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Due to matching biomechanical properties and significant biological activity, Mg-based implants present great potential in orthopedic applications. In recent years, the biocompatibility and therapeutic effect of magnesium-based implants have been widely investigated in trauma repair. In contrast, the R&D work of Mg-based implants in spinal fusion is still limited. This review firstly introduced the general background for Mg-based implants. Secondly, the mechanical properties and degradation behaviors of Mg and its traditional and novel alloys were reviewed. Then, different surface modification techniques of Mg-based implants were described. Thirdly, this review comprehensively summarized the biological pathways of Mg degradation to promote bone formation in neuro-musculoskeletal circuit, angiogenesis with H-type vessel formation, osteogenesis with osteoblasts activation and chondrocyte ossification as an integrated system. Fourthly, this review followed the translation process of Mg-based implants via updating the preclinical studies in fracture fixation, sports trauma repair and reconstruction, and bone distraction for large bone defect. Furthermore, the pilot clinical studies were involved to demonstrate the reliable clinical safety and satisfactory bioactive effects of Mg-based implants in bone formation. Finally, this review introduced the background of spine fusion surgeryand the challenges of biological matching cage development. At last, this review prospected the translation potential of a hybrid Mg-PEEK spine fusion cage design.

Abstract With the continuous accumulation of massive amounts of mobile data, point-of-interest (POI) recommendation has become a vital task for location-based social networks. Deep neural networks or matrix factorization (MF) alone are challenging to effectively learn user–POI interaction functions. Moreover, the user–POI interaction matrix is sparse, and the heterogeneous characteristics of auxiliary information are underused. Therefore, we propose an innovative POI recommendation method that integrates attention-aware meta-paths based on deep neural matrix factorization (DNMF-AM). First, we develop a multi-relational heterogeneous information network of “user–POI–geographic region–POI category.” Multiple-weighted isomorphic information networks based on meta-paths are employed to obtain node-embedding vectors across different relationships. Attention networks are employed to aggregate node vectors across various relationships and serve as auxiliary information to mitigate the challenges of data sparsity. Subsequently, the internal embedding vectors of the users and POIs are extracted using feature embedding based on the user–POI interaction matrix. Second, these vectors are integrated with the embedding vectors obtained by aggregating the attention networks. Third, deep neural matrix factorization is used to learn linear and nonlinear user–POI interactions to mitigate the implicit feedback problem. This outcome is achieved using generalized matrix factorization and convolution-constrained multi-head self-attention mechanism deep neural networks. Extensive experiments conducted on two real-world datasets demonstrate that the DNMF-AM outperforms the optimal baseline NeuMF-CAA by 4.24% and 5.04% in terms of HR@10 and NDCG@10, respectively.

ObjectiveThis study aims to investigate the regulation of host gene transcription and microbial changes during the development of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) associated with smoking.MethodsThe OSCC mouse model and smoking mouse model were established using 200 μg/mL 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4NQO) in drinking water and exposure to cigarette smoke (four cigarettes per session, once a day, 5 days a week). Tongue tissues were harvested at 4 weeks and 16 weeks. Histopathological changes were evaluated using hematoxylin and eosin staining and Ki67 staining. RNA sequencing was performed on the mouse tongue tissues to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and the results were validated by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. 16S rDNA sequencing was used to analyze changes in the oral microbiota during the early development of OSCC, identifying differentially abundant taxa associated with smoking. Finally, associations between the relative abundances of the oral microbiome and host gene expression were modeled using the Origin software.ResultsDEGs associated with smoking during the development of OSCC were identified. There were 12 upregulated genes, including NR4A3 and PPP1R3C, and 23 downregulated genes, including CD74 and ANKRD1. These genes were enriched in functions related to the signal transduction of cellular processes such as inflammation, differentiation, immunity, and PI3K/AKT, NF-κB signaling pathways. 4NQO and smoking treatment decreased oral microbial diversity and reduced the abundance of Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, and Lactobacillus but increased the abundance of Staphylococcus. Integrative analysis showed that the expression of CD74 was positively correlated with the relative abundance of Lactobacillus, while PPP1R3C was negatively correlated with Bacteroidota.ConclusionIn addition to characterizing host gene expression and the oral microbiome, our study explored the potential role of host–microbiome interactions in the development of OSCC. These findings enhance our understanding of smoking-related OSCC occurrence and development, providing new insights for its prevention.

Abstract To study the characteristics of nasal airflow in the presence of nasal cycle by computational fluid dynamics. CT scan data of a healthy Chinese individual was used to construct a three-dimensional model of the nasal cavity to be used as simulation domain. A sinusoidal airflow velocity is set at the nasal cavity entrance to reproduce the breathing pattern of a healthy human. There was a significant difference in the cross-sectional area between the two sides of the nasal cavity. Particularly, the decongested side is characterized by a larger cross-section area, and consequently, by a larger volume with respect to the congested side. The airflow velocity, pressure, and nasal resistance were higher on the congested narrow side. The temperature regulation ability on the congested narrow side was stronger than that on the decongested wider side. During the nasal cycle, there are differences in the nasal cavity function between the congested and decongested sides. Therefore, when evaluating the impact of various factors on nasal cavity function, the nasal cycle should be considered.

Backgroundβ-glucan has been reported to be a potential natural immune modulator for tumor growth inhibition. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of β-glucan plus immunotherapy and chemotherapy in the first-line treatment of advanced gastric adenocarcinoma.MethodsThis is a phase IB, prospective, single-arm, investigator-initiated trail. Advanced gastric adenocarcinoma patients received β-glucan, camrelizumab, oxaliplatin, oral S-1 every 3 weeks. The curative effect was evaluated every 2 cycles. The primary endpoints were objective response rate (ORR) and safety, with secondary endpoints were median progression-free survival (mPFS) and median overall survival (mOS). The exploratory endpoint explored biomarkers of response to treatment efficacy.ResultsA total of 30 patients had been enrolled, including 20 (66.7%) males and all patients with an ECOG PS score of ≥1. The ORR was 60%, the mPFS was 10.4 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 9.52-11.27), the mOS was 14.0 months (95% CI, 11.09-16.91). A total of 19 patients (63.3%) had TRAEs, with 9 patients (30%) with grade ≥ 3. The most common TRAEs were nausea (53.3%). After 2 cycles of treatment, the levels of IL-2, IFN-γ and CD4+ T cells significantly increased (P < 0.05). Furthermore, biomarker analysis indicated that patient with better response and longer OS exhibited lower GZMA expression at baseline serum.ConclusionsThis preliminary study demonstrates that β-glucan plus camrelizumab and SOX chemotherapy offers favorable efficacy and a manageable safety profile in patients with advanced gastric adenocarcinoma, and further studies are needed to verify its efficacy and safety.Clinical Trial RegistrationChinese Clinical Trials Registry, identifier ChiCTR2100044088

BackgroundApoptosis has been recognized as a critical pathophysiological process during cerebral ischemia. The neuroprotective effect of CART on ischemic brain injury is determined. However, there is little research on the protective effect of CART on neural stem cells (NSCs).MethodsPrimary cultured rat NSCs were utilized as the research subject. In vitro oxygen glucose deprivation (OGD) treatment was employed, and NSCs were extracted from SD pregnant rats following previous experimental protocols and identified through cell immunofluorescence staining. The appropriate concentration of CART affecting OGD NSCs was initially screened using Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) assays. EdU staining and Western blotting (WB) techniques were employed to assess the impact of the suitable CART concentration on the proliferation and apoptosis of OGD NSCs. Finally, Western blot analysis was conducted to investigate the cAMP-response element binding protein (CREB) pathway and expression levels of related proteins after KG-501 treatment in order to elucidate the mechanism underlying apoptosis and proliferation regulation in OGD NSCs.ResultsCCK-8 and LDH assays indicated that a concentration of 0.8 nM CART may be the optimal concentration for modulating the proliferation of OGD NSCs. Subsequently, cellular immunofluorescence and EdU detection experiments further confirmed the findings obtained from CCK-8 analysis. Western blot analysis of apoptosis-related protein expression also demonstrated that an appropriate concentration of CART could suppress the apoptosis of OGD NSCs. Finally, Western blotting was conducted to examine the CREB pathway and related protein expression after treatment with KG-501, revealing that an appropriate concentration of CART regulated both apoptosis and proliferation in OGD NSCs through CREB signaling.ConclusionThe concentration of CART at 0.8 nM may be deemed appropriate for inhibiting apoptosis and promoting proliferation in OGD NSCs in vitro. The mechanism maybe through activating the CREB pathway.

BackgroundPatients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) frequently face substantial medication burdens. Follow-up care on medication management is critical in achieving disease control. This study aimed to analyze the complexity of COPD-specific medication and determine how it impacted patients’ attendance on follow-up care.MethodsThis multicenter study includes patients with COPD from 1,223 hospitals across 29 provinces in China from January 2021 to November 2022. The medication Regimen Complexity Index (MRCI) score was used to measure COPD-specific medication complexity. The association between medication complexity and follow-up care attendance was evaluated using the Cox Proportional Hazard Model.ResultsAmong 16,684 patients, only 2,306 (13.8%) returned for follow-up medication management. 20.3% of the patients had high complex medication regimen (MRCI score >15.0). The analysis revealed that compared to those with less complex regimens, patients with more complex medication regimens were significantly less likely to attend the follow-up medication care, with a Hazard Ratio (HR) of 0.82 (95% Confidence Interval [CI], 0.74–0.91). Specifically, patients with more complex dosage forms were 51% less likely to attend the follow-up care (95% CI, 0.43–0.57). This pattern was especially marked among male patients, patients younger than 65 years, and those without comorbid conditions.ConclusionHigher medication complexity was associated with a decreased likelihood of attending follow-up care. To promote care continuity in chronic disease management, individuals with complex medication regimens should be prioritized for enhanced education. Furthermore, pharmacists collaborating with respiratory physicians to deprescribe and simplify dosage forms should be considered in the disease management process.

Many biological studies show that microRNAs (miRNAs) play an indispensable role in the regulation of various biological processes. MiRNAs are significant biomakers in disease diagnosis, aiding in the understanding of pathogenesis and facilitating the identification, diagnosis, and treatment of various diseases. However, the exact mechanism by which miRNAs influence the development of these diseases remains incompletely understood. Thus, it is crucial to develop a computational method to identify unknown miRNA-disease associations. In this study, we designed a computational framework based on singular value decomposition (SVD) and node2vec to predict unknown miRNA-disease associations (SNMDA). We use SVD technique to extract the linear features of miRNAs and diseases. The node2vec method is applied to learn the non-linear embeddings of miRNAs and diseases. We combine the linear feature and non-linear feature to get a new feature vector and feed it into the Gradient Boosting (GB) classifier for binary classification prediction. According to the experimental findings, SNMDA demonstrated an average area under the curve (AUC) of 0.9608 during five-fold cross-validation. Compared with the other Cutting-edge methods, SNMDA achieved the highest AUC value. Furthermore, the case studies on gastric cancer, malignant esophageal lesions, and lung tumors validate the effectiveness of SNMDA. The comprehensive experimental results demonstrate that SNMDA is effective in identifying unknown miRNA-disease associations.

Abstract Background Dyslipidemia is frequently exhibited in individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Remnant cholesterol (RC), an emerging novel lipid marker, plays an elusive role in CKD progression. This study sought to investigate the association of RC with decreased kidney function or albuminuria in the general population of U.S. Method Data were retrieved from the continuous 2001 to 2018 cycle of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Individuals aged between 18 and 70 years were included. RC was divided into quartiles. Albuminuria was defined by albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) ≥30 mg/g, while reduced kidney function was described as an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) below 60 ml/min/1.73 m2. Using a multivariable regression model, the association of RC with decreased eGFR or albuminuria was examined. The dose‒response relationship between RC and eGFR or ACR was also investigated using a restricted cubic spline (RCS) model. Results A total of 1551 (10.98%) participants with impaired renal function or albuminuria were identified. After multivariate adjustment, RC was not significantly associated with kidney function decline or albuminuria (odds ratio (OR) 1.24, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 0.95, 1.61). However, a significantly inverse correlation was observed between RC and eGFR in a dose‒response manner (β -2.12, 95% CI: -3.04, -1.21). This association remained consistent when stratifying data by gender, age, race, hypertension, diabetes and body mass index (BMI). Conclusion A higher RC was significantly correlated with a lower eGFR in the general population. The role of RC in predicting kidney outcomes needed further investigation in prospective studies.

Stroke is a major disorder of the central nervous system that poses a serious threat to human life and quality of life. Many stroke victims are left with long-term neurological dysfunction, which adversely affects the well-being of the individual and the broader socioeconomic impact. Currently, post-stroke brain dysfunction is a major and difficult area of treatment. Vagus nerve stimulation is a Food and Drug Administration-approved exploratory treatment option for autism, refractory depression, epilepsy, and Alzheimer's disease. It is expected to be a novel therapeutic technique for the treatment of stroke owing to its association with multiple mechanisms such as altering neurotransmitters and the plasticity of central neurons. In animal models of acute ischemic stroke, vagus nerve stimulation has been shown to reduce infarct size, reduce post-stroke neurological damage, and improve learning and memory capacity in rats with stroke by reducing the inflammatory response, regulating blood-brain barrier permeability, and promoting angiogenesis and neurogenesis. At present, vagus nerve stimulation includes both invasive and non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation. Clinical studies have found that invasive vagus nerve stimulation combined with rehabilitation therapy is effective in improving upper limb motor and cognitive abilities in stroke patients. Further clinical studies have shown that non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation, including ear/cervical vagus nerve stimulation, can stimulate vagal projections to the central nervous system similarly to invasive vagus nerve stimulation and can have the same effect. In this paper, we first describe the multiple effects of vagus nerve stimulation in stroke, and then discuss in depth its neuroprotective mechanisms in ischemic stroke. We go on to outline the results of the current major clinical applications of invasive and non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation. Finally, we provide a more comprehensive evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of different types of vagus nerve stimulation in the treatment of cerebral ischemia and provide an outlook on the developmental trends. We believe that vagus nerve stimulation, as an effective treatment for stroke, will be widely used in clinical practice to promote the recovery of stroke patients and reduce the incidence of disability.

After reconstructing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), unsatisfactory bone tendon interface healing may often induce tunnel enlargement at the early healing stage. With good biological features and high formability, Magnesium-Zinc-Gadolinium (ZG21) wires are developed to bunch the tendon graft for matching the bone tunnel during transplantation. Microstructure, tensile strength, degradation, and cytotoxicity of ZG21 wire are evaluated. The rabbit model is used for assessing the biological effects of ZG21 wire by Micro-CT, histology, and mechanical test. The SEM/EDS, immunochemistry, and in vitro assessments are performed to investigate the underlying mechanism. Material tests demonstrate the high formability of ZG21 wire as surgical suture. Micro-CT shows ZG21 wire degradation accelerates tunnel bone formation, and histologically with earlier and more fibrocartilage regeneration at the healing interface. The mechanical test shows higher ultimate load in the ZG21 group. The SEM/EDS presents ZG21 wire degradation triggered calcium phosphate (Ca-P) deposition. IHC results demonstrate upregulation of Wnt3a, BMP2, and VEGF at the early phase and TGFβ3 and Type II collagen at the late phase of healing. In vitro tests also confirmed the Ca-P in the metal extract could elevate the expression of Wnt3a, β catenin, ocn and opn to stimulate osteogenesis. Ex vivo tests of clinical samples indicated suturing with ZG21 wire did not weaken the ultimate loading of human tendon tissue. In conclusion, the ZG21 wire is feasible for tendon graft bunching. Its degradation products accelerated intra-tunnel endochondral ossification at the early healing stage and therefore enhanced bone-tendon interface healing in ACL reconstruction.

The aim of this article is to introduce the roles and mechanisms of the JAK2/STAT3 pathway in various cardiovascular diseases, such as myocardial fibrosis, cardiac hypertrophy, atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, and myocardial ischemiareperfusion. In addition, the effects of phytochemical ingredients and different natural plants, mainly traditional Chinese medicines, on the regulation of different cardiovascular diseases via the JAK2/STAT3 pathway are discussed. Surprisingly, the JAK2 pathway has dual roles in different cardiovascular diseases. Future research should focus on the dual regulatory effects of different phytochemical ingredients and natural plants on JAK2 to pave the way for their use in clinical trials.

Abstract Background Benevolent leadership is common in organizations, including hospitals, and is known to have positive effects on employees. Yet, nursing literature lacks sufficient research on its relationships with nurses’ behavior. Methods In March to April 2022, a cross-sectional study was carried out involving 320 nurses employed across various hospitals in Sichuan Province, China. Benevolent leadership, affective commitment, work engagement, and helping behavior were evaluated using the Benevolent Leadership Scale, Affective Commitment Scale, Work Engagement Scale, and Helping Behavior Questionnaire, respectively. The study employed structural equation model and the bootstrap method to investigate the proposed relationships. Results The SEM analysis results indicated a positive association between benevolent leadership and several outcomes among nurses. Specifically, benevolent leadership was found to be positively associated with nurses’ affective commitment (β = 0.58, p

Abstract Background In September 2019, the “4 + 7” centralized procurement pilot program was expanded nationwide aiming at reducing drug prices by means of volume-based procurement and using accredited generic drugs for branded drug substitutes. Given the current uncertain effect of the policy outside pilot areas, this study was conducted to evaluate the impact of the National Volume-based Procurement policy on the use of policy-related drugs after expansion. Method A single-group interrupted time series was applied using drug purchase data, covering 25 months from December 2018 to December 2020. Drugs related to the centralized procurement policy were selected as samples, including 25 first-batch policy-related drugs and 56 alternative drugs. Centralized procured drugs can be divided into bid-winning and non-winning products, where non-winning products were sorted into generic and branded drugs, and alternative products were classified according to different degrees of substitution. Purchase volume, expenditures, and daily costs were measured. Results After the implementation of the policy, a significant increase was associated with the volume of bid-winning drugs (p

Abstract Introduction The GAP model was widely used as a simple risk “screening” method for patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Objectives We sought to validate the GAP model in Chinese patients with IPF to evaluate whether it can accurately predict the risk for mortality. Methods A total of 212 patients with IPF diagnosed at China‐Japan Friendship Hospital from 2015 to 2019 were enrolled. The latest follow‐up ended in September 2022. Cumulative mortality of each GAP stage was calculated and compared based on Fine‐Gray models for survival, and lung transplantation was treated as a competing risk. The performance of the model was evaluated in terms of both discrimination and calibration. Results The cumulative mortality in patients with GAP stage III was significantly higher than that in those with GAP stage I or II (Gray's test p

Introduction: Acquired resistance to BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib is frequently observed in metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC), and it is a thorny issue that results in treatment failure. As adaptive responses for vemurafenib treatment, a series of cellular bypasses are response for the adaptive feedback reactivation of ERK signaling, which warrant further investigation. Objectives: We identified ARF1 (ADP-ribosylation factor 1) as a novel regulator of both vemurafenib resistance and cancer metastasis, its molecular mechanism and potential inhibitor were investigated in this study. Methods: DIA-based quantitative proteomics and RNA-seq were performed to systematic analyze the profiling of vemurafenib-resistant RKO cells (RKO-VR) and highly invasive RKO cells (RKO-I8), respectively. Co‑immunoprecipitation assay was performed to detect the interaction of ARF1 and IQGAP1 (IQ-domain GTPase activating protein 1). An ELISA-based drug screen system on FDA-approved drug library was established to screen the compounds against the interaction of ARF1-IQGAP1.The biological functions of ARF1 and LY2835219 were determined by transwell, western blotting, Annexin V-FITC/PI staining and in vivo experimental metastasis assays. Results: We found that ARF1 strongly interacted with IQGAP1 to activate ERK signaling in VR and I8 CRC cells. Deletion of IQGAP1 or inactivation of ARF1 (ARF-T48S) restored the invasive ability induced by ARF1. As ARF1-IQGAP1 interaction is essential for ERK activation, we screened LY2835219 as novel inhibitor of ARF1-IQGAP1 interaction, which inactivated ERK signaling and suppressed CRC metastasis and vemurafenib-resistance in vitro and in vivo with no observed side effect. Furthermore, LY2835219 in combined treatment with vemurafenib exerted significantly inhibitory effect on ARF1-mediated cancer metastasis than used independently. Conclusion: This study uncovers that ARF1-IQGAP1 interaction-mediated ERK signaling reactivation is critical for vemurafenib resistance and cancer metastasis, and that LY2835219 is a promising therapeutic agent for CRC both as a single agent and in combination with vemurafenib.

Accurate aircraft turnaround time prediction is an important way to coordinate the operation time of airport ground service and improve the efficiency of airport operation. In this paper, by analyzing the aircraft turnaround operation process, a description model based on Time Transition Petri Net is proposed. The model describes the flight turnaround operation process and the logical relationship of the operation. According to the model, a dynamic prediction method of turnaround time based on Bayesian theorem is designed. According to the actual landing time of the flight, the aircraft turnaround time is predicted. The specific method is to obtain the prior probability distribution and joint distribution law of each operation link according to the flight history data, and use Shapiro-Wilke to test the prior probability distribution of each link. Based on the analysis and comparison between the actual turnaround data of a large airport in China and the forecast data proposed in this paper, the root-mean-square error 3.75 minutes and the mean absolute error 3.40 minutes can be calculated. This paper contributes to the improvement of flight punctuality rate and airport clearance level.

Abstract Background There are a large number of infertile couples in China, but its treatment is notoriously expensive and not currently covered by insurance. The utility of preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy as an adjunct to in vitro fertilization has been debated. Objective To investigate the cost-effectiveness of preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) versus conventional technology in in vitro fertilization (IVF) from the perspective of the healthcare system in China. Methods Following the exact steps in the IVF protocol, a decision tree model was developed, based on the data from the CESE-PGS trial and using cost scenarios for IVF in China. The scenarios were compared for costs per patient and cost-effectiveness. One-way sensitivity analysis and probabilistic sensitivity analysis were performed to confirm the robustness of the findings. Main outcome measures Costs per live birth, Costs per patient, Incremental cost-effectiveness for miscarriage prevention. Results The average costs per live birth of PGT-A were estimated as ¥39230.71, which is about 16.8% higher than that of the conventional treatment. Threshold analysis revealed that PGT-A would need to increase the pregnancy rate of 26.24–98.24% or a cost reduction of ¥4649.29 to ¥1350.71 to achieve the same cost-effectiveness. The incremental costs per prevented miscarriage was approximately ¥45600.23. The incremental cost-effectiveness for miscarriage prevention showed that the willingness to pay would be ¥43422.60 for PGT-A to be cost-effective. Conclusion The present cost-effectiveness analysis demonstrates that embryo selection with PGT‑A is not suitable for routine applications from the perspective of healthcare providers in China, given the cumulative live birth rate and the high costs of PGT‑A.

Variant booster vaccines are a strategy to improve protection against SARS-CoV-2. Here, the authors find that both Wuhan-Hu-1-based Ad26.COV2.S or an Omicron-adapted booster vaccine provide robust immune responses and protection against Omicron in NHP.

Flight delay identification is an important way to coordinate the operation time of airport ground service providers and improve the efficiency of airport operations. By analyzing the flight turnaround operation process, considering the randomness and synchronization of the turnaround process, and using Colored Petri Nets and Python (4.0.1), we explore the correlation between various links in the flight turnaround process and the take-off delay at the next station. This paper is committed to improving the service performance of airports and airlines, dynamically predicting flight delays, and providing guidance for avoiding excessive time in the actual operation of bad combinations. The results show that there are six kinds of bad combinations in the departure slip-out link, which is the most likely to affect the transit time. The maximum lifting degree in the bad combination is 2.043, and the maximum average delay time in the bad combination is 22.5 min. When the combination of passenger boarding and departure slip-out time is too long, it has a great positive correlation with delay. When the other links are in a state of being able to pass the station on time, the departure time and baggage loading and unloading are the two links that most affect the flight delay value.

Flavonoids are a highly abundant class of secondary metabolites present in plants. Isoflavonoids, in particular, are primarily synthesized in leguminous plants within the subfamily Papilionoideae. Numerous reports have established the favorable role of isoflavonoids in preventing a range of human diseases. Among the isoflavonoid components, glyceollins are synthesized specifically in soybean plants and have displayed promising effects in mitigating the occurrence and progression of breast and ovarian cancers as well as other diseases. Consequently, glyceollins have become a sought-after natural component for promoting women's health. In recent years, extensive research has focused on investigating the molecular mechanism underlying the preventative properties of glyceollins against various diseases. Substantial progress has also been made toward elucidating the biosynthetic pathway of glyceollins and exploring potential regulatory factors. Herein, we provide a review of the research conducted on glyceollins since their discovery five decades ago (1972–2023). We summarize their pharmacological effects, biosynthetic pathways, and advancements in chemical synthesis to enhance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of their function and the genes involved in their biosynthetic pathway. Such knowledge may facilitate improved glyceollin synthesis and the creation of health products based on glyceollins.

Human behavior recognition plays a crucial role in the field of smart education. It offers a nuanced understanding of teaching and learning dynamics by revealing the behaviors of both teachers and students. In this study, to address the exigencies of teaching behavior analysis in smart education, we first constructed a teaching behavior analysis dataset called EuClass. EuClass contains 13 types of teacher/student behavior categories and provides multi-view, multi-scale video data for the research and practical applications of teacher/student behavior recognition. We also provide a teaching behavior analysis network containing an attention-based network and an intra-class differential representation learning module. The attention mechanism uses a two-level attention module encompassing spatial and channel dimensions. The intra-class differential representation learning module utilized a unified loss function to reduce the distance between features. Experiments conducted on the EuClass dataset and a widely used action/gesture recognition dataset, IsoGD, demonstrate the effectiveness of our method in comparison to current state-of-the-art methods, with the recognition accuracy increased by 1–2% on average.

Background: Resveratrol, a polyphenol found in various plants, is known for its diverse bioactivities and has been explored in relation to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, no high-quality evidence exists regarding its efficacy.Objective: a meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the potential efficacy of resveratrol in treating nonalcoholic fatty liver disease by analyzing both preclinical studies and clinical trials.Method: PubMed, Embase and Web of Science were searched for the included literature with the criteria for screening. Quantitative synthesis and meta-analyses were performed by STATA 16.0.Results: Twenty-seven studies were included, and the results indicated that resveratrol effectively improved liver function, reduced fatty liver indicators, and affected other indices in preclinical studies. The effective dosage ranged from 50 mg/kg-200 mg/kg, administered over a period of 4–8 weeks. While there were inconsistencies between clinical trials and preclinical research, both study types revealed that resveratrol significantly reduced tumor necrosis factor-α levels, further supporting its protective effect against nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Additionally, resveratrol alleviated nonalcoholic fatty liver disease primarily via AMPK/Sirt1 and anti-inflammatory signaling pathways.Conclusion: Current meta-analysis could not consistently verify the efficacy of resveratrol in treating nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, but demonstrated the liver-protective effects on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. The large-sample scale and single region RCTs were further needed to investigate the efficacy.

Abstract Background The prognosis of thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) currently relies on the commonly adopted WHO classification and Masaoka staging system, which cannot reflect the undefined biological behaviors limiting them as prognostic factors. Methods In this study, we first identified 40 genes and 179 genes, respectively that were epigenetically upregulated and silenced, corresponding to a total of 509 functionally methylated CpG sites between thymomas and thymic carcinomas by using the TCGA dataset. Results The methylation β‐values of cg20068620 in MAPK4 and cg18770944 in USP51 were significantly associated with recurrence‐free survival (RFS). In the independent validation cohort, only WHO classification and methylation β‐values of cg20068620 in MAPK4 were independent prognostic factors for RFS in Chinese patients with TETs. A linear weighted model including these two factors was used to calculate the recurrence risk score (RRS). Time‐dependent ROC curve analysis revealed that RRS was overwhelmingly superior to WHO classification for predicting 3‐, 5‐, and 10‐year RFS and Masaoka stage for 3‐ and 5‐year RFS. Conclusions These results suggested that the methylation site cg20068620 in MAPK4 can improve the accuracy of the WHO classification alone regarding the prognostic value of TETs recurrence.

The work aims to investigate the effect of MgO/MgSO₄ molar ratios (MSMRs) on the hydration and mechanical properties of basic magnesium sulfate (BMS) cement and basic magnesium sulfate-containing steel slag (BMS-SS). The exothermic rate and cumulative heat release were monitored, and the hydration products and pore structures were analysed. In addition, the compressive strength was measured. The results show that the hydration process of BMS and BMS-SS are both affected by the MSMRs; samples with an MSMR of 7 have the highest cumulative heat both for the BMS and BMS-SS. A higher MSMR has a negative effect on the formation of 5-1-7 and leads to the formation of Mg(OH)₂. The incorporation of SS leads to the formation of gypsum, especially for the samples with a low MSMR. Both the porosity and its distribution are affected by the MSMR, samples with an MSMR of 5 are significantly higher than those with an MSMR of 7 and 9, and the average pore diameter of the samples with an MSMR of 7 is the lowest whether or not SS is incorporated. The compressive strength of the samples with an MSMR of 7 and 9 are nearly equal and prominently higher than the samples with an MSMR of 5. The SS incorporation leads to a decrease in the compressive strength for all the samples.

Abstract Acetaminophen (APAP) overdose is a leading cause of drug‐induced liver injury and acute liver failure, while the detection, prognosis prediction, and therapy for APAP‐induced liver injury (AILI) remain improved. Here, it is determined that the temporal pattern of circulating cell‐free DNA (cfDNA) is strongly associated with damage and inflammation parameters in AILI. CfDNA is comparable to alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in predicting mortality and outperformed ALT when combined with ALT in AILI. The depletion of cfDNA or neutrophils alleviates liver damage, while the addition of cfDNA or adoptive transfer of neutrophils exacerbates the damage. The combination of DNase I and N‐acetylcysteine attenuates AILI significantly. This study establishes that cfDNA is a mechanistic biomarker to predict mortality in AILI mice. The combination of scavenging cfDNA and reducing oxidative damage provides a promising treatment for AILI.

Extending geodetic and astrometric Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations from traditional centimeter wavebands to millimeter wavebands offers numerous scientific potentials and benefits. However, it was considered quite challenging due to various factors, including the increased effects of atmospheric opacity and turbulence at millimeter wavelengths. Here, we present the results of the first geodetic-mode VLBI experiment, simultaneously observing 82 sources at 22/43/88/132 GHz ( K / Q / W / D bands) using the Korean VLBI Network (KVN). We introduced the frequency phase transfer (FPT) method to geodetic VLBI analysis, an approach for calibrating atmospheric phase fluctuations at higher frequencies by transferring phase solutions from lower frequencies. With a 2 minute scan, FPT improved the signal-to-noise ratio of most fringes, some by over 100%, thereby enhancing the detection rate of weak sources at millimeter wavebands. Additionally, FPT reduced systematic errors in group delay and delay rate, with the weighted root mean squares (WRMS) of the postfitting residuals decreasing from 25.0 to 20.5 ps at the W band and from 39.3 to 27.6 ps at the D band. There were no notable differences observed in calibrating atmospheric phase fluctuations at the K band (WRMS = 12.4 ps) and Q band (WRMS = 11.8 ps). This experiment demonstrated that the millimeter waveband can be used for geodetic and astrometric applications with high precision.

Background: The overexpression of the human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) gene is present in 20~25% of breast cancer (BC) patients, contributing to an inferior prognosis. Recent clinical trials showed that pyrotinib has promising antitumor activities and acceptable tolerability for those patients (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03080805 and NCT02422199). Therefore, this study aims to assess the cost-effectiveness of pyrotinib plus capecitabine versus lapatinib plus capecitabine for patients with HER2-positive metastatic BC after prior trastuzumab. Methods: A lifetime-partitioned survival model was established to evaluate health and economic outcomes with different treatment strategies. The primary outcome was the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). Data were derived from the published literature, clinical trials, expert opinions, and other local charges. Sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the robustness of the findings. Scenario analyses were developed to make further evaluations. Results: The pyrotinib regimen had significant advantages over the lapatinib regimen after enrolling in the National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL), with cost savings of USD 15,599.27 and a gain of 0.53 QALYs. Meanwhile, before enrolling in NRDL, the pyrotinib regimen afforded the same QALYs at a higher incremental cost of USD 45,400.64 versus the lapatinib regimen, producing an ICER of USD 85,944.79 per QALY. Scenario analyses yielded similar results. Sensitivity analyses suggested stability in the cost-effectiveness findings. Conclusions: Compared to lapatinib plus capecitabine, the pyrotinib plus capecitabine enrolled in NRDL is a cost-effective alternative second-line treatment for patients with HER2-positive metastatic BC in China.

The work focuses on a study of the hydration characteristics and expansion behaviour of Portland cement with B-doped MgO at an early age. The B--doped MgO was prepared from the co-calcination of a magnesium hydroxide reagent and a mixture of magnesium hydroxide and boric acid at 800 °C. The hydration process, products, and the porosity of pastes were investigated. Meanwhile, the physical and mechanical properties of the mortars were also determined. The results show that the co-calcination of B and magnesium at 800 °C changes the characteristics of the MgO crystals and their activity. With an increase in the dosage of B, the dimensions of the MgO crystals become smaller, and the specific surface area increases, but the activity decreases. The mortars with B-doped MgO show a higher expansion rate. The incorporation of B-doped MgO alters the hydration process of the cement pastes; 4% B-doped MgO incorporation leads to the most increased cumulative heat at 120 h. The content of Mg(OH)₂ formed in the sample is the highest compared to that of the others. The initial setting time of cement paste is delayed by incorporating B-doped MgO. The higher the dosage of B, the later the initial setting time. The B-doped MgO incorporation increases the compressive strength of the cement pastes at 3 days, but significantly decreases at 28 days.

The Sanmenxia Basin, located on the southeastern margin of the Shanxi rift and filled with Cretaceous-Paleogene fluvial and lacustrine sediments, is a faulted basin bounded by a series of normal strike-slip faults. This provides a valuable opportunity to investigate the early tectonic deformation in the Fenwei graben. In this study, we report an integrated rock magnetism and AMS analysis of two sections from the Sanmenxia Basin spanning an interval from the Late Cretaceous to the Eocene. The rock magnetic results demonstrate that magnetite and hematite are the main magnetic carriers of remanence, and paramagnetic minerals and hematite are major contributors to the AMS in both sections of the Sanmenxia Basin. Together with the relatively low-corrected anisotropy values, the tightly grouped minimum principal axes are almost perpendicular to the bedding plane, and the well-defined magnetic lineation is generally parallel to the bedding trend, indicating that the primary sedimentary fabrics in the Sanmenxia Basin were overprinted by the initial deformation. The NW–SE magnetic lineation denotes the NW–SE stretching during the Late Cretaceous-Eocene. The stretching process may have been controlled by the Indian-Eurasian convergence and/or the subduction of the western Pacific plate.

ObjectivesImmune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) alone or combined with other antitumor agents are largely used in lung cancer patients, which show both positive effects and side effects in particular subjects. Our study aims to identify biomarkers that can predict response to immunotherapy or risk of side effects, which may help us play a positive role and minimize the risk of adverse effects in clinical practice.MethodsWe retrospectively collected data from patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with ICIs at our center. Patients who received initial ICI therapy for >1 year without progression of disease were classified as long-term treatment (LT) group, while others were classified as the non-long-term treatment (NLT) group. Multivariate logistic analysis was performed to identify independent risk factors of progression-free survival (PFS) and immune-related adverse events (irAEs).ResultsA total of 83 patients (55.7%) had irAEs. The median PFS for patients in grades 1–2 of irAEs vs. grades 3–4 vs non-irAEs groups was (undefined vs. 12 vs. 8 months; p = 0.0025). The 1-year PFS rate for multisystem vs. single vs. non-irAE groups was 63%, 56%, and 31%, respectively. Signal transduction of inflammatory cytokines improves clinical prognosis through immunomodulatory function, but the benefit is also limited by the resulting organ damage, making it a complex immune balance. Serum biomarkers including EOS% of ≥ 1.15 (HR: 8.30 (95% CI, 2.06 to 33.42); p = 0.003) and IFN-γ of ≥ 3.75 (HR: 5.10 (95% CI, 1.29 to 20.15), p = 0.02) were found to be predictive for irAEs.ConclusionEOS% of ≥1.15% and IFN-γ of ≥3.75 ng/L were considered peripheral-blood markers for irAEs and associated with improved clinical outcomes for immunotherapy in patients with advanced NSCLC.

Abstract Since the outbreak of the 2019 Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the end of 2019, it has caused great adverse effects on the whole world, and it has been hindering the global economy. It is ergent to establish an infectious disease model for the current COVID-19 epidemic to predict the trend of the epidemic. Based on the SEIR model, the improved SEIR models were established with considering the incubation period, the isolated population, and genetic algorithm (GA) parameter optimization method. The improved SEIR models can predict the trend of the epidemic situation better and obtain the more accurate epidemic-related parameters. Comparing some key parameters, it is capable to evaluate the impact of different epidemic prevention measures and the implementation of different epidemic prevention levels on the COVID-19, which has significant guidance for further epidemic prevention measures.

Creating new insecticide lead compounds based on the design and modification of natural products is a novel process, of which chlorfenapyr is a typical successful example. Chlorfenapyr is an arylpyrrole derivative that has high biological activity, a wide insecticidal spectrum, and a unique mode of action. For decades, a series of chlorfenapyr derivatives were designed and synthesized continuously, of which many highly active insecticidal compounds were discovered sequentially. However, due to the widespread application of chlorfenapyr and its degradation properties, some adverse effects, including pest resistance and environmental toxicity, occurred. In this review, a brief history of the discovery and development of chlorfenapyr is first introduced. Then, the synthesis, structural modification, structure activity relationship, and action mechanism of arylpyrroles are summarized. However, challenges and limitations still exist, especially in regard to the connection with pest resistance and environmental toxicology, which is discussed at the end of this review. This comprehensive summary of chlorfenapyr further promotes its progress and sensible application for pest management.

This study looks into a new composite bridge deck structure that employs a corrugated steel plate as the base. The goal is to address the shortcomings of traditional deck-bearing capacity, stiffness, and stress performance. Specifically, this study investigates the shear performance and slip characteristics of this structure. To achieve this, the study analyzes the shear behavior and slip tendencies of the composite bridge deck. The study focuses on the role of shear studs and PBL (Perfobond Leiste) perforated steel plates as essential components for shear connections. The shear performance of the composite deck is analyzed based on the structure of shear connection keys such as shear studs and PBL perforated steel plates. The advantages of composite decks in terms of stiffness, self-weight, load-bearing capacity, shear resistance, slip resistance, etc., are discussed to provide a theoretical reference for practical engineering applications. The shear resistance of shear stud shear keys is investigated through shear push-out experiments, and the shear resistance of shear studs is investigated through finite element simulations based on the ABAQUS 2020 finite element software. The results showed that the shear load capacity of the shear studs increased with the increase in the height-to-diameter ratio for different diameters of the shear studs, and the range of increases was from 2% to 23%. However, when the diameter of the shear stud exceeded 22 mm, the ultimate shear capacity of the shear stud increased with the increase in the height-to-diameter ratio, and the magnitude of the increase slowed down. For the actual design of the composite deck, it is recommended to maintain a shear stud height-to-diameter ratio within the range of 9 to 12. When using a composite deck with a PBL open-hole steel plate, the maximum longitudinal slip at the plate end and within the span is only 0.28 mm and 0.0158 mm, respectively. These values are 31% and 36% lower than those of the composite deck with a peg shear key. Additionally, the vertical peeling within the span of the PBL open-hole steel plate is merely 0.46 mm, showing a 21% reduction compared to that of the shear studs. It can be seen that the PBL perforated steel plates are more effective than the shear studs in resisting slip and peel.

Visceral adipose tissue secretes cytokines to regulate the homeostasis of organs. Here, the authors show that epididymal white adipose tissue-secreted osteopontin induces lipophagocytic mobilization of macrophages and promotes bone matrix degradation via activating osteoclasts.

Tumor metastasis is responsible for most mortality in cancer patients, and remains a challenge in clinical cancer treatment. Platelets can be recruited and activated by tumor cells, then adhere to circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and assist tumor cells extravasate in distant organs. Therefore, nanoparticles specially hitchhiking on activated platelets are considered to have excellent targeting ability for primary tumor, CTCs and metastasis in distant organs. However, the activated tumor-homing platelets will release transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), which promotes tumor metastasis and forms immunosuppressive microenvironment. Therefore, a multitalent strategy is needed to balance the accurate tumor tracking and alleviate the immunosuppressive signals. In this study, a fucoidan-functionalized micelle (FD/DOX) was constructed, which could efficiently adhere to activated platelets through P-selectin. Compared with the micelle without P-selectin targeting effect, FD/DOX had increased distribution in both tumor tissue and metastasis niche, and exhibited excellent anti-tumor and anti-metastasis efficacy on 4T1 spontaneous metastasis model. In addition, due to the contribution of fucoidan, FD/DOX treatment was confirmed to inhibit the expression of TGF-β, thereby stimulating anti-tumor immune response and reversing the immunosuppressive microenvironment. The fucoidan-functionalized activated platelets-hitchhiking micelle was promising for the metastatic cancer treatment.

Abstract The accuracy of the pitch angle deviation directly affects the guidance accuracy of the laser seeker. During the guidance process, the abnormal pitch angle deviation data will be produced when the seeker is affected by interference sources. In this paper, a new abnormal data detection method based on Smooth Multi-Kernel Polarization Support Vector Data Description (SMP-SVDD) is proposed. In the proposed method, the polarization value is used to determine the weight of the multi-kernel combination coefficient to obtain the multi-kernel polarization function, in which the particle swarm optimization is used to find the optimal kernels for higher detection accuracy. Besides, by using smoothing mechanism, the constrained quadratic programming problem is translated to be smooth and differentiable. Then, this problem can be solved by the conjugate gradient method, which could reduce the computational complexity. In experimental section, abundant simulation experiments were designed and the experimental results verify that the proposed SMP-SVDD method could achieve higher detection accuracy and low computational cost compared with different detection methods in different guidance stages.

IntroductionThe early diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD) is very important for patients that suffer from severe and irreversible consequences of depression. It has been indicated that functional connectivity (FC) analysis based on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data can provide valuable biomarkers for clinical diagnosis. However, previous studies mainly focus on brain disease classification in small sample sizes, which may lead to dramatic divergences in classification accuracy.MethodsThis paper attempts to address this limitation by applying the deep graph convolutional neural network (DGCNN) method on a large multi-site MDD dataset. The resting-state fMRI data are acquired from 830 MDD patients and 771 normal controls (NC) shared by the REST-meta-MDD consortium.ResultsThe DGCNN model trained with the binary network after thresholding, identified MDD patients from normal controls and achieved an accuracy of 72.1% with 10-fold cross-validation, which is 12.4%, 9.8%, and 7.6% higher than SVM, RF, and GCN, respectively. Moreover, the process of dataset reading and model training is faster. Therefore, it demonstrates the advantages of the DGCNN model with low time complexity and sound classification performance.DiscussionBased on a large, multi-site dataset from MDD patients, the results expressed that DGCNN is not an extremely accurate method for MDD diagnosis. However, there is an improvement over previous methods with our goal of better understanding brain function and ultimately providing a biomarker or diagnostic capability for MDD diagnosis.

Intelligent distributed control and protection is a promising route towards flexible and safety operation of distribution network with widespread access of distributed energy resources A fundamental premise of the distributed decision-making is that each smart terminal can identify the topological structure of the feeder and track its changes. This paper proposes a distributed topology identification algorithm with high fault tolerance based on peer-to-peer communication. The smart terminal units (STU) installed on the nodes can dynamiclly track and identify the network topology through local measurement and information exchange with neighboring STUs. The proposed algorithm combines local measurement mutual check with contralateral connectivity predictive correction, and significantly improves the tolerance of measurement errors in topology identification. Test examples are presented to verify the effectiveness of the method.

Abstract Background Clinical trials have shown that dexmedetomidine might decrease the occurrence of postoperative delirium after major surgery, but neurosurgical patients were excluded from these studies. We aimed to determine the feasibility of conducting a full-scale randomized controlled trial of the effect of prophylactic low-dose dexmedetomidine on postoperative delirium in patients after elective intracranial operation for brain tumors. Methods In this single-center, parallel-arm pilot randomized controlled trial, adult patients who underwent an elective intracranial operation for brain tumors were recruited. Dexmedetomidine (0.1 μg/kg/hour) or placebo was continuously infused from intensive care unit (ICU) admission on the day of surgery until 08:00 AM on postoperative day one. Adverse events during the study-drug administration were recorded. The primary feasibility endpoint was the occurrence of study-drug interruption. Delirium was assessed twice daily with the Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU during the first five postoperative days. The assessable rate of delirium evaluation was documented. Results Sixty participants were randomly assigned to receive either dexmedetomidine (n = 30) or placebo (n = 30). The study-drug was stopped in two patients (6.7%) in the placebo group due to desaturation after new-onset unconsciousness and an unplanned reoperation for hematoma evacuation and in one patient (3.3%) in the dexmedetomidine group due to unplanned discharge from the ICU. The absolute difference (95% confidence interval) of study-drug interruption between the two groups was 3.3% (− 18.6 to 12.0%), with a noninferiority P value of 0.009. During the study-drug infusion, no bradycardia occurred, and hypotension occurred in one patient (3.3%) in the dexmedetomidine group. Dexmedetomidine tended to decrease the incidence of tachycardia (10.0% vs. 23.3%) and hypertension (3.3% vs. 23.3%). Respiratory depression, desaturation, and unconsciousness occurred in the same patient with study-drug interruption in the placebo group (3.3%). Delirium was evaluated 600 times, of which 590 (98.3%) attempts were assessable except in one patient in the placebo group who remained in a coma after an unplanned reoperation. Conclusions The low rate of study-drug interruption and high assessable rate of delirium evaluation supported a fully powered trial to determine the effectiveness of low-dose dexmedetomidine on postoperative delirium in patients after intracranial operation for brain tumors. Trial registration The trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04494828) on 31/07/2020.

Herein, we report the scheme of an optically pumped atomic clock based on a cold cesium atomic beam source. We propose the laser system and physical mechanism of this atomic clock, wherein the atomic beam travels in an upper parabolic trajectory, thereby eliminating the light shift effect. In the experiments, when the length of the free evolution region was 167 mm, the line width of the Ramsey fringe was 37 Hz. When the expected signal-to-noise ratio of the Ramsey fringe that can be achieved is 36,000, the expected short-term frequency stability is about 3.6 × 10–14/√τ, which is significantly higher than that of a conventional optically pumped cesium clock of similar volume.

A deficiency in the macronutrient phosphate (Pi) brings about various changes in plants at the morphological, physiological and molecular levels. However, the molecular mechanism for regulating Pi homeostasis in response to low-Pi remains poorly understood, particularly in maize (Zea mays L.), which is a staple crop and requires massive amounts of Pi. Therefore, in this study, we performed expression profiling of the shoots and roots of maize seedlings with Pi-tolerant genotype at both the transcriptomic and proteomic levels using RNA sequencing and isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ). We identified 1944 differentially expressed transcripts and 340 differentially expressed proteins under low-Pi conditions. Most of the differentially expressed genes were clustered as regulators, such as transcription factors involved in the Pi signaling pathway at the transcript level. However, the more functional and metabolism-related genes showed expression changes at the protein level. Moreover, under low-Pi conditions, Pi transporters and phosphatases were specifically induced in the roots at both the transcript and protein levels, and increased amounts of mRNA and protein of two purple acid phosphatases (PAPs) and one UDP-sulfoquinovose synthase (SQD) were specifically detected in the roots. The new insights provided by this study will help to improve the P-utilization efficiency of maize.

ObjectivesWe sought to evaluate the prognostic value of blood routine parameters and biochemical parameters, especially inflammation-related biomarkers, and establish an inflammation-related prognostic model in Chinese patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).Material/methodsPatients diagnosed as IPF at Beijing Chaoyang Hospital and aged 40 years and older were consecutively enrolled from June 2000 to March 2015, and finally, a total of 377 patients were enrolled in the derivation cohort. The follow-up ended in December 2016. We used Cox proportional hazard model to calculate the hazard ratio (HR) and establish the prognostic model. The discrimination and calibration of the prognostic model were evaluated in an independent validation cohort enrolled from China-Japan Friendship Hospital between January 2015 and December 2019.ResultsMultivariate analysis revealed that patients with elevated monocyte-to-red blood cell count ratio (MRR) and monocyte counts showed increased risk of mortality. The clinical-physiological-biomarker (CPB) index and CPB stage we established in this study were a significant predictor, and the C-index for CPB index and CPB stage in the validation cohort was 0.635 (95% CI: 0.558–0.712) and 0.619 (95% CI: 0.544–0.694), respectively. Patients in CPB stage III had the poorest survival.ConclusionWe developed and validated a new inflammation-related prognostic model (CPB index and CPB stage) which was integration of age, gender, FVC (%, predicted), DLCO (%, predicted), Charlson Comorbidity Index, and blood monocyte counts. This prediction model exhibited strong ability in predicting mortality in Chinese patients with IPF.

The research of optically pumped cesium beam atomic clock (OPCB) at Peking University has lasted for decades. At present, the short-term frequency stability is 3×10−12/τ and the long-term (5-day) frequency stability can reach 7 × 10−15. The optimization methods of the short-term frequency stability are using laser induced beam spectrum to stabilize the laser frequency, using cyclic transition to detect the atomic state and using a cesium oven with a collimator to generate the cesium atomic beam. The methods of obtaining the good long-term frequency stability are controlling the microwave power based on the atomic transition probability, controlling the C-field intensity based on Zeeman frequency and controlling the laser power using fluorescence. The compact optically pumped cesium beam atomic clock of Peking University is expected to contribute to the field of timing, positioning, navigation and high speed digital communication.

The optimization of imaging accuracy and speed is a crucial issue in the development of computer-generated holograms (CGH) for three-dimensional (3D) displays. This paper proposes an optimized iterative algorithm based on the angular spectrum method (ASM) to achieve high-quality holographic imaging across multiple planes. To effectively utilize spatial resources for multi-image reconstruction and mitigate the speckle noise caused by the overlapping of target images, constraint factors are introduced between different layers within the same region. The seeking rule of the constraint factor is also analyzed. By utilizing both constraint factors and variable factors, the presented method is able to calculate phase holograms for target figure imaging at four different planes. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method effectively improves the overall quality of the different planes, thus holding great potential for wide-ranging applications in the field of holography.

As the technology scales down, two-dimensional (2D) NAND flash memory has reached its bottleneck. Three-dimensional (3D) NAND flash memory was proposed to further increase the storage capacity by vertically stacking multiple layers. However, the new architecture of 3D flash memory leads to new sources of errors, which severely affects the reliability of the system. In this paper, for the first time, we derive the channel probability density function of 3D NAND flash memory by taking major sources of errors. Based on the derived channel probability density function, the mutual information (MI) for 3D flash memory with multiple layers is derived and used as a metric to design the quantization. Specifically, we propose a dynamic programming algorithm to jointly optimize read-voltage thresholds for all layers by maximizing the MI (MMI). To further reduce the complexity, we develop an MI derivative (MID)-based method to obtain read-voltage thresholds for hard-decision decoding (HDD) of error correction codes (ECCs). Simulation results show that the performance with jointly optimized read-voltage thresholds can closely approach that with read-voltage thresholds optimized for each layer, with much less read latency. Moreover, the MID-based MMI quantizer almost achieves the optimal performance for HDD of ECCs.

Leiomyosarcoma of the uterus (ULMS) is a rare malignant tumor originating from embryonic mesenchymal cells. ULMS tends to metastasize to the lungs, lymph nodes, liver, and bone. Computed tomography three-dimensional (CT 3D) imaging is an advanced diagnostic technique that can track the vessels and their relationships with tumors and reveal the invasion of vessels, including small vessels, around tumors in any slice. Here, we describe a case in which ULMS extended to the retrohepatic inferior vena cava. To date, no report has described resection of metastatic ULMS of the vena cava through supplemental CT 3D imaging. Our patient presented with right lumbar abdominal pain as the main symptom. After using CT 3D reconstruction to accurately assess the relationship between the tumor and the surrounding organs and blood vessels before the operation, the operation was successfully completed through multidisciplinary surgical collaboration.

A beam source is proposed for the production of an intense cold cesium atomic beam that can be used in cesium beam atomic clocks. The source is based on a two-dimensional magneto-optical trap (2D-MOT), but introduces hollow cooling and pushing lights in the axial direction to create a 2D+-MOT, which separates the cooling and pushing functions while the low-power pushing light pushes atoms out to form a cold atomic beam. This cold cesium atomic beam source reduces the light shift due to leakage light and retains longitudinal cooling to increase the flux of the cold atomic beam compared with that of the conventional 2D+-MOT scheme. The specifics of the design are investigated, the atomic velocity and beam flux are calculated, and the results are experimentally verified. The results demonstrate that when the power of the pushing light is 180 µW and when its frequency resonates with the 4 → 5′ transition of the Cs D2 line, the most probable longitudinal velocity of the outgoing cold atomic beam, the width of velocity distribution, and the atomic beam flux are 19.38 m/s, 8.1 m/s, and 1.7 × 1010 atoms/s, respectively.