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Currently, most studies focus on the functions of probiotic‐fermented milk, whereas there are relatively few studies on the function of postbiotic‐fermented milk in relieving constipation. In this study, we aimed to assess the modulation of constipation symptoms and its mechanism of action by different concentrations of Lacticaseibacillus paracasei‐fermented milk as a postbiotic in a loperamide hydrochloride‐induced constipation model in BALB/c mice. By comparing the relevant indexes, colon histological analysis, gene expression level, and intestinal flora structure in the constipation model of mice, we found that high and ultra‐high doses of fermented milk can effectively relieve constipation. Fermented milk effectively reduced defecation time, increased the rate of small intestinal propulsion in constipated mice, and alleviated colonic inflammation, safeguarding the normal function of the intestinal tract. In addition, it can regulate the intestinal flora, downregulate the abundance of Proteobacteria, upregulate the abundance of species of Firmicutes and Actinobacteriota, and improve the overall abundance level of intestinal flora in mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interface-enhanced superconductivity in FeSe/SrTiO3 (FeSe/STO) monolayers provides the record for the highest transition temperature (Tc) in iron-based compounds. Long-term post annealing is the commonly adopted recipe to induce the superconductivity transition in the not-superconductive as-grown FeSe/STO monolayer. Here, we developed a kinetic method, i.e., hydrogen exposure followed by gentle annealing, to enhance the superconductivity of the FeSe/STO monolayer. Our approach is more efficient than the long-term post annealing. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) characterization demonstrated the so far largest superconducting gap of ∼22 mV, indicating an enhanced superconductivity. We believe that the hydrogen-induced lattice Fe diffusion facilitates to remove the interfacial excess Se atoms fatal to the superconductivity, resulting in the formation of a second layer FeSe. The subsequent annealing helps to annihilate the generated Fe vacancies and, thus, enhance the superconductivity in the FeSe/STO monolayer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experiment aimed to study the effect of Bupleuri radix and its extract on the growth, physiology and biochemistry, liver antioxidant, and antibacterial ability of juvenile koi carp. A total of 360 juvenile koi carp with an initial body weight of (21.0±0.5) g were randomly divided into three groups with three replicates in each group and 40 juvenile koi carp in each replicate. The juvenile koi carp in the group K, group C, and group T were fed a basal diet, a basal diet + 5‰ Bupleuri radix meal, a basal diet + 5‰ Bupleuri radix extract. The experiment lasted for 14 days. The results showed that in the serum of juvenile koi carp, the activity of lysozyme (LZM) in the group C and alkaline phosphatase (AKP) in the group C and group T at 14 days were significantly higher than those at 0 day, and significantly higher than those in the group K (P<0.05). In the liver (SOD) and the total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in the group C at 14 days were significantly higher than those at 0 day (P<0.05), and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the group C was lower than that at 0 day and 7 days. In the challenge test, the mortality rate of juvenile koi carp in the group K within 24 hours was 41.7%. The mortality rate in the group C was 18.3% and the protection rate was 56%. The mortality rate in the group T was 21.7% and the protection rate was 48%. In the serum, the interleukin-13 (IL-13) content in the group C at 48 hours was significantly higher than that at 24 hours and 96 hours (P<0.05), and the immunoglobulin M (IgM) content in the group C and group T at 48 hours was significantly higher than that at 24 hours (P<0.05). In the liver, the content of interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-13, and IgM in the group C at 48 hours were significantly higher than those at 24 hours, and the content of IL-13 in the group C was significantly higher than that of the group K (P<0.05). The experiment indicates that adding Bupleuri radix and its extract to the diet for 14 days can effectively improve the physiological and biochemical indexes and anti-Aeromonas vickeri ability of juvenile koi carp, but the action time and effect of the two are different, and the effect of Bupleuri radix is more prominent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-axis electrical discharging machining (EDM) is the most commonly used manufacturing method for shrouded blisks. The discharge points and discharge gap distance are time-varying in a multi-axis EDM process. It is difficult to obtain an optimal servo feedrate. In traditional multi-axis EDM servo control systems, servo sensitivity is usually chosen as a smaller constant to avoid arc discharges. Thus, the servo feedrate is lower than the material removal rate in a machining process. The open circuit rate is high and the machining efficiency is decreased. This paper proposes an adaptive servo sensitivity control algorithm for multi-axis EDM of shrouded blisks. Servo sensitivity is adjusted according to discharge status, so as to decrease the open circuit rate and to improve the machining efficiency. Experiment results show that the proposed adaptive servo sensitivity control algorithm can improve the machining efficiency of shrouded blisks by 28.02% without deteriorating surface integrity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The release of organic and inorganic contaminants into soil from industry, agriculture, and urbanization has become a major issue of international concern, particularly the heavy metals such as aluminum (Al) and the chemical phenanthrene (PHE). Due to their potential toxicity and non-biodegrade in the environment, efficient remediation methods are urgently needed. Recently, research has comprehensively discussed using plants and their endophytes in bioremediation efforts. Endophytic Bacillus sp. R1, isolated from Brassica napus permanently contaminated with Al and PHE, has growth-promoting properties and can efficiently detoxify these contaminants. The pot experiment indicated that compared to the Al combined PHE contaminated soil alone treatment, the R1 treatment led to increased Al accumulation in canola roots across different levels of PHE, Al, and combined PHE and Al contamination. However, Al accumulation in canola shoots and seeds remained unchanged for all treatments. Moreover, PHE in canola roots and shoots was decreased by R1 inoculation and thereby reducing 26.12–60.61% PHE translocated into canola seeds. Additionally, R1 inoculation significantly increased the proportion of extractable Al and, decreased the proportion of acid-soluble inorganic Al and humic-acid Al, but did not affect the concentration of organically complexed Al. In summary, endophyte R1 can degrade PHE, improve canola roots’ Al uptake by increasing soil available Al, and scavenge the reactive oxygen species through production of antioxidant enzymes to help alleviate the toxicity of canola co-contaminated with aluminum and phenanthrene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solution methods for the nonlinear PDE of the Rudin--Osher--Fatemi (ROF) and minimum-surface models are fundamental for many modern applications. Many efficient algorithms have been proposed. First-order methods are common. They are popular due to their simplicity and easy implementation. Some second-order Newton-type iterative methods have been proposed, such as Chan--Golub--Mulet method. In this paper, we propose a new Newton--Krylov solver for primal-dual finite element discretization of the ROF model and the minimum-surface model. The method is so simple that we just need to use some diagonal preconditioners during the iterations. Theoretically, the proposed preconditioners are further proved to be robust and optimal with respect to the mesh size, the penalization parameter, the regularization parameter, and the iterative step; essentially, it is a parameter-independent preconditioner. We first discretize the primal-dual system by using mixed finite element methods and then linearize the discrete system by Newton's method. Exploiting the well-posedness of the linearized problem on appropriate Sobolev spaces equipped with proper norms, we propose block diagonal preconditioners for the corresponding system solved with the minimum residual method. Numerical results are presented to support the theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spina bifida is one of the neural tube defects, with a high incidence in human birth defects, which seriously affects the health and quality of life of patients. In the treatment of bone defects, the source of autologous bone is limited and will cause secondary damage to the patient. At the same time, since the bone tissue in animals needs to play a variety of biological functions, its complex structure cannot be replaced by a single material. The combination of mechanical materials and biological materials has become a common choice. Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) have the advantages of easy access, rapid proliferation, low immunogenicity, and no ethical issues. It is often used in the clinical research of tissue regeneration and repair. Therefore, in this study, we established a spina bifida model using Japanese white rabbits. This model was used to screen the best regenerative repair products for congenital spina bifida, and to evaluate the safety of regenerative repair products. The results showed that the combination of hUC-MSCs with collagen material had better regeneration effect than collagen material alone, and had no negative impact on the health of animals. This study provides a new idea for the clinical treatment of spina bifida, and also helps to speed up the research progress of regenerative repair products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Observations of the discharge gap were conducted to investigate the discharge plasma motion in reciprocated traveling wire electrical discharge machining (RT-WEDM). It was found that a discharge plasma continuously slides on the surface of a workpiece. An oscillating moving heat source is proposed to better describe the characteristics of discharge plasma motions. Based on an oscillating moving heat source, a novel thermal-fluid coupling model by adopting a level-set method is proposed to investigate the formation of a crater and the effects of machining parameters on craters. Discharge plasma sliding, latent heat, and molten pool forces are comprehensively considered in the proposed model. Simulation and experimental results show that a sliding discharge plasma has a significant effect on a crater. At the end of a discharge, a considerable proportion of molten materials remains in the molten pool. A high sliding speed of discharge plasma can lead to a low aspect ratio in a crater and a thin recast layer. Due to discharge plasma sliding, an increase in pulse duration can significantly increase the length of a crater and decrease the aspect ratio, while an increase in peak current can significantly increase the depth and volume of the crater. Simulation and experimental results also show that morphologies of the simulated crater and experimental craters are consistent, verifying the feasibility and accuracy of the proposed simulation model in explaining the mechanism of crater formation in RT-WEDM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to provide some references about applying the semi-active particle damper to enhance the stability of the pipe structure. Design/methodology/approach: This paper establishes the dynamical models of semi-active particle damper based on traditional dynamical theory and fractional-order theory, respectively. The semi-active particle damping vibration isolation system applied in a pipe structure is proposed, and its analytical solution compared with G-L numerical solution is solved by the averaging method. The quantitative relationships of fractional-order parameters (a and kp) are confirmed and their influences on the amplitude-frequency response of the vibration isolation system are analyzed. A fixed point can be obtained from the amplitude-frequency response curve, and the optimal parameter used for improving the vibration reduction effect of semi-active particle damper can be calculated based on this point. The nonlinear phenomenon caused by nonlinear oscillators is also investigated. Findings: The results show that the nonlinear stiffness parameter p will cause the jump phenomenon while p is close to 87; with the variation of nonlinear damping parameter μ, the pitchfork bifurcation phenomenon will occur with an unstable branch after the transient response; with the change of fractional-order coefficient kp, a segmented bifurcation phenomenon will happen, where an interval that kp between 18.5 and 21.5 has no bifurcation phenomenon. Originality/value: This study establishes a mathematical model of the typical semi-active particle damping vibration isolation system according to fractional-order theory and researches its nonlinear characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humidity visualization is of significant importance across both the living systems and the industrial processes, which remains a huge challenge. Herein, for the first time, a hydrophilic sponge, which is composed of rigid gel and super hygroscopic material, has been demonstrated capable of all‐weather humidity visualization in a portable, convenient, economical, and in situ manner. This promising aspect is attributed to the effective all‐weather humidity capture and various color display as a response to the humidity capture capacity, of the super hygroscopic material; as well as the rapid humidity transport and excellent humidity storage ability provided by the porous rigid gel. As a consequence, combined with a smartphone, the invisible information on the environment's relative humidity levels, on the one hand, can be correlated qualitatively with the specific color display of the sponge; on the other hand, it can be correlated quantitatively with the specific color intensity, providing a pretty good smart model for humidity visualization in various complex environments. The present humidity visualization technology may open up a new avenue for the development of novel humidity sensors with a wide range of practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elaborate petals are highly diverse in morphology, structure, and epidermal differentiation and play a key role in attracting pollinators. There have been few studies on the elaborate structure of petals in the tribe Isopyreae (Ranunculaceae). Seven genera in Isopyreae (Aquilegia, Semiaquilegia, Urophysa, Isopyrum, Paraquilegia, Dichocarpum, and Leptopyrum) have petals that vary in morphology, and two genera (Enemion and Thalictrum) have no petals. The petals of nine species belonged to 7 genera in the tribe were studied to reveal their nectary structure, epidermal micromorphology and ancestral traits. The petal nectaries of Isopyreae examined in this study were located at the tip of spurs (Aquilegia yabeana and A. rockii), or the bottom of shallow sacs (Semiaquilegia adoxoides, Urophysa henryi, Isopyrum manshuricum, and Paraquilegia microphylla), a cup-shaped structure (Dichocarpum fargesii) and a bilabiate structure (Leptopyrum fumarioides). The petal nectary of eight species in Isopyreae (except A. ecalcarata) was composed of secretory epidermis, nectary parenchyma, and vascular tissues, and some sieve tubes reached the secretory parenchyma cells. Among the eight species with nectaries examined in the present study, A. yabeana had the most developed nectaries, with 10–15 layers of secretory parenchyma cells. The epidermal cells of mature petals of the nine species were divided into 11 types. Among these 11 types, there were two types of secretory cells and two types of trichomes. Aquilegia yabeana and A. rockii had the highest number of cell types (eight types), and I. manshuricum and L. fumarioides had the lowest number of cell types (three types). Aquilegia ecalcarata had no secretory cells, and the papillose conical polygonal secretory cells of D. fargesii were different from those of the other seven species with nectaries. Trichomes were found only in Aquilegia, Semiaquilegia, Urophysa, and Paraquilegia. The ancestral mode of nectar presentation in Isopyreae was petals with hidden nectar (70.58%). The different modes of nectar presentation in petals may reflect adaptations to different pollinators in Isopyreae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microjets arranged on the wing surfaces of civil transport aircraft have been shown to have great potential in suppressing high-frequency gust loads. This paper presents a study of aerodynamic load reduction on a supercritical airfoil using tilted microjets by solving the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations. The numerical method was first validated against the experimental and previous numerical data. Afterward, the subsonic and transonic flowfields around the supercritical airfoil were simulated with various angled microjets. The results show that both the lift reduction and the power efficiencies significantly increase as the blowing direction shifts downstream to upstream. The movement and weakening of the shock due to the jet are observed at α > 2 ∘ in transonic flow, resulting in a drag reduction compared to the baseline airfoil. However, the transient subsonic results revealed that the upstream jet induces a strong vortex shedding, which is suppressed in transonic flows. During jet deployment, there are three distinct phases: time lag, vortex rolling-up, and rebalancing, in that order. Once it reaches the trailing edge in subsonic flows, the starting vortex rapidly modifies the load and induced a strong roll-up vortex from the pressure surface. Nevertheless, in transonic flow, the rebalancing stage contributes to a greater reduction in lift due to the additional shock movement and weakening effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Attractin (ATRN) is a widely expressed member of the cell adhesion and guidance protein family in humans that is closely related to cellular immunity and neurodevelopment. However, while previous studies in our laboratory have confirmed the effect of ATRN mutations on long‐term memory, its specific role and the molecular mechanism by which it influences spatial cognition are poorly understood. Methods: This study aimed to examine the effect of ATRN mutations on working memory in water maze with a novel ATRN‐mutant rat generated by the CRISPR/Cas9 system; the mutation involved the substitution of the 505th amino acid, glycine (G), with cysteine (C), namely, a mutation from GGC to TGC. The changes in myelin basic protein (MBP) expression in rats were also analyzed with the western blot. Results: The ATRN‐G505C(KI/KI) rats exhibited significant increases in the required latency and distance traveled to locate the escape platform in a Morris water maze test of working memory. In addition, the expression of MBP was reduced in ATRN‐mutant rats, as shown in the western blot analysis. Conclusion: Our results indicate that ATRN gene mutations may directly lead to the impairment of working memory in the water maze; this impairment may be due to the inhibition of MBP expression, which in turn affects the spatial cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On-ramps are considered to be one of the common traffic bottlenecks. In order to improve the operation efficiency of on-ramps, scholars worldwide have proposed various vehicle merging strategies. In this study, we designed different rules to express three collaborative strategies and studied their impact on on-ramp systems. Cellular automata models were used to simulate the systems under different situations, and the average speed and traffic flow rate of both the main roads and ramps were analyzed. The results show that (1) all the three merging strategies give excessive "priority" to the merging vehicle, leading to a severe reduction in the traffic performance of the main road; (2) nevertheless, these strategies have different effects on the entire system with a one-lane or two-lane main road. Due to the lane-changing behavior, the system with a two-lane main road has more advantages than that featured with a one-lane road, making the former system performing better than the latter under the same strategies; (3) the vehicles on the ramp and main road affect each other, and as the vehicle entering probabilities become large, the traffic flow rate on the main road decreases whereas that on the ramp increases. However, the effect is not unlimited, the flow rate on both roads finally reaches a stable level (forming a "platform"); and (4) large values of the merging safety distance parameter decrease the flow rate of the entire system. All the previous results provide a deep understanding of the impact of the three merging strategies on traffic flow, contributing to the design of on-ramp systems that have better operation efficiency and low levels of congestion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Most materials used clinically for filling severe bone defects either cannot induce bone re-generation or exhibit low bone conversion, therefore, their therapeutic effects are limited. Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) exhibit good osteoinduction. However, the mechanism by which combining a heterogeneous bone collagen matrix with hUC-MSCs to repair the bone defects of alveolar process clefts remains unclear. Methods: A rabbit alveolar process cleft model was established by removing the bone tissue from the left maxillary bone. Forty-eight young Japanese white rabbits (JWRs) were divided into normal, control, material and MSCs groups. An equal volume of a bone collagen matrix alone or combined with hUC-MSCs was implanted in the defect. X-ray, micro-focus computerized tomography (micro-CT), blood analysis, histochemical staining and TUNEL were used to detect the newly formed bone in the defect area at 3 and 6 months after the surgery. Results: The bone formation rate obtained from the skull tissue in MSCs group was significantly higher than that in control group at 3 months (P < 0.01) and 6 months (P < 0.05) after the surgery. The apoptosis rate in the MSCs group was significantly higher at 3 months after the surgery (P < 0.05) and lower at 6 months after the surgery (P < 0.01) than those in the normal group. Conclusions: Combining bone collagen matrix with hUC-MSCs promoted the new bone regeneration in the rabbit alveolar process cleft model through promoting osteoblasts formations and chondrocyte growth, and inducing type I collagen formation and BMP-2 generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a wire breakage prevention method and a corresponding system for reciprocated traveling wire-EDM based on discharge location detection. The wire breakage risk is evaluated using the consecutive discharge concentration coefficient (CDCC) value and the number of arcs. CDCC characterizes the proximity of a sequence of consecutive discharge locations occurring in a short time, which takes both time and spatial domain into consideration. The system employs two fuzzy logic controllers to adjust machining parameters according to the degree of discharge concentration and the servo tracking performance detected. Verifications are conducted by cutting two workpieces with variable heights, including a stair-shaped and a hollow one. The machining tests show that the proposed system can significantly gain machining efficiency without wire breakage hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to realize the high-value utilization of protein resources in sesame meal, the production process of protein peptide from sesame meal solid-state fermented by Monascus purpureus was optimized. On the basis of single factor experiment, the orthogonal experiment with three factors and three levels was designed to optimize the solid-state fermentation process with the fermentation time, water content and temperature as the influencing factors and the peptide yield as the investigated indicator. The results showed that the factors affecting the protein peptide yield produced from sesame meal solid-state fermented by Monascus purpureus were in order of water content, incubation time and temperature. The optimal fermentation process was the fermentation time of 6 d, water content of 50%, and temperature of 31 °C, and the yield of peptide was 14.95% after the verification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potassium (K) is the second most important plant nutritional element and is used for numerous physiological processes. We established an eight-year experiment comparing the effects of five K fertilization treatments (0, 48, 84, 120 and 156 kg K ha−1) on crop yield, K use efficiency and soil apparent K balance under the maize–wheat rotation system in the North China Plain. The highest maize and wheat yields were achieved in the K120 treatment, increasing by up to 16.7% and 25.1%, respectively. The increase in grain yield and K agronomic efficiency (AEK) with K application was greater in wheat than in maize. The K recovery efficiency (REK) and K accumulative recovery efficiency (ARE) significantly decreased with the increase in K fertilization in the maize and wheat seasons. However, the soil apparent K balance and soil available K content increased; the former was deficiency (−24.3 kg ha−1 yr−1) in the K0 treatment, but the latter did not decrease significantly compared with that in the initial year of the experiment. The soil available K content increased by 10.9 mg kg−1 per 100 kg ha−1. In conclusion, the yield response to K fertilization was greater in wheat than in maize and alleviated soil K depletion, but the K fertilizer efficiency was lower. We believed that K fertilizer can be increased moderately in the wheat season and decreased in the maize season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fast electrical discharge milling (fast ED-milling) has become a promising technology in the manufacturing industry for machining complex structures such as diffuser-shaped film cooling holes. However, the mechanism of the efficient removal of materials in this technology is not yet fully understood. To gain a further insight into this matter, an experimental investigation on the morphology of discharge craters including the absolute material removal volume per discharge, material residual volume per discharge, and directionality, is firstly carried out. The obtained results imply that a high-pressure inner flushing can significantly promote the expelling of molten material from a molten pool and is a fundamental reason why fast ED-milling can be of higher machining efficiency than regular ED-milling. To explore the mechanism behind, a novel thermal-fluid coupling model is developed to simulate the evolution process of the molten material under the effect of a flow field. The results of numerical simulation show that during a discharging, the molten material moves along the workpiece surface towards the outlet of a gap channel and solidifies at the side of a crater that is away from the electrode center. Another interesting finding is that an inappropriately high flushing pressure can result in a low machining efficiency because the severe heat convection will consume a large part of the heat generated by a discharge. This well explains the phenomenon that occurred during the experimental investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanpu 1-29 Area of Jidong Oilfield in China is currently in the stage of high water cut and low recovery degree. The remaining oil development and adjustment are difficult because of the complex reservoir heterogeneity and the lack of analysis of the reservoir architecture due to the unclear river type. This study first used sedimentary background, granularity, core, and sand body distribution to determine the river type and believed it belongs to the wandering braided river. Combined with core and logging data, four types of sedimentary architectural elements were found in the study area, namely, channel bar, braided channel, floodplain, and basalt. Based on the scale measurement of many similar modern wandering braided rivers, core data, and empirical formulas, the scales of the braided rivers were determined. The quantitative relationships among the scale of the braided river, the channel bar, and the braided channel were established. With this constraint, the reservoir architecture was anatomized. The results showed two filling types of the braided channels, including sandy filling and muddy filling. The combination patterns of the channel bars and the braided channels could be divided into three types, namely, superimposed, standalone, and contact, and the contact type was the primary type. On the whole, it showed the geometric morphological characteristics of the flat top convex at the bottom of the channel bar and the flat bottom convex at the top of the braided river channel. A careful measure of the architectural element was executed. The length of the single braided flow belts was 365.16-1349.72 m, and the width was 270.57-1160.54 m. The channel bar's length was distributed 158.89-318.32 m, and the width was distributed 75.97-116.41 m. The braided river's width was distributed 16.81-180.05 m. The length and width ratio of the channel bar was concentrated between 2 and 4, which manifested wide bar and narrow river channel mode. Finally, the static distribution model and dynamic response curve were compared to verify the correctness of the reservoir architecture characteristics to guide the subsequent development of the oilfield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a complicated and deadly disorder. Dysregulation of miRNAs in SAH has been widely reported. This investigation elucidated the function of miR-23a-3p in the in vivo and in vitro models of SAH. The miR-23a-3p and VCAN levels in SAH rats and sham controls were detected by RT-qPCR. The SAH rats were intracerebrally administrated with miR-23a-3p antagomir. Morphological changes and brain function were assessed. The isolated brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs), identified by immunofluorescence staining, were used as the model of SAH in vitro. The viability and apoptosis of BMECs were evaluated using MTT, flow cytometry, and western blotting analyses. Targeted relationship between miR-23a-3p and VCAN was predicted in miRDB and validated by a luciferase reporter assay. We found that the miR-23a-3p level was upregulated in rats after SAH, while VCAN was downregulated. Silencing miR-23a-3p attenuated neurological deficits and neuronal apoptosis in rats after SAH. VCAN was verified to be targeted by miR-23a-3p. Functionally, miR-23a-3p downregulation or VCAN overexpression inhibited BMEC apoptosis and promoted cell activity. Moreover, knockdown of VCAN eliminated the influence of miR-23a-3p inhibition in BMECs. Overall, suppression of miR-23a-3p improves cognitive function after SAH by targeting VCAN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The optimal technique for inserting peritoneal dialysis catheters in uremic patients remains debated. This meta-analysis aimed to summarize the current evidence evaluating the efficacy and safety of percutaneous insertion methods compared to surgical methods. Method: A literature search was performed in the PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, and Web of Science databases. The primary outcome was defined as catheter survival. The secondary outcomes were mechanical and infectious complications related to catheter insertion. Results: Twenty studies were finally identified, including 2 randomized controlled trials. The pooled results of catheter survival, overall mechanical complications, and infectious complications were not significant (odds ratio [OR] = 1.10, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.76–1.57, p = 0.62; OR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.48–1.11, p = 0.14; and OR = 0.64, 95% CI = 0.37–1.09, p = 0.14, respectively). Comparison stratified by the blind percutaneous method versus open surgery indicated a lower overall number of mechanical complications (OR = 0.54, 95% CI = 0.31–0.93, I2 = 72%) and malposition rate (OR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.34–0.90, I2 = 0%). The leakage rate was higher in the blind percutaneous group than in the open surgery group (OR = 2.55, 95% CI = 1.72–3.79, I2 = 0%); the guided percutaneous method achieved a similar leakage risk to the surgical methods. Conclusions: The blind percutaneous method performed better with fewer overall mechanical complications and less malposition than open surgery. The leakage risk was higher in the blind percutaneous group, while the guided percutaneous placement group showed similar outcomes to the surgical method groups. Percutaneous methods also had a lower infection risk, which needs further evidence to be confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep neural networks have achieved remarkable success in a wide variety of natural image and medical image computing tasks. However, these achievements indispensably rely on accurately annotated training data. If encountering some noisy-labeled images, the network training procedure would suffer from difficulties, leading to a sub-optimal classifier. This problem is even more severe in the medical image analysis field, as the annotation quality of medical images heavily relies on the expertise and experience of annotators. In this paper, we propose a novel collaborative training paradigm with global and local representation learning for robust medical image classification from noisy-labeled data to combat the lack of high quality annotated medical data. Specifically, we employ the self-ensemble model with a noisy label filter to efficiently select the clean and noisy samples. Then, the clean samples are trained by a collaborative training strategy to eliminate the disturbance from imperfect labeled samples. Notably, we further design a novel global and local representation learning scheme to implicitly regularize the networks to utilize noisy samples in a self-supervised manner. We evaluated our proposed robust learning strategy on four public medical image classification datasets with three types of label noise, i.e., random noise, computer-generated label noise, and inter-observer variability noise. Our method outperforms other learning from noisy label methods and we also conducted extensive experiments to analyze each component of our method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the Navier-Stokes equation for real blood flow simulations in patients is a challenging task. Among many of the challenges, initial and boundary conditions are not directly measurable. Many parameters for the flow model are also not directly measurable and differ from patient to patient and over time. New machine learning techniques, like physics-informed neural networks (PINN), offer some new ways to handle these difficulties. In this work, we aim to learn the operator that maps some easily measurable physiological signals to the solution of the blood flow equation. We use our proposed model based on Navier-Stokes equation and PINN to fit real data on blood pressure. A Windkessel boundary condition is used to produce physically correct reflection waves. A time-periodic condition is used to capture the periodicity of blood flow and enables our model to simulate the blood flow without initial and boundary conditions. Furthermore, we allow the periods of each instance of solution to be different, which makes the training of neural operators computationally expensive, but more accuracy and physical correct towards real blood pressure data. Further more, we also propose an efficient implementation to incorporate the periodic condition into our model. Estimating the hyper-parameters in the Navier-Stokes equation is also difficult. We then introduce a hyper-parameter network to estimate these parameters during the training process as well. The blood flow data contains useful information for disease detection and diagnosis, but directly measuring the entire blood flow remains a significant challenge. We apply our proposed method to cuffless blood pressure estimation. More specifically, we aim to predict the blood pressure waveform (continuous blood pressure and velocity in both time and space) from Electrocardiogram (ECG) and photoplethysmogram (PPG) signals, which can be easily measured using wearable devices. Compared to other methods, our method is the first one that can predict blood flow continuously, both with location and time which are valuable for cardio-vascular medical treatments and diagnoses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tyres are the sole vehicle components in direct contact with the ground, so making an accurate description of their ground pressure distribution is crucial for studying tyres and vehicles mechanical characteristics. The incorporation of an insert body on the rim leads to a significant divergence in the ground pressure distribution of inserts supporting run-flat tyre (ISRFT) under zero-pressure conditions compared to radial tyres. To elucidate the ground pressure distribution law of ISRFT, this study first develops a theoretical model of ISRFT-ground contact and proposes a modified non-linear ground pressure distribution. Subsequently, the verification and estimation of the parameters related to the modified non-linear ground pressure distribution were conducted. The lateral and longitudinal forces of ISRFT under various load and pressure conditions were then examined in conjunction with the brush tyre model. The results demonstrate that the modified non-linear ground pressure distribution exhibits a high degree of fitting accuracy, with a maximum error of 5.27% between theoretical and simulation. The lateral force increases rapidly when the slip angle is less than 3°, and slows down when it exceeds 3°. Furthermore, the slip angle at which the maximum lateral force occurs under zero-pressure conditions is 3–5° greater than that under standard pressure. The longitudinal force exhibits a rapid increase when the slip rate exceeds −0.2, and then plateaus as the slip rate further increases. It is noteworthy that the maximum longitudinal force under zero-pressure conditions is 23.33% lower than that under standard pressure. This research lays a theoretical foundation for the mathematical modelling of ground pressure distribution of ISRFT and provides a reference for analysing tyres and vehicles mechanical characteristics. • The theoretical models of ISRFT-ground under different pressure conditions are established. • The modified non-linear ground pressure distributions of ISRFT considering different radial loads are proposed. • The mechanical and dynamic characteristics for vehicles equipped with ISRFT and NT are compared. • Results indicate the modified non-linear ground pressure distributions of ISRFT have high accuracy. • Results indicate ISRFT preserves vehicle control under zero-pressure conditions, but with less force and steering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a novel and computable characterization method for convex shapes. We prove that the shape convexity is equivalent to a quadratic constraint on the associated indicator function. Such a simple characterization method allows us to design efficient algorithms for various applications with convex shape prior. In order to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach, this method is incorporated with a probability-based model to extract an object with convexity prior. The Lagrange multiplier method is used to solve the proposed model. Numerical results on various images show the superiority of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thyroid cancer (TC) is prone to recurrence, and biomarkers for predicting progression-free interval (PFI) are poorly explored. The study investigates the predictive value and underlying biological mechanisms of lncRNA CDKN2B-AS1 in TC. Combining RNA-seq and survival data, we identified that CDKN2B-AS1 was upregulated in TC samples and could be an excellent prognostic indicator. To exclude confounding factors, we divided patients into different subgroups using median CDKN2B-AS1 expression, and the effects of CDKN2B-AS1 on PFI and clinical features were explored in different clinical subgroups. Meanwhile, ssGSEA and ESTIMATE algorithms revealed that CDKN2B-AS1 overexpression may suggest the active state of the immune microenvironment. On the other hand, enrichment analysis also proved the potential influence of CDKN2B-AS1 on immune regulation in TC. Finally, we created a CDKN2B-AS1, microRNAs, and TFs network and discovered a new biomarker (CDKN2B-AS1) that might be employed as a therapeutic target in TC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a branch of fluid mechanics that solves fluid flows by numerical methods. Recently, quantum computing has been proven to outperform a classical computer on specific computational tasks. However, using a quantum computer to accelerate the CFD solver remains a challenge. Existed quantum differential equation solvers, which are limited to the linearity of the equation, cannot be applied in the CFD because the fluid equations are highly nonlinear. Here, we propose a quantum approach to accelerate the finite volume method, which is typical in the classical CFD domain. We focus on how a quantum computer handles classical input and output, designing a specific quantum data structure that allows fast memory update throughout the calculation, resulting in an exponential speedup over the classical counterpart. Numerical tests show that this algorithm adapts to various CFD problems, including problems with high nonlinearity. This approach complements existed quantum methods for nonlinear differential equations and allows new frontiers of the CFD by allowing a breakthrough of the cell number and the solution speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the modulator free structure, the finite-control-setmodel predictive control (FCS-MPC) needs a high sampling frequency/interrupt frequency (20–50 kHz) for power converters application, while the typical converter switching frequency is around 20–25% of the sampling frequency. To obtain a high switching frequency, it is not always practical to increase the sampling rate by considering the computational burden in a digital processor. Therefore, increasing the switching frequency without using a high sampling frequency is a critical task for FCS-MPC, particularly applied to silicon carbide and gallium nitride-based high switching frequency power converters. To solve this problem, this article proposes the multirate FCS-MPC (MRFCS-MPC), where the control frequency is allowed to be higher than the sampling frequency. Consequently, the switching frequency can be significantly increased without changing the sampling frequency. The proposed scheme inherits the ability to handle complex control objectives from the traditional FCS-MPC. The lifting model is built to predict the fast rate information of state variables based on the low sampling output. Then, the fast rate control inputs within one sampling interval are solved efficiently with a good tradeoff between computational burden and optimized system performance. The experimental motor drive system tests are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed MRFCS-MPC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gap discharge state monitoring system for wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) has an important impact on machining performance. Due to sampling noise and the slight differences between different types of discharge pulses in reciprocating traveling WEDM, it is easy to misjudge discharge pulse types based solely on the gap voltage and current in the conventional discharge state monitoring system. To provide more accurate feedback signals and achieve better machining performance, this study proposes to monitor gap discharge states using radio frequency signals. Radio frequency signals are analyzed in both the frequency and time domains. After determining the range of radio frequency signals through frequency domain analysis, radio frequency signals in a specific frequency range are amplified after filtering out noise and undesired signals. In addition, for sampling convenience, the radio frequency signal is processed using an envelope detection circuit for frequency down-conversion. In the time domain analysis, the available radio frequency signal is obtained and analyzed for different types of discharge pulses. Based on an ISO-pulse power supply, the characteristic analog radio frequency signal is used to classify the discharge pulses. The radio frequency signal monitoring system is then used to provide feedback signals for the servo feed rate control system. The experimental results indicate a substantial improvement in the classification accuracy. The material removal rate is improved by about 10% in roughing, and the surface quality is improved slightly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A topology- and convexity-preserving registration-based segmentation model is proposed. • An efficient algorithm based on the alternating direction method of multipliers is devised to solve the proposed model. • Numerical tests illustrate that the model can lead to the topology- and convexity-preserving segmentations for 2/3D data. Image segmentation aims to extract the target objects or to identify the corresponding boundaries. For corrupted images due to occlusions, obscurities or noises, to get an accurate segmentation result is very difficult. To overcome this issue, the prior information is often introduced and particularly, the convex prior attracts more and more attentions recently. In this paper, we propose a topology- and convexity-preserving registration-based segmentation model, which can be suitable for both 2D and 3D cases. By incorporating the level set representation and imposing the constraints on the suitable regions, we can explicitly force the fully convex segmentation results or the partially convex segmentation results. To solve the proposed model, we employ the alternating direction method of multipliers and numerical experiments on 2/3D synthetic and real images demonstrate that the proposed model can indeed lead to the accurately topology- and convexity-preserving segmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The installment of $LC$ filter between the voltage source inverter and motor terminal can reduce the value of $dv$ / $dt$ considerably, and further mitigate the surge voltage stress on the motor windings during the long-distance transmission. However, the sophisticated controller needs to be designed to solve the additional resonance problems caused by the filter. Conventional active damping (AD) scheme mainly introduce the multiloop feedback based on the analysis in $s$ -domain or $z$ -domain, which is realized with limited bandwidth and high tuning complexity. In this article, the finite-control-set model predictive control (FCS-MPC) is adopted to realize the $q$ -axis current reference tracking for motor and suppress the filter resonance simultaneously. Different from the transfer-function-based AD scheme, the mechanism of resonance generation is revealed in the time-domain, where the cost function of FCS-MPC is designed to directly regulate the multivariable trajectory of the system. Therefore, the proposed FCS-MPC controller expresses the intuitive design principle, a simple structure, and fewer tuning parameters, which could be an alternative to the existing AD scheme. To reduce the number of sensors, the Kalman-filter based state estimation is used by considering the one-step delay of the control input. The cost function is further optimized to a simplified form that suits the implementation of the digital platform, and the lower computational burden is obtained. The experimental results prove that the proposed FCS-MPC scheme can ensure the motor-friendly waveform and overcome the resonance problem effectively. The robustness of the controller to parameter variations of the filter is also verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quaternary climate oscillations and geographical heterogeneity play important roles in determining species and genetic diversity distribution patterns, but how these factors affect the migration and differentiation of East Asian plants species at the population level remains poorly understood. The Aquilegia ecalcarata complex, a group that originated in the Late Tertiary and is widely distributed throughout East Asia, displays high genetic variation that is suitable for studying elaborate phylogeographic patterns and demographic history related to the impact of Quaternary climate and geography. We used plastid genome data from 322 individuals in 60 populations of the A. ecalcarata complex to thoroughly explore the impact of Quaternary climate oscillations and geography on the phylogeographic patterns and demographic history of the A. ecalcarata complex through a series of phylogenetic, divergence time estimation, and demographic history analyses. The dry, cold climate and frequent climate oscillations that occurred during the early Pleistocene and the Mid‐Pleistocene transition led to the differentiation of the A. ecalcarata complex, which was isolated in various areas. Geographically, the A. ecalcarata complex can be divided into Eastern and Western Clades and five subclades, which conform to the divergence of the East Asian flora. Our results clearly show the impact of Quaternary climate and geography on evolutionary history at the population level. These findings promote the understanding of the relationship between plant genetic differentiation and climate and geographical factors of East Asia at the population level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric correction (AC) is a key step in ocean color remote sensing for obtaining oceanic and coastal water ecosystem products. However, traditional NIR-based AC scheme (AC NIR) often fails in turbid coastal waters dominated by high suspended particulate matter (SPM). SWIR-based AC is valid for turbid waters, but it cannot be applied to some satellite sensors (e.g., Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS), MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS), and future small satellite sensors) that have no SWIR bands. To obtain reliable data of turbid coastal waters by these sensors without SWIR bands, an improved AC NIR (AC NIR-PRO) scheme is proposed herein based on the frame of traditional AC NIR (AC NIR-STA). The synthesized and in situ datasets are analyzed to extend bio-optical models of absorption and backscattering coefficients in AC NIR-STA to highly turbid waters. AC NIR-PRO utilizes concentrations of both chlorophyll-a ([Chla]) and SPM ([SPM]) to estimate water-leaving contributions at the NIR bands. Similar to NIR-SWIR AC, AC NIR-PRO can obtain the information of global coastal waters with remote sensing reflectance at 862 nm ( R r s (862)) up to 0. 025 ∼ 0. 03 sr − 1 . R r s of AC NIR-PRO is also validated by AERONET-OC datasets (mean absolute percent difference (MAPD) of R r s (551) is approximately 16%) for various coastal waters including high colored dissolved organic matter. Further, the magnitude and spatial patterns of [SPM] and [Chla] derived from the R r s products after performing AC NIR-PRO are significantly better than those from AC NIR-STA , especially for turbid coastal waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SAR92 is one of the few examples of a widely distributed, abundant oligotroph that can be cultivated to study pathways of carbon oxidation in ocean systems. Genomic evidence for SAR92 suggests that this gammaproteobacterium might be a primary consumer of polysaccharides in the epipelagic zone, its main habitat. Here, we investigated cell growth, polysaccharide utilization gene expression, and carbohydrate-active enzyme abundance of a culturable SAR92 strain, HTCC2207, grown with different polysaccharides. Xylan and laminarin, two polysaccharides mainly produced by phytoplankton, supported the growth of HTCC2207 better than other polysaccharides. HTCC2207 possessed polysaccharide utilization loci (PULs) consisting of TonB-dependent receptor (TBDR) and glycoside hydrolase (GH) family genes. GH genes such as GH17 and GH3 presented no substrate-specificity and were induced by different sugar substrates, while expressions of GH16, GH10 and GH30 were enhanced in the glucose-treatment but suppressed in the polysaccharide-treatment, indicating complex polysaccharide utilization by HTCC2207. Metabolic pathways for laminarin and xylan were re-constructed in HTCC2207 based on the PULs genes and other predicted carbohydrate-active enzymes. This study reveals features of the epipelagic niche of SAR92 and provide insight into the biogeochemical cycling of labile, high-molecular carbohydrate compounds in the surface ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing attention for green chemistry and sustainable development, there has been much interest in searching for greener methods and sources in organic synthesis. However, toxic additives or solvents are inevitably involved in most organic transformations. Herein, we first report the combination of direct utilization of solar energy, air as the oxidant and water as the solvent for the selective cleavage of C＝C double bonds in aryl olefins. Various α-methyl styrenes, diaryl alkenes as well as terminal styrenes are well tolerated in this green and sustainable strategy and furnished the desired carbonyl products in satisfactory yields. Like heterogeneous catalysis, this homogeneous catalytic system could also be reused and it retains good activity even after repeating three times. Mechanism investigations indicated that both O2˙− and 1O2 were involved in the reaction. Based on these results, two possible mechanisms, including the electron transfer pathway and the energy transfer pathway, were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By replacing the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) package of stacked sandbags by polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) textile capsule from air springs, a new geosynthetics isolator is developed to improve the mechanical properties of stacked sandbags. Sand and rubber particles were mixed and used to fill the isolator as a soil skeleton. The mechanical testing results showed that the vertical stiffness and damping performance could be easily adjusted by changing the particle mixture ratio. The horizontal stiffness is approximately a quarter of the vertical value, and the horizontal damping ratio is as high as 25%. The ultimate shear strain and compressive stress are 15% and 40 MPa, respectively. Both of these values are much greater than that of stacked sandbags and are appropriate for most buildings near metro transportation. The feasibility of the isolator is verified via field experiments with a full-scale building. After installing the new isolators, the vibration comfort of occupants in the vertical and horizontal directions is significantly improved, as is the secondary air-borne noise comfort. Moreover, the resonant influences caused by vertical and horizontal low-frequency road vibrations are suppressed by the isolator's high-damping performance. Therefore, this geosynthetics isolator is feasible for the base isolation of buildings neighboring metro transportation. • A three-directional geosynthetics isolator used for buildings near metro is developed. • The vertical and horizontal mechanical properties of the isolator are investigated. • The vibration and noise suppression effectiveness is verified by field experiments. • The vertical and horizontal damping ratios are high to suppress resonant amplitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The knocking in ATRN-G505C rats were introduced. • Mutations in the Attractin (ATRN) gene lead to motor deficits, and learning and memory impairments. • Expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) was reduced in the ATRN rat hippocampus. Attractin (ATRN), an autosomal recessive gene that is widely distributed in the brain, is involved in the execution of a variety of brain functions and associated with certain neuropsychiatric disorders. Here, we introduce a novel rat strain harboring a mutation in ATRN that was generated by knocking in ATRN-G505C via the CRISPR/Cas9 system. We assessed the behavioral performance of these mutant ATRN knock-in rats. The G505C mutation was introduced into exon 9, and a synthetic primer was inserted into introns 8-9 for genotyping. The 505th amino acid, a Gly (G) residue, was mutated to a Cys (C) residue, i.e., GGC was mutated to TGC. Behavioral experiments showed that homozygous ATRN rats spent significantly more time searching for the escape platform in the acquisition trial and significantly less time in the target area in the probe trial in the Morris water maze (MWM) test and traveled a significantly shorter distance in the open field test (OFT) than wild-type rats. In addition, Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry showed that rats with the mutant ATRN gene exhibited significantly reduced expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). In summary, our results indicate that mutations in the ATRN gene directly lead to learning and memory impairments and slight motor deficits. These findings provide new clues for the mechanism by which mutant ATRN induces neurodegenerative changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The clinical application of most materials used to fill severe bone defects is limited owing to the insufficient ability of such materials to induce bone regeneration over a long repair period. The purpose of this study was to establish a model for the alveolar process cleft in rabbits to evaluate the effect of active bone material in bone defect repair. The active bone material used in this study is a new bone repair material composed of a heterogeneous collagen membrane implanted with modified recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein 2. This proposed active bone material can specifically bind to collagen. Twenty‐four young Japanese white rabbits (JWRs) were selected and randomly divided into four groups (normal, control, material, and bone morphogenetic protein groups). The alveolar process cleft model was established by removing an equal volume bone at the left maxillary position. Blood samples were collected from the JWRs 3 and 6 months after the surgery to evaluate the biocompatibility of the active bone materials. Subsequently, the skull model was established, and the appearance was observed. Imaging methods (including X‐ray examination and micro‐computerized tomography scanning), tissue staining, and immunohistochemistry were employed for the evaluation. The bone collagen material and active bone material exhibited high biocompatibility. In addition, the ability of the active bone material to induce bone repair and regeneration was higher than that of the bone collagen material. The active bone material exhibited satisfactory bone regeneration performance in rabbits, indicating its potential as an active material for repairing congenital alveolar process clefts in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we utilized a Ce-modified iron-based metal-organic framework derivative to in situ modify bulk CA (Ce/Fe@C-CA) as a bifunctional composite cathode to degrade chloramphenicol (CAP) in the heterogeneous electro-Fenton (EF) process. The composite cathode exhibited satisfactory CAP degradation efficiency, wide pH adaptability (2–9) and low metal leaching. Under the appropriate conditions (pH = 5, current density = 6 mA/cm2), 94.89% of CAP degradation efficiency was obtained within 60 min. The introduction of Ce increased the oxygen vacancy content, enhanced the cathodic electrochemical activity, promoted the production of a variety of reactive oxygen species and participates in the degradation of CAP, of which ·OH and 1O 2 were dominant. Meanwhile, the electron transfer and synergistic catalysis between Ce and Fe promoted the regeneration of the metal active site, which was beneficial to improve the reuse stability of the Ce/Fe@C-CA cathode. The degradation pathway of CAP was obtained by DFT calculations and UPLC-MS/MS detection. This study not only proposed a novel bifunctional electro-Fenton cathode, but also provided a effective strategy for the treatment of actual pharmaceutical wastewater. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The efficacy and safety of rituximab (RTX) in adult frequent-relapsing (FR) or steroid-dependent (SD) nephrotic syndrome (NS), including minimal change disease (MCD) or focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), are still inconclusive. Methods We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis registered in  PROSPERO (CRD42019148102) by pooling data of cohort studies or case series on adult patients with difficult-to-treat NS. Steroid-resistant NS was excluded. The primary outcomes were the complete remission (CR) rate and the relapse rate. Partial remission (PR) rate, no response (NR) rate and adverse events were the secondary outcomes. A random-effects model was performed for all the outcomes. Results We included 21 studies involving 382 adult MCD/FSGS subjects with a median follow-up duration from 12 to 43 months. RTX treatment induced a pooled 84.2% CR rate [95% confidence interval (CI): 67.7–96.3%], while MCD patients had a high 91.6% CR rate and FSGS patients a moderate 43% CR rate. However, 27.4% (95% CI 20.7–34.5%) of the patients relapsed during the follow-up. The pooled PR and NR rates were 5.8% (95% CI 1.2–12.5%) and 5.2% (95% CI 0.0–15.0%), respectively. RTX was associated with trivial adverse events and good tolerance. Conclusions In summary, by pooling results of current pilot studies, RTX may be an effective and relatively safe alternative for most adult FR or SD MCD/FSGS to displace calcineurin inhibitors or prednisone in the hierarchy of treatment. More clinical trials comparing RTX with other immunosuppressants and concerning the long-term adverse events are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays the Potts model works as the key mo del in a broad spectrum of applications in image processing and computer vision, which can be mathematically formulated in the form of min-cuts and, meanwhile, solved in terms of flow maximizing under the perspective of primal and dual. It is of great interest in developing efficient methods with better algorithmic structures and proved convergence, which is, however, still lost and open for the classical augmented Lagrangian method (ALM)-based approaches. In this work, we propose two novel preconditioned and overrelaxed alternating direction methods of multipliers (ADMMs) with guaranteed convergence, which are based on the classical Eckstein--Bertsekas and Fortin--Glowinski splitting techniques. Particularly, the two new algorithms are essentially accelerated with the proposed preconditioners and overrelaxation schemes. We explore the proposed preconditioned overrelaxed ADMM methods for image segmentation; experiment results demonstrate the proposed methods significantly outperform the classical ALM-based algorithms in terms of superior numerical efficiency along with proved convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quantum-classical hybrid algorithm is a promising algorithm with respect to demonstrating the quantum advantage in noisy-intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices. When running such algorithms, effects due to quantum noise are inevitable. In our work, we consider a well-known hybrid algorithm, the quantum approximate optimization algorithm (QAOA). We study the effects on QAOA from typical quantum noise channels, and produce several numerical results. Our research indicates that the output state fidelity, i.e., the cost function obtained from QAOA, decreases exponentially with respect to the number of gates and noise strength. Moreover, we find that when noise is not serious, the optimized parameters will not deviate from their ideal values. Our result provides evidence for the effectiveness of hybrid algorithms running on NISQ devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The micro fluxgate sensors have shown high sensitivity for the magnetic beads detection. For portable magnetic biological detection, Co-based amorphous ribbons with high permeability and low saturation magnetic induction are chosen as core materials to lower the operation requirements of the fluxgate-based magnetic beads detection. The micro fluxgate sensors with single-layer core and bi-layer core are fabricated by Micro-Electro-Mechanical System technologies, which exhibit a power consumption of 10.88 mW and 24.48 mW, a sensitivity of 1644V/T and 1456V/T, and a noise of 1.66 nT/Hz1/2 @1Hz and 2.32 nT/H1/2 @1Hz, respectively. The Dynabeads with concentrations of 300 &#181g/ml in 10 µl are detected by the micro fluxgate-based sensing system based on static response, and the results show signal change ratio of 12.2% and 9.2% under the max signal difference at 215 µT and 480 µT of the bias magnetic field for two kinds of the sensors, respectively, which is near the saturation point of the sensors. The fluxgate-based bead detection system with Co-based ribbon core presents low demands for the bias magnetic field and power consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High speed small hole electrical discharge machining (EDM) drilling processes can easily become unstable, due to changing flushing conditions, inappropriate preset electrical parameters, and machining debris residues. Although there are already successful attempts in controlling EDM processes, cost-effective adaptive control of high speed small hole EDM drilling has not been reported. Process stability can contribute to the improvement of machining efficiency and surface finish. To maintain a higher process stability, a minimum-variance self-tuning regulator (MVSTR) is designed based on an auto-regressive moving average exogenous (ARMAX) model. To determine specifications of the system, the time and frequency responses are analyzed, and the validation is executed for the offline system model. A series of high aspect ratio holes drilling experiments with different electrode diameters of 0.3 mm, 1.0 mm, and 3.0 mm show that, with the use of the MVSTR control scheme, a higher machining efficiency and a lower tool wear can be achieved as compared with the original controller. Microscopic pictures of drilled holes and electrodes show better surface quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the postponement of the reproductive age of women, the difficulty of embryo implantation caused by uterine aging has become a key factor restricting fertility. However, there are few studies on protective interventions for naturally aging uteri. Although many factors cause uterine aging, such as oxidative stress (OS), inflammation, and fibrosis, their impact on uterine function manifests as reduced endometrial receptivity. This study aimed to use a combination of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) to delay uterine aging. The results showed that the combined treatment of hUC-MSCs + DHEA increased the number of uterine glandular bodies and the thickness of the endometrium while inhibiting the senescence of endometrial epithelial cells. This combined treatment alleviates the expression of OS (reactive oxygen species, superoxide dismutase, and GSH-PX) and proinflammatory factors (interleukin [IL]-1, IL6, IL-18, and tumor necrosis factor-α) in the uterus, delaying the aging process. The combined treatment of hUC-MSCs + DHEA alleviated the abnormal hormone response of the endometrium, inhibited excessive accumulation and fibrosis of uterine collagen, and upregulated uterine estrogen and progesterone receptors through the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. This study suggests that uterine aging can be delayed through hUC-MSCs + DHEA combination therapy, providing a new treatment method for uterine aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigating blood flow in the cardiovascular system is crucial for assessing cardiovascular health. Computational approaches offer some noninvasive alternatives to measure blood flow dynamics. Numerical simulations based on traditional methods such as finite-element and other numerical discretizations have been extensively studied and have yielded excellent results. However, adapting these methods to real-life simulations remains a complex task. In this paper, we propose a method that offers flexibility and can efficiently handle real-life simulations. We suggest utilizing the physics-informed neural network to solve the Navier--Stokes equation in a deformable domain, specifically addressing the simulation of blood flow in elastic vessels. Our approach models blood flow using an incompressible, viscous Navier--Stokes equation in an arbitrary Lagrangian--Eulerian form. The mechanical model for the vessel wall structure is formulated by an equation of Newton's second law of momentum and linear elasticity to the force exerted by the fluid flow. Our method is a mesh-free approach that eliminates the need for discretization and meshing of the computational domain. This makes it highly efficient in solving simulations involving complex geometries. Additionally, with the availability of well-developed open-source machine learning framework packages and parallel modules, our method can easily be accelerated through GPU computing and parallel computing. To evaluate our approach, we conducted experiments on regular cylinder vessels as well as vessels with plaque on their walls. We compared our results to a solution calculated by finite element methods using a dense grid and small time steps, which we considered as the ground truth solution. We report the relative error and the time consumed to solve the problem, highlighting the advantages of our method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temperature stability is a critical factor affecting the performance of the most subsystems in the lithography system, due to the high precision and sensitivity of system components to temperature variations. The temperature control system of the lithography machine is characterized by its large inertial constant, time delay characteristics, as well as susceptibility to multiple disturbances. The temperature control system of the lithography machine chiefly requires response speed, high accuracy, and stable and constant temperature control. The contribution of this study is not only avoiding complex precision modeling processes based on real-time parameter estimation and neural network self-tuning but also improving the performance of temperature control in real time under external disturbances. A novel adaptive algorithm with a cascade structure based on generalized predictive control (GPC) and backpropagation (BP) neural network proportional-integral (PI) control is successfully proposed for high accuracy temperature control of lithography machine with a large inertial constant, time delay, and multiple disturbances. In this study, firstly, the liquid circulating temperature control system is developed based on heat exchanger and heater. Secondly, an adaptive controller composed of GPC and BP neural network PI control is successfully proposed. A BP neural network is employed to enable the parameters of the PI controller to adjust in real time, and the mathematical model parameters of the control system are identified in real time by the least square method. Also, the performance of the proposed controller is evaluated comparing with conventional PI controller and GPC controller in terms of robustness and quantitative study of error analysis. Finally, the temperature stability and robustness of the temperature control system controlled with the proposed adaptive GPC-PI algorithm has been investigated by the simulation results carried out in different working scenarios. The simulation results show that the steady-state error from the proposed algorithm is less than 0.01°C under the action of disturbance input. It can effectively counteract the influence of environmental interference and time-varying system parameters. The results of the simulation experiment indicate that the proposed adaptive GPC and PI control algorithm exhibits significant advantages in terms of control accuracy, anti-interference ability, and robustness compared to the conventional control method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Film cooling is an effective technology for improving the thrust-to-weight ratio of an aero-engine. The axial orientation of film cooling holes is one of the key factors determining the film cooling effect. However, the machining quality of cooling holes is still carried out by manual inspection, whose accuracy and consistency cannot be guaranteed. To address this problem, this paper proposes an axial orientation extraction algorithm based on laser point cloud processing. Firstly, the blade surface is scanned by a line laser sensor and a blade point cloud is obtained. Secondly, a single film hole can be segmented from the blade point cloud based on scanning line fitting residual. Thirdly, an improved Gaussian map is to complement the arc belt obtained by Gaussian map to obtain a complete circle along an error-sensitive direction. Finally, the axial orientation is estimated by random sample consensus with an initial value. The accuracy and consistency of the algorithm are verified by comparing the extraction result by the algorithm with those by the Geomagic software. The result shows that the axial accuracy extracted by the algorithm can reach 0.405°. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]