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Bioconvection is a fascinating phenomenon observed in various biological systems, where the motion of motile microorganisms generates fluid flow patterns. This article explores the occurrence and characteristics of bioconvection within the context of a jet flow. The study of bioconvection in jet flow involves the interaction between motile microorganisms and the fluid dynamics of the surrounding medium. Microorganisms such as bacteria and algae are known to exhibit directed swimming behavior, which can lead to the formation of dynamic flow structures. Investigating the mechanisms underlying bioconvection in jet flow requires a multidisciplinary approach encompassing fluid dynamics, microbial ecology, and mathematical modeling. Experimental techniques, such as microscopy and particle image velocimetry, along with computational simulations, are employed to analyze the complex interactions between microorganisms and the fluid flow. In this regard, a supportive mathematical model is designed using partial differential equations (PDEs) which are later transformed into ordinary differential equations using similarity transformations. The resulting system of equations is solved using the RKF-45 method and the outcomes are recorded in tables and graphs. The consideration of thermophoresis has shown a significant impact on the heat and mass transfer of the jet flow and both these profiles are observed to increase with thermophoresis. Meanwhile, the Schmidt number decrease their respective mass profiles. Furthermore, the porosity is found to create a drag force which tends to oppose the fluid flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the two-dimensional, steady flow, and incompressible flow of Powell–Eyring fluid (non-Newtonian fluid) is considered toward a stretching surface. Applications of this emerging challenge include heating meals, grilling, baking, roasting, treating wounds, inflammation, and injuries with thermotherapy and cryotherapy, as well as steam turbines, industrial operations, casting, smelting, cooling aviation engines, and other things. Motion of particles is induced using variable wall velocity involving constant magnetic field. The characteristics of Lorentz force (magnetic field) and stagnation point flow are analyzed while direction of Lorentz is implemented toward y-direction of a bidirectional stretching surface under consideration of low magnetic Reynolds parameter. The phenomena regarding transfer of thermal energy have been addressed subject to thermal radiation, non-Fourier's law and Joule heating. The PD-equations (partial differential equations) associated with heat transfer and flow are re-framed in forms of OD-equations (ordinary differential equations) using similarity variables. The influences based on various parameters against variation of motion and temperature field are analyzed in tables and graphical forms. The features of divergent velocity and temperature gradient are tabulated in Table 1. It is noted that temperature field is decreased against argument values of the Prandtl number whereas the same impact is noticed in thickness regarding thermal layers. The fluid parameter brings maximum acceleration into motion of fluid particles but the opposite trend is noticed in motion of fluid particles versus enhancement of Ratio of expansion rates number and Powell–Eyring fluid parameter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: We aimed to investigate the long‐term influence of a diet and/or exercise intervention on long‐term mortality and cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. Methods: The Da Qing Diabetes Prevention Study had 576 participants with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) randomized to diet‐only, exercise‐only and diet‐plus‐exercise intervention group and control group. The participants underwent lifestyle interventions for 6 years. The subsequent Da Qing Diabetes Prevention Outcome Study was a prospective cohort study to follow‐up the participants for up to 24 years after the end of 6‐year intervention. In total, 540 participants completed the follow‐up, while 36 subjects lost in follow‐up. Cox proportional hazards analysis was applied to assess the influence of lifestyle interventions on targeted outcomes. Results: Compared with controls, the diet‐only intervention in people with IGT was significantly associated with a reduced risk of all‐cause death [hazard ratio (HR) 0.77, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.61‐0.97)], CVD death [HR 0.67, 95% CI (0.46‐0.97)] and CVD events [HR 0.72, 95% CI (0.54‐0.96)]. The diet‐plus‐exercise intervention was significantly associated with a decreased risk of all‐cause death [HR 0.64, 95% CI (0.48‐0.84)], CVD death [HR 0.54, 95% CI (0.30‐0.97)] and CVD events [HR 0.68, 95% CI (0.52‐0.90)]. Unexpectedly, the exercise‐only intervention was not significantly associated with the reduction of any of these outcomes, although there was a consistent trend towards reduction. Conclusions: A diet‐only intervention and a diet‐plus‐exercise intervention in people with IGT were significantly associated with a reduced risk of all‐cause death, CVD death and CVD events, while an exercise‐only intervention was not. It suggests that diet‐related interventions may have a potentially more reliable influence on long‐term vascular complications and mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study investigated the effects of early‐onset type 2 diabetes (EOD) vs late‐onset type 2 diabetes (LOD) on nonfatal cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in China. Methods: We conducted a cross‐sectional survey of 46 239 participants from 14 provinces in China from 2007 to 2008, selecting 4949 participants with type 2 diabetes for analysis. Participants were categorized as EOD (<40 years) or LOD (≥40 years) based on age at diabetes diagnosis. Sociodemographic and nonfatal CVD information was collected through an interviewer‐assisted questionnaire and clinical examination. Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the nonfatal CVD risk. Results: Out of 4949 participants with type 2 diabetes, 390 (7.88%) had nonfatal CVD. Participants with EOD had a higher age‐standardized prevalence of nonfatal CVD than those with LOD (11.4% vs 4.4%). Compared to LOD patients, EOD patients tended to be males and had a higher family history of diabetes, unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, and lower blood pressure levels. After adjustment for age and sex, EOD patients had a higher risk of nonfatal CVD than LOD patients (odds ratio [OR] 2.3, 95% CI 1.5–3.5). After further adjustment for diabetes duration, use of drugs, and other risk factors, the OR of nonfatal CVD was reduced but significant (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.1–2.9). Sensitivity analysis revealed that EOD patients with metabolic syndrome had an increased nonfatal CVD risk compared to LOD patients (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.2–3.5). Conclusions: EOD patients are at increased risk of nonfatal CVD. Individualized intervention and management measures for EOD patients are necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The current investigation interprets the flow and the thermal characteristics of the ternary nanofluid composed of MoS 2, ZnO, and SiO 2 spherical nanoparticles and water. The resulting nanofluid is M o S 2 − ZnO − S i O 2 − ( H 2 O + E G ) where ( H 2 O + E G ) act as the base fluid which help in the flow and the nanoparticles contribute to enhancing the heat conductivity. The flow is assumed to occur across a thin needle whose surface is maintained at a higher temperature than the surroundings. The mathematical model is framed by incorporating radiation introduced by Rosseland in terms of partial differential equations (PDE). This system of equations governs the flow and thermal properties of fluid which are converted to a system of ordinary differential equations (ODE). The major outcomes of the study indicated that the increase in the amount of molybdenum disulfide enhanced the heat conducted by the nanofluid whereas it reduced the flow speed. The positive values of the heat source/sink parameter caused the heat conduction of the nanofluid to go high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliable and accurate full-field deformation measurements at elevated temperatures using digital image correlation (DIC) require stable and high-contrast high-temperature speckle patterns to be prepared on the sample surface. However, conventional high-temperature speckle patterns fabricated by the existing methods possess several limitations, e.g., easily fail to preserve original pattern features due to the harsh environment and heavily dependent on the operator's experience. In this study, we propose a reliable and reproducible high-temperature speckle fabrication method based on air plasma spraying (APS) and flexible speckle templates. This method involves covering the sample surface with pre-designed speckle templates and then spraying the melted speckle powders onto the specimen surface using an air plasma spray technique to obtain customized speckle patterns. The validity of the proposed method was verified by the speckle fabrication on both planar and curved samples and heating tests with these samples. Experimental results demonstrate that the speckle patterns made by the proposed method adhere well to the sample surface, remain stable during the heating process, and exhibit excellent agreement with the reference values in terms of the thermal expansion coefficients. The proposed method provides a reliable and efficient way to create customized and stable speckle patterns for accurate high-temperature DIC measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of urban microclimate deterioration is becoming more and more serious, and the automatic optimization of landscape space in tropical and subtropical environment needs to be solved urgently. Urban development also leads to some problems in the urban environment which are related to people's life and development. The main research content of this paper is the automatic optimization design of landscape space based on genetic algorithms and urban climate map. With the specific goal of improving the urban wind and heat environment, combined with the technical means in many fields such as architecture, urban planning, and computer technology, we try to establish a set of scientific automatic generation and optimization methods of urban design, which are suitable for different levels of work needs in the field of urban planning, from the mesoscale zoning planning to more microscopic neighborhood-scale urban design. The experimental results show that this paper uses genetic algorithms on the Rhino Grasshopper software platform to automatically find out the optimal layout of each modules with different proportions and distributions and generate the optimal layout of the environment for a given volume ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To explore the characteristics of retina microvascular changes in patients with diabetic nephropathy (DN) and its risk factors. Methods: Retrospective, observational study. 145 patients with type 2 diabetic mellitus (DM) and DN were included in the study. Demographic and clinical parameters were obtained from medical records. Presence of diabetic retinopathy (DR), hard exudates (HEs) and diabetic macular edema (DME) were evaluated according to the color fundus images, optical coherence tomography (OCT) and fluorescence angiography (FFA). Results: DR accounted for 61.4% in type 2 DM patients with DN, of which proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) accounted for 23.6% and sight threatening DR accounted for 35.7%. DR group had significantly higher levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (p = 0.004), HbA1c (P = 0.037), Urine albumin creatine ratio (ACR) (p < 0.001) and lower level of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (P = 0.013). Logistic regression analysis showed DR was significantly associated with ACR stage (p = 0.011). Subjects with ACR stage3 had higher incidence of DR compared with subjects with ACR stage1 (OR = 24.15, 95%CI: 2.06–282.95). 138 eyes of 138 patients were analyzed for HEs and DME, of which 23.2% had HEs in posterior pole and 9.4% had DME. Visual acuity was worse in HEs group than in non-HEs group. There was significant difference in the LDL-C cholesterol level, total cholesterol (CHOL) level and ACR between HEs group and non-HEs group. Conclusions: A relatively higher prevalence of DR was found in type 2 DM patients with DN. ACR stage could be recognized as a risk factor for DR in DN patients. Patients with DN needs ophthalmic examination more timely and more frequently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

P-glycoprotein (Pgp) modulators are promising agents for overcoming multidrug resistance (MDR) in cancer chemotherapy. In this study, via structural optimization of our lead compound S54 (nonsubstrate allosteric inhibitor of Pgp), 29 novel pyxinol amide derivatives bearing an aliphatic heterocycle were designed, synthesized, and screened for MDR reversal activity in KBV cells. Unlike S54 , these active derivatives were shown to transport substrates of Pgp. The most potent derivative 4c exhibited promising MDR reversal activity (IC 50 of paclitaxel = 8.80 ± 0.56 nM, reversal fold = 211.8), which was slightly better than that of third-generation Pgp modulator tariquidar (IC 50 of paclitaxel = 9.02 ± 0.35 nM, reversal fold = 206.6). Moreover, the cytotoxicity of this derivative was 8-fold lower than that of tariquidar in human normal HK-2 cells. Furthermore, 4c blocked the efflux function of Pgp and displayed high selectivity for Pgp but had no effect on its expression and distribution. Molecular docking revealed that 4c bound preferentially to the drug-binding domain of Pgp. Overall, 4c is a promising lead compound for developing Pgp modulators. [Display omitted] • Twenty-nine novel pyxinol amide derivatives were designed and synthesized. • The structure-activity relationships of the MDR reversal activity were described. • Analog 4c showed better MDR reversal activity than tariquidar with less cytotoxicity. • Analog 4c inhibited the efflux function of P-glycoprotein with high selectivity. • Analog 4c was present in an L-shaped conformation in the access channel of Pgp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The video extensometer has been widely advocated for tensile/compressive strain measurement in high-temperature material testing due to its advantages of non-contact measurement, wider measuring range, and larger applicable temperature over traditional clip-on mechanical extensometers. However, existing video extensometers, despite the adoption of active imaging devices, cannot adapt to the rapidly changing thermal radiation from the heated sample and surrounding heating elements during the high-temperature tests. This is because due to the significantly intensified thermal radiation, the decorrelated images degrade the measuring accuracy or even destroy the analysis. To address this problem, we developed an ultra-high temperature video extensometer that can automatically adjust the camera exposure time for reliable thermal strain measurement. Based on the pre-established image quality evaluation criteria, the camera will choose an appropriate exposure time according to the detected thermal radiation within the region of interest, thus ensuring high-quality images for real-time strain measurement. Static tests of tungsten–molybdenum alloy samples at different temperatures were performed to evaluate the noise level of the established ultra-high temperature video extensometer. The effectiveness and accuracy of the developed ultra-high temperature video extensometer were validated through the tensile tests of tungsten–copper, tungsten–potassium, and tungsten–molybdenum alloy samples at high temperatures up to 2000 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An environmentally benign cascade redox process was developed for the efficient construction of the pharmaceutically significant spirocyclic tetrahydroquinolines via sequential SN Ar/Knoevenagel condensation/[1,5]-hydride transfer/cyclization. This green transformation has the features of being catalyst-free, additive-free, operationally simple, and has high step- and atom-economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cesarean scar pregnancy (CSP) remains a sporadic and special form of ectopic pregnancy in which the fertilized ovum is implanted on a previous cesarean scar within 12 weeks. This study aims to evaluate the optimal time interval between uterine artery embolization (UAE) and curettage modalities in order to provide the best clinical outcomes.Methods: From January 2018 to December 2020, we recruited 61 patients with CSP. They were randomly divided into two groups depending on whether the time interval between UAE and dilatation and curettage (D&C) requires additional hospitalization: 31 patients received prophylactic UAE followed by D&C on the same day (0-12 h; group A) and 30 patients need hospitalization (12-72 h; group B). The clinical characteristics, diagnostic data, and outcomes of the two groups were compared and analyzed.Results: A total of 59 (96.72%) cases had responded well to the first treatment. One patient in each arm undergone retreatment, but none of the 61 patients needed additional hysterectomy. There was no considerable relationship between the two groups with respect to the intraoperative hemorrhage during D&C, serum index (containing β-hCG, hemoglobin, CRP, and D-dimer) on the first day after D&C, side effects (containing fever and abdominal pain), renal, hepatic, and coagulation function, time of CSP residual mass disappearance, and hospitalization cost. The time of serum β-hCG resolution after surgery was 41.22 ± 14.97 days in group A and 66.67 ± 36.64 days in group B (P = 0.027), and group A treatment resulted in a shorten hospital stay as compared with group B (4.81 ± 2.74 days vs. 6.80 ± 2.14 days, P <  0.001). However, the average hourly serum β-hCG decrease rate within 24 h and the leukocytes on the first day after D&C in group B were superior than in group A (P <  0.050).Conclusion: For patients with CSP, UAE followed by D&C on the same day (0-12 h) appears to have more advantages in hospitalization and recovery time, while the long time interval (12-72 h) may have a lower risk of inflammation and a more rapid decrease in serum β-hCG level within 24 h after D&C surgery. The treatment of CSP should be individualized based on the conditions of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the object recognition task, due to changes in size, colour, illumination, position, viewing angle, and environmental background, great uncertainty is caused. The invariant recognition capability required to adapt to such diverse uncertainties has also become one of the most challenging goals of artificial intelligence, as only biometric systems can do this. The approach to dealing with uncertainty in the field of pattern recognition is nothing more than training with a large number of samples and powerful machine learning algorithms, and finally generating a classifier. Among them, knowledge representation has not only been ignored, but has even been considered redundant. But research from cognitive psychology and experimental psychology suggests that humans do not use such a huge mechanism. In contrast, we use more similar methods of symbolic artificial intelligence, such as representation, induction, reasoning, interpretation, and constraint propagation, to deal with uncertainty in object recognition. In this paper, the skeleton tree is used as the basic means to form the formal representation of the topological features and geometric features of the object, and based on the generalisation framework, the knowledge extraction of a small number of similar representations is used to form a generalised explicit representation of the knowledge about the object category. This generalised form representation can cope with uncertainties such as size, colour, shape, etc., and is significantly superior to current mainstream machine learning methods in terms of explainability and computational cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The maize Emb5 is an abscisic acid–responsive gene which is specifically expressed in the late embryo during seed maturity. To further dissect and identify the elements specific for its embryo expression pattern, we investigated the activity of the − 1653 bp upstream of the "full-length" promoter region of this gene in transgenic Arabidopsis plants. We first confirmed that the "full-length" promoter could indeed drive the expression of β-glucuronidase reporter gene (GUS) in the transgenic Arabidopsis seed embryo. Subsequently, DNA fragments of ~ 500 bp in length were generated after a series of progressive deletions from positions − 1653 bp to − 1 bp relative to the transcriptional initiation site. These fragments were fused with GUS and introduced into Arabidopsis. Measurement of the GUS activity in the immature seeds isolated from the transgenic plants revealed that the region between positions − 523 bp and − 1 bp, namely ProEm-D, is absolutely required and sufficient for the temporal and embryo-specific expression of GUS with an activity comparable with the full-length Emb5 promoter in Arabidopsis. Therefore, our results clearly demonstrated that the 523 bp ProEm-D can replace the − 1653 bp Emb5 promoter to drive embryo-specific expression in Arabidopsis seed. Because of its small size and strong embryo-specific activity, it could become the promoter of choice in metabolic pathway engineering to transfer multiple genes for the production of valuable pharmaceutical products in seeds, such as polyunsaturated fatty acids found in fish oils, or pro-vitamin A where at least three transgenes are required to assemble the entire metabolic pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a three-dimensional one-prey and two-predators model, with additional food and harvesting in the presence of toxicity is proposed. Additional food is being provided to one predator. The dynamics and bifurcations of the system are investigated using center manifold theorem, normal form theory and Sotomayor's theorem. It is proved that the system undergoes transcritical bifurcation, saddle-node bifurcation, Hopf bifurcation, generalized Hopf bifurcation, Bogdanov–Takens bifurcation and cusp bifurcation with respect to different parameters. Bifurcation diagrams of the system with respect to toxic effect and harvesting effect are illustrated. The phase portraits and solution curves are also presented to verify the dynamic behavior. The results show that the combined effect of the factors has the power of transforming simple ecosystems into complex ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oats are recognized to provide many health benefits that are mainly associated with its dietary fibre, β-glucan. However, the protein derived from oats is largely understudied with respect to its ability to maintain health and attenuate risk factors of chronic diseases. The goal of the current study was to investigate the metabolic effects of oat protein consumption in lieu of casein as the protein source in high fat, high sucrose (HF/HS) fed Wistar rats. Four-week-old rats were divided into three groups and were fed three different experimental diets: a control diet with casein as the protein source, an HF/HS diet with casein, or an HF/HS diet with oat protein for 16 weeks. Heart structure and function were determined by echocardiography. Blood pressure measurements, an oral glucose tolerance test, and markers of cholesterol metabolism, oxidative stress, inflammation, and liver and kidney damage were also performed. Our study results show that incorporation of oat protein in the diet was effective in preserving systolic heart function in HF/HS fed rats. Oat protein significantly reduced serum total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. Furthermore, oat protein normalized liver HMG-CoAR activity, which, to our knowledge, is the first time this has been reported in the literature. Therefore, our research suggests that oat protein can provide hypocholesterolemic and cardioprotective benefits in a diet-induced model of metabolic syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We previously showed that the transaminase inhibitor, aminooxyacetic acid, reduced respiration energized at complex II (succinate dehydrogenase, SDH) in mitochondria isolated from mouse hindlimb muscle. The effect required a reduction in membrane potential with resultant accumulation of oxaloacetate (OAA), a potent inhibitor of SDH. To specifically assess the effect of the mitochondrial transaminase, glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT2) on complex II respiration, and to determine the effect in intact cells as well as isolated mitochondria, we performed respiratory and metabolic studies in wildtype (WT) and CRISPR-generated GOT2 knockdown (KD) C2C12 myocytes. Intact cell respiration by GOT2KD cells versus WT was reduced by adding carbonyl cyanide-p-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone (FCCP) to lower potential. In mitochondria of C2C12 KD cells, respiration at low potential generated by 1 µM FCCP and energized at complex II by 10 mM succinate + 0.5 mM glutamate (but not by complex I substrates) was reduced versus WT mitochondria. Although we could not detect OAA, metabolite data suggested that OAA inhibition of SDH may have contributed to the FCCP effect. C2C12 mitochondria differed from skeletal muscle mitochondria in that the effect of FCCP on complex II respiration was not evident with ADP addition. We also observed that C2C12 cells, unlike skeletal muscle, expressed glutamate dehydrogenase, which competes with GOT2 for glutamate metabolism. In summary, GOT2 KD reduced C2C12 respiration in intact cells at low potential. From differential substrate effects, this occurred largely at complex II. Moreover, C2C12 versus muscle mitochondria differ in complex II sensitivity to ADP and differ markedly in expression of glutamate dehydrogenase. NEW & NOTEWORTHY: Impairment of the mitochondrial transaminase, GOT2, reduces complex II (succinate dehydrogenase, SDH)-energized respiration in C2C12 myocytes. This occurs only at low inner membrane potential and is consistent with inhibition of SDH. Incidentally, we observed that C2C12 mitochondria compared with muscle tissue mitochondria differ in sensitivity of complex II respiration to ADP and in the expression of glutamate dehydrogenase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous work by ourselves and others showed that mitoquinone (mitoQ) reduced oxidative damage and prevented hepatic fat accumulation in mice made obese with high‐fat (HF) feeding. Here we extended these studies to examine the effect of mitoQ on parameters affecting liver function in rats treated with HF to induce obesity and in rats treated with HF plus streptozotocin (STZ) to model a severe form of type 2 diabetes. In prior reported work, we found that mitoQ significantly improved glycemia based on glucose tolerance data in HF rats but not in the diabetic rats. Here we found only non‐significant reductions in insulin and glucose measured in the fed state at sacrifice in the HF mice treated with mitoQ. Metabolomic data showed that mitoQ altered several hepatic metabolic pathways in HF‐fed obese rats toward those observed in control normal chow‐fed non‐obese rats. However, mitoQ had little effect on pathways observed in the diabetic rats, wherein diabetes itself induced marked pathway aberrations. MitoQ did not alter respiration or membrane potential in isolated liver mitochondria. MitoQ reduced liver fat and liver hydroperoxide levels but did not improve liver function as marked by circulating levels of aspartate and alanine aminotransferase (ALT). In summary, our results for HF‐fed rats are consistent with past findings in HF‐fed mice indicating decreased liver lipid hydroperoxides (LPO) and improved glycemia. However, in contrast to the HF obese mice, mitoQ did not improve glycemia or reset perturbed metabolic pathways in the diabetic rats.High fat fed obese and high fat fed streptozotocin (STZ) diabetic rats were treated with mitoquinone (MQ) or vehicle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the setting of diabetes mellitus, mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress are important pathogenic mechanisms causing end organ damage, including diabetic kidney disease (DKD), but mechanistic understanding at a cellular level remains obscure. In mouse models of DKD, glomerular endothelial cell (GEC) dysfunction precedes albuminuria and contributes to neighboring podocyte dysfunction, implicating GECs in breakdown of the glomerular filtration barrier. In the following studies we wished to explore the cellular mechanisms by which GECs become dysfunctional in the diabetic milieu, and the impact to neighboring podocytes. Methods: Mouse GECs were exposed to high glucose media (HG) or 2.5% v/v serum from diabetic mice or serum from non-diabetic controls, and evaluated for mitochondrial function (oxygen consumption), structure (electron microscopy), morphology (mitotracker), mitochondrial superoxide (mitoSOX), as well as accumulation of oxidized products (DNA lesion frequency (8-oxoG, endo-G), double strand breaks (γ-H2AX), endothelial function (NOS activity), autophagy (LC3) and apoptotic cell death (Annexin/PI; caspase 3). Supernatant transfer experiments from GECs to podocytes were performed to establish the effects on podocyte survival and transwell experiments were performed to determine the effects in co-culture. Results: Diabetic serum specifically causes mitochondrial dysfunction and mitochondrial superoxide release in GECs. There is a rapid oxidation of mitochondrial DNA and loss of mitochondrial biogenesis without cell death. Many of these effects are blocked by mitoTEMPO a selective mitochondrial anti-oxidant. Secreted factors from dysfunctional GECs were sufficient to cause podocyte apoptosis in supernatant transfer experiments, or in co-culture but this did not occur when GECs had been previously treated with mitoTEMPO. Conclusion: Dissecting the impact of the diabetic environment on individual cell-types from the kidney glomerulus indicates that GECs become dysfunctional and pathological to neighboring podocytes by increased levels of mitochondrial superoxide in GEC. These studies indicate that GEC-signaling to podocytes contributes to the loss of the glomerular filtration barrier in DKD. Video abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tic disorders (TDs) are chronic neuropsychiatric disorders that usually begin in childhood. Currently, antipsychotic drugs, such as aripiprazole and risperidone, are frequently used to treat TD. However, adverse reactions limit their further usage. The efficacy of topiramate has been reported in recent studies. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and tolerability of topiramate in the treatment of children with TDs. Methods: In this study, we performed a meta-analysis to assess the efficacy and tolerability of topiramate for TDs and identified the randomized controlled trials to evaluate topiramate for children with TDs from PubMed, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure database, Web of Science, and relevant reference lists. Quality assessment followed the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. A modified Jadad scale was used to assess the quality of included studies. Risk ratio (RR) was calculated as the effect size of efficacy and tolerability of topiramate for TDs. Results: A total of 15 studies involving 1070 participants aged 2-17 were included in the present meta-analysis, and 693 (64.71%) participants were male cases, with 14 studies evaluating the efficacy of topiramate for the treatment of TD. The results suggested that topiramate was more effective than control drugs (RR: 1.13, 95% confidence interval: [1.06-1.20], I2 = 36%, Q = 20.31, p = 0.09). For the adverse events, there were 15 trials included in the meta-analysis, and the results showed that topiramate had fewer adverse events than control drugs (RR: 0.54, 95% confidence interval: [0.46-0.65], I2 = 45%, Q = 25.49, p = 0.03). Conclusion: Compared with haloperidol and tiapride, topiramate appears to be a promising medication with good efficacy and tolerability for children with TDs. In future studies, large-sample, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials are needed to confirm its efficacy and tolerability compared with atypical antipsychotic agents (such as risperidone or aripiprazole). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient passenger flow assignment is essential for ensuring the safe and stable operation of the urban rail transit (URT). This paper proposes a new passenger flow assignment approach to address this challenge. The approach generates two agents: connected vehicle and unconnected passenger, to simulate vehicle operation and passenger travel for the URT network. It derives the passenger trajectory by the passenger route evolution mechanism to achieve the passenger flow assignment for the whole network. Furthermore, it provides statistics on platform passenger flow when obtaining the overall station passenger flow. Meanwhile, the approach employed Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) data as input to analyze the passenger flow features of the Shanghai Metro. The passenger flow assignment results can reveal the start and end of morning and evening peak hours at a time granularity of seconds. That is, 7:16:20 and 9:33:00 for the morning peak and 16:49:00 and 19:22:50 for the evening peak, respectively. The results also reveal the route choice pattern of passengers. Passengers have preferences for each type of route, in descending order: the shortest route, the minimum number of stations route, and the minimum number of transfer stations route, when they have a choice of these three routes. Moreover, the results can accurately identify large passenger flow stations and provide data support for station passenger flow management strategies. • This paper proposes a new passenger flow assignment approach. • The approach simulates connected vehicles and unconnected passengers. • Count platform passenger flow when obtaining the overall station flow. • Analyzing passenger route choice preferences and large passenger flow stations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Video extensometer using regular lenses generally cannot ensure accurate strain measurements because of the detrimental influences of out-of-plane motions unavoidably occurred during mechanical loading. Here we propose an accuracy-enhanced video extensometer with real-time strain error compensation. To this end, a hollow, rectangular reference compensation sample is attached onto the test sample surface, which allows it to move rigidly without deformation during loading the specimen. Four reference points at the two ends of the axial and transversal reference lines, which are parallel to the gauge lengths defined on the test sample, are specified and tracked by real-time digital image correlation (DIC) to record the virtual strains (i.e., strain errors) caused by out-of-plane motions. Thus, accurate strain measurements can be realized by the established video extensometer by directly subtracting these virtual strains. Uniaxial tensile tests of aluminum specimens were carried out to examine the accuracy of the proposed technique, and the measured strain results show good agreements with those obtained by strain gauges and stereo-DIC with an average strain error less than 35 microstrains. Experimental results indicate that the proposed technique provides a low-cost, easy-to-implement and practical solution for accurate strain measurements in material testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SiO 2f /SiO 2 composites have become a promising candidate material for thermal protection systems due to its unique combination of various properties such as low density, high thermal shock resistance, favorable electrical insulating properties and enhanced mechanical properties. The increasing interests in these materials lead to a pressing requirement on comprehensively understanding their mechanical behaviors and load bearing mechanisms under external loads. The present work focuses on experimental study and comparison of the mechanical properties and deformation evolutions of 2D and 2.5D woven SiO 2f /SiO 2 composites using single-camera stereo-digital image correlation (stereo-DIC) technique. Based on the full-field displacements and strains retrieved by single-camera stereo-DIC, the mechanical properties of 2D and 2.5D woven SiO 2f /SiO 2 composites can be determined. It is found that 2D woven SiO 2f /SiO 2 composites present a lower yield strength and elastic modulus than 2.5D SiO 2f /SiO 2 composites. Also, remarkable differences in full-field displacement and strain distributions of the 2D and 2.5D SiO 2f /SiO 2 composites are observed, indicating a strong influence of the weave architecture on the deformation evolution and load bearing mechanism of SiO 2f /SiO 2 composites. Finally, the failure mechanisms of these two composites are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A deep learning-based approach to neutralize heat haze distortion in high-temperature DIC measurements is proposed. • Experimental images are fed into an atmospheric turbulence neutralization neural network twice to obtain corrected images. • By processing corrected speckle images with DIC algorithm, displacement and strain fields with mitigated heat haze effects are determined. • Both simulation and real experiments demonstrated the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method. Digital image correlation (DIC) techniques have shown excellent capabilities in the deformation measurements of materials and structures at high temperatures. However, as a crucial challenge for the high-temperature DIC measurements, heat haze, caused by uneven distributions of temperatures and refractive indices, can lead to considerable distortions to the captured images and severely decrease the measurement accuracy. Inspired by a recently established atmospheric turbulence neutralization neural network called TSR-WGAN, we propose a deep learning-based approach to neutralize the effect of heat haze on high-temperature DIC measurements. Specifically, the original distorted speckle images obtained in the experiment are fed into the TSR-WGAN network twice to obtain distortion-corrected speckle images. By processing these corrected speckle images with a conventional DIC algorithm, displacement and strain fields with mitigated heat haze effects can be determined. Both simulation and real experiments have been conducted to assess the proposed method. Results clearly show the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method in correcting heat haze effects. One of the experiments particularly shows that the displacement fluctuations caused by the heat haze can be reduced by approximately an order of magnitude in the u direction and by a factor of five in the v direction. The proposed technique provides a much-needed tool for neutralizing the impact of heat haze on the DIC measurements under a high-temperature environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While TOPSIS is a widely used evaluation method, it lacks evaluation from the perspective of indicator coordination. Based on the analysis of TOPSIS evaluation methods, this paper proposes a new assessment method, coordinated TOPSIS, which takes into account the advantages of TOPSIS evaluation methods and the coordination level of evaluation indicators. Taking the robotics academic journals as an example, the TOPSIS evaluation and the coordinated TOPSIS evaluation results are compared. The research shows that the weights of the coordinated TOPSIS method can be manually adjusted according to the purpose of evaluation and have a good flexibility; the TOPSIS evaluation results and coordinated TOPSIS evaluation results have a high degree of correlation, but the difference from the perspective of the ranking is big; the coordinated TOPSIS is very suitable for evaluation field that needs to consider the coordinated development, and it can be replicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A low-cost, portable, robust and high-resolution single-camera stereo-digital image correlation (stereo-DIC) system for accurate surface three-dimensional (3D) shape and deformation measurements is described. This system adopts a single consumer-grade high-resolution digital Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera and a four-mirror adaptor, rather than two synchronized industrial digital cameras, for stereo image acquisition. In addition, monochromatic blue light illumination and coupled bandpass filter imaging are integrated to ensure the robustness of the system against ambient light variations. In contrast to conventional binocular stereo-DIC systems, the developed pseudo-stereo-DIC system offers the advantages of low cost, portability, robustness against ambient light variations, and high resolution. The accuracy and precision of the developed single SLR camera-based stereo-DIC system were validated by measuring the 3D shape of a stationary sphere along with in-plane and out-of-plane displacements of a translated planar plate. Application of the established system to thermal deformation measurement of an alumina ceramic plate and a stainless-steel plate subjected to radiation heating was also demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major challenge for the production of bio-ethanol is to develop yeast that can sustain growth under high temperature. Here, we show the application of an artificial protein quality control (APQC) system to an industrial Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain for improving thermo-tolerance, a key trait for a bio-ethanol fermentation program. All engineered strains exhibited a significantly higher growth rate and cell viability at 37 °C, which conferred increased thermo-tolerance and more efficient glucose conversion to ethanol. Furthermore, the analysis of ubiquitination and the enzyme activities of pyruvate kinase (PK) and malate dehydrogenase (MDH) indicated strengthened protein quality, implying that proteostasis had been effectively improved at higher temperature. Industrial material fermentation results from yeast-RSP5-UBC4 (combined expression of ubiquitin conjugated enzyme E2 and ubiquitin ligase E3) showed a 2.4% increase in ethanol production. All these findings prove that APQC is suitable for improving yeast resistance to high temperature during industrial bio-ethanol production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate Armadillo repeat-containing 5 (ARMC5) mutations in Chinese patients with familial and sporadic primary bilateral macronodular adrenal hyperplasia (PBMAH), we performed clinical data collection and ARMC5 sequencing for three PBMAH families and 23 sporadic PBMAH patients. ARMC5 pathogenic germline mutations were identified in all 3 PBMAH families. Secondary ARMC5 somatic mutations were found in two adrenal nodules from two PBMAH family members with ARMC5 germline mutations. PBMAH family members with ARMC5 pathogenic germline mutations displayed various clinical manifestations. ARMC5 pathogenic germline mutations were identified in 5 sporadic PBMAH patients among whom one patient displayed both hypercortisolism and primary aldosteronism. We detected a total of 10 ARMC5 pathogenic mutations, of which 8 had not been previously reported. Our results suggest that ARMC5 pathogenic germline mutations are common in familial and sporadic Chinese PBMAH patients, and demonstrate the importance of ARMC5 screening in PBMAH family members to detect patients with insidious PBMAH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A low-cost, easy-to-implement single-camera high-speed stereo-digital image correlation (SCHS stereo-DIC) method using a four-mirror adapter is proposed for full-field 3D vibration measurement. With the aid of the four-mirror adapter, surface images of calibration target and test objects can be separately imaged onto two halves of the camera sensor through two different optical paths. These images can be further processed to retrieve the vibration responses on the specimen surface. To validate the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed approach, dynamic parameters including natural frequencies, damping ratios and mode shapes of a rectangular cantilever plate were extracted from the directly measured vibration responses using the established system. The results reveal that the SCHS stereo-DIC is a simple, practical and effective technique for vibration measurements and dynamic parameters identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Full-frame, high-speed 3D shape and deformation measurement using stereo-digital image correlation (stereo-DIC) technique and a single high-speed color camera is proposed. With the aid of a skillfully designed pseudo stereo-imaging apparatus, color images of a test object surface, composed of blue and red channel images from two different optical paths, are recorded by a high-speed color CMOS camera. The recorded color images can be separated into red and blue channel sub-images using a simple but effective color crosstalk correction method. These separated blue and red channel sub-images are processed by regular stereo-DIC method to retrieve full-field 3D shape and deformation on the test object surface. Compared with existing two-camera high-speed stereo-DIC or four-mirror-adapter-assisted singe-camera high-speed stereo-DIC, the proposed single-camera high-speed stereo-DIC technique offers prominent advantages of full-frame measurements using a single high-speed camera but without sacrificing its spatial resolution. Two real experiments, including shape measurement of a curved surface and vibration measurement of a Chinese double-side drum, demonstrated the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An underwater full-field 3D deformation measurement method is proposed based on the bi-prism-based single-bilateral-telecentric-camera stereo-DIC with one-step calibration. • A parametric model is adopted to establish the mathematical relationship between the image points and their corresponding object points by ray-tracing method. • Underwater translation tests were performed with the out-of-plane displacement accuracy less than 24.6 μm by proposed method. Full-field surface shape and deformation measurements of submerged objects using stereo-digital image correlation (stereo-DIC) remains challenging due to the light ray refraction occurred on the interface of two different transparent media (e.g., air, glass and water). In this work, we proposed an underwater full-field 3D deformation measurement method based on the bi-prism-based single-bilateral-telecentric-camera (SBTC) stereo-DIC, which adopts a parametric model to establish the mathematical relationship between the image points and their corresponding object points by taking the refraction into account in the ray-tracing process. The key parameters (e.g., bi-prism/glass orientation and position) of the parametric model were calibrated by a one-step calibration. To verify the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed method, translation tests with a rotated bi-prism and underwater translation tests were performed. Experimental results indicate that the proposed parametric model can effectively handle the imperfect system configuration and the unavoidable light ray refraction that occurred on the optical path, thus allowing high-accuracy underwater deformation measurement. Compared with the existing underwater deformation measurement approaches, the proposed method can not only deliver displacement measurement with higher accuracy, but also is free of any assumptions on the configuration of the camera system or the refractive interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon emissions are a major global concern. As a result of the carbon peaking and neutrality goals, carbon emissions are of great significance to the coordinated development of regional economies and the green transformation and upgrading of industries. Using data from prefecture‐level cities for urban agglomeration enlargement in the Yangtze River Delta in 2010 and 2013, this study examined the impacts of the regional integration enlargement policy on urban carbon emissions and explored its mechanisms. Moreover, it uses the synthetic control method as an assessment tool to test the robustness of the assessment results and explore the intricacies and impacts of the integration. The evaluation results were robust based on a series of tests. The study found that regional integration as a result of the expansion of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration has had a mitigating effect on carbon emissions. Further analyses based on the mediating model found that industrial upgrading and green innovation were the main mediating variables through which the regional integration enlargement policy affected regional carbon emissions. Development of the Yangtze River Delta has affected carbon emissions by accelerating industrial and green innovation. The effect of industrial upgrading cancels out emission reductions due to green innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coronavirus papain-like proteases (PLPs) can act as proteases that process virus-encoded large replicase polyproteins and also as deubiquitinating (DUB) enzymes. Like the PLPs of other coronaviruses (CoVs), the avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) PLP catalyzes proteolysis of Gly-Gly dipeptide bonds to release mature cleavage products. However, the other functions of the IBV PLP are not well understood. In this study, we found that IBV exhibits strong global DUB activity with significant reductions of the levels of ubiquitin (Ub)-, K48-, and K63-conjugated proteins. The DUB activity exhibited a clear time dependence, with stronger DUB activity in the early stage of viral infection. Furthermore, the IBV replicase-encoded PLP, including the downstream transmembrane (TM) domain, is a DUB enzyme and dramatically reduced the level of Ub-conjugated proteins, while processing both K48- and K63-linked polyubiquitin chains. By contrast, PLP did not cause any reduction of haemagglutinin (HA)-Ub-conjugated proteins. In addition, mutations of the catalytic residues of PLP-TM, Cys1274Ser and His1437Lys, reduced DUB activity against Ub-, K48- and K63- conjugated proteins, indicating that the DUB activity of the PLP-TM wild-type protein is not completely dependent on its catalytic activity. Overall, these results demonstrate that the IBV-encoded PLP-TM functions as a DUB enzyme and suggest that IBV may interfere with the activation of host antiviral signaling pathway by degrading polyubiquitin-associated proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At low inner mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ) oxaloacetate (OAA) accumulates in the organelles concurrently with decreased complex II-energized respiration. This is consistent with ΔΨ-dependent OAA inhibition of succinate dehydrogenase. To assess the metabolic importance of this process, we tested the hypothesis that perturbing metabolic clearance of OAA in complex II-energized mitochondria would alter O 2 flux and, further, that this would occur in both ΔΨ and tissue-dependent fashion. We carried out respiratory and metabolite studies in skeletal muscle and interscapular brown adipose tissue (IBAT) directed at the effect of OAA transamination to aspartate (catalyzed by the mitochondrial form of glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase, Got2) on complex II-energized respiration. Addition of low amounts of glutamate to succinate-energized mitochondria at low ΔΨ increased complex II (succinate)-energized respiration in muscle but had little effect in IBAT mitochondria. The transaminase inhibitor, aminooxyacetic acid, increased OAA concentrations and impaired succinate-energized respiration in muscle but not IBAT mitochondria at low but not high ΔΨ. Immunoblotting revealed that Got2 expression was far greater in muscle than IBAT mitochondria. Because we incidentally observed metabolism of OAA to pyruvate in IBAT mitochondria, more so than in muscle mitochondria, we also examined the expression of mitochondrial oxaloacetate decarboxylase (ODX). ODX was detected only in IBAT mitochondria. In summary, at low but not high ΔΨ, mitochondrial transamination clears OAA preventing loss of complex II respiration: a process far more active in muscle than IBAT mitochondria. We also provide evidence that OAA decarboxylation clears OAA to pyruvate in IBAT mitochondria. • Clearance of OAA by the mitochondrial transaminase, Got2, prevents OAA inhibition of complex II and loss of complex II energized respiration. • This effect depends on membrane potential (ΔΨ), operative at low but not high ΔΨ. • Got2-mediated clearance of OAA is tissue specific, operative in muscle but not brown fat mitochondria. • OAA is more effectively cleared to pyruvate in IBAT than muscle mitochondria, in part related to the expression of mitochondrial OAA decarboxylase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a discrete model to illustrate how two pieces of information interact with online social networks and investigate the dynamics of discrete-time information diffusion model in three types: reverse type, intervention type and mutualistic type. It is found that the model has orbits with period 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 20, 30, quasiperiodic orbit, and undergoes heteroclinic bifurcation near 1:2 point, a homoclinic structure near 1:3 resonance point and an invariant cycle bifurcated by period 4 orbit near 1:4 resonance point. Moreover, in order to regulate information diffusion process and information security, we give two control strategies, the hybrid control method and the feedback controller of polynomial functions, to control chaos, flip bifurcation, 1:2, 1:3 and 1:4 resonances, respectively, in the two-dimensional discrete system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Applications of an easy-to-implement, compact but practical single-camera high-speed (SCHS) stereo-digital image correlation (DIC) technique for full-field transient 3D deformation measurement during ballistic impact are investigated. The established SCHS stereo-DIC system relies on a four-mirror adapter to convert a single high-speed camera into two virtual high-speed cameras, which view a specimen from different angles and record the surface images of the test object onto two halves of the camera sensor. The system configuration, measurement principles and experimental procedures of the proposed SCHS stereo-DIC technique for full-field transient 3D deformation measurement are described first. Then, the effectiveness and accuracy of the established system were verified by measuring the static deformation of a stationary carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) panel and transient deformation of an aluminum panel under the impact of a cylindrical foam projectile. Finally, full-field in-plane and out-of-plane deformations of the CFRP panel under rigid steel sphere impact were determined using this system, which shed light on the deformation behavior and failure mechanism of the CFRP panel under transient ballistic impact. The results confirm that the SCHS stereo-DIC is a cost-effective and practical technique for full-field transient 3D deformation measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A low-cost, easy-to-implement but practical single-camera stereo-digital image correlation (DIC) system using a four-mirror adapter is established for accurate shape and three-dimensional (3D) deformation measurements. The mirrors assisted pseudo-stereo imaging system can convert a single camera into two virtual cameras, which view a specimen from different angles and record the surface images of the test object onto two halves of the camera sensor. To enable deformation measurement in non-laboratory conditions or extreme high temperature environments, an active imaging optical design, combining an actively illuminated monochromatic source with a coupled band-pass optical filter, is compactly integrated to the pseudo-stereo DIC system. The optical design, basic principles and implementation procedures of the established system for 3D profile and deformation measurements are described in detail. The effectiveness and accuracy of the established system are verified by measuring the profile of a regular cylinder surface and displacements of a translated planar plate. As an application example, the established system is used to determine the tensile strains and Poisson׳s ratio of a composite solid propellant specimen during stress relaxation test. Since the established single-camera stereo-DIC system only needs a single camera and presents strong robustness against variations in ambient light or the thermal radiation of a hot object, it demonstrates great potential in determining transient deformation in non-laboratory or high-temperature environments with the aid of a single high-speed camera. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human intrinsic motivation is of great importance in human behavior. However, although researchers have focused on this topic for decades, its neural basis was still unclear. The current study employed event-related potentials to investigate the neural disparity between an interesting stop-watch (SW) task and a boring watch-stop task (WS) to understand the neural mechanisms of intrinsic motivation. Our data showed that, in the cue priming stage, the cue of the SW task elicited smaller N2 amplitude than that of the WS task. Furthermore, in the outcome feedback stage, the outcome of the SW task induced smaller FRN amplitude and larger P300 amplitude than that of the WS task. These results suggested that human intrinsic motivation did exist and that it can be detected at the neural level. Furthermore, intrinsic motivation could be quantitatively indexed by the amplitude of ERP components, such as N2, FRN, and P300, in the cue priming stage or feedback stage. Quantitative measurements would also be convenient for intrinsic motivation to be added as a candidate social factor in the construction of a machine learning model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Backgrounds: Stress hyperglycemia ratio (SHR) reflects the acute blood glucose change in response to acute illnesses or injuries, including pneumonia. We aimed to investigate the associations of SHR with systemic inflammation and clinical outcomes in diabetic inpatients with pneumonia on admission. Methods: A multicenter and retrospective study was conducted among diabetic inpatients with pneumonia on admission via electronic medical records from 2013 to 2019 in Ruijin Hospital, Shengjing Hospital, and China‐Japan Friendship Hospital. Results: The study included 1631 diabetic inpatients with pneumonia on admission. Patients of the fourth quartile (Q4) of SHR on admission showed significantly elevated systemic inflammation compared with those of the first quartile (Q1), second quartile (Q2), or third quartile (Q3) of SHR, including more white blood cells (9.1 × 109/L in Q4 vs 7.6 × 109/L in Q1, 7.9 × 109/L in Q2, and 8.0 × 109/L in Q3, p <.001), higher neutrophil‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (7.0 in Q4 vs 3.6 in Q1, 3.8 in Q2, and 4.0 in Q3, p <.001), higher C‐reactive protein (52.8 mg/L in Q4 vs 18.9 mg/L in Q1, p <.001; 52.8 mg/L in Q4 vs 28.6 mg/L in Q2, p =.002), higher procalcitonin (0.22 ng/mL in Q4 vs 0.10 ng/mL in Q1, 0.09 ng/mL in Q2, and 0.11 ng/mL in Q3, p <.001), and higher D‐dimer (0.67 mg/L in Q4 vs 0.47 mg/L in Q1, 0.50 mg/L in Q2, and 0.47 mg/L in Q3, p <.001). Excluding patients with hypoglycemia on admission in the analyses, there were still distinct J‐shaped associations between SHR and adverse clinical outcomes in patients with different severity of pneumonia, especially in those with CURB‐65 score for pneumonia severity (Confusion, blood Urea nitrogen, Respiratory rate, Blood pressure) ≥ 2. In the multivariable regression model, predictive value for adverse clinical outcomes was higher when SHR was taken as a spline term than as quartiles in all patients (area under curve 0.831 vs 0.822, p =.040), and when SHR as a spline term instead of fasting blood glucose was included in patients with CURB‐65 ≥ 2 (area under curve 0.755 vs 0.722, p =.027). Conclusions: SHR was correlated with systematic inflammation and of J‐shaped associations with adverse clinical outcomes in diabetic inpatients with pneumonia of different severity. The inclusion of SHR in the blood glucose management of diabetic inpatients may be beneficial, especially for the prevention of potential hypoglycemia or the recognition of relative glucose insufficiency in those with severe pneumonia or high hemoglobin A1C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective The primary aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the possible therapeutic effects of a 10-session humor intervention program in improving rehabilitative outcomes and the effects of the intervention on patients' sense of humor among patients with schizophrenia. Methods Thirty subjects were randomly assigned into either the intervention (humor skill training) group (n = 15) or the control (doing handwork) group (n = 15). The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests and ANOVA. Findings Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests were conducted to examine the differences across conditions and time. A group by time interaction effect was observed on all of the outcomes, except positive symptoms of PANSS. The time main effect was also significant on the total score (p < 0.005) and the negative symptoms score (p < 0.001) of the PANSS. Conclusions The implementation of humor skill training in a mental health service can improve rehabilitative outcomes and sense of humor for schizophrenia patients who were in the rehabilitation stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the author reflects on high-throughput screening in general population for type 1 diabetes; and discusses an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in children with multiple islet autoantibodies (IAbs).

It is commonly believed that the ability to integrate information from different senses develops according to associative learning principles as neurons acquire experience with co-active cross-modal inputs. However, previous studies have not distinguished between requirements for co-activation versus co-variation. To determine whether cross-modal co-activation is sufficient for this purpose in visual-auditory superior colliculus ( SC) neurons, animals were reared in constant omnidirectional noise. By masking most spatiotemporally discrete auditory experiences, the noise created a sensory landscape that decoupled stimulus co-activation and co-variance. Although a near-normal complement of visual-auditory SC neurons developed, the vast majority could not engage in multisensory integration, revealing that visual-auditory co-activation was insufficient for this purpose. That experience with co-varying stimuli is required for multisensory maturation is consistent with the role of the SC in detecting and locating biologically significant events, but it also seems likely that this is a general requirement for multisensory maturation throughout the brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fat intake alters mitochondrial lipid composition which can affect function. We used novel methodology to assess bioenergetics, including simultaneous ATP and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, in liver and heart mitochondria of C57BL/6 mice fed diets of variant fatty acid content and saturation. Our methodology allowed us to clamp ADP concentration and membrane potential (ΔΨ) at fixed levels. Mice received a control diet for 17-19 weeks, a high-fat (HF) diet (60 % lard) for 17-19 weeks, or HF for 12 weeks followed by 6-7 weeks of HF with 50 % of fat as menhaden oil (MO) which is rich in n-3 fatty acids. ATP production was determined as conversion of 2-deoxyglucose to 2-deoxyglucose phosphate by NMR spectroscopy. Respiration and ATP production were significantly reduced at all levels of ADP and resultant clamped ΔΨ in liver mitochondria from mice fed HF compared to controls. At given ΔΨ, ROS production per mg mitochondrial protein, per unit respiration, or per ATP generated were greater for liver mitochondria of HF-fed mice compared to control or MO-fed mice. Moreover, these ROS metrics began to increase at a lower ΔΨ threshold. Similar, but less marked, changes were observed in heart mitochondria of HF-fed mice compared to controls. No changes in mitochondrial bioenergetics were observed in studies of separate mice fed HF versus control for only 12 weeks. In summary, HF feeding of sufficient duration impairs mitochondrial bioenergetics and is associated with a greater ROS 'cost' of ATP production compared to controls. These effects are, in part, mitigated by MO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing evidence shows that microRNAs (miRNAs) are a family of regulatory molecules involved in many physiological processes, including the inflammation in central nervous system (CNS) and neurological disorders. Angiostrongylus cantonensis ( A. cantonensis) is the major cause of human infectious eosinophilic meningitis and can induce CNS injury. In the present study, we investigated the expression of miRNAs involved in neuronal functions such as miR-132-3p/212-3p, and miR-146a-5p, inflammation-related miRNA, in the modulation of inflammation of CNS of mice and rats induced by A. cantonensis. The functions of differentially expressed miRNAs were analyzed through bioinformatics methods, and the expression of chosen target genes were investigated by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The results showed that miR-146a-5p upregulated in the brain of rats after 21 days; A. cantonensis infection and the expression of miR-132-3p and miR-146a-5p upregulated in the brain of mice model infected by A. cantonensis. The expression of the target genes of mmu-miR-146a-5p such as Irak1 and Traf6 downregulated in 14 days and 21 days after A. cantonensis infection. Our results supply more information about the involvement of the miRNAs in the regulation of inflammation of CNS induced by A. cantonensis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By comparing two digital images of a test planar specimen surface recorded in different configurations, two-dimensional digital image correlation (2D-DIC) provides full-field displacements to sub-pixel accuracy and full-field strains in the recorded images. For the 2D-DIC systems using an optical lens, a simple pinhole imaging model is commonly used to describe the linear relationship between the measured sensor plane displacements and the actual displacements in the object surface. However, in a practical measurement, various unavoidable disadvantageous factors, such as small out-of-plane motion of the test object surface occurred after loading, small out-of-plane motion of the sensor target due to the self-heating or temperature variation of a camera, and geometric distortion of the imaging lens, may seriously impair or slightly change the originally assumed linear correspondence. In certain cases, these disadvantages may lead to significant errors in displacements and strains measured by 2D-DIC. In this work, the measurement errors of 2D-DIC due to the above three disadvantageous factors are first described in detail. Then, to minimize the errors associated with these disadvantages, a high-accuracy 2D-DIC system using a bilateral telecentric lens is established. The performance of the established 2D-DIC system and other two 2D-DIC systems using a conventional lens and an object-side telecentric lens are investigated experimentally using easy-to-implement stationary, out-of-plane and in-plane rigid body translation tests. A detailed examination reveals that a high-quality bilateral telecentric lens is not only insensitive to out-of-plane motion of the test object and the self-heating of a camera, but also demonstrates negligible lens distortion. Uniaxial tensile tests of an aluminum specimen were also performed to quantitatively compare the axial and transversal strains measured by the proposed 2D-DIC system and those measured by strain gage rosettes. The perfect agreement between the two measurements further verifies the accuracy of the established 2D-DIC system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Propose a design strategy for a demand-oriented single-camera stereo-DIC system with a four-mirror adapter. • Verify the feasibility of the proposed method and the accuracy of the established system. • Guide the researchers to construct of a demand-satisfied yet compact single-camera stereo-DIC system. Four-mirror-assisted single-camera stereo-digital image correlation (stereo-DIC) system overperforms conventional two-camera stereo-DIC system in terms of system compactness, cost investment and easy implementation. However, how to design a suitable four-mirror adaptor orienting a specific demand has not been clearly described in previous researches. To address this issue and satisfy practical requirements encountered in real applications, we proposed a design strategy for determining the optimal structure of a four-mirror adaptor. Specifically, to optimize the structural parameters of a four-mirror adaptor, the proposed design strategy comprehensively considers various factors, including the desired field of view (FOV), working distance, measurement accuracy, system compactness as well as the parameters of available devices (camera and lens). After implementing the algorithm based on the degrees of freedom (DOF) of the imaging system, an optimal solution can be determined from all the solutions that can satisfy the identical requirements. The designed four-mirror adapter is then printed by a 3D printer, and can be directly attached to the lens for single-camera pseudo-stereo imaging. Further, two specific design paradigms demonstrated the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed design strategy. It is expected that the proposed method can help the researchers to construct a demand-satisfied yet compact four-mirror-assisted single-camera stereo-DIC system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rearing cats from birth to adulthood in darkness prevents neurons in the superior colliculus ( SC) from developing the capability to integrate visual and non-visual (e.g. visual-auditory) inputs. Presumably, this developmental anomaly is due to a lack of experience with the combination of those cues, which is essential to form associative links between them. The visual-auditory multisensory integration capacity of SC neurons has also been shown to depend on the functional integrity of converging visual and auditory inputs from the ipsilateral association cortex. Disrupting these cortico-collicular projections at any stage of life results in a pattern of outcomes similar to those found after dark-rearing; SC neurons respond to stimuli in both sensory modalities, but cannot integrate the information they provide. Thus, it is possible that dark-rearing compromises the development of these descending tecto-petal connections and the essential influences they convey. However, the results of the present experiments, using cortical deactivation to assess the presence of cortico-collicular influences, demonstrate that dark-rearing does not prevent the association cortex from developing robust influences over SC multisensory responses. In fact, dark-rearing may increase their potency over that observed in normally-reared animals. Nevertheless, their influences are still insufficient to support SC multisensory integration. It appears that cross-modal experience shapes the cortical influence to selectively enhance responses to cross-modal stimulus combinations that are likely to be derived from the same event. In the absence of this experience, the cortex develops an indiscriminate excitatory influence over its multisensory SC target neurons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Lens distortion practically presents in a real optical imaging system causing non-uniform geometric distortion in the recorded images, and gives rise to additional errors in the displacement and strain results measured by two-dimensional digital image correlation (2D-DIC). In this work, the systematic errors in the displacement and strain results measured by 2D-DIC due to lens distortion are investigated theoretically using the radial lens distortion model and experimentally through easy-to-implement rigid body, in-plane translation tests. Theoretical analysis shows that the displacement and strain errors at an interrogated image point are not only in linear proportion to the distortion coefficient of the camera lens used, but also depend on its distance relative to distortion center and its magnitude of displacement. To eliminate the systematic errors caused by lens distortion, a simple linear least-squares algorithm is proposed to estimate the distortion coefficient from the distorted displacement results of rigid body, in-plane translation tests, which can be used to correct the distorted displacement fields to obtain unbiased displacement and strain fields. Experimental results verify the correctness of the theoretical derivation and the effectiveness of the proposed lens distortion correction method. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Multisensory superior colliculus neurons in cats were found to retain substantial plasticity to short-term, site-specific experience with cross-modal stimuli well into adulthood. Following cross-modal exposure trials, these neurons substantially increased their sensitivity to the cross-modal stimulus configuration as well as to its individual component stimuli. In many cases, the exposure experience also revealed a previously ineffective or “silent” input channel, rendering it overtly responsive. These experience-induced changes required relatively few exposure trials and could be retained for more than 1 h. However, their induction was generally restricted to experience with cross-modal stimuli. Only rarely were they induced by exposure to a modality-specific stimulus and were never induced by stimulating a previously ineffective input channel. This short-term plasticity likely provides substantial benefits to the organism in dealing with ongoing and sequential events that take place at a given location in space and may reflect the ability of multisensory superior colliculus neurons to rapidly alter their response properties to accommodate to changes in environmental challenges and event probabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The “spectroscopic limited maximum efficiency” metric is applied to identify materials design principles leading to high absorption for application in very thin film photovoltaic devices. Several Cu‐V‐VI materials exhibit much stronger solar absorption than CuInSe2, confirmed by our coupled experiment. A general trend on the fundamental factors driving strong absorption in these materials is revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]