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The present research employed sodium alginate (SA) and pea protein isolate (PPI) as primary materials to explore the impact of pre-gelation time on the rheological properties, 3D printability, and swallowing properties of SA-PPI composite gel. Additionally, in vitro release capabilities of 3D printed products carrying curcumin (Cur) were studied. The results illustrated that adjusting the pre-gelation time could enhance the rheological properties, 3D printability, swallowing ability, encapsulation efficiency, and slow-release capabilities of the composite gel. Specifically, the SA-PPI composite gel (SA-PPI22) with pre-gelled for 22 min, displayed the optimal viscosity and recovery, which facilitated extrusion and shape retention during the 3D printing process. Moreover, SA-PPI22 exhibited a smooth surface quality in its 3D printed structures, along with exceptional self-supporting ability and swallowing performance meeting grade 5 fine filling food standards. Furthermore, SA-PPI22 delayed its release rate in vitro. This study could contribute to the advancement of hydrogel applications in the field of 3D printing and offer the theoretical groundwork for the development of SA-PPI composite gels in dysphagia-friendly food products.

In this study, sodium alginate (SA), locust bean gum (LBG) and mung bean starch (MBS) were used as raw materials. Dynamic rheometer, texture analyzer, differential scanning calorimeter, X-ray diffractometer and low-field nuclear magnetic resonance were used to explore the effects of SA, LBG and SA-LBG mixtures with different compounding ratios on MBS aging and their influence mechanisms. The results showed that adding SA, LBG and SA-LBG mixture can reduce the hardness, aging enthalpy value, recrystallization rate constant (k), relative crystallinity and water mobility of aged MBS gel, and increase its loss factor. Low-field NMR results found that the SA-LBG mixture increased the T2 of MBS gel. The results show that SA, LBG and SA-LBG mixture can delay the aging of MBS gel, among which the anti-aging effect of SA-LBG mixture is more significant. SA-LBG mixture at mass ratio of 1:1 exhibited a strongest synergistic effect on inhibiting MBS gel retrogradation. This may be due to that the synergistic effects between SA and LBG, as well as hydrogen binding among SA, LBG and starch, which could prevent interactions between starch molecules and inhibit starch recrystallization. These findings might provide useful information for improving MBS-based products’ shelf-life with introduction of SA-LBG.

C16H16ClNO, monoclinic, P21/n (no. 14), a = 9.2566 Å, b = 9.2270(7) Å, c = 17.2231(14) Å, β = 103.745(8)°, V = 1428.9(2) Å3, Z = 4, R gt(F) = 0.0655, wR ref(F 2) = 0.2113, T = 293 K.

C9H7ClN2OS, monoclinic, P21/n (no. 14), a = 8.3507(3) Å, b = 12.3768(4) Å, c = 10.2340(4) Å, β = 96.857(4)°, V = 1050.17(7) Å3, Z = 4, Rgt (F) = 0.0673, wRref (F 2) = 0.2013, T = 296(2) K.

BackgroundTranscutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) has emerged as a promising brain stimulation modality in poststroke upper extremity rehabilitation. Although several studies have examined the safety and reliability of taVNS, the mechanisms underlying motor recovery in stroke patients remain unclear.ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate the effects of taVNS paired with task-oriented training (TOT) on upper extremity function in patients with subacute stroke and explore the potential underlying mechanisms.MethodsIn this double-blinded, randomized, controlled pilot trial, 40 patients with subacute stroke were randomly assigned to two groups: the VNS group (VG), receiving taVNS during TOT, and the Sham group (SG), receiving sham taVNS during TOT. The intervention was delivered 5 days per week for 4 weeks. Upper extremity function was measured using the Fugl-Meyer Assessment-Upper Extremity (FMA-UE), the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT). Activities of daily living were measured by the modified Barthel Index (MBI). Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) were measured to evaluate cortical excitability. Assessments were administered at baseline and post-intervention. Additionally, the immediate effect of taVNS was detected using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and heart rate variability (HRV) before intervention.ResultsThe VG showed significant improvements in upper extremity function (FMA-UE, ARAT) and activities of daily living (MBI) compared to the SG at post-intervention. Furthermore, the VG demonstrated a higher rate of elicited ipsilesional MEPs and a shorter latency of MEPs in the contralesional M1. In the VG, improvements in FMA-UE were significantly associated with reduced latency of contralesional MEPs. Additionally, fNIRS revealed increased activation in the contralesional prefrontal cortex and ipsilesional sensorimotor cortex in the VG in contrast to the SG. However, no significant between-group differences were found in HRV.ConclusionThe combination of taVNS with TOT effectively improves upper extremity function in patients with subacute stroke, potentially through modulating the bilateral cortex excitability to facilitate task-specific functional recovery.

The industrial Internet has promoted the intelligent development of the entire manufacturing service system by closely connecting and integrating equipments,production lines,factories,suppliers,products and customers through an Internet platform.China attaches great importance to the development of industrial Internet,and puts forward the latest development goals in the field of industrial Internet technology.The intra-enterprise industrial Internet is an important part of industrial Internet,interconnecting industrial equipments,information systems,business processes,enterprise products and services,and personnel,and realizing efficient connections from the shop floor level to the decision-making level.Firstly,it introduces the current status of the development of intra-enterprise industrial Internet from the perspectives of intra-enterprise industrial Internet standards,intra-enterprise industrial Internet devices and intra-enterprise industrial Internet applications.Secondly,the problems in the development of intra-enterprise industrial Internet are analyzed in depth from seven aspects,that is,architecture,network identification,opera-ting system,real-time,reliability,compatibility and security.Then,the proposed measures for the development of intra-enterprise industrial Internet are presented,and the collaborative innovation mechanism and policies of intra-enterprise industrial Internet are discussed.Finally,the future development of intra-enterprise industrial Internet is summarized.

Typically, the strategy of central heating for buildings in winter is climate compensator.However, this strategy heavily relies on manual experience with a relatively simple regulation.Therefore, how to optimize the heating control strategy is very important to keep the indoor temperature stable and comfortable.For this task, this paper proposes a heating strategy optimization method based on deep learning and deep reinforcement learning, which can optimize the original control strategy based on real historical data.The paper first develops a deep MTDN (Multiple Time Difference Network) as the simulator to predict the next time slot's room temperature.By learning the thermodynamic law of indoor temperature change, the network has high accuracy and confirms the physical laws.After that, the SAC (Soft Actor-Critic) algorithm based on maximum entropy reinforcement learning is employed as the strategy optimizer to interact with the simulator.Here, we use the evaluation index of the human body's thermal response as the reward to train and optimize the heating control strategy.Based on the real data of a heat exchange station in Tianjin, we evaluate the predictive ability of the simulator and the control ability of the strategy optimizer, respectively.The results verify that, compared with other types of prediction simulators, this simulator not only has high prediction accuracy but also conforms to physical laws.At the same time, compared with the original strategy, the strategy learned by the strategy optimizer can ensure that the indoor temperature is more stable and comfortable in multiple time periods of random sampling.

[INLINE:1] Previous studies have suggested that miR-324-3p is related to the pathophysiology of cerebral ischemia, but the mechanism underlying this relationship is unclear. In this study, we found that miR-324-3p expression was decreased in patients with acute ischemic stroke and in in vitro and in vivo models of ischemic stroke. miR-324-3p agomir potentiated ischemic brain damage in rats subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion, as indicated by increased infarct volumes and cell apoptosis rates and greater neurological deficits. In a PC12 cell oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation model, a miR-324-3p mimic decreased cell viability and expression of the anti-apoptotic protein BCL2 and increased expression of the pro-apoptotic protein BAX and rates of cell apoptosis, whereas treatment with a miR-324-3p inhibitor had the opposite effects. Silencing miR-324-3p increased adenosine A1 receptor (A1R) expression through regulation of GATA binding protein 2 (GATA2). These findings suggest that silencing miR-324-3p reduces ischemic brain damage via the GATA2/A1R axis.

Purpose: Immune-related pneumonitis (IRP) has attracted extensive attention, owing to its increased mortality rate. Conventional chemotherapy (C) has been considered as an immunosuppressive agent and may thus reduce IRP’s risk when used in combination with PD-1/L1 inhibitors. This study aimed to assess the risk of IRP with PD-1/L1 inhibitors plus chemotherapy (I+C) versus PD-1/L1 inhibitors alone (I) in solid cancer treatment. Method: Multiple databases were searched for RCTs before January 2021. This NMA was performed among I+C, I, and C to investigate IRP’s risk. Subgroup analysis was carried out on the basis of different PD-1/L1 inhibitors and cancer types. Results: Thirty-one RCTs (19,624 patients) were included. The I+C group exhibited a lower risk of IRP in any grade (RR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.38–0.95) and in grade 3–5 (RR, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.21–0.92) as opposed to the I group. The risk of any grade IRP with PD-1 plus chemotherapy was lower than that with PD-1 monotherapy (RR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.28–0.89), although grade 3–5 IRP was similar. There was no statistically meaningful difference in the risk of any grade IRP between PD-L1 plus chemotherapy and PD-L1 inhibitors monotherapy (RR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.43–2.09) or grade 3–5 IRP (RR, 0.71;95% CI, 0.24–2.07). In addition, compared with the I group, the I+C group was correlated with a decreased risk in IRP regardless of cancer type, while a substantial difference was only observed in NSCLC patients for grade 3–5 IRP (RR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.15–0.98). Conclusion: In comparison to PD-1/L1 inhibitor treatment alone, combining chemotherapy with PD-1/L1 inhibitors might reduce the risk of IRP in the general population. Furthermore, PD-1 inhibitors in combination with chemotherapy were correlated with a decreased risk of IRP compared to PD-1 inhibitor treatment alone. In contrast to the I group, the I+C group exhibited a lower risk of IRP, especially for NSCLC patients.

This article titled "Clinics in diagnostic imaging (220)" provides information on the diagnosis, clinical course, and imaging techniques used to detect psoas abscesses. It discusses the case of a 67-year-old man with a history of appendiceal adenocarcinoma and peritoneal metastases who presented with thigh and lower back pain. Abdominal radiographs and CT scans revealed a gas-containing right psoas abscess from colonic perforation. The article includes case studies and imaging findings to illustrate different presentations of psoas abscesses and emphasizes the importance of careful evaluation of radiographs for abnormalities in the psoas muscle. Treatment typically involves antibiotic therapy and drainage, with surgical intervention reserved for certain cases. [Extracted from the article]