed. Afterward, two user equipment (UE)-based and UE-assisted C-V2X positioning architectures are proposed, and key technologies are also described. Lastly, testing and typical application cases are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to determine whether aldosterone has a rapid action in the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) that increases sodium intake, and to examine whether this effect of aldosterone, if present, is mediated by G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER). Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats with a stainless-steel cannula in the NTS were used. Aldosterone was injected into the NTS at the doses of 1, 5, 10 and 20 ng 0.1 μl−1. A rapid dose-related increase of 0.3 M NaCl intake was induced within 30 min and this increase was not suppressed by the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) antagonist spironolactone (10 ng 0.1 μl−1). Water intake was not affected by aldosterone. The GPER agonist G-1 produced a parallel and significant increase in sodium intake, while pre-treatment with GPER antagonist G15 (10 ng 0.1 μl−1) blocked the G-1 or aldosterone-induced rapid sodium intake. In addition, sodium intake induced by sodium depletion or low-sodium diet fell within 30 min after injection into the NTS of the MR antagonist spironolactone, while G15 had no effect. Our results confirm previous reports, and support the hypothesis that aldosterone evokes rapid sodium intake through a non-genomic mechanism involving GPER in NTS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]