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Abstract Background Patients with L4–S1 lumbar degenerative disease (LDD) with osteoporosis are prone to sacral-screw loosening during spinal internal fixation. We aimed to compare the clinical efficacy and imaging results of sacral bicortical, tricortical, and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)-augmented pedicle-screw fixation in the treatment of L4–S1 LDD with osteoporosis. Methods This is a retrospective study, 72 patients were enrolled and divided into three groups according to the S1-screw fixation method: PMMA-augmented pedicle-screw fixation (Group A, n = 26), bicortical fixation (Group B, n = 22), and tricortical fixation (Group C, n = 24). The visual analog scale (VAS) and Oswestry disability index (ODI) were recorded preoperatively and at the last follow-up, and the postoperative complications, screw-loosening rate, and fusion rate were compared between the three groups. Results Upon the last follow-up, the VAS and ODI scores of the three groups were significantly improved compared with those recorded preoperatively. The VAS and ODI scores of Group A were significantly smaller than those of Groups B and C (P

Abstract Memory reprocessing during sleep is a well-established phenomenon in numerous studies. However, it is unclear whether the intensity of memory reprocessing is consistently maintained throughout the night or exhibits dynamic changes. This study investigates the temporal dynamics of negative emotional memory reprocessing during sleep, with a specific focus on slow oscillation (SO)-spindle coupling and its role in memory reprocessing. In the first experiment (N = 40, mean age = 22.5 years), we detected the negative emotional memory reprocessing strength in each sleep cycle, we found that the 2nd sleep cycle after negative emotional memory learning constitute the most sensitive window for memory reprocessing, furthermore, SO-spindle coupling signals in this window plays a role in stabilizing negative emotional memory. To verify the role of SO-spindle coupling in negative emotional memory reprocessing, we utilized transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) to disrupt SO-spindle coupling during the 2nd sleep cycle (N = 21, mean age = 19.3 years). Notably, the outcomes of the tACS intervention demonstrated a significant reduction in the recognition of negative emotional memories. These findings offer new insights into the mechanisms that regulate emotional memory consolidation during sleep and may have implications for addressing psychiatric disorders associated with pathological emotional memory.

The coupling factors of geological hazards such as rainfall are sufficient conditions for the occurrence of geological hazards. In this study, the distribution characteristics of Wuhan's geological disasters and their relationship with heavy rainfall by cluster analysis were investigated using multiple regression and other methods, based on Wuhan's geological disaster data, rainfall live grid data, and geological environment foundation during 2016-2022. Meanwhile, multi-source data fusion, machine learning, and other methods were employed to dynamically assess the vulnerability of geological disasters. The results are as follows. About 76.49% of geological disasters in Wuhan are induced by rainfall. The impact period of heavy rainfall on geological disasters in Wuhan is 13 days, and the possibility of geological disasters during the impact period is as high as 87.69%. A meteorological risk prediction model for geological disasters in Wuhan based on effective rainfall was established. This model can achieve a dynamic assessment of geological disaster-prone zoning by introducing the latest geological disaster occurrence, geological environment, and rainfall information. The 24-hour average accuracy rate can reach 79.51%. In the application of geological disaster prediction in 2022, the recognition rate reaches 90%, which shows good geological disaster prediction capabilities.

Abstract Background Delivering HD-tDCS on individual motor hotspot with optimal electric fields could overcome challenges of stroke heterogeneity, potentially facilitating neural activation and improving motor function for stroke survivors. However, the intervention effect of this personalized HD-tDCS has not been explored on post-stroke motor recovery. In this study, we aim to evaluate whether targeting individual motor hotspot with HD-tDCS followed by EMG-driven robotic hand training could further facilitate the upper extremity motor function for chronic stroke survivors. Methods In this pilot randomized controlled trial, eighteen chronic stroke survivors were randomly allocated into two groups. The HDtDCS-group (n = 8) received personalized HD-tDCS using task-based fMRI to guide the stimulation on individual motor hotspot. The Sham-group (n = 10) received only sham stimulation. Both groups underwent 20 sessions of training, each session began with 20 min of HD-tDCS and was then followed by 60 min of robotic hand training. Clinical scales (Fugl-meyer Upper Extremity scale, FMAUE; Modified Ashworth Scale, MAS), and neuroimaging modalities (fMRI and EEG-EMG) were conducted before, after intervention, and at 6-month follow-up. Two-way repeated measures analysis of variance was used to compare the training effect between HDtDCS- and Sham-group. Results HDtDCS-group demonstrated significantly better motor improvement than the Sham-group in terms of greater changes of FMAUE scores (F = 6.5, P = 0.004) and MASf (F = 3.6, P = 0.038) immediately and 6 months after the 20-session intervention. The task-based fMRI activation significantly shifted to the ipsilesional motor area in the HDtDCS-group, and this activation pattern increasingly concentrated on the motor hotspot being stimulated 6 months after training within the HDtDCS-group, whereas the increased activation is not sustainable in the Sham-group. The neuroimaging results indicate that neural plastic changes of the HDtDCS-group were guided specifically and sustained as an add-on effect of the stimulation. Conclusions Stimulating the individual motor hotspot before robotic hand training could further enhance brain activation in motor-related regions that promote better motor recovery for chronic stroke. Trial registration This study was retrospectively registered in ClinicalTrials.gov (ID NCT05638464).

A perfect directed code (or an efficient twin domination) of a digraph is a vertex subset where every other vertex in the digraph has a unique in- and a unique out-neighbor in the subset. In this paper, we show that a digraph covers a complete digraph if and only if the vertex set of this digraph can be partitioned into perfect directed codes. Equivalent conditions for subsets in Cayley digraphs to be perfect directed codes are given. Especially, equivalent conditions for normal subsets, normal subgroups, and subgroups to be perfect directed codes in Cayley digraphs are given. Moreover, we show that every subgroup of a finite group is a perfect directed code for a transversal Cayley digraph.

Abstract The concept of a healthy lifestyle is receiving increasing attention. This study sought to identify an optimal healthy lifestyle profile associated with sleep health in general population of China. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted from June to July 2022. Six healthy lifestyle factors were assessed: healthy diet, regular physical exercise, never smoking, never drinking alcohol, low sedentary behavior, and normal weight. Participants were categorized into the healthy lifestyle (5-6 factors), average (3-4 factors), and unhealthy lifestyle groups (0-2 factors). The study’s primary outcome was sleep health, which included sleep quality, duration, pattern, and the presence of any sleep disorder or disturbance, including insomnia, excessive daytime sleepiness, obstructive apnea syndrome, and narcolepsy. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was applied to explore lifestyles associated with the selected sleep health outcomes. 41,061 individuals were included, forming 18.8% healthy, 63.8% average, and 17.4% unhealthy lifestyle groups. After adjusting for covariates, participants with healthy lifestyle were associated with a higher likelihood of good sleep quality (OR = 1.56, 95% CI = 1.46–1.68), normal sleep duration (OR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.49–1.72), healthy sleep pattern (OR = 2.15, 95% CI = 2.00–2.31), and lower risks of insomnia (OR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.61–0.71), excessive daytime sleepiness (OR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.60–0.73), and obstructive apnea syndrome (OR = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.37–0.43), but not narcolepsy (OR = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.83–1.03), compared to those with unhealthy lifestyle. This large cross-sectional study is the first to our knowledge to quantify the associations of a healthy lifestyle with specific aspects of sleep health. The findings offer support for efforts to improve sleep health by modulating lifestyle.

Abstract Background As a vital soil-borne pathogenic bacterium, Ralstonia solanacearum can cause wilt disease in multiple Solanaceae plants. Several phages, such as ϕPB2, could infect R. solanacearum acting as a potential biological control agent in soil. In addition, some nanoparticles, especially copper preparation, also showed high toxicity on R. solanacearum with low toxicity on plant. However, whether they can be administered in combination and how effective they are in inhibiting the plant disease caused by R. solanacearum is known very little. Results In this work, the characterization of CuONPs using scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction ascertained the presence of CuONPs which were nanometer particle of 83 nm. Then it was found that combined application of CuONPs with phage (ϕPB2) was superior to that of ϕPB2 or CuONPs alone in controlling tobacco bacterial wilt, with the CuONPs (250 mg/mL) and phage (106 PFU/mL) ratio being the best, at 79.1%. The combination of CuONPs and ϕPB2 also showed no obvious toxicity on tobacco growth than control like single application of CuONPs or ϕPB2. Furthermore, the transcriptome changes of R. solanacearum analysis indicated that the combination application and single allocation of CuONPs could inhibit “biofilm formation”, molecular function, biological processes, cellular components, metabolic process, and so on. In addition, the combination application showed higher inhibition of motility and biofilm, and better enhancement of cell membrane permeability, protein leakage, MDA concentration, and enzyme activity of their respiratory chain dehydrogenase than single application of CuONPs or phage (ϕPB2). Transcriptomes analysis also supported that the addition of ϕPB2 enhanced the toxicity of CuONPs by influencing the ABC transporters and quorum sensing, metabolic processes, and cellular biosynthetic processes of R. solanacearum. Conclusion In total, our work not only proposed a novel way to increase the bactericidal effect of nanomaterials by adding phage, but also discovered the influence, synergistic effects, and mechanisms, which is useful to design novel way to combat phytopathogenic bacteria in the complicated environment. Graphical abstract

Abstract Microenvironmental modifications on metal sites are crucial to tune oxygen reduction catalytic behavior and decrypt intrinsic mechanism, whereas the stochastic properties of traditional pyrolyzed single-atom catalysts induce vague recognition on structure-reactivity relations. Herein, we report a theoretical descriptor relying on binding energies of oxygen adsorbates and directly associating the derived Sabatier volcano plot with calculated overpotential to forecast catalytic efficiency of cobalt porphyrin. This Sabatier volcano plot instructs that electron-withdrawing substituents mitigate the over-strong *OH intermediate adsorption by virtue of the decreased proportion of electrons in bonding orbital. To experimentally validate this speculation, we implement a secondary sphere microenvironment customization strategy on cobalt porphyrin-based polymer nanocomposite analogs. Systematic X-ray spectroscopic and in situ electrochemical characterizations capture the pronounced accessible active site density and the fast interfacial/outward charge migration kinetics contributions for the optimal carboxyl group-substituted catalyst. This work offers ample strategies for designing single-atom catalysts with well-managed microenvironment under the guidance of Sabatier volcano map.

Rheumatic immune disorders are a group of conditions that affect the immune system, leading to various clinical symptoms. These diseases can cause pain, reduce the quality of life, and increase the risk of death in severe cases. Diagnosis and treatment are very complex due to the different types of disease and individual differences and the unknown pathogenesis of the disease. Further research is necessary to provide new clues for disease treatment. Organoid technology that makes up for the shortcomings of animal model species differences can better simulate disease onset mechanisms than animal models. It can be used as a screening platform for new therapeutic targets, as well as personalized settings based on patient-derived organoids, promising as an effective tool for the study of rheumatic immune diseases. Therefore, the article summarizes studies related to organoids and their application in rheumatic immune diseases. It also provides an outlook on the potential of organoids in this field and discusses the challenges that need to be addressed, putting new ideas for future research on these diseases.

Abstract Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) is widely recognized as one of the most important plant viruses, causing significant agricultural losses in terms of both quality and yield worldwide each year. This study demonstrated the biosynthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs) using orange peel extract for effective control of TMV infection both in vitro and in vivo. After treatment with CuONPs (100 mg/L) for 2 h, TMV particles exhibited evident fragmentation in vitro, reducing infectivity on tobacco plants. Similarly, the application of CuONPs on Nicotiana benthamiana (N. benthamiana) positively impeded viral replication and accumulation in vivo. Interestingly, the expression of systemic resistance-related genes (PR1, PR2, ERF1, and JAZ3) in the host plant was up-regulated by CuONPs treatment, supporting that CuONPs activated plant immunity to inhibit TMV. Importantly, the application of CuONPs (100 mg/L) did not exhibit any toxic effects on tobacco and, instead, resulted in the promotion of chlorophyll content, as well as an increase in the fresh weight and dry weight of the plant when compared to the control treatment. Overall, we proposed that the appropriate concentration of CuONPs (100 mg/L) can directly break viral particles by passivating, boost plant immunity by stimulating systemic acquired resistance (SAR), and provide nutritional supplements to promote plant growth.

An extensive network of cutaneous nerves, neuropeptides, and specific receptors richly innervates the skin and influences a variety of physiological and pathological processes. The sensory and autonomic nerve fibers secrete a variety of neuropeptides that are essential to the different phases of wound healing. In addition to initiating a neurogenic inflammatory response in the early stages of healing, neuropeptides also control wound healing by influencing immune cells, repair cells, and the growth factor network. However, the precise mechanism by which they accomplish these roles in the context of cutaneous wound healing is still unknown. Investigating the mechanisms of action of neuropeptides in wound healing and potential therapeutic applications is therefore urgently necessary. The present review discusses the process of wound healing, types of neuropeptides, potential mechanisms underlying the role of neuropeptides in cutaneous wound healing, as well as some neuropeptide-derived treatment strategies, such as hydrogels, new dressings, electro stimulation, and skin-derived precursors. Future in-depth mechanistic studies of neuropeptides in cutaneous wound healing may provide opportunities to develop therapeutic technologies that harness the roles of neuropeptides in the wound healing process.

Abstract The specific mechanisms underlying bacteria‐triggered cell death and osteogenic dysfunction in host bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) remain unclear, posing a significant challenge to the repair of infected bone defects. This study identifies ferroptosis as the predominant cause of BMSCs death in the infected bone microenvironment. Mechanistically, the bacteria‐induced activation of the innate immune response in BMSCs leads to upregulation and phosphorylation of interferon regulatory factor 7 (IRF7), thus facilitating IRF7‐dependent ferroptosis of BMSCs through the transcriptional upregulation of acyl‐coenzyme A synthetase long‐chain family member 4 (ACSL4). Moreover, it is found that intervening in ferroptosis can partially rescue cell injuries and osteogenic dysfunction. Based on these findings, a hydrogel composite 3D‐printed scaffold is designed with reactive oxygen species (ROS)‐responsive release of antibacterial quaternized chitosan and sustained delivery of the ferroptosis inhibitor Ferrostatin‐1 (Fer‐1), capable of eradicating pathogens and promoting bone regeneration in a rat model of infected bone defects. Together, this study suggests that ferroptosis of BMSCs is a promising therapeutic target for infected bone defect repair.

IntroductionHyperarousal has been a significant pathophysiological theory related to insomnia disorder (ID), characterized by excessive cortical activation and abnormal electroencephalogram (EEG) power during daytime or sleep. However, there is currently insufficient attention to the EEG power during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and different stages of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Additionally, whether the abnormal sleep EEG power in ID patients can be restored by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) remains unclear.Methods> Data of 26 ID patients and 26 healthy controls (HCs) were included in the current observational study. The comparisons of relative power between patients and HCs at baseline in each band of each sleep stage and the changes in patients before and after rTMS treatment were performed. The correlations between relative power and behavioral measures of the patients were also investigated.ResultsAbnormalities in sleep EEG relative power in the delta, beta and gamma bands of the patients were observed in NREM2, NREM3 and REM sleep. Correlations were identified between relative power and behavioral measures in ID group, primarily encompassing sleep efficiency, sleep onset latency and depression scores. Post-treatment improvements in relative power of the delta and beta band were observed in NREM2 sleep.DiscussionThe relative power of sleep EEG exhibited a significant correlation with sleep measures in ID patients, and demonstrated notable differences from HCs across the delta, beta, and gamma frequency bands. Furthermore, our findings suggest that rTMS treatment may partially ameliorate relative power abnormalities in patients with ID.

Abstract Background Intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) is a multifaceted condition characterized by heterogeneity, wherein the balance between catabolism and anabolism in the extracellular matrix of nucleus pulposus (NP) cells plays a central role. Presently, the available treatments primarily focus on relieving symptoms associated with IVDD without offering an effective cure targeting its underlying pathophysiological processes. D-mannose (referred to as mannose) has demonstrated anti-catabolic properties in various diseases. Nevertheless, its therapeutic potential in IVDD has yet to be explored. Methods The study began with optimizing the mannose concentration for restoring NP cells. Transcriptomic analyses were employed to identify the mediators influenced by mannose, with the thioredoxin-interacting protein (Txnip) gene showing the most significant differences. Subsequently, small interfering RNA (siRNA) technology was used to demonstrate that Txnip is the key gene through which mannose exerts its effects. Techniques such as colocalization analysis, molecular docking, and overexpression assays further confirmed the direct regulatory relationship between mannose and TXNIP. To elucidate the mechanism of action of mannose, metabolomics techniques were employed to pinpoint glutamine as a core metabolite affected by mannose. Next, various methods, including integrated omics data and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, were used to validate the one-way pathway through which TXNIP regulates glutamine. Finally, the therapeutic effect of mannose on IVDD was validated, elucidating the mechanistic role of TXNIP in glutamine metabolism in both intradiscal and orally treated rats. Results In both in vivo and in vitro experiments, it was discovered that mannose has potent efficacy in alleviating IVDD by inhibiting catabolism. From a mechanistic standpoint, it was shown that mannose exerts its anti-catabolic effects by directly targeting the transcription factor max-like protein X-interacting protein (MondoA), resulting in the upregulation of TXNIP. This upregulation, in turn, inhibits glutamine metabolism, ultimately accomplishing its anti-catabolic effects by suppressing the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. More importantly, in vivo experiments have further demonstrated that compared with intradiscal injections, oral administration of mannose at safe concentrations can achieve effective therapeutic outcomes. Conclusions In summary, through integrated multiomics analysis, including both in vivo and in vitro experiments, this study demonstrated that mannose primarily exerts its anti-catabolic effects on IVDD through the TXNIP-glutamine axis. These findings provide strong evidence supporting the potential of the use of mannose in clinical applications for alleviating IVDD. Compared to existing clinically invasive or pain-relieving therapies for IVDD, the oral administration of mannose has characteristics that are more advantageous for clinical IVDD treatment.

The medicinal plant Cyperus brevifolius (Rottb.) Hassk. 1844 has a long history of use in traditional Chinese medicine. In this study, we determined and systematically analyzed the complete chloroplast (cp) genome of C. brevifolius. The genome is 183,717 bp in length with a GC content of 33.24%. It comprises four distinct regions: a large-single copy (LSC) region of 101,190 bp, a small-single copy (SSC) region of 10,366 bp, and two inverted repeat (IR) regions of 36,079 bp each. A total of 137 genes are present in the genome including 89 protein-coding genes, 40 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis reveals that C. brevifolius belongs to the Cyperus genus. This newly sequenced cp genome provides valuable insights for future genetic and genomic studies on Cyperus.

Abstract Artificial intelligence (AI) is an emerging field which could make an intelligent healthcare model a reality and has been garnering traction in the field of medicine, with promising results. There have been recent developments in machine learning and/or deep learning algorithms for applications in ophthalmology—primarily for diabetic retinopathy, and age-related macular degeneration. However, AI research in the field of cornea diseases is relatively new. Algorithms have been described to assist clinicians in diagnosis or detection of cornea conditions such as keratoconus, infectious keratitis and dry eye disease. AI may also be used for segmentation and analysis of cornea imaging or tomography as an adjunctive tool. Despite the potential advantages that these new technologies offer, there are challenges that need to be addressed before they can be integrated into clinical practice. In this review, we aim to summarize current literature and provide an update regarding recent advances in AI technologies pertaining to corneal diseases, and its potential future application, in particular pertaining to image analysis.

Objective The floating calcified tissue in floating calcified lumbar disc herniation (FCLDH) is hard and often adheres to the dura mater, which can easily cause nerve root damage during surgery, making the operation challenging. We proposed the classification of FCLDH and a new technique for removing floating calcified tissue and reported the clinical efficacy and safety of this new technique in clinical practice. Methods From January 2019 to October 2021, 24 patients (13 males and 11 females, 46.4 ± 7.72 years) with L5‐S1 floating calcified lumbar disc herniation were treated with percutaneous endoscopic interlaminar discectomy (PEID). According to FCLDH classification, a total of Type Ia: nine cases, Type Ib: five cases, Type IIa: four cases, and Type IIa: six cases were included. The visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry disability index (ODI) were recorded pre‐operatively and 3 days postoperatively, 6 months postoperatively, and at the last follow‐up. The postoperative curative effect was evaluated according to the modified MacNab criteria. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the lumbar spine were performed 3 days after surgery to evaluate the efficacy of the surgery. Results All patients successfully underwent PEID. The VAS and ODI scores at 3 days postoperatively, 6 months postoperatively, and at the last follow‐up were significantly improved and statistically significant compared to those of the preoperative period (p

Reentry vehicles in near space used to suffer from communication blackout, which is led by the plasma sheath enveloping the whole reentry vehicle. Terahertz (THz) communication is believed to be a potential solution to mitigate the communication blackout effectively. Previous studies have investigated the attenuation characteristics of THz signals in plasma sheaths. However, the offset of THz signal transmission direction by the plasma sheath has rarely been a concern. In this study, the auto-evolution of the plasma sheath is taken into account. The consequent evolution of the refraction index distribution of the plasma sheath is investigated. It is found that the plasma sheath acts as a gradient index lens to the propagating THz signals. The lens structure keeps evolving due to the evolution of the plasma sheath itself. The main mechanism that dominates the evolution of the lens structure is the convection of electrons. By analyzing the offset of the transmission direction yielded by the lens structure, it is suggested that the onboard THz antenna could be installed close to the bottom of the vehicle in order to stabilize the transmission direction of THz signals in an evolving plasma sheath.

Summary: Background: A variety of symptoms, particularly cognitive, psychiatric and neurological symptoms, may persist for a long time among individuals recovering from COVID-19. However, the underlying mechanism of these brain abnormalities remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the long-term neuroimaging effects of COVID-19 infection on brain functional activities using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). Methods: Fifty-two survivors 27 months after infection (mild-moderate group: 25 participants, severe-critical: 27 participants), from our previous community participants, along with 35 healthy controls, were recruited to undergo fMRI scans and comprehensive cognitive function measurements. Participants were evaluated by subjective assessment of Cognitive Failures Questionnaire-14 (CFQ-14) and Fatigue Scale-14 (FS-14), and objective assessment of Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), N-back, and Simple Reaction Time (SRT). Each had rs-fMRI at 3T. Measures such as the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF), fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF), and regional homogeneity (ReHo) were calculated. Findings: Compared with healthy controls, survivors of mild-moderate acute symptoms group and severe-critical group had a significantly higher score of cognitive complains involving cognitive failure and mental fatigue. However, there was no difference of cognitive complaints between two groups of COVID-19 survivors. The performance of three groups was similar on the score of MoCA, N-back and SRT. The rs-fMRI results showed that COVID-19 survivors exhibited significantly increased ALFF values in the left putamen (PUT.L), right inferior temporal gyrus (ITG.R) and right pallidum (PAL.R), while decreased ALFF values were observed in the right superior parietal gyrus (SPG.R) and left superior temporal gyrus (STG.L). Additionally, decreased ReHo values in the right precentral gyrus (PreCG.R), left postcentral gyrus (PoCG.L), left calcarine fissure and surrounding cortex (CAL.L) and left superior temporal gyrus (STG.L). Furthermore, significant negative correlations between the ReHo values in the STG.L, and CFQ-14 and mental fatigue were found. Interpretation: This long-term study suggests that individuals recovering from COVID-19 continue to experience cognitive complaints, psychiatric and neurological symptoms, and brain functional alteration. The rs-fMRI results indicated that the changes in brain function in regions such as the putamen, temporal lobe, and superior parietal gyrus may contribute to cognitive complaints in individuals with long COVID even after 2-year infection. Funding: The National Programs for Brain Science and Brain-like Intelligence Technology of China, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Natural Science Foundation of Beijing Municipality of China, and the National Key Research and Development Program of China.

EMG-driven robot hand training can facilitate motor recovery in chronic stroke patients by restoring the interhemispheric balance between motor networks. However, the underlying mechanisms of reorganization between interhemispheric regions remain unclear. This study investigated the effective connectivity (EC) between the ventral premotor cortex (PMv), supplementary motor area (SMA), and primary motor cortex (M1) using Dynamic Causal Modeling (DCM) during motor tasks with the paretic hand. Nineteen chronic stroke subjects underwent 20 sessions of EMG-driven robot hand training, and their Action Reach Arm Test (ARAT) showed significant improvement ( $\beta $ =3.56, $\text{p} < 0.001$ ). The improvement was correlated with the reduction of inhibitory coupling from the contralesional M1 to the ipsilesional M1 (r=0.58, p=0.014). An increase in the laterality index was only observed in homotopic M1, but not in the premotor area. Additionally, we identified an increase in resting-state functional connectivity (FC) between bilateral M1 ( $\beta $ =0.11, p=0.01). Inter-M1 FC demonstrated marginal positive relationships with ARAT scores (r=0.402, p=0.110), but its changes did not correlate with ARAT improvements. These findings suggest that the improvement of hand functions brought about by EMG-driven robot hand training was driven explicitly by task-specific reorganization of motor networks. Particularly, the restoration of interhemispheric balance was induced by a reduction in interhemispheric inhibition from the contralesional M1 during motor tasks of the paretic hand. This finding sheds light on the mechanistic understanding of interhemispheric balance and functional recovery induced by EMG-driven robot training.

Abstract The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been looming globally for three years, yet the diagnostic and treatment methods for COVID-19 are still undergoing extensive exploration, which holds paramount importance in mitigating future epidemics. Host non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) display aberrations in the context of COVID-19. Specifically, microRNAs (miRNAs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and circular RNAs (circRNAs) exhibit a close association with viral infection and disease progression. In this comprehensive review, an overview was presented of the expression profiles of host ncRNAs following SARS-CoV-2 invasion and of the potential functions in COVID-19 development, encompassing viral invasion, replication, immune response, and multiorgan deficits which include respiratory system, cardiac system, central nervous system, peripheral nervous system as well as long COVID. Furthermore, we provide an overview of several promising host ncRNA biomarkers for diverse clinical scenarios related to COVID-19, such as stratification biomarkers, prognostic biomarkers, and predictive biomarkers for treatment response. In addition, we also discuss the therapeutic potential of ncRNAs for COVID-19, presenting ncRNA-based strategies to facilitate the development of novel treatments. Through an in-depth analysis of the interplay between ncRNA and COVID-19 combined with our bioinformatic analysis, we hope to offer valuable insights into the stratification, prognosis, and treatment of COVID-19.

Accurately detecting the maturity and 3D position of flowering Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa var. chinensis) in natural environments is vital for autonomous robot harvesting in unstructured farms. The challenge lies in dense planting, small flower buds, similar colors and occlusions. This study proposes a YOLOv8-Improved network integrated with the ByteTrack tracking algorithm to achieve multi-object detection and 3D positioning of flowering Chinese cabbage plants in fields. In this study, C2F-MLCA is created by adding a lightweight Mixed Local Channel Attention (MLCA) with spatial awareness capability to the C2F module of YOLOv8, which improves the extraction of spatial feature information in the backbone network. In addition, a P2 detection layer is added to the neck network, and BiFPN is used instead of PAN to enhance multi-scale feature fusion and small target detection. Wise-IoU in combination with Inner-IoU is adopted as a new loss function to optimize the network for different quality samples and different size bounding boxes. Lastly, ByteTrack is integrated for video tracking, and RGB-D camera depth data are used to estimate cabbage positions. The experimental results show that YOLOv8-Improve achieves a precision (P) of 86.5% and a recall (R) of 86.0% in detecting the maturity of flowering Chinese cabbage. Among them, mAP50 and mAP75 reach 91.8% and 61.6%, respectively, representing an improvement of 2.9% and 4.7% over the original network. Additionally, the number of parameters is reduced by 25.43%. In summary, the improved YOLOv8 algorithm demonstrates high robustness and real-time detection performance, thereby providing strong technical support for automated harvesting management.

Dye-based angiography is the main imaging modality in evaluating the vasculature of the eye. Although most commonly used to assess retinal vasculature, it can also delineate normal and abnormal blood vessels in the anterior segment diseases—but is limited due to its invasive, time-consuming methods. Thus, anterior segment optical coherence tomography angiography (AS-OCTA) is a useful non-invasive modality capable of producing high-resolution images to evaluate the cornea and ocular surface vasculature. AS-OCTA has demonstrated the potential to detect and delineate blood vessels in the anterior segment with quality images comparable to dye-based angiography. AS-OCTA has a diverse range of applications for the cornea and ocular surface, such as objective assessment of corneal neovascularization and response to various treatments; diagnosis and evaluation of ocular surface squamous neoplasia; and evaluation of ocular surface disease including limbal stem cell deficiency and ischemia. Our review aims to summarize the new developments and clinical applications of AS-OCTA for the cornea and ocular surface.

The propagation characteristics of sub-terahertz (sub-THz) waves through the sharp-coned plasma sheath are investigated, revealing a frequency selection phenomenon. Two significant electron density gradients within the sharp-coned plasma sheath, which result in high reflection coefficients, are identified. These strong reflective interfaces divide the plasma into distinct regions, and the frequency selection mechanism is analyzed using the improved scattering matrix method. This research finds that the combination of these reflective interfaces and the intervening plasma forms a “resonator structure,” leading to the observed frequency selection. A quantitative relationship between plasma parameters and the frequency selection phenomenon is analyzed. The results indicate that the reflection coefficients of the reflective interfaces increase, making the frequency selection more pronounced, when the thickness of the interfaces decreases or the peak electron density increases. In addition, a lower collision frequency leads to reduced absorption effects and a more pronounced frequency selection. The phenomenon suggests that enhancing transmissivity at lower frequencies may be feasible, providing a theoretical insight into the application of sub-THz waves in mitigating communication blackouts.

O-GlcNAcylation is a dynamic post-translational modification that diversifies the proteome. Its dysregulation is associated with neurological disorders that impair cognitive function, and yet identification of phenotype-relevant candidate substrates in a brain-region specific manner remains unfeasible. By combining an O-GlcNAc binding activity derived from Clostridium perfringens OGA (CpOGA) with TurboID proximity labeling in Drosophila, we developed an O-GlcNAcylation profiling tool that translates O-GlcNAc modification into biotin conjugation for tissue-specific candidate substrates enrichment. We mapped the O-GlcNAc interactome in major brain regions of Drosophila and found that components of the translational machinery, particularly ribosomal subunits, were abundantly O-GlcNAcylated in the mushroom body of Drosophila brain. Hypo-O-GlcNAcylation induced by ectopic expression of active CpOGA in the mushroom body decreased local translational activity, leading to olfactory learning deficits that could be rescued by dMyc overexpression-induced increase of protein synthesis. Our study provides a useful tool for future dissection of tissue-specific functions of O-GlcNAcylation in Drosophila, and suggests a possibility that O-GlcNAcylation impacts cognitive function via regulating regional translational activity in the brain.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common genetically related cognitive disorder. Studies have shown that ferroptosis, N⁶-Methyladenosine (M6A) and immune checkpoint are related to the development of AD. However, the effects of these three gene pathways on AD progression are still unclear. Here, we used genes expressed in the middle temporal gyrus (MTG) to study the differences in ferroptosis, M6A and immune checkpoint-related gene in 97 Alzheimer's disease and 98 normal controls (NC). We then conducted correlation analysis between ferroptosis, M6A and immune checkpoint-related gene expression levels to investigate the relationship between these genes and AD. Compared to the NC, the gene expression from MTG in AD are as follows: (1) in ferroptosis related genes, the expression of CARS, CDKN1A, HSPB1, MT1G, EMC2, SAT1 and SLC1A5 was increased, while the expression of ACSL4, ATP5MC3, CSID1, CS, DPP4, GLS2 and GPX4 was decreased; (2) in M6A-related genes, the expression of HNRNPA2B1, IGF2BP2, RBM15B and YTHDC1 was increased, while the expression of FTO, YTHDC2 and YTHDF2 was decreased; (3) the expression of immune checkpoint-related genes (including CTLA4, HAVCR2 and LAG3) was increased. Further, we determined related gene pathways among these genes by conducting a literature review. By verifying the dataset, we can well verify our results and prove that our results have good robustness. We concluded of gene expression that a complete set of ferroptosis, M6A and immune checkpoint regulatory mechanisms is activated in the MTG during AD development.

Abstract Sleep health is both conceptually and operationally a composite concept containing multiple domains of sleep. In line with this, high dependence and interaction across different domains of sleep health encourage a transition in sleep health research from categorical to dimensional approaches that integrate neuroscience and sleep health. Here, we seek to identify the covariance patterns between multiple sleep health domains and distributed intrinsic functional connectivity by applying a multivariate approach (partial least squares). This multivariate analysis reveals a composite sleep health dimension co-varying with connectivity patterns involving the attentional and thalamic networks and which appear relevant at the neuromolecular level. These findings are further replicated and generalized to several unseen independent datasets. Critically, the identified sleep-health related connectome shows diagnostic potential for insomnia disorder. These results together delineate a potential brain connectome biomarker for sleep health with high potential for clinical translation.

Abstract The faster a drug enters the brain, the greater its addictive potential, yet the brain circuits underlying the rate dependency to drug reward remain unresolved. With simultaneous PET-fMRI we linked dynamics of dopamine signaling, brain activity/connectivity, and self-reported ‘high’ in 20 adults receiving methylphenidate orally (results in slow delivery) and intravenously (results in fast delivery) (trial NCT03326245). We estimated speed of striatal dopamine increases to oral and IV methylphenidate and then tested where brain activity was associated with slow and fast dopamine dynamics (primary endpoint). We then tested whether these brain circuits were temporally associated with individual ‘high’ ratings to methylphenidate (secondary endpoint). A corticostriatal circuit comprising the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and insula and their connections with dorsal caudate was activated by fast (but not slow) dopamine increases and paralleled ‘high’ ratings. These data provide evidence in humans for a link between dACC/insula activation and fast but not slow dopamine increases and document a critical role of the salience network in drug reward.

Abstract Objectives This study examined the generational-gender distinctions in Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular disorders (DC/TMD) subtypes among East Asian patients. Methods Consecutive “first-visit” TMD patients presenting at two university-based TMD/orofacial pain clinics in China and South Korea were enlisted. Demographic information along with symptom history was gathered and clinical examinations were performed according to the DC/TMD methodology. Axis I physical diagnoses were rendered with the DC/TMD algorithms and categorized into painful and non-painful TMDs. Patients were categorized into three birth cohorts, specifically Gen X, Y, and Z (born 1965–1980, 1981–1999, and 2000–2012 respectively) and the two genders. Data were evaluated using Chi-square/Kruskal-Wallis plus post-hoc tests and logistic regression analyses (α = 0.05). Results Gen X, Y, and Z formed 17.2%, 62.1%, and 20.7% of the 1717 eligible patients examined (mean age 29.7 ± 10.6 years; 75.7% women). Significant differences in prevalences of arthralgia, myalgia, headache (Gen X ≥ Y > Z), and disc displacements (Gen Z > Y > X) were observed among the three generations. Gen Z had substantially fewer pain-related and more intra-articular conditions than the other generations. Women presented a significantly greater frequency of degenerative joint disease and number of intra-articular conditions than men. After controlling for generation-gender interactions, multivariate analyses showed that “being Gen X” and female increased the risk of painful TMDs (OR = 2.20) and reduced the odds of non-painful TMDs (OR = 0.46). Conclusions Generational-gender diversities in DC/TMD subtypes exist and are important for guiding TMD care and future research endeavors.

Abstract The control of Wnt receptor abundance is critical for animal development and to prevent tumorigenesis, but the mechanisms that mediate receptor stabilization remain uncertain. We demonstrate that stabilization of the essential Wingless/Wnt receptor Arrow/LRP6 by the evolutionarily conserved Usp46-Uaf1-Wdr20 deubiquitylase complex controls signaling strength in Drosophila. By reducing Arrow ubiquitylation and turnover, the Usp46 complex increases cell surface levels of Arrow and enhances the sensitivity of target cells to stimulation by the Wingless morphogen, thereby increasing the amplitude and spatial range of signaling responses. Usp46 inactivation in Wingless-responding cells destabilizes Arrow, reduces cytoplasmic accumulation of the transcriptional coactivator Armadillo/β-catenin, and attenuates or abolishes Wingless target gene activation, which prevents the concentration-dependent regulation of signaling strength. Consequently, Wingless-dependent developmental patterning and tissue homeostasis are disrupted. These results reveal an evolutionarily conserved mechanism that mediates Wnt/Wingless receptor stabilization and underlies the precise activation of signaling throughout the spatial range of the morphogen gradient.

Abstract The natural product pneumocandin B0 is the precursor of the antifungal drug caspofungin. To explore the relationship between pneumocandin B0 and oil. We found that the addition of 1 g/L of oil to the fermentation medium is more conducive to the production of pneumocandin B0. The metabolic reaction mechanism was explored using different fatty acids and the results showed that stearic acid and acetic acid increased the total production of pneumocandin B0 by 22.98% and 9.08%, respectively, as well as increasing the content of intracellular lipid droplets. We also analyzed gene expression and pathway differences between the two different fatty acids using transcriptome analyses. The addition of both acetic acid and stearic acid promoted an active pentose phosphate pathway, providing cells with higher intracellular reducing power. We found that the addition of fatty acids can lead to lipid accumulation, and lipid droplets can sequester lipophilic secondary metabolites such as pneumocandin B0 to reduce cell damage. These results provide novel insights into the relationship between pneumocandin B0 biosynthesis and fatty acids in G. lozoyensis. In addition, this study provides important genetic information for improving the yield of pneumocandin B0 through a strategy of metabolic engineering in the future. Graphical Abstract

In recent years, the development of bispecific antibodies (bsAbs) has been rapid, with many new structures and target combinations being created. The boom in bsAbs has led to the successive issuance of industry guidance for their development in the US and China. However, there is a high degree of similarity in target selection, which could affect the development of diversity in bsAbs. This review presents a classification of various bsAbs for cancer therapy based on structure and target selection and examines the advantages of bsAbs over monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Through database research, we have identified the preferences of available bsAbs combinations, suggesting rational target selection options and warning of potential wastage of medical resources. We have also compared the US and Chinese guidelines for bsAbs in order to provide a reference for their development.

The existing forage harvester header cannot automatically adjust the height and inclination during operation, resulting in uneven stubble height of forage, which, in turn, affects the efficiency of harvesting and the quality of forage regeneration. To address this issue, this study conducted the design and experimentation of a 2-degrees-of-freedom (DOF) profiling header. Firstly, this study designed an adaptive profiling header with 2-DOF adjustment, which was realized by the height adjustment mechanism and the tilt angle adjustment mechanism. The relationship model between the profiling device and the attitude of the header was established so that the header can acquire ground undulation in real time through the angle sensor of the profiling device. In order to verify the rationality of the header design, a co-simulation model of ADAMS and MATLAB/Simulink was built, and the header attitude control system was designed based on the fuzzy PID algorithm. The co-simulation results show that the header height (H) is always kept around 150 mm during the forwarding process of the harvester, with a maximum error of 5.8 mm, and the average relative error (REH) and root mean square error (RMSEH) were 1.4% and 2.6 mm, respectively, and the maximum error of the tilt angle (γ) of the header is 0.53° and the RMSEγ is 0.22°, which indicates that the header profiling mechanism can accurately reflect the undulation of the terrain and the header attitude control system has good robustness. Finally, the test platform was built and tested in a grassland. The test results show that the average height of the header is 149.8 mm, the maximum error is 7.5 mm, and the REH and RMSEH are 3.4% and 5.3 mm, respectively. The average error of the header inclination is 0.34°, and the maximum error is 0.57°. The test results indicate that the header can realize the adaptive adjustment of height and inclination, and the control system has high precision, stability and reliability, meeting the demand of automatic regulation of header attitude of a forage harvester.

The rapid and accurate detection of Chinese flowering cabbage ripeness and the counting of Chinese flowering cabbage are fundamental for timely harvesting, yield prediction, and field management. The complexity of the existing model structures somewhat hinders the application of recognition models in harvesting machines. Therefore, this paper proposes the lightweight Cabbage-YOLO model. First, the YOLOv8-n feature pyramid structure is adjusted to effectively utilize the target’s spatial structure information as well as compress the model in size. Second, the RVB-EMA module is introduced as a necking optimization mechanism to mitigate the interference of shallow noise in the high-resolution sounding layer and at the same time to reduce the number of parameters in this model. In addition, the head uses an independently designed lightweight PCDetect detection head, which enhances the computational efficiency of the model. Subsequently, the neck utilizes a lightweight DySample upsampling operator to capture and preserve underlying semantic information. Finally, the attention mechanism SimAm is inserted before SPPF for an enhanced ability to capture foreground features. The improved Cabbage-YOLO is integrated with the Byte Tracker to track and count Chinese flowering cabbage in video sequences. The average detection accuracy of Cabbage-YOLO can reach 86.4%. Compared with the original model YOLOv8-n, its FLOPs, the its number of parameters, and the size of its weights are decreased by about 35.9%, 47.2%, and 45.2%, respectively, and its average detection precision is improved by 1.9% with an FPS of 107.8. In addition, the integrated Cabbage-YOLO with the Byte Tracker can also effectively track and count the detected objects. The Cabbage-YOLO model boasts higher accuracy, smaller size, and a clear advantage in lightweight deployment. Overall, the improved lightweight model can provide effective technical support for promoting intelligent management and harvesting decisions of Chinese flowering cabbage.

Abstract Grapevine downy mildew (GDM) caused by Plasmopara viticola is a recurrent disease of wine grapes in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (Ningxia) of northwestern China. However, the primary infectious pathogen in this region has not been thoroughly investigated. In this study, a multiplex real-time PCR assay was utilized to quantify P. viticola in soil, leaf residues, and asymptomatic leaf samples from ten commercial vineyards in two consecutive years to better understand the epidemiological significance of overwintering primary inoculum and its inoculum potential before the appearance of the first visual GDM symptoms. The DNA primers and multiplex real-time PCR assays that had been established exhibited specificity towards P. viticola within the test samples. The majority of the asymptomatic leaves (60%), leaf residues (80%), and soil samples (100%) tested positive for P. viticola. In addition, the amount of primary inoculum of P. viticola was found to be lower in soil than in leaf residues. The area under the disease progress curve in terms of the molecular disease index (AUDPC-MDI) was used to evaluate the overall latent P. viticola infection in asymptomatic leaves. Asymptomatic leaves were found to have different levels of P. viticola infection, and high AUDPC-MDIs correlated with a high AUDPC in terms of disease index (AUDPC-DI), with a significant correlation relationship between them (P

IntroductionCadmium (Cd) is a highly toxic heavy metal which contaminates agricultural soils and is easily absorbed by plants. Brassica rapa L. is one of the most popular vegetables in China and is known to accumulate Cd in its roots and aerial tissues.MethodsA highly Cd-resistant bacterium (‘CD2’) was isolated and identified. Its ability to immobilize Cd(II) in medium was studied. Strain CD2 were added into Cd-polluted soil to ameliorate Cd accumulation in B. rapa. The underlying mechanisms of ‘CD2’ to reduce Cd accumulation in B. rapa. were analyzed by transcriptomics.Results and discussionStrain CD2 was classified as belonging to the genus Stenotrophomonas. Strain CD2 was found to be able to remove 0.1 mmol/L Cd(II) after 36 h by intracellular sequestration and by producing biofilm, exopolysaccharide, and H2S. When applied to Cd-contaminated soil, ‘CD2’ significantly increased the content of nonbioavailable Cd by 212.70%. Furthermore, ‘CD2’-inoculated B. rapa exhibited a 51.16% decrease in the Cd content of roots and a 55.56% decrease in the Cd content of aerial tissues. Transcriptome analysis identified 424 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the roots and 501 DEGs in the aerial tissues of uninoculated Cd-exposed plants. By comparison, 1107 DEGs were identified in the roots and 1721 DEGs were identified in the aerial tissues of ‘CD2’-inoculated Cd-exposed plants. In both treatment groups, genes related to vacuolar sequestration were upregulated, resulting in inhibited Cd transport. In addition, both catalase and glutathione transferase were induced in uninoculated plants, while the oxidative stress-related genes CPK and RBOH belonged to ‘plant-pathogen interactions’ were upregulated in ‘CD2’-inoculated plants. Moreover, inoculation with ‘CD2’ resulted in the enrichment of phenylpropane metabolism; cutin, suberine, and wax biosynthesis; and the AP2, Dof, WOX, Trihelix, B3, EIL, and M-type_MADS transcription factors; as well as the downregulation of zinc transporters and blue copper proteins. All of these changes likely contributed to the reduced Cd accumulation in ‘CD2’-inoculated B. rapa. The results of this study suggest that Stenotrophomonas sp. CD2 may prove to be a useful inoculant to prevent Cd accumulation in B. rapa.

Osteoporosis is a systemic disease characterized by an imbalance in bone homeostasis, where osteoblasts fail to fully compensate for the bone resorption induced by osteoclasts. Corylifol A, a flavonoid extracted from Fructus psoraleae, has been identified as a potential treatment for this condition. Predictions from network pharmacology and molecular docking studies suggest that Corylifol A exhibits strong binding affinity with NFATc1, Nrf2, PI3K, and AKT1. Empirical evidence from in vivo experiments indicates that Corylifol A significantly mitigates systemic bone loss induced by ovariectomy by suppressing both the generation and activation of osteoclasts. In vitro studies further showed that Corylifol A inhibited the activation of PI3K-AKT and MAPK pathways and calcium channels induced by RANKL in a time gradient manner, and specifically inhibited the phosphorylation of PI3K, AKT, GSK3 β, ERK, CaMKII, CaMKIV, and Calmodulin. It also diminishes ROS production through Nrf2 activation, leading to a decrease in the expression of key regulators such as NFATcl, C-Fos, Acp5, Mmp9, and CTSK that are involved in osteoclastogenesis. Notably, our RNA-seq analysis suggests that Corylifol A primarily impacts mitochondrial energy metabolism by suppressing oxidative phosphorylation. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that Corylifol A is a novel inhibitor of osteoclastogenesis, offering potential therapeutic applications for diseases associated with excessive bone resorption.

Background & Aims: Sphingosine kinase 1 (SphK1) has distinct roles in the activation of Kupffer cells and hepatic stellate cells in liver fibrosis. Here, we aim to investigate the roles of SphK1 on hepatic macrophage recruitment and polarization in liver fibrosis. Methods: Liver fibrosis was induced by carbon tetrachloride in wild-type and SphK1-/- mice to study the recruitment and polarization of macrophages. The effects of SphK1 originated from macrophages or other liver cell types on liver fibrosis were further strengthened by bone marrow transplantation. The direct effects of SphK1 on macrophage polarization were also investigated in vitro. Expression analysis of SphK1 and macrophage polarization index was conducted with human liver samples. Results: SphK1 deletion attenuated the recruitment of hepatic macrophages along with reduced M1 and M2 polarization in mice induced by carbon tetrachloride. SphK1 deficiency in endogenous liver cells attenuated macrophage recruitment via C-C motif chemokine ligand 2. Macrophage SphK1 activated the ASK1-JNK1/2-p38 signaling pathway to promote M1 polarization. Furthermore, macrophage SphK1 downregulated small ubiquitin-like modifier-specific peptidase1 to decrease de-SUMOylation of Kruppel-like factor 4 to promote M2 polarization. Finally, we confirmed that SphK1 expression was elevated and positively correlated with macrophage M1 and M2 polarization in human fibrosis livers. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrated that SphK1 aggravated liver fibrosis by promoting macrophage recruitment and M1/M2 polarization. SphK1 in macrophages is a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of liver fibrosis.

A dedicated bus lane is designed to give priority to buses over private cars on the road. However, this approach might waste road traffic capacity when bus demand is low and private car demand is high. Thus, it is essential to utilize bus lanes more effectively. Previous work focuses on allowing private cars to use bus lanes which may cause bus delays. To strike a balance, some approaches involve mandating private cars to leave bus lanes and limiting the number of private cars entering bus lanes. However, these highly rely on transportation infrastructure and emerging technologies. Hence, we propose a simple method of a partially space-shared bus lane, which allows private cars to merge into the bus lane at specific locations. Lane-changing decision is modeled as a result of speed difference between adjacent lanes. Traffic flow is simulated by the LWR model in the Lagrangian coordinate system. Two scenarios are set up—dedicated bus lane and partially space-shared bus lane—to evaluate the partially space-shared system. The only optimization variable is the location that allows private cars to conduct lane-changing. We use the genetic algorithms to optimize the system. Finally, simulation results show that the partially space-shared bus lane reduces private-car delays and total delays of the system. The buses would experience an increase of delays, inevitably. But the bus delay increase could be limited in a small range, which maintains the bus priority. In addition, a multiple lane-changing position strategy is better than the single position one. This approach is suitable for traffic situations with low bus demand and high private car demand. Our work is expected to contribute to the design of future urban bus lanes and improve overall traffic operations.

Background Insomnia disorder (ID) is one of the most common mental disorders. Research on ID focuses on exploring its mechanism of disease, novel treatments and treatment outcome prediction. An emerging technique in this field is the use of electroencephalography (EEG) microstates, which offer a new method of EEG feature extraction that incorporates information from both temporal and spatial dimensions.Aims To explore the electrophysiological mechanisms of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for ID treatment and use baseline microstate metrics for the prediction of its efficacy.Methods This study included 60 patients with ID and 40 age-matched and gender-matched good sleep controls (GSC). Their resting-state EEG microstates were analysed, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and polysomnography (PSG) were collected to assess sleep quality. The 60 patients with ID were equally divided into active and sham groups to receive rTMS for 20 days to test whether rTMS had a moderating effect on abnormal microstates in patients with ID. Furthermore, in an independent group of 90 patients with ID who received rTMS treatment, patients were divided into optimal and suboptimal groups based on their median PSQI reduction rate. Baseline EEG microstates were used to build a machine-learning predictive model for the effects of rTMS treatment.Results The class D microstate was less frequent and contribute in patients with ID, and these abnormalities were associated with sleep onset latency as measured by PSG. Additionally, the abnormalities were partially reversed to the levels observed in the GSC group following rTMS treatment. The baseline microstate characteristics could predict the therapeutic effect of ID after 20 days of rTMS, with an accuracy of 80.13%.Conclusions Our study highlights the value of EEG microstates as functional biomarkers of ID and provides a new perspective for studying the neurophysiological mechanisms of ID. In addition, we predicted the therapeutic effect of rTMS on ID based on the baseline microstates of patients with ID. This finding carries great practical significance for the selection of therapeutic options for patients with ID.

Background Pharmacogenomics (PGx) is a promising tool to realise tailored drug therapy for depression.Aims To investigate the treatment efficacy of PGx for treatment-resistant depression (TRD) compared with treatment as usual.Methods A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science and PsycINFO to identify relevant studies published from inception to 15 April 2023. Two-arm randomised controlled trials (RCTs) exploring the efficacy of PGx-guided versus unguided treatment for TRD were included. The risk of bias in the included studies was evaluated using the Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool. The overall quality of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach.Results Seven RCTs (n=3003) comparing PGx-guided (n=1492) and unguided (n=1511) groups were identified and analysed. PGx-guided treatment was superior to treatment as usual in response (relative risk (RR)=1.31; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.15 to 1.49; p

Background: Millions of COVID-19 pediatric survivors are facing the risk of long COVID after recovery from acute COVID-19. The primary objective of this study was to systematically review the available literature and determine the pooled prevalence of, and risk factors for long COVID among the pediatric survivors. Methods: Studies that assessed the prevalence of, or risk factors associated with long COVID among pediatric COVID-19 survivors were systematically searched in PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library up to December 11th, 2022. Random effects model was performed to estimate the pooled prevalence of long COVID among pediatric COVID-19 patients. Subgroup analyses and meta-regression on the estimated prevalence of long COVID were performed by stratification with follow-up duration, mean age, sex ratio, percentage of multisystem inflammatory syndrome, hospitalization rate at baseline, and percentage of severe illness. Results: Based on 40 studies with 12,424 individuals, the pooled prevalence of any long COVID was 23.36 % ([95 % CI 15.27–32.53]). The generalized symptom (19.57 %, [95 % CI 9.85–31.52]) was reported most commonly, followed by respiratory (14.76 %, [95 % CI 7.22–24.27]), neurologic (13.51 %, [95 % CI 6.52–22.40]), and psychiatric (12.30 %, [95% CI 5.38–21.37]). Dyspnea (22.75 %, [95% CI 9.38–39.54]), fatigue (20.22 %, [95% CI 9.19–34.09]), and headache (15.88 %, [95 % CI 6.85–27.57]) were most widely reported specific symptoms. The prevalence of any symptom during 3–6, 6–12, and> 12 months were 26.41 % ([95 % CI 14.33–40.59]), 20.64 % ([95 % CI 17.06–24.46]), and 14.89 % ([95 % CI 6.09–26.51]), respectively. Individuals with aged over ten years, multisystem inflammatory syndrome, or had severe clinical symptoms exhibited higher prevalence of long COVID in multi-systems. Factors such as older age, female, poor physical or mental health, or had severe infection or more symptoms were more likely to have long COVID in pediatric survivors. Conclusions: Nearly one quarter of pediatric survivors suffered multisystem long COVID, even at 1 year after infection. Ongoing monitoring, comprehensive prevention and intervention is warranted for pediatric survivors, especially for individuals with high risk factors.

Abstract Background Despite its major existential, societal, and health impacts, research concerning the COVID-19 pandemic and Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) is still limited. This study examined the effect of the pandemic on TMD subtypes and elucidated the influence of the pandemic, sex, and age on the prospect of pain-related (PT) and/or intra-articular (IT) TMDs in East Asian patients. Methods Data were accrued from consecutive new patients attending two university-based TMD/orofacial pain clinics in China and South Korea, 12 months before (BC; Mar 2019-Feb 2020) and during (DC; Mar 2020-Feb 2021) the COVID-19 pandemic. TMD diagnoses were derived from pertinent symptoms, signs, and radiographic findings according to the Diagnostic Criteria for TMDs (DC/TMD) methodology. Patients were subsequently categorized into those with PT, IT, and combined TMDs (CT) and also stratified by attendance period, sex, and age groups (adolescents/young adults [AY] and middle-aged/older adults [MO]) for statistical analyses using Chi-square/Mann-Whitney U tests and logistic regression analyses (α = 0.05). Results The BC and DC groups comprised 367 (75.2% females; 82.8% AY) and 471 (74.3% females; 78.3% AY) patients correspondingly. No significant differences in sex and age group distributions were observed. The DC group had significantly more PT/IT conditions with higher prevalence of myalgia, headache, and degenerative joint disease than the BC group. Univariate analyses showed that PT/CT was associated with sex and age, whereas IT was related to the pandemic and age. However, multivariate analyses indicated that the odds of PT were affected by sex (OR = 2.52) and age (OR = 1.04) while the odds of IT (OR = 0.95) and CT (OR = 1.02) were influenced by age only. Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic, as an impact event, did not influence the prospect of PT and/or IT. Sex and age appeared to play more crucial roles in the development of PT and IT/CT respectively.

Abstract Background Although biomedical implants have been widely used in orthopedic treatments, two major clinical challenges remain to be solved, one is the bacterial infection resulting in biofilm formation, and the other is aseptic loosening during implantation due to over-activated osteoclastogenesis. These factors can cause many clinical issues and even lead to implant failure. Thus, it is necessary to endow implants with antibiofilm and aseptic loosening-prevention properties, to facilitate the integration between implants and bone tissues for successful implantation. To achieve this goal, this study aimed to develop a biocompatible titanium alloy with antibiofilm and anti-aseptic loosening dual function by utilizing gallium (Ga) as a component. Methods A series of Ti-Ga alloys were prepared. We examined the Ga content, Ga distribution, hardness, tensile strength, biocompatibility, and anti-biofilm performance in vitro and in vivo. We also explored how Ga3+ ions inhibited the biofilm formation of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) and osteoclast differentiation. Results The alloy exhibited outstanding antibiofilm properties against both S. aureus and E. coli in vitro and decent antibiofilm performance against S. aureus in vivo. The proteomics results demonstrated that Ga3+ ions could disturb the bacterial Fe metabolism of both S. aureus and E. coli, inhibiting bacterial biofilm formation. In addition, Ti-Ga alloys could inhibit receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL)-dependent osteoclast differentiation and function by targeting iron metabolism, then suppressing the activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway, thus, showing their potential to prevent aseptic loosening. Conclusion This study provides an advanced Ti-Ga alloy that can be used as a promising orthopedic implant raw material for various clinical scenarios. This work also revealed that iron metabolism is the common target of Ga3+ ions to inhibit biofilm formation and osteoclast differentiation.

Abstract Background The purpose of this study is to verify the improvement of remote qigong intervention on the quality of life and physical fitness of breast cancer patients after surgery by means of a randomized controlled trial and to compare it with the conventional exercise combination of aerobic exercise and resistance training. Methods/design The research approach applied in this study is a randomized controlled trial. After completing the baseline questionnaire and physical fitness test, participants were randomly assigned to either the qigong group or the combined exercise rehabilitation group. Patients in the qigong group performed Qigong-Baduanjin twice a week for 30 min each time under remote guidance and practiced Baduanjin by themselves at other times. Patients in the combined exercise rehabilitation group were given resistance training twice a week for 30 min under remote guidance, and walking the rest of the time. At the end of the 12-week intervention, outcomes testing and data collection were carried out. The primary outcomes are quality of life, measured using the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FATC-B). The secondary outcomes include cardiopulmonary endurance, upper limb strength, lower limb strength, and skinfold thickness. Discussion The importance of postoperative exercise rehabilitation for breast cancer has been gradually accepted by more and more doctors and patients, but further research and development of simple and practical means of exercise rehabilitation are necessary. Remote qigong intervention for breast cancer patients via the Internet will be a great alternative. Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR1900027989. Registered on December 7, 2019.

This paper proposes a dynamic phase comparison algorithm for planar direction finding on a high-speed moving satellite radio receiver, treating the moving antenna as equivalent to single-baseline array antennas. Based on a phase interferometer algorithm, this algorithm adjusts the baseline length according to the frequency measurement module and the satellite’s high-speed motion to avoid phase ambiguity indirectly. By integrating the traditional amplitude comparison algorithm based on orthogonal dipole antennas, a dynamic fusion direction-finding method is proposed. Simulations demonstrate that this approach method not only covers a broader range of direction finding but also achieves higher accuracy, providing valuable insights for acquiring three-dimensional plasmagrams with space-borne plasma imagers.

Drought stress is the primary abiotic factor affecting wheat growth, development, and yield formation. The application of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) represents an environmentally sustainable approach to mitigate the impacts of drought stress on wheat. This study conducted field experiments using two winter wheat varieties, the drought-sensitive variety Jimai 22 and the drought-resistant variety Chang 6878, aiming to investigate the effects of Streptomyces pactum Act12 inoculation on photosynthetic characteristics, physiological parameters, and yield traits during the jointing, heading, and middle-filling stages under drought stress. The results revealed that drought stresses significantly reduced chlorophyll content, leaf area, biomass, and yield in wheat, while Act12 inoculation significantly increased chlorophyll content, photosynthetic efficiency, antioxidant enzyme activity such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD), osmolyte content (proline and soluble proteins), and decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) content. These combined effects alleviated drought stress, resulting in increased biomass and yield in wheat. Under drought stress, an increase in leaf proline content of 13.53% to 53.23% (Jimai 22) and 17.17% to 43.08% (Chang 6878) was observed upon Act12 inoculation. Moreover, a decrease in MDA content was recorded of 15.86% to 53.61% (Jimai 22) and 13.47% to 26.21% (Chang 6878). Notably, there was a corresponding increase in yield of 11.78% (Jimai 22) and 13.55% (Chang 6878). In addition, grain quality analysis revealed a significant improvement in grain hardness with Act12 inoculation. Therefore, Act12 demonstrates the potential for enhancing the sustainable development of wheat production in arid and semi-arid regions.

Objective: SAPHO (Synovitis, Acne, Pustulosis, Hyperostosis and Osteitis) syndrome is a heterogeneous disease that clinically manifests as chronic inflammatory osteoarticular and dermatological lesions. Few reports have described familial clustering of SAPHO syndrome cases. This research aimed to illustrate the family aggregation of SAPHO syndrome and investigate the prevalence of autoimmune disorders among SAPHO syndrome patients and first-degree relatives in a large cohort. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 233 SAPHO patients diagnosed at Peking Union Medical College Hospital. Direct phone calls were made to each first-degree relatives. All relatives of the patients who reported SAPHO syndrome were asked for a detailed outpatient evaluation. Results: A total of 233 patients and 1227 first-degree relatives were recruited. Six (2.6 %) patients had positive SAPHO family history, including four mother-daughter pairs and two sister pairs. Twenty-one (9.0 %) patients presented at least one kind of autoimmune disease, including 12 rheumatoid arthritis and 4 ulcerative colitis cases. Fifty-eight (24.9 %) SAPHO syndrome patients had 68 (5.5 %) first-degree relatives with at least one autoimmune disorder. The palmoplantar pustulosis, psoriasis vulgaris, and rheumatoid arthritis prevalence in our subjects were each higher than reference rates. Conclusion: This is the first evaluation of familial aggregation for SAPHO syndrome in a large cohort. SAPHO syndrome has a weak familial aggregation. There is a relatively high prevalence of coexisting autoimmune disease among patients with SAPHO syndrome and their first-degree relatives. These results would prompt physicians to screen SAPHO syndrome patients and their family members for concomitant autoimmune diseases. Keypoints: This study suggesting a potential genetic component in the pathogenesis of SAPHO syndrome. This study is the first to evaluate the family aggregation of SAPHO syndrome in a large cohort.