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This study produced a method for the fast detection and identification of five strains of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), including the currently prevalent wild-type QX and G Ⅵ-1 strains, in addition to the Mass, 4/91, and LDT3 strains that are used as vaccines. Based on the spike 1 (S1) glycoprotein gene sequences of the IBV Mass, QX, G Ⅵ-1, 4/91, and LDT3 strains, five sets of customized primers, showing excellent specificity, were designed and synthesized to target the appropriate conserved sequences. After repeated improvement, a multiple PCR detection approach with strong specificity for the simultaneous detection of IBV Mass, QX, G Ⅵ-1, 4/91, and LDT3 strains was initially established. The optimal final concentration of both upstream and downstream primers in this system was 0.1 μmol/L, with an annealing temperature of 58°C and a cycle number of 35. Specificity detection revealed high accuracy, as the approach was able to amplify the expected specific segments of each strain without cross-amplification. As templates for the sensitivity test, the recombinant plasmid standards were detected with a limit of 103 copies/μL or less. The results exhibited high sensitivity of this method. It was subsequently applied to the identification of purposefully randomly mixed infections of two, three, four or five IBV strains mentioned above in samples of chicken embryos. All of the intentionally infected samples showed the expected amplified bands. Using this technology, it was also possible to correctly identify suspected IBV infected chicken tissue samples and clinical pharyngeal and anal swab samples from different laying hen farms. To sum up, the multiple PCR detection method created in this work has good clinical application effects and provides a new technical way of quickly identifying and detecting five IBV strain genotypes.

Asthma is a widespread public health concern, with an increasing incidence. Despite the implementation of current treatment strategies, asthma control, particularly for severe cases, remains suboptimal. Recent research has revealed the encouraging prospects of extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted by mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) as a viable therapeutic option for alleviating asthma symptoms. Therefore, the present review aims to provide an overview of the current progress and the therapeutic mechanisms of using MSC-derived EVs (MSC-EVs) for asthma treatment. Additionally, different administration approaches for EVs and their impacts on biodistribution and the curative outcomes of EVs are summarized. Notably, the potential benefits of nebulized inhalation of MSC-EVs are addressed. Also, the possibilities and challenges of using MSC-EVs for asthma treatment in clinics are highlighted. Overall, this review is intended to give new insight into the utilization of MSC-EVs as a potential biological drug for asthma treatment.

True Digital Orthophoto Maps (TDOMs) have high geometric accuracy and rich image characteristics, making them essential geographic data for national economic and social development. Complex terrain and artificial structures, automatic distortion elimination and occluded area recovery in TDOM generation pose significant challenges. Hence, the need for further improvements in both mapping accuracy and automation is highlighted. In this paper, we present an approach for generating a TDOM based on a Neural Radiance Field (NeRF) without utilizing prior three-dimensional geometry information called an Ortho Neural Radiance Field (Ortho-NeRF). The Ortho-NeRF divides a large-scale scene into small tiles, implicitly reconstructing each tile by selecting pixels on posed images, and individually generate TDOMs of all tiles using a true-ortho-volume rendering before mosaicking. Additionally, the Ortho-NeRF uses a strategy to skip empty spaces and adaptively set the spatial resolution of a voxel grid, improving the generated TDOM quality with fewer computational resources. Many experiments showed that our approach outperforms ContextCapture, Metashape, Pix4DMapper, and Map2DFusion, especially in challenging areas. Owing to its global consistency and continuous nature, Ortho-NeRF was able to effectively reconstruct the geometry information and details, generating TDOMs without distortion or misalignment. Eight ground control points were randomly selected to evaluate the geometric accuracy of the TDOMs, with an average median error of 0.267 m. The length between two points on a plane was also measured for quantitative evaluation, with a mean absolute error of 0.08 m and a mean relative error of 0.14%. Compared with the NeRF efficiency, that of the Ortho-NeRF increased 104 times in training and about 1000 times in rendering.

SARS-CoV-2 is the causative virus of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic that results in an unparalleled global health and economic crisis. Despite unprecedented scientific efforts and therapeutic interventions, the fight against COVID-19 continues as the rapid emergence of different SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and the increasing challenge of long COVID-19, raising a vast demand to understand the pathomechanisms of COVID-19 and its long-term sequelae and develop therapeutic strategies beyond the virus per se. Notably, in addition to the virus itself, the replication cycle of SARS-CoV-2 and clinical severity of COVID-19 is also governed by host factors. In this review, we therefore comprehensively overview the replication cycle and pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 from the perspective of host factors and host-virus interactions. We sequentially outline the pathological implications of molecular interactions between host factors and SARS-CoV-2 in multi-organ and multi-system long COVID-19, and summarize current therapeutic strategies and agents targeting host factors for treating these diseases. This knowledge would be key for the identification of new pathophysiological aspects and mechanisms, and the development of actionable therapeutic targets and strategies for tackling COVID-19 and its sequelae.

Background: The increasing burden of falls in BRICS countries warrants a comprehensive investigation to understand the dynamics and trends. This study utilized data from the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2019 to assess fall incidence rates in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) to provide valuable insights for the development of targeted prevention and management strategies. Methods: Data from the GBD 2019 were employed to estimate fall incidence rates. The study utilized age-period-cohort (APC) model analysis, implemented using R 4.3.0 software and the R package apc, to examine fall incidence trends from 1990 to 2019. Results: In 2019, the BRICS nations collectively reported 32.32 million fall cases. The overall fall incidence rate increased from 2681.7 per 100,000 people in 1990–2896.3 per 100,000 people in 2019. China and India exhibited escalating trends, with China experiencing the highest growth rate at 21%, followed by India at 5.8%. South Africa displayed a comparatively lower overall incidence rate increase. Notably, the 90–94 age group in China exhibited the most significant deterioration, with men and women experiencing annual increases of 4.23% and 1.77%, respectively. Age effects indicated a higher susceptibility to falls among preschool children and the elderly. Period effects revealed no improvement in the fall state for India (2005–2019) and China (2015–2019). Cohort effects adversely impacted the incidence rate for individuals born earlier in South Africa. Conclusion: The present study highlights a consistent upward trend in fall incidence rates across BRICS countries from 1990 to 2019. With an aging population, the burden of fall-related diseases is on the rise in these nations. Our results underscore the necessity of formulating evidence-based disease prevention and management approaches tailored to the distinctive demographic attributes of each nation. Addressing these trends is crucial for mitigating the growing impact of falls on public health in BRICS countries.

We report a case of aortoduodenal fistula formed after an abdominal aortic aneurysm ruptured into the duodenum. There is also an aortic dissection involving the celiac trunk, superior mesenteric artery and renal arteries. Successful treatment was achieved through endovascular aortic repair, followed by anti-infective and supportive therapy over 3 months.

MALT1 (mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma translocation protein 1) serves as a pivotal mediator for NF-κB activation in response to a wide spectrum of transmembrane receptor stimuli. In the present study, a homolog of MALT1, named LvMALT1, is cloned from the Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) and its potential function in shrimp innate immunity is explored. The open reading frame of LvMALT1 is 2364 bp that encodes 787 amino acids. The predicted LvMALT1 protein structure comprises a death domain, three immunoglobulin domains, and a caspase-like domain, exhibiting remarkable similarity to other homologs. LvMALT1 is a cytoplasmic-localized protein and could interact with LvTRAF6. Overexpression of LvMALT1 induces the activation of promoter elements governing the expression of several key antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), including penaeidins (PENs) and crustins (CRUs). Conversely, silencing of LvMALT1 leads to a reduction in the phosphorylation levels of Dorsal and Relish, along with a concomitant decline in the in vivo expression levels of multiple AMPs. Furthermore, LvMALT1 is prominently upregulated in response to a challenge by the white spot syndrome virus (WSSV), facilitating the NF-κB-mediated expression of AMPs as a defense against viral infection. Taken together, we identified a MALT1 homolog from the shrimp L. vannamei, which plays a positive role in the TRAF6/NF-κB/AMPs axis-mediated innate immunity.

BackgroundAlthough global contraceptive coverage has increased significantly, high rates of unintended pregnancy remain the current global status quo. A comparative analysis of the differences and correlations of knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) of both partners will help guide public health work according to gender characteristics and needs, and reduce the occurrence of unintended pregnancy.MethodsA questionnaire survey of people with unintended pregnancies including women and their male partners (n = 1,275 pairs) who sought help from the Shanghai General Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from October 2017 to October 2021. Data were collected on sexual and reproductive health knowledge, attitudes, and practices in both partners who had unintended pregnancies. Chi-square test and Logistic regression were used to analyze the relationship between the occurrence of unintended pregnancy and KAP and its influencing factors. Paired odds ratio and McNemar's test were used to estimate the difference and concordance of KAP between partners.ResultsThis study included 1,275 partners with a mean age of 30.0 years. The partner's overall level of KAP is good. Compared with women, men had better knowledge (χ2 = 3.93, p = 0.047) and more active contraceptive practices (χ2 = 19.44, p < 0.001). In the analysis of partner concordance, male contraceptive intention was found to be better than female [matched pairs odds ratio (ORMP) = 2.56, p < 0.001], and the concordance of positive contraceptive practice between partners increased with male education [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.556, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.185–2.044, p = 0.001]. In partner-paired regression analysis, compared with good contraceptive knowledge in both men and women in the partner, the risk of negative contraceptive practice was 1.7 times (aOR = 1.721, 95% CI = 1.234–2.400, p = 0.001) higher with good contraceptive knowledge in women but negative in men, while women with poor contraceptive knowledge but men with good knowledge are 1.3 times (aOR = 1.349, 95% CI = 1.000–1.819, p = 0.05) more likely to have negative contraceptive practices. In addition, compared with partners with positive contraceptive attitudes, women with positive attitudes but negative men and women with negative attitudes but positive men had 1.7 and 1.4 times the risk of negative contraceptive practices, respectively.ConclusionThe study found that unintended pregnancy occurs mainly in young people, and the younger age of first sexual intercourse, the low education background and the lack of discussion of contraception between partners are risk factors for not taking contraceptive measures. Men's better knowledge and contraceptive practices compared with female partners, and poor male contraceptive knowledge and attitudes may lead to a higher risk of negative contraceptive practices, the results suggest that male KAP plays an important role in promoting contraceptive use and reducing unintended pregnancy.

In order to explore the correlation between students’ seat choice and interaction preference in the open gamification scenario, an experiment has been carried out on the platform of provincial virtual simulation experiment teaching center of a university, and tested the relationship between absolute distance, seat type, workstation type, and students’ interaction preference. The results show that in the virtual-reality fusion gamification scenario where students can move freely: (1) The inner circle students can stimulate the outer circle students’ willingness to invest in learning. (2) The task attribute and the seat distribution of the group may lead to the difference of students’ interaction preference. (3) Students are more likely to learn knowledge and skills by interacting with “people” rather than “object.” (4) Gender and major influence students’ experience of participating in gamified teaching. The results confirm that the interactive engagement effect of location does exist in immersive virtual-reality fusion gamification teaching scenario, and suggestions are put forward to adjust the effect of location through instructional design and teacher intervention.

Abstract Background The future liver remnant (FLR) faces a risk of poor growth in patients with cirrhosis-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after stage-1 radiofrequency-assisted ALPPS (RALPPS). The present study presents a strategy to trigger further FLR growth using supplementary radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI). Methods At RALPPS stage-1 the portal vein branch was ligated, followed by intraoperative RFA creating a coagulated avascular area between the FLR and the deportalized lobes. During the interstage period, patients not achieving sufficient liver size (≥ 40%) within 2–3 weeks underwent additional percutaneous RFA/PEI of the deportalized lobes (rescue RFA/PEI) in an attempt to further stimulate FLR growth. Results Seven patients underwent rescue RFA/PEI after RALPPS stage-1. In total five RFAs and eight PEIs were applied in these patients. The kinetic growth rate (KGR) was highest the first week after RALPPS stage-1 (10%, range − 1% to 15%), and then dropped to 1.5% (0–9%) in the second week (p

Background: Bone is thought to be the reservoir of the human lead burden, and vitamin D is associated with bone turnover. We aimed to explore whether exposure to lower 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D) levels was associated with higher blood lead levels (BLLs) by increasing the bone turnover rate in individuals with type 2 diabetes. Methods: A total of 4103 type 2 diabetic men and postmenopausal women in Shanghai, China, were enrolled in 2018. Their 25(OH)D, β-C-terminal telopeptide (β-CTX), N-MID osteocalcin and procollagen type 1 N-peptide (P1NP) levels were detected. Their BLLs were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. Mediation analyses were performed to identify the possible role that bone turnover played in the underlying mechanisms. Results: In both the men and postmenopausal women, all three bone turnover markers were inversely associated with 25(OH)D and positively associated with the BLL (all P < 0.01) after adjusting for age, current smoking habits, metabolic parameters, duration of diabetes, vitamin D intake, and use of anti-osteoporosis medication. In the mediation analyses, none of the direct associations between 25(OH)D and B LL was significant for the three bone turnover markers, but all three bone turnover markers were found to be significant mediators of the indirect associations between 25(OH )D and BLL. Conclusion: The association between vitamin D and BLL was fully mediated by bone turnover markers in type 2 diabetic patients (mediation effect). This finding suggested that vitamin D may protect against blood lead exposure from the bone reservoir by decreasing bone turnover in individuals with type 2 diabetes.

Abstract Objective To detect the expression level of organic anion-transporting polypeptide 1B3 (OATP1B3) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to determine the relationship between OATP1B3 expression, clinicopathological features, and prognosis. Methods Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining was performed to detect the expression of OATP1B3 in 131 HCC specimens and in 89 adjacent nontumorous tissues. Moreover, the expression levels of OATP1B3 in 30 pairs of tumor and matched adjacent nontumorous tissues were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, and 34 pairs of tumor and matched adjacent nontumorous tissues were detected by Western blotting. The χ2 test was applied to analyze the correlation between OATP1B3 expression and the clinical parameters of HCC patients. The prognostic value of OATP1B3 in HCC patients was estimated by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and the Cox stepwise proportional hazards model. Results Compared with that in adjacent nontumorous tissues (25.8%, 23/89), OATP1B3 expression was significantly downregulated in tumor tissues (59.5%, 78/131) (P < 0.0001). Moreover, OATP1B3 expression was markedly correlated with tumor size, recurrence, tumor differentiation, and tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage (P < 0.05 for each). However, age, sex, tumor capsule status, HBsAg, cirrhosis, tumor number, vascular invasion, and serum alpha fetoprotein were not associated with OATP1B3 expression. The overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) of HCC patients who had high expression of OATP1B3 were significantly longer than those of patients with low expression (33.0% vs 12.9%, P = 0.001; 18.8% vs 5.3%, P < 0.0001). Cox multivariate analysis showed that OATP1B3, invasion, and TNM stage (P < 0.05 for each) were independent prognostic factors of OS in HCC patients and that OATP1B3 and TNM stage (both P < 0.05) were independent prognostic factors of DFS in HCC patients. Conclusions The expression of OATP1B3 in HCC patients was significantly lower than that in adjacent nontumorous tissues. OATP1B3 expression may be a potential prognostic marker in HCC patients.

During the different periods of a day, the imbalanced distribution of inbound ridership, that is related to land use, results in extreme flow, which makes metro management challenging. The causes of imbalanced passenger flow from the perspective of land use in metro station areas are studied in this paper. More specifically, based on site classification, the impact of land use, including the floor area ratio and gross floor area on passenger flow, was explored by using a multiple linear regression model. The results first indicate that the impact intensities of the floor area ratio on peak hourly flow were 0.41, 0.21, and 0.20 around business, residential, and mixed sites, respectively. Second, for the abovementioned sites, the types with the greatest impact intensities of gross floor area on peak hourly flow were commercial and business facilities (B), residential (R), as well as administration and public services (A), which were 0.73, 0.32, and 0.87, respectively. Finally, for the land-development-control schemes for business, residential, and mixed sites, the maximum values of the floor area ratio were roughly 7.2, 5.3, and 8.2, respectively. The results presented in this study provide guidance for land development in metro station areas and contribute to avoiding the emergence of extreme passenger flow.

Abstract Background Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for the treatment of small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a drawback of high recurrence rate. No-touch technique was developed to overcome it. However, it has barely been studied in Chinese populations. The aim of this study is to determine the safety and efficacy of no-touch RFA in the treatment of cirrhosis-based small HCC patients. Methods A total of 130 patients of small HCC in Southwest Hospital were enrolled in this study, 46 cases treated by no-touch RFA and 84 cases by conventional RFA. Treatment complications and tumor-free survival rate and overall survival rate were compared and analyzed. Results There were no significant differences in baseline confounding factors between the two groups. The ablation volume of no-touch RFA technique was significantly higher than conventional RFA (P = 0.002) but the remaining liver volume and treatment complications of the two techniques were the same (P = 0.702 and P = 0.269, respectively). Cox regression model revealed that conventional RFA was a predictive factor for short-term HCC recurrence (P = 0.041 for 2-year recurrence rate). Kaplan-Meier survival showed that tumor-free survival in no-touch group was significantly higher than conventional group (P = 0.047). Conclusions Our data showed that no-touch RFA provided a higher short-term tumor-free survival rate than conventional RFA but was as safe as conventional RFA.

Although great progresses have been made in the diagnosis and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), its prognostic marker remains controversial. In this current study, weighted correlation network analysis and Cox regression analysis showed significant prognostic value of five autophagy-related long non-coding RNAs (AR-lncRNAs) (including TMCC1-AS1, PLBD1-AS1, MKLN1-AS, LINC01063, and CYTOR) for HCC patients from data in The Cancer Genome Atlas. By using them, we constructed a five-AR-lncRNA prognostic signature, which accurately distinguished the high- and low-risk groups of HCC patients. All of the five AR lncRNAs were highly expressed in the high-risk group of HCC patients. This five-AR-lncRNA prognostic signature showed good area under the curve (AUC) value (AUC = 0.751) for the overall survival (OS) prediction in either all HCC patients or HCC patients stratified according to several clinical traits. A prognostic nomogram with this five-AR-lncRNA signature predicted the 3- and 5-year OS outcomes of HCC patients intuitively and accurately (concordance index = 0.745). By parallel comparison, this five-AR-lncRNA signature has better prognosis accuracy than the other three recently published signatures. Furthermore, we discovered the prediction ability of the signature on therapeutic outcomes of HCC patients, including chemotherapy and immunotherapeutic responses. Gene set enrichment analysis and gene mutation analysis revealed that dysregulated cell cycle pathway, purine metabolism, and TP53 mutation may play an important role in determining the OS outcomes of HCC patients in the high-risk group. Collectively, our study suggests a new five-AR-lncRNA prognostic signature for HCC patients.

Purpose: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is widely accepted as a curative treatment for small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, insufficient RFA (IRFA) can lead to rapid local recurrence. The underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. This study aimed to elucidate the role and regulatory mechanisms of autophagy in the recurrence of HCC after IRFA. Materials and methods: SMMC7721 and Huh7 cells were exposed to sublethal heat stress to stimulate the transition zone of IRFA treatment. The levels of autophagy were measured by western blot, immunofluorescence and transmission electron microscopy. Functional assays, such as CCK-8, EdU incorporation and flow cytometry, were performed to determine the role of heat-induced autophagy. The involved signaling pathways were explored by western blot. Finally, the antitumor effects of chloroquine (CQ) on heat-treated HCC cells were evaluated via an in vivo xenograft tumor model. Results: Sublethal heat stress induced autophagy in a temperature- and time-dependent manner in HCC cells. Furthermore, the inhibition of autophagy by CQ or siRNA targeting the autophagy-related genes Beclin-1 and Atg5 enhanced heat-induced apoptosis. The combination of CQ and heat treatment significantly suppressed tumor growth both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, we reported for the first time that the ATP-AMPK-mTOR signaling pathway was involved in heat-induced autophagy. Conclusions: Heat stress induced protective autophagy against heat-induced apoptosis in HCC via the ATP-AMPK-mTOR axis, suggesting that targeting autophagy may be a promising strategy for improving the efficacy of RFA treatment for HCC.

Abstract Background Sub-lethal heat treatment characterizes a transition zone of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) which explains hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) residual cancer occurrence in this area after RFA treatment. The biochemistry of residual cancer cell recurrence is poorly understood, but long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) may have aberrant expression that is associated with diverse cancers. Thus, we measured lncRNA gene expression in sub-lethally heat-treated HCC cells using microarray. Method Differentially expressed lncRNA and mRNA were measured with an Agilent Human lncRNA + mRNA Array V4.0 (4 × 180 K format) containing 41,000 lncRNAs and 34,000 mRNAs. Bioinformatics analysis was used to assess differentially expressed lncRNA and mRNA. Seven lncRNA and seven mRNA were validated by qRT-PCR analysis in HCC cells. Results Genome-wide lncRNA and mRNA expression data in sub-lethal heat-treated SMMC-7721 HCC cells 558 lncRNA and 250 mRNA were significantly up-regulated and 224 lncRNA and 1031 mRNA down-regulated compared to normal cultured SMMC-7721 cells. We demonstrated for the first time that ENST00000570843.1, ENST00000567668.1, ENST00000582249.1, ENST00000450304.1, TCONS_00015544, ENST00000602478.1, TCONS_00001266 and ARC, IL12RB1, HSPA6 were upregulated, whereas STAT3, PRPSAP1, MCU, URB2 were down-regulated in sub-lethally heat-treated HCC cells. Conclusions lncRNA expression data in sub-lethally heat-treated HCC cells will provide important insights about lncRNAs’ contribution to HCC recurrence after RFA treatment.

Rapid increases in urban sprawl affect the observational environment around meteorological stations by changing the land use/land cover (LULC) and the anthropogenic heat flux (AHF). Based on remote sensing images and GIS technology, we investigated the impact of changes in both LULC and AHF induced by urbanization on the meteorological observational environment in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) during 2000–2018. Our results show that the observational environments around meteorological stations were significantly affected by the rapid expansion of built-up areas and the subsequent increase in the AHF, with a clear spatiotemporal variability. A positive correlation was observed between the proportion of built-up areas and the AHF around meteorological stations. The AHF was in the order urban stations > suburban stations > rural stations, but the increases in the AHF were greater around suburban and rural stations than around urban stations. Some meteorological stations need to be relocated to address the adverse effects induced by urbanization. The proportion of built-up areas and AHF around the new stations decreased significantly after relocation, weakening the urban heat island effect on the meteorological observations and substantially improving the observational environment. As a result, the observed daily mean temperature (relative humidity) decreased (increased) around the new stations after relocation. Our study comprehensively shows the impact of rapid urban sprawl on the observational environment around meteorological stations by assessing changes in both LULC and the AHF induced by urbanization. These findings provide scientific insights for the selection and construction of networks of meteorological stations and are therefore helpful in scientifically evaluating and correcting the impact of rapid urban sprawl on meteorological observations.

Using multi-view images of forest plots to reconstruct dense point clouds and extract individual tree parameters enables rapid, high-precision, and cost-effective forest plot surveys. However, images captured at close range face challenges in forest reconstruction, such as unclear canopy reconstruction, prolonged reconstruction times, insufficient accuracy, and issues with tree duplication. To address these challenges, this paper introduces a new image dataset creation process that enhances both the efficiency and quality of image acquisition. Additionally, a block-matching-based multi-view reconstruction algorithm, Forest Multi-View Reconstruction with Enhanced Confidence-Guided Dynamic Domain Propagation (CDP-MVS), is proposed. The CDP-MVS algorithm addresses the issue of canopy and sky mixing in reconstructed point clouds by segmenting the sky in the depth maps and setting its depth value to zero. Furthermore, the algorithm introduces a confidence calculation method that comprehensively evaluates multiple aspects. Moreover, CDP-MVS employs a decentralized dynamic domain propagation sampling strategy, guiding the propagation of the dynamic domain through newly defined confidence measures. Finally, this paper compares the reconstruction results and individual tree parameters of the CDP-MVS, ACMMP, and PatchMatchNet algorithms using self-collected data. Visualization results show that, compared to the other two algorithms, CDP-MVS produces the least sky noise in tree reconstructions, with the clearest and most detailed canopy branches and trunk sections. In terms of parameter metrics, CDP-MVS achieved 100% accuracy in reconstructing tree quantities across the four plots, effectively avoiding tree duplication. The accuracy of breast diameter extraction values of point clouds reconstructed by CDPMVS reached 96.27%, 90%, 90.64%, and 93.62%, respectively, in the four sample plots. The positional deviation of reconstructed trees, compared to ACMMP, was reduced by 0.37 m, 0.07 m, 0.18 m and 0.33 m, with the average distance deviation across the four plots converging within 0.25 m. In terms of reconstruction efficiency, CDP-MVS completed the reconstruction of the four plots in 1.8 to 3.1 h, reducing the average reconstruction time per plot by six minutes compared to ACMMP and by two to three times compared to PatchMatchNet. Finally, the differences in tree height accuracy among the point clouds reconstructed by the different algorithms were minimal. The experimental results demonstrate that CDP-MVS, as a multi-view reconstruction algorithm tailored for forest reconstruction, shows promising application potential and can provide valuable support for forestry surveys.

To develop a biscuit product with high dietary fiber content and improve the comprehensive utilization rate of bamboo shoots, Chimonobambusa quadrangularis shoot powder (CQSP) was added to biscuits. Inspected by the effect of CQSP addition, butter addition, sugar addition, baking temperature and baking time on the quality of biscuits, using chroma value, texture properties and sensory evaluation as the index, studied by single factor experiment to optimize the Chimonobambusa quadrangularis shoot biscuits craft formula. The results showed that with the increase of CQSP addition, the a* and b * of biscuits increased. The L* did not change significantly when the content of CQSP was added from 0% to 3%, the brightness of biscuits decreased significantly (P>0.05) when the content of CQSP was added from 4% to 5%, and the hardness, crispness and chewiness of biscuits increased gradually. The hardness, crispness and chewiness of the biscuits decreased with the increase of butter content. The biscuit quality was better, when the content of butter added was 24%. The hardness of the biscuit increased with the increase of sugar content. When the sugar content was 13%~15%, the biscuit hardness was the best. The L* of biscuits gradually decreases with the increase of baking temperature. When the baking temperature was 160~180 ℃, the biscuits become dark obviously. With the increase of baking time, the a* and b * of biscuits increased, the L* gradually decreased, and the hardness, crispness and chewiness of biscuits increased gradually. After single factor optimization, the best formula of CQSP crisp biscuit was CQSP 3%, butter 24%, sugar 13%, baking at 150 ℃ for 25 minutes. Under the technological conditions, the L* of was 71.1, the a* was 2.05, the b* was 27.43, the hardness was 2466.16 g, the crispness was 2050.02 g, the chewiness was 541.29, the sensory score could reach 83.1. The results can provide a theoretical reference for high value utilization of by-products of bamboo shoot processing.

Background Routine assessments of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) include standard uroflowmetry (UF), which is labour and equipment intensive to perform, and stressful and unnatural for patients. An ideal test should be accurate, repeatable, affordable and portable. Objective To evaluate the accuracy of a machine-learning (ML) augmented audio-uroflowmetry (AF) algorithm in predicting urinary flows. Subjects and methods This pilot study enrolled 25 healthy men without LUTS, who were asked to void into a gravimetric uroflowmeter. A smartphone recorded the voiding sounds simultaneously. Paired uroflow and audio parameters were used to train an ensemble ML model to predict urinary flows from voiding sounds. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to compare UF with AF values. Statistical significance was defined as p<0.05. Results A total of 52 voiding session were captured, of which n=35 were used for training and n=17 for testing the algorithm. Each voiding session was divided into 0.1 s frames, resulting in >300 analysable datapoints per session. Pearson's coefficients showed strong correlations for flowtimes (r=0.96, p<0.0001), voided volumes (r=0.83, p<0.0001) and average flowrates (r=0.70, p=0.0019), and moderate correlation for maximal flowrate (r=0.69, p=0.0022). AF predicted flow patterns showed good agreement with UF tracings. The main limitations were the small participants sample size and use of a single smartphone type. Conclusions ML augmented AF can predict uroflow parameters with a good accuracy, and can be a viable alternative to standard UF. Further work is needed to develop this platform for use in real-life conditions and across genders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]