Search

Machine learning potentials (MLPs) have attracted significant attention in computational chemistry and materials science due to their high accuracy and computational efficiency. The proper selection of atomic structures is crucial for developing reliable MLPs. Insufficient or redundant atomic structures can impede the training process and potentially result in a poor quality MLP. Here, we propose a local-environment-guided screening algorithm for efficient dataset selection in MLP development. The algorithm utilizes a local environment bank to store unique local environments of atoms. The dissimilarity between a particular local environment and those stored in the bank is evaluated using the Euclidean distance. A new structure is selected only if its local environment is significantly different from those already present in the bank. Consequently, the bank is then updated with all the new local environments found in the selected structure. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithm, we applied it to select structures for a Ge system and a Pd13H2 particle system. The algorithm reduced the training data size by around 80% for both without compromising the performance of the MLP models. We verified that the results were independent of the selection and ordering of the initial structures. We also compared the performance of our method with the farthest point sampling algorithm, and the results show that our algorithm is superior in both robustness and computational efficiency. Furthermore, the generated local environment bank can be continuously updated and can potentially serve as a growing database of feature local environments, aiding in efficient dataset maintenance for constructing accurate MLPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Detecting lung cancer early and initiating treatment promptly can greatly enhance patient outcomes. While low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening aids in identifying lung cancer at an early stage, there is a risk of diagnostic delays as patients await follow-up scans. To mitigate this challenge, we developed a deep predictive model leveraging generative AI methods to forecast nodule growth patterns in follow-up LDCT scans based on baseline LDCT scans. Our findings illustrated that utilizing the predicted follow-up nodule images generated by our model during baseline screening improved diagnostic accuracy compared to using baseline nodules alone and achieved comparable performance with using real follow-up nodules. This demonstrated the potential of employing deep generative models to forecast nodule appearance in follow-up imaging from baseline LDCT scans, thereby enhancing risk assessment during initial screening. Early diagnosis of lung cancer can significantly improve patient outcomes. We developed a Growth Predictive model based on the Wasserstein Generative Adversarial Network framework (GP-WGAN) to predict the nodule growth patterns in the follow-up LDCT scans. The GP-WGAN was trained with a training set (N = 776) containing 1121 pairs of nodule images with about 1-year intervals and deployed to an independent test set of 450 nodules on baseline LDCT scans to predict nodule images (GP-nodules) in their 1-year follow-up scans. The 450 GP-nodules were finally classified as malignant or benign by a lung cancer risk prediction (LCRP) model, achieving a test AUC of 0.827 ± 0.028, which was comparable to the AUC of 0.862 ± 0.028 achieved by the same LCRP model classifying real follow-up nodule images (p = 0.071). The net reclassification index yielded consistent outcomes (NRI = 0.04; p = 0.62). Other baseline methods, including Lung-RADS and the Brock model, achieved significantly lower performance (p < 0.05). The results demonstrated that the GP-nodules predicted by our GP-WGAN model achieved comparable performance with the nodules in the real follow-up scans for lung cancer diagnosis, indicating the potential to detect lung cancer earlier when coupled with accelerated clinical management versus the current approach of waiting until the next screening exam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To evaluate the 3‐ to 8‐year outcomes of dental implants placed with lateral sinus floor augmentation (LSFA) and to identify factors affecting implant survival. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was performed by screening all implants placed with LSFA procedures, which were conducted between January 2012 and December 2016. Subantral bone gain (SABG) and apical bone height (ABH) were assessed using panoramic radiographs. The cumulative survival rate of implants was analysed using life‐table analysis and Kaplan–Meier survival curves. The influential risk factors affecting survival were assessed using univariate log‐rank tests and multivariable mixture cure rate model. Implant complications were recorded. Results: Based on the established criteria, a total of 449 patients (760 implants) were included in this study. In the 3‐ to 8‐year follow‐up (mean ± SD, 5.81 ± 1.33 years), 15 implants in 14 patients failed, with a CRS of 96.81% on an implant basis and 95.07% on a patient basis. A history of periodontitis and poor compliance with supportive periodontal treatment was associated with a significantly higher risk of implant failure at both implant and patient levels. Significant decreases in ABH occurred during each yearly interval except for 3 years. A similar trend has been observed for SABG at 1, 2, 6 and 8 years. The total complication rate was 31.84% on implant basis, with peri‐implant mucositis (21.58%) being the most frequent biologic complication and porcelain cracking (5.00%) being the most common technical complication. Conclusions: Implant with LSFA is a reliable treatment option in atrophic maxilla. A history of periodontitis without regular supportive periodontal treatment was identified as a predictor for implant failure. Slight but significant shrinkage of vertically augmented bone can be observed after implant placement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heteroepitaxial semiconductors such as Ge-on-Si are widely used in current opto-electronic and electronic applications, and one of the most important challenges for epitaxial Ge-on-Si is threading dislocations (TDs) in Ge layers caused by lattice mismatch between Ge and Si. Here, apart from traditional wet chemical etching, we report a convenient approach to evaluate the threading dislocation densities in heteroepitaxial layers through vacuum thermal annealing. More importantly, the controversial origin of thermal annealing induced pits on a Ge surface was addressed in this work. By combining both experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we find that the {111} facets defined thermal pits on Ge (001) surfaces are mainly caused by threading dislocation activation. Ge adatoms at the TD segments sublimate preferentially than the ones on dislocation-free Ge (001) surface regions, and its further evolution is determined by surface energies of {111} facets, leading to a construction of inverted pyramid-shaped thermal pits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Bone metastasis is a significant contributor to morbidity and mortality in advanced prostate cancer, and early diagnosis is challenging due to its insidious onset. The use of machine learning to obtain prognostic information from pathological images has been highlighted. However, there is a limited understanding of the potential of early prediction of bone metastasis through the feature combination method from various sources. This study presents a method of integrating multimodal data to enhance the feasibility of early diagnosis of bone metastasis in prostate cancer. Methods and materials: Overall, 211 patients diagnosed with prostate cancer (PCa) at Gansu Provincial Hospital between January 2017 and February 2023 were included in this study. The patients were randomized (8:2) into a training group (n = 169) and a validation group (n = 42). The region of interest (ROI) were segmented from the three magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences (T2WI, DWI, and ADC), and pathological features were extracted from tissue sections (hematoxylin and eosin [H&E] staining, 10 × 20). A deep learning (DL) model using ResNet 50 was employed to extract deep transfer learning (DTL) features. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression method was utilized for feature selection, feature construction, and reducing feature dimensions. Different machine learning classifiers were used to build predictive models. The performance of the models was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curves. The net clinical benefit was assessed using decision curve analysis (DCA). The goodness of fit was evaluated using calibration curves. A joint model nomogram was eventually developed by combining clinically independent risk factors. Results: The best prediction models based on DTL and pathomics features showed area under the curve (AUC) values of 0.89 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.799–0.989) and 0.85 (95% CI, 0.714–0.989), respectively. The AUC for the best prediction model based on radiomics features and combining radiomics features, DTL features, and pathomics features were 0.86 (95% CI, 0.735–0.979) and 0.93 (95% CI, 0.854–1.000), respectively. Based on DCA and calibration curves, the model demonstrated good net clinical benefit and fit. Conclusion: Multimodal radiomics and pathomics serve as valuable predictors of the risk of bone metastases in patients with primary PCa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about the frequency of conflict between clinicians and families at the time of pediatric clinical ethics consultation (CEC) and what factors are associated with the presence of conflict. We conducted a retrospective cohort study at a single, tertiary urban US pediatric hospital that included all hospitalized patients between January 2008 and December 2019 who received CEC. Utilizing the hospital's CEC database that requires documentation of the presence of conflict by the consultant at the time of CEC, we determined the frequency and types of perceived conflict between families and clinicians. We also assessed the bivariable association between conflict and patient age, patient- or family-reported race/ethnicity, language for care, insurance status, clinical setting, and consultant involvement. Perceived conflict between clinicians and families was present in 44% (91/209) of CEC. We observed a higher occurrence of clinician-family conflict within certain consult topics than others, in particular, informed consent/parental permission (69%), cultural considerations (67%), benefit/harm assessment (58%), and limitation of life-sustaining treatment (58%). We found no other significant associations between the presence of perceived conflict and patient sociodemographic factors or CEC factors. Conflict between healthcare teams and families appears common in CEC, particularly with certain consult topics. Further study is needed to better understand conflict types, causes of conflicts, management and mediation strategies, and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global community has been affected by COVID-19, which emerged in December 2019. Since then, many studies have been conducted on kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) and COVID-19. This study aimed to perform a bibliometric and visual analysis of the published relationship between KTRs and COVID-19. To discuss the current status, hot spots, and development trend of research on KTRs vaccination with the COVID-19 vaccine and to provide a reference for researchers in related fields. Visual analysis of countries/regions, institutions, authors, references cited, and keywords for 2020 to 2023 via Microsoft Office Excel 2019 and CiteSpace (6.1.R6) based on the Web of Science core database. A total of 366 publications were included after screening, with a rapid increase in the global literature studying the COVID-19 vaccine of KTRs. The US has the highest number of publications, indicating that it is the leading country in this field of research. Charite University of Medicine Berlin and Schrezenmeier E are the most published institutions and authors, respectively. "Antibody Response After a Third Dose of the messenger RNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine in Kidney Transplant Recipients With Minimal Serologic Response to 2 Doses" is the most central co-cited reference; The keywords "kidney transplant recipient," "covid 19 vaccine," and "mortality" have become hot topics of research. The keywords "humoral response" and "bnt162b2" are the latest research frontiers for detecting bursts. This paper analyzed the current status and trends of vaccination studies in KTRs through bibliometric analysis. Several studies support the vaccination of KTRs with the COVID-19 vaccine. However, the evidence for improving vaccine efficacy by adjustment of immunosuppression is still limited, and future studies on vaccination will remain a hot topic in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose : To understand the natural history and clinical outcomes for patients with X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA) in the United States utilizing the United States Immunodeficiency Network (USIDNET) patient registry. Methods: The USIDNET registry was queried for data from XLA patients collected from 1981 to 2019. Data fields included demographics, clinical features before and after diagnosis of XLA, family history, genetic mutation in Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK), laboratory findings, treatment modalities, and mortality. Results: Data compiled through the USIDNET registry on 240 patients were analyzed. Patient year of birth ranged from 1945 to 2017. Living status was available for 178 patients; 158/178 (88.8%) were alive. Race was reported for 204 patients as follows: White, 148 (72.5%); Black/African American, 23 (11.2%); Hispanic, 20 (9.8%); Asian or Pacific Islander, 6 (2.9%), and other or more than one race, 7 (3.4%). The median age at last entry, age at disease onset, age at diagnosis, and length of time with XLA diagnosis was 15 [range (r) = 1–52 years], 0.8 [r = birth–22.3 years], 2 [r = birth–29 years], and 10 [r = 1–56 years] years respectively. One hundred and forty-one patients (58.7%) were < 18 years of age. Two hundred and twenty-one (92%) patients were receiving IgG replacement (IgGR), 58 (24%) were on prophylactic antibiotics, and 19 (7.9%) were on immunomodulatory drugs. Eighty-six (35.9%) patients had undergone surgical procedures, two had undergone hematopoietic cell transplantation, and two required liver transplantation. The respiratory tract was the most affected organ system (51.2% of patients) followed by gastrointestinal (40%), neurological (35.4%), and musculoskeletal (28.3%). Infections were common both before and after diagnosis, despite IgGR therapy. Bacteremia/sepsis and meningitis were reported more frequently before XLA diagnosis while encephalitis was more commonly reported after diagnosis. Twenty patients had died (11.2%). The median age of death was 21 years (range = 3–56.7 years). Neurologic condition was the most common underlying co-morbidity for those XLA patients who died. Conclusions: Current therapies for XLA patients reduce early mortality, but patients continue to experience complications that impact organ function. With improved life expectancy, more efforts will be required to improve post-diagnosis organ dysfunction and quality of life. Neurologic manifestations are an important co-morbidity associated with mortality and not yet clearly fully understood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread of rumors on social media, carrying unreal or even malicious information, brings negative effects on society and individuals, which makes the automatic detection of rumors become particularly important. Most of the previous studies focused on text mining using supervised models based on feature engineering or deep learning models. In recent years, another parallel line of works, which focuses on the spatial structure of message propagation, provides an alternative and promising solution. However, these existing methods in this parallel line largely overlooked the temporal structure information associated with the spatial structure in message propagation. Actually the addition of temporal structure information can make the message propagations be classified from the perspective of spatial–temporal structure, a more fine-grained perspective. Under these observations, this paper proposes a spatial–temporal structure neural network for rumor detection, termed as STS-NN, which treats the spatial structure and the temporal structure as a whole to model the message propagation. All the STS-NN units are parameter shared and consist of three components, including spatial capturer, temporal capturer and integrator, to capture the spatial–temporal information for the message propagation. The results show that our approach obtains better performance than baselines in both rumor classification and early detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Our previous studies showed that strontium (Sr)‐modified sand‐blasted, large grit, acid etched titanium surface (Sr‐SLA) is beneficial for osseointegration; however, the supporting mechanisms have not been explored in detail. Materials and Methods: Whole‐transcriptome RNA sequencing of peri‐implant bone tissue was performed, and CDH2 was selected as a key mediator of Sr‐SLA‐mediated osseointegration. To test this hypothesis, a lentivirus‐mediated vector targeting the silencing of the CDH2 gene was used in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) prior to seeding on Ti substrates. The effects of CDH2 interference on MSCs vitality, differentiation, and β‐catenin signaling activity were evaluated. In vivo, a recombinant adeno‐associated virus 9 vector carrying an artificial siRNA that target CDH2 (AAV9‐CDH2i) was intravenously injected in mice, followed by tibial surgery with implant placement. Osseointegration were monitored using micro‐CT analysis. Results: CDH2 expression in MSCs on Sr‐SLA was higher than the control group, which was in parallel with the enhanced cell migration, adhesion, and upregulation of early osteogenic markers. Knocking down CDH2 in MSCs resulted in decreased cell viability and osteogenic differentiation, and the elevated biocompatibility and osteoinductive effect of Sr‐SLA were greatly diminished. Surprisingly, Sr‐SLA‐induced upregulation of CDH2 was not followed by restriction of β‐catenin signaling because Sr‐SLA also promoted the expression and nuclear translocation of β‐catenin. Systemic administration of AAV9‐CDH2i effectively knocked down CDH2 expression in bone marrow cells, and in turn, inhibited bone formation induced by Sr‐SLA. Conclusions: The results indicated that CDH2 is required for Sr‐SLA‐mediated bone regeneration, which reveals a new mechanism to explain the osteoinductive effect of Sr‐SLA. Thus, biomaterial modifications targeting CDH2 may help improve early osseointegration and bone healing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Individuals who use a language other than English for medical care are at risk for disparities related to healthcare safety, patient-centered care, and quality. Professional interpreter use decreases these disparities but remains underutilized, despite widespread access and legal mandates. In this study, we compare two discrete implementation strategies for improving interpreter use: (1) enhanced education targeting intrapersonal barriers to use delivered in a scalable format (interactive web-based educational modules) and (2) a strategy targeting system barriers to use in which mobile video interpreting is enabled on providers' own mobile devices. Methods: We will conduct a type 3 hybrid implementation-effectiveness study in 3–5 primary care organizations, using a sequential multiple assignment randomized trial (SMART) design. Our primary implementation outcome is interpreter use, calculated by matching clinic visits to interpreter invoices. Our secondary effectiveness outcome is patient comprehension, determined by comparing patient-reported to provider-documented visit diagnosis. Enrolled providers (n = 55) will be randomized to mobile video interpreting or educational modules, plus standard interpreter access. After 9 months, providers with high interpreter use will continue as assigned; those with lower use will be randomized to continue as before or add the alternative strategy. After another 9 months, both strategies will be available to enrolled providers for 9 more months. Providers will complete 2 surveys (beginning and end) and 3 in-depth interviews (beginning, middle, and end) to understand barriers to interpreter use, based on the Theoretical Domains Framework. Patients who use a language other than English will be surveyed (n = 648) and interviewed (n = 75) following visits with enrolled providers to understand their experiences with communication. Visits will be video recorded (n = 100) to assess fidelity to assigned strategies. We will explore strategy mechanism activation to refine causal pathway models using a quantitative plus qualitative approach. We will also determine the incremental cost-effectiveness of each implementation strategy from a healthcare organization perspective, using administrative and provider survey data. Discussion: Determining how these two scalable strategies, alone and in sequence, perform for improving interpreter use, the mechanisms by which they do so, and at what cost, will provide critical insights for addressing a persistent cause of healthcare disparities. Trial registration: NCT05591586. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the consensus tracking problem with predefined transient and steady performance requirements for a class of nonstrict‐feedback nonlinear multi‐agent systems (MASs) with input quantization under a directed graph. Based on prescribed performance error transformation methods and command filtered backstepping techniques, a novel observer‐based adaptive control protocol is proposed, where neural observers are designed to estimate unmeasurable states and radial basis function neural networks are constructed to compensate command filter errors. The proposed protocol can be applied to a more general class of nonlinear MASs with nonstrict‐feedback nonlinear dynamics and unmeasurable states information. It is strictly proved that all signals in the whole MAS are semi‐globally uniformly ultimately bounded and both the transient and steady performances of the consensus tracking errors satisfy prescribed performance requirements. Finally, three numerical examples are presented to validate the effectiveness of the proposed protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Accurate segmentation of the lung nodule in computed tomography images is a critical component of a computer‐assisted lung cancer detection/diagnosis system. However, lung nodule segmentation is a challenging task due to the heterogeneity of nodules. This study is to develop a hybrid deep learning (H‐DL) model for the segmentation of lung nodules with a wide variety of sizes, shapes, margins, and opacities. Materials and methods: A dataset collected from Lung Image Database Consortium image collection containing 847 cases with lung nodules manually annotated by at least two radiologists with nodule diameters greater than 7 mm and less than 45 mm was randomly split into 683 training/validation and 164 independent test cases. The 50% consensus consolidation of radiologists' annotation was used as the reference standard for each nodule. We designed a new H‐DL model combining two deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs) with different structures as encoders to increase the learning capabilities for the segmentation of complex lung nodules. Leveraging the basic symmetric U‐shaped architecture of U‐Net, we redesigned two new U‐shaped deep learning (U‐DL) models that were expanded to six levels of convolutional layers. One U‐DL model used a shallow DCNN structure containing 16 convolutional layers adapted from the VGG‐19 as the encoder, and the other used a deep DCNN structure containing 200 layers adapted from DenseNet‐201 as the encoder, while the same decoder with only one convolutional layer at each level was used in both U‐DL models, and we referred to them as the shallow and deep U‐DL models. Finally, an ensemble layer was used to combine the two U‐DL models into the H‐DL model. We compared the effectiveness of the H‐DL, the shallow U‐DL and the deep U‐DL models by deploying them separately to the test set. The accuracy of volume segmentation for each nodule was evaluated by the 3D Dice coefficient and Jaccard index (JI) relative to the reference standard. For comparison, we calculated the median and minimum of the 3D Dice and JI over the individual radiologists who segmented each nodule, referred to as M‐Dice, min‐Dice, M‐JI, and min‐JI. Results: For the 164 test cases with 327 nodules, our H‐DL model achieved an average 3D Dice coefficient of 0.750 ± 0.135 and an average JI of 0.617 ± 0.159. The radiologists' average M‐Dice was 0.778 ± 0.102, and the average M‐JI was 0.651 ± 0.127; both were significantly higher than those achieved by the H‐DL model (p < 0.05). The radiologists' average min‐Dice (0.685 ± 0.139) and the average min‐JI (0.537 ± 0.153) were significantly lower than those achieved by the H‐DL model (p < 0.05). The results indicated that the H‐DL model approached the average performance of radiologists and was superior to the radiologist whose manual segmentation had the min‐Dice and min‐JI. Moreover, the average Dice and average JI achieved by the H‐DL model were significantly higher than those achieved by the individual shallow U‐DL model (Dice of 0.745 ± 0.139, JI of 0.611 ± 0.161; p < 0.05) or the individual deep U‐DL model alone (Dice of 0.739 ± 0.145, JI of 0.604 ± 0.163; p < 0.05). Conclusion: Our newly developed H‐DL model outperformed the individual shallow or deep U‐DL models. The H‐DL method combining multilevel features learned by both the shallow and deep DCNNs could achieve segmentation accuracy comparable to radiologists' segmentation for nodules with wide ranges of image characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two novel hybrid compounds [Ni(2,2-bpy)3]2.5(PNiW11O40)]·3.1(H2O) (1) and [Ni4(pyz)2][A-α-PW9O34]2·(pyz)5·7H2O (2) (bpy = 2,2′-bpyridine, pyz = piperazine) have been synthesized under mild hydrothermal condition and structurally characterized by physico-chemical and series spectroscopic methods. Compound 1 contains nickel(II) mono-substituted Keggin type polyoxotungstate {PNiW11O39} anion, two and a half discrete [NiII(2,2-bpy)3]2+ complexes and 3.1 water molecules. Compound 2 is composed of a novel tetra-nickel-substituted sandwich-type {[Ni4(pyz)2][A-α-PW9O34]2} polyanion, three free piperazine molecules and seven lattice water molecules. Extensive hydrogen-bonding interactions were observed in 1 and 2. Through multipoint hydrogen-bonding interactions, a novel 2D network with rectangular cavities for 1 and a 3D porous supermolecule structure for 2 generate, respectively. The investigation of both nickel-substituted hybrids as efficient and robust catalysts for H2 production from water splitting and photo-degradation pharmaceutical wastewater upon visible-light irradiation was carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA) is a primary immunodeficiency (PID) caused by a defect in the gene encoding for Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK). In the absence of a functional BTK, patients have low or absent circulating B cells and low or absent serum immunoglobulin. Despite gammaglobulin replacement and prompt use of antimicrobial agents, patients with XLA continue to experience infectious and non-infectious complications throughout their lifetime. The purpose of this study was to understand self-perceived health status of US-based patients with XLA, and examine the associations amongst clinical characteristics, treatment experience, and quality of life (QoL). Methods: A 46 and 68 question survey, developed by the Immune Deficiency Foundation (IDF) and a Short Form-12item v2® (SF-12v2®) for adults and SF-10™ for children to assess QoL, were mailed by IDF to patients in 2017 and 2018. Those that self-identified as having XLA or males with agammaglobulinemia were selected for analysis. Mean physical and mental composite scores (PCS and MCS) from SF-12v2® and mean physical health component (PHS) and psychological health summary (PSS) from SF-10™ scores were compared to the US normative data. Results: Ninety-one patients completed the surveys: 58 (63.7%) adults and 33 (36.3%) children. For the combined surveys, the overall median age at time of the survey was 28.5 years (yrs); Inter-Quartile-Range (IQR) 13–49.5 yrs; the median age at diagnosis was 2 yrs (IQR = 0–4 yrs) and the median number of years with XLA diagnosis was 23 (IQR 10.75–40yrs). Amongst adult patients, physical scores were noted to be below the general adult population but did not reach statistical significance. In contrast, 2 or more chronic conditions impacted both physical and mental QoL (p <.001) and hospitalization was associated with significantly decreased physical health QoL (p <.001); three or more infections in the past 12 months exhibited impact on physical health although was not found to be statistically significant. Adult patients with public insurance fared worse in mental health domains compared to those with combined public and private or those with private alone (p = 0.001). Employment status did not impact QoL. None of these variables met statistical significance nor demonstrated impact within the pediatric population in either physical or mental domains of health. Conclusion: Our study provides further insight into what factors impact both physical and mental domains of health amongst patients with XLA. Early detection to prevent the development of associated morbidity, as well as vigilant care to prevent hospitalizations and infections, can limit the impact this disease may have on the overall well-being of XLA patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the distributed optimal consensus problem is investigated for a class of continuous-time nonlinear multi-agent systems with input saturation. Non-quadratic cost functions are introduced to handle input constraints and a novel distributed optimal consensus protocol is derived based on event-triggered adaptive dynamic programming method. An online implement scheme is designed under actor-critic network framework in order to obtain the solutions of Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equations online. The computation and communication loads are effectively reduced since the weight estimation vectors and controllers are updated only at event-triggered instants. Detailed analysis is presented based on Lyapunov stability theory which guarantees that the weight estimation errors and local consensus errors are uniformly ultimately bounded. Furthermore, it proves that Zeno behaviour can be effectively avoided. Finally, the simulation examples are presented to validate the proposed strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Parents experience high distress following their child's diagnosis of cancer. We previously tested two delivery models (group and one-on-one) of the "Promoting Resilience in Stress Management for Parents" (PRISM-P) intervention in a randomized trial: one-on-one delivery improved resilience and benefit finding at three months when compared to usual care (UC). Objective: The objective of this analysis was to evaluate quantitative and qualitative outcomes at six months. Design: In this single-center, phase 2, parallel, 1:1:1 randomized trial conducted December 2016 to December 2018, English-speaking parents with a 2–24 year-old child diagnosed with new cancer were randomly assigned to UC, one-on-one, or group PRISM-P, a brief, skill-based curriculum targeting stress management, goal setting, cognitive reframing, and meaning making. We collected parent-reported outcomes (resilience, benefit finding, and psychological distress) at baseline and three and six months. We applied linear mixed-effects regression models to examine six-month outcomes among all participants and conducted directed content analyses of exit interviews with the first 12 parents to complete each study arm. Results: The 94 participating parents were median aged 35–38 years and predominantly white, college-educated mothers. At six months, there was no statistically significant difference in parent-reported outcomes. Exit interviews (n = 36) suggested that PRISM-P was highly valued: 100% of interviewed recipients recommended it for other parents. Most suggested more coaching would help them retain skills, and almost all endorsed a combined one-on-one and group program. Conclusions: Although the PRISM-P benefits observed at three months were not sustained for six months, all interviewed parents found it valuable. Additional opportunities to strengthen and sustain resilience resources include longer follow-up, flexible format, and skill reinforcement. Trial Registration: NCT02998086. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Spinal fusion surgery is associated with severe acute postsurgical pain and high rates of chronic postsurgical pain in adolescents. Psychological distress, sleep disturbance, and low pain self-efficacy predict higher acute pain and likelihood of developing chronic postsurgical pain. Interventions targeting baseline psychosocial risk factors have potential to interrupt a negative trajectory of continued pain and poor health-related quality of life (HRQL) over time but have not yet been developed and evaluated. This randomized controlled trial will test effectiveness of a digital peri-operative cognitive-behavioral intervention (SurgeryPalTM) vs. education-control delivered to adolescents and their parents to improve acute and chronic pain and health outcomes in adolescents undergoing spine surgery. Methods: Adolescents 12–18 years of age undergoing spinal fusion for idiopathic conditions, and their parent, will be recruited from pediatric centers across the USA, for a target complete sample of 400 dyads. Adolescents will be randomized into 4 study arms using a factorial design to SurgeryPalTM or education control during 2 phases of treatment: (1) pre-operative phase (one-month before surgery) and (2) post-operative phase (1 month after surgery). Acute pain severity and interference (primary acute outcomes) and opioid use will be assessed daily for 14 days following hospital discharge. Chronic pain severity and interference (primary acute outcomes), as well as HRQL, parent and adolescent distress, sleep quality, and opioid use/misuse (secondary outcomes), will be assessed at 3 months and 6 months post-surgery. Discussion: Demonstration of effectiveness and understanding optimal timing of perioperative intervention will enable implementation of this scalable psychosocial intervention into perioperative care. Ultimately, the goal is to improve pain outcomes and reduce reliance on opioids in adolescents after spine surgery. Trial registration: NCT04637802 ClinicalTrials.gov. Registered on November 20, 2020 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three Mn-MOFs {[Mn3(μ4-L)2(H2O)7]·4H2O}n (1), {[Mn3(μ5-L)2(H2O)6]·4H2O}n (2) and {[Mn3(μ7-L)2(H2O)2]}n (3) (H3L = 5-(6-carboxypyridin-3-yl)isophthalic acid) were obtained under different reaction times and temperatures. Interestingly, induced by reaction time, compound 1 can lose one water molecule and SC–SC transform into compound 2. Similarly, compound 2 can also SC–SC transform into 3. Studies on two SC–SC transformation processes were carried out and the transformation mechanisms were deduced, which were verified by TG analyses. Different numbers of water molecules in the three compounds resulted in different coordination environments of the metal cation, coordination modes of the L3− ligand, continuities of hydrogen bonds, dimensions of framework and porosities. The AC impendence spectra studies revealed that compounds 1–3 can enhance the proton conductivities of the Nafion composite membrane to about 47.77%, 36.88% and 21.28%, respectively. It is speculated that the highest proton conductivity of compound 1 may be due to its continuous hydrogen bond chain and highest water uptake, which were mainly decided by the number of water molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four low dimensional MOFs, {[Mn3(L)2(bipy)2]}n (1), {[Mn3(L)2(phen)2]}n (2), {[Co3(L)2(phen)(H2O)8]·4H2O}n (3) and {[Ni3(L)2(H2O)12]·4H2O}n (4) (H3L = 5-(3′,5′-dicarboxyphenyl) nicotinic acid; bipy = 2,2′-bipyridine; phen = phenanthroline) have been synthesized and characterized. For compounds 1 and 2, Mn(II) cations were connected by L3− ligands to form 2D layered structures. Their crystal structures contained a high proportion of bipy or phen chelated ligands and no water molecules or hydrogen bonds. For compound 3, metal cations were connected to form a 1D coordination chain, the proportion of phen was reduced and some water molecules as terminal ligands occupied partly the coordination sites of metal cations. Hydrogen bonds, existing among water molecules and carboxyl groups, were discontinuous in compound 3. In the structure of compound 4, Ni(II) cations were linked to form a 2D layered structure. There was no phen ligand, more water molecules acted as the terminal ligands and were involved in the formation of continuous hydrogen bonds. The studies of proton conductivity showed that compounds 1 and 2 had little contribution to the proton conductivities of the composite membranes; while compounds 3 and 4 can enhance the proton conductivities of composite membranes by about 29.70% and 50.00% higher than that of pure Nafion. The highest proton conductivity of 4/Nafion may be caused by its highest water uptake and continuous hydrogen bonds, which were affected by the amount of water molecules. Analysis of the structure–property relationship revealed that the smaller the proportion of the chelated ligand, the more water molecules in the compound, which increased the chance of forming continuous hydrogen bonds, enhanced the water absorption ability, and improved the proton conductivity of the compound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freshwater shrimp are a rich species group, with a long and problematic taxonomic history attributed to their wide distribution and similar morphological characteristics. Shrimp diversity and species identification are important cornerstones for fisheries management. However, identification based on morphological characteristics is a difficult task for a nonspecialist. Abundant freshwater shrimp species are distributed in the waters of Henan Province, but investigations of freshwater shrimp are limited in this region, especially concerning molecular features. Here, we combined morphology and DNA barcodes to reveal the species diversity of freshwater shrimp in Henan province. A total of 1,200 freshwater shrimp samples were collected from 46 sampling sites, and 222 samples were chosen for further microscopic examination and molecular delimitation. We used tree‐based methods (NJ, ML, and bPTP) and distance‐based methods (estimation of the paired genetic distances and ABGD) to delimit species. The results showed that there were nine morphospecies based on morphological characteristics; all could effectively be defined by molecular methods, among which bPTP and ABGD defined 13 and 8 MOTUs, respectively. The estimation of the paired genetic distances of K2P and the p‐distances had similar results. Mean K2P distances and p‐distances within species were both equal to 1.2%. The maximum intraspecific genetic distances of all species were less than 2%, with the exception of Palaemon modestus and M. maculatum. Various analyses have shown that P. modestus and M. maculatum have a large genetic differentiation, which may indicate the existence of cryptic species. By contrast, DNA barcoding could unambiguously discriminate 13 species and detect cryptic diversity. Our results demonstrate the high efficiency of DNA barcoding to delimit freshwater shrimp diversity and detect the presence of cryptic species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nerve agents always pose a serious threat to human safety and health as a result of their extremely high toxicity and convenient transport, which has prompted much effort to develop some methods with fast response and high selectivity for detecting nerve agents. Herein, we designed and synthesized two simple rhodamine phenol-based derivatives (RBNP and RBMP). From spectral experiments, we found that RBNP exhibited a significant change of absorption and fluorescence intensity with the nerve agent simulant diethylchlorophosphate (DCP), which could give rise to a fast response within 10 s and high sensitivity with an extremely low detection limit of 1.4 nM in the solution. The sensing mechanism could be attributed to it forming a stable five-membered ring by intramolecular bonding under protonation on the basis of experimental and theoretical calculations. Furthermore, test strips were successfully prepared by immersing TLC plates into the probe RBNP solution and these also achieved a visual system for detecting GB vapor. Therefore, a fast and convenient prospective test method is reported for visually detecting real nerve agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supported metal catalysts with appropriate metal‐support interactions (MSIs) hold a great promise for heterogeneous catalysis. However, ensuring tight immobilization of metal clusters/nanoparticles on the support while maximizing the exposure of surface active sites remains a huge challenge. Herein, we report an Ir/WO3 catalyst with a new enrooted‐type MSI in which Ir clusters are, unprecedentedly, atomically enrooted into the WO3 lattice. The enrooted Ir atoms decrease the electron density of the constructed interface compared to the adhered (root‐free) type, thereby achieving appropriate adsorption toward oxygen intermediates, ultimately leading to high activity and stability for oxygen evolution in acidic media. Importantly, this work provides a new enrooted‐type supported metal catalyst, which endows suitable MSI and maximizes the exposure of surface active sites in contrast to the conventional adhered, embedded, and encapsulated types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supported metal catalysts with appropriate metal‐support interactions (MSIs) hold a great promise for heterogeneous catalysis. However, ensuring tight immobilization of metal clusters/nanoparticles on the support while maximizing the exposure of surface active sites remains a huge challenge. Herein, we report an Ir/WO3 catalyst with a new enrooted‐type MSI in which Ir clusters are, unprecedentedly, atomically enrooted into the WO3 lattice. The enrooted Ir atoms decrease the electron density of the constructed interface compared to the adhered (root‐free) type, thereby achieving appropriate adsorption toward oxygen intermediates, ultimately leading to high activity and stability for oxygen evolution in acidic media. Importantly, this work provides a new enrooted‐type supported metal catalyst, which endows suitable MSI and maximizes the exposure of surface active sites in contrast to the conventional adhered, embedded, and encapsulated types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the prevalence of cervical spondylosis has been increasing, which is associated with unhealthy posture in daily life, flexible pressure sensors are beneficial in preventing cervical spine disorders. This work is dedicated to developing a flexible, high‐performance, and breathable device to monitor the health of the neck. Here, a flexible pressure sensor with a "sandwich" structure is presented, which incorporates patterned xylon fabric as the substrate and MXene as the sensitive layer. Furthermore, the application of silver nanowires (AgNWs) as the electrode material improves the piezoresistive performance. Combined with an internal elastic encapsulation method (IEEM), the sensor exhibits high sensitivity (1417.9 kPa−1 under pressure below 100 kPa) and a fast response time (30.77 ms). Compared with traditional flexible pressure sensors, the breathability of devices with an all‐fiber structure is nearly seven times higher, which better satisfies the monitoring requirements of long‐term wear. Finally, a wireless system is established by integrating a Bluetooth module and a terminal app. It enables monitoring and sensing of various physiological signals of the neck, as well as identification and alerting of long‐term poor posture such as prolonged neck flexion, showing a potential candidate for the applications of the next‐generation wearable device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development scale of China’s sports industry continues to expand, and the development speed of the sports industry continues to accelerate, forming a complete industrial chain of the sports industry. At present, the overall innovative development and renewal of the world’s stadium operations and the characteristics of informatization, intelligence, and integrated development have been widely recognized. The intelligent construction and intelligent transformation of smart stadiums have become the main direction of future development. The research objects of smart stadiums were selected from 12 universities in Wuhan, China as examples, the construction of intelligent stadiums was empirical analyzed. Results show that through the development guidance and strategic adjustment of the construction of intelligent sports venues, the development momentum and the sustainable operation of sports venues is enhanced, and the development of national fitness is promoted. From the perspective of the intelligent construction, a smart stadium promotes the development of national fitness, which can well promote the implementation of the national health strategy. Conclusions obtained from this study put forward the basic ideas of intelligent construction of smart stadiums and propose innovative strategies to promote the development of national fitness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The CRISPR-Cas systems are recently discovered adaptive immune strategies in bacteria and archaea against foreign genetic elements. Although gene-editing enabled by CRISPR-Cas9 has shown great promise for clinical application, little is known about potential mechanisms of CRISPR-Cas systems for regulating their own gene expression and altering the virulence within bacteria. Here, Gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA14 that contains a Type I–F CRISPR-Cas system was used to study the mechanism endogenous CRISPR-Cas of regulation mechanism. We delineated the role of calcium as a positive regulator of the transcription of cas/csy complex and CRISPR-Cas immunity through the two-component system (TCS) protein kinase LadS. Furthermore, we identified a LadS downstream post-transcriptional regulator, RsmA, which targeted translation region of cas mRNA via A(N)GGA motif. Importantly, calcium-mediated influencing of CRISPR-Cas system was dependent on LadS and RsmA. Altogether, our findings uncover the previously unrecognized role of LadS/RsmA in modulating Type I–F CRISPR-Cas system via sensing calcium. Image 1 ● TCS kinase LadS is indispensable for maintaining Type I–F CRISPR-Cas immunity. ● Calcium signals enhance Type I–F CRISPR-Cas defense against phage infection. ● RsmA represses target 5′ UTR and early coding regions of cas1 mRNA directly. ● Calcium/LadS/RsmA axis in Type I–F CRISPR-Cas immunity modulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Until recently, there are few effective treatment options for patients with synchronous metastatic phaeochromocytoma (PHEO) and paraganglioma (PGL). Surgical resection may improve the survival outcomes of these patients. Objective: To assess the role of surgical resection of the primary tumour in patients with synchronous metastatic PHEO and PGL. Design: Retrospective analysis of patients with synchronous metastatic PHEO/PGL using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database (1988–2016). Patients: Patients with synchronous metastatic PHEO/PGL who underwent primary tumour resection. Measurements: Overall survival and Cox regression analyses. Results: A total of 99 patients with metastatic PHEO and 127 metastatic PGL patients were identified from the SEER database. Compared to metastatic PHEO, metastatic PGL patients had a better overall survival (5‐year survival rate: 33.3% vs. 49.0%, p =.001). In metastatic PHEO patients, 53 (53.5%) patients underwent surgery for primary site. Surgically treated patients had an improved survival compared to non‐surgery patients (5‐year survival rate: 50.9% vs. 29.6%, p =.017). Among metastatic PGL patients, primary tumour resection was performed in 74 (58.3%) patients and had no significant effect on the survival of metastatic PGL. In sub‐analyses, surgery only conferred a survival benefit in patients with primary tumours originated from aortic/carotid bodies, rather than other sites or abdominal tumours. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that primary tumour resection is associated with improved survival in patients with synchronous metastatic PHEO and those with PGL diseases located in aortic/carotid bodies. In addition, PHEO and PGL should be treated as two distinct clinical entities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • PAN-APS membrane was prepared by electrospinning. • In-situ grown SiO 2 nanocoating was developed to prepare SiO 2 @PAN membrane. • The surface was coated with environmentally friendly non-fluorosilicate. • SiO 2 @PAN membrane showed excellent waterproof and breathable performance. • SiO 2 @PAN membrane exhibited light-shielding performance. Waterproof and breathable (W&B) materials with light-shielding properties are expected to provide new choices for outdoor clothing. Herein, SiO 2 @PAN nanofibrous membranes were fabricated by a facile and eco-friendly strategy. Firstly, amino-silane modified polyacrylonitrile (PAN-APS) nanofibrous membranes were prepared by electrospinning. Subsequently, a hierarchical rough structure and robust superhydrophobic surface were formed by a one-step in-situ growing SiO 2 and coating with hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (HDTMS). The results showed that SiO 2 @PAN nanofibrous membranes displayed durable water repellency (the water contact angle above 150° and the sliding angle of about 5.3°), and high breathability (the air permeability of 47.23 mm/s and the moisture permeability of 3.92 kg·m−2·d-1). And SiO 2 @PAN nanofibrous membranes had a certain durability, which water repellency could maintain even after mechanical abrasion, or after 24 h of immersion in acid-base solutions with pH values of 1, 4, 7, 10 and 13. Moreover, SiO 2 @PAN nanofibrous membranes showed light-shielding properties. After 10 min exposure to sunlight irradiation, the surface temperature of SiO 2 @PAN membrane was about 10 °C lower than that of PAN membrane and 20 °C lower than the temperature of the surface without covering membrane. This work provides a promising candidate for protective clothing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Revealing how to rationally select a suitable dopant or the host counterpart is greatly important for optimizing the catalytic activity of transition metal oxides (TMOs). We systematically report the adsorption trends of atomic O and H, two selected representative adsorbates, on numerous doped rutile-type TMO surfaces under two different doping modes, aiming to demonstrate adsorption energy (AE) variations of different adsorbates across doped TMO surfaces. A "host–guest interaction" induced adsorption tuning rule for the ternary doping systems is identified, which rationally directs the proposal of cost-effective Ir-doped CrO2 or MnO2 catalysts for the electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction compared with the common IrO2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five isostructural metal–organic frameworks, [M1.5(L)(bpy)(DMF)]·H2O (M = Mn(1), Co(2), Ni(3), Zn(4), Cd(5); L = 3-(3,5-dicarboxylpheny)-5-(3-carboxylphenyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole, bpy = 2,2′-bipyridine) have been synthesized and characterized. The same structure and similar proton transfer pathway of these compounds offer the chance to explore the relationship between the structure and the proton conductivity deeply and precisely. It is found that the conductivities of compounds 1–5 are very different and adopt the order 1 (Mn2+) > 4 (Zn2+) > 5 (Cd2+) > 2 (Co2+) > 3 (Ni2+). In order to explore the main reason for this difference, the influencing factors on proton conduction, such as morphology, water absorption, proton density, mobility of proton carrier, and acidity of all compounds have been studied via SEM, water uptake tests, and theory calculations, respectively. The results suggest that all compounds display a similar morphology, water absorption, proton density, and mobility of the proton carrier. The Gaussian calculations reveal that the acidities of these compounds are very different. This may be caused by the different coordination ability between the metal cations and the L3− ligand. The order of acidities of the compounds is very consistent with that of the proton conductivity, which suggests that the acidity is the deciding factors of the proton conduction of this series MOFs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, Zika virus (ZIKV) is spreading across the world and no ZIKV infection cases have ever been reported in China. Here, we aimed to determine whether ZIKV infection exists in China. Blood samples of 273 healthy individuals were collected from Nanning City, Guangxi Province, China in March 2019. We found that 9.5% (26/273) and 1.8% (5/273) of healthy persons were positive to ZIKV total antibody (IgG and/or IgM) IgM antibody, respectively. All ZIKV positive plasma samples were negative to Dengue virus and West Nile virus. Among the ZIKV antibody positive plasma samples, 65.4% (17/26) exhibited neutralizing activity to ZIKV. Followed up studies showed that none had clinical symptoms of ZIKV infection and oversea experience. Together, our study indicates that endemic ZIKV infections emerge in China, which not only suggested that ZIKV posed a potential threat to public health in China, but also expand the ZIKV epidemic areas in East and Southeast Asia. Author summary: ZIKA, caused by mosquito-borne Zika virus (ZIKV), is typically asymptomatic or with mild fever, and the occurrence of ZIKV infections are reported around the world. However, limited ZIKV epidemiological investigation was performed and no ZIKV infection cases were ever reported in China. Here, we observed that Zika virus also distributes in China. This work not only suggests ZIKV as a potential threat to public health in China but also expands our knowledge of ZIKV epidemic regions in East and Southeast Asia. Therefore, government officials, physicians and public health workers in China need to pay attention to ZIKV infection cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: The Pediatric Transition Experience Measure (P-TEM) is an 8-item, parent-reported measure that globally assesses hospital-to-home transition quality from discharge through follow-up. Our goal was to examine the convergent validity of the P-TEM with existing, validated process and outcome measures of pediatric hospital-to-home transitions. METHODS: This was a prospective, cohort study of English-speaking parents and legal guardians who completed the P-TEM after their children's discharge from a tertiary children's hospital between January 2016 and October 2016. By using data from 3 surveys, we assessed convergent validity by examining associations between total and domain-specific P-TEM scores (0-100 scale) and 4 pediatric hospital-to-home transition validation measures: (1) Child Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Discharge Composite, (2) Center of Excellence on Quality of Care Measures for Children With Complex Needs parent-reported transition measures, (3) change in health-related quality of life from admission to postdischarge, and (4) 30-day emergency department revisits or readmissions. RESULTS: P-TEM total scores were 7.5 points (95% confidence interval: 4.6 to 10.4) higher for participants with top-box responses on the Child Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Discharge Composite compared with those of participants with lower Discharge Composite scores. Participants with highet P-TEM scores (ie, top-box responses) had 6.3-points--greater improvement (95% confidence interval: 2.8 to 9.8) in health-related quality of life compared with participants who reported lower P-TEM scores. P-TEM scores were not significantly associated with 7- or 30-day reuse. CONCLUSIONS: The P-TEM demonstrated convergent validity with existing hospital-to-home process and outcome validation measures in a population of hospitalized children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies on the effects of transcriptional memory on clone reprogramming in mammals are limited. In the present study, we observed higher levels of active histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation (H3K4me3 and 5‐hydroxymethylcytosine) and repressive (5‐methylcytosine) epigenetic modifications in bovine early cloned embryos than in in vitro fertilized embryos. We hypothesized that aberrant epigenetic modification may result in transcriptional disorders in bovine somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos. RNA sequencing results confirmed that both abnormal transcriptional silencing and transcriptional activation are involved in bovine SCNT reprogramming. The cloned embryos exhibited excessive transcription in RNA processing‐ and translation‐related genes as well as transcriptional defects in reproduction‐related genes whose transcriptional profiles were similar to those in donor cells. These results demonstrated the existence of active and silent memory genes inherited from donor cells in early bovine SCNT embryos. Further, H3K4me3‐specific demethylase 5B (KDM5B) mRNA was injected into the reconstructed embryos to reduce the increased H3K4me3 modification. KDM5B overexpression not only reduced the transcriptional level of active memory genes, but also promoted the expression of silent memory genes; in particular, it rescued the expression of multiple development‐related genes. These results showed that transcriptional memory acts as a reprogramming barrier and KDM5B improves SCNT reprogramming via bidirectional regulation effects on transcriptional memory genes in bovines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bandwidth allocation problems over wireless local area network have attracted extensive research recently due to the rapid growth in the number of users and bandwidth-intensive applications. In this paper, a bandwidth allocation problem over wireless local area network with directed topologies is investigated and the global objective function of the problem consists of local downloading and uploading cost with both constraints of feasible allocation region and network resources. An improved high-efficiency gradient-push algorithm is proposed for the bandwidth allocation problem which not only guarantees successful data transmission but also minimizes the global objective function. Compared with the existing distributed algorithms, firstly, we use weighted running average bandwidth to replace the current state variables which can ensure the solution converge to the optimal value asymptotically with probability one. Next, noisy gradient samples are used in the proposed algorithm instead of accurate gradient information which enhances the robustness and expands the scope of application. Theoretical analysis shows the convergence rate of the time-averaged value to the optimal solution. Finally, numerical examples are presented to validate the proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, electrochromic materials rely on counter redox materials like ferrocene to realize redox processes. In this work, two novel, closely related series of electrochromic materials bearing push‐pull electronic structure were designed and synthesised (N,N,N',N'‐tetra(pyridin‐4‐yl)‐1,4‐phenylenediamine derivatives (TPPDs) and N,N,N′,N′‐tetra(pyridin‐4‐yl)benzidine derivatives (TPBDs)). When stimulated by an external electric field, both series of compounds exhibited intramolecular charge transfer because of their push‐pull electronic structures. Therefore, the TPPDs and TPBDs could undergo redox processes without the assistance of counter electrode chemicals. Furthermore, the TPPDs and TPBDs could replace the electrolyte that is required in conventional electrochromic devices (ECDs) because of their conductivity. This allowed the fabrication of a simple, single‐component ECD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The Pediatric Respiratory Illness Measurement System (PRIMES) generates condition-specific composite quality scores for asthma, bronchiolitis, croup, and pneumonia in hospital-based settings. We sought to determine if higher PRIMES composite scores are associated with improved health-related quality of life, decreased length of stay (LOS), and decreased reuse. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study of 2334 children in 5 children's hospitals between July 2014 and June 2016. Surveys administered on admission and 2 to 6 weeks postdischarge assessed the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL). Using medical records data, 3 PRIMES scores were calculated (0-100 scale; higher scores - improved adherence) for each condition: an overall composite (including all quality indicators for the condition), an overuse composite (including only indicators for care that should not be provided [eg, chest radiographs for bronchiolitis]), and an underuse composite (including only indicators for care that should be provided [eg, dexamethasone for croup]). Multivariable models assessed relationships between PRIMES composite scores and (1) PedsQL improvement, (2) LOS, and (3) 30-day reuse. RESULTS: For every 10-point increase in PRIMES overuse composite scores, LOS decreased by 8.8 hours (95% confidence interval [CI] -11.6 to -6.1) for bronchiolitis, 3.1 hours (95% CI -5.5 to -1.0) for asthma, and 2.0 hours (95% CI -3.9 to -0.1) for croup. Bronchiolitis overall composite scores were also associated with shorter LOS. PRIMES composites were not associated with PedsQL improvement or reuse. CONCLUSIONS: Better performance on some PRIMES condition-specific composite measures is associated with decreased LOS, with scores on overuse quality indicators being a primary driver of this relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of strontium‐modified implant surfaces on promoting early bone osseointegration in osteoporotic rabbits. Materials and methods: The surface topographies, chemical elements, contact angles and ionic releases of the SLA and SLA‐Sr samples were analysed by special instruments separately. Sixteen ovariectomized New Zealand rabbits received glucocorticoid administration, and sixteen SHAM rabbits were used as controls. After generating a successful osteoporosis‐induced model, SLA and SLA‐Sr implants were randomly inserted into the tibia and femur metaphysis of each animal. The rabbits were sacrificed after 3 and 6 weeks of bone healing, and then, removal torque values (RTVs), percentage of bone area (BA%) and percentage of bone‐to‐implant contact (BIC%) were analysed for the SLA‐Sr and SLA implants. Results: Multiple nanostructures were found on the Sr‐incorporated titanium surface, and appropriate amounts of strontium ions from the SLA‐Sr surface were released into the surrounding tissue within 21 days. In vivo, SLA‐Sr implants displayed much more new bone around their surfaces than the SLA implants. Significantly higher RTVs and BIC% were observed for the SLA‐Sr implants than for the SLA implants in both osteoporotic (p < 0.01) and healthy animals (p < 0.01) at 3 and 6 weeks. The SLA‐Sr implants exhibited higher BA% in cortical bone (p < 0.01) and in cancellous bone (p < 0.05) than the SLA implants in osteoporotic rabbits at 3 weeks. Conclusions: It is suggested that Sr‐incorporated surfaces treated through hydrothermal reactions have positive effects on promoting early osseointegration in both osteoporotic and non‐osteoporotic rabbits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new transmission strategy based on distributed event-triggered mechanism and average dwell time approach is proposed for consensus of time-delay free linear multi-agent systems with communication constraints. A subset of agents are selected according to the condition of event-triggered mechanism to communicate with its adjacent agents through network channel at certain sampling instant, which reduces the occupation of network bandwidth. The possible combinations of agents' communication are considered as modes of multi-agent systems. Therefore, we modelled multi-agent systems as a class of switched systems. The average dwell time method is applied to determine its dwell-time of each mode, which avoids the frequent mode-switching resulted from event-triggered mechanism. An integrated design scheme is presented to achieve the thresholds of event-triggered mechanism, the average dwell time and the consensus controller gain simultaneously by using Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional and linear matrix inequality (LMI) technique. Finally, a simulation example illustrates the effectiveness of theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD), also called sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy, is an idiopathic, non-neoplastic, lymphoproliferative disorder. Histologically, the disease is characterized by emperipolesis and S-100 immunoreactivity. RDD usually presents with massive painless cervical lymphadenopathy, with only 5% of cases affecting the central nervous system. Case Description We report the case of a 46-year-old woman with isolated RDD of the left cavernous sinus with left facial numbness and weakness of the left masticatory muscle. The patient was successfully treated by total resection without recurrence found at the 65-month follow-up examination. Conclusions Central nervous system RDD is a diagnostic challenge preoperatively depending on the radiologic findings. Immunohistochemical confirmation is indispensable for the definite diagnosis. Total resection remains the most effective treatment to date. Adjuvant treatment such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and steroids can be administrated in cases of incomplete resection, recurrence, or multiple foci. Highlights • RDD usually presents with massive painless cervical lymphadenopathy, with only 5% of cases affecting the CNS. • Morphologic and radiological similarities to other processes require immunohistochemical confirmation for definite diagnosis. • Total resection remains the most effective treatment to date. • Adjuvant chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and steroids can be administered for incomplete resection, recurrence, or multiple foci. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Podoplanin is upregulated in the invasive front of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) may mediate podoplanin expression. However, the role of podoplanin in OSCC cell and fibroblast interaction remains elusive. In the present study, we found that positive podoplanin expression in OSCC cells correlated with smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) expression in CAFs. Using CAFs and normal mucosal fibroblasts (NFs), we established indirect and direct co-culture systems mimicking the structure of OSCC. Podoplanin-overexpressing OSCC cells promoted NF activation; in direct co-culture, but not in indirect co-culture, podoplanin-overexpressing OSCC cells increased fibroblast invasion via matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2), MMP-14, and αv/β6 integrin receptor (ITGA5/ITGB6) signaling. CAFs also induced podoplanin expression through the transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)/Smad pathway. TGF-β1 increased the podoplanin-dependent activation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), AKT, and extracellular signal–regulated kinase (ERK) signaling. Additionally, CAFs promoted OSCC cell invasion by upregulating MMP-2 and MMP-14 expression in both indirect and direct co-culture. Taken together, our findings indicate that podoplanin regulates the interaction between OSCC cells and CAFs via the mutual paracrine effects of TGF-β1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capsaicinoids are pungent components in hot peppers, which have been detected in waste cooking oil. However, trace analysis of capsaicinoids in edible and crude vegetable oils is a challenging task due to the complex matrix. In this study, a simple liquid-liquid extraction and solid phase extraction (SPE) coupled with RP-UPLC-ESI-MS/MS method was developed for the quantification of capsaicinoids in edible and crude vegetable oils to screen the adulteration with waste cooking oil. This method was used to simultaneously determine 3 capsaicinoids (capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin, and nordihydrocapsaicin) with capsaicin-d3, and dihydrocapsaicin-d3 as internal standards. This method allows the complete analysis of a sample in only an hour, even including sample preparation and chromatographic separation. The linear range of 3 capsaicinoids ranged between 0.5 and 40 µg/kg. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) for capsaicinoids were calculated as 0.15 and 0.5 µg/kg, respectively. Quantitative recoveries ranging from 92.9% to 105% were obtained by the analysis of spiked oil. The relative standard deviations were less than 5% (n = 6). The established method can potentially overcome the interference of triacylglycerols and fatty acids in edible and crude vegetable oils, and have been successfully applied to analyse real oil samples. This method provided a rapid and reliable method for the detection of adulteration of vegetable oils with waste cooking oils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Monolithic UiO-66-NH 2 xerogels with tunable porous structure can be simply prepared. • CO 2 uptake and selectivity of G66-NH 2 -12 can surpass other benchmark adsorbents. • G66-NH 2 -X adsorbents can be easily regenerated with lower Q st obtained. • G66-NH 2 -X show excellent sustainability after five adsorption–desorption cycles. Zirconium-based metal–organic frameworks (Zr-MOFs) have been considered promising sorbents for guest adsorption owing to their high porosity, structural and chemical versatility, and exceptional stability. Nevertheless, issues with the powder and the modest CO 2 adsorption remain as major challenges for their use in industrial processes. Herein, a series of defective monolithic UiO-66-NH 2 xerogels (G66-NH 2 -X) are prepared via adjusting the modulator concentration, featuring tunable porous structure, simple and scalable preparation process and high space–time yield. With a change in the modulator concentration, the missing linker deficiency varies from 0.57 to 1.80 per secondary building unit. The porosity and CO 2 uptake capacity of the adsorbents are strongly affected by the defect concentration. At 25 ℃ and 1 bar, the defective G66-NH 2 -12 exhibits optimal CO 2 adsorption capacity of ∼ 2.50 mmol/g and CO 2 /N 2 ideal adsorbed solution theory selectivity of ∼ 33, exceeding those of many other CO 2 benchmark adsorbents. Moreover, the G66-NH 2 -X adsorbents can be easily regenerated with obtained lower isosteric heat of adsorption (Q st) and show excellent sustainability of up to ∼ 99% even after five adsorption–desorption cycles. This provides a solid foundation for the development of defective granular G66-NH 2 -X adsorbents as future CO 2 adsorption and separation media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Filtration mechanisms of a fibrous filter are introduced. Progress on the electrostatic spinning composite nanofibers used in the filtration of aerosol nanoparticles, volatile organic compounds and chemical warfare agents was discussed in detail, and an outlook on the future direction of electrostatic spinning composite nanofibers was made at the same time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrin-beta 1 (ITGB1) is aberrantly overexpressed or downregulated in solid cancers; however, its prognostic value remains controversial. Therefore, we conducted a metaanalysis to explore whether ITGB1 expression is correlated with overall survival (OS) and the clinicopathological characteristics of patients with solid cancers. We systematically searched the PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases for eligible studies published up to June 1, 2017. In total, 22 studies involving 3,666 patients were included. A sensitivity analysis was performed to assess the validity and reliability of the pooled OS. Among the 22 studies, 7 focused on lung cancer, 3 focused on colorectal cancer, 6 focused on breast cancer, 3 involved melanoma, and 3 involved pancreatic cancer. The pooled results showed that high ITGB1 expression was significantly associated with worse OS in lung cancer (pooled hazard ratio [HR]=1.78, 95% CI: 1.19-2.65, p<0.05) and breast cancer (pooled HR=1.88, 95% CI: 1.46-2.42, p<0.01). In addition, a significant association was observed between high ITGB1 expression and diseasefree survival in breast cancer (pooled HR=1.63, 95% CI: 1.17-2.25, p<0.001) and pancreatic cancer (pooled HR=2.49, 95% CI: 1.35-4.61, p<0.001). However, high ITGB1 expression was not related to OS in colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, or melanoma. The pooled HRs used to evaluate the prognostic value of increased ITGB1 expression in lung cancer, breast cancer, and pancreatic cancer were not significantly altered, which indicates that the pooled results were robust. The results of this study indicate that the prognostic value of decreased ITGB1 expression varies among solid cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, firstly astaxanthin (ASX)-loaded nanoemulsions (NEs) were produced using a convenient low-energy emulsion phase inversion method. The optimised ASX-NEs were prepared in the presence of Cremophor®EL and Labrafil®M 1944 CS, with a surfactant-to-oil ratio of 4:6. The ASX-NE droplets were spherical with a mean droplet diameter below 100 nm and a small negative surface charge. The system was stable without alteration of mean droplet diameter for three months. Then, the ASX-NE was functionalised with carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) through direct CMCS (0.02%) incorporation during the preparation process. The ASX chemical stability and skin permeability increased in the following order: ASX solution control < ASX-NE < CMCS-ASX-NE. Cell viability assays on L929 cells revealed low cytotoxicity of blank NE, ASX-NE and CMCS-ASX-NE in the range from 5 to 500 μg mL−1. In conclusion, the CMCS-ASX-NE might be a promising delivery vehicle in dermal and transdermal products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Four antimony-capped Dawson-type POMs with 3D supramolecular channel structures were synthesized for the first time. • Compound 1 has good pseudocapacitance performance, with a specific capacitance 4.6 times higher than its parent material. • Sb-P 2 Mo 18 //AC devices in series into the battery case can make the diode continue to emit light for the 40 s. Modified polyoxometalate (POM) derivatives are promising pseudocapacitive active materials due to their abundant active sites and high redox capacity. Here, we constructed four antimony-capped Dawson-type molybdate clusters with high specific capacitance properties for the first time through the traditional hydrothermal method, formulated as [Cu(im) 2 ] 4 {[C u 2 (im) 2 ] 1/2 (im)}[H 3/2 (S b 1 S b 1/3 S b 2/3)P 2 M o 7 VM o 11 VIO 62 ]·H 2 O (1); [Cu(bzim) 2 ][H 4 S b 1 S b 1/2 × 2 P 2 M o 7 VM o 11 VIO 62 ]·(bzim) 4 ·2H 3 O (2); [(bzim) 4 (NO 3) 1/2 ][H 5/2 S b 2 P 2 M o 3 VM o 15 VIO 62 ]·H 3 O (3); [(bzim) 4 (bzim) 1/3 ][HS b 2 P 2 M o 2 VM o 16 VIO 62 ]·H 3 O (4) (im= imidazole, bzim= benzimidazole). The compounds 1–4 all contain Sb-capped Dawson type {P 2 Mo 18 } anions with 3D supramolecular channel structures. Especially, compound 1 expresses a porous 2D metal-organic layer formed by Cu-ims transition metal complexes (TMCs) through the Cu-O interaction, and Sb capped-polyanions are exactly filled in the holes. Importantly, compound 1 exhibits a higher specific capacitance (C s) value of 1401.75 F g−1 than the other three compounds (1141 F g−1, 1027.3 F g−1, and 978.25 F g−1) at a current density of 1.4 A g−1. In addition, the asymmetric supercapacitor Sb-P 2 Mo 18 //AC assembled with compound 1 and active carbon exhibits good cycling stability (89.14 %), and possesses an excellent energy density of 17.78 W h Kg−1, which could be attributed to the high redox capacity and excellent electronic conductivity. The experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of the synthesis strategy and pave the way for exploring novel high-performance polyoxometalate-based pseudocapacitive materials. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over protonic ceramic fuel cells (PCFCs) cathode, both oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and hydration reaction happen. To maximize the performance, the cathode requires sufficient proton conductivity for facilitating water formation and large number of active sites and high intrinsic activity for catalyzing ORR. Herein, we demonstrate hydration reaction and ORR over PCFC cathode can be optimally balanced through controlling the air flow rate, which adjusts the equilibrium water and oxygen content in the surrounding atmosphere of the cathode. Then the suitable proton uptake can enhance the proton conductivity of the cathode without negatively affecting ORR. The different characteristics of various cathode materials suggest their different optimal operation conditions. Specifically, the optimal performance of SrTi 0.1 Fe 0.9 O 3-δ , Ba 0.5 Sr 0.5 Co 0.8 Fe 0.2 O 3-δ and BaCo 0.4 Fe 0.4 Zr 0.1 Y 0.1 O 3-δ cathodes in PCFCs at 600 °C is reached at different water content in the air atmosphere of 472, 592 and 735 mW cm−2, respectively, showing increased peak power density (PPD) of 13%, 10% and 6% of the corresponding cells as compared to that operating near static air atmosphere. Our study reveals the important environmental demands of PCFC cathode during the operation and provides useful guidance for the further performance optimization. [Display omitted] • Hydration reaction and ORR over PCFC cathode can be balanced by air flow rate. • Optimal concentration of water vapor is different for each cathode material. • Suitable proton uptake can enhance conduction of H+ without adverse effect on ORR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demand for flexibility and rechargeability in tandem with high energy density, reliability, and safety in energy‐storage devices to power wearable electronics has translated to significant advances in flexible solid‐state Zn–air batteries (FSZABs) technology. FSZABs using self‐supported bifunctional air electrodes are currently one of the most attractive alternatives to Li‐ion battery technology for next‐generation wearable electronics. Unlike the conventional powder‐based air electrodes, self‐supported bifunctional air electrodes offer higher electron‐transfer rate, larger specific surface area (and catalyst–reactant–product interfacial contact area), mechanical flexibility, and better operational robustness. To realize their potential nonetheless, self‐supported bifunctional air electrodes should have high and stable bifunctional catalytic activity, low cost, and environmental compatibility. This review first summarizes the three typical configurations and working principles of FSZABs. Then, significant development of self‐supported bifunctional air electrodes for FSZABs and efficient synthesis strategies are emphasized. The review concludes by providing perspectives on how to further improve the electrochemical performance of FSZABs and their suitability for next‐generation wearable electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After mechanochemical reaction of hydrous cerium (III) chloride and citric acid with a little of ethanol followed by a subsequent calcination process at different temperature, cerium dioxide nanoparticles with fluorite structure were successfully prepared. Then the obtained ceria powders were characterized by means of X-ray diffractometer, specific surface area analyzer, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscopy and laser particle analyzer. It was found that the degree of particle aggregation passed through a minimum with the calcination temperature rising from 400C to 800C, accompanied with growth of particle size. The ceria powders calcined at 500C had an average aggregated particle size of 59.8nm with uniform spheroidal morphology, while their crystallite sizes ranged from 10nm to 20nm. Yet the product calcined at 400C had the maximum specific surface area of 109.6m2/g. In polishing experiment, the ceria powders calcined at 500C showed great polishing performances. CeO2 nanoparticles with spheroidal morphology were successfully prepared via a novel soft mechanochemical method, combined with the sol-gel method. The viscous gel originated from mechanochemical treatment and the later xerogel, after drying, could greatly inhibit the aggregation and growth of the particles. The particle size and dispersity of the product could be controlled by changing the calcination temperature. This novel synthesis route was very suitable for large-scale industrial production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]