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Background: This study aims to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) when used as an add-on therapy for individuals with persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD). Methods: In this randomized controlled, double-blind trial conducted at Shangluo Central Hospital, patients with PPPD diagnosed in the neurology departments were included. Participants were randomized into a rTMS treatment group and a control group in a 1:1 ratio by the randomized grouping method. Patients in both groups received conventional treatment, with the rTMS treatment group underwent daily rTMS sessions, whereas the control group received sham rTMS treatments following the same schedule. The effectiveness of the treatments was primarily assessed using the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA), and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD), which measured symptoms of vertigo, anxiety, and depression at baseline, after two weeks, and at the end of four weeks. Findings: Of the 46 participants recruited, 2 were excluded due to contraindications, 22 were randomly assigned to the rTMS treatment group, and 22 were assigned to the control group. Ultimately, 2 withdrew for personal reasons, and data from 42 participants were included in the outcome analysis. HAMA, HAMD and DHI scores were significantly lower in the rTMS treatment group than in the control group after 4 weeks of treatment (p

Abstract The chloroplast (cp) genome sequence of Mussaenda pubescens, a promising resource that is used as a traditional medicine and drink, is important for understanding the phylogenetic relationships among the Mussaenda family and genetic improvement and reservation. This research represented the first comprehensive description of the morphological characteristics of M. pubescens, as well as an analysis of the complete cp genome and phylogenetic relationship. The results indicated a close relationship between M. pubescens and M. hirsutula based on the morphological characteristics of the flower and leaves. The cp was sequenced using the Illumina NovaSeq 6000 platform. The results indicated the cp genome of M. pubescens spanned a total length of 155,122 bp, including a pair of inverted repeats (IRA and IRB) with a length of 25,871 bp for each region, as well as a large single-copy (LSC) region and a small single-copy (SSC) region with lengths of 85,370 bp and 18,010 bp, respectively. The results of phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that species within the same genus displayed a tendency to group closely together. It was suggested that Antirhea, Cinchona, Mitragyna, Neolamarckia, and Uncaria might have experienced an early divergence. Furthermore, M. hirsutula showed a close genetic connection to M. pubescens, with the two species having partially overlapping distributions in China. This study presents crucial findings regarding the identification, evolution, and phylogenetic research on Mussaenda plants, specifically targeting M. pubescens.

Background: JianPiTongLuo Recipe (JPTL Recipe) is a traditional Chinese medicine formula commonly used in the clinical treatment of colorectal cancer. Clinical studies have found that it can significantly improve the prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer. However, its mechanisms of action are not well understood, which has limited its further clinical application. Methods: We investigated the potential mechanisms of action of the JianPiTongLuo (JPTL) Recipe on colorectal cancer (CRC) using a multi-step approach. Initially, network pharmacology and bioinformatics analyses were conducted using databases such as TCMSP, HERB, BATMAN-TCM, and STRING to identify active components of JPTL Recipe and predict their therapeutic targets. Interaction networks and functional enrichment analyses were constructed to hypothesize relevant biological processes and pathways. In vitro studies involved treating human CRC cell lines HCT116, LoVo and SW480 with varying concentrations of JPTL Recipe extract, measuring cell viability with the CCK-8 assay, assessing apoptosis via flow cytometry, and analyzing signaling pathways through Western blotting. To corroborate these findings, in vivo experiments were performed on BALB/c nude mice implanted with HCT116 cells, divided into control, JPTL Recipe-treated, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-treated, and JPTL Recipe combined with 5-FU groups, with tumor growth and histological changes monitored. Mechanistic studies focused on the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, examining the phosphorylation status of key pathway proteins using immunofluorescence and Western blot analyses to elucidate JPTL Recipe 's interaction with pathway activity. Results: We demonstrated that JPTL Recipe effectively inhibits colorectal cancer cell proliferation, anti-apoptotic ability, and exerts synergistic therapeutic effects with fluorouracil. Further analysis revealed that JPTL Recipe affects the activity of colorectal cancer cells by inhibiting the phosphorylation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Conclusion: In summary, we have discovered and confirmed that the traditional Chinese medicine compound JPTL Recipe can serve as a novel adjuvant therapy for colorectal cancer, offering a new treatment approach for the integration of traditional Chinese and Western medicine in the treatment of colorectal cancer.

Leukemia stem cells (LSC) require frequent adaptation to maintain their self-renewal ability in the face of longer exposure to cell-intrinsic and cell-extrinsic stresses. However, the mechanisms by which LSC maintain their leukemogenic activities, and how individual LSC respond to stress, remain poorly understood. Here, we found that DNAJC10, a member of HSP40 family, was frequently up-regulated in various types of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and in LSC-enriched cells. Deficiency of DNAJC10 leads to a dramatic increase in the apoptosis of both human leukemia cell lines and LSC-enriched populations. Although DNAJC10 is not required for normal hematopoiesis, deficiency of Dnajc10 significantly abrogated AML development and suppressed self-renewal of LSC in the MLL-AF9-induced murine leukemia model. Mechanistically, inhibition of DNAJC10 specifically induces endoplasmic reticulum stress and promotes activation of PERK-EIF2α-ATF4 branch of unfolded protein response (UPR). Blocking PERK by GSK2606414 (PERKi) or shRNA rescued the loss of function of DNAJC10 both in vitro and in vivo. Importantly, deficiency of DNAJC10 increased sensitivity of AML cells to daunorubicin (DNR) and cytarabine (Ara-C). These data revealed that DNAJC10 functions as an oncogene in MLL-AF9-induced AML via regulation of the PERK branch of the UPR. DNAJC10 may be an ideal therapeutic target for eliminating LSC, and improving the effectiveness of DNR and Ara-C.

Online reviews have become an important data source for analyzing consumers’ preferences. Consumer preference analysis assists product managers to understand consumers’ propensity for different product attributes and make consumer-oriented market strategies. Existing studies on consumer preference analysis used simple additive algorithms to represent the relationship between overall ratings and attribute ratings, but ignored the interactions between attributes. In addition, not all attribute ratings were given by consumers when calculating the overall ratings of a product. To fill these gaps, a preference model based on the extended 2-additive Choquet integral is constructed. The 2-additive Choquet integral can reflect the importance of attributes and the interactions between pairs of attributes when integrating attribute ratings. In cases where consumers choose only a subset of product attributes to rate a product, we introduce the scale parameter into the 2-additive Choquet integral to characterize the relationship between different attribute subsets. Afterwards, a preference disaggregation paradigm based on nonlinear programming is provided to solve the preference model. Finally, the proposed method is validated by experimental analysis using the dataset collected from TripAdvisor.com. Experimental outcomes indicate that our approach can deduce consumers’ preferences and approximate the evaluation behavior of consumers efficiently. First published online 22 November 2022

VIKOR is a well-defined multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) method since it reflects different risk attitudes of decision-makers by measuring the overall performance of an alternative under all criteria as “group value” and the worst performance of the alternative under all criteria as “individual regret”, but it cannot deal with MCDM problems where the criteria of different alternatives are inconsistent (different) and the decision information is uncertain. To address these problems, we present a probabilistic linguistic VIKOR method by combining with probabilistic linguistic term sets which portrays uncertain information such as individual hesitancy and incomplete belief flexibly. In addition, we introduce the aspired and tolerable values of criteria as reference points to measure the closeness degrees of alternatives to the ideal solution. To compare group values and individual regrets of different alternatives, we develop a vector normalization method that considers the number of criteria. The robustness of the aggregation results of group values and individual regrets is improved based on the extended Borda rule, which takes into account both values and ranks of alternatives in the aggregation. A case study of personnel evaluation demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed method for solving MCDM problems with inconsistent criteria and uncertain decision information.

Merlin ((Moesin-ezrin-radixin-like protein, also known as schwannomin) is a tumor suppressor protein which is encoded by the neurofibromatosis type 2 gene, NF2. Loss of function mutations or deletions in NF2 which normally restrains tumor growth, leads to the formation of multiple tumors including schwannoma, meningioma and ependymoma. We tested whether NF2/Merlin is expressed and exerts similar control on proliferation of colorectal cancer cells and modulates the rate of their apoptosis. Expression of NF2/Merlin was reduced in colorectal cancer cells as compared with adjacent non-cancerous cells. Overexpression of NF2 inhibited colony formation by tumor cells and inhibited proliferation of cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo. The rate of apoptosis was also increased in colorectal cancer cells by overexpression of NF2. These findings show that NF2/Merlin is also reduced in tumors that do not arise in the context of neurofibromatosis and that induction of its expression might be used to control tumor growth.

Analytic hierarchy process (AHP), as one of the most important methods to tackle multiple criteria decision-making problems, has achieved much success over the past several decades. Given that linguistic expressions are much closer than numerical values or single linguistic terms to a human way of thinking and cognition, this paper investigates the AHP with comparative linguistic expressions. After providing the snapshot of classical AHP and its fuzzy extensions, we propose the framework of hesitant fuzzy linguistic AHP, which shows how to yield a decision for qualitative decision-making problems with complex linguistic expressions. First, the comparative linguistic expressions over criteria or alternatives are transformed into hesitant fuzzy linguistic elements and then the hesitant fuzzy linguistic preference relations (HFLPRs) are constructed. Considering that HFLPRs may be inconsistent, we conduct consistency checking and improving processes after obtaining priorities from the HFLPRs based on a linear programming method. Regarding the consistency-improving process, we develop a new way to establish a perfectly consistent HFLPR. The procedure of the hesitant fuzzy linguistic AHP is given in stepwise. Finally, a numerical example concerning the used-car management in a lemon market is given to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed hesitant fuzzy linguistic AHP method.

TODIM method (an acronym in Portuguese of Interactive and Multicriteria Decision Making) has attracted the attention of many scholars and achieved much success in multi-criteria decision making. Linguistic expression, as a qualitative information representation form, is much closer to human's cognition than specific numerical values. This paper combines the classical TODIM method with the continuous interval-valued linguistic term set to solve multi-criteria group decision-making problems. A distance measure of the continuous interval-valued linguistic term set is developed and then applied to develop a criteria-weighting method. In addition, the consensus level among experts are taken into account and an improved consensus reaching method is introduced to help experts reach an agreement. Subsequently, the framework of the continuous interval-valued linguistic TODIM method is introduced to show how to derive the optimal decision-making result with complicated and precise linguistic assessments in the qualitative situation. A case study concerning the green supplier selection for a food company is provided to verify the feasibility and practicality of the proposed method. Finally, the comparisons with other ranking methods are provided to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed method.

Underground mining method selection is a critical decision problem for available underground ore deposits in exploitation design. As many comprehensive factors, such as physical parameters, economic benefits, and environmental effects, are claimed to be established and a group of experts are involved in the issue, the underground mining method selection is deemed as a multiple experts multiple criteria decision making problem. Classical mining method assessment exists some gaps due to the way of representing opinions. To address this matter, a hesitant fuzzy linguistic gained and lost dominance score method is investigated in this paper. To enhance the flexibility and gain more information, mining planning engineers are allowed to convey their knowledge using hesitant fuzzy linguistic term sets in the underground mining method selection process. A novel score function of hesitant fuzzy linguistic term set is introduced to compare any hesitant fuzzy linguistic term sets. Then, based on the score function, a weight determining function is proposed to calculate the weights of criteria, which can magnify the “importance” and “unimportance” of criteria. To select the mining method, the hesitant fuzzy linguistic gained and dominance score method is developed. A case study concerning selecting a extraction method for a real mine in Yunnan province of China is presented to illustrate the applicability of the proposed method. The effectiveness of the proposed method is finally verified by comparing with other ranking methods.

As a generalized form of both intuitionistic fuzzy set and Pythagorean fuzzy sets, the q-rung orthopair fuzzy set (q-ROFS) has strong ability to handle uncertain or imprecision decisionmaking problems. This paper aims to introduce a new multiple criteria decision making method based on the original gain and lost dominance score (GLDS) method for investment evaluation. To do so, we first propose a new distance measure of q-rung orthopair fuzzy numbers (q-ROFNs), which takes into account the hesitancy degree of q-ROFNs. Subsequently, two methods are developed to determine the weights of DMs and criteria, respectively. Next, the original GLDS method is improved from the aspects of dominance flows and order scores of alternatives to address the multiple criteria decision making problems with q-ROFS information. Finally, a case study concerning the investment evaluation of the BE angle capital is given to illustrate the applicability and superiority of the proposed method.

The hesitant fuzzy linguistic term set is an effective tool to express qualitative evaluations since it is close to human reasoning and expressing habits. In this paper, we propose a multi-expert multi-criterion decision-making method integrating the double normalization-based multi-aggregation (DNMA) method with a cardinal consensus reaching process, where the assessments of alternatives over multiple criteria are expressed as hesitant fuzzy linguistic term sets. To do so, the DNMA method involving double normalizations and three aggregation tools is extended to deal with the hesitant fuzzy linguistic information and derive the ranking of alternatives with respect to each expert. In addition, a cardinal consensus reaching process is introduced to help experts reach an acceptable consensus level. In other words, the soft consensus is considered in the multi-expert multi-criterion decision-making process. Subsequently, an extended Borda rule is developed to aggregate the subordinate ranks and integrated scores of alternatives, and then deduce the comprehensive ranking of alternatives. A case study is given to illustrate the practicability of the proposed method for selecting the optimal geographical location of a larger-scale shopping mall in the new urbanization for a construction investment agency. The proposed method is compared with other ranking methods to illustrate its advantages.

As one of the most important prosthetic implants for amputees, current commercially available prosthetic hands are still too bulky, heavy, expensive, complex and inefficient. Here, we present a study that utilizes the artificial tendon to drive the motion of fingers in a biomimetic prosthetic hand. The artificial tendon is realized by combining liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) and liquid metal (LM) heating element. A joule heating-induced temperature increase in the LCE tendon leads to linear contraction, which drives the fingers of the biomimetic prosthetic hand to bend in a way similar to the human hand. The responses of the LCE tendon to joule heating, including temperature increase, contraction strain and contraction stress, are characterized. The strategies of achieving a constant contraction stress in an LCE tendon and accelerating the cooling for faster actuation are also explored. This biomimetic prosthetic hand is demonstrated to be able to perform complex tasks including making different hand gestures, holding objects of different sizes and shapes, and carrying weights. The results can find applications in not only prosthetics, but also robots and soft machines.

The well-known algorithms, such as the graphic method, analytical method or numerical method, have some defects when modelling the dexterous finger workspace, which is a significant kinematical feature of dexterous hands and valuable for grasp planning, motion control and mechanical design. A novel modelling method with convenient and parametric performances is introduced to generate the dexterous-finger reachable workspace. This method constructs the geometric topology of the dexterous-finger reachable workspace, and uses a joint feature recognition algorithm to extract the kinematical parameters of the dexterous finger. Compared with graphic, analytical and numerical methods, this parametric modelling method can automatically and conveniently construct a more vivid workspace's forms and contours of the dexterous finger. The main contribution of this paper is that a workspace-modelling tool with high interactive efficiency is developed for designers to precisely visualize the dexterous-finger reachable workspace, which is valuable for analysing the flexibility of the dexterous finger.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the hypothesis that dietary supplementation with glutamic acid has beneficial effects on growth performance, antioxidant system, intestinal morphology, serum amino acid profile and the gene expression of intestinal amino acid transporters in growing swine fed mold-contaminated feed. Fifteen pigs (Landrace×Large White) with a mean body weight (BW) of 55 kg were randomly divided into control group (basal feed), mycotoxin group (contaminated feed) and glutamate group (2% glutamate+contaminated feed). Compared with control group, mold-contaminated feed decreased average daily gain (ADG) and increased feed conversion rate (FCR). Meanwhile, fed mold-contaminated feed impaired anti-oxidative system and intestinal morphology, as well as modified the serum amino acid profile in growing pigs. However, supplementation with glutamate exhibited potential positive effects on growth performance of pigs fed mold-contaminated feed, ameliorated the imbalance antioxidant system and abnormalities of intestinal structure caused by mycotoxins. In addition, dietary glutamate supplementation to some extent restored changed serum amino acid profile caused by mold-contaminated feed. In conclusion, glutamic acid may be act as a nutritional regulating factor to ameliorate the adverse effects induced by mycotoxins.

OBJECTIVES: Percutaneous coronary intervention( PCI) for ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) has been widely accepted for patient who come within 12 hours, but for those who come to the hospital late (12 hours to 28 days) the long-term data and possible predictors are limited regarding 'hard' endpoints in 'real world'. METHODS: The registry data of all 5523 consecutive patients admitted due to an incident STEMI (12 hours to 28 days) in our center were analyzed. Patients were divided into 3 age groups (age

Agricultural investment project selection is a complex multi-criteria decision-making problem, as agricultural projects are easily influenced by various risk factors, and the evaluation information provided by decisionmakers usually involves uncertainty and inconsistency. Existing literature primarily employed direct preference elicitation methods to address such issues, necessitating a great cognitive effort on the part of decision-makers during evaluation, specifically, determining the weights of criteria. In this study, we propose an indirect preference elicitation method, known as a preference disaggregation method, to learn decision-maker preference models from decision examples. To enhance evaluation ease, decision-makersmerely need to compare pairs of alternatives with which they are familiar, also known as reference alternatives. Probabilistic linguistic preference relations are employed to account for the presence of incomplete and uncertain information in such pairwise comparisons. To address the inconsistency among a group of decision-makers, we develop a pair of 0-1mixed integer programming models that consider both the semantics of linguistic terms and the belief degrees of decision-makers. Finally, we conduct a case study and comparative analysis. Results reveal the effectiveness of the proposed model in solving agricultural investment project selection problems with uncertain and inconsistent decision information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]