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The long-term impact, incidence and risk factors of thyroid dysfunction in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients receiving pegylated interferon (IFN) alpha (PegIFN-alpha) therapy remain unclear. We aim to investigate the long-term safety of thyroid dysfunction in CHB patients receiving PegIFN-alpha. A retrospective observational study of 425 CHB patients with normal baseline thyroid function was carried out. Patients were followed up over 10 years to assess thyroid function after receiving IFN. At the end of the IFN therapy, 67 patients (15.8%) had developed thyroid dysfunction, 31 patients (46.3%) had hyperthyroidism and 64.4% presented with subclinical thyroid dysfunction. In follow-up of thyroid dysfunction patients, 37 patients (74.0%) spontaneously regained normal thyroid function. Pretreatment thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) level, thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) positivity and free thyroxine (FT4) were independent risk factors associated with thyroid dysfunction incidence. High TSH level (OR = 9.866, 95%CI, 3.245-29.998) was associated with a greater likelihood of hypothyroidism. High FT4 levels (OR = 0.464, 95%CI, 0.248-0.868) indicate a low likelihood of thyroid dysfunction. Thyroid dysfunction is a common but acceptable side effect of IFN therapy for CHB. Most thyroid dysfunction is reversible. Pretreatment TSH level and TPOAb positivity are risk factors for thyroid dysfunction development during IFN therapy. A high TSH level predicts an increased incidence of hypothyroidism. Moreover, FT4 may be a protective factor for thyroid dysfunction.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was detected in China during the 2019–2020 seasonal influenza epidemic. Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) and behavioral changes to mitigate COVID-19 could have affected transmission dynamics of influenza and other respiratory diseases. By comparing 2019–2020 seasonal influenza activity through March 29, 2020 with the 2011–2019 seasons, we found that COVID-19 outbreaks and related NPIs may have reduced influenza in Southern and Northern China and the United States by 79.2% (lower and upper bounds: 48.8%–87.2%), 79.4% (44.9%–87.4%) and 67.2% (11.5%–80.5%). Decreases in influenza virus infection were also associated with the timing of NPIs. Without COVID-19 NPIs, influenza activity in China and the United States would likely have remained high during the 2019–2020 season. Our findings provide evidence that NPIs can partially mitigate seasonal and, potentially, pandemic influenza., Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) implemented to interrupt COVID-19 transmission may also impact the spread of other infectious diseases. Here, the authors estimate that influenza activity in China and the United States reduced by up to 80% when NPIs were in place in the 2019–2020 season.

Introduction During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the circulation of seasonal influenza virus declined globally and remained below previous seasonal levels. We analyzed the results of the epidemiology, antigenic, and genetic characteristics, and antiviral susceptibilities of seasonal influenza viruses isolated from the mainland of China during October 5, 2020 through September 5, 2021, to better assess the risk of influenza during subsequent influenza season in 2021 – 2022. Methods Positive rates of influenza virus detection during this period were based on real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection by the Chinese National Influenza Surveillance Network laboratories, and isolated viruses from influenza positive samples were submitted to the Chinese National Influenza Center. Antigenic analyses for influenza viruses were conducted using the hemagglutination inhibition assay. Next-generation sequencing was used for genetic analyses. Viruses were tested for resistance to antiviral medications using a phenotypic assay and next-generation sequencing. Results In southern China, the influenza positivity rate was elevated especially after March 2021 and was higher than the same period the previous year with the COVID-19 pandemic. In northern China, influenza positive rate peaked at Week 18 in 2021 and has declined since then. Nearly all isolated viruses were B/Victoria lineage viruses during the study period, and 37.3% of these viruses are antigenically similar to the reference viruses representing the vaccine components for the 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 Northern Hemisphere influenza season. All seasonal influenza viruses were susceptible to neuraminidase inhibitors and endonuclease inhibitors. Conclusions Influenza activity has gradually increased in the mainland of China in 2021, although the intensity of activity is still lower than before the COVID-19 pandemic. The diversity of circulating influenza types/subtypes decreased, with the vast majority being B/Victoria lineage viruses. The surveillance data from this study suggest that we should strengthen influenza surveillance during the upcoming traditional influenza season. It also provided evidence for vaccine recommendations and prevention and control of influenza and clinical use of antiviral drugs.

Two-dimensional (2D) Sn-based lead-free perovskites have attracted extensive attention because of their nontoxicity and wide light absorption. It has been proven that the introduced organic spacer ...

Introduction: Influenza surveillance is necessary for detection of emerging variants of influenza viruses and determining their epidemiological and clinical significance. Vaccination and antiviral drugs remain the most useful ways to protect against seasonal influenza and its potentially severe consequences. This study describes the epidemiology, antigenic and genetic characteristics, and antiviral susceptibilities of influenza viruses isolated from the mainland of China during the April 1, 2019 through October 4, 2020. Methods: All viruses analyzed were isolated and submitted by Chinese National Influenza Surveillance Network laboratories. The Chinese National Influenza Center performed antigenic analysis, sequencing, and antiviral resistance testing after propagation of the viruses. Antigenic characterizations were determined by hemagglutinin inhibition assay;next-generation sequencing was used for genetic analyses;phenotypic assay and next-generation sequencing were used for determining antiviral resistance. Results: The influenza positivity rate declined significantly starting in late January 2020 and has remained low. There was no summer influenza peak season in south China. Influenza A(H3N2) and B/Victoria lineage viruses were the dominant subtype/lineage during April 1, 2019 through October 4, 2020. The majority of influenza viruses were antigenically and genetically similar to reference viruses representing components of vaccines for the 2020-2021 northern hemisphere influenza season. Nearly all seasonal influenza viruses were susceptible to oseltamivir and zanamivir. Conclusions and Implications for Public Health Practice: Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the influenza positivity rate declined with implementation of strong COVID-19 control measures. The majority of circulating viruses are well matched with the current 2020-2021 northern hemisphere influenza vaccine viruses. Circulating seasonal influenza viruses were sensitive to neuraminidase inhibitors and Baloxavir marboxil. This study provided evidence for World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for vaccine viruses, for prevention and control of influenza, and for clinical use of antiviral medications.

Optimizing the timing of influenza vaccination based on regional temporal seasonal influenza illness patterns may make seasonal influenza vaccination more effective in China.We obtained provincial weekly influenza surveillance data for 30 of 31 provinces in mainland China from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention for the years 2010-2018. Influenza epidemiological regions were constructed by clustering analysis. For each region, we calculated onset date, end date, and duration of seasonal influenza epidemics by the modified mean threshold method. To help identify initial vaccination target populations, we acquired weekly influenza surveillance data for four age groups (0-4, 5-18, 19-59, and ≥60 years) in each region and in 171 cities of wide-ranging size. We used linear regression analyses to explore the association of epidemic onset dates by age group, city, and epidemiological region and provide evidence for initial target populations for seasonal influenza vaccination.We determined that northern, mid, southwestern, southeast regions of mainland China have distinct seasonal influenza epidemic patterns. We found significant regional, temporal, and spatial heterogeneity of seasonal influenza epidemics. There were significant differences by age group and city size in the interval between epidemic onset in the city or age group and regional spread (epidemic lead time), with longer epidemic lead times for 5- to 18-year-old children and larger cities.Knowledge of influenza epidemic characteristics may help optimize local influenza vaccination timing and identify initial target groups for seasonal influenza vaccination in mainland China. Similar analyses may help inform seasonal influenza vaccination strategies in other regions and countries.

PROBLEM Proper placental development is pivotal to ensure healthy pregnancy outcomes. Among the multiple cellular mechanisms involved in the orchestration of this process, little is known on the role of alternative splicing events in the modulation of trophoblast cell biology. Here, we evaluated the expression of the alternative splicing regulator Rbfox2 in the pre- and post-placentation period in mouse pregnancies in both healthy and pathological settings. METHOD OF STUDY Immunofluorescence analysis of Rbfox2 expression in mouse implantation sites collected during the pre-placentation period (E5-E7) and post-placentation (E13). RESULTS We identified a progressive increase of Rbfox2 levels throughout the peri-implantation period with a shift from a cytoplasmatic expression on E5-E6 to a predominantly nuclear expression on E7, together with a prominent expression of this factor in both subcellular compartments of the primitive placenta. Our results further showed that in contrast to healthy gestations, Rbfox2 expression decreased in preeclamptic models during the post-placentation period. Finally, we further demonstrated enhanced expression of Rbfox2 proteins in allogeneic pregnancy compared to syngeneic models. CONCLUSIONS Our findings uncover a novel role for Rbfox2-controlled splicing events in the modulation of trophoblast function, with potential implications for the pathogenesis of preeclampsia and other pregnancy complications originated from defective placentation.

Background: Nucleotide analogues (NTs) monotherapy may have a greater effect on reducing hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) than nucleoside analogues (NSs) due to their immunomodulatory function. However, this superiority remains unknown when combined with pegylated interferon α (PegIFNα). The study aimed to explore whether NTs have greater antiviral effects than NSs in combination therapy with PegIFNα. Methods: Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients treated with PegIFNα plus nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs) were retrospectively recruited. Efficacy and the predictors of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) reduction > 1 log10 IU/mL at 48 weeks were analyzed. Results: A total of 95 patients were investigated, including in PegIFNα plus NSs group and in PegIFNα plus NTs group. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed. The PegIFNα + NTs group had a greater reduction of HBsAg (−3.48 vs −2.33 log10 IU/mL, P = 0.038) and a higher proportion of patients with HBsAg reduction > 1 log10 IU/mL (100.0% vs 72.2%, P =0.003) even after PSM. However, HBsAg and hepatitis B e-antigen (HBeAg) loss rates, HBeAg seroconversion rates, degree of HBeAg and hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA decline, HBV DNA undetectable rates, and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) normalization rates showed no significant differences. Higher platelet counts (OR = 1.043, 95%CI = 1.002–1.085) and PegIFNα plus NTs (OR = 77.861, 95%CI = 3.923–1545.273) were independent predictors for HBsAg reduction > 1 log10 IU/mL at 48 weeks. Conclusion: This study suggests that PegIFNα plus NTs led to more HBsAg reduction.

This study explored the molecular mechanism underlying the effects of dexamethasone (DEX, 1 µM) on glucose transporters (GLUT) in JEG-3 human placental choriocarcinoma cells. JEG-3 cells were treated with DEX, an expression plasmid encoding human glucocorticoid receptor α (GRα), pcDNA3.1-GRα, GRα short interference (si) RNA, LY294002, xanthine oxidase (XO)/hypoxanthine (HX), rapamycin, insulin-like growth factor (IGF) 1, N-acetylcysteine (NAC) or phosphatidic acid (PA), and cell proliferation, apoptosis, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) content, human placental lactogen (hPL) content, glucose uptake, reactive oxygen species levels and signalling pathway modulation were evaluated. Treatment of JEG-3 cells with DEX (1 µM), GRα siRNA, LY294002 (50 µM), XO/HX (7.2 µM/36 nM) or rapamycin (80 nM) inhibited cell proliferation, induced apoptosis, significantly decreased MMP and hCG and hPL content and increased ROS levels. In addition, glucose uptake was decreased through downregulation of the mRNA and protein expression of GRα, GLUT1 and GLUT3. Treatment of JEG-3 cells with GRα siRNA, LY294002, XO/HX or rapamycin inhibited phosphorylation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), Akt, glycogen synthase kinase 3 and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and induced the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and tuberous sclerosis complex 2. The effects of GRα overexpression and IGF1 (100 nM), NAC (5 nM) or PA (100 µM) treatment on JEG-3 cells contrasted with those of DEX treatment. DEX blocked glucose uptake by downregulating GRα expression, which reduced GLUT1 and GLUT3 mRNA and protein expression, which, in turn, may have inhibited the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and activated the ROS/AMPK pathway.

Aims This study aims to investigate the effects of intrauterine perfusion of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) on a thin-endometrium rat model. Main methods Twenty rats in two groups of 10 were used. Group I was perfused with normal saline (NS) in the right uterine horn and 95% ethanol in the left one. Group II was bilaterally perfused with 95% ethanol into the uterine horns. After three estrous cycles, Group II was perfused with NS in the right uterine horn and G-CSF (30 μg/kg) in the left one. Hematoxylin–eosin (HE) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining were used to detect changes in endometrial thickness and expression of cytokeratin 19 (CK19) and vimentin (Vim). The relative expression levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (Vegf) and leukemia inhibitory factor (Lif) were also tested via reverse transcription-quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and Western-blot analyses. Key findings G-CSF treatment significantly increased the thickness of the endometrium in the 95% ethanol-induced thin-endometrium rat model. The expression levels of endometrial glandular epithelial cell marker for CK19 and stromal cell marker Vim were augmented in the G-CSF-treated group compared with the control group. Moreover, G-CSF treatment stimulated the expression of VEGF and LIF in the 95% ethanol-induced thin-endometrium rat model. Significance G-CSF intrauterine perfusion improved endometrial receptivity in the thin-endometrium rat model by stimulating endometrial proliferation and angiogenesis.

Change-oriented risk management is the key content of civil aviation safety management. Hazard identification is considered as one of the most difficult and flexible parts. To address the risk management due to changes introduced in existing systems, in this paper, a system change-oriented hazard identification (SCOHI) model is firstly proposed. The SCOHI model identifies hazards by integrating “5M” (mission-man-machine-management-medium), and hazard and operability (HAZOP) techniques specify changes in a system and the associated impacts on the surrounding environment. Compared with the traditional brainstorm process, the SCOHI model provides an explicit way for hazard identification in a dynamic environment. Then, taking an air navigation service provider (ANSP) in Northwest China as an example, a case study of system changes from nonradar control operations to radar control operations is analyzed. The effectiveness and applicability of the SCOHI model are tested with a risk assessment. The results from the preliminary evaluation show that the four key system change-oriented hazards are air traffic control (ATC) skills, staff capacity, control procedures, and airspace structure. In addition, the “Man” category accounts for around 55% of the total risk, ranking number 1, followed by “Management,” “Medium,” and “Machine” categories. Finally, a sound risk control strategy is provided to the ANSP to help in controlling the risk and maintaining an acceptable level of safety during system changes. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Civil aviation flight accidents are commonly recognized as low probability events. For the purpose of rational assessment of flight accident risk, information diffusion technique is adopted to develop the risk analysis model for flight accidents. To demonstrate its applicability, flight accident numbers of the latest 10 years (2008-2017) of China are selected as observation samples, and flight accident risk is calculated by using the proposed model. Analysis of the result shows that the number of flight accidents ranged over a big span. The 4 highest occurrence probability of flight accidents are 3-6 times per year (P>0.08), however it is quite rare that the number of China air transportation accident is large than 10 (P=0.2426). In average, there is about 6 flight accidents per year. The model provides a way for the estimation of flight accident risk which will contribute to civil aviation safety decision-making.

Usage of nonhalide lead sources for fabricating perovskite solar cells (PSCs) has recently attracted increasing attention as a promising route toward realizing high quality PSC devices. However, the unique role of nonhalide lead sources in improving perovskite film morphology and PSC performance has largely remained unexplored, impeding broader application of these materials. Here, it is demonstrated that by using a new nonhalide lead source, lead formate (Pb(HCOO)2), good control of perovskite film morphology can be achieved. With the usage of lead formate, PbI2 can nicely border the perovskite grain boundaries (GBs) and form domain “walls” that segregate the individual perovskite crystal domains. The PbI2 at the GBs lead to significant improvement in film quality and device performance through passivating the defects at the perovskite GBs and suppressing lateral carrier diffusion. An impressive carrier lifetime at the microsecond scale (τ 2 = 1714 ns) is achieved, further with an optimal power conversion efficiency of 20.3% for the resulting devices. This work demonstrates a promising and effective method toward fabricating high‐quality perovskites and high‐efficiency PSCs., A new nonhalide lead source, lead formate (Pb(HCOO)2), is used to prepare perovskite solar cells. Using Pb(HCOO)2 forms PbI2 domain "walls" bordering perovskite grains, leading to an ultralong carrier lifetime (≈1.7 microseconds) and a record‐high power conversion efficiency (>20%) for MAPbI3 based devices produced from nonhalide lead sources.

The characteristics of cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning for nine hailstorms in Yunnan province of China are analyzed statistically. It is determined that the hailstorms were found to present dominant negative CG lightning flashes at any given stage. One specific hailstorm occurring on July 16, 2006, is analyzed in detail by using the data from a CG lightning location network and Doppler radar. This severe hailstorm, which exhibited strong vertical development with cloud tops reaching 15.9 km, produced hailstones as large as 15 mm and had a lifespan of 3 h and 12 min. The total CG lightning within the hailstorm showed high levels of activity with flash rates of up to 79 fl/5 min. The analysis of the storm cell’s lifecycle shows similar trends between the CG lightning flash rates and radar-derived parameters. Cloud-to-ground flashes tended to initiate within the cloud region with reflectivity of more than 30 dBZ at the −10 °C isotherm height. A distinct increase in CG flash rate is shown during the rapid development stages of hailstorms. The CG lightning jump pattern appears to be an effective tool for short-term forecasting of possible occurrences of severe weather.

This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the variation in the diagnostic criteria for chronic endometritis (CE) and its effect on reproductive outcomes. A search of the academic literature was conducted in various databases including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Chinese National Knowledge Internet. Studies published in English or Chinese prior to October 1, 2019, were included in the primary screen. Data on the CE incidence rate, cure rate after antibiotic therapy, clinical pregnancy rate, miscarriage rate, and live birth rate were extracted and analyzed. Twelve eligible studies involving 1879 patients were included in this meta-analysis. Compared with strict diagnostic criteria, studies that used broad diagnostic criteria to identify CE reported a higher incidence rate (odds radio [OR] = 2.96, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.13-6.44), clinical pregnancy rate (OR = 1.83, 95 % CI: 1.18-2.8), and live birth rate (OR = 2.08, 95 % CI: 1.43-3.02). Compared with a short treatment course, a longer course of antibiotic treatment significantly improved the cure rate of CE (OR = 0.29, 95% CI: 0.18-0.47). Based on these findings, variation in the diagnostic criteria may alter the incidence rate, clinical pregnancy rate, and live birth rate of women with CE. A consensus on the diagnostic criteria must be established to obtain a better understanding of and additional information about CE.

The molecular mechanisms of normal cervical squamous epithelium advancing to cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and eventually to cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) are largely unknown. This study explored abnormal expression of Yin Yang 1 (YY1) in cervical cancer and its correlation with the expression of E-cadherin and human papillomavirus (HPV) 16 E6. YY1, E-cadherin and HPV16 E6 expression were detected by immunohistochemistry in 90 cervical tissue specimens collected from 30 patients with hysteromyoma, 15 patients with CIN I, 15 patients with CIN II-III, and 30 patients with CSCC. The H-score method was employed to measure the expression of YY1, E-cadherin and HPV16 E6. Increased expression of YY1 and HPV16 E6, and the decreased expression levels of E-cadherin were strongly associated with malignant transformation of the cervical epithelium and the histological progression of CSCC. The expression of YY1 in cervical tissues was inversely correlated with E-cadherin expression, and positively correlated with HPV16 E6 expression. Expression of YY1 in CSCC tissues was not significantly correlated with tumor differentiation, but was significantly correlated with an advanced clinical stage of CSCC. These results suggest that up-regulation of YY1 is closely associated with the progression of CSCC, and YY1 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of cervical cancer by modulating the expression of E-cadherin and HPV16 E6.

The characteristics of cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning in Yunnan province, based on the data recorded by the Yunnan Lightning Detection Network (YNLDN), are presented. The data, more than 2.09 million CG flashes, cover the entirety of Yunnan province and were recorded from 2006 to 2010. The spatial analyses (total and positive flash density, the percentage of positive flashes, negative and positive peak currents) were done with a resolution of 20 km. The average spatial distribution shows a maximum (3.8 flashes km − 2 yr − 1 ) over the central Yunnan province and Jinsha river associated with topography and cold air mass passage. The mean monthly variation shows a maximum CG lightning between May and October (94%) and minimum values in December and January. High values (0.15 flashes km − 2 yr − 1 ) for positive CG lightning density are observed in Red river basin. The monthly distribution of positive flashes shows a main maximum in April (19%) and a secondary maximum in July and August (17%), suggesting that positive flashes tend to occur earlier in the year than total flashes. The mean annual percentage of positive flashes has lower values at 3% in the central parts of the province. The percentage of positive CG flashes changes over the year from 2% in August to 49% in January. The monthly variation of median peak current for the negative first-stroke for each month varies only slightly from 27 kA. The monthly variation of the median peak current for positive first-stroke, however, has a maximum in winter and the minimum occurs in May. The mean diurnal cycle for the negative CG lightning flashes peaks between 1600 and 1700 LT (11.37%) and shows a minimum between 0900 and 1000 LT (0.23%). The diurnal variation of positive flashes, in turn, shows a maximum around 0100–0200 LT, with a secondary peak at 1800 LT. This variation is associated with local mesoscale circulation, which has an obvious nocturnal feature.

Video recommendation has attracted growing attention in recent years. However, conventional techniques have limitations in real-time processing, accuracy or scalability for the large-scale video data. To address the deficiencies of current recommendation systems, we introduce some new techniques to provide real-time and accurate recommendations to users in the video recommendation system of Tencent Inc.. We develop a scalable online collaborative filtering algorithm based upon matrix factorization, with an adjustable updating strategy considering implicit feedback solution of different user actions. To select high-quality candidate videos for real-time top-N recommendation generation, we utilize additional factors like video type and time factor to compute similar videos. In addition, we propose the scalable implementation of our algorithm together with some optimizations to make the recommendations more efficient and accurate, including the demographic filtering and demographic training. To demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of our model, we conduct comprehensive experiments by collecting real data from Tencent Video. Furthermore, our video recommendation system is in production to provide recommendation services in Tencent Video, one of the largest video sites in China, and verifies its superiority in performance.

Social media plays a fundamental role in the diffusion of information. There are two different ways of information diffusion in social media platforms such as Twitter and Weibo. Users can either re-share messages posted by their friends or re-create messages based on the information acquired from other non-local information sources such as the mass media. By analyzing around 60 million messages from a large micro-blog site, we find that about 69 % of the diffusion volume can be attributed to users' re-sharing behaviors, and the remaining 31 % are caused by user re-creating behaviors. The information diffusions caused by the two kinds of behaviors have different characteristics and variation trends, but most existing models of information diffusion do not distinguish them. The recent availability of massive online social streams allows us to study the process of information diffusion in much finer detail. In this paper, we introduce a novel model to capture and simulate the process of information diffusion in the micro-blog platforms, which distinguishes users' re-sharing behaviors from re-creating behaviors by introducing two different components. Thus, our model not only considers the effect of the underlying network structure, but also the influence of other non-local information sources. The empirical results show the superiority of our proposed model in the fitting and prediction tasks of information diffusion.

This meta-analysis aimed to explore the efficiency of intrauterine perfusion of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) on infertile women with thin endometrium. Following PRISMA protocol, we conducted a comprehensive search of academic literatures on various databases including PubMed, EMbase, and Cochrane Library. Studies published in English before July 1, 2016 were included for primary screening. Data on the thickness of endometrium, cycle cancelation rate,clinical pregnancy rate, and embryo implantation rate were extracted and analyzed, respectively. Eleven eligible studies involving 683 patients were included in this meta-analysis. Compared with control group, G-CSF perfusion could significantly improve endometrial thickness (mean difference [MD]=1.79, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.92-2.67), clinical pregnancy rate (risk ratio [RR]=2.52, 95% CI: 1.39-4.55), and embryo implantation rate (RR=2.35, 95% CI: 1.20-4.60), while it could decrease cycle cancelation rate (RR=0.38, 95% CI: 0.25-0.58). Funnel plots revealed that there was no evidence of publication bias. The current data indicate that intrauterine perfusion of G-CSF can improve endometrial thickness, clinical pregnancy rate, and embryo implantation rate, but decrease the cycle cancelation rate in women with thin endometrium.

A thunderstorm that developed over the central Lower Latitude Plateau of China on 16 July 2006 is analyzed in detail using the data from a CG lightning location network and Doppler radar. This severe thunderstorm produced hailstones as large as 15 mm and had a lifetime of 3 h and 20 min. The thunderstorm exhibited strong vertical development with cloud top reaching 15.9km. The CG parameters considered are the flash rate, the flash polarity, the multiplicity, and the peak current. The thunderstorm produced especially low positive CG proportions associated with negative CGs with high values of peak current and multiplicity.This second part is mostly centered on the detailed analysis of the CG lightning behavior, its relationship with radar-derived storm parameters, and CG lightning correlation with hazardous weather. The analysis of the storm cells life cycle has showed similar trends between the CG lighting flash rates and radar-derived parameters like the area of reflectivity above 30dBZ at the -10°C isotherm height. There is a distinct increase in CG flash rate during the rapid development stage of hailstorms. The CG lightning “jump” pattern seems more robust to forecast in a short-term basis the possible occurrence of severe weather.

This paper presents a novel low-resolution phosphene visualization of depth and boundary computed by a two-layer Associative Markov Random Fields. Unlike conventional methods modeling the depth and boundary as an individual MRF respectively, our algorithm proposed a two-layer associative MRFs framework by combining the depth with geometry-based surface boundary estimation, in which both variables are inferred globally and simultaneously. With surface boundary integration, the experiments demonstrates three significant improvements as: 1) eliminating depth ambiguities and increasing the accuracy, 2) providing comprehensive information of depth and boundary for human navigation under low-resolution phosphene vision, 3) when integrating the boundary clues into downsampling process, the foreground obstacle has been clearly enhanced and discriminated from the surrounding background. In order to gain higher efficiency and lower computational cost, the work is initialized on segmentation based depth plane fitting and labeling, and then applying the latest projected graph cut for global optimization. The proposed approach has been tested on both Middlebury and indoor real-scene data set, and achieves a much better performance with significant accuracy than other popular methods in both regular and low resolutions.

Web entities are the building blocks of human knowledge and users are making decisions among vast varieties of entities. For example, recommendation systems generate lists of entities to users, but seldom show the reasons of recommendation such as the uniqueness of each item to assist user decision making. In this paper, we mathematically define Web entity uniqueness and uniqueness patterns, based on which we propose a novel unsupervised natural language learning algorithm for entity uniqueness extraction. We leverage the bootstrapping strategy to recognize uniqueness from the free-text Web corpus with assistance from semi-structured Web such as lists, tables and query logs. To avoid extracting the subjective entity uniqueness, which may bias user decision making, we propose the probabilistic likelihood of a uniqueness property using bipartite graph models over entities and properties. Experiments verify that our algorithms have higher accuracy and coverage of entity uniqueness extraction technique compared to other related algorithms. We also show by conducting a user study survey that entity uniqueness information indeed positively supports user decision making.