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Abstract In order to meet the needs of geologists for the analysis of data characterizing field outcrops (rock sections or formations exposed on the ground surface), this study developed a field digital outcrop visualization platform based on Cesium (a 3D geospatial visualization technology) digital outcrop characterization technology. The platform was developed based on WebGL (a protocol for rendering interactions on web pages), which overcame the shortcomings of traditional software in terms of visualization, cross-device, cross-platform, and ease of use. Firstly, UAV inclined photography is used for data collection, which transforms a large amount of geological data into an intuitive 3D geological model, while the visualization platform provides rich measurement and mapping tools for the identified features, which more intuitively displays the outcrop information, helps geological explorers to understand the geological conditions in the field more quickly and comprehensively, and improves the analysis efficiency and ease-of-use of outcrop characterization data. Combined with the improved VGG19 (a deep convolutional neural network architecture) algorithm model, it has excellent performance in dealing with the fine texture and complex structure of rocks, which significantly improves the accuracy of lithology identification. The synergistic application of this technology provides geologists with a faster and more comprehensive means to understand the geological conditions in the field. The reliability of combining the Cesium digital outcrop characterization technology with the VGG19 lithology identification algorithm in geological exploration is verified through case studies. The synergistic application of this technology will greatly enhance the efficiency and ease of analysis of outcrop characterization in the field, and provide new perspectives for future research in geosciences.

Porcine sapelovirus (PSV) is a new pathogen that negatively impacts the pig industry in China. Affected pigs experience severe diarrhea and even death. Vaccination is used to control disease outbreaks, and sensitive diagnostic methods that can distinguish infected animals from vaccinated animals (DIVA) are essential for monitoring the effectiveness of disease control programs. Tests based on the detection of the nonstructural protein (NSP) 3AB are reliable indicators of viral replication in infected and vaccinated animals. In this study, the recombinant PSV 3AB protein was expressed by a prokaryotic expression system, and an indirect ELISA method was established. Serum samples from healthy animals, immunized animals, and infected animals were evaluated. The ELISA method identified 3AB with high sensitivity (99.78%) and specificity (100.0%), and no cross-reaction was observed with serum antibodies against porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), infection with classical swine fever virus (CSFV), pseudorabies virus (PRV), bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), or foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV). The ELISA method described here can effectively distinguish infected and vaccinated animals and is an important inexpensive tool for monitoring serum and controlling PSV.

Abstract Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized primarily by cognitive impairment. The motivation of this paper is to explore the impact of the visual information transmission pathway (V–H pathway) on AD, and the following feature were observed: Hemoglobin expression on the V–H pathway becomes dysregulated as AD occurs so as to the pathway becomes dysfunctional. According to the feature, the following conclusion was proposed: As AD occurs, abnormal tau proteins penetrate bloodstream and arrive at the brain regions of the pathway. Then the tau proteins or other toxic substances attack hemoglobin molecules. Under the attack, hemoglobin expression becomes more dysregulated. The dysfunction of V–H pathway has an impact on early symptoms of AD, such as spatial recognition disorder and face recognition disorder.

Background Progressive pulmonary fibrosis (PPF) is a general term for a class of interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) characterized by a progressive fibrosing (PF) phenotype. Patients with PPF have decreased lung function, exercise ability, and quality of life. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics, potential associated factors for disease progression, and survival outcomes of patients in the PPF population.Methods This study retrospectively reviewed the data of patients diagnosed with ILD between January 2011 and December 2022 at The First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University. A PF phenotype was defined based on the criteria that were used in the PPF clinical practice guidelines, which led to the identification of 92 patients with a PF phenotype among the 177 patients with fibrotic ILD. Baseline clinical information and laboratory parameters were collected and analysed in our cohort.Results Patients in the PPF group had higher tumour marker levels and lower pulmonary function test results at baseline than did those in the non-PPF group. According to the multivariate logistic regression analysis, age >65 years (OR 2.71, 95% CI 1.26-5.89; p = 0.011), LDH >245 U/L (OR 3.07, 95% CI 1.39-6.78; p = 0.006), CA-153 > 35 U/mL (OR 3.16, 95% CI 1.25-7.97; p = 0.015), FVC

Intervertebral disc herniation, a prevalent condition in spinal surgery that frequently results in low back pain and lower limb dysfunction, significantly impacting patients' quality of life. Several factors, including spine biomechanics, biology, nutrition, injury, and abnormal inflammatory responses, have been associated with the development of intervertebral disc herniation. Among these factors, abnormal inflammatory responses have received considerable attention as a crucial mediator of both clinical symptoms and disease progression during the intervertebral disc herniation process. However, the underlying mechanisms of inflammation-induced intervertebral disc herniation remain inadequately explored. The NF-κB (Nuclear Factor-κB) pathway plays a central role in regulating the expression of proinflammatory cytokines. Research on intervertebral disc herniation has suggested that NF-κB can activate the NLRP3 inflammasome, thereby exacerbating intervertebral disc degeneration. Targeting the NF-κB pathway has shown promise in alleviating disc degeneration and associated pain. Previous research indicated that the upregulation of the NF-κB pathway, achieved through the inhibition of A20 (zinc finger protein A20), accelerated intervertebral disc herniation. In the present study, we observed that increased activation of NF-κB pathway activation suppressed the glycolysis process in nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs), leading to NPC apoptosis. Conversely, inhibition of the NF-κB pathway overactivated promoted the restoration of glycolysis and reversed NPC apoptosis, especially when treated with Lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

The 6 GHz band plays a crucial role in the development of the 6G. A profound comprehension of channel reciprocity is essential for designing time division duplexing/frequency division duplexing (TDD/FDD) systems within this band. Firstly, in an indoor corridor scenario, precise and impartial measurements are conducted for both the uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) channels in the 6 GHz band; A denoising algorithm is proposed to extract multipath components (MPCs) from the measurement data, enabling a more equitable assessment of channel reciprocity; Then, a comprehensive analysis of channel reciprocity has been conducted, focusing on four aspects: path loss, delay spread, cluster-based correlation coefficient (CBCC), and multipath power dissimilarity (MPD). The findings indicate that TDD systems demonstrate nearly perfect reciprocity, whereas FDD systems exhibit partial reciprocity in indoor scenarios. Specifically, in TDD systems, the CBCCs between UL and DL exceed 95%, while in FDD systems, they fluctuate between 80% and 90%. Additionally, a model has been provided to depict the relationship between MPD and center frequency, as well as frequency interval; Finally, a comparative analysis of measured and ray-tracing simulated results reveals the presence of numerous public MPCs, which share the same propagation delay and spatial angle between the UL and DL in FDD systems, as well as private MPCs that exist exclusively in either the UL or DL. They collectively influence the channel reciprocity.

IntroductionSwine influenza viruses (SIVs) pose significant economic losses to the pig industry and are a burden on global public health systems. The increasing complexity of the distribution and evolution of different serotypes of influenza strains in swine herds escalates the potential for the emergence of novel pandemic viruses, so it is essential to develop new vaccines based on swine influenza.MethodsHere, we constructed a self-assembling ferritin nanoparticle vaccine based on the hemagglutinin (HA) extracellular domain of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus using insect baculovirus expression vector system (IBEVS), and after two immunizations, the immunogenicities and protective efficacies of the HA-Ferritin nanoparticle vaccine against the swine influenza virus H1N1 strain in mice and piglets were evaluated.ResultsOur results demonstrated that HA-Ferritin nanoparticle vaccine induced more efficient immunity than traditional swine influenza vaccines. Vaccination with the HA-Ferritin nanoparticle vaccine elicited robust hemagglutinin inhibition titers and antigen-specific IgG antibodies and increased cytokine levels in serum. MF59 adjuvant can significantly promote the humoral immunity of HA-Ferritin nanoparticle vaccine. Furthermore, challenge tests showed that HA-Ferritin nanoparticle vaccine conferred full protection against lethal challenge with H1N1 virus and significantly decreased the severity of virus-associated lung lesions after challenge in both BALB/c mice and piglets.ConclusionTaken together, these results indicate that the hemagglutinin extracellular-based ferritin nanoparticle vaccine may be a promising vaccine candidate against SIVs infection.

Chlorite is present extensively in many types of deposits. The mechanism underlying the chemical variations in chlorite remains unclear. The Naruo porphyry deposit is a giant copper porphyry deposit in the Duolong ore district of Tibet. Chlorite, which is abundant in this deposit, has yet to be studied systematically; hence, we used principal component analysis (PCA) to assess the correlation between chlorite elements and various types of mineral deposits. We then conducted a preliminary investigation into its mineralogy and geochemistry to better understand its formation process and identify potential prospecting indicators. The PCA method proved effective in discerning two distinctive element signatures within the chlorite and categorising them into four deposit types: orogenic Au deposits, granite-type U deposits, and skarn-type Sn deposits that exhibit high FeO and low MgO distinguishing them from porphyry copper deposits. The chlorite in the Naruo deposit is classified as either early metasomatic (M-type), consisting mainly of clinochlore, or late hydrothermal (H-type), primarily consisting of clinochlore and chamosite. This classification suggests that H-type chlorite formed in a reductive environment conducive to Cu precipitation at medium temperatures (255°C–342°C). Al-Si and Fe-Mg substitutions were found to be the primary processes involved in its generation. Additionally, from the mineralisation centre outwards, there was an observed decrease in Si content as well as the Fe/(Fe+Mg) ratio in H-type chlorite, along with decreases in temperature, sulphur, and oxygen fugacity of all chlorites; conversely, increases were observed for Al content along with Mg and Mn elements in H-type chlorite. Chlorite is useful for exploring porphyry copper systems as an indicator mineral.

BackgroundPorcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV), a novel swine enteropathogenic coronavirus, challenges the global swine industry. Currently, there are no approaches preventing swine from PDCoV infection.MethodsA new PDCoV strain named JS2211 was isolated. Next, the dimer receptor binding domain of PDCoV spike protein (RBD-dimer) was expressed using the prokaryotic expression system, and a novel nanoparticle containing RBD-dimer and ferritin (SC-Fe) was constructed using the SpyTag/SpyCatcher system. Finally, the immunoprotection of RBD-Fe nanoparticles was evaluated in mice.ResultsThe novel PDCoV strain was located in the clade of the late Chinese isolate strains and close to the United States strains. The RBD-Fe nanoparticles were successfully established. Immune responses of the homologous prime-boost regime showed that RBD-Fe nanoparticles efficiently elicited specific humoral and cellular immune responses in mice. Notably, high level PDCoV RBD-specific IgG and neutralizing antibody (NA) could be detected, and the histopathological results showed that PDCoV infection was dramatically reduced in mice immunized with RBD-Fe nanoparticles.ConclusionThis study effectively developed a candidate nanoparticle with receptor binding domain of PDCoV spike protein that offers protection against PDCoV infection in mice.

Health education plays an important role in cultivating people's awareness of participating in physical exercise. In this paper, a new differential equation model is established to dynamically demonstrate the different impact of mass communication and interpersonal communication in health education on people's participation in physical exercise. Theoretical analysis shows that health education does not affect the system threshold, but individual participation does. The combination of the two leads to different equilibria and affects the stability of equilibria. When mass communication, interpersonal communication and individual participation satisfy different conditions, the system will obtain different positive equilibrium with different number of sports population. If the interpersonal transmission rate of information is bigger, there is a positive equilibrium with a large number of sports population in the system. Sensitivity and optimal design analysis show some interesting results. First, increasing interpersonal communication and mass communication can both increase the number of conscious non-sports population and sports population. For increasing the number of conscious non-sports population, the effect of mass communication is better than that of interpersonal communication. For increasing the number of sports population, the effect of interpersonal communication is better than that of mass communication. However, individual participation has the best effect on increasing the sports population. Second, increasing the daily fixed amount of new information will be more helpful for media information dissemination. Finally, the three control measures need to be implemented simultaneously for a period of time at first, and then health education and participation of sports people need to be implemented periodically in order to maximize the sports population.

Porcine astrovirus (PAstV) has a potential zoonotic risk, with a high proportion of co-infection occurring with porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) and other diarrheal pathogens. Despite its high prevalence, the cellular mechanism of PAstV pathogenesis is ill–defined. Previous proteomics analyses have revealed that the differentially expressed protein NOD–like receptor X1 (NLRX1) located in the mitochondria participates in several important antiviral signaling pathways in PAstV–4 infection, which are closely related to mitophagy. In this study, we confirmed that PAstV–4 infection significantly up-regulated NLRX1 and mitophagy in Caco–2 cells, while the silencing of NLRX1 or the treatment of mitophagy inhibitor 3–MA inhibited PAstV–4 replication. Additionally, PAstV–4 infection triggered the activation of the extracellular regulated protein kinases/ myosin light-chain kinase (ERK/MLCK) pathway, followed by the down-regulation of tight–junction proteins (occludin and ZO–1) as well as MUC–2 expression. The silencing of NLRX1 or the treatment of 3–MA inhibited myosin light-chain (MLC) phosphorylation and up-regulated occludin and ZO–1 proteins. Treatment of the ERK inhibitor PD98059 also inhibited MLC phosphorylation, while MLCK inhibitor ML-7 mitigated the down-regulation of mucosa-related protein expression induced by PAstV–4 infection. Yet, adding PD98059 or ML–7 did not affect NLRX1 expression. In summary, this study preliminarily explains that NLRX1 plays an important role in the disruption of intestinal mucosal function triggered by PAstV–4 infection via the ERK/MLC pathway. It will be helpful for further antiviral drug target screening and disease therapy.

This study was conducted to elucidate the intestinal damage induced by the IPEC-J2 cell culture-passaged PDCoV. The results showed that PDCoV disrupted the intestinal structure and increased intestinal permeability, causing abnormalities in mucosal pathology. Additionally, PDCoV induced an imbalance in the intestinal flora and disturbed its stability. Microbial community profiling revealed bacterial enrichment (e.g., Proteobacteria) and reduction (e.g., Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes) in the PDCoV-inoculated piglet model. In addition, metabolomics analysis indicated that 82 named differential metabolites were successfully quantified, including 37 up-regulated and 45 down-regulated metabolites. Chenodeoxycholic acid, sphingosine, and oleanolic aldehyde levels were reduced in PDCoV-inoculated piglets, while phenylacetylglycine and geranylgeranyl-PP levels were elevated. Correlation analysis indicated a negative correlation between Escherichia-Shigella and choline, succinic acid, creatine, phenyllactate, and hippuric acid. Meanwhile, Escherichia-Shigella was positively correlated with acetylcholine, L-Glutamicacid, and N-Acetylmuramate. Roseburia, Lachnospiraceae_UCG-010, Blautia, and Limosilactobacillus were negatively and positively correlated with sphingosine, respectively. These data suggested PDCoV-inoculated piglets exhibited significant taxonomic perturbations in the gut microbiome, which may result in a significantly altered metabolomic profile.

Abstract Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is an acute and highly contagious disease and has long been a significant threat to small ruminant productivity worldwide. However, the molecular mechanism underlying host-PPRV interactions remains unclear and the long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) regulation of PPR virus (PPRV) infection has rarely been reported so far. Here, we first demonstrated that PPRV infection can induce an obvious innate immune response in caprine endometrial epithelial cells (EECs) at 48 h post-infection (hpi) with an MOI of 3. Subsequently, we determined that PPRV infection is associated with 191 significantly differentially expressed (SDE) lncRNAs, namely, 137 upregulated and 54 downregulated lncRNAs, in caprine EECs compared with mock control cells at 48 hpi by using deep sequencing technology. Importantly, bioinformatics preliminarily analyses revealed that these DE lncRNAs were closely related to the immune response. Furthermore, we identified a system of lncRNAs related to the immune response and focused on the role of lncRNA 10636385 (IRF1-AS) in regulating the innate immune response. Interestingly, we found that IRF1-AS was a potent positive regulator of IFN-β and ISG production, which can significantly inhibit PPRV replication in host cells. In addition, our data revealed that IRF1-AS was positively correlated with its potential target gene, IRF1, which enhanced the activation of IRF3 and the expression of ISGs and interacted with IRF3. This study suggests that IRF1-AS could be a new host factor target for developing antiviral therapies against PPRV infection.

Key points Serum MMP-9, SP-D, and VEGF levels were increased in patients with CTD-ILD and they may have clinical value in screening and evaluating the severity of CTD-ILD. Serum SP-D and VEGF levels had a positive correlation with ILD severity as measured using semiquantitative HRCT scores. Serum MMP-9 levels were elevated in the UIP subgroup compared to the non-UIP subgroup. Therefore, further research is required to determine the role of serum MMP-9 levels in the preliminary determination of the ILD subtype. Serum MMP-9 levels had a negative correlation with DLco, and serum SP-D levels had a negative correlation with FVC.

Porcine sapovirus (PoSaV) is one of the most significant pathogens causing piglet diarrhea, and one with limited genetic characterization. In this study, the prevalence, infection pattern, and genetic evolution of porcine sapovirus were elucidated in detail. The positive rate of PoSaV was 10.1% (20/198), with dual, triple, and quadruple infections of 45%, 40%, and 5%, respectively. To further explore the viral composition in the PoSaV-positive diarrhea feces, metagenomic sequencing was carried out. The results confirmed that RNA viruses accounted for a higher proportion (55.47%), including the two primary viruses of PoSaV (21.78%) and porcine astrovirus (PAstV) (24.54%) in the tested diarrhea feces samples. Afterward, a full-length sequence of the PoSaV isolate was amplified and named SHCM/Mega2023, and also given the identifier of GenBank No. PP388958. Phylogenetic analysis identified the prevalent PoSaV strain SHCM/Mega2023 in the GIII genogroup, involving a recombinant event with MK962338 and KT922089, with the breakpoint at 2969–5132 nucleotides (nt). The time tree revealed that the GIII genogroup exhibits the widest divergence time span, indicating a high likelihood of viral recombination. Moreover, SHCM/Mega2023 had three nucleotide “RPL” insertions at the 151–153 nt site in the VP2 gene, compared to the other GIII strains. Further selective pressure calculations demonstrate that the whole genome of the SHCM/Mega2023 strain was under purifying selection (dN/dS < 1), with seven positively selected sites in the VP1 protein, which might be related to antigenicity. In conclusion, this study presents a novel genomic evolution of PoSaV, offering valuable insights into antigenicity and for vaccine research.

The reflection characteristics of the terahertz channel are crucial for understanding and mastering the propagation mechanism of the terahertz channel, which are also required for a high-precision terahertz channel model for 6G.Therefore, the research status of terahertz channel reflection characteristics in theoretical modeling and measurement analysis were first summarized.Then, the reflection coefficient measurement campaign in the frequency range of 240 GHz to 310 GHz for five kinds of common building materials was conducted by a time-domain correlation-based terahertz channel measurement platform.It was found that the reflection coefficients were related to the incident angle.Based on the Rayleigh reflection coefficient theoretical model, a statistical reflection coefficient model was further proposed as a function of incident angle.Generally, the proposed model could accurately describe the variation law of the reflection coefficient with angle.Finally, research directions of terahertz channel reflection characteristics were discussed.

Abstract Background Unilateral biportal endoscopic discectomy (UBE) is a rapidly growing surgical method that uses arthroscopic system for treatment of lumbar disc herniation (LDH), while percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD) has been standardized as a representative minimally invasive spine surgical technique for LDH. The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical outcomes between UBE and PELD for treatment of patients with LDH. Methods The subjects consisted of 54 patients who underwent UBE (24 cases) and PELD (30 cases) who were followed up for at least 6 months. All patients had lumber disc herniation for 1 level. Outcomes of the patients were assessed with operation time, incision length, hospital stay, total blood loss (TBL), intraoperative blood loss (IBL), hidden blood loss (HBL), complications, total hospitalization costs, visual analogue scale (VAS) for back and leg pain, the Oswestry disability index (ODI) and modified MacNab criteria. Results The VAS scores and ODI decreased significantly in two groups after operation. Preoperative and 1 day, 1 month, 6 months after operation VAS and ODI scores were not significantly different between the two groups. Compared with PELD group, UBE group was associated with higher TBL, higher IBL, higher HBL, longer operation time, longer hospital stay, longer incision length, and more total hospitalization costs. However, a dural tear occurred in one patient of the UBE group. There was no significant difference in the rate of complications between the two groups. Conclusions Application of UBE for treatment of lumbar disc herniation yielded similar clinical outcomes to PELD, including pain control and patient satisfaction. However, UBE was associated with various disadvantages relative to PELD, including increased total, intraoperative and hidden blood loss, longer operation times, longer hospital stays, and more total hospitalization costs.

BackgroundSleep disturbance and neuropsychiatric symptoms are common clinical symptoms of cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD), but the underlying mechanism is unclear. Here, we investigated the relationship between sleep quality and neuropsychiatric performance in patients with CSVD.MethodsA total of 30 patients with CSVD and 35 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited. The 13-item Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-13), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Symptom Check List 90 (SCL90) were used to assess depression, anxiety, and other psychological symptoms, respectively. Sleep quality was assessed using Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and cognitive function was tested using Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA).ResultsWhen compared to the HC group, the patients with CSVD showed increased anxiety and neuropsychiatric symptoms, worse sleep quality, and impaired cognition (p < 0.05). The prevalence of comorbid poor sleep quality in the patients with CSVD was approximately 46%. The patients with CSVD with poor sleep quality also had more severe neuropsychiatric symptoms. After controlling for demographic variables, sex and anxiety significantly predicted sleep quality.ConclusionThis study suggests that the prevalence of CSVD with poor sleep quality is high, and that sex and anxiety are independent risk factors for CSVD comorbid sleep quality.

Flexible mechanical sensors based on nanomaterials operate on a deformation-response mechanism, making it challenging to discern different types of mechanical stimuli such as pressure and strain. Therefore, these sensors are susceptible to significant mechanical interference. Here, we introduce a multifunctional flexible sensor capable of discriminating coupled pressure and strain without cross-interference. Our design involves an elastic cantilever fixed on the pillar of the flexible main substrate, creating a three-dimensional (3D) substrate, and two percolative nanoparticle (NP) arrays are deposited on the cantilever and main substrate, respectively, as the sensing materials. The 3D flexible substrate could confine pressure/strain loading exclusively on the cantilever or main substrate, resulting in independent responses of the two nanoparticle arrays with no cross-interference. Benefitting from the quantum transport in nanoparticle arrays, our sensors demonstrate an exceptional sensitivity, enabling discrimination of subtle strains down to 1.34 × 10−4. Furthermore, the suspended cantilever with one movable end can enhance the pressure perception of the NP array, exhibiting a high sensitivity of −0.223 kPa−1 and an ultrahigh resolution of 4.24 Pa. This flexible sensor with multifunctional design will provide inspiration for the development of flexible mechanical sensors and the advancement of decoupling strategies.

Background: Health education plays a vital role in the prevention and control of schistosomiasis in China and throughout the world. However, the coverage of health education varies from place to place for various reasons. Moreover, people with different levels of health education migrate between different regions. Methods: In order to analyze the effects of different coverages of health education on schistosomiasis transmission, a schistosomiasis mathematical model with people’s inter-regional migration is constructed in two regions with different coverages of health education. The basic reproduction number is calculated, the global stability of the system is analyzed qualitatively, and a numerical simulation is carried out. Results: (1) The transmission trend of schistosomiasis could be reduced by increasing the migration of the susceptible population from the region with a high coverage of health education to the region with low coverage, or by increasing the migration of the infected population between the two regions. Schistosomiasis can even be eliminated if the migration of the susceptible or infected population from the region with a high coverage of health education to the region with a low coverage is sufficiently large. This is quite different from the prevention and control of other epidemics in which the movement of people should be restricted. (2) A low coverage of health education will have an impact on the number of patients and infected snails in both of the two regions. This result indicates that increasing the coverage of health education can reduce the risk of schistosomiasis not only in the local population but also in the surrounding regions to which people migrate. Conclusions: There is no need to restrict the migration of the infected population between the two regions nor the migration of the susceptible population from the region with a high coverage of health education to the region with a low coverage. However, there is a need to restrict the migration of the susceptible population from the region with a low coverage of health education to the region with a high coverage. These are some suggestions to prevent and control schistosomiasis.

This paper presents a nonlinear model of the quadcopter to simulate the actual motion. An aerodynamic model of the rotor is obtained through wind-tunnel tests, which consider the variations in the rotor’s angular velocity, incoming flow speed, and angle of attack of the rotor ( $\alpha _{p}$ ). The quadcopter’s fuselage aerodynamics and mutual interference are simulated using the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) method. The mesh motion method is used to simulate the rotation of the rotor. It can be found that the interference has a significant impact on the aerodynamic load of the fuselage and the thrust and pitch moment of the rear rotor. The mathematical expression of the interference model is given by adopting the idea of the small disturbance hypothesis. The yaw dynamics model is also improved by considering the motor’s dynamics. The quadcopter’s nonlinear model can be obtained by combining the rotor model, fuselage model, motor model, and interference model. Then, flight experiments are done at hovering and forward flight states to verify the established model, and the experiment results are in good agreement with the nonlinear model. Finally, the quadcopter’s characteristic descriptive abilities of different accurate models are discussed to help designers to build a suitable quadcopter model according to the requirements.

An impact sprinkler loaded on a remote control trailer can be used for motion to improve the efficiency of a single Hard Hose Traveler in small and medium-sized irregular fields. Herein, a model for calculating the combination uniformity coefficient (CU) was established in the square test area under two-directional motion. The accuracy of the irrigation uniformity model was verified using the test data of application depth ( h n ). The results revealed that the nozzle diameter, speed of sprinkler motion ( v ), and motion methods can significantly impact the average application depth ( h − ) and the CU value of sprinkler irrigation performance. The motion methods included uniform motion and a constant speed combination motion. The highest CU values were recorded when the primary and secondary nozzle diameters were 10.5 and 4.5 mm, respectively (overall value, about 81.7%). The CU value gradually decreased with the increasing v value of the sprinkler. The CU value was higher under the constant speed combination motion than the uniform motion. The h ¯ value gradually decreased with increasing v value. The h ¯ value was classified based on the water requirement of different crops. The optimal CU value corresponding to each grade of the h ¯ value was obtained in different schemes of the combination of sprinkler speeds. This research guides the realization of variable spraying of a Hard Hose Traveler and the intelligent uniform motion of the sprinklers.

To solve the problems of higher energy consumption and lower intelligence of traditional hard hose travelers, a new hard hose traveler with the function of electric drive and self-propelled is developed in this paper. The operational energy consumption of a reel and a polyethylene tube is an important part of hard-hose traveler energy consumption. In this paper, based on the JP50-180 hard hose traveler, the required pulling force and energy consumption at the reel and tube operation are theoretically and experimentally obtained. The aforementioned provides support for reducing energy consumption in the future. The influencing factor that affects the energy consumption of the reel rotation is the tube length, and the influencing factors that affect the energy consumption of the tube sliding are the ground slope, soil moisture content, and tube length. A calculation model for the dynamic change of the pulling force and energy consumption of the reel and tube operation is proposed in this study. Through theoretical analysis, maximum pulling tension and cumulative energy consumption requirements for the for reel rotation are 278.6 N and 15120.83 J, respectively. Furthermore, the requirements for the tube sliding are 1372.86 N and 123,456.96 J. Through test analysis, the maximum pulling tension for the tube sliding is between 1258.3 N and 1773.3 N, while the maximum pulling tension for reel rotation is 285.05 N. Under the same influencing factors, the deviation rates between theoretical and testable energy consumption for the reel rotation and tube sliding are 2.3 and 8.3%, respectively. The pulling force and cumulative energy consumption required for the reel rotation and tube sliding both increase with an increase in their influencing factors. The operating costs of the tube one-time unrolled are approximately 0.0185 CNY. Combined with the mobile resistance of the electric tracked vehicle, the power configuration of this new hard hose traveler is provided by two servo motors with a power of 5500 W each.

In the present study, the immuno-enhancing effect of Eucommia ulmoides leaf polysaccharide (ELP) was investigated in immunosuppressed mice induced by cyclophosphamide (CTX). To evaluate the immune enhancement mechanism of ELP, the immunoregulation effect of ELP was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. ELP is primarily composed of arabinose (26.61%), galacturonic acid (25.1%), galactose (19.35%), rhamnose (16.13%), and a small amount of glucose (12.9%). At 1000~5000 μg·mL−1, ELP could significantly enhance the proliferation and the phagocytosis of macrophages in vitro. Additionally, ELP could protect immune organs, reduce pathological damage, and reverse the decrease in the hematological indices. Moreover, ELP significantly increased the phagocytic index, enhanced the ear swelling response, augmented the production of inflammatory cytokines, and markedly up-regulated the expression of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α mRNA levels. Furthermore, ELP improved phosphorylated p38, ERK1/2, and JNK levels, suggesting that MAPKs might be involved in immunomodulatory effects. The results provide a theoretical foundation for exploring the immune modulation function of ELP as a functional food.

Visible light communication (VLC) is one of the key technologies for the sixth generation (6G) to support the connection and throughput of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Furthermore, VLC channel modeling is the foundation for designing efficient and robust VLC systems. In this paper, the ray-tracing simulation method is adopted to investigate the VLC channel in IIoT scenarios. The main contributions of this paper are divided into three aspects. Firstly, based on the simulated data, large-scale fading and multipath-related characteristics, including the channel impulse response (CIR), optical path loss (OPL), delay spread (DS), and angular spread (AS), are analyzed and modeled through the distance-dependent and statistical distribution models. The modeling results indicate that the channel characteristics under the single transmitter (TX) are proportional to the propagation distance. It is also found that the degree of time domain and spatial domain dispersion is higher than that in the typical rooms (conference room and corridor). Secondly, the density of surrounding objects and the effects of user heights on these channel characteristics are also investigated. Through the analysis, it can be observed that the denser objects can contribute to the smaller OPL and the larger RMS DS under the single TX case. Furthermore, due to the blocking effect of surrounding objects, the larger OPL and the smaller RMS DS can be observed at the receiver with a low height. Thirdly, due to the distance dependence of the channel characteristics and large time-domain dispersion, the link adaption method is further proposed to optimize the multipath interference problem. This method combines a luminary adaptive selection and delay adaption technique. Then, the performance of the link adaption method is verified from four aspects through simulation, including the signal-to-noise (SNR), the RMS DS, the CIRs, and the bit-error rate (BER) of a direct-current-biased optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DCO-OFDM) system. The verification results indicate that our proposed method has a significant optimization for multipath interference.

Swine influenza virus (SIV) circulates worldwide, posing substantial economic loss and disease burden to humans and animals. Vaccination remains the most effective way to prevent SIV infection and transmission. In this study, we evaluated the protective efficacy of a recombinant, baculovirus-insect cell system-expressed bivalent nanoparticle SIV vaccine in mice challenged with drifted swine influenza H1N1 and H3N2 viruses. After a prime-boost immunization, the bivalent nanoparticle vaccine (BNV) induced high levels of hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) antibodies, virus-neutralization (VN) antibodies, and antigen-specific IgG antibodies in mice, as well as more efficient cytokine levels. The MF59 and CPG1 adjuvant could significantly promote both humoral and cellular immunity of BNV. The MF59 adjuvant showed a balanced Th1/Th2 immune response, and the CPG1 adjuvant tended to show a Th1-favored response. The BALB/c challenge test showed that BNV could significantly reduce lung viral loads and feces viral shedding, and showed fewer lung pathological lesions than those in PBS and inactivated vaccine groups. These results suggest that this novel bivalent nanoparticle swine influenza vaccine can be used as an efficacious vaccine candidate to induce robust immunity and provide broad protection against drifted subtypes in mice. Immune efficacy in pigs needs to be further evaluated.

To overcome the problem of poor uniformity of solid-fertilizer-dissolving devices due to lag of fertilizer dissolution, a closed-loop control system based on fuzzy proportional-integral-derivative (PID) was designed and tested. A fertilizer concentration regulation model was then established according to the results. In this system, the control core was an STM32 used to feed back the fertilization concentration by detecting the electrical conductivity. For real-time adjustment of the fertilizer flow rate and water flow rate, a fuzzy PID control algorithm was utilized to compare the detected concentrations with the set concentrations. The linear relationships between quantities such as the fertilizer rate and PWM frequency, water flow rate and PWM duty ratio of the direct-current pump, and fertilizer concentration and electrical conductivity were all established to calibrate the system. The influence of the fertilizer flow rate and water flow rate on fertilizer concentration was determined by the control variable test method. The results showed a positive linear relationship between fertilizer concentration and fertilizer flow rate, while a reverse linear relationship was established between fertilizer concentration and water flow rate. After the introduction of the control system into the self-developed solid-fertilizer-dissolving device, the fertilizer concentration fluctuated near the set concentration in a range of no more than 1 g/L. After the disturbance of the fertilization device, the control system fine-tuned the device with a steady-state error of about 0.55 g/L after the system reached stability. The control system designed in this study was shown to run normally with good stability, speed, and accuracy, and with improved fertilization uniformity of the solid-fertilizer-dissolving device. This study lays the foundation for further study of fertilization control systems. It also provides a reference for the development of precise and intelligent fertigation.

The frequency and duration of drive spoon–dispersed water jet directly influence the water distribution pattern and, further, affect water distribution uniformity. A mathematical model for calculating the duration was established, and an experiment was carried out to verify the accuracy of the theory by using high-speed photography (HSP) technique. Another important component of the investigation was the influence of frequency and duration on the water distribution pattern and water distribution uniformity. The results showed that the frequency of drive spoon–dispersed water jet increased and the duration time decreased with increased working pressure and decreased distance between counterweight-installed position and rotation axis. The calculated values of the theory were greater than the measured values. Differences between the measured and predicted values decreased with increased working pressure, and the average difference decreased to 2.98% when the working pressure increased to 0.40 MPa. The application rates within 1–13 m improved and increased about 50% by decreasing the distance from 135 mm to 80 mm. The maximum application rates decreased from 10.3 to 9.2 mm h−1, 9.5 to 8.8 mm h−1, and 8.4 to 7.9 mm h−1 with a working pressure of 0.30, 0.35, and 0.40 MPa, respectively. The Christiansen’s uniformity coefficient (CU) values decreased by increasing the distance between the counterweight and the rotation axis. The maximum CU values were obtained at the spacing coefficient of 1.2, 1.2, and 1.1 for 0.30, 0.35, and 0.40 MPa, respectively. By decreasing the distance from 135 mm to 80 mm, the maximum CU values increased from 58.96% to 75.1%, 68.85% to 80.1%, and 72.46% to 82.17% for 0.30, 0.35, and 0.40 MPa, respectively.

Collaborative problem solving (CPS) competency is critical in the twenty-first century. The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) launched a large-scale assessment of CPS competency for the first time in 2015. Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Guangdong provinces in China participated the assessment and scored an average of 496, which was slightly lower than the OECD average 500 and ranked 25th among the 51 countries and economies participating in the assessment. Therefore, this research was conducted to dig into the factors predicting students’ CPS competency, and help students improve it. Most research about CPS has fallen into the construction of the CPS framework and the effectiveness of CPS; research focusing on the factors predicting CPS competency is rare. Accordingly, a hierarchical linear model (HLM) was constructed to investigate the factors predicting students’ CPS competency in the current research. The model revealed that there was a large difference of students’ CPS competency among schools. In addition, among student-level variables, gender, grade, ESCS, ICT resources, students’ attitude toward CPS, and teacher unfairness were effective in predicting students’ CPS competency; among school-level variables, school location, schools’ ESCS and the proportion of all teachers fully certified predicted students’ CPS competency positively. The findings implied that in order to enhance students’ CPS competency, CPS competency training should be permeated through all the subjects; schools should employ teachers who are fully qualified; teachers should treat each student fairly; and students should be provided with more ICT resources and etc.

The tripolarized MIMO system can provide one more degree of freedom and have a more compacted size over a dual-polarized MIMO system, which is attractive for high-capacity wireless communication systems. In this paper, we analyze and model channel properties for tripolarized MIMO systems based on experimental channel measurements in typical indoor and outdoor scenarios. Firstly, channel measurement campaigns in the laboratory and the Urban Micro (UMi) scenarios on sub-6 GHz bands are presented. Then, based on measured data, path loss, delay spread (DS), and cross-polarization discrimination (XPD) for 9 polarization combinations are analyzed and modeled in a statistical way. Statistical results of these channel properties are also given. It is observed that channel properties of both large-scale fading and small-scale fading depend strongly on the polarization direction. Furthermore, we evaluate the performance of tripolarized MIMO systems by analyzing the Demmel condition number and channel capacity gain (CG). For both the indoor and the outdoor scenarios, it is found that colocated tripolarized antenna can bring a nearly threefold CG with respect to the unipolarized one. These results can give good insights into the design and evaluation of tripolarized MIMO systems.

The pressurized irrigation network aims to deliver water to consumption nodes at an appropriate pressure and discharge. The traditional pipe network optimization minimizes the annual operating cost or investment per unit area. The present work establishes the traditional pipe diameter and operating frequency optimization models based on flattish terrain. It proposes a new synchronization optimization method of pipe diameter and operation frequency to find the best match point for pipe diameter and operating frequency in the branched network system. The irrigation costs of the above three models, including the energy and pipe network costs, are compared with the original irrigation network system. Based on the results of optimizing the typical experimental field, the operation frequency optimization model and the pipe diameter optimization model can save about 1.4% and 10.6% in irrigation cost, respectively. Furthermore, the synchronous optimization model can significantly reduce the irrigation cost to about 19.3%, including a 26.6% reduction in the pipe network cost and a 21.9% increase in the energy cost. Compared with pipe diameter optimization, synchronous optimization can further reduce network costs while generating lower energy costs. The results of this research can be used for the design of the network system in flattish terrain to reduce the irrigation cost.

The problem of the terminal impact angle control guidance law, considering the target observability for passive guidance with bearing-only measurement, is investigated in this paper. Modified line-of-sight (LOS) angle error dynamics and their closed-loop analytical solution are developed to enhance the target observability, and then their characteristics are studied, which makes the LOS angular rate oscillate in the early stage. The terminal impact angle control guidance law with the global sliding mode is designed to eliminate the approaching stage of sliding mode control, which makes the system robust throughout the entire process of control. Finally, numerical simulations are presented to demonstrate the performance of the proposed guidance law under various conditions, which achieves the desired results.

Millimeter-wave (mmWave) communications and visible light communications (VLC) are proposed to form hybrid mmWave/VLC systems. Furthermore, channel modeling is the foundation of system design and optimization. In this paper, we compare the propagation characteristics, including path loss, root mean square (RMS) delay spread (DS), K-factor, and cluster characteristics, between mmWave and VLC bands based on a measurement campaign and ray tracing simulation in a conference room. We find that the optical path loss (OPL) of VLC channels is highly dependent on the physical size of the photodetectors (PDs). Therefore, an OPL model is further proposed as a function of the distance and size of PDs. We also find that VLC channels suffer faster decay than mmWave channels. Moreover, the smaller RMS DS in VLC bands shows a weaker delay dispersion than mmWave channels. The results of K-factor indicate that line-of-sight (LOS) components mainly account for more power for mmWave in LOS scenarios. However, non-LOS (NLOS) components can be stronger for VLC at a large distance. Furthermore, the K-Power-Means algorithm is used to perform clustering. The fitting cluster number is 5 and 6 for mmWave and VLC channels, respectively. The clustering results reveal the temporal sparsity in mmWave bands and show that VLC channels have a large angular spread.

Summary: Data-independent acquisition mass spectrometry (DIA-MS) is a powerful technique that enables relatively deep proteomic profiling with superior quantification reproducibility. DIA data mining predominantly relies on a spectral library of sufficient proteome coverage that, in most cases, is built on data-dependent acquisition-based analysis of the same sample. To expand the proteome coverage for a pre-determined protein family, we report herein on the construction of a hybrid spectral library that supplements a DIA experiment-derived library with a protein family-targeted virtual library predicted by deep learning. Leveraging this DIA hybrid library substantially deepens the coverage of three transmembrane protein families (G protein-coupled receptors, ion channels, and transporters) in mouse brain tissues with increases in protein identification of 37%–87% and peptide identification of 58%–161%. Moreover, of the 412 novel GPCR peptides exclusively identified with the DIA hybrid library strategy, 53.6% were validated as present in mouse brain tissues based on orthogonal experimental measurement. : Analytical Chemistry; Biological Sciences; Classification of Proteins; Proteomics Subject Areas: Analytical Chemistry, Biological Sciences, Classification of Proteins, Proteomics

Abstract In the southern Sichuan Basin, China, the recent increase in the seismic activity has been suspected to be related to hydraulic fracturing stimulation for producing the shale gas. In this study, we used the monitoring data from a local seismic network within the shale gas blocks to study the earthquakes near the shale gas production wells that have detailed injection data. Comparison of the timing of earthquakes and stimulation schedule of the studied well pads indicates an apparent correlation between the seismic activity and hydraulic fracturing. The results of seismic velocity tomography reveal that the reactivation of preexisting faults due to fluid diffusion is the primary cause of the observed earthquakes. Focal mechanism analysis combined with geomechanical modeling indicates that the increased pore pressures resulted from hydraulic fracturing are sufficient to trigger seismic slip on the faults.

The time and position that fertilizer takes to uniformly mix with water in an irrigation system significantly affects the development of a fertilization strategy. A pipe irrigation system was used to study the fertilizer–water mixing law in irrigation pipes using numerical simulation and experiments. The effect of the diameter of the water pipe and fertilizer pipe, water and fertilizer flow rates, concentration and viscosity of fertilizer, frequency of fertilizer injection on the mixing speed, and uniform mixing length indicated that the frequency of fertilizer injection did not affect the mixing process. The increase in the water pipe diameter and fertilizer flow rate or the decrease in fertilizer pipe and water flow rate diameter result in the increase of the speed of fertilizer solution mixing with water along the radial direction of the mixing pipe. The uniform mixing length was directly proportional to the fertilizer pipe diameter, water pipe diameter, water flow rate, and fertilizer viscosity, while it was inversely proportional to the flow rate and concentration of fertilizer. The relationship between the uniform mixing length and six influencing factors was fitted, the fitting was highly accurate, and the fitting equation can be used to predict the uniform mixing length under other conditions.

Landing on a moving platform is an essential requirement to achieve high-performance autonomous flight with various vehicles, including quadrotors. We propose an efficient and reliable autonomous landing system, based on model predictive control, which can accurately land in the presence of external disturbances. To detect and track the landing marker, a fast two-stage algorithm is introduced in the gimbaled camera, while a model predictive controller with variable sampling time is used to predict and calculate the entire landing trajectory based on the estimated platform information. As the quadrotor approaches the target platform, the sampling time is gradually shortened to feed a re-planning process that perfects the landing trajectory continuously and rapidly, improving the overall accuracy and computing efficiency. At the same time, a cascade incremental nonlinear dynamic inversion control method is adopted to track the planned trajectory and improve robustness against external disturbances. We carried out both simulations and outdoor flight experiments to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed landing system. The results show that the quadrotor can land rapidly and accurately even under external disturbance and that the terminal position, speed and attitude satisfy the requirements of a smooth landing mission.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a disease that causes joint destruction and bone erosion, is related to osteoclast activity. RA is generally treated with methotrexate (MTX). In this study, a MTX–Alendronate (ALN) conjugate was synthesized and characterized. The conjugate dramatically inhibited osteoclast formation and bone resorption compared with MTX and ALN used alone or in combination. Due to the characteristics of ALN, the MTX–ALN conjugate can adhere to the exposed bone surface and enhance drug accumulation in the pathological region for targeted therapy against osteoclastogenesis. Additionally, MTX was rapidly released in the presence of lysozyme under mildly acidic conditions, similar to inflammatory tissue and osteoclast-surviving conditions, which contributes to inflammatory inhibition; this was confirmed by the presence of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Our study highlights the use of the MTX–ALN conjugate as a potential therapeutic approach for RA by targeting osteoclastogenesis.

Abstract Background Total joint arthroplasty is associated with significant blood loss and often requires blood transfusion. However, allogeneic blood transfusion (ABT) may lead to severe problems, such as immunoreaction and infection. Postoperative autotransfusion, an alternative to ABT, is controversial. We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the ability of postoperative autotransfusion to reduce the need for ABT following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and total hip arthroplasty (THA). Methods Systematic literature searches for randomized controlled trials were performed using PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library until February 2016. Relative risks (RRs) and weighted mean differences with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using fixed-effect or random-effect models; we also evaluated publication bias and heterogeneity. Results Seventeen trials with a total of 2314 patients were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled RRs of ABT rate between autotransfusion and the regular drainage/no drainage groups for TKA and THA were 0.446 (95% CI = 0.287, 0.693; p

Since the SARS crisis in 2003, institutionalized emergency management systems have been established in each government level for improving inter-organizational collaboration in China. Major accidents require participation of public organizations affiliated with multiple government levels, and the lack of collaboration and coordination among the involved organizations within the critical time constraints during the response process is an existing problem. In this research, a case study of examining the intergovernmental and cross-sectoral collaboration for responding to a well-known oil pipeline explosion accident in China by a complex network method is conducted. The aim is to obtain managerial insights in improving the existing emergency management system in a centralized political-administrative context, such as China. A mixed method of data collection is applied to identify the participating organizations and to determine the interaction spanning organizational boundaries in both hierarchical and horizontal dimensions. An emergency response network is built and visualized for representing intergovernmental and interorganizational collaboration during the response process of the major accident by social network analysis (SNA) tools. The SNA indicators are used to measure quantitatively the network structure at the levels of the whole network, subnetwork, and node. The obstacles of achieving intergovernmental collaboration are found, and managerial suggestions for improving the existing emergency management system are provided. This research indicates that the Chinese government should pay attention to establishing and sustaining partnerships with private and nonprofit organizations and conduct a blend of hierarchical, market, and network principles in fostering collaboration for addressing major accidents. The public organizations in the local government level are shown to be more active than other participators in coordinating their response operations, and their capability should be emphasized for improvement. Additionally, the interactive relationships among specific emergency function groups and between the affected communities and organizations performing emergency command and coordination function should be strengthened.

In this paper we established a mathematical model for national fitness in China. Based on a questionnaire and data of the General Administration of Sport of China and the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the dynamics for three classes of people are expressed by a system of three-dimensional ordinary equations. Model parameters are estimated from the data. This study indicated that national fitness put out by the Chinese government is reasonable. By finding the key parameter, the best measure to promote national fitness is put forward. In order to increase the number of people who frequently participate in sport exercise in a short period of time, if only one measure can be chosen, guiding people who never take part in physical exercise will be the best measure.