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Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) creation using the Viatorr stent remains relatively uncommon in underdeveloped and high-burden disease regions in Asia–Pacific, and there is a lack of comparative studies regarding its prognostic effects compared with the generic stent-graft/bare stent combination. The purpose of this retrospective study is to compare the prognostic endpoints of these two treatments in patients who underwent TIPS creation. Clinical data from 145 patients were collected, including 82 in the combination group and 63 in the Viatorr group. Differences in prognostic endpoints (shunt dysfunction, death, overt hepatic encephalopathy [OHE], rebleeding) between the two groups were analyzed using Kaplan–Meier curves. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to identify independent risk factors for post-TIPS shunt dysfunction. The TIPS procedure was successful in all patients. After TIPS creation, both groups showed a significant decrease in porto-caval pressure gradient compared to that before TIPS creation. The stent patency rates at 6, 12, and 18 months were high in both the combination and Viatorr groups (93.7%, 88.5%, and 88.5% vs. 96.7%, 93.4%, and 93.4%, respectively). The stent patency rates was higher in the combination group than in the Viatorr group, although not statistically significant (HR = 2.105, 95% CI 0.640–6.922, Log-rank P = 0.259). There were no significant differences in other prognostic endpoints (death, OHE, rebleeding) between the two groups. The Cox model identified portal vein diameter (HR = 0.807, 95% CI 0.658–0.990, P = 0.040) and portal vein thrombosis (HR = 13.617, 95% CI 1.475–125.678, P = 0.021) as independent risk factors for post-TIPS shunt dysfunction. The shunt patency rates between the Viatorr stent and the generic stent-graft/bare stent combination showed no significant difference and the generic stent-graft/bare stent combination may be a viable alternative in areas where the Viatorr stent is not yet available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cracks are the most common damage type on the pavement surface. Usually, pavement cracks, especially small cracks, are difficult to be accurately identified due to background interference. Accurate and fast automatic road crack detection play a vital role in assessing pavement conditions. Thus, this paper proposes an efficient lightweight encoder–decoder network for automatically detecting pavement cracks at the pixel level. Taking advantage of a novel encoder–decoder architecture integrating a new type of hybrid attention blocks and residual blocks (RBs), the proposed network can achieve an extremely lightweight model with more accurate detection of pavement crack pixels. An image dataset consisting of 789 images of pavement cracks acquired by a self‐designed mobile robot is built and utilized to train and evaluate the proposed network. Comprehensive experiments demonstrate that the proposed network performs better than the state‐of‐the‐art methods on the self‐built dataset as well as three other public datasets (CamCrack789, Crack500, CFD, and DeepCrack237), achieving F1 scores of 94.94%, 82.95%, 95.74%, and 92.51%, respectively. Additionally, ablation studies validate the effectiveness of integrating the RBs and the proposed hybrid attention mechanisms. By introducing depth‐wise separable convolutions, an even more lightweight version of the proposed network is created, which has a comparable performance and achieves the fastest inference speed with a model parameter size of only 0.57 M. The developed mobile robot system can effectively detect pavement cracks in real scenarios at a speed of 25 frames per second. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogels, key in biomedical research for their hydrophilicity and versatility, have evolved with hydrogel microspheres (HMs) of micron‐scale dimensions, enhancing their role in minimally invasive therapeutic delivery, tissue repair, and regeneration. The recent emergence of nanomaterials has ushered in a revolutionary transformation in the biomedical field, which demonstrates tremendous potential in targeted therapies, biological imaging, and disease diagnostics. Consequently, the integration of advanced nanotechnology promises to trigger a new revolution in the realm of hydrogels. HMs loaded with nanomaterials combine the advantages of both hydrogels and nanomaterials, which enables multifaceted functionalities such as efficient drug delivery, sustained release, targeted therapy, biological lubrication, biochemical detection, medical imaging, biosensing monitoring, and micro‐robotics. Here, this review comprehensively expounds upon commonly used nanomaterials and their classifications. Then, it provides comprehensive insights into the raw materials and preparation methods of HMs. Besides, the common strategies employed to achieve nano‐micron combinations are summarized, and the latest applications of these advanced nano‐micron combined HMs in the biomedical field are elucidated. Finally, valuable insights into the future design and development of nano‐micron combined HMs are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organ‐on‐a‐chip, also known as “tissue chip,” is an advanced platform based on microfluidic systems for constructing miniature organ models in vitro. They can replicate the complex physiological and pathological responses of human organs. In recent years, the development of bone and joint‐on‐chip platforms aims to simulate the complex physiological and pathological processes occurring in human bones and joints, including cell–cell interactions, the interplay of various biochemical factors, the effects of mechanical stimuli, and the intricate connections between multiple organs. In the future, bone and joint‐on‐chip platforms will integrate the advantages of multiple disciplines, bringing more possibilities for exploring disease mechanisms, drug screening, and personalized medicine. This review explores the construction and application of Organ‐on‐a‐chip technology in bone and joint disease research, proposes a modular construction concept, and discusses the new opportunities and future challenges in the construction and application of bone and joint‐on‐chip platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: En bloc resection of spinal tumors is challenging and associated with a high incidence of complications; however, it offers the potential to reduce the risk of recurrence when a wide margin is achieved. This research aims to investigate the safety and efficacy of en bloc resection in treating thoracic and lumbar chondrosarcoma/chordoma. Methods: Data from patients diagnosed with chondrosarcoma and chordoma in the thoracic or lumbar region, who underwent total en bloc or piecemeal resection at our institution over a 7-year period, were collected and regularly followed up. The study analyzed overall perioperative complications and compared differences in complications and local tumor recurrence between the two surgical methods. Results: Seventeen patients were included, comprising 12 with chondrosarcoma and 5 with chordoma. Among them, 5 cases underwent intralesional piecemeal resection, while the remaining 12 underwent planned en bloc resection. The average surgical time was 684 min (sd = 287), and the mean estimated blood loss was 2300 ml (sd = 1599). Thirty-five complications were recorded, with an average of 2.06 perioperative complications per patient. 82% of patients (14/17) experienced at least one perioperative complication, and major complications occurred in 64.7% (11/17). Five patients had local recurrence during the follow-up, with a mean recurrence time of 16.2 months (sd = 7.2) and a median recurrence time of 20 months (IQR = 12.5). Hospital stays, operation time, blood loss, and complication rates did not significantly differ between the two surgical methods. The local recurrence rate after en bloc resection was lower than piecemeal resection, although not statistically significant (P = 0.067). Conclusions: The complication rates between the two surgical procedures were similar. Considering safety and local tumor control, en bloc resection is recommended as the primary choice for patients with chondrosarcoma/chordoma in the thoracic and lumbar regions who are eligible for this treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing dielectric ceramics with both negative temperature coefficient of capacitance (NTCC) and excellent energy storage performance is beneficial to obtain multifunctional dielectric ceramic capacitors. An effective strategy of composite modulation in the superparaelectric (SPE) state is proposed in BaTiO 3 -BaZrO 3 -CaTiO 3 (BT-BZ-CT) system to achieve the above two points. The simultaneous addition of BZ and CT to BT ferroelectrics can move the SPE state to the normal use temperature zone and the NTCC characteristic with enhanced energy storage performance can be obtained; and the intentional precipitation of CT at grain boundaries can refine the grain size, increase the bandgap, and strengthen the local electric field distribution as well, thus enhancing the breakdown electric field (E b). Benefiting from these features, EIA class I-R3L code NTCC together with a high W rec (∼3.46 J/cm3) and η (90.8%) were achieved in 20BT-40BZ-40CT system, providing a paradigm for building NTCC dielectric materials with high energy-storage performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a derivative-variance hybrid global sensitivity measure with optimal sampling method selection. The proposed sensitivity measure is as computationally efficient as the derivative-based global sensitivity measure, which also serves as the conservative estimation of the corresponding variance-based global sensitivity measure. Moreover, the optimal sampling method for the proposed sensitivity measure is studied. In search of the optimal sampling method, we investigated the performances of six widely used sampling methods, namely Monte Carlo sampling, Latin hypercube sampling, stratified sampling, Latinized stratified sampling, and quasi-Monte Carlo sampling using the Sobol and Halton sequences. In addition, the proposed sensitivity measure is validated through its application to a rural bridge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scene understanding of mobile laser scanning (MLS) point clouds is vital in autonomous driving and virtual reality. Most existing semantic segmentation methods rely on a large number of accurately labelled points, which is time‐consuming and labour‐intensive. To cope with this issue, this paper explores a weakly supervised learning (WSL) framework for MLS data. Specifically, a category balanced random annotation (CBRA) strategy is employed to obtain balanced labels and enhance model performance. Next, based on KPConv‐Net as a backbone network, a WSL semantic segmentation framework is developed for MLS point clouds via a deep consistency‐guided self‐distillation (DCS) mechanism. The DCS mechanism consists of a deep consistency‐guided self‐distillation branch and an entropy regularisation branch. The self‐distillation branch is designed by constructing an auxiliary network to maintain the consistency of predicted distributions between the auxiliary network and the original network, while the entropy regularisation branch is designed to increase the confidence of the network predicted results. The proposed WSL framework was evaluated on the WHU‐MLS, NPM3D and Toronto3D datasets. By using only 0.1% labelled points, the proposed WSL framework achieved a competitive performance in MLS point cloud semantic segmentation with the mean Intersection over Union (mIoU) scores of 60.08%, 72.0% and 67.42% on the three datasets, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) is a cardiovascular disease with high morbidity and mortality. However, the causes and mechanisms of TAA are not fully understood. Serum exosomes from mice with TAA were used to explore the markers associated with this disease. Methods: C57BL/6 mice were divided into three groups and given ordinary drinking water, ordinary drinking water plus a saline osmotic pump, or drinking water containing β-aminopropionitrile (BAPN) (1 g/kg/d) plus an angiotensin II (Ang II) (1 μg/kg/min) osmotic pump. Haematoxylin and eosin staining of thoracic aortic tissues was performed. The basic characteristics of exosomes were analysed. Differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified by LC‒MS/MS. Protein‒protein networks and enrichment analysis were used to explore possible molecular mechanisms. Results: The present study elucidated the protein expression profile of serum exosomes in mice with TAA induced by BAPN combined with Ang II. In this work, the expression of a total of 196 proteins was significantly dysregulated in serum exosomes of mice with TAA, with 122 proteins significantly upregulated and 74 proteins markedly downregulated. Notably, Haptoglobin (Hp) and Serum amyloid p-component (Sap) identified based on the PPI network were significantly upregulated and have been strongly linked to cardiovascular disease. Interestingly, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis showed that the upregulated and downregulated proteins were involved in the complement and coagulation cascade pathways. Conclusions: This study showed that the identified DEPs have potential as biomarkers for the diagnosis of TAA and provided a more comprehensive understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms of TAA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the age composition, growth pattern, mortality, and exploitation rate of Triplophysa scleroptera in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, we measured the total length (L) and body weight (W) of 347 individuals based on three sampling surveys from 2022 to 2023. The otoliths were used in this investigation to determine age. The total length of the collected samples ranged from 5.69 cm to 18.40 cm, body weight ranged from 1.65 g to 50.22 g, and the age ranged from 1 to 7 years old. The relationship of total length and body weight was W = 0.009 L 2.942 for the total samples, and the growth pattern observed in the study belongs to the isometric type. The von Bertalanffy growth equation revealed that the fish had an asymptotic total length L∞ of 37.536 cm, and the growth coefficient K was 0.064 yr−1. Total instantaneous mortality rate (Z) of total samples calculated by the age-based catch curve method was 1.092 yr−1. The average instantaneous rate of the natural mortality (M), estimated by three different methods, for the total samples was 0.237 yr−1. The instantaneous rate of fishing mortality (F) for the total samples was calculated as 0.855 yr−1, and the exploitation rate (E) was determined as 0.783. As a whole, compared with other Triplophysa fishes, the growth rate of T. scleroptera in the upper reaches of the Yellow River is relatively slow, and the population of T. scleroptera has been overexploited. It is crucial to establish some effective management strategies to protect this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate, robust and drift-free global pose estimation is a fundamental problem for autonomous vehicles. In this work, we propose a global drift-free map-based localization method for estimating the global poses of autonomous vehicles that integrates visual–inertial odometry and global localization with respect to a pre-built map. In contrast to previous work on visual–inertial localization, the global pre-built map provides global information to eliminate drift and assists in obtaining the global pose. Additionally, in order to ensure the local odometry frame and the global map frame can be aligned accurately, we augment the transformation between these two frames into the state vector and use a global pose-graph optimization for online estimation. Extensive evaluations on public datasets and real-world experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The proposed method can provide accurate global pose-estimation results in different scenarios. The experimental results are compared against the mainstream map-based localization method, revealing that the proposed approach is more accurate and consistent than other methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Spinal giant cell tumor (SGCT) is a relatively rare primary tumor. En bloc resection is the preferred surgical procedure for it due to its aggressiveness, meanwhile leading to more complications. We reported the characteristics of perioperative complications and local control of total tumor resection including en bloc resection and piecemeal resection for primary thoracic and lumbar spinal giant cell tumors in a single center over 10 years. Methods: This is a retrospective cross-sectional and cohort study. Forty-one consecutive patients with SGCTs who underwent total tumor resection from 2010 to 2020 at our institution and were followed up for at least 24 months were reviewed. Surgery data, complication characteristics and local tumor control were collected and compared by different surgical procedure. Results: Forty-one patients were included, consisting of 18 males and 23 females, with a mean age of 34.2 years. Thirty-one had thoracic vertebra lesions, and 10 had lumbar vertebra lesions. Thirty-five patients were primary cases, and 6 patients were recurrent cases. Eighteen patients were treated by total en bloc spondylectomy (TES), 12 patients underwent en bloc resection according to WBB surgical system, and 11 patients underwent piecemeal resection. The average surgical time was 498 min, and the mean estimated blood loss was 2145 ml. A total of 58 complications were recorded, and 30 patients (73.2%) had at least one perioperative complication. All patients were followed up after surgery for at least 2 years. A total of 6 cases had postoperative internal fixation failure, and 4 cases presented local tumor recurrence (9.8%). Conclusions: Although the surgical technique is difficult and accompanied by a high rate of perioperative complications, en bloc resection can achieve favorable local control in SGCT. When it is too difficult to complete en bloc resection, thoroughly piecemeal resection without residual is also acceptable, given the relatively low recurrence rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving college students' satisfaction with the teaching quality of ideological and political theory courses in colleges and universities is the need to promote college students to consciously fulfill their ideological and political quality, and it is also the need to further form a strong driving force for the teaching reform of ideological and political theory courses in colleges and universities. The requirements of teaching level are also the requirements to further enhance the competitiveness of colleges and universities. The ideological and political education quality (IPEQ) evaluation of college students is looked as multiple attribute group decision-making (MAGDM) problem. In this paper, the 2-tuple linguistic neutrosophic TOPSIS (2TLN-TOPSIS) model is built based on the traditional TOPSIS and 2-tuple linguistic neutrosophic sets (2TLNSs). Firstly, the 2TLNSs is introduced. Then, combine the TOPSIS model with 2TLNSs, the 2TLN-TOPSIS model is established for MAGDM. Finally, a numerical example for IPEQ evaluation of College students have been given and some comparisons are also conducted to further illustrate advantages of the 2TLN-TOPSIS method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess and compare the value of psoas muscle thickness at the level of the third lumbar (L3) vertebra (TPML) or umbilicus (TPMU) and skeletal muscle index (SMI) for diagnosing sarcopenia and predicting mortality in patients undergoing transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS). Materials and Methods: Two hundred forty-nine patients undergoing TIPS were included in this retrospective study. The cut-offs of L3-SMI for sarcopenia were 42.0 cm2/m2 in men and 38.0 cm2/m2 in women. The cut-offs for TPML/height and TPMU/height to predict mortality was established using a receiver-operating characteristic analysis. The Kaplan–Meier and Cox regression were used for survival analyses. Results: Compared with TPMU/height, TPML/height was more consistent with L3-SM for the diagnosis of sarcopenia (Kappa coefficient: 0.63 vs. 0.36 in men; 0.61 vs. 0.45 in women). The Cox analysis showed that both TPML/height and TPMU/height were independent risk factors for mortality. The optimal cut-off values of TPML/height and TPMU/height for mortality in men and women were 11.2 mm/m, 9.4 mm/m, 18.4 mm/m, 15.1 mm/m, respectively. There were 119 (47.8%), 87 (34.9%), and 82 (32.9%) patients diagnosed with sarcopenia in the TPMU/height, TPML/height, and L3-SMI models, respectively. Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that the overall survival was significantly lower in the sarcopenia group in all three models. Conclusion: TPMU/height and TPML/height have a similar survival prognostic value as L3-SMI. TPML/height has better consistency with L3-SMI in diagnosing sarcopenia and is a more stable alternative to L3-SMI for diagnosing sarcopenia in patients undergoing TIPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The clinical features have been well described in obese chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, little is known about the clinical features of lean CHB‐NAFLD patients. Methods: The study retrospectively included treatment‐naïve CHB patients who underwent ultrasound between 2015 and 2021. Liver fibrosis was assessed by aspartate aminotransferase (AST) to platelet ratio index (APRI), Fibrosis‐4 score (FIB‐4), NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS), and transient elastography. Results: Among 1226 CHB‐NAFLD patients, 25.0% patients were lean. The age, gender, and platelet, alanine aminotransferase, AST, and albumin levels were comparable between lean CHB‐NAFLD and nonlean patients. The levels of plasma glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, and uric acid, as well as proportions of concurrent hypertension and diabetes, were lower in lean patients. Lean patients presented higher hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) levels (3.4 log10 IU/ml vs. 3.2 log10 IU/ml, p = 0.006), hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA levels (4.1 log10 IU/ml vs. 3.2 log10 IU/ml, p < 0.001), and hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) positive proportions (40.4% vs. 30.2%, p = 0.002) than nonlean patients. The values of APRI, FIB‐4, and liver stiffness were comparable between two groups. However, lean patients had lower NFS values (−3.0 vs. −2.6, p < 0.001) and lower proportions (12.6% vs. 21.1%, p = 0.003) of advanced fibrosis (NFS ≥ −1.5) than nonlean patients. Similar results were observed in HBeAg‐positive and HBeAg‐negative subgroups. Conclusions: Nearly a quarter of CHB‐NAFLD patients were lean. Lean patients had lower proportions of metabolic abnormalities and advanced liver fibrosis than nonlean patients. However, lean CHB‐NAFLD patients had higher HBsAg levels, HBV DNA levels, and HBeAg‐positive proportions. Registry and registration no. of the study/trial: Clinicaltrials.gov, Identifier: NCT03097952. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese digital feminism has attracted increasing public and scholarly attention, and yet men's participation remains understudied. Drawing on interviews with male supporters and textual analysis of online archives, this paper examines how men empathize with women's experiences and interact with the broader context of Chinese digital feminism. To map out male empathy, the article proposes a two-dimensional framework that differentiates emotional and cognitive empathy on the one hand and draws from Megan Boler's view on passive and transformative empathy on the other. The political implications of male empathy in digital feminism are discussed. The author argues that although male empathy displays unarguable potentials to subvert patriarchal society, it also succumbs to the pitfall of exonerating men from the obligation to change, hence obscuring structural gender inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of anti-factor Xa activity (aFXa) in predicting ecchymosis after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). One hundred and two unilateral primary TKA patients were recruited consecutively in this prospective observational study. Participants received rivaroxaban (10 mg p.o. qd) from postoperative day 1 (POD1) to POD35 and were divided into a non-ecchymosis group (group A) and an ecchymosis group (group B). AFXa was assessed as the primary outcome on POD1 and POD3. Prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and thromboelastography (TEG) were recorded both preoperatively and postoperatively (on POD1 and POD3). Other outcomes, including venous thromboembolism (VTE), blood loss and wound complications were also collected and compared. As a result, 27.5% of the participants (n = 28) were allocated into group B. Demographic data were comparable between the two groups. The aFXa levels in group B were significantly higher than those in group A on POD1 and POD3, and the aFXa level was assessed as an independent risk factor for ecchymosis. The cut-off value of aFXa was determined to be 121.38 ng/mL at maximal Youden index, associated with area under the receiver operating characteristics curve of 0.67. Group B experienced significantly more blood loss and wound complications than group A. No statistical difference was detected regarding PT, APTT and TEG parameters. AFXa is a promising parameter to predict ecchymosis after TKA. Patients with aFXa > 121.38 ng/mL should be considered as high-risk population for postoperative ecchymosis and may require intense monitoring or dosage modification of anticoagulants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Suicidal ideation (SI) is severe comorbidity of depression that has been extensively studied in the past. Residence differences between SI have rarely been systematically studied, especially in parental rearing behavior. This large-scale explored the residence differences in the prevalence and correlation of SI adolescent patients with depression.Methods: A total of 1417 patients with depression were recruited, and their demographic data and clinical data were collected. The Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) and the Egna Minnen Beträffande Uppfostran (EMBU) scale were used to assess depression, and parental rearing behavior, respectively.Results: The prevalence of suicidal ideation was higher in urban patients than in rural patients (43.7 % vs.37.7 %, P < 0.05). Patients with SI scored higher on total CDI scores, parental punishment, parental rejection, and paternal overprotection compared to their respective patients without SI. In the urban group, patients with SI had lower parental emotional warmth scores and higher parental intervention scores compared to patients without SI. Logistic regression analysis showed that total CDI score, gender, alcohol consumption, father's emotional warmth, father's rejection, and mother's intervention were significantly associated with SI in urban patients (P < 0.05); total CDI score and mother's rejection were significantly associated with SI in rural patients (P < 0.05).Limitations: No causal relationship could be drawn due to the cross-sectional design.Conclusions: The results of this study showed significant residential differences in risk and associated factors for SI among adolescents with depression. Focusing on the parenting styles of adolescent patients can help with the early identification and intervention of SI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thyroid dysfunction is known to be associated with obesity, but the reliability of this relationship is easily affected by drug treatment, age, and subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) with no apparent symptoms. Our research aims to compare obese and overweight BMI ranges with SCH and without SCH in a large sample of young, first-episode and drug-naïve (FEDN) patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), which has received little systemic investigation. A total of 1289 FEDN MDD young outpatients were recruited for this study. Serum thyroid function and lipid level parameters were measured; HAMD and PANSS scales were used to assess patients' depression and positive symptoms. A self-administered questionnaire collected other clinical and demographic data. The prevalence of SCH in FEDN MDD young patients was 58.26%. Compared to patients without SCH, the patients with SCH had a more prolonged illness duration, higher BMI levels, increased prevalence of overweight and obesity, higher HAMD score and PANSS-positive symptom scores, higher levels of TG, TC, LDL-C, and lower levels of HDL-C. Further logistic regression indicated that overweight BMI, obese BMI, illness duration, HAMD score, HDL-C, and TC were significantly associated with SCH. Our results indicate that obesity and overweight may be associated with SCH in young, FEDN MDD patients. The importance of regular thyroid function assessment in young FEDN MDD patients with high BMI should be taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies on the Chinese internet mostly focus on how the government censors content and regulate digital platforms. We rarely know how internet companies understand, respond to and negotiate the relationship with the government. This study examines Danlan, the company that runs the world's largest gay dating app Blued. We approach the interaction between Danlan and the government with an institutional perspective, treating them both as organizations seeking resources and legitimacy. Drawing on fieldwork, we develop the concept of embedded symbiosis, which characterizes the collaborative government-business relationship, and explore how Danlan, the seemingly weak side in this relationship, plays an active role in initiating, negotiating, and maintaining such relations at different stages of embeddedness. Danlan endeavors to form a symbiosis with the government to pursue its survival and development, yet eventually risks alienating from the gay community and colluding with the state in governing homosexuality. The case of Danlan shows the possibility for internet companies to seek legitimacy in an ever-changing political environment through working closely with the authorities and even becoming part of the governmental system itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bleeding patients exhibit different fibrinolytic phenotypes after injury, and the universal use of tranexamic acid (TXA) is doubted. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of postoperative antifibrinolytic treatment in total hip arthroplasty (THA) patients with different fibrinolytic phenotypes. A retrospective analysis was conducted in 238 patients who underwent THA. Patients were divided into two groups by different fibrinolytic phenotypes (non-fibrinolytic shutdown and fibrinolytic shutdown), determined by the LY30 level on postoperative day 1 (POD1). The two groups were further stratified into four sub-groups based on different postoperative TXA regimens (Group A received no TXA postoperatively, while Group B did). Hidden blood loss (HBL), decline of hemoglobin (ΔHb), D-dimer (D-D), fibrinogen/fibrin degradation product (FDP), prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), and demographics were collected and compared. The clinical baseline data were comparable between the studied groups. In patients who presented non-fibrinolytic shutdown postoperatively, Group B suffered significantly lower HBL and ΔHb than Group A on POD3 and POD5. In patients who presented postoperative fibrinolytic shutdown, Group B failed to benefit from the postoperative administration of TXA when compared to Group A. No difference was found in postoperative levels of D-D, FDP, PT, and APTT. Postoperative antifibrinolytic therapy is beneficial for THA patients who presented non-fibrinolytic shutdown postoperatively, while the efficacy and necessity should be considered with caution in those with fibrinolytic shutdown. LY30 is a promising parameter to distinguish different fibrinolytic phenotypes and guide TXA administration. However, further prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important part of the "air–ground" integrated water quality monitoring system, the inversion of water quality from unmanned airborne hyperspectral image has attracted more and more attention. Meanwhile, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have the characteristics of small size, flexibility and quick response, and can complete the task of water environment detection in a large area, thus avoiding the difficulty in obtaining satellite data and the limitation of single-point monitoring by ground stations. Most researchers use UAV for water quality monitoring, they take water samples back to library or directly use portable sensors for measurement while flying drones at the same time. Due to the UAV speed and route planning, the actual sampling time and the UAV passing time cannot be guaranteed to be completely synchronized, and there will be a difference of a few minutes. For water quality parameters such as chromaticity (chroma), chlorophyll-a (chl-a), chemical oxygen demand (COD), etc., the changes in a few minutes are small and negligible. However, for the turbidity, especially in flowing water body, this value of it will change within a certain range. This phenomenon will lead to noise error in the measured suspended matter or turbidity, which will affect the performance of regression model and retrieval accuracy. In this study, to solve the quality problem of label data in a flowing water body, an unmanned airborne hyperspectral water quality retrieval experiment was carried out in the Xiao River in Xi'an, China, which verified the rationality and effectiveness of label denoising analysis of different water quality parameters. To identify noisy label instances efficiently, we proposed an instance selection scheme. Furthermore, considering the limitation of the dataset samples and the characteristic of regression task, we build a 1DCNN model combining a self attention mechanism (SAM) and the network achieves the best retrieving performance on turbidity and chroma data. The experiment results show that, for flowing water body, the noisy-label instance selection method can improve retrieval performance slightly on the COD parameter, but improve greatly on turbidity and chroma data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dental follicle stem cells (DFSCs) show mesenchymal stem cell properties with the potential for alveolar bone regeneration. Stem cell properties can be impaired by reactive oxygen species (ROS), prompting us to examine the importance of scavenging ROS for stem cell-based tissue regeneration. This study aimed to investigate the effect and mechanism of N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a promising antioxidant, on the properties of DFSCs and DFSC-based alveolar bone regeneration. Methods: DFSCs were cultured in media supplemented with different concentrations of NAC (0–10 mM). Cytologic experiments, RNA-sequencing and antioxidant assays were performed in vitro in human DFSCs (hDFSCs). Rat maxillary first molar extraction models were constructed, histological and radiological examinations were performed at day 7 post-surgery to investigate alveolar bone regeneration in tooth extraction sockets after local transplantation of NAC, rat DFSCs (rDFSCs) or NAC-treated rDFSCs. Results: 5 mM NAC-treated hDFSCs exhibited better proliferation, less senescent rate, higher stem cell-specific marker and immune-related factor expression with the strongest osteogenic differentiation; other concentrations were also beneficial for maintaining stem cell properties. RNA-sequencing identified 803 differentially expressed genes between hDFSCs with and without 5 mM NAC. "Developmental process (GO:0032502)" was prominent, bioinformatic analysis of 394 involved genes revealed functional and pathway enrichment of ossification and PI3K/AKT pathway, respectively. Furthermore, after NAC treatment, the reduction of ROS levels (ROS, superoxide, hydrogen peroxide), the induction of antioxidant levels (glutathione, catalase, superoxide dismutase), the upregulation of PI3K/AKT signaling (PI3K-p110, PI3K-p85, AKT, phosphorylated-PI3K-p85, phosphorylated-AKT) and the rebound of ROS level upon PI3K/AKT inhibition were showed. Local transplantation of NAC, rDFSCs or NAC-treated rDFSCs was safe and promoted oral socket bone formation after tooth extraction, with application of NAC-treated rDFSCs possessing the best effect. Conclusions: The proper concentration of NAC enhances DFSC properties, especially osteogenesis, via PI3K/AKT/ROS signaling, and offers clinical potential for stem cell-based alveolar bone regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the most abundant internal mRNA modification in eukaryotic cells, N6-methyladenosine (m6A) has emerged as an important regulator of gene expression and has a profound impact on cancer initiation and progression. mRNA m6A modification is regulated by m6A methyltransferases, demethylases and reader proteins to fine tune gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. The most well-studied m6A methyltransferase, METTL3, plays critical roles in regulating gene expression and affecting the outcome of various cancers. In this review, we discuss the multifaceted roles of METTL3 in regulating specific molecular signaling pathways in different types of cancers and the recent progress on how METTL3 impacts the tumor immune microenvironment. Finally, we discuss future directions and the potential for therapeutic targeting of METTL3 in cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spherical targets are widely used in coordinate unification of large-scale combined measurements. Through its central coordinates, scanned point cloud data from different locations can be converted into a unified coordinate reference system. However, point cloud sphere detection has the disadvantages of errors and slow detection time. For this reason, a novel method of spherical object detection and parameter estimation based on an improved random sample consensus (RANSAC) algorithm is proposed. The method is based on the RANSAC algorithm. Firstly, the principal curvature of point cloud data is calculated. Combined with the k-d nearest neighbor search algorithm, the principal curvature constraint of random sampling points is implemented to improve the quality of sample points selected by RANSAC and increase the detection speed. Secondly, the RANSAC method is combined with the total least squares method. The total least squares method is used to estimate the inner point set of spherical objects obtained by the RANSAC algorithm. The experimental results demonstrate that the method outperforms the conventional RANSAC algorithm in terms of accuracy and detection speed in estimating sphere parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ammonia (NH 3) is a promising alternative clean fuel due to its carbon-free and high hydrogen content, along with the well-established infrastructure for storage and distribution. To overcome the issue of the low reactivity of NH 3 , a feasible strategy is co-burning ammonia with highly reactive fuels. Diethyl ether (DEE) is considered a promising alternative and biomass-oxygenated clean diesel substitute. Therefore, the NH 3 /DEE blend is also a promising carbon neutral alternative fuel. In this work, we measured the ignition delay times (IDTs) of NH 3 /DEE mixtures with DEE fractions (X DEE) of 0.05, 0.10, 0.30, and 1.00 at equivalence ratios of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0, pressures of 1.75 and 10 bar, and temperature ranges from 1102 K to 1673 K in a shock tube. The DEE-NH 3 model was proposed in this work, which included the DEE sub-model, NH 3 sub-model, and some new cross-reactions between N-containing species and C-containing species. The DEE sub-model from Shrestha et al. (Fuel Communications, 2022) was modified in this work, NH 3 sub-model was from our previous work (Reaction Chemistry & Engineering, 2023). The DEE-NH 3 model was extensively validated by the IDTs, laminar flame speeds (LFSs), and species profiles (SPs) of NH 3 /DEE mixtures as well as pure DEE and NH 3. The comparison of the prediction performance between the DEE-NH 3 model and the Shrestha model was conducted for the ignition, flame propagation, and NH 3 consumption. The effects of the cross-reactions on the NH 3 /DEE ignition and combustion were studied in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Front Cover: Nano‐micron combined hydrogel microspheres, resembling the Loong Balls in the image, present numerous advantages in therapeutic delivery, tissue repair, and regeneration. They hold immense potential in the realm of minimally invasive biomedical applications, especially in the just‐arrived Loong Year. More details can be found in article number 2300670 by Hong Chen, Wei Huang, Yiting Lei, and co‐workers..By Jiacheng Liu; Chengcheng Du; Hong Chen; Wei Huang and Yiting LeiReported by Author; Author; Author; Author; Author [Extracted from the article]

The compositional stratigraphy of Al-rich clays overlying Fe/Mg-rich clays on Mars has been viewed as a window to understanding the atmospheric conditions of early Mars. Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) indicates that nontronite is a main component of Fe/Mg-rich clays. However, the role of the ancient climate in the alteration process, which produced and dissolved these phyllosilicates, remains under debate. The present study experimentally modeled the dissolution of nontronite and precipitation of kaolinite in an acidic solution, which enables us to enhance the interpretation of near-infrared remote sensing data from compositional stratigraphy on Mars. The obtained results show that the transformation started from the losses of both tetrahedral Si and interlayer alkali(earth) cations in nontronite, and Fe3+ in the dioctahedral sheet was released and formed hematite with progressive damage of Si O tetrahedral sheets. TG analyses also show that the dissolution of nontronite and precipitation of kaolinite led to an increase in metal-OH (metal = Al, Fe3+ and Mg) content and a simultaneous decrease in H 2 O content. Accordingly, the gradual increasing trend of visible/near-infrared reflectance (VNIR) spectra ratios of BD1400/BD1900 (BD, band depth) in the kaolinized nontronite can be linked to a gradual upward transition from nontronite to a mixture of nontronite and kaolinite, and finally into kaolinite and hematite, by comparing their spectral features at different evolution stages. Such a trend suggests a weathering process known as ferrallitization, i.e., partial leaching of Si and enrichment of Fe3+ and Al3+. The observed weathering process is consistent with a warm and wet climate capable of sustaining acidic liquid water on its surface over extended geological periods. • A semi-quantitative investigation was conducted to examine VNIR proxies for characterizing nontronite ferrallitization. • Formation of hematite and kaolinite in the compositional stratigraphy on Mars was resulted from nontronite ferrallitization. • A warm and wet climate capable of sustaining acidic liquid water possibly existed on martian surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: An increasing number of patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH)-induced cirrhosis and variceal bleeding are currently referred for transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS). The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of TIPS in such patients, and to compare these results with data from patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-induced cirrhosis. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study consisted of 211 patients between August 2016 and May 2021, and patients were allocated to AIH (n = 35) and HBV (n = 176) groups according to the etiology of the cirrhosis. The primary endpoint was mortality after TIPS use; the secondary endpoints were recurrent bleeding, overt hepatic encephalopathy (OHE), shunt dysfunction, and dynamic changes in liver function over time. Results: During a median follow-up period of 27 months, 23 (10.9%) patients died, 22 (10.4%) experienced recurrent bleeding, 50 (23.7%) experienced OHE, and 25 (11.8%) developed shunt dysfunction. Compared with the HBV group, the AIH group exhibited a similar mortality risk (adjusted hazard ratio, HR 1.199; 95% confidence interval, CI 0.367–3.917; p = 0.764), OHE (adjusted HR 1.023, 95% CI 0.483–2.167, p = 0.954), and shunt dysfunction (adjusted HR 0.862, 95% CI 0.285–2.610, p = 0.792); but a higher risk of recurrent bleeding (adjusted HR 2.731, 95% CI 1.112–6.708, p = 0.028). The dynamic changes in liver function manifested an initial trend toward deterioration, and then subsequent recovery in both the AIH and HBV groups. Conclusions: TIPS is a safe and effective treatment, and should be considered for those patients with AIH-induced cirrhosis and variceal bleeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The empirical use of tranexamic acid (TXA) for bleeding remains controversial because of the distinct fibrinolytic phenotypes observed after injury. This study sought to assess the efficacy of postoperative TXA in patients presenting with different fibrinolytic phenotypes after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Methods: This retrospective study included 270 patients who underwent primary TKA. The patients were divided into two groups: Group A, received no postoperative TXA, and Group B, received postoperative TXA; they were further categorized into four subgroups based on postoperative fibrinolytic phenotypes (non-fibrinolytic shutdown [NFSD] and fibrinolytic shutdown [FSD]). Fibrinolytic phenotypes were determined using percentage of clot lysis 30 min after maximum strength (LY30) level measured on postoperative day 1 (POD1). Data on perioperative hidden blood loss (HBL), decrease in the hemoglobin level (ΔHb), allogeneic blood transfusion (ABT) rate, fibrin degradation product (FDP) level, D-dimer (D-D) level, prothrombin time (PT), and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) as well as clinical baseline data were collected and compared. Results: No differences in baseline clinical data were noted. Among patients presenting with NFSD, those in Group B had significantly lower HBL and ΔHb on POD1 and POD3 than those in Group A. Among patients presenting with FSD, perioperative HBL and ΔHb were similar between the two groups. No differences were observed in perioperative ABT rate, FDP level, D-D level, PT, and APTT. Conclusions: Patients exhibit various fibrinolytic phenotypes after TKA. Postoperative antifibrinolytic strategies may be beneficial for patients presenting with NFSD, but not for those presenting with FSD. The LY30 level may guide targeted TXA administration after TKA. However, well-designed prospective randomized controlled trials are needed to obtain more robust data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sinistral portal hypertension (SPH) is a rare clinical syndrome. The purpose of this study was to assess the clinical outcomes and safety of splenic artery embolization (SAE) in the treatment of SPH. This retrospective study included 39 SPH patients who underwent SAE treatment between August 2009 and May 2021. The cases had esophageal, gastric, or ectopic varices detected by endoscopy or enhanced CT, with symptoms or signs of upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding and/or postprandial fullness. Clinical symptom improvement rate, complications, and symptomatic recurrence rate were observed and analyzed after treatment. All the procedures were performed successfully. Of all patients, 17 received the 2-step complete SAE procedure, 19 received only the first step of the 2-step protocol (i.e., partial splenic embolization [PSE] procedure), and the remaining three received the 1-step complete SAE procedure. After the procedures, the symptoms completely disappeared in all patients, and the main complications were post-embolization syndromes, with 27 patients (69.2%) developing a low-grade fever, 24 (61.5%) developing abdominal pain and 4 (10.3%) developing nausea or mild vomiting. During the prolonged follow-up, varicose veins were gradually reduced as detected by enhanced CT; liver function parameters and platelet count remained in the normal range. Only one patient who underwent PSE treatment developed upper GI rebleeding 7 months after the procedure. Two-step complete SAE is a safe and feasible procedure for the treatment of symptomatic SPH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liver fibrosis plays a crucial role in promoting tumor immune escape and tumor aggressiveness for liver cancer. However, an interesting phenomenon is that the tumor size of liver cancer patients with liver fibrosis is smaller than that of patients without liver fibrosis. In this study, 16 SD rats were used to establish orthotopic liver tumor transplantation models with Walker-256 cell lines, respectively on the fibrotic liver (n = 8, LF group) and normal liver (n = 8, control group). MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) was used to monitor the size of the tumors. All rats were executed at the third week after modeling, and the immunohistochemical staining was used to reflect the changes in the tumor microenvironment. The results showed that, compared to the control group, the PD-L1 (programmed cell death protein receptor-L1) expression was higher, and the neutrophil infiltration increased while the effector (CD8+) T cell infiltration decreased in the LF group. Additionally, the expression of MMP-9 (matrix metalloproteinase-9) of tumor tissue in the LF group increased. Three weeks after modeling, the size of tumors in the LF group was significantly smaller than that in the control group (382.47 ± 195.06 mm3 vs. 1736.21 ± 657.25 mm3, P < 0.001). Taken together, we concluded that liver fibrosis facilitated tumor immunity escape but limited the expansion of tumor size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: Patients indicated to transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) placement may have splenectomy history due to thrombocytopenia. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of prior splenectomy on TIPS procedure and post‐TIPS outcomes. Methods: We conducted a longitudinal analysis based on a cohort of 284 patients with cirrhosis submitted to TIPS; 74 patients had splenectomy history (splenectomy group) and 210 did not (non‐splenectomy group). Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate the association between splenectomy and outcomes after TIPS. The primary outcome was shunt dysfunction. Secondary outcomes included all‐cause mortality, clinical recurrence of bleeding or ascites, and overt hepatic encephalopathy (OHE). Results: During a median follow‐up of 16.2 months, the splenectomy group had significantly lower rates of postoperative shunt patency (85.5% vs 95.6% at 1 year and 75.2% vs 86.5% at 2 years; adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 2.53; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.21–5.12; P = 0.01) and higher risk of OHE (adjusted HR 1.82; 95% CI 1.03–3.54; P = 0.04). But the risk of mortality (adjusted HR 0.87; 95% CI 0.41–1.87; P = 0.73) and recurrent bleeding or ascites (adjusted HR 1.17; 95% CI 0.53–2.35; P = 0.77) showed no statistical difference. Multivariate analysis confirmed splenectomy history and endoscopic therapy as independent predictors of shunt dysfunction. Besides, pre‐TIPS splenectomy increased the difficulty of TIPS procedure by complicating portal vein puncture. Conclusions: For patients with cirrhosis submitted to TIPS, prior splenectomy complicated TIPS procedure and increased the risk of shunt dysfunction and OHE after TIPS, but was not significantly associated with the occurrence of mortality and recurrent bleeding or ascites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A substantial proportion of patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) who do not fit into any of the usual immune states are considered to be in the 'grey zone (GZ)'. We aimed to investigate the distribution and characteristics of GZ in a large cohort of CHB patients. Four thousand seven hundred and fifty‐nine consecutive treatment‐naïve CHB patients were enrolled. The immune states were defined based on AASLD 2018 Hepatitis B Guidance. GZ CHB patients were classified into four groups: HBeAg positive, normal ALT levels and serum HBV DNA ≤106 IU/ml (GZ‐A); HBeAg positive, elevated ALT levels and serum HBV DNA ≤2 × 104 IU/ml (GZ‐B); HBeAg negative, normal ALT levels and serum HBV DNA ≥2 × 103 IU/ml (GZ‐C); HBeAg negative, elevated ALT levels and serum HBV DNA ≤2 × 103 IU/ml (GZ‐D). The distributions of different immune states were: 233 (4.90%) patients in immune‐tolerant phase, 941 (19.77%) patients in HBeAg‐positive immune active phase, 1,717 (36.08%) patients in inactive phase and 546 (11.47%) patients in HBeAg‐negative immune active phase. Of note, 1,322 (27.78%) patients did not fit into any of above phases and were defined as the GZ. A high proportion of patients in GZ‐B had advanced fibrosis (33.3%) or cirrhosis (25.8%). Older age, HBeAg‐positive status and higher ALT levels were independently risk factors of advanced disease in GZ CHB patients. Therefore, our results revealed that more than a quarter of CHB patients were classified into the GZ and a high proportion of patients in GZ‐B had advanced fibrosis or even cirrhosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a common complication in patients undergoing transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS). The objective of this study was to assess the prognostic factors and make risk stratification of post-TIPS HE. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study consisting of cirrhotic patients who had undergone TIPS creation at our center from November 2015 to August 2020. The baseline characteristics including spleen volume (SVol) and other markers were collected. The univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to identify independent predictors of post-TIPS overt HE (OHE). Results: Higher Child–Pugh (CP) score (HR 1.334, 95% CI 1.090–1.632, P = 0.005) and smaller SVol (HR 0.999, 95% CI 0.997–1.000, P = 0.004) were identified as the independent risk factors for post-TIPS OHE. And a time-dependent ROC analysis was used to determine the cutoff values of CP score and SVol, which were respectively 6.5 and 773 cm3. Subsequently, the CP-SVol grading system was developed to divide patients into three risk grades according to the above two cutoff values. Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that the cumulative rates of patients free of OHE in Grade 1, 2 and 3 were respectively 96.4% ± 3.5%, 82.1 ± 4.7%, and 59.3% ± 6.4%, which were in descending order (Log rank P < 0.001). Conclusion: SVol might be a novel marker to predict the prognosis of post-TIPS OHE, and the proposed CP-SVol grading system composed of CP score and SVol achieved a superior predictive performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel nanoparticles (Z -R/H) were successfully fabricated by a resveratrol-grafted zein covalent conjugate (Z-R) combined with quaternary ammonium chitosan (HTCC), which were used as stabilizers to prepare peppermint oil (PO) Pickering emulsions with antioxidant activity. HTCC effectively adjusted wettability of Z -R conjugate, and three-phase contact angle of Z-R/H 3:1 was moderate (95.01°). The influencing factors of Pickering emulsion formation, including volume fraction of PO, concentration of Z -R/H, and mass ratio of Z-R to HTCC, were evaluated by droplet size, ζ-potential, microscopic observation, and stability index analysis. Pickering emulsions stabilized by Z -R/H 3:1 showed excellent physical stability under heat treatment. Z-R/H nanoparticles adsorbed on the oil-water interface yielded a dense filling layer as a physical barrier to improve the emulsion stability, which was validated by confocal laser-scanning microscopy. After 4 weeks of storage, retention rate of PO in Pickering emulsion stabilized by Z -R/H 3:1 remained high (72.1 %). Electronic nose analysis showed that Z -R/H 3:1 -stabilized emulsion effectively prevented volatilization of PO aroma components. Additionally, PO and Z-R/H nanoparticles provided an additive antioxidant effect of Pickering emulsions against DPPH and ABTS free radicals. In summary, these novel Z -R/H nanoparticle offer promising applications as a stabilizer with great potential in preparing functional Pickering emulsions to improve essential oil delivery. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanoporous alumina films formed on aluminum via anodization are widely used for scientific and technical purposes owing to their various advantageous properties, including excellent corrosion and wear resistance, good thermal and electrical insulation, and facile producibility at low cost. Herein, we report a novel approach to fabricate hard porous anodic alumina (PAA) films by adding an appropriate amount of nitric acid to sulfuric-, oxalic-, and phosphoric-acid solutions at critical high current densities. The effects of the nitric additives on the anodizing behavior, film growth mechanism, microstructure, chemical composition, film thickness, microhardness, and appearance of the PAA films formed from various solutions were systematically investigated. The addition of nitric acid enhanced the formation of alumina and resulted in fast growth rates of 196 μm/h and 166 μm/h for sulfuric- and oxalic-based solutions, respectively, while maintaining high hardness of approximately 380 and 430 HV 0.1 , respectively. The surface hardness of the films decreased to some extent with the increase in nitric acid concentration and/or film thickness owing to the strong corrosive nature of nitric acid during prolonged anodization, although nitrogen inclusion in anodic alumina films was not detected through X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy, which differs from the other acidic anions. In particular, the barrier layer thickness and pore intervals of PAA films increased with the nitric concentration in the aforementioned solutions, leading to a fast growth rate and high hardness inside the films. [Display omitted] • Fabrication via anodization of hard porous anodic alumina films with nitric acid. • Nitric acid enhances alumina formation, resulting in fast growth. • High growth rate from 166 to 196 μm/h are achieved. • High hardness approximately 380 and 430 HV 0.1 can be maintained. • Nitrogen component form nitric acid is not included in anodic films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the social crisis of the Covid-19 epidemic and the government responses in China from a performance perspective. It argues that the epidemic outbreak in late December 2019 initiated a highly contested social drama, in which loyalty was tested, political order questioned, and ideological crisis made visible. The numerous netizens and residents drew on a wide-ranging repertoire of discourses, symbols, and narratives to heighten public spectacles of suffering and sympathy, which placed extensive blame on the lies, negligence, and censorship of the government. Nonetheless, within the short span of three months, the conflictive, cacophonous social drama was overshadowed and subsumed by a hegemonic political performance of national victory, unity, and patriotism, framed and channeled by state propaganda, censorship, ritual, and practical policies. Social protests in cyberspace continued in even more dramatic forms. But these it only constituted sporadic performances of resistance, rather than a monumental social drama that challenged the fundamental political order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have undergone total knee arthroplasty are at increased risk of requiring a blood transfusion. This study is designed to compare the effects of preemptive antifibrinolysis of single-dose and repeat-dose tranexamic acid (TXA) in in RA patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA).Methods/design: The study will be a double-blind randomized controlled trial with two parallel groups of RA patients. Group A will be given 100 ml normal saline twice daily starting from 3 days before the operation, Group B will be given TXA 1.5 g twice daily starting from 3 days before the operation. All patients will be given TXA 1.5 g 30 min before the operation. The primary outcomes will be evaluated with total blood loss and hidden blood loss. Other outcome measurements such as, fibrinolysis parameters, inflammatory factors, visual analogue scale for post-operative pain, analgesia usage, coagulation parameters, transfusion, the length of stay (LOS), total hospitalization costs, the incidence of thromboembolic events and other complications will be recorded and compared. Recruitment is scheduled to begin on 1 August 2020, and the study will continue until 31 May 2021.Discussion: In current literature there is a lack of evidence with regard to the efficacy of TXA in RA patients. The findings of this study, whether positive or negative, will contribute to the formulation of further recommendations on the use of TXA in RA patients undergoing TKA.Trial Registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR2000029720 . Registered 14 February 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: This study aims to evaluate and compare the survival and other portal hypertension‐related complications of patients with portal pressure gradient (PPG) ≥ 25 mmHg using transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) as the first‐line and second‐line therapies in secondary prophylaxis of variceal hemorrhage. Methods: Fifty patients diagnosed with liver cirrhosis were enrolled in this retrospective study, with 35 of whom received TIPS as the first‐line therapy in secondary prophylaxis of variceal hemorrhage and 15 of whom as second‐line treatment. We observed and analyzed the survival, occurrence of variceal rebleeding and hepatic encephalopathy (HE) of patients in the two groups during the follow up. Results: The technical success rate was 100%. In a median follow‐up time of 12 (1–37) and 15 (2–27) months, respectively, significant statistical difference was observed between the first‐line group and the second‐line group concerning cumulative survival rate (94.3% vs 66.7%, log–rank P = 0.01). But that was not the case when it comes to the cumulative rate of variceal rebleeding (8.6% vs 26.7%, log–rank P = 0.164) and HE (22.9% vs 20.0%, log–rank P = 0.793). And multivariate analysis indicated that group assignment (hazard ratio = 8.250, 95% confidence interval = 1.383–49.213, P = 0.021) was the only predictor of survival. Interestingly, we found that spleen diameter (hazard ratio = 0.578, 95% confidence interval = 0.393–0.849, P = 0.005) could be regarded as independent predictor of the occurrence of HE. Conclusions: For patients with PPG ≥ 25 mmHg who have recovered from an episode of acute esophageal variceal hemorrhage, utilizing TIPS as the first‐line therapy to prevent rebleeding is demonstrated effective in improving the survival and therefore should be recommended to a wider range of clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the modern transformation of opera fandom in early twentieth-century China through the hitherto unexamined fan literature about actresses by men of letters. Ostensibly conservative in both its style, based on earlier huapu (flower registers) writing, and its invocation of Confucian values, fan literature was caught up in the political and literary ferment of the times, proving to be startlingly innovative in developing new genres and appropriating reformist discourses. In promoting their preferred actresses, opera fans, writing in a sentimental style, dominated the public sphere of theater commentary and fought over the ethical position of women performers and their admirers. In some regard, the writings of opera fans in early Republican Beijing paralleled Butterfly fiction and the fans themselves constituted a sentiment-based, morally conflicted, and politically conservative urban public. The article argues that opera fandom was simultaneously a conservative response to modernity and the very embodiment of the creation of the Chinese modern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Sparse representation produces the better prediction accuracy for SCIs. • A new blind scheme considering the relative gradient direction is designed. • HOG features as second-order derivatives represents the texture information well. Graphical abstract Abstract In this paper, an accurate blind metric evaluating screen content images (SCIs) considering texture feature via sparse representation is proposed. The existing theory on human vision tells us that human visual system (HVS) is sensitive to texture information of images. In addition, gradient direction has not been adequately explored as a predictive information source of SCIs. This method is first based on three kinds of gradient maps of SCIs—i.e., gradient magnitude map, relative gradient direction map, relative gradient magnitude map. Since the existing literatures about human neuroscience have revealed that image texture can be captured by high-order derivatives, texture information of SCIs can be represented by local histogram of oriented gradient (HOG) features extracted from the aforementioned gradient maps. Finally, it is composed of two important procedures: representing HOG features by means of sparse coding, then weighting subjective experimental quality scores via the sparse coding coefficients to predict objective perceptive quality scores of SCIs. Comparison experiments on the public SCI database demonstrate that the designed metric has the better superiority over existing the-state-of-art algorithms and delivers consistency and accuracy in relation with subjective evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Combination of low-frequency chirp imaging and ultrasound image velocimetry. • Gaussian-like non-linear compression calibrate the blood flow region. • Size and position information of vessels obtained by super resolution imaging. • Comprehensive influence of parameters in high concentration over short time. • The error of average peak speed is 0.7 % and 0.67 %. Based on the diameter and position information of small vessels obtained by transcranial super-resolution imaging using 3 MHz low-frequency chirp plane waves, a Gaussian-like non-linear compression was adopted to compress the blood flow signals in spatiotemporal filtering (STF) data to a precise region, and then estimate the blood flow velocity field inside the region over the adjacent time intervals using ultrasound imaging velocimetry (UIV). Imaging parameters, such as the mechanical index (MI), frame rate, and microbubble (MB) concentration, are critical during the estimation of velocity fields over a short time at high MB contrast agent concentrations. These were optimized through experiments and algorithms, in which dividing the connected domain was proposed to calculate MB cluster spot centroid spacing (SCS) and the spot-to-flow area ratio (SFAR) to determine the suitable MB concentration. The results of the in vitro experiments showed that the estimation of the small vessel flow velocity field was consistent with the theoretical results; the velocity field resolution for vessels with diameters of 0.5 mm and 0.3 mm was 36 μm and 21 μm, and the error between the mean velocity and the theoretical value was 0.7 % and 0.67 %, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four novel water-soluble Cu(II) derivatives based on the meso-10, 15, 20-Tris ( N -methyl-X-pyridyl)-5-(4′-salicyloylhydrazone) metalloporphyrin ligands (X = 4, M = Zn( 1 ) Co( 2 ); X = 2, M = Zn( 3 ), Co( 4 )), have been prepared and isolated. Various physicochemical techniques indicate that complex 2 interacts with calf thymus DNA stronger than the others through partial intercalation, suggesting that Co(II) has no axial ligands at porphyrin core plays a crucial role, interestingly, 2 exhibits higher DNA binding affinity compared to 4 , which could be ascribed to the influences of peripheral electronic effect of porphyrin ring. Cytotoxicity studies manifest all conjugates possess superior cytotoxicity towards non-small cell lung cancer (A549) and liver hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) but weak toxicity for human normal breast cells (Hs 578Bst) boiled down to the tumor selectivity of porphyrin. In addition, the IC 50 value of 1 is lower than its analogues against HepG2 cells when cultivated 72 h, thus the effects of representative complex 1 on cell morphological and cell cycle have been tailed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Topological materials have shown promising potential in the spintronics application due to their conspicuous efficiency of charge-to-spin conversion. Our research investigates the temperature-dependent spin–orbit torque (SOT) from sputtered WTex. We reveal a strong temperature dependence of SOT and realize the current-induced SOT switching of WTex with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy structure under a wide range of 12 K to room temperature. Our findings reveal the temperature dependence of sputtered WTex and may pave the way for the spintronics application of semimetals under cryogenic temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has emerged as a major chronic liver disease. We explored simple and effective ways to improve NAFLD and investigate the mechanism of action. Methods: NAFLD was induced in 40 rats fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Magnetic resonance imaging was used to evaluate the progression and improvement of NAFLD. The treatment-related interventions included aerobic exercise (E) and vitamin E (VE) supplementation. Expression levels of proteins related to fat metabolism were also assessed. The activities of antioxidant enzymes in the liver and serum lipid metabolism were analyzed using biochemical methods. Results: Aerobic exercise and vitamin E effectively improved NAFLD in rats, resulting in decreased hepatic fat accumulation, reduced hepatocyte ballooning, and decreased triglyceride levels. Combination therapy achieved the best effect. Both aerobic exercise and vitamin E activate the AMPK pathway to phosphorylate acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) and reduce fatty acid synthesis. The expression of sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1 (SREBP-1) was decreased significantly in the treated groups, particularly in the E + VE + HFD group. The expression of carnitine palmitoyl-transferase 1C (CPT1C) significantly increased in the treated groups, particularly in the E + VE + HFD group. Compared with the control group, reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the E + HFD group were slightly decreased, while that in the VE + HFD group were significantly decreased, with the even greater reduction observed in the E + VE + HFD group. Conclusion: Aerobic exercise and vitamin E supplementation can improve HFD-induced NAFLD in rats by regulating the AMPK pathway and reducing oxidative stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Co-pyrolysis characteristics of rice husk and cow manure using SnCl2, ZnCl2 and Fe3O4 as an additive were studied in a fixed tubular furnace. The effects of additive loading amount (0–20 wt.%) on the pyrolysis processes were investigated. The thermogravimetric-derivative thermogravimetric results showed that the weight loss rate was increased with the increase of additive content. There was no obvious shoulder peak appeared after the addition of Fe3O4, while the peak of weight loss was moved to the low-temperature region with the ZnCl2 addition. Gas yield was increased with the increase of Fe3O4 content while it was decreased after the addition of SnCl2 and ZnCl2. The highest gas yield (0.39 Nm3/kg) was obtained at 20% Fe3O4. At the same time, the additives could obviously improve the quality of syngas which promoted H2 content and reduced CO content. The H2 content was increased by 7.9%, 8.88%, and 4.44%, respectively, for SnCl2, ZnCl2, and Fe3O4. The results of GC/MS showed that the additives promoted hydrogen bond breaking and the cracking of macromolecules resulting in an increase of small polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons production. Meanwhile, the additives made a great influence on the oxygen-containing functional groups in the biochar, which increased the content of O–H and O–C–O functional groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]