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It is interesting that despite its long-term and widespread use in China, relatively little is known about the operational characteristics of a variable approach lane (VAL) in real world. Using one month of inductive-loop detector data at ten dynamic approaches (intersection approaches with dynamic lane assignment) from different intersections in Hangzhou, China, this paper presents the results of a study materializing the flow characteristics of variable approach lanes by comparing them with adjacent normal-flow lanes under various operating conditions. The effectiveness of the results was examined in a case-control analysis by integrating 12 fixed approaches (without variable lane) as benchmark. It was found that the difference or similarity of flow rate between the variable lane and the normally-flowing lane differs under a variety of traffic volume, time-of-day, mode-of-operation, and overhead lane-use guidance sign (OHS) location conditions. The study also revealed that while naturally there may be a difference in the flow rates between referencing lanes at fixed approaches, the flow difference percentage (FDP) at dynamic approaches is significantly higher.

Abstract Connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) rely on their perception systems to detect traffic objects, with the uncertainty in detection results significantly influencing the safety of their decision‐making and control mechanisms. This paper introduces a safety potential field for CAVs that accounts for target detection errors. Initially, the paper categorizes errors arising from target detection into classification, labelling, and positioning categories. Subsequently, an elliptical model‐based safety potential field is developed, incorporating potential field line optimization using safety thresholds and lane lines. This approach facilitates the determination of critical values and safety distribution for the potential field. The paper then proceeds with coefficient calibration and experimental analysis to validate the reliability of the proposed model. Findings indicate that as target detection errors increasingly manifest, the safety potential field area for CAVs becomes more restrictive, enhancing the field's sensitivity to these errors. The critical safety value for CAVs is maintained within the range of [0 m, 7 m], providing a stable basis for decision‐making and control. Additionally, the safety value for CAVs falls between [15, 25], favouring the improvement of safety gradient distribution under the calibrated safety potential field values.

As the number of vehicles and the volume of traffic swell in urban centers, cities have experienced a concomitant increase in traffic accidents. Proactively identifying accident-prone hotspots in urban environments holds the promise of preventing traffic mishaps, thereby curtailing the incidence of accidents and reducing property damage. This research introduces the Two-Branch Contextual Feature-Guided Converged Network (TCFGC-Net) utilizing multimodal satellite and street view data. Designed to extract global structural features from satellite imagery and dynamic continuous features from street view imagery, the model aims to improve the accuracy of detecting urban accident hotspots. For the satellite imagery branch, we propose the Contextual Feature Coupled Convolutional Neural Network (Trans-CFCCNN) designed to extract global spatial features and discern feature correlations across adjacent regions. For the street view imagery branch, we develop the Sequential Feature Recurrent Attention Network (SFRAN) to assimilate and integrate dynamic scene features captured from successive street view images. We designed the Multi-Branch Feature Adaptive Fusion Structure (MBFAF) to aggregate different branch features for accurate identification of accident hotspots. Experimental results show that the model performs well, with an overall accuracy of 93.7 %. Ablation studies confirm that relative to standalone street view and satellite branch analyses, implementing multimodal fusion enhances the model's accuracy by 12.05 % and 17.86 %, respectively. The innovative fusion structure proposed herein garners a 4.22 % increase in model accuracy, outpacing conventional feature concatenation techniques. Furthermore, the model outperforms existing deep learning models in terms of overall efficacy. Additionally, to showcase the efficacy of the proposed model structure, we utilize Class Activation Maps (CAM) to provide visual interpretability for the model. These results suggest that the dual-branch fusion model effectively decreases false alarm occurrences and directs the model's focus toward regions more pertinent to accident hotspots. Finally, the code and model used for identifying hotspots of urban traffic accidents in this study are available for access: https://github.com/gwt-ZJU/TCFGC-Net.

This study aimed to determine whether trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) was involved in sympathetic activation in aging and the underlying mechanisms. Our hypothesis is TMAO reduces P2Y12 receptor (P2Y12R) and induces microglia-mediated inflammation in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), then leading to sympathetic activation in aging. This study involved 18 young adults and 16 old adults. Aging rats were established by injecting D-galactose (D-gal, 200 mg/kg/d) subcutaneously for 12 weeks. TMAO (120 mg/kg/d) or 1% 3, 3-dimethyl-l-butanol (DMB) was administrated via drinking water for 12 weeks to investigate their effects on neuroinflammation and sympathetic activation in aging rats. Plasma TMAO, NE and IL-1β levels were higher in old adults than in young adults. In addition, standard deviation of all normal to normal intervals (SDNN) and standard deviation of the average of normal to normal intervals (SDANN) were lower in old adults and negatively correlated with TMAO, indicating sympathetic activation in old adults, which is associated with an increase in TMAO levels. Treatment of rats with D-gal showed increased senescence-associated protein levels and microglia-mediated inflammation, as well as decreased P2Y12R protein levels in PVN. Plasma TMAO, NE and IL-1β levels were increased, accompanied by enhanced renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA). While TMAO treatment exacerbated the above phenomenon, DMB mitigated it. These findings suggest that TMAO contributes to sympathetic hyperactivity in aging by downregulating P2Y12R in microglia and increasing inflammation in the PVN. These results may provide promising new target for the prevention and treatment of aging and aging-related diseases.

Objective: Qu Du Qiang Fei 1 Hao Fang (QDQF1) is a novel Chinese herbal medicine formula used to treat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the pharmacological mechanisms of action of QDQF1 remain unclear. The objective of this study was to identify the effective ingredients and biological targets of QDQF1 for COVID-19 treatment. Materials and Methods: The effective ingredients and mechanisms of action of QDQF1 were analyzed by using network pharmacology methods, which included an analysis of the effective ingredients and corresponding targets, COVID-19-related target acquisition, compound-target network analyses, protein-protein interaction network analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analyses, and molecular docking studies. Results: In total, 288 effective QDQF1 ingredients were identified. We identified 51 core targets from the 148 targets through an overlap between putative QDQF1 targets and COVID-19-related targets. Six key components, including formononetin, kaempferol, luteolin, naringenin, quercetin, and wogonin were identified through component-target network analyses. GO functional enrichment analysis of the core targets revealed 1296 items, while KEGG pathway enrichment analysis identified 148 signaling pathways. Nine central targets (CCL2, CXCL8, IL1B, IL6, MAPK1, MAPK3, MAPK8, STAT3, and TNF) related to the COVID-19 pathway were identified in the KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. Furthermore, molecular docking analysis suggested that the docking scores of the six key components to the nine central targets were better than those to remdesivir. Conclusions: QDQF1 may regulate multiple immune-and inflammation-related targets to inhibit the progression of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, and thus, may be suitable for the treatment of COVID-19.

Abstract Introduction Fungal communities are key players in the soil biogeochemical processes of forest ecosystems. Although it has been illustrated that soil fungi are susceptible to environmental changes, little is known about the interactive effects of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) enrichment on the soil fungal functional guild. Materials and Methods Here, a 5‐year N and P addition manipulation experiment was conducted in two growing stages (i.e., tree ages 80 years) of a subtropical forest, in which soil fungal diversity and functional guilds were investigated using a multiple‐time sampling strategy. Results Fungal species richness and Shannon indices were significantly different across sampling times. Fungal community composition was significantly affected by both N and P addition but not by forest age. Old forest had a higher fungal network complexity than young forest, and fertilisation decreased soil fungal network complexity and generated looser and more random networks in comparison with the control. The community composition of symbiotrophic and saprotrophic fungi was significantly impacted by N and P addition and correlated with soil available P and total P contents and soil C:P and N:P. Conclusions Our findings highlight that soil P availability has a strong effect on soil fungal communities and their functional guild composition in the subtropical forest.

Auricularia delicata (Mont.) Henn. 1893 is an edible and medicinal jelly mushroom popular in China. Here, we report the assembly and annotation of a complete A. delicata mitochondrial genome based on data sequenced using an Illumina NovaSeq 6000 platform. The length of the complete circular A. delicata mitochondrial genome is 189,696 bp, with a GC content of 34.1%. The A. delicata mitochondrial genome contains 60 genes, including 32 protein-coding genes, 26 tRNA genes, and two rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that A. delicata clustered with the Auricularia group, alongside A. auricula-judae and A. heimuer. Additionally, A. delicata was found to be genetically distant from other species of Polyporales, Russulales, and Agaricales. This genome will provide an invaluable reference for the continued study and utilization of A. delicata and other Auricularia species.

In development over 70 years, magnetotelluric (MT) sounding, a high-resolution technique for subsurface electrical resistivity imaging, has been widely applied in resource exploration in the Earth. The key factors of the metallogenic system of metallic mineral deposits can be closely correlated to the electrical anomalies of the lithosphere. In this paper, we review the relationship between the electrical resistivity model of the lithosphere and the metallogenic system. At the beginning, we indicate why the electrical parameters relate to the metallogenic system in all geophysical parameters. The advantage of MT sounding in sketching an electrical resistivity model of the lithosphere is subsequently discussed, and some methods of data processing, analysis and inversion are also introduced. Furthermore, we summarize how to bridge the relationship between the electrical resistivity model of the lithosphere and metallogenic system, and analyze the influence of the rheological variation estimated from conductivity in the lithosphere on mineralization. In the end, we list some typical cases of the application of MT sounding in mineral exploration, and also give some suggestions for future work. This study is aimed at providing guidance in discussing the metallogenic system using an electrical resistivity model.

The low-temperature environment significantly inhibits the growth and metabolism of denitrifying bacteria, leading to an excessive concentration of ammonia nitrogen and total nitrogen in sewage treatment plants during the cold season. In this study, an efficient denitrifying strain of heterotrophic nitrification–aerobic denitrification (HN–AD) bacteria named HS2 was isolated and screened from industrial sewage of a chemical factory in Inner Mongolia at 8 °C. The strain was confirmed to be Achromobacter spiritinus, a colorless rod-shaped bacterium. When cultured with sodium succinate as the carbon source, a carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of 20–30, a shaking rate of 150–180 r/min, and an initial pH of 6–10, the strain HS2 exhibited excellent nitrogen removal at 8 °C. Through the results of whole-genome sequencing, gene amplification, and gas product detection, the strain HS2 was determined to possess key enzyme genes in both nitrification and denitrification pathways, suggesting a HN–AD pathway of NH4+-N → NH2OH → NO2−N → NO → N2O → N2. At 8 °C, the strain HS2 could completely remove ammonia nitrogen from industrial sewage with an initial concentration of 127.23 mg/L. Microbial species diversity analysis of the final sewage confirmed Achromobacter sp. as the dominant genus, which indicated that the low-temperature denitrifying strain HS2 plays an important role in nitrogen removal in actual low-temperature sewage.

Abstract More uncertainty can be obtained when real numbers are extended to intervals. The two new concepts proposed in this work are the natural extensions of cognitive interval information and cognitive uncertain information with real numbered values replaced by interval values. Hence, interval type cognitive interval information and interval type cognitive uncertain information with some characteristics, structures, uncertainty degree functions and score functions of them are analyzed. Two special usages of the two uncertain information types in group decision making show that they have much more algorithmic variations, flexibility and applicability than the mere formal extensions or changes.

Abstract Most existing visual simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) algorithms rely heavily on the static world assumption. Combined with deep learning, semantic SLAM has become a popular solution for dynamic scenes. However, most semantic SLAM methods show poor real-time performance when dealing with dynamic scenes. To handle this problem, a real-time semantic SLAM method is proposed in this paper, combining knowledge distillation and dynamic probability propagation strategy. First, to improve the execution speed, a multi-level knowledge distillation method is adopted to obtain a lightweight segmentation model, which is more suitable for continuous frames to create an independent semantic segmentation thread. This segmentation thread only accepts keyframes as input so that the system can avoid time delay caused by processing each frame. Second, a static semantic keyframe selection strategy is proposed based on the segmentation results. In this way, those keyframes containing more static information will be selected to reduce the participation of dynamic objects. By combining segmentation results and data matching algorithm, our system can realize the update and propagation of dynamic probability, reducing the influence of dynamic points in the pose optimization process. Validation results based on the KITTI and TUM datasets show that our method can effectively deal with dynamic feature points and improve running speed simultaneously.

Background: This study aimed to develop and validate a radiomics score to predict the long-term survival and patterns of recurrence of gastric cancer (GC). Methods: A total of 513 patients who underwent radical gastrectomy for GC after curative resection between 2008 and 2016 at two institutions were analyzed. A radiomics score was generated using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator Cox regression model on 327 patients and was validated in 186 patients. A nomogram consisting of the radiomics score and clinicopathological factors was created and compared with the tumor-lymph node-metastasis (TNM) staging system. Model performance was assessed using calibration, discrimination, and clinical usefulness. Results: The radiomics score was established based on five selected features. A higher score was significantly associated with poorer recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) rates, both in the training and validation cohorts (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the radiomics score was an independent prognostic factor for both RFS and OS (P < 0.05). A nomogram incorporating the radiomics score had a significantly better prognostic value than the TNM system alone. Moreover, a high score was significantly associated with an increased risk of distant recurrence, a medium score was significantly associated with an increased risk of peritoneal recurrence, and a low score was significantly associated with an increased risk of locoregional recurrence, in the entire cohort (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The newly proposed radiomics score may be a powerful predictor of long-term outcomes and recurrence patterns of GC. Further studies are warranted to confirm these findings.

Abstract Background Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is one of the most common orthopedic malformations in children. Open reduction for DDH at walking age remains a major concern. The goal of this study is to evaluate the mid-term effect of a modified Smith–Petersen approach which preserves the rectus femoris on DDH at walking age, in particular avascular necrosis (AVN). Methods A retrospective review of DDH patients aged between 12 and 24 months was carried out between January 2010 and June 2016. Open reduction through the Smith–Petersen approach (Group A) and modified Smith–Petersen approach, which preserves the rectus femoris (Group B), were both used. Measurement of hip geometry included acetabular index, the International Hip Dysplasia Institute classification, and AVN degree. Clinical records included operation time, bleeding volume, and abduction angle. Results There were 101 children (119 hips) with DDH who met the inclusion criteria. There were 66 hips in Group A and 53 in Group B. The mean surgical age at open reduction was 17.0 ± 2.4 months, with a mean 104.9 ± 19.5 months at last follow-up. There was no statistical difference in surgical age between the two groups (17.2 vs. 16.4 months). There was no significant difference in the incidence of all types of clinically significant AVN between group A and group B (27.3 vs. 18.9%), but the incidence of severe AVN was lower in group B (19.7 vs. 5.7%, P = 0.026). In addition, the lower the age at the time of open reduction, the lower the severity of AVN (P = 0.002). Conclusions These mid-term data suggest that the modified Smith–Petersen approach with rectus-sparing could reduce severe AVN more than the classical Smith–Peterson approach in open reduction in DDH at walking age. In addition, early open reduction can reduce the postoperative degree of AVN.

The quality of fresh-cut produce, particularly sweet potatoes, is crucial for their value. Licorice extract is an optional additive in fresh-cut sweet potatoes. This study examined the impact of three licorice extracts (licorice acid, LA; licorice flavonoids, LF; and licorice polysaccharides, LP) on the quality of fresh-cut sweet potato slices (FCSPSs) for one week of storage. After one week of storage, the extracts showed varying effects on FCSPSs. LA and LF treatments reduced the area proportion of browning (APB), while LP treatments increased APB and decreased L* values. Antioxidant experiments revealed that LP treatments increased PPO and POD activity while reducing SOD activity. The concentrations of the three licorice extracts showed a strong negative correlation with SOD activity. In conclusion, LP harmed the appearance and antioxidant qualities of FCSPSs. LA and LF may be suitable additive components for FCSPSs, and 30 mg/mL LA and LF treatments were found to maintain the appearance and texture quality of FCSPSs during storage. Therefore, careful consideration should be given when using LP as a food additive for FCSPSs.

Summary: The present study examines whether there is a mechanism beyond the current concept of post-translational modifications to regulate the function of a protein. A small gas molecule, hydrogen sulfide (H2S), was found to bind at active-site copper of Cu/Zn-SOD using a series of methods including radiolabeled binding assay, X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES), and crystallography. Such an H2S binding enhanced the electrostatic forces to guide the negatively charged substrate superoxide radicals to the catalytic copper ion, changed the geometry and energy of the frontier molecular orbitals of the active site, and subsequently facilitated the transfer of an electron from the superoxide radical to the catalytic copper ion and the breakage of the copper-His61 bridge. The physiological relevance of such an H2S effect was also examined in both in vitro and in vivo models where the cardioprotective effects of H2S were dependent on Cu/Zn-SOD.

Located in the central part of the Tibetan Plateau, the Qiangtang terrane preserves important record of the uplift and deformation history of the Plateau, and therefore remains an attractive area of research. However, deep geophysical investigations of its western part are still limited. To further understand the deep structure of the western Qiangtang terrane and its surroundings, we use magnetotelluric array data to generate a 3D electrical structure. It reveals high resistivity anomalies in the upper crust and scattered high conductivity anomalies in the mid-lower crust. The electrical structure also suggests that the Longmu Co-Gozha Co fault once believed to be a major regional deformation boundary, may not have cut through the crust. The melt content and rheological parameters derived from the electrical structures show dominant ductile-type deformation in most of the study area, which contributes to block extrusion along the slip faults. Viscous deformation regions formed by mantle melt upwelling in the mid-lower crust may contribute to the formation of the N-S directed normal faults on the surface.