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Theoretical research results such as computer big data analysis and machine learning are essential support for the design of convenient and effective deep learning models, however, existing studies seldom viewed this problem from the perspectives of computer big data sampling, parallel processing optimization, data preprocessing, and predictive maintenance. To fill in this gap, this paper researched the computer big data analysis and predictive maintenance based on deep learning. At first, the paper elaborated on the self-adaptively adjusted sampling and parallel processing optimization of computer big data, and gave the flow of computer big data preprocessing based on a deep learning model; then, it introduced the computer big data analysis and predictive maintenance method based on deep learning; at last, experiments were conducted to compare the performance of different Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) models and the results proved the effectiveness of the proposed model.

Consistent joint penetration is essential to mechanical properties of weldments, yet difficult to realize in gas tungsten arc welding due to heat accumulation, varying welding conditions, and uncertain disturbance, especially for manufacturing large-scale structural components. The solution is to monitor welding penetration in real-time and implement closed-loop control. In this paper a directional light-assisted vision sensing scheme is proposed to measure the transient profile of the backside weld pool/bead for monitoring and further controlling the joint penetration state. The developing zone and the developed zone of the backside weld bead are recognized, helping determining its final width. And the relationship between the transient backside bead width and the corresponding final width is established. Furthermore, the backside bead profile is employed as a feedback signal and the closed-loop control of weld formation is implemented to achieve full penetration and a constant backside bead width. A multiple-input single-output model predictive controller is utilized in the control system, creatively combined with an anti-windup integrator eliminating the steady-state error caused by nonlinearity in welding. Experimental results have proved that the developed control system is effective in keeping a consistent backside bead width with a rapid response, a small overshoot and robustness against varying heat transfer conditions.

The cerebral ischemic stroke is a major type of stroke characterized by brain injury, neurological deficits, and cognitive impairments, which accounts for increased disability and mortality worldwide. The present study focusses to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of ononin against the ischemic stroke induced by ischemia–reperfusion (I/R) injury via suppression of I/R injury stimulated neuroinflammation in rat model. Animals were separated into four groups as Sham, I/R induced, I/R + ononin pretreated (10 mg/kg body weight), and I/R + ononin pretreated (20 mg/kg body weight). The ischemic stroke was stimulated in animals by middle artery occlusion method as described previously. The infarct volume, brain edema, and neurological deficits were studied by standard methods. The oxidative stress markers like SOD, CAT, GSH, GSH-Px, Cu/Zn-SOD, Mn-SOD, MDA, and acetylcholinesterase were assessed by previously described methods. The contents of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 were assessed using assay kits. The in vitro studies were performed using SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. The level of Ononin given at 10 and 20 mg/kg body weight resulted in increase in water content, reduced volume of infarct, improved neurological deficit score, and exerted its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective efficacy against cerebral I/R injury-induced rats. Increase in proinflammatory cytokine expression was observed in cerebral I/R injury-stimulated rats. Oxygen glucose deprivation/ reoxygenation (OGD/R) injury showed reduction in cell viability of SH-SY5Y cells which was attenuated following treatment with ononin at varying concentrations. Ononin has reduced proinflammatory cytokine expression in vitro. Thus, ononin has successfully attenuated I/R injury-induced neuroinflammation in rats and thus minimized neuronal injury. Therefore, all the findings of the study depicts that ononin can thus be used as a beneficiary move toward treatment of cerebral I/R injury.

Background: Titanium dioxide (TiO2), consisting of nanoparticles and sub-microparticles, were widely used as food additive and consumed by people every day, which has aroused a public safety concern. Some studies showed TiO2 can be absorbed by intestine and then distributed to different tissues after oral intake, which is supposed to affect the content of various elements in the body whereas led to tissue damage. However, knowledge gaps still exist in the impact of TiO2 on the disorder of elemental homeostasis. Thus, this study aimed to explore the oral toxicity of TiO2 by assessing its influence on elemental homeostasis and tissues injury. Method: ICR mice were fed with normal feed, TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs)-mixed feed or TiO2 submicron particles (MPs)-mixed feed (1% mass fraction TiO2 NPs or MPs were mixed in commercial pellet diet) for 1, 3, and 6 months. Particles used in this study were characterized. The distribution of Ti and other 23 elements, the correlation among elements, and pathological change in the liver, kidney, spleen and blood cells of the mice was determined. Result: Ti accumulation only appeared in blood cells of mice treated with TiO2 MPs-mixed feed for 6 months, but TiO2 cause 12 kinds of elements (boron, vanadium, iron, cobalt, copper, zinc, selenium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, silicon, phosphorus) content changed in organ tissue. The changed kinds of elements in blood cells (6 elements), liver (7 elements) or kidney (6 elements) were more than in the spleen (1 element). The TiO2 NPs induced more elements changed in blood cells and liver, and the TiO2 MPs induced more elements changed in kidney. Significantly positive correlation between Ti and other elements was found in different organs except the liver. Organ injuries caused by TiO2 NPs were severer than TiO2 MPs. Liver exhibited obvious pathological damage which became more serious with the increase of exposure time, while kidney and spleen had slight damages. Conclusion: These results indicated long-time dietary intake of TiO2 particles could induce element imbalance and organ injury. The liver displayed more serious change than other organs, especially under the treatment with TiO2 NPs. Further research on the oral toxicity of TiO2 NPs should pay more attention to the health effects of element imbalances using realistic exposure methods.

Objective to investigate the effect of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) loaded carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC) nanoparticles on the apoptosis level of keloid fibroblasts. Methods keloid tissue (n = 80) was taken from inpatient and outpatient patients who were treated in our hospital from January 2020 to December 2020. The fresh keloid specimen tissues were washed with saline three times. After removing the epithelium, they were cut into 2mmx2mm tissue blocks for subculture. CMC nanoparticles loaded with 5-FU were prepared by ionically crosslinking CMC solution with calcium chloride. The viability of fibroblasts was determined by MTT assay. Transwell was used to assess fibroblast invasion. The wound healing test was used to evaluate the migration of fibroblasts. The apoptotic cells were analyzed by Annexin V-FITC and flow cytometry. The expression of apoptotic protein in fibroblasts was determined by Western blot analysis. The expression of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and Smad2/3 were analyzed by immunohistochemistry. The mRNA expression of ERK1/2, protein kinase B (AKT) and nuclear transcription factor-κB (NF-κB) was analyzed by RT-qPCR. Results compared with the control group, there was no difference in the viability of fibroblasts in the nanoparticle group at 0h (P>0.05), and the viability of fibroblasts at 24h, 48h and 72h decreased by 37.29%, 29.58% and 28.38, respectively (P

Zhanglei Mu,1 Yanjun Gao,2 Kun Li,1 Hualong Liu,3 Jianzhong Zhang1 1Department of Dermatology, Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Dermatology, Fuping Hospital Affiliated to The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Hebei, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Internal Medicine, Fuping Hospital Affiliated to The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Hebei, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Jianzhong ZhangDepartment of Dermatology, Peking University People’s Hospital, No. 11 Xizhimen South Street, Beijing, 100044, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-10-88325472Email rmzjz@126.comPurpose: The aim of this study is to analyze the prevalence and types of androgenetic alopecia (AGA) among hospital staff and compare it with the general population in dermatology.Subjects and Methods: We carried out the study in a secondary hospital in China. We conducted face-to-face interviews with hospital staff and the outpatients and their accompanying persons (general population) visiting the dermatology clinic of the hospital. The severity of AGA was evaluated using the Hamilton–Norwood and Ludwig classifications.Results: There were 297 subjects in the hospital staff (105 men and 192 women) and 318 subjects in the general population (109 men and 209 women). The prevalence of AGA among male and female staff was 42.9% and 13.0%, respectively, and the corresponding rates among general male and female population were 27.5% and 8.1%, respectively. However, there was no statistical difference in the prevalence of AGA between female staff and general female population. Among male staff, type IV was the most common type of hair loss (17.1%), and type IVa and type Va were the least common (1.0%). Among female staff, type I (6.3%) was the most common type of hair loss, and type III and male pattern hair loss were the least common (1.0%). A positive family history was found in 53.3% of male and 44.0% of female staff with AGA.Conclusion: The prevalence of AGA in the male staff was higher than that in the general male population.Keywords: androgenetic alopecia, China, prevalence, hospital staff

Aims. The prognostic value of plasma D-dimer in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) remains controversial. The study is aimed at investigating the relationship between plasma D-dimer levels and in-hospital heart failure (HF) in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI). Methods. STEMI patients who underwent pPCI were enrolled in this study. Venous blood samples were collected from patients on admission before pPCI procedure. The study endpoint was the occurrence of in-hospital HF. The participants were divided into two groups according to plasma D-dimer levels and further compared baseline D-dimer levels between male and female. Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were performed to evaluate the relationship of D-dimer and in-hospital HF. Results. A total of 778 patients were recruited in the study, of which 539 (69.3%) patients had normal D-dimer levels (≤0.5 mg/L) while 239 (30.7%) had increased D-dimer levels (>0.5 mg/L). The female patients have higher D-dimer levels and higher incident rate of in-hospital HF than that in male patients ( p < 0.001 ). The multivariate logistic regression model revealed that D-dimer was an independent predictor for in-hospital HF in overall population (adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 1.197, 95% CI: 1.003-1.429, and p = 0.046 ) and female patients (adjusted OR: 1.429, 95% CI: 1.083-1.885, and p = 0.012 ). Conclusion. Increased plasma D-dimer levels were an independent risk factor for incidence of in-hospital HF in STEMI patients who underwent pPCI, especially in female patients, which provides guidance for clinicians in identifying patients at high risk of developing HF and lowering their risk.

Electrochemical potassium storage and sodium capture play a critical role in supercapacitors (SCs) and capacitive deionization (CDI). Here, we report that a synergy of oxygen functional groups and intrinsic defects can boost potassium storage and sodium capture. The ions adsorption and migration can be easily tuned by manipulating oxygen functional groups and intrinsic defects. Compared to non-template carbon material, the Defects/Oxygen-containing functional groups modified carbon material presents an approximately 20% and 28.6% improvement in K+ transmission capability and Na+ storage capacity at similar conditions, respectively. Theoretical calculations further clarify that intrinsic defects redistribute electronic configuration, increase active sites and ion adsorption capability, oxygen functional groups promote the formation of more edge-defect, enlarge interlayer space and lower ion intercalation energy, thereby synergistically promoting sodium capture and potassium storage.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most lethal cancers worldwide due to a high rate of tumour metastasis and disease recurrence. In physiological conditions, tetraspanins interact with specific partner proteins in tetraspanin‐enriched microdomains and regulate their subcellular localization and function. However, the function of Tspan5 in pathological processes, particularly in cancer biology and its clinical significance, are still unclear. Here, we describe that a high expression of Tspan5 is significantly associated with some clinicopathological features including invasive length, vascular invasion, clinical stage and poor overall survival of HCC patients. Alterations of Tspan5 expression by lentivirus transductions in HCC cells demonstrated that Tspan5 promotes wound healing and cell migration in vitro and tumour metastasis of HCC cells in vivo. Mechanistic studies revealed that Tspan5 promoted cell migration and tumour metastasis by increasing the enzymatic maturation of ADAM10 and activating Notch signalling via the increase of the cleavage of the Notch1 receptor catalysed by the γ‐secretase complex. Activation of Notch signalling by Tspan5 was shown further to enhance the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) and actin skeleton rearrangement of tumour cells. In clinical HCC samples, Tspan5 expression is strongly correlated with many key molecules acting in Notch signalling and EMT, highlighting the role of Tspan5 in the regulation of Notch signalling, EMT and tumour metastasis of HCC. Our findings provide new insights into the mechanism of tumour metastasis and disease progression of HCC and may facilitate the development of novel clinical intervention strategies against HCC., We demonstrated that Tspan5 promotes the enzymatic maturation of ADAM10 and activates Notch signalling. The γ‐secretase complex catalyses the cleavage of Notch1 for the release of NICD, which is then translocated to the nucleus where it activates Notch target gene transcription. By activating Notch signalling, Tspan5 promoted epithelial–mesenchymal transition, actin skeleton rearrangement, tumour migration and metastasis of HCC, resulting in poor patient survival.

Vesicle amine transport-1 (VAT-1) was implicated in regulation of vesicular transport, mitochondrial fusion, axonal growth, phospholipid transport and cell migration. However, the role of VAT-1 in tumour biology and disease progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unknown. Here, we first investigated the expression of VAT-1 in clinical HCC samples by immunohistochemistry and in various transcriptomic datasets by bioinformatics. The biological functions of VAT-1 in HCC were then explored by using a variety of techniques including in vitro cell-based assays, in vivo xenograft models, high throughput mRNA-Seq, KEGG pathway enrichment, flow-cytometry analysis, immunoassays and bioinformatics. Underlying mechanisms were further verified in clinical tumour specimens. We demonstrated that VAT-1 is significantly upregulated in tumour tissues and associated with tumour size, invasion, clinical stage and overall survival of patients. Multivariate Cox analysis indicated VAT-1 is an independent unfavourable prognostic factor. VAT-1 downregulation significantly inhibited cell growth and colony formation in vitro and xenograft growth by decreasing proliferation and increasing apoptosis. Mechanistic studies revealed VAT-1 downregulation inhibits tumour growth through induction of the cell cycle arrest at G1-G0 by regulating the expression of cyclin D1, cyclin D3, CDK6, c-Myc and MCL-1. Strikingly, VAT-1 regulates STAT3 phosphorylation at Y705, nuclear translocation of pSTAT3-Y705, EGF-induced STAT3 signalling and consequently the expression of downstream c-Myc and cyclin D1. In both established HCC cell lines and clinical tumour samples, VAT-1 regulates numerous pathways including cell cycle, ErbB pathway, EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance and JAK-STAT pathway; VAT-1 expression is significantly correlated with core components of EGF-EGFR-STAT3-cell cycle axis, highlighting the role of VAT-1 in regulation of EGF-STAT3-c-Myc-cyclin D/CDK6 signalling. Our results provide new insights into the carcinogenesis and disease progression of HCC and rationales for the development of novel intervention strategies against HCC. VAT-1 could serve as an independent prognostic biomarker for predicting clinical outcome of HCC patients.

By respectively using Boron trichloride and ammonia as the boron source and the nitrogen source, and nitrogen as the carrier gas, hexagonal boron nitride films were grown on (100) silicon substrates via a low-pressure chemical vapor deposition method in a deposition temperature range of 900–1300 °C with a total pressure of 100 Pa. The effect of temperature on crystalline quality of the hexagonal boron nitride films was investigated using X-ray diffraction and Raman spectra. It was demonstrated that stoichiometric polycrystalline hexagonal boron nitride films were synthesized at 1200 °C. A deep-ultraviolet photodetector based on a 2.3 µm hBN film exhibited a photo-to-dark-current ratio of ~ 312 at 20 V bias under the irradiation of a UV-enhanced xenon lamp. It indicates that hBN films are promising functional materials for high-performance solar-blind photodetectors.

Titanium dioxide (TiO

Recent advances in cancer research have revealed a close relationship between mitochondrial dysfunction and cancer development. Human COX assembly factor 3 (COA3), also known as CCDC56, is a mitochondrial transmembrane protein responsible for cytochrome c oxidase (COX) protein complex assembly. However, the clinical implication and biological functions of COA3 remain unexplored in human cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Here, we found that COA3 is overexpressed at both mRNA and protein levels in human NSCLC cells, mainly as a result of decreased miR-338-3p level. The protein expression level of COA3 is positively associated with lymph node metastasis and predicts poor survival in patients with NSCLC. Silencing of COA3 significantly attenuated, while forced COA3 expression enhanced the migration and invasiveness of NSCLC cells. Mechanistically, we found that aerobic glycolysis, induced at least in part by dynamic-related protein 1 (DRP1) phosphorylation-mediated mitochondrial fragmentation, contributed to COA3-promoted NSCLC metastasis. Together, our study illustrates that COA3 plays a crucial role in NSCLC carcinogenesis, implying COA3 as a prognostic marker and treatment target in NSCLC.

Cervical cancer, one of the most common malignancies, has a poor survival rate. The identification of more biomarkers for cervical cancer diagnosis and therapy is urgently needed. Plasminogen activator urokinase (PLAU) exerts multiple biological effects in various physiological and pathological processes; however the role of PLAU in cervical cancer progression is not fully understood. In the present study, the involvement and transcriptional regulation of PLAU in cervical cancer were explored. The expression of PLAU in cervical cancer was first analyzed, and PLAU was found to be overexpressed.

A novel carbon/BiOBr (C/BiOBr) photoanode with interesting electronic structure is designed. Carbon atoms are connected with bismuth (Bi) and bromine (Br) atoms by electron interaction. Such an electron interaction changes the chemical environments of Bi and Br, so that results in enhanced visible light absorption capacity and high transfer rate of charge carriers. Photoelectrochemical cell (PEC) system has been constructed to study the photoelectrochemical property of C/BiOBr photoanode. The short-circuit current (Jsc) and open-circuit voltage (Voc) of C/BiOBr are measured to be 0.057 mA/cm2 and 0.296 V, which are higher than that in PEC with the pristine BiOBr photoanode. The proposed chemically bonded C/BiOBr photoanode offers potential for electricity generation and pollutants degradation.

Photoanode material, due to its wide applications in photoelectrochemistry, has attracted much attention. In this work, tin-doped BiOCl (BiOCl-Sn) is prepared through a simple and effective method. A photoelectrochemical cell system with BiOCl-Sn as the photoanode is constructed. The short circuit current (Jsc) and open circuit voltage (Voc) are measured to be 0.0516 mA·cm−2 and 0.26 V. Both Mott–Schottky curve and valence band spectra prove that Sn doping leads to a shift of the conduction band minimum downward. Meanwhile, the results of photocurrent and impedance measurements reveal that the Sn doping accelerates the photocarriers separation. The photocatalytic redox properties of BiOCl-Sn are investigated by rhodamine B degradation and nitrogen fixation.

Purpose: To study the anti-inflammatory influence of dexmedetomidine (DEX) in mice with acute pancreatitis (AP), and to determine the underlying mechanism.Methods: A total of 75 healthy ICR male mice were randomly divided into control, mild acute pancreatitis (MAP), MAP+DEX, severe acute pancreatitis (SAP), and SAP+DEX groups, with 15 mice/group. Blood levels of inflammatory factors (TNF-α and IL-1β) and norepinephrine were assayed ineach group. Western blotting was used to assay the protein expressions of NLRP3 and norepinephrine transporter (NET) in the pancreatic tissue of each group.Results: The levels of inflammatory factors in the MAP+DEX group were markedly lower than those in the MAP group after 10 h of MAP induction (p < 0.01). Mice in MAP+DEX group had significantly lower expression of NLRP3 in pancreatic tissue, and significantly higher NET protein level, relative to the MAP mice. Following 10 h of SAP, concentrations of the inflammatory factors and the pancreatic expression of NLRP3 were lower in SAP+DEX-treated mice than in SAP mice, while NET protein was significantly higher in SAP mice (p < 0.01).Conclusion: DEX reduces the expressions of inflammation-related factors TNF-α and IL-1β, and inhibits inflammatory response in mice with AP via downregulation of NET protein expression via inhibition of NLRP3 and early sympathetic events. Keywords: Dexmedetomidine, NLRP3 inflammasome, Sympathetic nerve, Acute pancreatitis, Inflammatory response

Background This experimental design was based on lncRNA LINC01194 to explore the pathogenesis of NSCLC. Methods RT-qPCR was used to detect the expression of lncRNA LINC01194 and miR-486-5p in NSCLC tissues and cell lines. CCK-8, colony formation, and transwell assays were used to examine the effects of lncRNA LINC01194 and miR-486-5p on NSCLC cell proliferation and migration invasiveness. For target gene prediction and screening, luciferase reporter assays were used to verify downstream target genes for lncRNA LINC01194 and miR-486-5p. The protein expression of CDK4 was detected using Western blotting. The tumor changes in mice were detected by in vivo experiments in nude mice. Results LncRNA LINC01194 was highly expressed in NSCLC tissues and NSCLC lines (A549, H1299, H460 cells, H1975), and lncRNA LINC01194 significantly promoted cell proliferation and migration of NSCLC cells. MiR-486-5p was identified as a potential target for LINC01194, and miR-486-5p was expressed at a low level in NSCLC tissues and NSCLC lines (A549, H1299, H460 cells, H1975). CDK4 was identified as a potential target for miR-486-5p. LncRNA LINC01194 was able to inhibit miR-486-5p expression and upregulate the expression level of CDK4. Finally, the results of in vivo animal models confirmed that lncRNA LINC01194 promoted NSCLC progression by modulating the miR-486-5p/CDK4 axis. Conclusion LncRNA LINC01194 promoted the progression of NSCLC by modulating the miR-486-5p/CDK4 axis.

Aldehyde dehydrogenase 6 family member A1 (ALDH6A1) is a highly conserved member of aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDHs) family. Recent studies reveal that it broadly involved in tumorigenesis and drug metabolism in kinds of cancer. However, the critical role of ALDH6A1 in bladder cancer progression and cisplatin resistance of cancer cells are still poorly understood. In this study, we researched the significant function of ALDH6A1 in bladder cancer. Our results showed that ALDH6A1 exhibited a decreased expression in clinical bladder cancer tissues and bladder cancer cell lines. Stable ALDH6A1 knockdown not only could promote cell growth and colony formation in bladder cancer cells, but also enhance drug resistance to cisplatin treatment. On the contrary, we found the active transcript factor hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF4α, NR2A1) by alveriene could upregulate ALDH6A1 expression, significantly inhibit the cell growth and colony formation of bladder cancer cells, and improve cisplatin sensitivity of bladder cancer cells. Together, our results show that ALDH6A1 plays as a tumor suppressor in bladder cancer, which regulated by HNF4a. ALDH6A1 could be a promising diagnostic marker and treatment target in bladder cancer.

Environmental pollution, especially particulate matter in the air, is a serious threat to human health. Long-term inhalation of particulate matter with a diameter 2.5 μm (PM2.5) induced irreversible respiratory and lung injury. However, it is not clear whether temporary exposure to massive PM2.5 would result in epithelial damage and lung injury. More importantly, it is urgent to clarify the mechanisms of PM2.5 cytotoxicity and develop a defensive and therapeutic approach. In this study, we demonstrated that temporary exposure with PM2.5 induced lung epithelial cell apoptosis via promoting cytokines expression and inflammatory factors secretion. The cytotoxicity of PM2.5 could be alleviated by tussilagone (TSL), which is a natural compound isolated from the flower buds of Tussilago farfara. The mechanism study indicated that PM2.5 promoted the protein level of Hif-1α by reducing its degradation mediated by PHD2 binding, which furtherly activated NF-κB signaling and inflammatory response. Meanwhile, TSL administration facilitated the interaction of the Hif-1α/PHD2 complex and restored the Hif-1α protein level increased by PM2.5. When PHD2 was inhibited in epithelial cells, the protective function of TSL on PM2.5 cytotoxicity was attenuated and the expression of cytokines was retrieved. Expectedly, the in vivo study also suggested that temporary PM2.5 exposure led to acute lung injury. TSL treatment could effectively relieve the damage and decrease the expression of inflammatory cytokines by repressing Hif-1α level and NF-κB activation. Our findings provide a new therapeutic strategy for air pollution-related respiratory diseases, and TSL would be a potential preventive medicine for PM2.5 cytotoxicity.

BackgroundTitanium dioxide (TiO2) with nanofractions is increasingly applied in food products as a food additive, which makes consumers under the health risks of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2-NPs) oral exposure. The recent ban of food additive TiO2 (E171) use in France aggravated public controversy on safety of orally ingesting TiO2-NPs. This work aimed to determine biological effects of TiO2-NPs (38.3 ± 9.3) oral consumption (100 mg/kg bw, 10 days) on TNBS-induced colitis mice and healthy mice, and the additional vitamin E administration was also conducted to explore the possible mechanism of TiO2-NPs on colitis development.ResultsOral consumption of TiO2-NPs exacerbated oxidative stress status in colitis mice by decreasing the colonic glutathione (GSH) and total glutathione (T-GSH) levels, however, TiO2-NPs administration repaired the dysbacteriosis of colitis mice, and downregulated the Toll-like receptors (TLRs), nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) signal pathway and inflammatory factor (IL-1β and TNF-α) transcription levels in colon tissue, which finally decreased the TNF-α expression level and participated in the mitigation of colitis symptoms. Moreover, further vitamin E intervention after TiO2-NPs consumption could relieve the oxidative stress status (mainly by scavenging reactive oxygen species, ROS) and the inflammatory factor over-transcription in colonic epithelium of colitis mice, but the effect of TiO2-NPs on dysbacteriosis repair would not be further changed by Vitamin E. At last, TiO2-NPs induced oxidative stress status and increased NF-κB signal transcription level in colonic epithelium, which increased daily disease activity index (DAI) score and caused mild mucosal inflammatory cell infiltrate in healthy mice. ConclusionOur present work showed that oral TiO2-NPs administration indeed induced oxidative stress and made an adverse effect on the development of colitis, but TiO2-NPs could also downregulate the NF-κB signal transduction level by repairing gut dysbacteriosis, which made a predominant role in alleviating colitis. On the other hand, it should also be noticed that TiO2-NPs oral ingestion caused potential colonic inflammation risks in healthy mice.

Particulate matter (PM) released by printers may cause airway inflammation and cardiac electrophysiological changes. We conducted a two-stage crossover study to examine the association between short-term exposure to printing shop particles (PSPs) and the heart rate variability (HRV) among healthy volunteers, as well as to evaluate the effect of air purifier intervention. The on-site assessments of PSPs and individual HRV parameters of the volunteers were used to analyze the influence of size-fractionated PSPs and air purifier intervention on HRV at different lag times after PSPs exposure (0 min, 5 min, 15 min, and 30 min) by using the linear mixed-effects models. We observed that changes in 6 HRV parameters were associated with particle mass concentration (PMC) of PSPs, and changes in 8 HRV parameters were associated with particle number concentration (PNC) of PSPs. The sensitive HRV parameters were the square root of the mean of the sum of the squares of differences between adjacent NN intervals (rMSSD), NN50 count divided by the total number of all NN intervals (pNN50), normalized high frequency power (nHF), very high frequency power (VHF), normalized low frequency power (nLF), and the ratio of low frequency power to high frequency power (LF/HF). Most HRV parameters exhibited the strongest effect associated with PMC and PNC at a lag time of 30 min. The air purifier intervention markedly reduced the PNC and PMC of size-fractionated PSPs, enhanced 5 HRV parameters, and decreased the nLF and LF/HF. Our study suggests that short-term exposure to PSPs can affect HRV parameters, reflecting changes in cardiac autonomic nervous activity, and the use of an air purifier can reduce the concentration of PSPs and improve the autonomic nervous system activity of the exposed individuals.

The study aimed to gain a comprehensive picture of current e-learning development in higher education. In order to do this, research questions including distribution patterns, contributors in terms of journals, authors and countries, as well as theme development and evolution pattens of e-learning were proposed. To address the research questions, a bibliometric analysis was carried out by reviewing 877 peer-reviewed journal publications published from 2019 to 2021 in the Scopus database, with the help of Biblioshiny and VOSviewer software. The results indicated a fast annual growth in the number of publications from 2019 to 2021, with social science as the core subject area for e-learning development. Sustainability (Switzerland) and Education and Information Technologies were the most contributing journals, due to their high citation numbers and productivity. China, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia made the highest contributions to the e-learning field in terms of the publication numbers and citation indicators. “Acceptance factors”, “perceptions”, “mental health”, “teachers”, “university students”, and “e-learning management and organization” were interest topics discussed between 2019 and 2021. More empirical research was featured to address the issues of e-learning in 2019, and the research interests focused on motivation, administration, and pedagogical aspects. Meanwhile, from 2020–2021, it was observed that themes such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, and information and communication technology in the e-learning field were booming. The study provided extensive insight into the existing publications of the e-learning landscape; accordingly, the results could be useful to researchers, policymakers, and practitioners in this field.

This quantitative study investigated the relationship between EFL teachers’ self-efficacy and their acceptance of online teaching in the Chinese context. One online questionnaire, including a self-efficacy scale and behavioral intention scale, was administrated to 293 university-level EFL teachers in China. The descriptive results indicated that EFL teachers at Chinese universities possessed a positive intention to adopt online teaching and relatively high self-efficacy in embracing online teaching. Correlational analyses showed that all four aspects of the self-efficacy of EFL teachers—student engagement, instructional strategies, classroom management, and computer ability—had significant correlations with their acceptance of online teaching. Meanwhile, based on the results of multiple linear regression analyses, EFL teachers’ efficacy in student engagement and instructional strategies were predictors of their intention to teach online. Self-efficacy in classroom management and computer ability did not influence EFL teachers’ acceptance of online teaching. An in-depth understanding of the relationship between self-efficacy and EFL teachers’ behavior and intentions can allow teachers and educators to improve their self-confidence and engagement in online teaching at a pedagogical level and identify patterns in teacher efficiency with respect to language at a theoretical level.

As an indispensable part of the mechanical manufacturing system, the wear state of the tool will affect the productivity and machining quality. Therefore, it is of great significance to accurately predict its remaining useful life (RUL). This paper proposes a non-autoregressive dual-stage attention-based long-short term memory network (DA-LSTM) for tool RUL prediction. The dual-stage attention mechanism of the proposed method can adaptively assign attention weights to the input features and the context vectors output by the LSTM encoder, thereby improving the performance of the model without manual feature selection. Validation experiments are conducted on a real public dataset, and the experimental results show that the method proposed in this paper has better performance in short-term and medium-term RUL prediction tasks.

In this paper, a method of industrial time series data cleaning using generative LSTM model and adaptive confidence interval is proposed. Firstly, the generative LSTM model is used to predict the probability distribution of industrial time series data, and then the confidence boundary of data anomalies is calculated according to the adaptive confidence interval method, so as to judge whether the data is abnormal or not. This paper uses network open data to complete data cleaning experiment, and the precision rate and recall rate of abnormal data detection are above 96%. The comparison with other anomaly detection algorithms also proves the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm in industrial time series data cleaning.

At present, the main treatment methods of osteosarcoma are chemotherapy and surgery. Its 5-year survival rate has not been significantly improved in the past decades. Osteosarcoma has extremely complex multigenomic heterogeneity and lacks universally applicable signal blocking targets. Osteosarcoma is often found in adolescents or children under the age of 20, so it is very important to explore its genetic pathogenic factors. We used known osteosarcoma-related genes and computer algorithms to find more osteosarcoma pathogenic genes, laying the foundation for the treatment of osteosarcoma immune microenvironment-related treatments, so as to carry out further explorations on these genes. It is a traditional method to identify osteosarcoma related genes by collecting clinical samples, measuring gene expressions by RNA-seq technology and comparing differentially expressed gene. The high cost and time consumption make it difficult to carry out research on a large scale. In this paper, we developed a novel method “RELM” which fuses multiple extreme learning machines (ELM) to identify osteosarcoma pathogenic genes. The AUC and AUPR of RELM are 0.91 and 0.88, respectively, in 10-cross validation, which illustrates the reliability of RELM.

Background In the present study, we aimed to examine the correlation of serum levels of MMP-9, ADMA, and sCD40L with the occurrence and severity of acute ischemic stroke. Methods All routines analyses were performed using a Cobas platform. MMP-9, ADMA, and sCD40L were measured using ELISA kit. Results Compared with the controls, the stroke group showed higher MMP-9,higher sCD40L and higher ADMA. There were significant positive correlations between the NIHSS scores and MMP-9, sCD40L and ADMA. Conclusions Our study indicated that serum levels of MMP-9, sCD40L, and ADMA are associated with ischemic stroke and are correlated with the NIHSS scores at admission.

Membraneless microfluidic fuel cells (MFCs) have garnered tremendous interest as micropower devices, which exploit the colaminar nature of two aqueous electrolytes to separate the anode and cathode and avoid the membrane usually used in a fuel cell. Our previous research shows that the performance of FeCl3-based MFCs with catalyst-free cathodes is mainly limited by the cathode. To improve the power output of these MFCs, we activated the carbon paper cathode by an electrochemical method in the three solutions (Na2SO4, NaOH, and H2SO4) to improve the electrochemical characteristics of the carbon paper cathode. The surface functionalities and defects, reduction activation of iron ions as the oxidant, cathode resistance, and performance of FeCl3-based MFCs were measured and compared. Our work shows that the electrochemical activation of the carbon paper in different solutions is a simple and effective method to enhance the electrochemical characteristics of the carbon paper cathode and improve the performance of the FeCl3-based MFC. Also, the MFC with the carbon paper cathode activated in the H2SO4 solution reaches the optimum performance: 235.6 mW cm–3 in volumetric power density and 1063.33 mA cm–3 in volumetric limiting current density, which are 1.58 and 1.52 times as much as that of a MFC with an untreated carbon paper cathode, respectively. This best performance can be attributed to the cathode activated in the H2SO4 solution with the largest number of oxygen-containing functional groups, the largest electrochemical active surface area, strongest reduction of iron ions, and least resistance of the cathode.

The microstructure and mechanical properties of bobbin tool friction stir welded joints for 2219-T87 aluminum alloy using different welding speeds were investigated based on the experimental results together with a thermo-mechanical model developed. The stir zone created in the joint shows a dumbbell shape. As welding speed increases, both the width and grain size of stir zone decrease. The symmetrical hardness distribution forms across the joint thickness, while the asymmetric hardness is measured along the width of the stir zone. The hardness of the stir zone on the retreating side is lower than that on the advancing side. The hardness profile presents a W-shape, with the minimum values measured increasing with welding speed. The tensile residual stresses increase gradually towards the center of the joint from the outer surface, presenting a symmetrical feature as well. As welding speed increases, both the tensile strength and elongation show a maximum value 70% of joint efficiency. Tensile fracture occurs in the stir zone and shows a symmetrical surface with three different layer fracture modes identified. In layers I and III, the fracture surface presents 45° direction, while fracture propagates along the S-line in layer II.

Using chromium (Cr), which was deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering, as a buffer layer for synthesizing high-quality hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) films by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) was demonstrated. The effect of growth temperature and annealing process on the quality of the Cr buffer layer was investigated. The characterization of the dependence of hBN film quality on growth temperature, substrate, and annealing process was discussed. All evidence shows that using a Cr buffer layer can significantly improve the crystalline quality of hBN. A DUVPD based on hBN film using Cr as the bottom electrode was fabricated with a small leakage current. The photocurrent is 3.5 nA at a bias of 500 V, and it exhibits good switching characteristics.

This article demonstrates how experiential learning could be used to develop argumentative essay writing skills in STEM students. Written feedback, when delivered in a timely manner, is an effective way of advancing students’ understanding of the writing process. Unfortunately, large class sizes and the limited backgrounds of instructors do not always make formative feedback possible. STEM students are especially disadvantaged since approaches to teaching written communication tend to differ from the trial-and-error strategies compatible with many STEM areas. An experiential learning approach to writing instruction can have a positive impact on developing writing skills in STEM learners. Implementing algorithms for providing STEM students with immediate, dependable, formative feedback is expected to improve their performance in writing. This paper discusses an experiential learning project for teaching argumentative writing was delivered to computer science and engineering freshmen. Also discussed are automated analysis of content and argumentation in the essays, using NLP methods.

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2-NPs) are widely applied as additives in foods due to their excellent whitening and brightening capability. Although the toxicity and antibacterial activity of TiO2-NPs have been extensively studied, their impact on the gut microbiota in vivo still remains unclear, especially in animals with gastrointestinal disorders. In the present study, healthy mice and TNBS-induced colitis mice were administered with TiO2-NPs (38.3 ± 9.3 nm) orally at a dose of 100 mg per kg bw daily for 10 days to study the impact of TiO2-NPs on the gut microbiota and colitis development. Moreover, the mechanism of TiO2-NPs on the gut microbiota was also discussed when the colitis mice were additionally administered with vitamin E to remove ROS. Changes in the microbiota community structure and gut-associated function prediction were analyzed through bioinformatics. The result showed that the oral administration of TiO2-NPs mitigated colitis symptoms by reducing the DAI and CMDI scores and TNF-α level. Furthermore, 16S rDNA sequencing analysis showed that the structure and function prediction of gut microbiota could be modified in healthy mice and colitis mice after exposure to TiO2-NPs, but the opposite physiological effect occurred since the dominant flora varied in these two groups. Moreover, vitamin E intervention did not change the effects of TiO2-NPs on the microbiota community structure and gut-associated function, which indicates that the mechanism of the biological effects of TiO2-NPs on the gut microbiota may not be associated with their ability to induce the generation of ROS. In summary, our work firstly found that TiO2-NPs could regulate the gut microbiota of colitis mice and participate in the mitigation of TNBS-induced acute colitis, and the capability of TiO2-NPs to induce the generation of ROS inducement did not contribute to this process.