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Objective To investigate the clinical application value of blood heparin-binding protein (HBP), procalcitonin (PCT), and C-reactive protein(CRP) in the early diagnosis of childhood sepsis. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for 20 children with general sepsis (general sepsis group), 16 children with severe sepsis (severe sepsis group), and 12 children with septic shock (septic shock group) who were admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit and the neonatal intensive care unit of our hospital from November 2017 to May 2019, and 22 non-sepsis children with local infection (local infection control group) and 18 children with non-infectious disease (non-infection control group) who were admitted to the general ward during the same period of time were enrolled as control group. The levels of blood HBP, PCT, and CRP were measured and compared between groups, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to investigate the value of each index in the early diagnosis of sepsis. Results The septic shock group had significantly higher levels of blood HBP and PCT than the severe sepsis group and the general sepsis group (P0.05), but all these three groups had a significantly higher level of blood CRP than the non-infection control group (P

When a visual search target frequently appears in one target-rich region of space, participants learn to search there first, resulting in faster reaction time when the target appears there than when it appears elsewhere. Most research on this location probability learning (LPL) effect uses 2-dimensional (2D) search environments that are distinct from real-world search contexts, and the few studies on LPL in 3-dimensional (3D) contexts include complex visual cues or foraging tasks and therefore may not tap into the same habit-like learning mechanism as 2D LPL. The present study aimed to establish a baseline evaluation of LPL in controlled 3D search environments using virtual reality. The use of a virtual 3D search environment allowed us to compare LPL for information within a participant's initial field of view to LPL for information behind participants, outside of the initial field of view. Participants searched for a letter T on the ground among letter Ls in a large virtual space that was devoid of complex visual cues or landmarks. The T appeared in one target-rich quadrant of the floor space on half of the trials during the training phase. The target-rich quadrant appeared in front of half of the participants and behind the other half. LPL was considerably greater in the former condition than in the latter. This reveals an important constraint on LPL in real-world environments and indicates that consistent search patterns and consistent egocentric spatial coding are essential for this form of visual statistical learning in 3D environments.

Distribution of landslide is controlled by various causative factors that have different impacts on the occurrence of landslide in different regions. Using one single model to build the hazard assessment is not enough to fully reflect the spatial differences of landslide controlling factors especially for large area. Landslide hazard assessment based on zonation was therefore proposed in this study with an attempt to take effective measures to address this problem. The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor was taken as the study area where landslide hazard assessment was carried out. Based on the features of geological structure, topography, and climate, the study area was divided into three zones. The controlling factors were further analyzed by the geographical detectors method. It was found that the main controlling factors for landslides in these three zones were related to the site’s topography (altitude, slope gradient, and relief amplitude), land use, and distance to an earthquake epicenter. Furthermore, different factors for landslide hazard assessment were selected based on the result of a controlling factor analysis. An artificial neural network model was employed to build the hazard assessment models, and hazard assessment maps were generated. Validations were conducted, showing that the accuracy of hazard assessment maps by zones was higher than that by the whole study area, despite there was no significant difference during the modeling process.

The present mixed-method study aims to find out the status quo of critical thinking ability of university non-English majors by investigating 224 non-English majors from a university in China (105 male and 119 female students, 114 art and 110 science majors, 109 freshmen and 115 sophomores were included respectively) through questionnaires and interviews. Specifically, it compares critical thinking ability in English reading between students of different genders, majors as well as grades. The result shows that the critical thinking ability of university non-English majors in English reading is weak, namely, most students lack critical thinking ability in English as a Foreign Language reading class, which requires relevant training urgently. Also, differences of English critical thinking ability lie in gender, major, and grade. Teachers are well-advised to improve their teaching method and put more emphasis on arousing students' awareness of critical thinking. Also, they need to teach students according to their characteristics so as to promote students' critical thinking ability in English reading fully and harmoniously.

Microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) is an environmentally friendly technology that improves soil permeability resistance through biocementation. In this study, 2D microscopic analysis and 3D volume reconstruction were performed on river sand after 24 cycles of bio-treatment based on stacked images and computed tomography (CT) scanning data, respectively, to extract biocementation patterns between particles. Based on the mutual validation findings of the two techniques, three patterns in the biocemented sand were identified as G-C-G, G-C, and G-G. Specifically, 2D microscopic analysis showed that G-C-G featured multi-particle encapsulation and bridging, with a pore filling ratio of 81.2%; G-C was characterized by locally coated particle layers, with a pore filling ratio of 19.7%; and the G-G was marked by sporadic filling of interparticle pores, with a pore filling ratio of 11.7%. G-C-G had the best cementation effect and permeability resistance (effective sealing rate of 68.5%), whereas G-C (effective sealing rate of 2.4%) had a relatively minor contribution to pore-filling and flow sealing. 3D volume reconstruction showed that G-C-G had the highest pore filling rate, followed by G-G and G-C. The average filling ratios of area and volume for G-C-G were 83.979% and 77.257%, respectively; for G-G 20.360% and 23.600%; and for G-C 11.545% and 11.250%. The analysis of the representative element volume (REV) was conducted, and the feasibility and reliability of the micro-scale pattern extraction results were confirmed to guide the analysis of macro-scale characteristics. The exploration of the effectiveness of cementation patterns in fluid sealing provides valuable insights into effective biocementation at the pore scale of porous media, which may inspire future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of solar energy has shown the fastest global growth of all renewable energy sources. Efforts towards careful evaluation are required to select optimal locations for the installation of photovoltaics (PV) because their effectiveness is strongly reliant on exposure to solar irradiation. Assessing the shadows cast by nearby buildings and vegetation is essential, especially at the city scale. Due to urban complexity, conventional methods using Digital Surface Models (DSM) overestimate solar irradiation in dense urban environments. To provide further insights into this dilemma, a new modeling technique was developed for integrated 3D city modeling and solar potential assessment on building roofs using light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data. The methodology used hotspot analysis to validate the workflow in both site and without-site contexts (e.g., trees that shield small buildings). Field testing was conducted, covering a total area of 4975 square miles and 10,489 existing buildings. The results demonstrate a considerable impact of large, dense trees on the solar irradiation received by smaller buildings. Considering the site's context, a mean annual solar estimate of 99.97 kWh/m2/year was determined. Without considering the site context, this value increased by 9.3% (as a percentage of total rooftops) to 109.17 kWh/m2/year, with a peak in July and troughs in December and January. The study suggests that both factors have a substantial impact on solar potential estimations, emphasizing the importance of carefully considering the shadowing effect during PV panel installation. The research findings reveal that 1517 buildings in the downtown area of Austin have high estimated radiation ranging from 4.7 to 6.9 kWh/m2/day, providing valuable insights for the identification of optimal locations highly suitable for PV installation. Additionally, this methodology can be generalized to other cities, addressing the broader demand for renewable energy solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a slowly developing malignancy postulated to evolve from premalignant lesions in chronically damaged livers. However, it was never established that premalignant lesions actually contain tumor progenitors that give rise to cancer. Here, we describe isolation and characterization of HCC progenitor cells (HcPCs) from different mouse HCC models. Unlike fully malignant HCC, HcPCs give rise to cancer only when introduced into a liver undergoing chronic damage and compensatory proliferation. Although HcPCs exhibit a similar transcriptomic profile to bipotential hepatobiliary progenitors, the latter do not give rise to tumors. Cells resembling HcPCs reside within dysplastic lesions that appear several months before HCC nodules. Unlike early hepatocarcinogenesis, which depends on paracrine IL-6 production by inflammatory cells, due to upregulation of LIN28 expression, HcPCs had acquired autocrine IL-6 signaling that stimulates their in vivo growth and malignant progression. This may be a general mechanism that drives other IL-6-producing malignancies.

Nursing becoming a respectable, decent profession for educated Chinese women was a challenging undertaking. The early advancement of nursing in China was a collective effort of the missionary medicine, the private foundations, and the endurance, dedication and hardworking of the Chinese as well as foreign nurses. Western missionary introduced modern nursing in China and laid the preliminary foundation for its development, while the upgrading of nursing education from training to higher learning was a contribution by the School of Nursing Peking Union Medical College (PUMC), envisioned and supported by the China Medical Board. Its state-of-the-art and visionary education model, the high standard and the initiatives in public health nursing, and the heroic and patriotic military nursing created by the PUMC's outstanding graduates produced a cohort of leaders in nursing education and profession in China before 1949. All these efforts acting together shaped the modern nursing in China, leaving a great heritage to nursing education and practice to New China. Keywords: China, Education, Nursing, Missionary hospitals, Modern nursing