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The article introduces a novel approach to personalized web search by dynamically modeling user interests based on historical and current queries, improving search result relevance. Topics include challenges with static document representations, the need for dynamic representations, and experimental validation of the proposed model's effectiveness.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effect of small-conductance calcium-activated potassium channels (SK channels) on the dopaminergic (DA) neuron pathways in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) during the pathogenesis of post-stroke depression (PSD) and explore the improvement of PSD by inhibiting the SK channels.Patients and Methods: Four groups of Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided: Control, PSD, SK channel inhibitor (apamin) and SK channel activator (CyPPA) groups. In both control and CyPPA groups, sham surgery was performed. In the other two groups, middle cerebral arteries were occluded. The behavioral indicators related to depression in different groups were compared. Immunofluorescence was used to measure the activity of DA neurons in the VTA, while qRT-PCR was used to assess the expression of SK channel genes.Results: The results showed that apamin treatment improved behavioral indicators related to depression compared to the PSD group. Furthermore, the qRT-PCR analysis revealed differential expression of the KCNN1 and KCNN3 subgenes of the SK channels in each group. Immunofluorescence analysis revealed an increase in the expression of DA neurons in the VTA of the PSD group, which was subsequently reduced upon apamin intervention.Conclusion: This study suggests that SK channel activation following stroke contributes to depression-related behaviors in PSD rats through increased expression of DA neurons in the VTA. And depression-related behavior is improved in PSD rats by inhibiting the SK channels. The results of this study provide a new understanding of PSD pathogenesis and the possibility of developing new strategies to prevent PSD by targeting SK channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Considering the strong correlation made between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and the pathology of glucose metabolism disorder, we sought to analyze the effects of fasting blood glucose (FBG) level, fasting plasma insulin (FINS) level, and insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) on the risk and severity of AD.Objective: Reveal the pathological relationship between AD and insulin resistance.Methods: We searched 5 databases from inception through April 4, 2022. Meta-regression was conducted to identify if there were significant differences between groups. Shapiro-Wilk test and the Q-Q diagram were applied to evaluate the normality of variables. A multiple logistic regression model was employed to explore the association between FBG, FINS, HOMA-IR, and Mini-Mental State Examination scale score (MMSE).Results: 47 qualified articles including 2,981 patients were enrolled in our study. FBG (p < 0.001), FINS (p < 0.001), and HOMA-IR (p < 0.001) were higher in AD patients than in controls. HOMA-IR was negatively correlated with MMSE (p = 0.001) and positively related to the sex ratio (male versus female) (p < 0.05). HOMA-IR obeyed lognormal distribution (p > 0.05), and the 95% bilateral boundary values were 0.73 and 10.67. FBG (p = 0.479) was positively correlated to MMSE, while FINS (p = 0.1657) was negatively correlated with MMSE.Conclusion: The increase in the levels of FBG, FINS, and HOMA-IR served as precise indicators of the risk of AD. HOMA-IR was found to be correlated to the increasing severity of AD, especially in male AD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the effect of rapamycin on mitochondrial dynamic balance in diabetic rats subjected to cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. Male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats (n = 78) were treated with high fat diet combined with streptozotocin injection to construct diabetic model in rats. Transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) of 2 hours was induced and the brains were harvested after 1 and 3 days of reperfusion. Rapamycin was injected intraperitoneally for 3 days prior to and immediately after operation, once a day. The neurological function was assessed, infarct volumes were measured and HE staining as well as immunohistochemistry were performed. The protein of hippocampus was extracted and Western blotting were performed to detect the levels of mTOR, mitochondrial dynamin related proteins (DRP1, p-DRP1, OPA1), SIRT3, and Nix/BNIP3L. Diabetic hyperglycemia worsened the neurological function performance (p < 0.01), enlarged infarct size (p < 0.01) and increased ischemic neuronal cell death (p < 0.01). The increased damage was associated with elevations of p-mTOR, p-S6, and p-DRP1; and suppressions of SIRT3 and Nix/BNIP3L. Rapamycin ameliorated diabetes-enhanced ischemic brain damage and reversed the biomarker alterations caused by diabetes. High glucose activated mTOR pathway and caused mitochondrial dynamics toward fission. The protective effect of rapamycin against diabetes-enhanced ischemic brain damage was associated with inhibiting mTOR pathway, redressing mitochondrial dynamic imbalance, and elevating SIRT3 and Nix/BNIP3L expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ocular trauma may either be closed globe or open globe. Open globe injuries are full-thickness defects of the eyewall and are often differentiated by the mechanisms of injury from which they are caused: sharp or blunt trauma. They are ocular emergencies and can lead to substantial visual morbidity. Without timely intervention, damage is irreversible and leads to permanent vision loss. The goals of evaluation are to identify the mechanism of injury, characterize the extent of injury, and gather relevant history. If an open globe is suspected, ophthalmologic consultation should be requested. Once an open globe is diagnosed, preparations for surgery should be made immediately and steps should be taken to avoid further injury. Intraocular infection risk is relatively high, requiring immediate empiric systemic antibiotics. Emergent surgical exploration and primary closure is indicated whenever possible. After initial closure, secondary surgery and revision may be needed to improve vision outcomes, followed by extensive follow-up. In this review, best practices for evaluation and management are reviewed, with particular focus on the surgical approach and techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lead-cooled fast reactor (LFR) engenders novel requisites for the energy conversion system when applied to maritime ships and distributed energy supply systems. The supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO 2) Brayton cycle, with the advantages of high efficiency, space-saving, simplicity, and flexibility, is a promising candidate for LFR. Here, we present the first study on the off-design operation of the sCO 2 cycle for LFR, with the turbine and compressor arranged on a single shaft (coaxial-shaft) or two shafts (split-shaft). The off-design performances of the system are investigated using four rotational speed (RS) control-based hybrid control strategies. We showed that the split-shaft system controlled by separate turbine speed and compressor speed has a wider operating space of power load than the coaxial-shaft system. Among the four investigated control strategies, the RS-inventory hybrid control can achieve the best thermal efficiency during load variation by operating at the turbine speed and mass flow rate corresponding to the optimal turbine isentropic efficiency. The maximum operating space of power load (0%–100 %) can be achieved by the RS-turbine inlet pressure hybrid control and the RS-bypass hybrid control. Our study can provide guidance for the flexible and safe part-load operation for small-scale modular Gen-IV nuclear reactors. • Off-design performance of sCO 2 cycle for LFR is evaluated. • Arrangements of turbomachines in coaxial- and split-shaft are compared. • Four hybrid control strategies based on the rotational speed control are studied. • Operating space of thermal efficiency and power load are analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scaling law is a functional relationship between two parameters. In the field of urban studies, the distribution of various phenomena follows the scaling law, e.g., travel time, travel distance, and visitation frequency. To capture the scaling law of spatial visitation frequency on a motorized vehicle, this study carried out a numerical study based on the license plate recognition (LPR) data of three cities, Hangzhou, Guiyang, and Xiaoshan in China. Firstly, according to the LPR data, vehicles are classified into different types, including foreign vehicles, on-demand ride-sourcing cars, and taxis. Then, the spatial visitation frequency of different vehicle types, different cities, and different time periods was calculated. The results show that the scaling law of the spatial visitation frequency always conforms to the exponential function, no matter the city types, time periods, or type of vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bubbles dispersed in thin liquid layers are ubiquitous and play important roles in the heat and mass transfer in nature and industrial processes including the energy, chemical, and biology engineering; thus, understanding the dynamics of bubbles confined in a liquid layer remains an important topic in multiphase flows. Here, we report the dynamics of bubble formation from a submerged orifice in a thin liquid layer with a thickness comparable to the bubble size. First, four flow regimes, detachment, jetting bursting, non-jetting bursting, and hole-opened bursting, are observed experimentally and their typical features are analyzed. Then, the evolutions of bubble size at different regimes are studied, and a quasi-static force model is proposed to predict the bubble size, which agrees well with the experimental results. We demonstrate the role of the capillary force exerted by the liquid film in the bubble cap and bubble geometry confined in the liquid layer in modulating the bubble size. Finally, a regime map regarding the liquid layer thickness and surface tension is provided and the criteria between different regimes are discussed based on the bubble geometry analysis and energy balance. Our experimental investigation and theoretical analysis provide insights into the formation and bursting dynamics of bubbles confined in a liquid layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is a major cause of liver disease worldwide. In patients with ALD, an increased level of hepatic inflammasome components was observed, together with an increased circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines. Cyanidin-3-O-β-glucoside (Cy-3-G) is a bioactive compound belonging to the anthocyanin group, which widely exists in deep-colored fruits and vegetables. Consumption of Cy-3-G is associated with lower risks of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), liver fibrosis, obesity, atherosclerosis, and inflammation. However, whether Cy-3-G has effects on inflammasome formation and activation thereby protects against alcohol-induced liver damage remain elusive. In this study, we identified that dietary provision of Cy-3-G remarkably attenuated liver damage caused by excess energy intake and alcohol consumption. Supplement with Cy-3-G mediated NAD+ homeostasis, which stimulated SirT1 activity, resulting in suppressed NF-κB acetylation. Interestingly, Cy-3-G treatment suppressed NF-κB acetylation when SirT1 action was blunted by selective antagonist, and subsequently suppressed NLRP3 inflammasome activation and proinflammatory cytokines release in hepatic cell lines. Our findings first demonstrate that Cy-3-G at a physiologically achievable dosage alleviates alcohol-induced hepatic inflammation via inactivation of NLRP3 inflammasome and deacetylation of NF-κB, suggesting a promising therapeutic approach to alleviate alcohol-induced liver damage. Image 1 • Cyanidin-3-O-β-glucoside (Cy-3-G) suppressed hepatic oxidative stress caused by excess energy intake. • Cy-3-G amelioates alcohol-induced liver inflammation in mice. • Cy-3-G inhibits NLRP3 inflammasome activation via SirT1/NF-κB signaling pathway. • Treatment with Cy-3-G showed remarkable therapeutic potential on liver damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optic nerve aplasia (ONA) is a rare congenital anomaly with a limited number of published reports. A retrospective review was performed on seven patients with ONA seen during 2004–2017. Patient's ocular and extraocular manifestations, imaging findings, and clinical course were described. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed anomalies of the optic chiasm and tracts and other central nervous system involvement. In conclusion, in addition to thorough ophthalmic examinations, MRI is important in evaluating and diagnosing ONA. The patients need to be monitored for both ocular and extraocular concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conducting an accurate motion correction of liver dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance (DCE-MR) imaging remains challenging because of intensity variations caused by contrast agents. Such variations lead to the failure of the traditional intensity-based registration method. To address this problem, we propose a correlation-weighted sparse representation framework to separate the contrast agent from original liver DCE-MR images. This framework allows the robust registration of motion components over time without intensity variances. Existing sparse coding techniques recover a 3D image containing only contrast agents (named contrast enhancement component) from a manually labeled dictionary, whose column has the same size with the original 3D volume (3D-t mode). The high dimension of the recovery target (3D volume) and the indistinguishability between the unenhanced and enhanced images make accurate coding difficult. In this paper, we predefine an ideal time-intensity curve containing only contrast agents (named contrast agent curve) and recover it from the transpose dictionary (t-3D mode), whose column has been updated into the original time-intensity curves. The low dimension of the target (1D curve) and the significant intergroup difference between contrast agent curves and non-contrast agent curves can estimate a series of pure contrast agent curves. A “correlation-weighted” constraint is introduced for the selection of a coding subset with more contrast agent curves, leading to an efficient and accurate sparse recovery process. Then, the contrast enhancement component can be estimated by the solved sparse coefficients’ map and the ideal curve and subtracted from the original DCE-MRI. Finally, we register the de-enhanced images and apply the obtained deformation fields for the original DCE-MRI to achieve the goal of motion correction. We conduct the experiments on both simulated and real liver DCE-MRI data. Compared with other state-of-the-art DCE-MRI registration methods, the experimental results show that our method achieves a better registration performance with less computational efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractTraditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is often composed of a variety of natural medicines. Its composition is complex, and many of its components can not be analyzed and identified. The first step in the rational application of TCM is to successfully separate the effective components which is also a great inspiration for the development of new drugs. Among the many separation technologies of TCM, the traditional heating concentration separation technology has high energy consumption and low efficiency. As a new separation technology, membrane separation technology has the characteristics of simple operation, high efficiency, environment-friendly and so on. The separation effect of high molecular weight difference solution is better. The applications of several main membrane separation technologies such as microfiltration, nanofiltration, ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis are reviewed, the methods of restoring membrane flux after membrane fouling are discussed, and their large-scale industrial applications in the future are prospected and summarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subcooled boiling flow is widely used for heat and mass transfer in industries such as nuclear reactor, electronic equipment, and spacecraft, where the bubble dynamics is essential for understanding the gas-liquid flow behavior. Current studies focused on the gas void fraction or bubble size distribution at a global scale, but the dynamics of single bubbles are still obscure, which inhibits the fundamental understanding of gas-liquid flow and the precise prediction of heat transfer. Here, we develop a numerical method that captures the motion and condensation of bubbles in subcooled boiling flow using Euler-Lagrange method, with a proposed model for spatiotemporal lift-off bubble distribution on the heated wall as boundary condition. Our numerical method is validated by the agreement between the calculated gas void fraction distributions with the existing experimental data in vertical subcooled boiling flow. We further investigate the distribution of bubble position and size in the tube and find that the bubble size distribution shows different modes at different radial positions. Analysis of the single bubble dynamics shows that small and large bubbles suffer from centrifugal and centripetal lift forces, and thus tend to accumulate at a radial position near the wall and near the tube center, respectively, which reveals the mechanism of bubble size distribution. Besides, we find that the centripetal wall lubrication force is essential for the path instability of small bubbles near the wall. These findings promote the fundamental understanding of the gas-liquid phase distribution in the subcooled boiling flow and provide a numerical strategy for the precise prediction of mass and heat transfer in subcooled boiling flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though bubbles are abundantly formed during the nucleate boiling in annular flows and affect the industrial performance during nucleation, departure, and bursting, the contribution of bubble dynamics in the heat and mass transfer in annular flows still needs to be quantified. Here, we used the semi-analytical film flow model to simulate the annular flow boiling in a vertical tube. We found the liquid film significantly affects the bubble departure diameter at wide working conditions when its thickness is smaller than the bubble's free departure size. A model for the departure diameter of the bubble considering the confinement of the thin liquid film was proposed, based on which theoretical models for the bubble-induced heat flux due to bubble formation and the bubble-induced droplet entrainment rate due to bubble bursting ejection were proposed. The contributions of the bubble-induced heat flux to the total (wall-to-liquid) heat transfer and the bubble-induced droplet entrainment rate to the total (liquid film-to-vapor core) mass transfer of annular flows can be up to 61% and 38% in the studied parameter range, respectively. The contribution of the bubble-induced heat flux to the total heat transfer increases with decreasing inlet mass flux and increasing tube diameter, wall heat flux, and pressure. The contribution of the bubble-induced droplet entrainment rate to the total mass transfer increases with decreasing inlet mass flux and increasing tube diameter. The proposed models of bubble-induced heat and mass transfer in annular flows may offer the first step to precisely control industrial performance by governing the bubble dynamics. • The contributions of bubble departure and bursting to the heat and mass transfer in annular flows were investigated. • Effects of the operating parameters on the bubble induced heat and mass transfer are quantified. • The contribution of the bubble departure-induced heat flux to the total heat transfer can be up to 61%. • The contribution of the bubble bursting-induced droplet entrainment rate to the total mass transfer can be up to 38%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Aims Increasing nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) by Nicotinamide riboside (NR) provides protective benefits in multiple disorders. However, the role of NR on liver fibrosis is unclear. We performed in vivo and in vitro experiments to test the hepatic protective effects of NR against liver fibrosis and the underlying mechanisms. Materials and methods Mice were injected with CCl 4 to establish liver fibrosis model. NR was given by gavage to explore the hepatic protection of NR. LX-2 cells were given a TGF-β stimulation ± NR, the activation of LX-2 cells and the acetylation of Smads were analyzed. To further confirm the role of Sirt1 on the protective pathway of NR, we knockdown Sirt1 in LX-2 cells. Key findings We found NR could prevent liver fibrosis and reverse the existing liver fibrosis. NR inhibited the activation of LX-2 cells induced by TGF-β, activated Sirt1 and deacetylated Smad2/3. Sirt1 knockdown diminished the inhibiting effect of NR on LX-2 cells activation, and increased expressions of acetylated Smads. In conclusion, NR could prevent liver fibrosis via suppressing activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). This protective effect was mediated by regulating the acetylation of Smads signaling pathway. Significance NR protected mice against liver fibrosis induced by CCl 4. NR suppressed activation of hepatic stellate cells induced by TGF-β. NR protects liver fibrosis via increasing the activity of Sirt1 and decreasing the expression of P300, resulting in the deacetylation of Smads in stellate cells. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Population studies of brain function with resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs‐fMRI) rely on accurate intersubject registration of functional areas. This is typically achieved through registration using high‐resolution structural images with more spatial details and better tissue contrast. However, accumulating evidence has suggested that such strategy cannot align functional regions well because functional areas are not necessarily consistent with anatomical structures. To alleviate this problem, a number of registration algorithms based directly on rs‐fMRI data have been developed, most of which utilize functional connectivity (FC) features for registration. However, most of these methods usually extract functional features only from the thin and highly curved cortical grey matter (GM), posing great challenges to accurate estimation of whole‐brain deformation fields. In this article, we demonstrate that additional useful functional features can also be extracted from the whole brain, not restricted to the GM, particularly the white‐matter (WM), for improving the overall functional registration. Specifically, we quantify local anisotropic correlation patterns of the blood oxygenation level‐dependent (BOLD) signals using tissue‐specific patch‐based functional correlation tensors (ts‐PFCTs) in both GM and WM. Functional registration is then performed by integrating the features from different tissues using the multi‐channel large deformation diffeomorphic metric mapping (mLDDMM) algorithm. Experimental results show that our method achieves superior functional registration performance, compared with conventional registration methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A facile microwave solvothermal reaction is performed to synthesize novel LiMn 0.25 Ni 0.5 Co 0.25 O 2 ternary layered oxide with 1 D fusiform morphology. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images show that material synthesized at 800 °C well keeps the fusiform morphology of the precursor with a particle size of 100–300 nm. All the three elements are perfectly dispersed and a well-formed layered structure is obtained. Thus, good electrochemical performances with high initial discharge capacity of 183 mAh g −1 is reached. Furthermore, high discharge capacity of 154 mAh g −1 is remained with a capacity retention of 84.2% after 100 cycles at 20 mA g −1 . Excellent rate capability is also obtained with high discharge capacity of 99 mAh g −1 at 2000 mA g −1 . It seems such facile microwave solvothermal method is one of the most promising candidates for preparing ternary layered oxides with excellent electrochemical properties as cathode material for lithium ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the size and duration of asymptomatic subchorionic hematoma and pregnancy outcomes in women with singleton pregnancies. Methods: This was a retrospective study that enrolled 701 singleton pregnant women who were diagnosed with asymptomatic subchorionic hematoma by ultrasound at 5–10 gestational weeks. The control group recruited 640 normal pregnant women without subchorionic hematoma who were matched with subchorionic hematoma group on baseline characteristics. The pregnancy outcomes were compared between the two groups, and the associations of the size and duration of subchorionic hematoma with pregnancy outcomes were analyzed by logistic regression model. Results: Compared with the normal pregnancy group, the incidence of, gestational diabetes mellitus, gestational thrombocytopenia, placenta adhesion, fetal growth restriction, macrosomia in subchorionic hematoma group were higher (all P < 0.05). After adjusting for confounding factors, the hematoma size was positively associated with the occurrence of gestational hypothyroidism (adjusted OR[95%CI]: 1.029[1.004–1.054]), intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (adjusted OR[95%CI]: 1.095[1.047–1.146]), term premature rupture of membranes (adjusted OR[95%CI]: 1.044[1.005–1.085]), hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (adjusted OR[95%CI]: 1.030[1.0004-1.060]), gestational thrombocytopenia (adjusted OR[95%CI]: 1.078 [1.045–1.113]), placenta adhesion (adjusted OR[95%CI]: 1.054 [1.027–1.082]), and the duration of hematoma was positively associated with the incidence of term premature rupture of membranes (adjusted OR[95%CI]: 1.070[1.027–1.115]), gestational diabetes mellitus (adjusted OR[95%CI]: 1.938 [1.886–1.993]) and fetal growth restriction (adjusted OR[95%CI]: 1.194 [1.124–1.268]). Conclusions: The presence, size and duration of a first-trimester asymptomatic subchorionic hematoma may be associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes at later gestations such as term premature rupture of membranes and fetal growth restriction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) has been widely used in the clinical management of glaucoma, both as primary and adjunctive treatment. As new evidence continues to arise, we review the current literature in terms of indications and efficacy, surgical technique, postoperative care, repeatability, and complications of this therapy. SLT has been shown to be effective in various glaucomas, including primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), normal-tension glaucoma (NTG), steroid-induced glaucoma, pseudoexfoliation glaucoma (PXFG), and primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG), as well as other glaucoma subtypes. Relatively high preoperative intraocular pressure (IOP) may predict surgical success, while other parameters that have been studied do not seem to affect the outcome. Different techniques for performing the procedure have recently been explored, revealing that minor modifications may lead to a more favorable or safer clinical outcome. The utilization of postoperative medications remains controversial based on the current evidence. A short-term IOP increase may complicate SLT and can also persist in certain cases such as in exfoliation glaucoma. The efficacy and safety of repeat SLT are shown in multiple studies, and the timing of repeat procedures may affect the success rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Realizing the potential of the diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) heterocyclic scaffold as a dye or semiconductor in the context of molecular electronics, organic photovoltaics, and requires understanding fully the factors that drive its aggregation. To determine how solubilizing side chains, conjugation length, and H-bonding groups affect DPP assembly into J-aggregates, we performed variable temperature ultraviolet-visible titrations in toluene on a series of DPP derivatives. The structures of these clusters in solution are extrapolated from single-crystal x-ray data and computational modeling. Spectroscopic changes in response to variations in temperature and concentration were fit to an isodesmic assembly model to determine Δ H, Δ S, Δ Go, and K of association for each of the DPP derivatives. The resulting thermodynamic assembly parameters predict how aggregate size responds to perturbations, which can be used to design stimuli-responsive systems with DPP as a functional component. Finally, a new mathematical model is presented that demonstrates how these thermodynamic parameters can be used to estimate the average number of DPP monomers in a cluster in solution at a given temperature and concentration. This study provides guidelines for anticipating how changes to DPP molecular structure affect assembly, and more generally, they show that even the simplest supramolecular association process can only be understood as a complex matrix that considers simultaneously the synergistic interactions of molecular structure, solvent, and assembly pathway. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photophobia can affect a person's quality of life. We present a case of idiopathic photophobia that was successfully managed with smart light bulbs that allowed the patient to participate in daily activities. Smart light can complement other treatment options including tinted lenses. In conclusion, smart light is a novel way of treating photophobia and should be considered by clinicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-fat diet (HFD)-induced insulin resistance (IR) in skeletal muscle is often accompanied by mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress. Boosting nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) using nicotinamide riboside (NR) can effectively decrease oxidative stress and increase mitochondrial function. However, whether NR can ameliorate IR in skeletal muscle is still inconclusive. We fed male C57BL/6J mice with an HFD (60% fat) ± 400 mg/kg·bw NR for 24 weeks. C2C12 myotube cells were treated with 0.25 mM palmitic acid (PA) ± 0.5 mM NR for 24 h. Indicators for IR and mitochondrial dysfunction were analyzed. NR treatment alleviated IR in HFD-fed mice with regard to improved glucose tolerance and a remarkable decrease in the levels of fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin and HOMA-IR index. NR-treated HFD-fed mice also showed improved metabolic status regarding a significant reduction in body weight and lipid contents in serum and the liver. NR activated AMPK in the skeletal muscle of HFD-fed mice and PA-treated C2C12 myotube cells and upregulated the expression of mitochondria-related transcriptional factors and coactivators, thereby improving mitochondrial function and alleviating oxidative stress. Upon inhibiting AMPK using Compound C, NR lost its ability in enhancing mitochondrial function and protection against IR induced by PA. In summary, improving mitochondrial function through the activation of AMPK pathway in skeletal muscle may play an important role in the amelioration of IR using NR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute lung injury (ALI) is characterized by alveolar injury and uncontrolled inflammation. Mechanisms underlying pathogenesis of ALI are unknown. Regulatory T cells (Tregs), either natural or induced, suppress a variety of physiological and pathological immune responses. In the current study, we investigated whether Tregs were involved in the development of ALI. Proportion of CD4 + CD25 + FoxP3+ Tregs in the peripheral blood of 66 ALI patients and 30 healthy controls were examined by flow cytometry. Data showed that the percentage of Tregs in CD4+ T cells was significantly increased in patients than that in controls (10.8 versus 7.6 %, P = 0.003). Also, compared to those who died during the study, patients who survived presented significantly higher level of Tregs at the time of recruitment ( P = 0.041). Since Tim-3 is a negative regulatory molecule and can modulate the function of Tregs, we evaluated Tim-3 level on Tregs and identified upregulation of the molecule in patients than that in controls. Moreover, compared to those who died during the study, patients who survived showed 1.7-fold higher level of Tim-3 on Tregs at the time of recruitment ( P < 0.001). These results suggest that Tregs could affect the prognosis of ALI probably due to the upregulation of Tim-3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personal recognition using palm–vein patterns has emerged as a promising alternative for human recognition because of its uniqueness, stability, live body identification, flexibility, and difficulty to cheat. With the expanding application of palm–vein pattern recognition, the corresponding growth of the database has resulted in a long response time. To shorten the response time of identification, this paper proposes a simple and useful classification for palm–vein identification based on principal direction features. In the registration process, the Gaussian-Radon transform is adopted to extract the orientation matrix and then compute the principal direction of a palm–vein image based on the orientation matrix. The database can be classified into six bins based on the value of the principal direction. In the identification process, the principal direction of the test sample is first extracted to ascertain the corresponding bin. One-by-one matching with the training samples is then performed in the bin. To improve recognition efficiency while maintaining better recognition accuracy, two neighborhood bins of the corresponding bin are continuously searched to identify the input palm–vein image. Evaluation experiments are conducted on three different databases, namely, PolyU, CASIA, and the database of this study. Experimental results show that the searching range of one test sample in PolyU, CASIA and our database by the proposed method for palm–vein identification can be reduced to 14.29%, 14.50%, and 14.28%, with retrieval accuracy of 96.67%, 96.00%, and 97.71%, respectively. With 10,000 training samples in the database, the execution time of the identification process by the traditional method is 18.56 s, while that by the proposed approach is 3.16 s. The experimental results confirm that the proposed approach is more efficient than the traditional method, especially for a large database. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: Early detection of brain metastases (BMs) is critical for prompt treatment and optimal control of the disease. In this study, we seek to predict the risk of developing BM among patients diagnosed with lung cancer on the basis of electronic health record (EHR) data and to understand what factors are important for the model to predict BM development through explainable artificial intelligence approaches accurately. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We trained a recurrent neural network model, REverse Time AttentIoN (RETAIN), to predict the risk of developing BM using structured EHR data. To interpret the model's decision process, we analyzed the attention weights in the RETAIN model and the SHAP values from a feature attribution method, Kernel SHAP, to identify the factors contributing to BM prediction. RESULTS: We developed a high-quality cohort with 4,466 patients with BM from the Cerner Health Fact database, which contains over 70 million patients from more than 600 hospitals. RETAIN uses this data set to achieve the best area under the receiver operating characteristic curve at 0.825, a significant improvement over the baseline model. We also extended a feature attribution method, Kernel SHAP, to structured EHR data for model interpretation. Both RETAIN and Kernel SHAP can identify important features related to BM prediction. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to predict BM using structured EHR data. We achieved decent prediction performance for BM prediction and identified factors highly relevant to BM development. The sensitivity analysis demonstrated that both RETAIN and Kernel SHAP could discriminate unrelated features and put more weight on the features important to BM. Our study explored the potential of applying explainable artificial intelligence for future clinical applications. The summary of the article: Explainable artificial intelligence predicts brain metastases risk in patients with lung cancer from electronic health record. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a severe form of diffuse lung disease, which imposes a substantial health burden all over the world. The immune system plays a key role in the development of ALI. The aim of the study was to investigate the expression of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA4) in ALI. Levels of CTLA4 were tested on CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in 62 ALI cases and 75 healthy controls by flow cytometry. Data revealed that prevalence of CTLA4 on CD4+ T cells was significantly increased in ALI patients (3.7%±2.1%) than in controls (0.7%±0.3%). Similarly, the proportion of CTLA4 on CD8+ T cells was also significantly elevated in cases (1.0%±0.4% versus 0.5%±0.1%, p<0.05). Further analysis showed that the frequency of CTLA4+CD4+ T cells was positively correlated with the score of Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) ( p=0.0005). In addition, when investigating CTLA4 expression with ALI patient mortality, we observed that the level of CTLA4+CD4+ T cells in patients was higher at the time before death than at the time of recruitment ( p=0.001). These data suggested that CTLA4 was involved in the pathogenesis and progression of ALI and could be used as a potential target for treating this disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Compared with other electrodes, NiNP electrode shows a higher specific capacitance. • The area specific capacity of Co 0.85 Se@NiNP electrode is up to 1446.8 mF cm−2. • The Co 0.85 Se@NiNP//AC asymmetric supercapacitor exhibits high energy density. Nanostructured current collectors have larger specific surface area and short ion/electron transport path, which are highly desirable for supercapacitors applications. Herein, Co 0.85 Se@NiNPs (Co 0.85 Se@NiNP) hybrid electrodes are proposed and fabricated, in which NiNP is served as nanostructured current collectors. NiNP has a vertical pore structure and a large specific surface area, which could effectively promote the ion/electron transport efficiency and reduce internal electrical resistance. Compared with Ni foam and Ni foil as current collectors, NiNP enables Co 0.85 Se@NiNP electrodes show significantly improved specific capacity, rate performance and cycle stability. Finally, an asymmetric supercapacitor device was assembled with Co 0.85 Se@NiNP hybrid electrode as the binder-free positive electrode and activated carbon (AC) coated on nickel foam as negative electrode. The Co 0.85 Se@NiNP//AC asymmetric supercapacitors can work in a wide potential window of 0 – 1.6 V with an ultrahigh specific capacity of 182.3 F g−1 at 1 A g−1. Most importantly, Co 0.85 Se@NiNP//AC has a high energy density of 64.81 Wh kg−1 at 800 W kg−1 and an outstanding cycle stability of up to 12000 cycles, indicating that Co 0.85 Se@NiNP electrode has great application potential in supercapacitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of Ewing's sarcoma (ES) is a complex process resulting from interplay between mutations in oncogenes and tumor suppressors, host susceptibility factors, and cellular context. CD86 (B7-2) may affect cancer susceptibility by modulating T cell response. CD86 +1057G/A polymorphism (rs1129055) has been reported to be associated with various diseases. Here, we investigated the association between CD86 +1057G/A polymorphism and the risk of ES in a Chinese population. The CD86 +1057G/A polymorphism was detected by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism in 158 ES cases and 212 age-matched healthy controls. Frequencies of CD86 +1057 AA genotype and +1057 A allele were significantly increased in patients with ES compared to healthy controls (odds ratio [OR]=2.12, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11-3.79, p=0.021; and OR=1.41, 95% CI, 1.10-1.91, p=0.018). Our data suggest that the +1057G/A polymorphism of the CD86 gene is associated with increased susceptibility to ES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: New drugs are needed for treating acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We analyzed data from genome-edited leukemia cells to identify druggable targets. These targets were necessary for AML cell survival and had favorable binding sites for drug development. Two lists of genes are provided for target validation, drug discovery, and drug development. The deKO list contains gene-targets with existing compounds in development. The disKO list contains gene-targets without existing compounds yet and represent novel targets for drug discovery. Refractory disease is a major challenge in treating patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Whereas the armamentarium has expanded in the past few years for treating AML, long-term survival outcomes have yet to be proven. To further expand the arsenal for treating AML, we searched for druggable gene targets in AML by analyzing screening data from a lentiviral-based genome-wide pooled CRISPR-Cas9 library and gene knockout (KO) dependency scores in 15 AML cell lines (HEL, MV411, OCIAML2, THP1, NOMO1, EOL1, KASUMI1, NB4, OCIAML3, MOLM13, TF1, U937, F36P, AML193, P31FUJ). Ninety-four gene KOs met the criteria of (A) specifically essential to AML cell survival, (B) non-essential in non-AML cells, and (C) druggable according to three-dimensional (3D) modeling or ligand-based druggability scoring. Forty-four of 94 gene-KOs (47%) had an already-approved drug match and comprised a drug development list termed "deKO." Fifty of 94 gene-KOs (53%) had no drug in development and comprised a drug discovery list termed "disKO." STRING analysis and gene ontology categorization of the disKO targets preferentially cluster in the metabolic processes of UMP biosynthesis, IMP biosynthesis, dihydrofolate metabolism, pyrimidine nucleobase biosynthesis, vitellogenesis, and regulation of T cell differentiation and hematopoiesis. Results from this study serve as a testable compendium of AML drug targets that, after validation, may be translated into new therapeutics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• RNA methylation exists in cancer, immune system diseases, neurological diseases, and viral infections. • Abnormal RNA methylation, especially m6A, reflects a variety of physiological and pathological changes in the body. • The "writer", "eraser" and "reader" have served as indicators of cancer occurrence, progression and prognosis. • The dynamic changes of m6A regulate the development of the central nervous system and neurodegeneration. RNA methylation is a post-transcriptional level of regulation. At present, more than 150 kinds of RNA modifications have been identified. They are widely distributed in messenger RNA (mRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA), ribosomal RNA (rRNA), noncoding small RNA (sncRNA) and long-chain non-coding RNA (lncRNA). In recent years, with the discovery of RNA methylation related proteins and the development of high-throughput sequencing technology, the mystery of RNA methylation has been gradually revealed, and its biological function and application value have gradually emerged. In this review, a large number of research results of RNA methylation in recent years are collected. Through systematic summary and refinement, this review introduced RNA methylation modification-related proteins and RNA methylation sequencing technologies, as well as the biological functions of RNA methylation, expressions and applications of RNA methylation-related genes in physiological or pathological states such as cancer, immunity and virus infection, and discussed the potential therapeutic strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Spatiotemporal influence of the built environment and household properties on automobile travel demand was explored. • Hourly automobile travel demand was obtained by car license plate recognition data. • A comparison between automobile travel demand and total person travel demand was carried out. • Additional quantitative analysis was conducted on the influence of some typical land use issues. Understanding the patterns of automobile travel demand can help formulate policies to alleviate congestion and pollution. This study focuses on the influence of land use and household properties on automobile travel demand. Car license plate recognition (CLPR) data, point-of-interest (POI) data, and housing information data were utilized to obtain automobile travel demand along with the land use and household properties. A geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model was adopted to deal with both the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of travel demand. The spatial-temporal patterns of GTWR coefficients were analyzed. Also, comparative analyses were carried out between automobile and total person travel demand, and among travel demand of taxis, heavily-used private cars, and total automobiles. The results show that: (I) The GTWR model has significantly higher accuracy compared with the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) model and the Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) model, which means the GTWR model can measure both the spatial and temporal heterogeneity with high precision; (II) The influence of built environment and household properties on automobile travel demand varies with space and time. In particular, the temporal distribution of regression coefficients shows significant peak phenomenon; and (III) Comparative analyses indicate that residents' preference for automobiles over other travel modes varies with their travel purpose and destination. The above findings indicate that the proposed method can not only model spatial-temporal heterogeneous travel demand, but also provide a way to analyze the patterns of automobile travel demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Mechanisms of bubble shape deformation and drag coefficient were analyzed. • Previous correlations were evaluated based on data in a wide range of parameters. • Modified models were proposed with better accuracy and wider applicable range. In this paper, the dynamics and dominant parameters of bubble shape deformation and drag coefficient during bubble rising were theoretically analyzed based on fundamental insights into bubble motion. Modified models for the aspect ratio and drag coefficient applying to a wide range including saturate vapor-water conditions under high pressure (6.9–15.5 MPa) were finally proposed based on theoretical analyses and comprehensive evaluations on previous correlations of aspect ratio and drag coefficient. Results showed that the combination of Weber number and Morton number can reasonably characterize the bubble shape deformation, while the combination of Reynolds number, Eötvös number and Morton number can reasonably characterize the drag coefficient. The proposed aspect ratio correlation in this paper predicts 90% of the existing experimental and numerical data within ±20% with a relative mean error of 8.2% for bubble rising in both two-component systems at atmospheric pressure and mono-component vapor-water systems at 6.9–15.5 MPa, while the proposed drag coefficient correlation predicts 93.5% of the data within ±35% with a relative mean error of 13.8% covering a wide range of 10−3 ≤ Re ≤ 105, 10−2 ≤ Eo ≤ 103 and 10−14 ≤ Mo ≤ 107. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study identified higher serologic levels of ADAMTS12 in patients with Eps. • The study identified ADAMTS12 as a useful biological marker for predicting the occurrence and their recurrence of EPs. • It may provide new ideas for the subsequent development of drugs to treat EPs and prevent their recurrence. Endometrial polyps (EPs) are common gynecological disorders for which no clear etiology has been found. ADAMTS have been associated with a variety of diseases. This study aimed to investigate the potential correlation between serologic levels of ADAMTS 5, 9, and 12 in patients with EPs. A total of 88 patients were categorized into two groups: the EPs group, consisting of recurrent EPs and first occurrence EPs, and a control group. The study compared the general information and serum levels of ADAMTS 5, 9, and 12 between the groups. Regarding the general data, a statistically significant age difference (p < 0.05) was observed, while no significant differences were found in the other variables. After considering age as a confounding factor, the previously observed statistical significance in the differences of ADAMTS5 and 9 between the groups diminished. However, it was found that the concentrations of ADAMTS12 in both the EPs group and the recurrent EPs group were significantly higher compared to the control group and the first occurrence EPs group (p < 0.05). ROC curves were generated to determine the critical values of ADAMTS12 for predicting EPs and recurrent EPs, which were found to be 0.6962 ng/ml (sensitivity: 100 %, specificity: 39.5 %) and 0.8768 ng/ml (sensitivity: 75.0 %, specificity: 76.3 %), respectively. Our findings revealed elevated serologic levels of ADAMTS12 in the EPs group, particularly in the recurrent EPs group. Furthermore, ADAMTS-12 was identified as a valuable biomarker for assisting in the diagnosis and prediction of EPs recurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theta (4-8 Hz) and gamma (30-80 Hz) rhythms in the brain are commonly associated with memory and learning (Kahana in J Neurosci 26:1669-1672, 2006; Quilichini et al. in J Neurosci 30:11128-11142, 2010). The precision of co-firing between neurons and incoming inputs is critical in these cognitive functions. We consider an inhibitory neuron model with M-current under forcing from gamma pulses and a sinusoidal current of theta frequency. The M-current has a long time constant (∼90 ms) and it has been shown to generate resonance at theta frequencies (Hutcheon and Yarom in Trends Neurosci 23:216-222, 2000; Hu et al. in J Physiol 545:783-805, 2002). We have found that this slow M-current contributes to the precise co-firing between the network and fast gamma pulses in the presence of a slow sinusoidal forcing. The M-current expands the phase-locking frequency range of the network, counteracts the slow theta forcing, and admits bistability in some parameter range. The effects of the M-current balancing the theta forcing are reduced if the sinusoidal current is faster than the theta frequency band. We characterize the dynamical mechanisms underlying the role of the M-current in enabling a network to be entrained to gamma frequency inputs using averaging methods, geometric singular perturbation theory, and bifurcation analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regularly scheduled intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) injections are essential to maintaining and/or improving many ocular conditions including: neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), diabetic retinopathy, and retinal vein occlusions with macular edema (RVO). This study aims to assess the effect of unintended delays in anti-VEGF treatment during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. This retrospective case series identified patients receiving regularly scheduled anti-VEGF intravitreal injections based on current procedural terminology (CPT) code at two practices in Minnesota. Diagnoses were limited to nAMD, diabetic macular edema (DME), proliferative diabetic retinopathy, and RVO. Patients were divided into two groups based on whether they maintained or delayed their follow-up visit by more than two weeks beyond the recommended treatment interval during the COVID-19 lockdown. The 'COVID-19 lockdown' was defined as the period after March, 28th, 2020, when a lockdown was declared in Minnesota. We then compared the visual acuity and structural changes to the retina using ocular coherence tomography (OCT) to assess whether delayed treatment resulted in worse visual outcomes. A total of 167 eyes from 117 patients met criteria for inclusion in this study. In the delayed group, the average BCVA at the pre- and post-lockdown visits were 0.614 and 0.715 (logMAR) respectively (p = 0.007). Central subfield thickness (CST) increased from 341 to 447 in the DME delayed group (p = 0.03) while the CST increased from 301 to 314 (p = 0.4) in the nAMD delayed group. The results of this pilot study suggests that treatment delays may have a negative impact on the visual and anatomic outcomes of patients with nAMD and DME. Future studies with larger sample sizes are required for further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Supercritical CO2 (sCO2) flow instability is an issue that must be considered in the reasonable design of sCO2 boiler. Because it can cause equipment vibration and heat transfer deterioration. In this article, a numerical model for the sCO2 flow instability in the single tube was developed. Different from the traditional model, the effects of metal heat storage and axial heat conduction in the tube wall were considered. The influence of main parameters on trans-pseudo-critical number (N TPC) and oscillation period (t 0) was studied, with the tube length (L) from 3 to 11 m and the inner diameter (D in) from 10 to 22 mm. N TPC increases with increasing the inlet pressure (P in), mass flux (G), inclination angle (α), and the inlet local resistance coefficient (K in). N TPC decreases with D in and outlet local resistance coefficient (K out). The effects of the sub-pseudo-critical number (N SUBPC), wall thickness (WT) and L on N TPC are nonlinear. With increasing N SUBPC, WT, L, D in, and K out, t 0 increase. As G, α, and K in increase, t 0 becomes smaller. When N SUBPC is lower than 0.9146, t 0 rises with P in increasing. It is opposite with N SUBPC higher than 0.9146. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Many studies have confirmed the association of aquaporins (AQPs) with abnormal amniotic fluid volume (AFV). In our previous experiments, we found that Tanshinone IIA was able to regulate the expression of AQP1 and AQP3. However, the exact mechanism by which Tanshinone IIA regulates AQPs protein expression and its effect on AFV remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Tanshinone IIA on AFV and the possible molecular mechanism of regulation of AQP1 and AQP3. Methods: The expression of AQPs protein in the amniotic membranes was compared between pregnant women with normal pregnancy and those with isolated oligohydramnios. The AQP1 knockout (AQP1-KO) mice and wild-type (WT) mice were treated with saline or Tanshinone IIA (10 mg/kg) at 13.5GD and 16.5GD. Human amniotic epithelium cells (hAECs) from pregnant women with normal AFV and isolated oligohydramnios were incubated with 35 μmmol/L Tanshinone IIA or 25 mmol/L LiCl [inhibitor of glycogen synthetic kinase 3β (GSK-3β)]. The protein expressions of AQPs, GSK-3β, phospho-GSK-3β (Ser9) in fetal membranes of mice and human amniotic epithelium cells were detected by western blotting. Results: The expression of AQP1 protein in the amniotic membrane of isolated oligohydramnios was increased compared with normal pregnancy. The AFV in AQP1-KO mice is higher than that in WT mice. In wild-type mice, AFV in Tanshinone IIA group was significantly higher than that in control group, and AQP1 protein expression was significantly lower than that in control group, but in AQP1 knockout mice, Tanshinone IIA reduced amniotic fluid volume and AQP3 protein expression at 16.5GD. Tanshinone IIA reduced AQP1, AQP3 and p-GSK-3β (Ser9) protein expression in normal hAECs, and this effect was inhibited by LiCl. In hAECs with oligohydramnios, the down-regulation of AQP1 and up-regulation of AQP3 by Tanshinone IIA was independent of GSK-3β signaling pathway. Conclusions: Tanshinone IIA may increase AFV in normal pregnancy by downregulating AQP1 protein expression in the fetal membranes, which may be associated with p-GSK-3β signaling pathway. But a larger AFV in AQP1-KO mice was significantly attenuated by Tanshinone IIA, which may be related to AQP3. Tanshinone IIA is a promising drug for the treatment of amniotic fluid abnormality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbonate is recently studied as anode material for lithium ion battery due to its relatively high capacity compared to relative oxides. In order to improve the time-efficiency of synthesis, an ultrafast solvothermal process assisted with microwave is carried out to obtain well-constructed Mn 0.8 Co 0.2 CO 3 /graphene composite as anode material for lithium ion batteries. The as-prepared Mn 0.8 Co 0.2 CO 3 /graphene composite with a graphene amount of 17.5 wt% exhibits a morphology of cubic particles in graphene without any impurity. Mn 0.8 Co 0.2 CO 3 /graphene delivers high initial charge capacities of 1033 mAh g −1 . And after 120 cycles, charge/discharge capacities of 737/735 mAh g −1 are maintained at 0.2 A g −1 . Even at 2 A g −1 , the composite can still deliver high charge/discharge capacities of 500/501 mAh g −1 . It is promising to obtain carbonate/graphene anode materials rapidly through such ultrafast solvothermal process assisted by microwave for application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamics of water in pullulan film-forming solutions during drying were investigated by low-field nuclear magnetic resonance. At the begin of drying, two transverse relaxation times (T 2 ) at around 32.77 and 2149 ms were attributed to bound and free waters in pullulan samples, respectively. An additional T 2 value, ascribed to the tightly bound water in entanglement zones of pullulan chains, appeared at around 3.51 ms as the drying process continued (beyond 1080 min of drying time). The observed three relaxation times revealed the multi-exponential relaxation behavior of water in pullulan. Moreover, the polymer exhibited spatial heterogeneity with increasing drying time from 1200 to 1920 min. On the basis of diffusive and chemical exchange model, the dimension range of pullulan network decreased from 7.69–32.66 to 4.73–18.14 µm as the pullulan films solidified. Furthermore, the rate of chemical exchange between water and pullulan significantly increased at the later stage of drying process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A panel of experts proposed a new definition of metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) in 2020. To date, the associations between adipokines, such as adiponectin, adipsin, and visfatin and MAFLD remain unclear. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the associations between each of these three adipokines and MAFLD using different diagnostic criteria. Methods: In total, 221 participants were included in our study based on medical examination. Detailed questionnaire information, physical examination, abdominal ultrasound, and blood-biochemical-test indexes were collected. The levels of adipokines were tested by using an enzyme immunoassay. Logistic regression models were used to assess the associations of the adipokines with MAFLD. Results: In total, 122 of the participants were diagnosed with MAFLD. Higher levels of adipsin and lower levels of adiponectin were found in the MAFLD group than in the non-MAFLD group (all p < 0.05). According to the logistic regression analysis, the ORs were 0.11 (95% CI: 0.05–0.23) for adiponectin, 4.46 (95% CI: 2.19–9.12) for adipsin, and 0.51 (95% CI: 0.27–0.99) for visfatin when comparing the highest tertile with the lowest tertile (all p-trend < 0.05). The inverse association between adiponectin and MAFLD was strongest when T2DM was used as the diagnostic criterion alone, and the positive association between adipsin and MAFLD was strongest when BMI was used as the diagnostic criterion alone. There was no significant association between visfatin and MAFLD, regardless of whether each of BMI, T2DM, or metabolic dysregulation (MD) was used as the diagnostic criterion for MAFLD alone. Conclusion: Adipsin levels were positively associated with MAFLD and adiponectin levels were inversely associated with MAFLD. The strength of these associations varied according to the different diagnostic criteria for MAFLD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess the possible correlation of anti-retinal antibody titers and number of anti-retinal antibodies with outcome measurements including visual acuity, subjective vision loss, visual field, and electroretinography in patients with autoimmune retinopathy. Design: Single-center, retrospective cross-sectional study. Patients and Methods: Patients with autoimmune retinopathy who underwent anti-retinal antibody testing at least twice during their follow-up were enrolled. Anti-retinal antibody titers and numbers were grouped as improved, stable, or worsened. Outcomes included Snellen visual acuity, patient-reported vision loss, Humphrey visual field mean deviations, and electroretinography parameters. Results: Thirty-one eyes among 16 patients with autoimmune retinopathy were included. Between-group analyses of visual acuity, subjective vision loss, visual field, and electroretinography outcomes did not reveal any significant differences by anti-retinal antibody titer or number group at a 95% confidence interval. Conclusion: Changes in anti-retinal antibody titers or numbers were not associated with any vision outcome. Repeated anti-retinal antibody testing may be unnecessary after diagnosis of autoimmune retinopathy and detection of an anti-retinal antibody. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uneven illumination occurs during finger imaging because of the influence of several factors, including the position and posture of the finger, the uniformity of near-infrared light, and the influence of ambient light. Existing phalangeal joint locating methods are sensitive to light illumination and cannot locate phalangeal joint stably. In this study, we propose a dual-sliding window model to accurately detect the position of the phalangeal joint of the finger-vein image, which is robust to light illumination, and to extract a more stable region of interest. Planar imaging generates different finger-vein images of the same finger at different acquisitions by space rotation of the finger. Thus, a pseudo-elliptical sampling model is proposed to retain the spatial distribution of vein patterns, to reduce the redundant information in finger images, and to reduce differences. Finally, a two-dimensional principal component analysis is used to project the transformed image for feature extraction. We calculated the Euclidean distance to measure the similarity between the test and training samples. Experiments in the three different databases show that the proposed method is effective and reliable and improves the performance of a finger-vein identification system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a typical ancient tetraploid, soybean (Glycine max) is an important oil crop species and plays a crucial role in supplying edible oil, plant protein and animal fodder worldwide. As global warming intensifies, the yield of soybean in the field is often strongly restricted by drought stress. SNF1-related protein kinase 2 (SnRK2) and type A protein phosphatase 2C (PP2C-A) family members are core components of the abscisic acid (ABA) signal transduction pathway in plants and have been suggested to play important roles in increasing plant tolerance to drought stress, but genetic information supporting this idea is still lacking in soybean. Here, we cloned the GmSnRK2s and GmPP2C-A family genes from the reference genome of Williams 82 soybean. The results showed that the expression patterns of GmSnRK2s and GmPP2C-As are spatiotemporally distinct. The expression of GmSnRK2s in response to ABA and drought signals is not strictly the same as that of Arabidopsis SnRK2 homologous genes. Moreover, our results indicated that the duplicate pairs of GmSnRK2s and GmPP2C-As have similar expression patterns, cis-elements and relationships. GmSnRK2.2 may have a distinct function in the drought-mediated ABA signaling pathway. Furthermore, the results of yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) assays between GmSnRK2s and GmPP2C-As revealed that GmSnRK2.17, GmSnRK2.18, GmSnRK2.22, GmPP2C5, GmPP2C7, GmPP2C10 and GmPP2C17 may play central roles in the crosstalk among ABA signals in response to drought stress. Furthermore, GmPP2C-As and GmSnRKs were targeted by miRNA and validated by degradome sequencing, which may play multiple roles in the crosstalk between ABA and drought signals and other stress signals. Taken together, these results indicate that GmSnRK2s and GmPP2C-As may play a variety of roles in the drought-mediated ABA signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During film formation, the rheological properties of pullulan, sodium alginate, and blends, dried at 50 °C were studied using an oscillatory rheometer. According to the drying curves, the drying process of pullulan, alginate, and blend films was divided into three stages. At the first drying stage, four samples exhibited typical liquid-like viscoelastic behavior. As the drying proceeded (polysaccharide concentration up to 75%), pure pullulan chains formed an entangled network, whereas coupling of alginate molecules gave a weak gel. At this drying stage, complex viscosity data for 75% alginate and blends were fitted with the power law equation. The effects of drying on the mechanical properties of pullulan-sodium alginate based samples were analyzed using the generalized Maxwell model, and their relaxation spectra were determined. The rheological properties during drying obtained from this study is essential for understanding film-forming mechanism and predicting the properties of pullulan-sodium alginate based edible films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Notch volume is associated with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Manual tracking of intercondylar notch on MR images is time-consuming and laborious. Deep learning has become a powerful tool for processing medical images. This study aims to develop an MRI segmentation model of intercondylar fossa based on deep learning to automatically measure notch volume, and explore its correlation with ACL injury.Methods: The MRI data of 363 subjects (311 males and 52 females) with ACL injuries incurred during non-contact sports and 232 subjects (147 males and 85 females) with intact ACL were retrospectively analyzed. Each layer of intercondylar fossa was manually traced by radiologists on axial MR images. Notch volume was then calculated. We constructed an automatic segmentation system based on the architecture of Res-UNet for intercondylar fossa and used dice similarity coefficient (DSC) to compare the performance of segmentation systems by different networks. Unpaired t-test was performed to determine differences in notch volume between ACL-injured and intact groups, and between males and females.Results: The DSCs of intercondylar fossa based on different networks were all more than 0.90, and Res-UNet showed the best performance. The notch volume was significantly lower in the ACL-injured group than in the control group (6.12 ± 1.34 cm3 vs. 6.95 ± 1.75 cm3, P < 0.001). Females had lower notch volume than males (5.41 ± 1.30 cm3 vs. 6.76 ± 1.51 cm3, P < 0.001). Males and females who had ACL injuries had smaller notch than those with intact ACL (p < 0.001 and p < 0.005). Men had larger notches than women, regardless of the ACL injuries (p < 0.001).Conclusion: Using a deep neural network to segment intercondylar fossa automatically provides a technical support for the clinical prediction and prevention of ACL injury and re-injury after surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The sugar content, species, and proportion play a key role in determining fruit flavor. • Transcription factors (TFs) play a crucial role in regulating sugar content and metabolism in fruits. • Epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation and histone modifications, also contribute to the regulation of sugar metabolism in fruits. • Phytohormones, including abscisic acid, gibberellin, and auxin, have a significant impact on sugar metabolism in fruits. • Environmental factors, such as light, temperature, water, and mineral elements, can influence the sugar metabolism of fruits. The sugar content, species, and proportion play a vital role in determining the fruit flavor, and their regulation is influenced by various factors, including transcription factors (TFs), epigenetic modifications, phytohormones, and environmental conditions. Numerous TFs have been identified as key regulators of sugar metabolism through their control over the expression of genes involved in sugar biosynthesis and transport. Epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation, histone modifications, and non-coding RNAs, also play a significant role in regulating sugar metabolism by maintaining genome architecture and modulating gene expression. Moreover, the metabolic process of sugar is significantly influenced by phytohormones, including abscisic acid, gibberellin, auxin, ethylene, salicylic acid, jasmonate, brassinosteroid, strigolactone, and melatonin. Additionally, environmental factors such as light, temperature, water, and mineral elements can exert an impact on sugar metabolism. This review offers a comprehensive examination of the regulatory mechanisms governing sugar metabolism, encompassing transcriptional, epigenetic, and phytohormonal perspectives, as well as other factors that affect various aspects of fruit metabolism. The innovative aspect of this review lies in its comprehensive and integrated analysis of the multiple factors that contribute to the regulation of sugar metabolism in fruits. Understanding these regulatory mechanisms is of great significance for improving fruit quality and flavor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purposes: Adipokine alterations contribute to the development and remission of nonalcoholic fatty-liver disease (NAFLD). Adipsin is one of the most abundant adipokines and is almost exclusively produced by adipocytes. However, data on adipsin in human NAFLD are limited and controversial. We performed this study to investigate the association between adipsin and the remission of NAFLD in middle-aged and elderly Chinese adults. Methods: Whether adipsin is associated with the remission of NAFLD in a 3-year community-based prospective cohort study was investigated. Baseline levels of adipsin were measured in serum samples collected from 908 NAFLD participants. NAFLD was diagnosed using abdominal ultrasonography. Logistic regression analysis and a multiple stepwise logistic regression model including different variables were conducted to evaluate the association between serum adipsin levels and the remission of NAFLD. Results: During a mean follow-up of 3.14 ± 0.36 years, 247 (27.20%) participants with NAFLD at baseline were in remission. At baseline, serum adipsin concentration was positively correlated with body mass index (r: 0.39, p < 0.001), insulin (r: 0.31, p < 0.001), and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (r: 0.31, p < 0.001) and was inversely associated with NAFLD remission with a fully adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 0.28 (0.16–0.48) (p trend < 0.001). In a multiple stepwise logistic regression model, circulating adipsin independently predicted NAFLD remission (OR: 0.284, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.172–0.471, p for trend <0.001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.751 (95% CI: 0.717–0.785) (p < 0.001) for the prediction model of NAFLD remission. Conclusions: We provide evidence for an association between serum adipsin levels and the remission of NAFLD in a community-based prospective cohort study. Serum adipsin can be a potential biomarker for predicting NAFLD remission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Dynamic contrast‐enhanced MRI (DCE‐MRI) registration is a challenging task because of the effect of remarkable intensity changes caused by contrast agent injections. Unrealistic deformation usually occurs by using traditional intensity‐based algorithms. To alleviate the effect of contrast agent on registration, we proposed a DCE‐MRI registration strategy and investigated the registration performance on the clinical DCE‐MRI time series of liver. Method: We reconstructed the time–intensity curves of the contrast agent through sparse representation with a predefined dictionary whose columns were the time–intensity curves with high correlations with respect to a preselected contrast agent curve. After reshaping 1D‐reconstructed contrast agent time–intensity curves into a 4D contrast agent time series, we aligned the original time series to the reconstructed contrast agent time series through traditional free‐form deformation (FFD) registration scheme combined with a residual complexity (RC) similarity and an iterative registration strategy. This study included the DCE‐MRI time series of 20 patients with liver cancer. Results: Qualitatively, the time‐cut images and subtraction images of different registration methods did not obviously differ. Quantitatively, the mean (standard deviation) of temporal intensity smoothness of all the patients achieved 54.910 (18.819), 54.609 (18.859), and 53.391 (19.031) in FFD RC, RDDR, Zhou et al.'s method and the proposed method, respectively. The mean (standard deviation) of changes in the lesion volume were 0.985 (0.041), 0.983 (0.041), 0.981 (0.046), and 0.989 (0.036) in FFD RC, RDDR, Zhou et al.'s method and the proposed method. Conclusion: Our proposed method would be an effective registration strategy for DCE‐MRI time series, and its performance was comparable with that of three advanced registration methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the development of an adaptive-fuzzy model to predict the failure rate of overhead distribution feeders based on factors such as tree density, tree trimming, lightning intensity and wind index. A gradient descent method was used to train the fuzzy model. To check performance of the model, two error terms, the root mean square error (RMSE) and absolute average error (AAE) were observed. A sensitivity analysis was done to evaluate effectiveness of the trained model. Variations of failure rate to various factors obtained from the sensitivity analysis are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]