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This study investigated the characteristics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in two distinct water bodies, through the utilization of three-dimensional fluorescence spectroscopy coupled with self-organizing map (SOM) methodology. Specifically, this analysis concentrated on neurons 3, 14, and 17 within the SOM model, identifying notable differences in the DOM compositions of a coal subsidence water body (TX) and the MaChang Reservoir (MC). The humic substance content of DOM TX exceeded that of MC. The origin of DOM in TX was primarily linked to agricultural inputs and rainfall runoff, whereas the DOM in MC was associated with human activities, displaying distinctive autochthonous features and heightened biological activity. Principal component analysis revealed that humic substances dominated the DOM in TX, while the natural DOM in MC was primarily autochthonous. Furthermore, a multiple linear regression model (MLR) determined that external pollution was responsible for 99.11% of variation in the humification index (HIX) of water bodies. HIGHLIGHTS Study of the variation in DOM spectral characteristics of different waterbodies.; Neural networks were applied to spectral resolution.; Source analysis was performed to identify the origin of water pollution.;

This study focuses on diffuse lung disease,which primarily affects the elderly.Reform and innovation have been implemented in medical imaging teaching using ITK-snap software.In the teaching process,the study tries to reconstruct CT images of the lungs through intelligent 3D simulation,and integrate clinical manifestations,imaging,pathology,physiology,and pharmacology with the help of online and offline teaching modes to achieve the purpose of teaching.The innovation of this teaching mode is to take the clinical medical students as the research object,put the students in the main position in the teaching activities,and explore the significance of intelligent three-dimensional simulation and reconstruction teaching methods in the teaching of postgraduate DLD imaging,so as to improve the students' initiative in learning and cultivate the students' clinical thinking ability.

Glucose plays a vital part in milk protein synthesis through the mTOR signaling pathway in bovine mammary epithelial cells (BMEC). The objectives of this study were to determine how glucose affects hexokinase (HK) activity in BMEC and investigate the regulatory effect of HK in kappa casein (CSN3) synthesis via the mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling pathway in BMEC. For this, HK1 and HK2 were knocked out in BMEC using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. The gene and protein expression, glucose uptake, and cell proliferation were measured. We found that glucose uptake, cell proliferation, CSN3 gene expression levels, and expression of HK1 and HK2 increased with increasing glucose concentrations. Notably, glucose uptake was significantly reduced in HK2 knockout (HK2KO) BMEC treated with 17.5 mM glucose. Moreover, under the same glucose treatment conditions, the proliferative ability and abundance of CSN3 were significantly diminished in both HK1 knockout (HK1KO) and HK2KO BMEC compared with that in wild-type BEMC. We further observed that the phosphorylation levels of ribosome protein subunit 6 kinase 1 (S6K1) were reduced in HK1KO and HK2KO BMEC following treatment with 17.5 mM glucose. As expected, the levels of glucose-6-phosphate and the mRNA expression levels of glycolysis-related genes were decreased in both HK1KO and HK2KO BMEC following glucose treatment. These results indicated that the knockout of HK1 and HK2 inhibited cell proliferation and CSN3 expression in BMEC under glucose treatment, which may be associated with the inactivation of the S6K1 and inhibition of glycolysis.

Abstract Background Environmental lead (Pb) exposure have been suggested as a causative factor for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, the role of Pb content of human body in ALS outcomes has not been quantified clearly. The purpose of this study was to apply Bayesian networks to forecast the risk of Pb exposure on the disease occurrence. Methods We retrospectively collected medical records of ALS inpatients who underwent blood Pb testing, while matched controlled inpatients on age, gender, hospital ward and admission time according to the radio of 1:9. Tree Augmented Naïve Bayes (TAN), a semi-naïve Bayes classifier, was established to predict probability of ALS or controls with risk factors. Results A total of 140 inpatients were included in this study. The whole blood Pb levels of ALS patients (57.00 μg/L) were more than twice as high as the controls (27.71 μg/L). Using the blood Pb concentrations to calculate probability of ALS, TAN produced the total coincidence rate of 90.00%. The specificity, sensitivity of Pb for ALS prediction was 0.79, or 0.74, respectively. Conclusion Therefore, these results provided quantitative evidence that Pb exposure may contribute to the development of ALS. Bayesian networks may be used to predict the ALS early onset with blood Pb levels.

In view of the problem of circulating cooling system blow-down water treatment in a power plant，a scheme to reduce the salt content and sulfate concentration in the circulating cooling system blow-down water was proposed by using nano-filtration technology to meet the local environmental protection standards and realize the up-to-standard discharge. Moreover， a technical and economic comparison with the circulating water bypass desalination treatment scheme using reverse osmosis technology were made. The impact of the two schemes on the zero discharge of desulfurization waste water from the power plant were fully considered in the comparison and selection of the schemes. The result showed that the scheme of standard discharge after nano-filtration treatment had more advantages.

Substantial reductions in carbon emissions are necessary to control global warming. However, the low capacity of individual companies to reduce emissions can constrain the capacity of the entire supply chain. This paper investigates how the supply chain manages carbon allowances to rationalize the allocation of carbon allowances and improve supply chain profits. Firstly, the supply chain alone manages the management of carbon quotas and then proposes new management of carbon quotas, including joint management of carbon allowances by manufacturer-led supply chains and co-management of carbon allowances by supplier-led supply chains. The Stackelberg game model aims to find the optimal price, wholesale product price, and carbon reduction level. Then, the paper compares profits under different management models, and the study results show that the supply chain joint management carbon allowance strategy is related to the number of carbon allowances and the price. The results of the study suggest that joint management of carbon allowances by supply chains can promote both environmental benefits and supply chain profitability, but from the perspective of individual benefits, there are not always opportunities for manufacturers and suppliers to join forces; it is also related to the number of carbon allowances and the price of carbon trading, and in some cases, supply chain joining forces will result in the lowest profitability of the whole supply chain. Finally, many numerical experimental validations further show that the joint management of carbon quotas in the supply chain can improve corporate profits and reduce carbon emissions, which provides essential insights for enterprises to manage carbon quotas.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlations and consistency among the central corneal thickness (CCT) of healthy myopic patients measured with three different anterior segment analysis systems. Design: This was a retrospective study. The study included myopia patients who had undergone preoperative examinations in the refractive surgery department of our hospital between January 2021 and December 2023. The CCT was measured separately using Pentacam, Sirius, and IOLMaster 700. Methods: Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS software. Correlations among the three groups of measured values were assessed using the Pearson method, and a simple scatter plot and fitting line were drawn. Bland‒Altman scatter plots and 95 % limits of agreement (LoAs) were used to evaluate consistency in the data among the systems. Results: A total of 269 patients participated in the study, including 134 males (49.8 %) and 135 females (50.2 %). The CCT measurements by Pentacam, Sirius, and IOLMaster 700 instruments were found to be 541.63 ± 31.67 μm, 541.74 ± 33.36 μm, and 548.90 ± 34.19 μm respectively; significant differences were observed among these measurements (p < 0.05). Significant differences were also observed in CCT between Pentacam and IOLMaster 700 as well as between Sirius and IOLMaster 700 (p < 0.05). The CCT measurements by all three devices showed high positive correlation with all p values less than 0.001: Pentacam and Sirius, r = 0.972; Pentacam and IOLMaster 700, r = 0.966; and Sirius and IOLMaster 700, r = 0.962. The respective 95 % LoAs were -0.18∼0.18; -1.51∼-1.11; and -1.52∼-1. Conclusion: The results indicate that there is a high correlation in measuring CCT for healthy myopic eyes using three different anterior segment analysis systems. However, the differences in the values measured by the three devices were statistically significant. Therefore, in actual clinical practice, it is suggested that the same device should be used to measure and evaluate the CCT across visits.

Abstract The Absorption-addiction model suggests that people worship celebrities to compensate for some personal or social defects, so poor mental state is related to celebrity worship. The current study aimed to explore the underlying mechanisms influencing celebrity worship. A total of 1,147 participants (aged 19–26 years) completed online questionnaires to assess social anxiety, mobile phone dependence, parental income and celebrity worship. Results showed that: (1) social anxiety, socioeconomic status (SES) and celebrity worship were positively correlated; (2) Social anxiety affected celebrity worship through mobile phone dependence; (3) SES played a moderating role in the mediation model. At higher levels of SES, individuals with high social anxiety showed reduced dependence on mobile phones. These findings highlight the importance of mobile phone dependence and family SES in celebrity worship. Additionally, the findings demonstrated that females are more likely to pay attention to celebrities, but the greater SES and reduced mobile phone dependence can mitigate their celebrity addiction.

Abstract How to improve the capacity of light‐harvesting is still an important point and essential strategy for the assembling of high‐efficiency quantum dot–sensitized solar cells (QDSCs). A believable approach is to implant new light absorption materials into QDSCs to stimulate the charge transfer. Herein, the few‐layer black phosphorus quantum dots (BPQDs) are synthesized by electrochemical intercalation technology using bulk BP as source. Then the obtained BPQDs are deposited onto the surface of Zn–Cu–In–S–Se (ZCISSe) QD‐sensitized TiO2 substrate to serve as another light‐harvesting material for the first time. The experimental results have shown that BPQDs can not only increase the absorption intensity by photoanode but also reduce unnecessary charge recombination processes at the interface of photoanode/electrolyte. Through optimizing the size and deposition process of BPQDs, the champion power conversion efficiency of ZCISSe QDSCs is increased to 15.66% (26.88 mA/cm2, Voc = 0.816 V, fill factor [FF] = 0.714) when compared with the original value of 14.11% (Jsc = 25.41 mA/cm2, Voc = 0.779 V, FF = 0.713).

The high consequence areas of long-distance oil and gas pipelines are usually provided with technical defense by video surveillance to identify the third-party damage events such as manual excavation, mechanical excavation and heavy vehicles rolling around the pipelines in high consequence areas. However, video surveillance often relies on the screen monitoring of the personnel on duty, which has insufficient effectiveness. For this reason, an intelligent identification method of third-party damage in high consequence areas of the pipeline based on depth learning was proposed. Specifically, the collected images and videos along the line were analyzed, the feature targets were extracted, and an image intelligent identification model based on YOLO v5 was established. Generally, the model improves the optimization speed and target detection accuracy. After 226 iterations, the model training has the process loss function values of training and validation close to 0 and 0.01, respectively, reaching the optimal state. The research method was tested in the video surveillance of a pipeline section in a high consequence area in Tianjin, with a detection accuracy of up to 99.33%, which verified the effectiveness of the method and provided engineering application reference for the subsequent intelligent identification and real-time early warning of the video surveillance system in the high consequence areas.

Touch serves as an important medium for human–environment interaction. The piezoresistive tactile sensor has attracted much attention due to its convenient technology, simple principle, and convenient signal acquisition and analysis. In this paper, conductive beads-on-string polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/polyaniline doped with dodecyl benzene sulfonic acid (PANI-DBSA) nanofibers were fabricated via the electrospinning technique. Due to the special nanostructure of PVA-coated PANI-DBSA, the tactile sensor presented a wide measuring range of 12 Pa–121 kPa and appreciable sensitivity of 8.576 kPa−1 at 12 Pa~484 Pa. In addition, the response time and recovery time of the sensor were approximately 500 ms, demonstrating promising prospects in the field of tactile sensing for active upper limb prostheses.

Neuromorphic optoelectronic sensors with in-sensor computing architecture hold great promise for applications that require processing large amounts of redundant data, such as the Internet of Things, robotics, and environmental sciences, due to their advantages of low time latency and energy efficiency. Halide perovskites, known for their extraordinary optoelectronic properties and stimuli-responsive characteristics, offer excellent opportunities for developing switchable visual sensors with high sensitivity, fast response, low energy consumption, and wide adaptive range. In this work, we successfully realized a MAPbBr3-PdSe2 heterojunction-based optoelectronic sensor, demonstrating a responsivity of 28 mA/W and a high specific detectivity of 5.2 × 1011 Jones. A fast response time of ∼ 25 μs has also been achieved. Additionally, we investigated the role of voltage-induced ion migration in actively adjusting the device's photoresponse capacity. Under 0 V bias, the device exhibited a wide switchable range of optical responsivity from 137.5% to 27000%, significantly surpassing pure perovskite-based devices in previous reports. Moreover, we demonstrated the device's adaptive learning capabilities and reproducible switching characteristics by simulating Pavlovian classical conditioned reflex experiments using electrical modulation. These findings open up exciting possibilities for next-generation artificial vision systems that are energy-efficient, adaptive, and capable of learning and effectively responding to varying visual conditions.

Abstract Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim. (TK) is a dioecious plant in the Cucurbitaceae family of which different sexes have separate medicinal uses. We used Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology to sequence miRNAs from male and female flower buds of TK. We performed bioinformatics analysis, miRNA identification, and target gene prediction on the data obtained from sequencing, and association analysis was performed in combination with the results of a previous transcriptome sequencing study. As a result, there were 80 differentially expressed miRNAs (DESs) between the female and male plants (48 upregulated and 32 downregulated in female plants). Moreover, 27 novel miRNAs in DESs were predicted to have 282 target genes, and 51 known miRNAs were predicted to have 3418 target genes. By establishing a regulatory network between miRNAs and target genes, 12 core genes were screened, including 7 miRNAs and 5 target genes. Among them, tkmiR157a-5p, tkmiR156c, tkmiR156_2, and tkmiR156k_2 jointly target the regulation of tkSPL18 and tkSPL13B. These two target genes are specifically expressed in male and female plants, respectively, and are involved in the biosynthesis process of BR, which is closely related to the sex differentiation process of TK. The identification of these miRNAs will provide a reference for the analysis of the sex differentiation mechanism of TK.

Abstract Background Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) is typically triggered by hypoxia under high altitude conditions. Currently, rule of time among AMS inpatients was not clear. Thus, this study aimed to analyze the time distribution of AMS inpatients in the past ten years and construct a prediction model of AMS hospitalized cases. Methods We retrospectively collected medical records of AMS inpatients admitted to the military hospitals from January 2009 to December 2018 and analyzed the time series characteristics. Seasonal Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) was established through training data to finally forecast in the test data set. Results A total of 22 663 inpatients were included in this study and recorded monthly, with predominant peak annually, early spring (March) and mid-to-late summer (July to August), respectively. Using the training data from January 2009 to December 2017, the model SARIMA (1, 1, 1) (1, 0, 1) 12 was employed to predict the test data from January 2018 to December 2018. In 2018, the total predicted value after adjustment was 9.24%, less than the actual value. Conclusion AMS inpatients have obvious periodicity and seasonality. The SARIMA model has good fitting ability and high short-term prediction accuracy. It can help explore the characteristics of AMS disease and provide decision-making basis for allocation of relevant medical resources for AMS inpatients.

The low homologous protein chimeric recombination technique by rational design of mutant library proteins in the construction of chimeric esterases by structural domain recombination often produces a large number of inclusion bodies due to misfolding of nascent proteins caused by clashes between residue sidechains, leading to a decrease in soluble protein content. The formation of inclusion bodies is evidence of erroneous interactions of intermediates and the lack of essential cofactors in the cell. Heterotrimeric proteins obtained during chimerisation of low homologous parental chimeric esterases tend to produce misfolding, resulting in inactive chimeric esterases constructed or low soluble protein content. Chimeric enzymes obtained by using structural domain recombination to alter the nature and function of the enzyme play an important role in medicine and industry, among others. Although low homology parental chimerism is more likely to produce chimeric enzymes with new functions, the lower the homology of the parents the more likely it is to produce conflicts between residues, causing the resulting heterotrimeric proteins to misfold and form a large number of inclusion bodies. With the development of bioinformatics technology and improved understanding of protein properties, chimerisation of some low homology protein molecules is now possible. In this article we review several methods and important strategies for directed protein evolution and discuss recent research advances in reducing inclusion bodies to increase soluble protein content.

Background: The association between the insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS1) rs1801278 polymorphism and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) remains controversial based on existing published data. A meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the potential correlation between the IRS1 rs1801278 polymorphism and GDM risk. Methods: Eligible studies were identified by conducting comprehensive searches in PubMed, Embase, Web of science, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and the Chinese Biomedicine databases. Pooled odds ratios (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using appropriate fixed-effects or random-effects models to evaluate the relationship between IRS1 rs1801278 polymorphism and the risk of GDM. Results: A total of nine studies were included in this meta-analysis, and the pooled analysis indicated no significant association between IRS1 rs1801278 and the risk of GDM. Heterogeneity among the studies was detected, and a Galbraith plot analysis was conducted to explore the source of heterogeneity. It was revealed that one study was responsible for the heterogeneity. After excluding this study, the heterogeneity decreased significantly. Conclusions: The present meta-analysis reveals that IRS1 rs1801278 polymorphism may not be correlated with GDM risk. The study was registered on PROSPERO (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/), registrationnumber: CRD42023460095.

This experiment investigated the effects of different levels of bile acid (BA) additives in diets on the lactation performance, serum antioxidant metabolites, and serum biochemical indices of 60 multiparous mid-lactation dairy cows. The cows were randomized to receive one of the four homogeneous treatments, with the BA preparation supplemented at 0, 6, 12, and 18 g/head/d. The experiment lasted for 14 weeks. The first 2 weeks were the pre-feeding period. The milk yield and composition data were recorded weekly, and the dry matter intake and antioxidative blood index were analyzed on the 6th, 10th, and 14th weeks of the study. On the 84th day of the experiment, the experimental group exhibited significantly higher levels of total protein and albumin, by 57.5% and 55.6%, respectively, compared to the control group (p < 0.05). On both the 28th and 84th days of the trial, the experimental group showed a markedly higher lipase content compared to the control group, by 26.5% and 25.2%, respectively (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the experimental group displayed notably elevated levels of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and total antioxidant capacity, surpassing the control group by 17.4%, 21.6%, and 8.7%, respectively. In conclusion, BA additives improve the serum antioxidant indices of dairy cows, thereby enhancing the performance of these cows.

ObjectiveThe main purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Castor single-branched stent-graft combined with fenestrated technique in treatment of thoracic aortic disease (TAD) with unfavorable proximal landing area (PLZ) and isolated left vertebral artery (ILVA).MethodsFrom January 2018 to March 2022, 8 patients with TAD (6 patients with type B aortic dissections, 1 patient with type B intramural hematomas, and 1 patient with thoracic aortic aneurysm) underwent thoracic endovascular aortic repair with fenestrated Castor stent-graft due to the existence of ILVA and unfavorable PLZ. Demographic characteristics, surgical details, postoperative complications, follow-up and postoperative CTA imaging results were collected and analyzed.ResultsThe primary technical success rate was 100%. The mean operation time was 115 min (range, 70–180 min). All the left subclavian arteries (LSAs) and ILVAs of the eight patients were revascularized by fenestrated Castor stent-grafts. During the follow-up period, no deaths and complications were observed. No internal leakage, aortic rupture, retrograde type A dissection were found on computed tomography angiography. All of the LSAs and ILVAs maintained patency without stenosis.ConclusionCastor single-branched stent-graft implantation combined with fenestration technique may be safe and feasible for TAD patients with ILVA and unfavorable PLZ.

IntroductionClonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) is associated with atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. It has been suggested that CHIP may be related to diabetes, so we investigated the association between CHIP and new-onset type 2 diabetes.MethodsThis study included 4,047 subjects aged >=40 years without diabetes. To detect CHIP, targeted gene sequencing of genomic DNA from peripheral blood cells was performed. The incidence of new-onset type 2 diabetes during the follow-up period was evaluated.ResultsOf the total subjects, 635 (15.7%) had CHIP. During the median follow-up of 5.1 years, the incidence of new-onset diabetes was significantly higher in CHIP carriers than in subjects without CHIP (11.8% vs. 9.1%, p = 0.039). In a univariate analysis, CHIP significantly increased the risk of new-onset diabetes (HR 1.32, 95% CI 1.02–1.70, p = 0.034), but in a multivariate analysis, it was not significant. The CHIP-related risk of new onset diabetes differed according to LDL cholesterol level. In the hyper-LDL cholesterolemia group, CHIP significantly increased the risk of diabetes (HR 1.64, 95% CI 1.09–2.47, p = 0.018), but it did not increase the risk in the non-hyper-LDL cholesterolemia group. The subjects with CHIP and hyper-LDL-cholesterolemia had approximately twice the risk of diabetes than subjects without CHIP and with low LDL cholesterol (HR 2.05, 95% CI 1.40–3.00, p < 0.001).ConclusionThe presence of CHIP was a significant risk factor for new-onset type 2 diabetes, especially in subjects with high LDL cholesterol. These results show the synergism between CHIP and high LDL cholesterol as a high-risk factor for diabetes.

The brain barrier is an important structure for metal ion homeostasis. According to studies, lead (Pb) exposure disrupts the transportation of copper (Cu) through the brain barrier, which may cause impairment of the nervous system; however, the specific mechanism is unknown. The previous studies suggested the X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis (XIAP) is a sensor for cellular Cu level which mediate the degradation of the MURR1 domain-containing 1 (COMMD1) protein. XIAP/COMMD1 axis was thought to be an important regulator in Cu metabolism maintenance. In this study, the role of XIAP-regulated COMMD1 protein degradation in Pb-induced Cu disorders in brain barrier cells was investigated. Pb exposure significantly increased Cu levels in both cell types, according to atomic absorption technology testing. Western blotting and reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) showed that COMMD1 protein levels were significantly increased, whereas XIAP, ATP7A, and ATP7B protein levels were significantly decreased. However, there were no significant effects at the messenger RNA (mRNA) level (XIAP, ATP7A, and ATP7B). Pb-induced Cu accumulation and ATP7B expression were reduced when COMMD1 was knocked down by transient small interfering RNA (siRNA) transfection. In addition, transient plasmid transfection of XIAP before Pb exposure reduced Pb-induced Cu accumulation, increased COMMD1 protein levels, and decreased ATP7B levels. In conclusion, Pb exposure can reduce XIAP protein expression, increase COMMD1 protein levels, and specifically decrease ATP7B protein levels, resulting in Cu accumulation in brain barrier cells.

Food-derived polyphenols and their effects on type 2 diabetes are linked to the microbiota. Here, we expound on the mechanisms of food-derived polyphenols that affect the onset of type 2 diabetes, focusing on the roles played by gut microorganisms and the metabolites they produce. We also discuss the mechanism of food-derived polyphenols lower blood glucose through host signaling-mediated inflammatory responses. Food-derived polyphenols alleviate the development of type 2 diabetes by remodeling gut microbiome composition and reducing inflammatory responses. Food-derived polyphenols inhibit the activity of α-glucosidase, α-amylase, and dipeptidyl peptidase IV enzymes to reduce postprandial blood glucose levels. The nuclear factor kappa-light-chain enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) is considered a key regulator of food-derived polyphenols in alleviating the onset of type 2 diabetes. Inhibition of NF-κB activation can increase insulin sensitivity, reduce inflammation, and maintain glucose homeostasis. This investigation reveals that food-derived polyphenols can alleviate the onset of type 2 diabetes and offers adequate theoretical knowledge in support of their usage as such.

Glucose and amino acids are important sources of nutrients in the synthetic milk of dairy cows, and understanding the fate of amino acids is essential to optimize the utilization of amino acids in milk protein synthesis, thereby reducing nutrient inefficiencies during lactation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of LPS and different concentrations of glucose on (1) the expression of inflammatory factors and genes, (2) the glucose metabolism, and (3) amino acid utilization in BMECs. The results showed that there was an interaction (LPS × glucose, p < 0.05) between LPS and glucose content in the inflammatory cytokine genes (IL-6 and TNF-α) and the inflammatory regulatory genes (CXCL2, CXCL8, and CCL5). With the addition of LPS, the HG + LPS group caused downregulated (p < 0.05) expression of IL-6 and TNF-α, compared with the LG + LPS group. Interestingly, compared with the LG + LPS group, the HG + LPS group upregulated (p < 0.05) the expression of CXCL2, CXCL8, and CCL5. LPS supplementation increased (p = 0.056) the consumption of glucose and GLUT1 gene expression (p < 0.05) and tended to increase (p = 0.084) the LDHA gene expression of BMECs under conditions of different concentrations of glucose culture. High glucose content increased (p < 0.001) the consumption of glucose and enhanced (p < 0.05) the GLUT1, HK1, HK2, and LDHA gene expression of BMECs with or without LPS incubation, and there was an interaction (LPS × glucose, p < 0.05) between LPS and glucose concentrations in GLUT1 gene expression. In this study, LPS enhanced (p < 0.05) the consumption of amino acids such as tryptophan, leucine, isoleucine, methionine, valine, histidine, and glutamate, while high levels of glucose decreased (p < 0.01) consumption, except in the case of tyrosine. For histidine, leucine, isoleucine, and valine consumption, there was an interaction (LPS × glucose, p < 0.05) between LPS and glucose levels. Overall, these findings suggest that relatively high glucose concentrations may lessen the LPS-induced BMEC inflammatory response and reduce amino acid consumption, while low glucose concentrations may increase the demand for most amino acids through proinflammatory responses.

Background Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) has been reported to be associated with increased cardiovascular disease, aging and insulin resistance. Despite the debate of causal contribution of CHIP on metabolic diseases, we want to explore whether CHIP is related to diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN). Methods This study analyzed the prevalence of CHIP in patients with type 2 diabetes classified according to DPN status. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between CHIP and DPN. Results CHIP was more prevalent in subjects without DPN than those with DPN (19.9% vs. 8.8%, respectively; P=0.013). Individuals having any CHIP, or DNA methyltransferase 3A (DNMT3A) CHIP were less likely to have any abnormality shown in DPN test; the adjusted odds ratio were 0.85 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.73 to 1.00) and 0.70 (95% CI, 0.56 to 0.89), respectively. Interestingly, DNMT3A CHIP showed the negative association, but Tet methylcytosine dioxygenase 2 (TET2) CHIP showed the positive association with abnormal feet electrochemical skin conductance level. Conclusion On the contrary to expectations, CHIP was negatively associated with DPN. Functional linking between the mutation in hematopoietic cells and DPN, and the opposite role of DNMT3A and TET2 should be investigated.

In the process of project implementation, the deviation usually exists between the actual scheduling process and the predefined schedule. A typical situation is that the project cannot be executed according to the generated schedule due to the uncertainty of resource supply. In this case, it is necessary to adjust the schedule to achieve the lowest possible cost and the shortest possible duration. This paper studies the reactive scheduling problem under the condition of resource uncertainty. Under the constraints of precedence relationship and resources, a novel bi-objective reactive project scheduling problem with the objectives of minimizing project duration and minimizing adjustment cost is proposed. Besides, the regret-based biased random sampling heuristic algorithm (RBRSA), a heuristic algorithm based on multiple priority rules, is presented to solve the presented bi-objective reactive scheduling problem. In addition, the advantages and disadvantages of the priority rules thus retained are compared. Moreover, we further investigate the combinations of different parameter values of RBRSA and schedule generating schemes (SGS). When the parameter value is set at an appropriate value, the priority rules LST and LFT are the best two in RBRSA if the serial scheduling generation scheme (SSGS) is adopted. When the priority rules of LST or LFT are adopted in RBRSA, the parameter values of RBRSA should be set at other values if the parallel scheduling generation scheme (PSGS) is adopted. Computational experiments show that the presented bi-objective reactive project scheduling method is efficient and practical.

Clonal haematopoiesis (CH) has been associated with altered inflammatory profiles and increased risk of cardiovascular and malignant diseases. Here, the authors analyze patient data from two different cohorts and show that CH is associated with severe infections and severe Covid19.

Biosensing and tactile sensing are considered to be essential functions for intelligent diagnostic medical robot. In this paper, biosensing and tactile sensing had been demonstrated with a single photonic crystal structure. The flexible and stretchable photonic crystal structure consists of PDMS as the flexible substrate and TiO2 as the guided layer, and the nanograting structure was realized by nanoreplica molding. For biosensing experiment, a sensitivity of 93 nm/RIU is verified with ambient environment RI variance simulation results. For tactile sensing experiment, the highest resolution for strain sensing is 0.1%, and the minimum detected scale of the grating period variation is 0.1 nm. The TiO2/PDMS structure based flexible and stretchable photonic crystal sensor demonstrates highly sensitivity and potentially cost effective for biosensing and tactile sensing, and it is promising in the area of intelligent diagnostic medical robot.

ObjectivesThis study aims to investigate whether the ratios of cell types in peripheral blood could be used as reliable predictors of off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)-associated acute kidney injury (AKI).Materials and methodsWe retrospectively reviewed patients (n = 420) undergoing off-pump CABG from January 1, 2021 to January 1, 2022 in Qilu Hospital of Shandong University. We used logistic regression analysis to identify the potential predictors of off-pump CABG-associated AKI and construct a predictive model. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to evaluate the predictive ability of predictors and prediction models.ResultsThe prevalence of AKI associated with off-pump CABG was 20.95%. Patients in the AKI group had significantly higher ratios of peripheral blood cells on postoperative day (POD)1 than patients in the non-AKI group (P

To monitor environmental water pollution effectively and meet human water needs, it is crucial to develop a fast, simple, and accurate method for monitoring chemical oxygen demand (COD) in various water systems. In this study, COD prediction models for different water systems were developed by combining near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy with partial least squares regression (PLSR). Samples of wastewater, surface water, and seawater were collected from Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. Three pretreatment methods were used to preprocess the spectra in order to improve the accuracy and minimalism of the model. We investigate the performance of two variable selection algorithms, namely, binary gray wolf optimization (BGWO) and competitive adaptive reweighting sampling (CARS). The results show that both BGWO and CARS improved the performance of the model in terms of higher accuracy and less wavelength input; both of the combined model performances were better than that of PLSR alone, and CARS-PLSR achieved the best results. Using CARS-PLSR, surface water, wastewater, and seawater model inputs were reduced by 96 %, 96 %, and 82 % as compared to the PLSR results, respectively, and the testing sets R2 reached 0.860, 0.815, and 0.692, respectively. The spectral variable selection algorithm could identify the important spectral variables between COD content and NIR spectra in three water systems, thereby improving the accuracy and simplicity of the PLSR model for COD prediction. Our results have important practical value for predicting COD content in different water systems by NIR spectroscopy.

Abstract Background Our objective was to evaluate the impact of multimodal analgesia based enhanced recovery protocol on quality of recovery after laparoscopic gynecological surgery. Methods One hundred forty female patients scheduled for laparoscopic gynecological surgery were enrolled in this prospective, randomized controlled trial. Participants were randomized to receive either multimodal analgesia (Study group) or conventional opioid-based analgesia (Control group). The multimodal analgesic protocol consists of pre-operative acetaminophen and gabapentin, intra-operative flurbiprofen and ropivacaine, and post-operative acetaminophen and celecoxib. Both groups received an on-demand mode patient-controlled analgesia pump containing morphine for rescue analgesia. The primary outcome was Quality of Recovery-40 score at postoperative day (POD) 2. Secondary outcomes included numeric pain scores (NRS), opioid consumption, clinical recovery, C-reactive protein, and adverse events. Results One hundred thirty-eight patients completed the study. The global QoR-40 scores at POD 2 were not significantly different between groups, although scores in the pain dimension were higher in Study group (32.1 ± 3.0 vs. 31.0 ± 3.2, P = 0.033). In the Study group, NRS pain scores, morphine consumption, and rescue analgesics in PACU (5.8% vs. 27.5%; P = 0.0006) were lower, time to ambulation [5.0 (3.3–7.0) h vs. 6.5 (5.0–14.8) h; P = 0.003] and time to bowel function recovery [14.5 (9.5–19.5) h vs.17 (13–23.5) h; P = 0.008] were shorter, C-reactive protein values at POD 2 was lower [4(3–6) ng/ml vs. 5 (3–10.5) ng/ml; P = 0.022] and patient satisfaction was higher (9.8 ± 0.5 vs. 8.8 ± 1.2, P = 0.000). Conclusion For minimally invasive laparoscopic gynecological surgery, multimodal analgesia based enhanced recovery protocol offered better pain relief, lower opioid use, earlier ambulation, faster bowel function recovery and higher patient satisfaction, while no improvement in QoR-40 score was found. Trial registration ChiCTR1900026194 ; Date registered: Sep 26,2019.

Abstract. Background:. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is an important risk factor in the long-term outcomes of surgical revascularization. However, few studies have focused on patients with ischemic heart failure (IHF) and DM, and the results are controversial. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of DM on the long-term outcomes of IHF patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Methods:. In this propensity-matched study, data of IHF patients who underwent CABG in our hospital from January 2007 to December 2017 were analyzed. With a mean 73-month follow-up time, the patients were divided into two groups according to whether they had DM. The primary endpoint was all-cause death, and the secondary endpoint was a composite of all-cause death, stroke, recurrent myocardial infarction, and revascularization. Results:. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality between the two groups (5.8% vs. 4.1%, P = 0.216). The incidence of main adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) in the secondary endpoint was significantly higher in the DM group than that in the non-DM group (10.4% vs. 8.1%, P = 0.023). Conclusions:. DM can negatively affect the long-term outcomes of IHF patients undergoing CABG by significantly increasing the overall incidence of MACCE, though the long-term survival does not show a significant difference between the DM and non-DM patients.

Crataegus bretschneideri Schneid., with an unclear phylogenic position, is mainly distributed in northeast and inner mongolia area of China. In this study, the complete chloroplast genome sequence of C. bretschneideri was determined by using Illumina high-throughput sequencing method. The chloroplast genome was 159,607 bp in length and consisted of a large single-copy (LSC) region (87,601 bp), a small single-copy (SSC) region (19,312 bp), separated by a pair of inverted repeat (IRs: 26,347 bp, each) regions. It comprised a total of 114 unique genes, including 80 protein-coding genes, 30 tRNA genes, and 4 rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis based on complete chloroplast genomes indicated that C. bretschneideri was closely related to C. marshallii Eggl in the subfamily Maloideae. This complete chloroplast genome will provide valuable insight into evolution, molecular breeding, and phylogenetic analysis of Crataegus species.

Abstract Based on the related characteristics of optical waveguide and flexible optical materials, a flexible and stretchable optical waveguide structure oriented to tactile perception is proposed. The sensing principle of optical waveguide is based on mechanical deformation caused by output light loss. It overcomes the shortcomings of traditional optical waveguide devices, which are unable to conform to irregular surface. The flexible and stretchable optical waveguide is fabricated with nanoreplica molding method, and it has been applied to the measurement of pressure and strain in the field of tactile sensing. The flexible and stretchable optical waveguide had a strain detection range of 0 to 12.5%, and the external force detection range is from 0 to 23 × 10–3 N.

To accurately calculate the contact stress of the five-ball fatigue testing machine tooling,the tooling design contact angle is determined by the geometric size relationship. According to the load deformation relationship and the formula derived,the balance equation is established between the external load and the working contact angle. The equation is solved using the iteration method. The working contact angle under load is calculated,and the tooling contact stress is obtained. For the actual size of the 9. 525 mm diameter steel ball tooling,the contact stress comparative analysis is calculated by the numerical algorithm and finite element method respectively. The calculation result deviation is less than 2%. It shows the contact stress numerical algorithm is reliable,it can be used for the test protocol formulation and provide guidance for the test tooling design.

Polymer flooding is a tertiary oil recovery technology that is very suitable for the characteristics of China’s reservoirs. However, due to the fast flow rate of polymer solution in near-well zone, the shear effect of perforation blasthole and the compacted zone results in serious loss of polymer viscosity. In this paper, the polymer used in Dagang Oilfield is studied by simulation experiment through the shearing process of perforating holes, and the influence of different perforating parameters on polymer viscosity loss is analyzed, so as to provide theoretical basis for the optimization design of perforating technology in field test. The experimental results show that, the shear effect of perforation blasthole on polymer is not obvious, and the viscosity retention rate of polymer solution is greater than 96%. The size and shape of perforation blasthole have no effect on viscosity loss of polymer solution. The shear effect of compacted zone on polymer is obvious, and the viscosity retention rate of polymer solution is lower than 64% for the target block. The viscosity loss of polymer solution increases with flow rate at compacted zone, and the decrease of permeability can increase viscosity loss of polymer solution. The higher the polymer concentration is, the stronger the shear resistance is, while the higher the molecular weight is, the weaker the shear resistance is. It is suggested that perforation gun and perforation method with deep perforation depth and low compaction degree be chosen to reduce the flow rate at compacted zone and viscosity loss of polymer solution.

This paper reflects on the contemporary bilingual education in Chinese higher education, referring to the innovative bilingual teaching practices starting from the late Qing Dynasty. With the purposes of voicing for China and learning western sciences, bilingual programs were adopted in the first few original higher education institutes. These experiences leave us deliberation and speculation on the recurrent imbalance of native and foreign languages and cultures, and on future direction to research into bilingual education in universities to enhance the cultivation of internationalized talents and the internationalization of the country.

This paper proposes a curvature demodulation of Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) sensors based on complete spectral information. An MZI sensor composed of two waist-enlarged single mode fibers (SMFs) was fabricated. To research the spectral characteristics of the sensor under different curvatures, an experimental system was built to load curvature and save spectra. By analyzing the influence of light intensity and wavelength on the curvature fitting accuracy, researchers have found that complete spectral information can express curvature accurately. This paper introduced the concept of orthogonal decomposition to extract complete spectral information. A group of Chebyshev polynomials was chosen as the basis to decompose the spectral curve into a vector (spectral curve decomposition coefficients). A support vector machine improved by a genetic algorithm (GA-SVM) was used to fit the relationship between the spectral curve decomposition coefficients and the curvature. This paper introduces a new accuracy estimation parameter (“equivalent absolute error”), which is used to measure the accuracy of demodulation. The equivalent absolute error of the method proposed in this paper is 0.0022494 m-1, which is superior to other methods. The advantage of this demodulation method is that the curvature is demodulated independently of the spectral information about a particular peak (valley). The demodulation method is applicable to a demodulation process of multiple physical quantities based on spectral information.

Abstract Background Though lead (Pb)-gasoline has been banned for decades in China, Pb continues to be a vital risk factor for various diseases. Traditional studies, without large sample size, were unable to identify explicitly the associations among Pb, its disease profile, and the related medical burden. This study was designed to investigate: 1) current status of blood Pb levels; 2) Pb-associated disease profile, medical burden, as well as impact factors. Methods Research subjects were patients who visited military hospitals and were required to test their blood Pb levels by doctors between 2013 and 2017. The large sample size and area coverage may, to a large extent, reveal the characteristics of Pb exposure in the whole Chinese population. Information of patients’ electronic medical records was extracted using Structured Query Language (SQL) in Oracle database. The spatial, temporal, and population distribution of their blood Pb levels were tested, to illustrate the association of Pb exposure with diseases’ profile, and medical burden. Non-parametric tests were applied to compare the differences of Pb levels among various groups. Results The blood Pb concentration showed a positively skewed distribution by Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (D = 0.147, p

This paper presents a radar working mode based on multi-pulse combination and coding, and the basic concept and theoretical model of pulse-coded radar are established. Using multi-pulse combination and the modulation of the time, frequency, and phase parameters, the pulse signal is coded in time domain, frequency domain, or time-frequency domain. Based on multi-pulse combination and coding, a new working method and theoretical basis are provided to solve the problem of coupling constraints among parameters of traditional pulse and continuous wave radars, which limits the performance of the radar system. Based on the fabricated Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and its tests, the pulse coding, target signal recovery method, and pulse coding performance were studied. The study and test results show that the sampling rate of radar signals could be reduced to break through the limitation of Nyquist sampling theorem and simplify the difficulty of system implementation using frequency division pulse coding method. A 5 GHz bandwidth signal was sampled with 4.8 GHz and was recovered without distortion in the radar system, and an SAR imaging resolution of 0.03×0.03 m was realized. By using the time domain pulse coding method with an increase of duty cycle, the signal-to-noise ratio was improved by over 20 dB. By using the two-dimensional pulse coding method, the SAR signal ambiguity was removed, and the imaging swath of over 90 km was realized. The theoretical and test results verify the significant advantages of the pulse coding method in improving radar performance, by which a new technical approach for the realization of high performance radar system is provided.