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A coupled Computational Fluid Dynamics-Discrete Element Method (CFD-DEM) approach is used to calculate the interaction of a flexible rag transported by a fluid current with a fixed solid cylinder. More specifically a hybrid Eulerian-Lagrangian approach is used with the rag being modeled as a set of interconnected particles. The influence of various parameters is considered, namely the inlet velocity (1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 m/s, respectively), the angle formed by the initially straight rag with the flow direction (45°, 60° and 90°, respectively), and the inlet position (90, 100, and 110 mm, respectively). The results show that the flow rate has a significant impact on the permeability of the rag. The higher the flow rate, the higher the permeability and the rag speed difference. The angle has a minor effect on rag permeability, with 45° being the most favorable angle for permeability. The inlet position has a small impact on rag permeability, while reducing the initial distance between the rag an the cylinder makes it easier for rags to pass through. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organoids have attracted great interest for disease modelling, drug discovery and development, and tissue growth and homeostasis investigations. However, lack of standards for quality control has become a prominent obstacle to limit their translation into clinic and other applications. "Human intestinal organoids" is the first guideline on human intestinal organoids in China, jointly drafted and agreed by the experts from the Chinese Society for Cell Biology and its branch society: the Chinese Society for Stem Cell Research. This standard specifies terms and definitions, technical requirements, test methods, inspection rules for human intestinal organoids, which is applicable to quality control during the process of manufacturing and testing of human intestinal organoids. It was originally released by the Chinese Society for Cell Biology on 24 September 2022. We hope that the publication of this standard will guide institutional establishment, acceptance and execution of proper practical protocols and accelerate the international standardization of human intestinal organoids for applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale and Objectives: The preoperative diagnosis of small prevascular mediastinal nodules (SPMNs) presents a challenge, often leading to unnecessary surgical interventions. Our objective was to develop a nomogram based on preoperative CT-radiomics features, serving as a non-invasive diagnostic tool for SPMNs., Materials and Methods: Patients with surgically resected SPMNs from two medical centers between January 2018 and December 2022 were retrospectively reviewed. Radiomics features were extracted and screened from preoperative CT images. Logistic regression was employed to establish clinical, radiomics, and hybrid models for differentiating thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) from cysts. The performance of these models was validated in both internal and external test sets by area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), while also comparing their diagnostic capability with human experts., Results: The study enrolled a total of 363 patients (median age, 53 years [IQR:45-59 years]; 175 [48.2%] males) for model development and validation, including 136 TETs and 227 cysts. Lesions' enhancement status, shape, calcification, and rad-score were identified as independent factors for distinction. The hybrid model demonstrated superior diagnostic performance compared to other models and human experts, with an AUC of 0.95 (95% CI:0.92-0.98), 0.94 (95% CI:0.89-0.99), and 0.93 (95% CI:0.83-1.00) in the training set, internal test set, and external test set respectively. The calibration curve of the model demonstrated excellent fit, while decision curve analysis underscored its clinical value., Conclusion: The radiomics-based nomogram effectively discriminates between the most prevalent types of SPMNs, namely TETs and cysts, thus presenting a promising tool for treatment guidance., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Association of University Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The endoglucanase from Fusarium sp. Q7-31T was isolated, purified, identified and characterized to provide data for enzyme system of Fusarium sp. . [Methods] Strain was cultured in liquid fermentation with oat straw as carbon source, the endoglucanase was purified by using Sephacry S-100 chromatography and DEAE-sepharose ion-exchange column chromatography and the enzymatic properties were studied. The protein was identified using MADIL-TOF-TOF., Results: An endoglucanase was purified and named Egn20. The molecular weight was 55.37 kDa and isoelectric point (pI) was 7.44. Egn20 had optimal activity with carboxymethyl cellulose at 40 degrees C and pH 6.0, stabilized at 45 degrees C and pH 5.0 - 7.0, activated by Fe2+, inhibited by Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Zn2+, K+ and inactivated by Hg2+. The enzymatic properties and MADIL-TOF-TOF results suggested that Egn20 belongs to GH7 family., Conclusion: Our results may provide important data for the study of Fusarium sp. enzyme system.