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Abstract Background Depression is prevalent among lung cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, and the symptom cluster of fatigue-pain-insomnia may influence their depression. Identifying characteristics of patients with different depression trajectories can aid in developing more targeted interventions. This study aimed to identify the trajectories of depression and the fatigue-pain-insomnia symptom cluster, and to explore the predictive factors associated with the categories of depression trajectories. Methods In this longitudinal study, 187 lung cancer patients who were undergoing chemotherapy were recruited and assessed at the first (T1), second(T2), and fourth(T3) months using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI), and the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS). Growth Mixture Model (GMM) and Latent Class Analysis (LCA) were used to identify the different trajectories of the fatigue-pain-insomnia symptom cluster and depression. Binary logistic regression was utilized to analyze the predictive factors of different depressive trajectories. Results GMM identified two depressive trajectories: a high decreasing depression trajectory (40.64%) and a low increasing depression trajectory (59.36%). LCA showed that 48.66% of patients were likely members of the high symptom cluster trajectory. Binary logistic regression analysis indicated that having a history of alcohol consumption, a higher symptom cluster burden, unemployed, and a lower monthly income predicted a high decreasing depression trajectory. Conclusions Depression and fatigue-pain-insomnia symptom cluster in lung cancer chemotherapy patients exhibited two distinct trajectories. When managing depression in these patients, it is recommended to strengthen symptom management and pay particular attention to individuals with a history of alcohol consumption, unemployed, and a lower monthly income.

This study investigates the ground and structural response of adjacent raft foundations induced by large-scale surcharge by ore in soft soil areas through a 130g centrifuge modeling test with an innovative layered loading device. The prototype of the test is a coastal iron ore yard with a natural foundation of deep soft soil. Therefore, it is necessary to adopt some measures to reduce the influence of the large-scale surcharge on the adjacent raft foundation, such as installing stone columns for foundation treatment. Under an acceleration of 130 g, the model conducts similar simulations of iron ore, stone columns, and raft foundation structures. The tested soil mass has dimensions of 900 mm × 700 mm × 300 mm (length × width × depth), which is remodeled from the soil extracted from the drilling holes. The test conditions are consistent with the actual engineering conditions and the effects of four-level loading conditions on the composite foundation of stone columns, unreinforced zone, and raft foundations are studied. An automatic layer-by-layer loading device was innovatively developed to simulate the loading process of actual engineering more realistically. The composite foundation of stone columns had a large settlement after the loading, forming an obvious settlement trough and causing the surface of the unreinforced zone to rise. The 12 m surcharge loading causes a horizontal displacement of 13.19 cm and a vertical settlement of 1.37 m in the raft foundation. The stone columns located on both sides of the unreinforced zone suffered significant shear damage at the sand-mud interface. Due to the reinforcement effect of stone columns, the sand layer below the top of the stone columns moves less. Meanwhile, the horizontal earth pressure in the raft foundation zone increases slowly. The stone columns will form new drainage channels and accelerate the dissipation of excess pore pressure.

Abstract Background Cathelicidins are vital antimicrobial peptides expressed in diverse vertebrates, crucial for immunity. Despite being a new field, amphibian cathelicidin research holds promise. Results We isolated the cDNA sequence of the cathelicidin (Ll-CATH) gene from the liver transcriptome of the Chong’an Moustache Toad (Leptobrachium liui). We confirmed the authenticity of the cDNA sequence by rapid amplification of cDNA ends and reverse transcription PCR, and obtained the Ll-CATH amino acid sequence using the Open Reading Frame Finder, an online bioinformatics tool. Its translated protein contained a cathelin domain, signal peptide, and mature peptide, confirmed by amino acid sequence. The comparative analysis showed that the mature peptides were variable between the amphibian species, while the cathelin domain was conserved. The concentration of Ll-CATH protein and the expression of its gene varied in the tissues, with the spleen showing the highest levels. The expression levels of Ll-CATH in different tissues of toads was significantly increased post infection with Aeromonas hydrophila. Chemically synthesized Ll-CATH effectively combated Proteus mirabilis, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Vibrio harveyi, V. parahaemolyticus, and V. vulnificus; disrupted the membrane of V. harveyi, hydrolyzed its DNA. Ll-CATH induced chemotaxis and modulated the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokine genes in RAW264.7 macrophages. Conclusions This study unveiled the antibacterial and immunomodulatory potential of amphibian cathelicidin, implying its efficacy against infections. Ll-CATH characterization expands our knowledge, emphasizing its in a bacterial infection therapy.

Abstract Background Obesity and its associated complications raise significant public concern, revealing gender disparities in the susceptibility to metabolic disorders, with females often displaying greater resistance to obesity-related metabolic disorder than males. Sestrin2 is a crucial protein involved in metabolism and energy balance. This study seeks to explore whether Sesn2 knockout (KO) exacerbates high-fat diet (HFD) induced obesity in female mice. Methods Female mice with wild-type (WT) and Sesn2 KO were subjected to a 12-week regimen of normal diet or HFD. Using a Body Composition Analyzer, body composition was gauged. Biochemical assays encompassed glucose, lipid, and liver function measurements, alongside 24-hour urine albumin excretion. Echocardiographic evaluation assessed cardiac function. Histopathological analysis of key metabolic tissues (liver, kidney, and heart tissues) were conducted. Western blotting or qRT-PCR evaluated key proteins and genes linked to inflammation, mitochondrial, and lipid metabolism in adipose tissues. Results In comparison to mice fed a regular diet, those on a HFD exhibited significant increases in body weight and fat mass. Notably, Sesn2 KO further aggravated obesity, showcasing the most pronounced metabolic anomalies: elevated body weight, fat mass, impaired glucose tolerance, and insulin sensitivity, alongside heightened levels of free fatty acids and triglycerides. Additionally, KO-HFD mice displayed exacerbated multi-tissue impairments, including elevated hepatic enzymes, increased urinary albumin excretion, compromised cardiac function, and accumulation of lipids in the liver, kidney, and heart. Moreover, adipose tissue showcased altered lipid dynamics and function, characterized by enhanced triglyceride breakdown and modified adipokine levels. Browning was diminished, along with decreased Pgc1α and Sirt1 in KO-HFD mice. Conclusion Sesn2 KO exacerbates HFD-induced obesity and metabolic disorders in female mice. These findings underscore Sestrin2’s novel role as a regulator of obesity in female mice.

Water is the important medium of the tea infusions, which plays a crucial role in the development of tea quality. Tooma sinensis (TS) fermented tea was brewed with tap water, mineral water and purified water. The physicochemical indexes, biochemical components, antioxidant activity and flavor compounds of three types tea infusions were analyzed using ultraviolet spectrophotometer, electronic tongue and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to elucidate the influence of different brewing water on the quality of TS fermented tea infusions. The results demonstrated that the quality and antioxidant activity of TS fermented tea infusions were significant influenced by different brewing water (P

Under the background of the “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals”, the salt cavern is an important place for geological storage and carbon sequestration. The limited knowledge of the quantity and quality of the salt cavern and immature investigation technology constrains the development and utilization of salt cavern. After analyzing the geological exploration reports on major salt mines, reserves reports, enterprise annual reports, and research articles, a scientific understanding and basic judgment of the amount and utilizability of salt caverns in China are obtained; a technical system of salt cavern resource survey is established through a test with comprehensive detection technology in the concentrated area of salt cavern. The results show that salt cavern resources in China are characterized by abundant reserves, wide distribution, feasible burial depth, and convenient utilization on large scale. The most abundant salt cavern resources occur in the east and central regions. The national salt cavern resources are divided into levels I, II, and III by using an availability evaluation method system of salt cavern resource. Level I accounting for about 29.4%, is mainly distributed in Jiangsu, Hubei, Henan, and other provinces in east and central China. Salt cavern resources in level I are preferred for development and utilization. Level II accounting for about 65.4%, is widely distributed in southwest, northwest, and centra China, and can be used as a prospective area for development and utilization. Salt cavern resources in level III accounting for about 5.2%, are not suitable for development and utilization. Ground geophysical exploration, which can identify the characteristics of the regional geology, salt layer geology, hydrogeology, and salt cavity distribution of the salt mining area, guides the site selection on the salt cavern construction; geophysical exploration of high precision, which can obtain the information of salt mine levels and cavity structure, benefit the construction and operation detection of storage. This study provides the basic data and technical support for the planning and development of salt cavern resources in China.

This study presents a cancer diagnostics method through the development of a graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4)-based electrochemical sensor for detecting circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in blood. Utilizing the unique properties of g-C3N4 nanosheets combined with gold nanoparticles functionalized with DNA aptamers, the sensor exhibits remarkable sensitivity and selectivity in CTC detection. The aptamers specifically target cell surface biomarkers, enabling the precise capture and quantification of CTCs. The sensor's detection limit is an impressive 5 cells/mL, with a broad detection range from 10 to 105 cells/mL. This high-performance sensing platform not only achieves rapid and accurate quantification of CTCs but also demonstrates robustness against interference from other cell types, making it highly suitable for clinical applications. The optimized conditions for aptamer-functionalized nanoparticle concentration and incubation time ensure the sensor's efficacy, as validated in spiked blood samples. This work provides a practical and efficient approach for non-invasive cancer diagnostics, offering significant improvements over existing methods in terms of simplicity, sensitivity, and specificity for early detection and monitoring of cancer progression.

Achieving a high color rendering index (CRI) and luminous stability in single-structured Ce:Y3Al5O12 (Ce:YAG) phosphor ceramics (PCs) is crucial for high-power white light-emitting diodes or laser diodes (LEDs/LDs). However, cyan valleys and insufficient amounts of the red component in the Ce:YAG emission spectra significantly limit their real applications. In this work, a series of Ce,Mn:Y3(Al,Sc)2Al3O12 (Ce,Mn:YSAG) PCs were fabricated by vacuum sintering, and efficient spectral regulation was realized for full-color lighting. The cyan valley was filled by the blueshifted emission peak of Ce3+ via Sc3+ doping. The orange‒red emission at approximately 580 nm was effectively supplemented via Mn2+ doping. In particular, CRI of Ce,Mn:YSAG increased from 56.4 to 85.8, a 52% increase compared with that of Ce:YAG under high-power LED excitation, and the operating temperature was stable at approximately 50 °C for long working time. Moreover, CRI of 80.9 could still be obtained for PC-based white LDs. These results indicated that Ce,Mn:YSAG PC, which has excellent CRI and luminous stability, is an extremely promising color convertor for high-power white LEDs/LDs.

Abstract Background Diagnosis and monitoring of leptomeningeal malignancy remain challenging, and are usually based on neurological, radiological, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and pathological findings. This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic performance of CSF metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) and chromosome copy number variations (CNVs) analysis in the detection of leptomeningeal malignancy. Methods Of the 51 patients included in the study, 34 patients were diagnosed with leptomeningeal malignancies, and 17 patients were diagnosed with central nervous system (CNS) inflammatory diseases. The Sayk’s spontaneous cell sedimentation technique was employed for CSF cytology. And a well-designed approach utilizing the CSF mNGS-CNVs technique was explored for early diagnosis of leptomeningeal malignancy. Results In the tumor group, 28 patients were positive for CSF cytology, and 24 patients were positive for CSF mNGS-CNVs. Sensitivity and specificity of CSF cytology were 82.35% (95% CI: 66.83-92.61%) and 94.12% (95% CI: 69.24-99.69%). In comparison, sensitivity and specificity of CSF mNGS-CNV were 70.59% (95% CI: 52.33-84.29%) and 100% (95% CI: 77.08-100%). There was no significant difference in diagnostic consistency between CSF cytology and mNGS-CNVs (p = 0.18, kappa = 0.650). Conclusions CSF mNGS-CNVs tend to have higher specificity compared with traditional cytology and can be used as a complementary diagnostic method for patients with leptomeningeal malignancies.

Abstract Background This study sought to investigate the prognostic value of basement membrane (BM)-associated gene expressions in oral cancer. Methods We harvested and integrated data on BM-associated genes (BMGs), the oral cancer transcriptome, and clinical information from public repositories. After identifying differentially expressed BMGs, we used Cox and Lasso regression analyses to create a BMG-based risk score for overall survival at various intervals. We then validated this score using the GSE42743 cohort as a validation set. The prognostic potential of the risk scores and their relations to clinical features were assessed. Further, we conducted functional pathway enrichment, immune cell infiltration, and immune checkpoint analyses to elucidate the immunological implications and therapeutic potential of the BMG-based risk score and constituent genes. To confirm the expression levels of the BMG LAMA3 in clinical samples of oral cancer tissue, we performed quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemical staining. Results The BMGs LAMA3, MMP14, and GPC2 demonstrated notable prognostic significance, facilitating the construction of a BMG-based risk score. A higher risk score derived from BMGs correlated with a poorer survival prognosis for oral cancer patients. Moreover, the risk-associated BMGs exhibited a significant relationship with immune function variability (P

Aging oil is a common pollutant in petrochemical enterprises due to its severe emulsification and flocculation, poor settling performance, low oil recovery rate, and high difficulty in treatment. This article adopts the method of mechanical, ultrasonic, and chemical coupling demulsification to treat aging oil, with the water content and oil recovery rate of the treated aging oil as the inspection indicators. The experiment shows that when the oil-water ratio is 1:4, the heating temperature is 50℃, the stirring speed is 180rpm, the ultrasonic frequency is 25kHz, the power is 40W, the ultrasonic time is 25min, and the pH is adjusted to 3-4. The additional amount of FeSO4 is 160mg/L, the additional amount of H2O2 is 0.11%, and the heating stirring reaction is 40min. When the dosage of cationic PAM with an ion degree of 50 is 35mg/L, the centrifugation speed is 3200rpm. The centrifugation time is 20 min, the crude oil recovery rate after aging oil treatment can reach over 94.6%, and the water content of the treated crude oil is less than 0.5%, meeting the standards for crude oil gathering and transportation in China. The oil content in the water generated after aging oil treatment is about 150 mg.L-1, the suspended solids content is 200 mg.L-1, the oil content in the residue is 6%, and the water content is 53%. By analyzing the appearance of aging oil before and after treatment, it was found that when using this process to treat aging oil, the original spatial cross-linking network structure of the aging oil was broken, allowing the water droplets wrapped in the oil to be released, thereby significantly reducing the water content in the recovered oil and improving the oil recovery rate.

The rapid development of industry has led to the generation of a large amount of electroplating wastewater. The direct discharge of untreated electroplating wastewater may lead to the formation of toxic metal-organic complexes, which is a challenging problem for human health and the living environment of organisms. Due to the high solubility of heavy metals in aquatic environments and their easy absorption by organisms, effective treatment of electroplating wastewater is of great significance. The ultimate goal of electroplating wastewater treatment should be to recover metals and water from electroplating wastewater. In indoor experiments, pilot tests, and industrial applications of electroplating wastewater treatment, membrane treatment technology commonly used in wastewater terminal treatment has attracted great attention. Membrane treatment technology seems to be the most promising method for removing heavy metals and organic pollutants from electroplating wastewater. This article reviews the membrane treatment technologies for electroplating wastewater, introduces the advantages and disadvantages of various membranes in the treatment of electroplating wastewater, the removal efficiency of pollutant types, and their comparison. The focus is on the treatment effects of nano-filtration membrane, ultra-filtration membrane, micro-filtration membrane, reverse osmosis membrane, ceramic membrane, biofilm, etc., on electroplating wastewater. Compared with a single treatment method, the combination of different processes shows higher efficiency in removing various pollutants.

Abstract Objective In this study, we examined the value of chest CT signs combined with peripheral blood eosinophil percentage in differentiating between pulmonary paragonimiasis and tuberculous pleurisy in children. Methods Patients with pulmonary paragonimiasis and tuberculous pleurisy were retrospectively enrolled from January 2019 to April 2023 at the Kunming Third People’s Hospital and Lincang People’s Hospital. There were 69 patients with pulmonary paragonimiasis (paragonimiasis group) and 89 patients with tuberculous pleurisy (tuberculosis group). Clinical symptoms, chest CT imaging findings, and laboratory test results were analyzed. Using binary logistic regression, an imaging model of CT signs and a combined model of CT signs and eosinophils were developed to calculate and compare the differential diagnostic performance of the two models. Results CT signs were used to establish the imaging model, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted. The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.856 (95% CI: 0.799–0.913), the sensitivity was 66.7%, and the specificity was 88.9%. The combined model was established using the CT signs and eosinophil percentage, and the ROC was plotted. The AUC curve was 0.950 (95% CI: 0.919–0.980), the sensitivity was 89.9%, and the specificity was 90.1%. The differential diagnostic efficiency of the combined model was higher than that of the imaging model, and the difference in AUC was statistically significant. Conclusion The combined model has a higher differential diagnosis efficiency than the imaging model in the differentiation of pulmonary paragonimiasis and tuberculous pleurisy in children. The presence of a tunnel sign on chest CT, the absence of pulmonary nodules, and an elevated percentage of peripheral blood eosinophils are indicative of pulmonary paragonimiasis in children.

To investigate the effect of drying methods on the volatile flavor substances of Toona sinensis, the volatile components of vacuum freeze-dried, heat pump-dried, hot air-dried, and microwave vacuum-dried Toona sinensis samples were analyzed by gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) coupled with relative odor activity values, and the differences of volatile components among samples were further explored by combining the stoichiometric principal component analysis and partial least square discriminant analysis. The results showed that 78 peaks were detected and 59 compounds were identified by GC-IMS. 94 kinds of volatile compounds were identified by GC-MS, and the main volatile components were sulfides, olefins and aldehydes. The content of total volatile compounds was significantly reduced after drying. The key aroma compounds in Toona sinensis samples were identified by ROAV method, such as (E,Z)-di-1-propenyldisulfide, 2-mercapto-3,4-dimethyl-2,3-dihydrothiophene, hexanal, 2-hexenal and eugenol. The PCA and PLS-DA results showed that the samples with different drying methods were not only clearly separated from the raw samples, but also significantly different from each other. The raw samples and vacuum freeze-dried samples were grouped, and the other three dried Toona sinensis samples were grouped. According to the variable importance in projection score, a total of 10 (VIP>1) labeled volatile compounds were selected. The drying method had significant effect on the flavor characteristics of Toona sinensis, and the vacuum freeze-dried group was the closest to the raw sample, while heat pump-drying was the most suitable dehydration method for Toona sinensis, considering the practical application. This study provides some theoretical references for flavor quality control in the thermal processing process.

Electroplating wastewater contains heavy metal ions and organic matter. These contaminants not only endanger the environment but also pose risks to human health. Despite the development of various treatment processes such as chemical precipitation MBR, electrocoagulation (EC) ceramic membrane (CM), coagulation ultrafiltration (UF) reverse osmosis (RO), and CM RO. These methods are only effective for low concentrations of heavy metals and struggle with high concentrations. To address the challenge of treating electroplating wastewater with high heavy metal content, this study focuses on the wastewater from Dongfang Aviation Machinery Processing Plant. It introduces an EC and integrated membrane (IM) treatment process for electroplating wastewater. The IM comprises microfiltration (MF) membrane, nanofiltration (NF) membrane, and RO membrane. Results indicated that under specific conditions, such as a pH of 8, current density of 5 A/dm2, electrode plate spacing of 2 cm, 35 min of electrolysis time, and influent pH of 10 for the IM, removal rates of Zn2+, Cu2+, Ni2+, and TCr in the wastewater exceeded 99%. The removal rates of chemical oxygen demand (COD), suspended solids (SS), total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), and petroleum in wastewater exceed 97%. Following a continuous cleaning process, the membrane flux can consistently recover to over 94.3%. HIGHLIGHTS Comprehensive treatment of wastewater pollution.; Application of environmental protection and energy conservation technology.; Efficient removal of harmful substances.; Systematic wastewater treatment solution.; Effectively removing heavy metals.;

Abstract Background Chronic Lateral Ankle Instability (CLAI) is a common condition treated using either Anterior Talofibular and Calcaneofibular Ligament (ATFL and CFL) reconstruction or Modified Brostrom Procedure (MBP). However, the comparative efficacy of these approaches is not well-studied. Methods In this study, clinical data were retrospectively collected from 101 patients diagnosed with CLAI who underwent either ATFL and CFL reconstruction (n = 51) or the MBP (n = 50). Patients were comparable in terms of age, sex, Body Mass Index (BMI), post-injury duration, preoperative American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) score, Karlsson score, Visual Analog Score (VAS), Anterior Talar Translation, and Talar Tilt Angle. Results The post-operative measures showed no significant differences in AOFAS Score, Karlsson Score, and VAS between both treatment groups. However, patients who underwent ATFL and CFL reconstruction showed significantly lower follow-up Anterior Talar Translation (mean = 4.1667 ± 1.3991 mm) and Talar Tilt Angle (mean = 5.0549 ± 1.6173°) compared to those who underwent MBP. Further, patients treated with ATFL and CFL reconstruction experienced a significantly longer postoperative recovery time (median = 6 weeks) compared to MBP (median = 3 weeks). Conclusions Although both therapeutic techniques were generally effective in treating CLAI, the ATFL and CFL reconstruction approach delivered superior control of Anterior Talar Translation and Talar Tilt Angle. However, its longer recovery time merits further study to optimize the balance between therapeutic efficacy and recovery speed.

Abstract Background In the practical application of sarcopenia screening, there is a need for faster, time-saving, and community-friendly detection methods. The primary purpose of this study was to perform sarcopenia screening in community-dwelling older adults and investigate whether surface electromyogram (sEMG) from hand grip could potentially be used to detect sarcopenia using machine learning (ML) methods with reasonable features extracted from sEMG signals. The secondary aim was to provide the interpretability of the obtained ML models using a novel feature importance estimation method. Methods A total of 158 community-dwelling older residents (≥ 60 years old) were recruited. After screening through the diagnostic criteria of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia in 2019 (AWGS 2019) and data quality check, participants were assigned to the healthy group (n = 45) and the sarcopenic group (n = 48). sEMG signals from six forearm muscles were recorded during the hand grip task at 20% maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) and 50% MVC. After filtering recorded signals, nine representative features were extracted, including six time-domain features plus three time-frequency domain features. Then, a voting classifier ensembled by a support vector machine (SVM), a random forest (RF), and a gradient boosting machine (GBM) was implemented to classify healthy versus sarcopenic participants. Finally, the SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) method was utilized to investigate feature importance during classification. Results Seven out of the nine features exhibited statistically significant differences between healthy and sarcopenic participants in both 20% and 50% MVC tests. Using these features, the voting classifier achieved 80% sensitivity and 73% accuracy through a five-fold cross-validation. Such performance was better than each of the SVM, RF, and GBM models alone. Lastly, SHAP results revealed that the wavelength (WL) and the kurtosis of continuous wavelet transform coefficients (CWT_kurtosis) had the highest feature impact scores. Conclusion This study proposed a method for community-based sarcopenia screening using sEMG signals of forearm muscles. Using a voting classifier with nine representative features, the accuracy exceeds 70% and the sensitivity exceeds 75%, indicating moderate classification performance. Interpretable results obtained from the SHAP model suggest that motor unit (MU) activation mode may be a key factor affecting sarcopenia.

Abstract Background Bronchopulmonary dysplasia-associated pulmonary hypertension (BPD-PH) remains a devastating clinical complication seriously affecting the therapeutic outcome of preterm infants. Hence, early prevention and timely diagnosis prior to pathological change is the key to reducing morbidity and improving prognosis. Our primary objective is to utilize machine learning techniques to build predictive models that could accurately identify BPD infants at risk of developing PH. Methods The data utilized in this study were collected from neonatology departments of four tertiary-level hospitals in China. To address the issue of imbalanced data, oversampling algorithms synthetic minority over-sampling technique (SMOTE) was applied to improve the model. Results Seven hundred sixty one clinical records were collected in our study. Following data pre-processing and feature selection, 5 of the 46 features were used to build models, including duration of invasive respiratory support (day), the severity of BPD, ventilator-associated pneumonia, pulmonary hemorrhage, and early-onset PH. Four machine learning models were applied to predictive learning, and after comprehensive selection a model was ultimately selected. The model achieved 93.8% sensitivity, 85.0% accuracy, and 0.933 AUC. A score of the logistic regression formula greater than 0 was identified as a warning sign of BPD-PH. Conclusions We comprehensively compared different machine learning models and ultimately obtained a good prognosis model which was sufficient to support pediatric clinicians to make early diagnosis and formulate a better treatment plan for pediatric patients with BPD-PH.

The emerging viruses within the genus Henipavirus in the family Paramyxoviridae pose a great threat to public biosafety. To develop a quadruple real-time fluorescence-based quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay is pivotal for the early warning of the potential of zoonotic infectious diseases. Specific primers and probes were designed for the relatively conserved regions based on whole genome sequences of Langya virus (LayV), Mojiang virus (MojV), Nipah virus (NiV), and Cedar virus (CedV), followed by the establishment of a quadruple real-time fluorescence-based qRT-PCR detection method. No cross-reactivity was observed with other viral nucleic acids. The optimal linear detection range for LayV, MojV, NiV, and CedV was 101-108 copies/μL, and the lower limit of detection was 10 copies/μL. Three different DNA concentrations of LayV, MojV, NiV, and CedV (104, 105, and 106 copies/μL) were tested 14 times, achieving good repeatability. The standard deviation of the cycle threshold values for each concentration was 90 %, and the correlation coefficient was >0.99. The established quadruple real-time fluorescence-based qRT-PCR assay for the detection of LayV, MojV, NiV, and CedV exhibits good sensitivity, specificity, and repeatability. Therefore, it can be used to detect Henipavirus and other related clinical specimens.

Abstract Background An optimized fit of the tibial component to the resection platform and correct rotational alignment are critical for successful total knee arthroplasty (TKA). However, there remains controversy regarding the superiority of symmetric tibial component versus asymmetric tibial component. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the current evidence for comparing the coverage and rotation of asymmetrical and symmetrical tibial component. Methods We searched potentially relevant studies form PubMed, Web of science, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), up to 1 March 2023. Data extraction and quality assessment were performed by two independent reviewers. Meta-analysis was conducted using Review Manager 5.4. Results Sixteen articles were identified. Compared to symmetric tibial component, asymmetric tibial component increased the coverage of the proximal tibial cut surface (MD, -2.87; 95%CI, -3.45 to -2.28; P

Objective: The cause of syncope is generally determined based on clinical manifestations. There has been little discussion about the value of electrocardiograms for diagnosing neurally mediated syncope. The aim of this study was to test the predictive value of the isolated very low QRS voltage in tilt-table testing for suspected neurally mediated syncope in a Chinese population. Methods: This retrospective study enrolled patients with suspected neurally mediated syncope. Tilt-table testing was a part of the diagnostic examination. Each patient underwent echocardiography and electrocardiogram. isolated very low QRS voltage referred to a voltage of ⩽0.3 mV for the QRS complex in an isolated frontal lead or ⩽0.7 mV for the QRS complex in an isolated precordial lead. Results: In total, 157 patients were included in the tilt-table testing positive group, and 242 patients were included in the tilt-table testing negative group. Compared with the testing negative group, the testing positive group had more patients with isolated very low QRS voltage in the frontal leads ( p

We present a sensitive and compact quantum cascade laser-based photoacoustic greenhouse gas sensor for the detection of CO2, CH4 and CO and discuss its applicability toward on-line real-time trace greenhouse gas analysis. Differential photoacoustic resonators with different dimensions were used and optimized to balance sensitivity with signal saturation. The effects of ambient parameters, gas flow rate, pressure and humidity on the photoacoustic signal and the spectral cross-interference were investigated. Thanks to the combined operation of in-house designed laser control and lock-in amplifier, the gas detection sensitivities achieved were 5.6 ppb for CH4, 0.8 ppb for CO and 17.2 ppb for CO2, signal averaging time 1 s and an excellent dynamic range beyond 6 orders of magnitude. A continuous outdoor five-day test was performed in an observation station in China’s Qinling National Botanical Garden (E longitude 108°29’, N latitude 33°43’) which demonstrated the stability and reliability of the greenhouse gas sensor.

Depression is a serious global mental disorder. Numerous studies have found that depression may be closely related to decreased neurogenesis, neuroinflammation, neurotransmitter imbalance, and synaptic plasticity dysfunction. The pathogenesis of depression is complex and involves multiple signal transduction pathways and molecular changes. The PI3K/AKT pathway is an essential signaling pathways in neurons, which is widely expressed in emotion-related regions of the brain. Therefore, the PI3K/AKT pathway may play a moderating role in mood disorders. However, the role and mechanism of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in depression have not been fully described. This review systematically summarized the role of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in the pathogenesis of depression and discussed its potential in the treatment of depression. This will help in the treatment of depression and the development of antidepressants.

With the growing concern for the environment, sustainable development centred on a low-carbon economy has become a unifying pursuit for the energy industry. Integrated energy systems (IES) that combine multiple energy sources such as electricity, heat and gas are essential to facilitate the consumption of renewable energy and the reduction of carbon emission. In this paper, gas turbine (GT), carbon capture and storage (CCS) and power-to-gas (P2G) device are introduced to construct a new carbon capture coupling device model, GT-CCS-P2G (GCCP), which is applied to the integrated electrical and gas system (IEGS). Multi-agent soft actor critic (MASAC) applies historical trajectory representations, parameter spatial techniques and deep densification frameworks to reinforcement learning for reducing the detrimental effects of time-series data on the decisional procedure. The energy scheduling problem of IEGS is redefined as a Markov game, which is addressed by adopting a low carbon economic control framework based on MASAC with minimum operating cost and minimum carbon emission as the optimization objectives. To validate the rationality and effectiveness of the proposed low-carbon economy scheduling model of IEGS based on MASAC, this paper simulates and analyses in integrated PJM-5 node system and seven nodes natural gas system.

As a fundamental element of global carbon storage, the storage carbon in terrestrial ecosystem is significant for climate change mitigation. Land use/cover change (LUCC) is a main impact element of ecosystems’ carbon storage. Evaluating the relation between land use change and carbon storage is vital for lowering global carbon emissions. Taking Hainan Island as an example, this paper employs the InVEST as well as the CA-Markov models to assess and predict how different land use affects carbon storage in various situations from 2000 to 2020 and from 2030 to 2050 on Hainan Island. The influence factors, together with driving mechanisms of carbon storage spatial distribution are quantitatively analyzed as well in this paper. The results demonstrate that, from 2000 to 2020, Hainan Island’s net increase in built land was 605.49 km2, representing a growth rate of 77.05%. Over the last 20 years, Hainan Island’s carbon storage and density have decreased by 5.90 Tg and 1.75 Mg/hm2, respectively. The sharp rise in built land mainly makes the carbon storage decline. From 2030 to 2050, land use changes on Hainan Island are expected to result in differing degrees of carbon storage loss in various scenarios. In 2050, Hainan Island’s carbon storage will decline by 17.36 Tg in the Natural Development Scenario (NDS), 13.61 Tg in the Farmland Protection Scenario (FPS), and 8.06 Tg in the Ecological Protection Scenario (EPS) compared to 2020. The EPS can efficiently maintain carbon sequestration capability, but it cannot effectively prevent cropland area loss. Regarding the carbon storage’s spatial distribution, Hainan Island generally exhibits a pattern of high carbon storages in the low and middle carbon storages in the surrounding areas. Areas with high value are primarily located in Hainan Island’s central and southern mountainous areas, whereas areas with low value are primarily located in surrounding areas with lower elevations, primarily encompassing built land and cropland. Geographic detection presented the spatial differentiation of carbon storage in Hainan Island is mainly influenced by factors like slope, land use intensity, and DEM, as well as its interaction with other factors is significantly strengthened (p

Rock mass quality serves as a vital index for predicting the stability and safety status of rock tunnel faces. In tunneling practice, the rock mass quality is often assessed via a combination of qualitative and quantitative parameters. However, due to the harsh on-site construction conditions, it is rather difficult to obtain some of the evaluation parameters which are essential for the rock mass quality prediction. In this study, a novel improved Swin Transformer is proposed to detect, segment, and quantify rock mass characteristic parameters such as water leakage, fractures, weak interlayers. The site experiment results demonstrate that the improved Swin Transformer achieves optimal segmentation results and achieving accuracies of 92%, 81%, and 86% for water leakage, fractures, and weak interlayers, respectively. A multi-source rock tunnel face characteristic (RTFC) dataset includes 11 parameters for predicting rock mass quality is established. Considering the limitations in predictive performance of incomplete evaluation parameters exist in this dataset, a novel tree-augmented naive Bayesian network (BN) is proposed to address the challenge of the incomplete dataset and achieved a prediction accuracy of 88%. In comparison with other commonly used Machine Learning models the proposed BN-based approach proved an improved performance on predicting the rock mass quality with the incomplete dataset. By utilizing the established BN, a further sensitivity analysis is conducted to quantitatively evaluate the importance of the various parameters, results indicate that the rock strength and fractures parameter exert the most significant influence on rock mass quality.

Abstract Flat-band systems with strongly correlated electrons can exhibit a variety of phenomena, such as correlated insulating and topological states, unconventional superconductivity, and ferromagnetism. Rhombohedral multilayer graphene has recently emerged as a promising platform for investigating exotic quantum states due to its hosting of topologically protected surface flat bands at low energy, which have a layer-dependent energy dispersion. However, the complex relationship between the surface flat bands and the highly dispersive high-energy bands makes it difficult to study correlated surface states. In this study, we introduce moiré superlattices as a method to isolate the surface flat bands of rhombohedral multilayer graphene. The observed pronounced screening effects in the moiré potential-modulated rhombohedral multilayer graphene indicate that the two surface states are electronically decoupled. The flat bands that are isolated promote correlated surface states in areas that are distant from the charge neutrality points. Notably, we observe tunable layer-polarized ferromagnetism, which is evidenced by a hysteretic anomalous Hall effect. This is achieved by polarizing the surface states with finite displacement fields.

Abstract RGB depth (RGB‐D) salient object detection (SOD) is a meaningful and challenging task, which has achieved good detection performance in dealing with simple scenes using convolutional neural networks, however, it cannot effectively handle scenes with complex contours of salient objects or similarly coloured salient objects and background. A novel end‐to‐end framework is proposed for RGB‐D SOD, which comprises of four main components: the cross‐modal attention feature enhancement (CMAFE) module, the multi‐level contextual feature interaction (MLCFI) module, the boundary feature extraction (BFE) module, and the multi‐level boundary attention guidance (MLBAG) module. The CMAFE module retains the more effective salient features by employing a dual‐attention mechanism to filter noise from two modalities. In the MLCFI module, a shuffle operation is used for high‐level and low‐level channels to promote cross‐channel information communication, and rich semantic information is extracted. The BFE module converts salient features into boundary features to generate boundary maps. The MLBAG module produces saliency maps by aggregating multi‐level boundary saliency maps to guide cross‐modal features in the decode stage. Extensive experiments are conducted on six public benchmark datasets, with the results demonstrating that the proposed model significantly outperforms 23 state‐of‐the‐art RGB‐D SOD models with regards to multiple evaluation metrics.

Abstract Background Heart failure (HF) is one of the major causes of mortality worldwide with high recurrence rate and poor prognosis. Our study aimed to investigate potential mechanisms and drug targets of Shenfu Qiangxin (SFQX), a cardiotonic-diuretic traditional Chinese medicine, in treating HF. Methods An HF-related and SFQX-targeted gene set was established using disease-gene databases and the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology database. We performed gene function and pathway enrichment analysis and constructed protein–protein interaction (PPI) network to investigate the potential mechanisms. We also performed molecular docking to analyze the interaction patterns between the active compounds and targeted protein. Results A gene set with 217 genes was identified. The gene function enrichment indicated that SFQX can regulate apoptotic process, inflammatory response, response to oxidative stress and cellular response to hypoxia. The pathway enrichment indicated that most genes were involved in PI3K–Akt pathway. Eighteen hub target genes were identified in PPI network and subnetworks. mTOR was the key gene among hub genes, which are involved in PI3K–Akt pathway. The molecular docking analysis indicated that 6 active compounds of SFQX can bind to the kinase domain of mTOR, which exerted potential therapeutic mechanisms of SFQX in treating HF. Conclusions The results of network pharmacology analysis highlight the intervention on PI3K–Akt pathway of SFQX in the treatment of HF. mTOR is a key drug target to help protect myocardium.

Abstract Background There are various recommendations for third-line treatment in mCRC, however, there is no consensus on who is more suitable for particular strategy. Chemotherapy re-use in third-line setting is a common option in clinical practice. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of third-line chemotherapy re-use by the comparison with that of anti-angiogenic monotherapy, and further find the population more suitable for third-line chemotherapy. Methods Using electronic medical records of patients with mCRC, a retrospective cohort study was conducted. A total of 143 patients receiving chemotherapy and 40 patients receiving anti-angiogenic monotherapy in third-line setting as control group were retrospectively collected. Baseline characteristics were analyzed using the χ² test or the Fisher’s exact test. ROC curve and surv_cutpoint function of ‘survminer’ package in R software were used to calculate the cut-off value. Survival curves were plotted with the Kaplan-Meier method and were compared using the log-rank test. The Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to analyze the potential risk factors. Results A total of 143 patients receiving chemotherapy and 40 patients receiving anti-angiogenic monotherapy in third-line setting were retrospectively collected. Chemotherapy rechallenge was recorded in 93 patients (93/143, 65.0%), and the remaining patients chose new chemotherapeutic drugs that had not been previously used, including irinotecan-based (22/50), oxaliplatin-based (9/50), raltitrexed (9/50), gemcitabine (5/50) and other agents (5/50). The ORR and DCR of third-line chemotherapy reached 8.8%, 61.3%, respectively (anti-angiogenic monotherapy group: ORR 2.6%, DCR 47.4%). The mPFS and mOS of patients receiving chemotherapy were 4.9 and 12.0 m, respectively (anti-angiogenic monotherapy group: mPFS 2.7 m, mOS 5.2 m). Subgroup analyses found that patients with RAS/RAF mutation, longer PFS (greater than 10.6 m) in front-line treatment or larger tumor burden had better prognosis with third-line chemotherapy rather than anti-angiogenic monotherapy. Conclusions Third-line chemotherapy re-use was effective in mCRC. Those with more aggressive characteristics (RAS/RAF mutant, larger tumor burden) or better efficacy of previous chemotherapy (longer PFS) were more appropriate for third-line chemotherapy, rather than anti-angiogenic monotherapy.

Composite ceramic phosphor (CCP) is a candidate light-conversion material to obtain the high-quality laser lighting source. Phosphors based on the transmissive configuration model could not simultaneously meet the requirements of angular color uniformity and high thermal stability. In this study, a novel composite structure ceramic was designed, including Al2O3–YAG:Ce/YAG layered ceramic with a size of 1 mm × 1 mm for lighting, and Al2O3 ceramic (φ = 16.0 mm) was used as the wrapping material due to its outstanding thermal stability. The prepared ceramics exhibited excellent thermal performance and no yellow ring phenomenon. Through this design, we achieved the match of the intensity distribution of the blue and yellow lights, resulting in a high angular color uniformity of 0.9 with a view angle of ±80°. All ceramics showed no luminous saturation phenomenon, even the laser power density was increased up to 47.51 W/mm2. A high-brightness white-light source with a luminous flux of 618 lm, a luminous efficiency of 126 lm/W, a CCT of 6615 K, and a CRI of 69.9 was obtained in the transmissive configuration. In particular, the surface temperature of the ceramic was as low as 74.1 ℃ under a high laser radiation (47.51 W/mm2). These results indicate that Al2O3/Al2O3–YAG:Ce/YAG composite structure ceramic is a promising luminescent material in the high-power laser lighting applications.

Abstract Asthma is a common allergic disease characterized by airway hypersensitivity and airway remodeling. Ferroptosis is a regulated death marked by iron accumulation and lipid peroxidation. Several environmental pollutants and allergens have been shown to cause ferroptosis in epithelial cells, but the relationship between birch pollinosis and ferroptosis in asthma is poorly defined. Here, for the first time, we have identified ferroptosis of type II alveolar epithelial cells in mice with Bet v 1-induced asthma. Further analysis revealed that treatment with ferrostatin-1 reduced TH2/TH17-related inflammation and alleviated epithelial damage in mice with Bet v 1-induced asthma. In addition, ACSL4-knocked-down A549 cells are more resistant to Bet v 1-induced ferroptosis. Analysis of clinical samples verified higher serum MDA and 4-HNE concentrations compared to healthy individuals. We demonstrate that birch pollen allergen Bet v 1 induces ferroptosis underlaid TH2 and TH17 hybrid asthma. Lipid peroxidation levels can be considered as a biomarker of asthma severity, and treatment with a specific ferroptosis inhibitor could be a novel therapeutic strategy.

Abstract Background Increasing evidence has showed that inflammatory biomarkers, including neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and fibrinogen can be used as predictors in the prognosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The aim of this study was to explore prognostic value of these biomarkers and evaluate the clinicopathological and prognostic significance of combined score based on plasma fibrinogen and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (F-PLR score). Methods A total of 506 patients with ESCC were enrolled in this study. Harrell’s concordance index (c-index) was used to determine the optimal cut-off values of these markers and evaluate their prognostic significance. The relationship between factors with survival rates (including overall survival [OS] and disease-free survival [DFS]) was explored by Kaplan-Meier curve, univariate analysis and multivariate cox hazard analysis. Results Our result indicated that high F-PLR score was significantly associated with longer tumor length and deeper depth of tumor invasion (p

Abstract Immune checkpoint blockades have been prized in circumventing and ablating the impediments posed by immunosuppressive receptors, reaching an exciting juncture to be an innovator in anticancer therapy beyond traditional therapeutics. Thus far, approved immune checkpoint blockades have principally targeted PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4 with exciting success in a plethora of tumors and yet are still trapped in dilemmas of limited response rates and adverse effects. Hence, unveiling new immunotherapeutic targets has aroused immense scientific interest in the hope of expanding the clinical application of immune checkpoint blockades to scale new heights. Human leukocyte antigen-G (HLA-G), a non-classical major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecule, is enriched on various malignant cells and is involved in the hindrance of immune effector cells and the facilitation of immunosuppressive cells. HLA-G stands out as a crucial next-generation immune checkpoint showing great promise for the benefit of cancer patients. Here, we provide an overview of the current understanding of the expression pattern and immunological functions of HLA-G, as well as its interaction with well-characterized immune checkpoints. Since HLA-G can be shed from the cell surface or released by various cells as free soluble HLA-G (sHLA-G) or as part of extracellular vesicles (EVs), namely HLA-G-bearing EVs (HLA-GEV), we discuss the potential of sHLA-G and HLA-GEV as predictive biomarkers. This review also addresses the advancement of HLA-G-based therapies in preclinical and clinical settings, with a focus on their clinical application in cancer.

Abstract Unlike most cancer types, the incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) has rapidly escalated in the western world over recent decades. Using whole genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS), we identify the transcription factor (TF) FOXM1 as an important epigenetic regulator of EAC. FOXM1 plays a critical role in cellular proliferation and tumor growth in EAC patient-derived organoids and cell line models. We identify ERBB2 as an upstream regulator of the expression and transcriptional activity of FOXM1. Unexpectedly, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) unbiased screen reveals a prominent anti-correlation between FOXM1 and immune response pathways. Indeed, syngeneic mouse models show that FOXM1 inhibits the infiltration of CD8+ T cells into the tumor microenvironment. Consistently, FOXM1 suppresses CD8+ T cell chemotaxis in vitro and antigen-dependent CD8+ T cell killing. This study characterizes FOXM1 as a significant EAC-promoting TF and elucidates its novel function in regulating anti-tumor immune response.

Background Arthroscopic surgery has been established as an efficacious intervention for the treatment of rotator cuff tears. The primary aim of this study was to analyze the modifications in the lateral acromial angle (LAA) subsequent to rotator cuff repair surgery using single‐row rivet fixation and double‐row rivet fixation techniques. Furthermore, we sought to investigate the influence of LAA on the prognosis of rotator cuff repair surgery. Method This observational study retrospectively enrolled 105 patients diagnosed with degenerative rotator cuff tears who underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair between 2016 and 2019. Following the exclusion of two patients with subscapularis or superior labrum anterior and posterior (SLAP) tears, as well as three patients who were lost to follow‐up, a cohort of 100 patients was included for clinical and imaging evaluation. Among these individuals, 50 were assigned to the double‐row repair group, whereas the remaining 50 comprised the single‐row repair group. Bilateral shoulder magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were conducted no less than 24 months post‐surgery. Experienced arthroscopic surgeons, blinded to the LAA measurements, assessed the rotator interval (RI) using a control MRI. Functional assessment was performed using the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) quick disability of the shoulder and arm, shoulder and hand (qDASH) score. The Wilcoxon signed‐rank test for dependent samples was employed to compare data between the pre‐ and post‐intervention groups. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to evaluate the relationship between different parameters. Results The study population consisted of 73 female patients and 27 male patients, with a mean age of 58.32 ± 5.29 years and a mean follow‐up duration of 25.88 ± 8.11 months. Preoperatively, the mean LAA was 75.81° ± 11.28°, RI was 4.78 ± 0.62, UCLA score was 17.54 ± 2.44, and qDASH score was 2.45 ± 0.25. The average tear size was 8.95 ± 2.11 mm. A statistically significant difference in LAA was observed between the preoperative and postoperative measurements, with the double‐row repair group exhibiting a greater LAA than the single‐row repair group. Finally, a significant correlation was identified between LAA, RI, and qDASH scores after a 24‐month follow‐up period. Conclusion According to our findings, the utilization of double‐row rivet fixation has a greater LAA angle than single‐row rivet fixation. Moreover, this preservation of LAA is significantly associated with the functional recovery of the shoulder joint.

Abstract The faithful transmission of a cell’s identity and functionality to its daughters during mitosis requires the proper assembly of mitotic chromosomes from interphase chromatin in a process that involves significant changes in the genome-bound material, including the RNA. However, our understanding of the RNA that is associated with the mitotic chromosome is presently limited. Here, we present complete and quantitative characterizations of the full-length mitotic chromosome-associated RNAs (mCARs) for 3 human cell lines, a monkey cell line, and a mouse cell line derived from high-depth RNA sequencing (3 replicates, 47 M mapped read pairs for each replicate). Overall, we identify, on average, more than 20,400 mCAR species per cell-type (including isoforms), more than 5,200 of which are enriched on the chromosome. Notably, overall, more than 2,700 of these mCARs were previously unknown, which thus also expands the annotated genome of these species. We anticipate that these datasets will provide an essential resource for future studies to better understand the functioning of mCARs on the mitotic chromosome and in the cell.

Abstract Background Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), the predominant malignancy of the oral cavity, is characterized by high incidence and low survival rates. Emerging evidence suggests a link between circadian rhythm disruptions and cancer development. The circadian gene TIMELESS, known for its specific expression in various tumors, has not been extensively studied in the context of OSCC. This study aims to explore the influence of TIMELESS on OSCC, focusing on cell growth and metabolic alterations. Methods We analyzed TIMELESS expression in OSCC using western blot, immunohistochemistry, qRT-PCR, and data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE). The role of TIMELESS in OSCC was examined through clone formation, MTS, cell cycle, and EdU assays, alongside subcutaneous tumor growth experiments in nude mice. We also assessed the metabolic impact of TIMELESS by measuring glucose uptake, lactate production, oxygen consumption, and medium pH, and investigated its effect on key metabolic proteins including silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1), hexokinase 2 (HK2), pyruvate kinase isozyme type M2 (PKM2), recombinant lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) and glucose transporter-1 (GLUT1). Results Elevated TIMELESS expression in OSCC tissues and cell lines was observed, correlating with reduced patient survival. TIMELESS overexpression enhanced OSCC cell proliferation, increased glycolytic activity (glucose uptake and lactate production), and suppressed oxidative phosphorylation (evidenced by reduced oxygen consumption and altered pH levels). Conversely, TIMELESS knockdown inhibited these cellular and metabolic processes, an effect mirrored by manipulating SIRT1 levels. Additionally, SIRT1 was positively associated with TIMELESS expression. The expression of SIRT1, HK2, PKM2, LDHA and GLUT1 increased with the overexpression of TIMELESS levels and decreased with the knockdown of TIMELESS. Conclusion TIMELESS exacerbates OSCC progression by modulating cellular proliferation and metabolic pathways, specifically by enhancing glycolysis and reducing oxidative phosphorylation, largely mediated through the SIRT1 pathway. This highlights TIMELESS as a potential target for OSCC therapeutic strategies.

PURPOSE: Through three neurocritical care unit (NCCU) surveys in China, we tried to understand the development status of neurocritical care and clarify its future development. METHODS: Using a cross-sectional survey method and self-report questionnaires, the number and quality of NCCUs were investigated through three steps: administering the questionnaire, sorting the survey data, and analyzing the survey data. RESULTS: At the second and third surveys, the number of NCCUs (76/112/206) increased by 47% and 84%, respectively. The NCCUs were located in tertiary grade A hospitals or teaching hospitals (65/100/181) in most provinces (24/28/29). The numbers of full-time doctors (359/668/1337) and full-time nurses (904/1623/207) in the NCCUs increased, but the doctor–bed ratio and nurse–bed ratio were still insufficient (0.4:1 and 1.3:1). CONCLUSION: In the past 20 years, the growth rate of NCCUs in China has accelerated, while the allocation of medical staff has been insufficient. Although most NCCU hospital bed facilities and instruments and equipment tend to be adequate, there are obvious defects in some aspects of NCCUs.

Abstract Objective To improve the understanding of the clinical features and imaging characteristics of pregnant women with and without in-vitro fertilisation-embryo transfer combined with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted involving 50 patients with pregnancy who had pulmonary TB and were admitted to the Third People’s Hospital of Kunming (China) between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2021. These patients were divided into an in-vitro fertilisation and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) conception group and a natural conception group according to the conception method. The clinical and imaging data were then collected and compared. Results The mean age of the IVF-ET group (n = 13, 31.85 ± 5.84 years) was higher than in the natural conception group (n = 37, 27.05 ± 5.5 years). The proportions of fever, haematogenous TB and extrapulmonary TB in the IVF-ET group (92.31%, 84.62% and 76.92%, respectively) were higher than those in the natural conception group (40.54%,16.22%,27.03%,respectively). The percentage of patients with pregnancy who had intracranial TB (76.9%) in the IVF-ET group was higher than in the natural conception group (10.8%). The percentage of pregnancy terminations in the IVF-ET conception group (84.62%) was higher than in the natural conception group (48.65%). All the above results had statistically significant differences (p

Abstract According to gauge/gravity correspondence, we study the holographic Schwinger effect within an anisotropic background. Firstly, the separate length of the particle–antiparticle pairs is computed within the context of an anisotropic background which is parameterized by dynamical exponent $$\nu $$ ν . It is found that the maximum separate length x increases with the increase of dynamical exponent $$\nu $$ ν . By analyzing the potential energy, we find that the potential barrier increases with the dynamical exponent $$\nu $$ ν at a small separate distance. This observation implies that the Schwinger effect within an anisotropic background is comparatively weaker when contrasted with its manifestation in an isotropic background. Finally, we also find that the Schwinger effect in the transverse direction is weakened compared to the parallel direction in the anisotropic background, which is consistent with the top-down model.

The Adam algorithm is a common choice for optimizing neural network models. However, its application often brings challenges, such as susceptibility to local optima, overfitting and convergence problems caused by unstable learning rate behavior. In this article, we introduce an enhanced Adam optimization algorithm that integrates Warmup and cosine annealing techniques to alleviate these challenges. By integrating preheating technology into traditional Adam algorithms, we systematically improved the learning rate during the initial training phase, effectively avoiding instability issues. In addition, we adopt a dynamic cosine annealing strategy to adaptively adjust the learning rate, improve local optimization problems and enhance the model's generalization ability. To validate the effectiveness of our proposed method, extensive experiments were conducted on various standard datasets and compared with traditional Adam and other optimization methods. Multiple comparative experiments were conducted using multiple optimization algorithms and the improved algorithm proposed in this paper on multiple datasets. On the MNIST, CIFAR10 and CIFAR100 datasets, the improved algorithm proposed in this paper achieved accuracies of 98.87%, 87.67% and 58.88%, respectively, with significant improvements compared to other algorithms. The experimental results clearly indicate that our joint enhancement of the Adam algorithm has resulted in significant improvements in model convergence speed and generalization performance. These promising results emphasize the potential of our enhanced Adam algorithm in a wide range of deep learning tasks.

Wheat head detection is essential in estimating the important characteristics of wheat. However, detecting wheat heads in images from different domains has been challenging due to variations in domain features and environmental conditions. This research aims to improve the robustness of wheat head detection in wheat images. A combination of Fourier domain adaptation (FDA), adaptive alpha beta gamma correction (AABG) and random guided filter (RGF) preprocessing methods was applied in this study. The authors utilized FDA to reduce variations between different domains by transforming an image into the Fourier domain, aligning its distribution with a randomly selected image of another domain. AABG adjusts image properties based on local statistics of the image patches, and RGF, a technique for edge-aware image filtering, was used as augmentation. An EfficientDet model was trained on the publicly available wheat dataset and the results were analyzed and compared to a baseline model. The FDA + RGF approach achieved an improved mean average precision (mAP) of 0.6534 compared to the baseline mAP of 0.6292. Our study can contribute to advancing wheat head detection techniques in agriculture, addressing factors like variations in wheat head appearance by focusing on improving domain variation through data dependent approaches.

Backgroud Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is one of the most important complications plaguing neonates and can lead to a variety of sequelae. the ability of the HIF-1α/VEGF signaling pathway to promote angiogenesis has an important role in neonatal lung development.Method Newborn rats were exposed to 85% oxygen. The effects of hyperoxia exposure on Pleomorphic Adenoma Gene like-2 (PLAGL2) and the HIF-1α/VEGF pathway in rats lung tissue were assessed through immunofluorescence and Western Blot analysis. In cell experiments, PLAGL2 was upregulated, and the effects of hyperoxia and PLAGL2 on cell viability were evaluated using scratch assays, CCK-8 assays, and EDU staining. The role of upregulated PLAGL2 in the HIF-1α/VEGF pathway was determined by Western Blot and RT–PCR. Apoptosis and ferroptosis effects were determined through flow cytometry and viability assays.Results Compared with the control group, the expression levels of PLAGL2, HIF-1α, VEGF, and SPC in lung tissues after 3, 7, and 14 days of hyperoxia exposure were all decreased. Furthermore, hyperoxia also inhibited the proliferation and motility of type II alveolar epithelial cells (AECII) and induced apoptosis in AECII. Upregulation of PLAGL2 restored the proliferation and motility of AECII and suppressed cell apoptosis and ferroptosis, while the HIF-1α/VEGF signaling pathway was also revived.Conclusions We confirmed the positive role of PLAGL2 and HIF-1α/VEGF signaling pathway in promoting BPD in hyperoxia conditions, and provided a promising therapeutic targets.

ABSTRACTObjectives: Aplastic anemia (AA) is one of the immune-mediated bone marrow failure disorders caused by multiple factors, including the inability of CD4 + CD25 + regulatory T cells (Tregs) to negatively regulate cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). Dioscin is a natural steroid saponin that has a similar structure to steroid hormones. The purpose of this study is to look into the effect of Dioscin on the functions of CD4 + CD25+ Tregs in the AA mouse model and explore its underlying mechanism.Methods: To begin with, bone marrow failure was induced through total body irradiation and allogeneic lymphocyte infusion using male Balb/c mice. After 14 consecutive days of Dioscin orally administrated, the AA mouse model was tested for complete blood counts, HE Staining of the femur, Foxp3, IL-10 and TGF-β. Then CD4 + CD25+ Tregs were isolated from splenic lymphocytes of the AA mouse model, Tregs and the biomarkers and cytokines of Tregs were measured after 24 h of Dioscin intervention treatment in vitro.Results: Dioscin promotes the expression of Foxp3, IL-10, IL-35 and TGF-β, indicating its Tregs-promoting properties. Mechanistically, the administration of Dioscin resulted in the alteration of CD152, CD357, Perforin and CD73 on the surface of Tregs, and restored the expression of Foxp3.Conclusion: Dioscin markedly attenuated bone marrow failure, and promoted Tregs differentiation, suggesting the maintenance of theimmune balance effect of Dioscin. Dioscin attenuates pancytopenia and bone marrow failure via its Tregs promotion properties.

Developing environmental-friendly materials with high-density energy storage is of paramount importance to meet the burgeoning demands for energy storage. In this study, we harness the modulation of a multicomponent solid solution by introducing KNN as a third element into the BNT–BST system, thereby achieving a marked enhancement in both energy storage performance and the temperature stability of the dielectric constant. BNBST–4KNN stands out for its exceptional dielectric stability, with a dielectric constant variation rate within 10% across a broad temperature range of [Formula: see text]C to [Formula: see text]C, a feat attributed to the flattening and broadening of the [Formula: see text] peak. BNBT–2KNN exhibits superior energy storage capabilities, with an energy storage density of 1.324 J/cm3 and an energy storage efficiency of 72.3%, a result of the P–E loop becoming more slender. These advancements are pivotal for the sustainable progression of energy storage technologies.

In this study, BNBT-KNN-xTa2O5 was designed and synthesized, successfully achieving a reduction in the relaxor-ferroelectric phase transition temperature. Synergy between temperature-dependent ferroelectric testing and dielectric spectroscopy confirmed that the depoling temperature gradually decreased with increasing doping concentration. Fitting of the relaxation parameter and freezing temperature substantiated that the incorporation of Ta2O5 increased the degree of relaxation in BNBT-KNN-xTa2O5, thereby effectively lowering the relaxor-ferroelectric phase transition temperature.

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), a widely-utilized additive manufacturing (AM) technology, has found significant favor among automotive manufacturers. Polypropylene (PP) compound is extensively employed in the production of automotive parts due to its superior mechanical properties and formability. However, aiming at the problem of poor dimensional accuracy of pure PP parts, the quality of products can be enhanced by optimizing the combination of processing parameters. In this paper, the dimensional accuracy of 3D-printed components made from pure PP material is investigated. Key influencing factors such as infill percentage, infill pattern, layer thickness, and extrusion temperature are considered. To gain a deeper understanding, fluid simulation is conducted, and mathematical models are established to correlate processing parameters with dimensional accuracy. Furthermore, the Taguchi's experiments are designed and the experimental data are subjected to rigorous Signal-to-Noise ratio and ANOVA analyses. Within the experimental range, the lower extrusion temperature, infill percentage and layer thickness yield the best dimensional accuracy. Considering the influence factors of X, Y and Z directions, the optimal processing parameters for PP prints using screw extrusion 3D printers are determined as follows: an extrusion temperature of 210 °C, an infill percentage of 40 %, a layer thickness of 0.3 mm, and a concentric circle infill pattern. This study provides reference value for the subsequent improvement of the dimensional accuracy of the printed parts.

BackgroundHearing loss and tinnitus have been linked to mild cognitive impairment (MCI); however, the evidence is constrained by ethical and temporal constraints, and few prospective studies have definitively established causation. This study aims to utilize Mendelian randomization (MR) and cross-sectional studies to validate and analyze this association.MethodsThis study employs a two-step approach. Initially, the genetic data of the European population from the Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) database is utilized to establish the causal relationship between hearing loss and cognitive impairment through Mendelian randomization using the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method. This is achieved by identifying strongly correlated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), eliminating linkage disequilibrium, and excluding weak instrumental variables. In the second step, 363 elderly individuals from 10 communities in Qingdao, China are assessed and examined using methods questionnaire survey and pure tone audiology (PTA). Logistic regression and multiple linear regression were used to analyze the risk factors of MCI in the elderly and to calculate the cutoff values.ResultsMendelian randomization studies have shown that hearing loss is a risk factor for MCI in European populations, with a risk ratio of hearing loss to MCI loss of 1. 23. The findings of this cross-sectional study indicate that age, tinnitus, and hearing loss emerged as significant risk factors for MCI in univariate logistic regression analysis. Furthermore, multivariate logistic regression analysis identified hearing loss and tinnitus as potential risk factors for MCI. Consistent results were observed in multiple linear regression analysis, revealing that hearing loss and age significantly influenced the development of MCI. Additionally, a notable finding was that the likelihood of MCI occurrence increased by 9% when the hearing threshold exceeded 20 decibels.ConclusionThis study provides evidence from genomic and epidemiological investigations indicating that hearing loss may serve as a risk factor for cognitive impairment. While our epidemiological study has found both hearing loss and tinnitus as potential risk factors for cognitive decline, additional research is required to establish a causal relationship, particularly given that tinnitus can manifest as a symptom of various underlying medical conditions.

BackgroundOsteoking (OK) is prescribed in traditional Chinese medicine to accelerate fracture healing. Although some studies suggest the potential efficacy of OK for fracture healing, the evidence remains inconclusive.AimTo systematically evaluate the safety of OK and its effect on fracture healing.MethodsRelevant authoritative databases were searched until 25 August 2023. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of patients with fractures treated with Osteoking were included. We evaluated the risk of bias using the Cochrane tool and performed a meta-analysis using the Review Manager 5.4 software package.Results13 studies involving 1123 participants were included. This meta-analysis showed that compared with observations in the control group, the OK group showed a shortened fracture healing time, increased fracture healing rate, reduced swelling regression time and ecchymosis regression time, and improved bone metabolism. In addition, the included studies did not report any serious side effects associated with the use of OK, and the mild side effects resolved without treatment.ConclusionOK therapy is beneficial and safe for accelerating fracture healing, reducing swelling, eliminating ecchymosis, and improving bone metabolism. However, the meta-analysis results do not support OK treatment for improving the fracture healing rate at all fracture sites and reducing pain across all fracture sites. Further original, high-quality studies are needed to validate these findings.Systematic Review Registration:https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=452430, identifier CRD42023452430.