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Distributed point source method (DPSM) has been gradually applied to the field of nondestructive testing (NDT). As a semi-analytical modelling technique, DPSM is extremely powerful and straightforward for solving various engineering problems, such as ultrasonic fields and electromagnetic field. In this paper, the technique is extended to model the eddy current field including sweep frequency measurement and scanning defect. The configuration of eddy current sensors consists of excitation coil and solid-state magnetic field measurement sensors such as Hall device and giant magnetoresistive sensor. Besides that, the wave propagation has been described and magnetic field created by eddy current has been calculated. The results obtained by DPSM is compared with that calculated by finite element method (FEM) in terms of accuracy and computation time, which indicates DPSM can improve calculation speed while ensuring calculation accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new alkaloid named aspergilalkaloid A (1) with pyridoindole hydroxymethyl piperazine dione structure along with six known compounds 2-7 were isolated from deep-sea derived fungus Aspergillus sp. HDN20-1401. The structure including absolute configuration was elucidated by extensive NMR analyses, HRESIMS, ECD calculation, and theoretical NMR calculation with DP4+ analysis. All isolated compounds were tested for antimicrobial and anticancer activity. Aspergilalkaloid A (1) showed inhibitive activity against Bacillus cereus with MIC value of 12.5 μM and weak activity against MRCNS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electromagnetic tomography (EMT) uses the mutual inductance of the coil to visualise the conductivity distribution of interesting regions. Since the conductivity of defects and metal samples are different, the metal samples with defects can be treated as binary-valued material distributions. This paper investigates the closed-loop fuzzy proportional, integral and derivative (PID)-controlled iterative Landweber method. The whole method includes fuzzy PID controller, the Landweber reconstruction method, and the Dirichlet-to-Neumann map. Specifically, the differential signal between the mutual inductance of the coil and the feedback signal is used as the input of the fuzzy PID controller. The fuzzy controller can automatically adjust three parameters (${K_p}$ K p , ${K_i}$ K i and ${K_d}$ K d ) of PID controller. Subsequently, the output of the PID controller can serve as the input of the Landweber algorithm to reconstruct the distribution of conductivity. Furthermore, the Dirichlet-to-Neumann map is used to calculate the mutual inductance, acting as the feedback signal based on the reconstruction conductivity distribution. Finally, both the numerical simulation and experiments are applied to verify the proposed method. The results indicate that the proposed method can reconstruct the image with a clear edge, and the average correlation coefficient can reach 0.792. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macrophages play a pivotal role in the immunological cascade activated in response to biomedical implants, which predetermine acceptance or rejection of implants by the host via pro‐ and anti‐inflammatory polarisation states. The role of chemical signals in macrophage polarisation is well‐established, but how physical cues regulate macrophage function that may play a fundamental role in implant‐bone interface, remains poorly understood. Here we find that bone marrow‐derived macrophages (BMDM) cultured on polyacrylamide gels of varying stiffness exhibit different polarisation states. BMDM are 'primed' to a pro‐inflammatory M1 phenotype on stiff substrates, while to an anti‐inflammatory M2 phenotype on soft and medium stiffness substrates. It is further observed that matrix stiffening increases Piezo1 expression, as well as leads to subsequent activation of the mechanotransduction signalling effector YAP, thus favouring M1 polarisation whilst suppressing M2 polarisation. Moreover, upon treatment with YAP inhibitor, we successfully induce macrophage re‐polarisation to the M2 state within the implant site microenvironment, which in turn promotes implant osseointegration. Collectively, our present study thus characterises the critical role of the Piezo1‐YAP signalling axis in macrophage mechanosensing and stiffness‐mediated macrophage polarisation and provides cues for the design of immuno‐modulatory biomaterials that can regulate the macrophage phenotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Typical weak signal search experiments rely on resonant effects, where the resonance frequency is scanned over a broad range, resulting in significant time consumption. In this study, we demonstrate an accelerated strategy that surpasses the typical resonance-bandwidth limited scan step without compromising sensitivity. We apply this method to an alkali-noble-gas spin system, achieving an approximately 30-fold increase in scanning step size. Additionally, we obtain an ultrahigh sensitivity of 1.29 fT ⋅ Hz−1/2 at around 5 Hz, corresponding to an energy resolution of approximately 1.8 × 10−23eV ⋅ Hz−1/2, which is among the highest quantum energy resolutions reported. Furthermore, we use this sensor to search for axion-like particles, setting stringent constraints on axion-like particles (ALPs) in the 4.5–15.5 Hz Compton-frequency range coupling to neutrons and protons, improving on previous limits by several-fold. This accelerated strategy has potential applications in other resonant search experiments. Weak signal detection, as in the case for the search of Dark Matter, relies on the resonant effect, when many frequencies are scanner in search of the signal, but this is very time consuming. The authors present a magnetometry method that combines high sensitivity and a wider parameter space coverage adopting an artificially enlarged resonance width, increasing the scanning efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

STUDY QUESTION Do singleton children conceived by ART have a higher asthma risk than naturally conceived (NC) singletons? SUMMARY ANSWER The asthma risk was similar for ART-conceived singletons and NC singletons, and there were no clear differences between the various types of ART. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Whether ART increases asthma risk in offspring is questionable. The evidence is inconsistent and limited by ethnicity, geographic distribution, inadequate confounder adjustment, unsatisfactory control groups, and specific methods of ART. Furthermore, the mediating effects of obstetric and neonatal outcomes on the association between ART and asthma remain unclear. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION This observational, single-centre study was conducted at a reproductive centre of an affiliated university hospital between September 2009 and April 2023. A total of 3227 singletons aged 3–6 years conceived by IVF versus ICSI or fresh versus frozen embryo transfer were retrospectively enrolled, and a total of 1206 NC singletons of the same age were subsequently recruited. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS Asthma was defined as a self-reported physician diagnosis or wheezing in the past 12 months. We performed multivariable logistic regression analyses to examine associations between asthma in offspring and ART use, adjusting for parental characteristics (age, education level, occupation type, BMI, asthma), smoking exposure, residence type, child sex, child age, and year of follow-up. Mediating effects were explored using longitudinal mediation structural equation modelling. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE Asthma was reported for 51 (4.2%) of the 1206 NC singletons (median [interquartile range] age 5 [4–5] years; 48.1% females) and 169 (5.2%) of the 3227 ART-conceived singletons (5 [5–5] years; 47.6% females). We found that risks of childhood asthma in singletons conceived by ART were, overall, similar to those of NC singletons before (odds ratio [OR], 1.25 [95% CI, 0.92–1.74]; P  =   0.170) and after adjustment (adjusted OR [aOR], 0.66 [95% CI, 0.44–1.03]; P  =   0.126). The results were similar in multiple sensitivity analyses, and there were no clear differences in asthma risks according to the method of ART. Mediation analysis revealed a significant positive indirect effect of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission (standard path coefficient, b  = 0.025, P  <   0.05) and a negative indirect effect of breastfeeding (b  = –0.012, P  <   0.05) on the association between ART and asthma in singleton offspring. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION This study is limited to singletons only and cannot be generalized. The study is also limited by its retrospective observational single-centre nature and sample size. Mediation analyses were exploratory. Therefore, the findings need to be interpreted with caution. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS These findings can help infertile couples undergoing ART be reassured about the risk of childhood asthma in singleton offspring. Breastfeeding is recommended as a potentially feasible intervention to reduce the asthma risks in ART-conceived children who are at increased potential risk of asthma, such as those with NICU admissions. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) This work was supported by the Key Research and Development Program of Zhejiang Province (2021C03100), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFC2700603), and the Program for Key Subjects of Zhejiang Province in Medicine and Hygiene to Y. Z. the Zhejiang Province Natural Science Foundation (No. LQ22H040006) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.82101759) to M.T. and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 82201860) to J.Y. The authors declare no competing interests. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER ChiCTR2300069906. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The highlighted energy consumption of Internet data center (IDC) in China has become a pressing issue with the implementation of the Chinese dual carbon strategic goal. This paper provides a comprehensive review of cooling technologies for IDC, including air cooling, free cooling, liquid cooling, thermal energy storage cooling and building envelope. Firstly, the environmental requirements for the computer room and the main energy consumption items for IDC are analyzed. The evaluation indicators and government policies for promoting green IDC are also summarized. Next, the traditional cooling technology is compared to four new cooling technologies to find effective methods to maximize energy efficiency in IDC. The results show that traditional cooling consumes a significant amount of energy and has low energy efficiency. The application of free cooling can greatly improve the energy efficiency of IDC, but its actual implementation is highly dependent on geographical and climatic conditions. Liquid cooling, on the other hand, has higher energy efficiency and lower PUE compared to other cooling technologies, especially for high heat density servers. However, it is not yet mature and its engineering application is not widespread. In addition, thermal energy storage (TES) based cooling offers higher energy efficiency but must be coupled with other cooling technologies. Energy savings can also be achieved through building envelope improvements. Considering the investment and recovery period for IDC, it is essential to seek efficient cooling solutions that are suitable for IDC and take into account factors such as IDC scale, climate conditions, maintenance requirements, etc. This paper serves as a reference for the construction and development of green IDC in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A binary metal sulfide hybrid consisting of nanowire-assembled and polypyrrole-coated Co3S4/Cu2S spheres after nitrogen-doped carbon coating (Co3S4/Cu2S@NC) is developed as an anode, which displays a capacity exceeding 412.3 mA h g−1 after 550 cycles under 1.0 A g−1. Recoverable rate-performance and good temperature tolerance under 50 °C and −10 °C are achievable; a full cell delivers 339.5 mA h g−1, indicating promising potential for applications in various conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atherosclerosis (AS) is an inflammatory vascular disease that constitutes a major underlying cause of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and stroke. Infection is a contributing risk factor for AS. Epidemiological evidence has implicated individuals afflicted by periodontitis displaying an increased susceptibility to AS and CVD. This review concisely outlines several prevalent periodontal pathogens identified within atherosclerotic plaques, including Porphyromonas gingivalis, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, and Fusobacterium nucleatum. We review the existing epidemiological evidence elucidating the association between these pathogens and AS-related diseases, and the diverse mechanisms for which these pathogens may engage in AS, such as endothelial barrier disruption, immune system activation, facilitation of monocyte adhesion and aggregation, and promotion of foam cell formation, all of which contribute to the progression and destabilization of atherosclerotic plaques. Notably, the intricate interplay among bacteria underscores the complex impact of periodontitis on AS. In conclusion, advancing our understanding of the relationship between periodontal pathogens and AS will undoubtedly offer invaluable insights and potential therapeutic avenues for the prevention and management of AS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both catalase and peroxiredoxin show high activities of H2O2 decomposition and coexist in the same organism; however, their division of labor in defense against H2O2 is unclear. We focused on the major peroxiredoxin (PrxA) and catalase (CatB) in Aspergillus nidulans at different growth stages to discriminate their antioxidant roles. The dormant conidia lacking PrxA showed sensitivity to high concentrations of H2O2 (>100 mM), revealing that PrxA is one of the important antioxidants in dormant conidia. Once the conidia began to swell and germinate, or further develop to young hyphae (9 h to old age), PrxA-deficient cells (ΔprxA) did not survive on plates containing H2O2 concentrations higher than 1 mM, indicating that PrxA is an indispensable antioxidant in the early growth stage. During these early growth stages, absence of CatB did not affect fungal resistance to either high (>1 mM) or low (<1 mM) concentrations of H2O2. In the mature hyphae stage (24 h to old age), however, CatB fulfills the major antioxidant function, especially against high doses of H2O2. PrxA is constitutively expressed throughout the lifespan, whereas CatB levels are low in the early growth stage of the cells developing from swelling conidia to early growth hyphae, providing a molecular basis for their different contributions to H2O2 resistance in different growth stages. Further enzyme activity and cellular localization analysis indicated that CatB needs to be secreted to be functionalized, and this process is confined to the growth stage of mature hyphae. Our results revealed differences in effectiveness and timelines of two primary anti-H2O2 enzymes in fungus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fe-based amorphous coatings prepared by high-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) spraying have the advantages of good mechanical properties, high density, low porosity, and high amorphous content. The service life and bonding strength of coating greatly depend on its thickness; however, the characterization of ferromagnetic coating thickness is a very difficult problem. Pulsed eddy current (PEC) is characterized by abundant signals in frequency domains. In this paper, the thickness measurement principle of ferromagnetic coating was explored, and the typical and entropy features from PEC signals were extracted. Seven integrated learning methods were combined to quantitatively characterize the coating thickness, namely ridge regression (RR), lasso regression (LR), random forest regression (RFR), extra trees regression (ETR), gradient boosting tree regression (GBTR), addaptive boost regression (ABR) and eXtreme Gradient Boosting Regression (XGBR) algorithms. By comparing typical features with new ones, it was verified that the effective combination of entropy features and typical features could be used as effective feature parameters of eddy current signal. Statistical scores (RMSE and R2) and GridsearchCV features were used to evaluate and optimize the established model. As indicated by the results, the proposed XGBR machine learning model well predicted the coating thickness, and the relative error less than 0.05 mm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant leaf functional traits can reflect the adaptive strategies of plants to environmental changes. Exploring the patterns and causes of geographic variation in leaf functional traits is pivotal for improving ecological theory at the macroscopic scale. In order to explore the geographical variation and the dominant factors of leaf functional traits in the forest ecosystems of China, we measured 15 environmental factors on 16 leaf functional traits in 33 forest reserves in China. The results showed leaf area (LA), carbon-to-nitrogen ratio (C/N), carbon-to-phosphorus ratio (C/P), nitrogen-to-phosphorus ratio (N/P), phosphorus mass per area (Pa) and nitrogen isotope abundance (δ15N)) were correlated with latitude significantly. LA, Pa and δ15N were also correlated with longitude significantly. The leaf functional traits in southern China were predominantly affected by climatic factors, whereas those in northern China were mainly influenced by soil factors. Mean annual temperature (MAT), mean annual precipitation (MAP) and mean annual humidity (MAH) were shown to be the important climate factors, whereas available calcium (ACa), available potassium (AK), and available magnesium (AMg) were shown to be the important climate factors that affect the leaf functional traits of the forests in China. Our study fills the gap in the study of drivers and large-scale geographical variability of leaf functional traits, and our results elucidate the operational mechanisms of forest–soil–climate systems. We provide reliable support for modeling global forest dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High performance aluminium-ion (Al-ion) batteries are of wide interest owing to the high theoretical capacity, abundance of Al metal and good safety. Here, we develop a hierarchical VS2@VS4 composed of a VS4 nanorod array in situ grown on VS2 rose-shaped nanosheets that displays a good electrochemical performance. The VS2@VS4 cathode displays a high capacity of 162.7 mA h g−1 after 200 cycles at −10 °C, and keeps 116.5 mA h g−1 after 500 cycles at room temperature. Rate-performance at −10 °C shows a capacity retention rate of 90%, which indicates the potential for engineering high-performance energy-storage composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Surgical intervention is an important treatment option to improve the prognosis for Chiari type I malformation (CM-I) patients. However, there is no consensus about surgical strategies. The article intends to evaluate the effect of decompression combined with or without cerebellar tonsillectomy in the treatment of CM-I. Method: Following PRISMA's principles, Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases and references to relevant articles were searched to include only original articles on decompression combined with or without cerebellar tonsillectomy in CM-I patients. Through meta-analysis, the data on clinical improvement, radiological improvement, and complications were pooled. Results: Nine articles, including 399 CM-I patients undergoing decompression alone and 343 undergoing decompression with cerebellar tonsillectomy, meet the inclusion standard. In comparison, the improvement rate of clinical symptoms or signs in patients with cerebellar tonsillectomy is higher and statistically significant (RR: 0.85, 95% CI: 0.75–0.95; P = 0.006). However, decompression with cerebellar tonsillectomy is also significantly higher in the incidence of postoperative complications (RR: 0.54, 95% CI: 0.36–0.80; P = 0.002). No statistical difference is discovered between the two groups in the improvement rate of syringomyelia (RR: 0.77, 95% CI: 0.57–1.03; P = 0.08). Conclusions: Although decompression with cerebellar tonsillectomy is superior than decompression alone in clinical improvement for CM-I patients, it also faces a higher risk of postoperative complications. The reduction of syringomyelia in the two groups can be considered equally effective without significant differences. In the future, the results of the research require multicenter and large-scale randomized controlled trials to verify in clinical practice. Trial registration: CRD42022321750 (PROSPERO). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decoding neural responses from multimodal information sources, including electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), has the transformative potential to advance hybrid brain-computer interfaces (hBCIs). However, existing modest performance improvement of hBCIs might be attributed to the lack of computational frameworks that exploit complementary synergistic properties in multimodal features. This study proposes a multimodal data fusion framework to represent and decode synergistic multimodal motor imagery (MI) neural responses. We hypothesize that exploiting EEG nonlinear dynamics adds a new informative dimension to the commonly combined EEG-fNIRS features and will ultimately increase the synergy between EEG and fNIRS features toward an enhanced hBCI. The EEG nonlinear dynamics were quantified by extracting graph-based recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) features to complement the commonly used spectral features for an enhanced multimodal configuration when combined with fNIRS. The high-dimensional multimodal features were further given to a feature selection algorithm relying on the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) for fused feature selection. Linear support vector machine (SVM) was then used to evaluate the framework. The mean hybrid classification performance improved by up to 15% and 4% compared to the unimodal EEG and fNIRS, respectively. The proposed graph-based framework substantially increased the contribution of EEG features for hBCI classification from 28.16% up to 52.9% when introduced the nonlinear dynamics and improved the performance by approximately 2%. These findings suggest that graph-based nonlinear dynamics can increase the synergy between EEG and fNIRS features for an enhanced MI response representation that is not dominated by a single modality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacterial infections occur frequently during the implantation of medical devices, and functional coating is one of the effective means to prevent and remove biofilms. In this study, three different hydrophilic polyoxazolines with carboxyl groups (aPOx: PT1, PT2 and PT3) and bactericidal silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized successfully, and an aPOx-AgNP multilayer film was prepared by electrostatic layer-by-layer self-assembly. The effect of charge density and assembly solution concentration was explored, and the optimal self-assembly parameters were established (PT2 1 mg/mL and AgNPs 3 mg/mL). The hydrophilicity of the surface can be enhanced to resist protein adhesion if the outermost layer is aPOx, and AgNPs can be loaded to kill bacteria, thereby realizing the bactericidal anti-adhesion potential integration of the aPOx-AgNP multilayer film. In addition, the aPOx-AgNP multilayer film was found to have the characteristic of intelligent and efficient pH-responsive silver release, which is expected to be used as a targeted anti-biofilm surface of implantable medical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aim to build a system incorporating electroencephalography (EEG) and augmented reality (AR) that is capable of identifying the presence of visual spatial neglect (SN) and mapping the estimated neglected visual field. An EEG-based brain-computer interface (BCI) was used to identify those spatiospectral features that best detect participants with SN among stroke survivors using their EEG responses to ipsilesional and contralesional visual stimuli. Frontal-central delta and alpha, frontal-parietal theta, Fp1 beta, and left frontal gamma were found to be important features for neglect detection. Additionally, temporal analysis of the responses shows that the proposed model is accurate in detecting potentially neglected targets. These targets were predicted using common spatial patterns as the feature extraction algorithm and regularized discriminant analysis combined with kernel density estimation for classification. With our preliminary results, our system shows promise for reliably detecting the presence of SN and predicting visual target responses in stroke patients with SN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Neuroinflammation-induced injury is intimately associated with poor prognosis in patients with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST). The cyclic GMP-AMP synthase–stimulator of interferon gene (cGAS–STING) axis is a cytoplasmic double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) sensing pathway has recently emerged as a crucial mediator of neuroinflammation in ischemic stroke. However, the role of the cGAS–STING pathway in modulating post-CVST inflammation and the underlying mechanisms involved remain unclear. Methods: A CVST model was induced by ferric chloride in male C57BL/6J mice. The selective cGAS inhibitor RU.521, STING agonist 2′3′-cGAMP, and STING siRNA were delivered by intranasal administration or intraventricular injection. Post-CVST assessments included rotarod test, TUNEL staining, Fluoro-Jade C staining, dihydroethidium staining, western blotting, qPCR, immunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry, ELISA and flow cytometry. Results: cGAS, STING, NLRP3 and GSDMD were significantly upregulated after CVST and mostly in the microglia of the mouse brain. CVST triggered the release of dsDNA into the cytoplasm and elicited an inflammatory response via activating the cGAS–STING axis. RU.521 decreased the levels of 2′3′-cGAMP, STING and downstream inflammatory cytokines, and suppressed the expressions of NLRP3 inflammasome and pyroptosis-pertinent components containing cleaved caspase-1, GSDMD, GSDMD-C, pro- and cleaved IL-1β, and cleaved IL-1β/pro-IL-1β. Besides, RU.521 treatment also reduced oxidative stress, lessened the numbers of microglia and neutrophils, and ameliorated neuronal apoptosis, degeneration along with neurological deficits post-CVST. 2′3'-cGAMP delivery enhanced the expressions of STING and related inflammatory mediators, NLRP3 inflammasome and pyroptosis-relevant proteins, whereas these alterations were significantly abrogated by the silencing of STING by siRNA. Conclusions: Our data demonstrate that repression of the cGAS–STING pathway diminishes the neuroinflammatory burden of CVST and highlight this approach as a potential therapeutic tactic in CVST-mediated pathologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimal treatment strategies for traumatic intracranial internal carotid artery (ICA) pseudoaneurysms are controversial. The low-profile visualized intraluminal support (LVIS) device is a braided stent with a metal coverage rate between traditional laser cut stents and flow diversion devices. We report here our therapy strategy using the LVIS stent-assisted coiling for treatment of traumatic intracranial ICA pseudoaneurysms. Patients with traumatic intracranial ICA pseudoaneurysms treated by the LVIS stent-assisted coiling in our center between January 2015 and June 2021 were reviewed. The complications, radiographic, and clinical outcomes of these patients were analyzed. A total of 12 patients with 12 pseudoaneurysms were included. The mean maximum aneurysm diameter was 6.2 ± 3.1 mm. Nine patients had a subarachnoid hemorrhage; five patients with Hunt-Hess grade III and four patients with grade IV. All procedures were successfully performed without intraoperative complications. Immediate postoperative angiogram showed that six (50%) aneurysms were Raymond grade 1, four (33.3%) were grade 2, and two (16.7%) were grade 3. Postoperative multiple cerebral infarction occurred in two patients because of vasospasm. Of the ten patients with angiographic follow-up (mean, 29.9 months), two received additional coiling because of recanalization of the pseudoaneurysm, and all aneurysms were completely obliterated at the last examination of the patients. During the clinical follow-up period (mean, 26.8 months), the overall mortality and morbidity were 25% (3/12) and 8.3% (1/12), respectively. LVIS stent-assisted coiling was a feasible approach for the treatment of traumatic ICA pseudoaneurysms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every person spends around one third of his/her life in bed. For an infant or a young toddler, this percentage can be much higher, and for bed-bound patients it can go up to 100% of their time. In-bed pose estimation is a critical step in many human behavior monitoring systems that are focused on prevention, prediction, and management of at-rest or sleep-related conditions in both adults and children. The topic of automatic noncontact human pose estimation has received a lot of attention/success, especially in the last few years in the computer vision community, thanks to the introduction of deep learning and its power in artificial intelligence (AI) modeling. However, the state-of-the-art (SOTA) vision-based AI algorithms in this field can hardly work under the challenges associated with in-bed human behavior monitoring, such as significant illumination changes (e.g., full darkness at night), heavy occlusion (e.g., covering by a sheet or blanket), as well as the privacy concerns that mitigate large-scale data collection, necessary for any deep learning-based model training. The data quality challenges and privacy concerns have hindered the use of advanced vision-based in-bed behavior monitoring systems at home, which during the recent COVID-19 pandemic could have been an effective way to control the spread of the virus by avoiding in-person visits to clinics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy consumption and carbon emissions are lower in the production of belite-ye′elimite-ternesite (C2S-C4A3$-C5S2$, BYT) clinker than Portland cement (PC) clinker. BYT cement can combine the early strength of CSA cements and the durability of belite cements. X-ray diffraction, mercury intrusion porosimetry, isothermal conduction calorimetry and scanning electron microscope were conducted to investigate the hydration process of BYT cement. The hydration products of BYT cement include mainly ettringite, strätlingite and some amorphous AH3 (aluminum hydroxide). Ternesite did prove an early reactivity in BYT cement. The reaction of ternesite with AH3 occurs on the surface of ternesite. Ternesite delays the second heat flow peak of ye′elimite. The strength of BYT cement containing 10% ternesite in the prepared clinker exceeds that of other cement at all ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The kinetics and mechanism of ternesite formation (calcium sulfosilicate, Ca5(SiO4)2SO4, C5S2$) were investigated by studying the reaction between beta-dicalcium silicate (β-C2S) and calcium sulfate dihydrate (CaSO4∙2H2O). Mineralogical composition development was monitored using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and backscattered scanning electron microscopy (BSEM) coupled to energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Ternesite can form in the 1100 to 1200 °C range by the solid-phase reaction of β-C2S and CaSO4. The formation of ternesite is favored by increasing the sintering temperature or extending the sintering time. The solid-phase reaction is carried out by diffusion of CaSO4 to β-C2S. The kinetics equation of ternesite is consistent with three-dimensional diffusion models (3-D model, D3 model or Jander model). The equation of the D3 model is 1 − 2α/3 − (1 − α)2/3 = kt. On the basis of the Arrhenius equation, the activation energy of ternesite is 239.8 kJ/mol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a degenerative muscle disease with no effective drug treatment. This study investigated the positive effects of fenofibrate on dystrophic muscles. Experimental Approach Myostatin expression in serum and muscle tissue from patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and mdx mice were tested. Primary myoblasts isolated from mdx mice were challenged with an inflammatory stimulus and treated with fenofibrate. In animal experiments, 6‐week‐old male mdx mice were treated with fenofibrate (100 mg kg‐1) administered orally once per day for 6 weeks. Effects of fenofibrate were evaluated by tests of muscle function plus histology and biochemical analyses of serum. Expression of myostatin, MuRF1, and atrogin‐1 in skeletal muscle was evaluated by western blotting and real‐time PCR. Total and oxidative myosin heavy chain (MHC) were assessed via immunofluorescence. Key Results: Expression of myostatin protein was increased in dystrophic muscle of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and mdx mice. Fenofibrate enhanced myofibre differentiation by down‐regulating the expression of myostatin protein but not mRNA in primary myoblasts of mdx mice. Fenofibrate significantly improved muscle function while ameliorating muscle damage in mdx mice. These benefits were accompanied by an anti‐inflammatory effect. Fenofibrate treatment returned myofibre function by inhibiting the expressions of myostatin, MuRF1, and atrogin‐1 protein in the gastrocnemius muscle and diaphragm, while leaving the mRNA level of myostatin unaffected. Conclusions and Implications: Fenofibrate substantially slows muscle dystrophy by promoting the degradation of myostatin protein, which may indicate a new therapeutic focus for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concrete dam health state has been taken seriously in the field of structural health monitoring. A limitation in the current research is a lack of clear physical significance and reasonable interval division for better reflecting the development trend of the health state. This article introduces a comprehensive evaluation method that provides information on the fusion of different monitoring types and influences of degree weight. The analysis method of variation tendency for concrete dam soundness is proposed based on gray theory. According to the principle of analytic hierarchy process, this article introduces an optimization division method of evaluation grade interval for concrete dam health state. Based on this, a method based on multiple monitoring quantities is established through studies of determination methods for monitoring various quantities of weight, which aimed at evaluating concrete dam health state and solving the problem of comprehensive evaluation for concrete dam health in an effective manner. An existing concrete dam is presented and discussed to serve as the validation of the established theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increase in the tourism industry, the experience of the tourist is changed dramatically. Mainly, there are two types of sustainability in the tourism industry. One is for the sustainable destination environment and other is for the sustainable tourists' experience. For the tourists' sightseeing recommendation, an invulnerable system is needed to the site based on the current ground conditions. The tourist volume prediction of tourist attractions in tourism research has always been an interesting topic and one of the difficult problems faced by the tourism field. The RBF neural network algorithm was utilized to the parameters optimization and the popular tourist spots prediction model was established to study and predict popular tourist spots, which was compared with the traditional prediction model. The results show that the particle swarm optimization neural network can better track the change rules of popular tourist attractions, and the prediction accuracy of popular tourist attractions is obviously better than that of the traditional model. The tourist attractions prediction efficiency is also higher, which can meet the requirements of online prediction of popular tourist attractions. The training time and prediction time of the prediction model of popular tourist attractions are reduced which speeds up the modeling efficiency of the popular tourist attractions prediction and allows online prediction of popular tourist attractions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared with the conventional eddy current, pulsed eddy current (PEC) technology has the characteristic of abundant components in the frequency domain, which is a significant technological advancement. Improvements in the production and performance of PEC sensors are necessary for nondestructive testing. Sensor configuration parameters have significant influence on the development of PEC system. In this study, through finite element simulation and experimental investigation, different optimization methods for PEC sensors are compared and studied. According to the eddy current detection principle, a two-dimensional finite element simulation model was established to study the influence of the shape and size parameters of cone-shaped PEC sensors. Then a cone-shaped PEC sensor was optimized by the orthogonal methodology and the response surface methodology, respectively. To compare the effectiveness of the optimization methods, two optimized sensors were fabricated. It was demonstrated that the combination of finite element method and response surface methodology was superior for improving the detection performance of the PEC sensor compared with the orthogonal methodology. The result also indicated that the developed cone-shaped PEC sensor had a stronger defect detection capability than cylindrical-shaped PEC sensors. The proposed optimization design method provides a feasible reference method for the design of PEC sensors and corresponding parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is wreaking havoc on public-health and economic systems worldwide. Among the several neurological symptoms of patients with COVID-19 reported in clinical practice, olfactory dysfunction (OD) is the most common. OD occurs as the earliest or the only clinical manifestation in some patients. Increasing research attention has focused on OD, which is listed as one of the main diagnostic symptoms of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 infection. Multiple clinical and basic-science studies on COVID-19-induced OD are underway to clarify the underlying mechanism of action. In this review, we summarize the clinical characteristics, mechanisms, evaluation methods, prognosis, and treatment options of COVID-19-induced OD. In this way, we hope to improve the understanding of COVID-19-induced OD to aid early identification and precise intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atherosclerosis (AS), one of the most common types of cardiovascular disease, has initially been attributed to the accumulation of fats and fibrous materials. However, more and more researchers regarded it as a chronic inflammatory disease nowadays. Infective disease, such as periodontitis, is related to the risk of atherosclerosis. Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis), one of the most common bacteria in stomatology, is usually discovered in atherosclerotic plaque in patients. Furthermore, it was reported that P. gingivalis can promote the progression of atherosclerosis. Elucidating the underlying mechanisms of P. gingivalis in atherosclerosis attracted attention, which is thought to be crucial to the therapy of atherosclerosis. Nevertheless, the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis is much complicated, and many kinds of cells participate in it. By summarizing existing studies, we find that P. gingivalis can influence the function of many cells in atherosclerosis. It can induce the dysfunction of endothelium, promote the formation of foam cells as well as the proliferation and calcification of vascular smooth muscle cells, and lead to the imbalance of regulatory T cells (Tregs) and T helper (Th) cells, ultimately promoting the occurrence and development of atherosclerosis. This article summarizes the specific mechanism of atherosclerosis caused by P. gingivalis. It sorts out the interaction between P. gingivalis and AS-related cells, which provides a new perspective for us to prevent or slow down the occurrence and development of AS by inhibiting periodontal pathogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It introduces the application of the regeneration technology for deteriorated sulfolane in aromat-ics extraction unit. The technology has successfully solved the problems of low pH value of sulfoxide solvent, high chloride content and mechanical impurity plugging equipment. With the help of the technology, the pH value of the solvent is above 7. 5, the concentration of chloridion down from 64 mg/L to 10 mg/L, and the mechanical impurities in sulfolane is filtered. During the operation of the unit, it found this unit can't be used with monoethanolamine at the same time. The skills and precautions in the resin transformation process are summarized, which is of great significance to guide the production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic solvents frequently lead to substantial occupational health issues in secondary industries. This study examined the xylene diffusion process in painting workshops as a case study to develop a control of indoor air quality in manufacturing workshops. Three-dimensional simulations of xylene emission were built based on a ventilated chamber test to provide the source term for the mathematical model. An exponential relationship was established between xylene emissions rates and time. Numerical results obtained using the emissions rate model were more consistent with experimental data than those from constant emission rate. Owing to the property that is denser than air; therefore, given the coupled influence of molecular diffusion, gravity and environmental turbulence, the xylene concentration at a height of 0.75–2.5 m is high, and it could possibly exceed the Chinese standard, GBZ 2.1–2019 permissible concentration time weighted average (PC-TWA) of 50 mg/m3 in human-occupied zones. At the height of the human breathing zone (1.1 m), the aggregated concentration may even exceed the PC-TWA at 450 s by 100 times. Considering that the diffusion of xylene in a painting workshop represents heavy-gas pollutant diffusion problems, this study can be extended to predict pollutant concentration distributions in other secondary industrial workshops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: Expression level of histone deacetylase 5 (HDAC5) is abnormally high in breast cancer, and HDAC5 synergically promotes proliferation and migration of breast cancer cells by cross-talking with LSD1. In this study, the effects of sulforaphane (SFN) on invasion, migration and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of mouse breast cancer 4T1 cells were evaluated, and the role of HDAC5 in the treatment with SFN was observed. Methods: The effects of SFN on proliferation of 4T1 cells was analyzed by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) method. The cytotoxicity of SFN was detected by lactate dehydrogenase release assay. 4T1 cells were transfected with pcDNA3.1(+)-flag-HDAC5 plasmid, and the single cell clone was obtained by G418 screening. Then the monoclonal cell lines with stable high expression of HDAC5 were detected and identified using Western blot. The effects of HDAC5 overexpression and SFN treatment on the migration and invasion of 4T1 cells were analyzed with scratch test and transwell method. The effects of SFN on expressions of EMT markers E-cadherin, N-cadherin, vimentin and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in 4T1 cells were tested using Western blot. The effect of SFN treatment on proliferation and metastasis in xenograft tumor model of 4T1 cells in vivo and the relationship between SFN and HDAC5 expression were observed in BALB/c mice. The Ki-67 proliferative index in xenograft tumor and lung metastatic tumor tissues was detected using immunohistochemical analysis. The heart, liver and kidney tissues of tumor-bearing mice were taken and detected using H-E staining, therefore to evaluate the toxic effects of SFN on tumor-bearing mice. Results: SFN inhibited the proliferation (P<0.01), migration and invasion of 4T1 cells in vitro, and HDAC5 overexpression partially resisted the migration and invasion of 4T1 cells. Data showed that SFN significantly downregulated the expressions of HDAC5, MMP-9, N-cadherin and vimentin in 4T1 cells, while SFN upregulated the expression of E-cadherin. SFN significantly inhibited proliferation and lung metastasis of 4T1 cells in mice, and downregulated HDAC5 expression level and Ki-67 positive rate in tumor tissues. Importantly, HDAC5 overexpression could partially resist the inhibitory effect of SFN on proliferation and lung metastasis of 4T1 cells in mice. SFN had no significant toxicity in tumor-bearing mice. Conclusion: SFN could inhibit the proliferation, invasion and migration of mouse breast cancer 4T1 cells both in vitro and in vivo, and the molecular mechanism is closely related to SFN-induced HDAC5 downregulation and EMT inhibition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxaliplatin‐induced peripheral neuropathy (OIPN) is a common and dose‐limiting toxic effect that markedly limits the use of oxaliplatin and affects the quality of life. Although it is common, the underlying mechanisms of OIPN remain ambiguous. Recent studies have shown that the platinum accumulation in peripheral nervous system, especially in dorsal root ganglion, is a significant mechanism of OIPN. Several specific transporters, including organic cation transporters, high‐affinity copper uptake protein1 (CTR1), ATPase copper transporting alpha (ATP7A) and multidrug and toxin extrusion protein 1 (MATE1), could be associated with this mechanism. This review summarizes the current research progress about the relationship between platinum accumulation and OIPN, as well as suggests trend for the future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Transforming growth factor‐β‐activated kinase 1 (TAK1) plays a key role in regulating fibroblast and myoblast proliferation and differentiation. However, the TAK1 changes associated with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) are poorly understood, and it remains unclear how TAK1 regulation could be exploited to aid the treatment of this disease. Methods: Muscle biopsies were obtained from control donors or DMD patients for diagnosis (n = 6 per group, male, 2–3 years, respectively). Protein expression of phosphorylated TAK1 was measured by western blot and immunofluorescence analysis. In vivo overexpression of TAK1 was performed in skeletal muscle to assess whether TAK1 is sufficient to induce or aggravate atrophy and fibrosis. To explore whether TAK1 inhibition protects against muscle damage, mdx (loss of dystrophin) mice were treated with adeno‐associated virus (AAV)‐short hairpin TAK1 (shTAK1) or NG25 (a TAK1 inhibitor). Serum analysis, skeletal muscle performance and histology, muscle contractile function, and gene and protein expression were performed. Results: We found that TAK1 was activated in the dystrophic muscles of DMD patients (n = 6, +72.2%, P < 0.001), resulting in fibrosis (+65.9% for fibronectin expression, P < 0.001) and loss of muscle fibres (−32.5%, P < 0.01). Moreover, TAK1 was activated by interleukin‐1β, tumour necrosis factor‐α, and transforming growth factor‐β1 (P < 0.01). Overexpression of TAK1 by AAV vectors further aggravated fibrosis (n = 8, +39.6% for hydroxyproline content, P < 0.01) and exacerbated muscle wasting (−31.6%, P < 0.01) in mdx mice; however, these effects were reversed in mdx mice by treatment with AAV‐short hairpin TAK1 (shTAK1) or NG25 (a TAK1 inhibitor). The molecular mechanism underlying these effects may be related to the prevention of TAK1‐mediated transdifferentiation of myoblasts into fibroblasts, thereby reducing fibrosis and increasing myoblast differentiation. Conclusions: Our findings show that TAK1 activation exacerbated fibrosis and muscle degeneration and that TAK1 inhibition can improve whole‐body muscle quality and the function of dystrophic skeletal muscle. Thus, TAK1 inhibition may constitute a novel therapy for DMD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Salidroside, an active ingredient of Rhodiola rosea, exhibits antiproliferative effect in gastric cancer (GC) cells. However, the involvement of salidroside in apoptosis and autophagy of GC cells has not been elucidated. Materials and Methods: Cell viability of BGC-823 cells was assessed by CCK-8 assay, and apoptosis was analyzed with terminal deoxyribonucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling assay and flow cytometry. The apoptosis- and autophagy-associated proteins and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) were determined by Western blot analysis. Autophagy was evaluated by green fluorescent protein-fused LC3 punctate formation. Results: Salidroside inhibited proliferation and promoted apoptosis and autophagy of BGC-823 cells in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, salidroside enhanced the phosphorylation of p38 MAPK, ERK1/2, and JNK. Furthermore, inhibition of MAPKs significantly abolished the effects of salidroside in BGC-823 cells. Conclusion: Salidroside induced apoptosis and autophagy of BGC-823 cells via activation of MAPK signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Periodontitis, a bacterium-induced inflammatory disease that is characterized by alveolar bone loss, is highly prevalent worldwide. Elucidating the underlying mechanisms of alveolar bone loss in periodontitis is crucial for understanding its pathogenesis. Classically, bone cells, such as osteoclasts, osteoblasts and bone marrow stromal cells, are thought to dominate the development of bone destruction in periodontitis. Recently, osteocytes, the cells embedded in the mineral matrix, have gained attention. This review demonstrates the key contributing role of osteocytes in periodontitis, especially in alveolar bone loss. Osteocytes not only initiate physiological bone remodeling but also assist in inflammation-related changes in bone remodeling. The latest evidence suggests that osteocytes are involved in regulating bone anabolism and catabolism in the progression of periodontitis. The altered secretion of receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL), sclerostin and Dickkopf-related protein 1 (DKK1) by osteocytes affects the balance of bone resorption and formation and promotes bone loss. In addition, the accumulation of prematurely senescent and apoptotic osteocytes observed in alveolar bone may exacerbate local destruction. Based on their communication with the bloodstream, it is noteworthy that osteocytes may participate in the interaction between local periodontitis lesions and systemic diseases. Overall, further investigations of osteocytes may provide vital insights that improve our understanding of the pathophysiology of periodontitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) has been becoming a serious public health problem. Pneumonia, occurring in 43% of all ICH patients, is a common complication heavily influencing outcome and accounting for more than 1/3 of the overall mortality in patients with ICH. Ambroxol may be an effective additional treatment for ICH patients with pneumonia. But its effect and potential mechanism on functional recovery post-ICH still remain elusive. In the present study, the results indicated that 35 mg/kg and 70 mg/kg ambroxol facilitated neuronal survival and reduced white matter fiber bundle damage due to mitigating microglial activation and reducing proinflammatory cytokine accumulation in mice with ICH. The possible mechanism might be due to suppressing endoplasmic reticulum stress involving the IRE1α/TRAF2 signaling pathway, which paves a new path for the treatment of ICH and opens a new window for the use of ambroxol in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Curcumol was presented to unleash antitumor effects in a variety of cancers, including gastric cancer. However, the relevance between curcumol and cisplatin resistance in gastric cancer still remains unclear. Therefore, the current research was performed to survey the role of curcumol in cisplatin sensitivity in gastric cancer. Methods: First, BGC‐823 and BGC‐823/DDP cells were incubated with cisplatin for 48 hr and 3‐(4,5‐dimethyl‐2‐thiazolyl)‐2,5‐diphenyl‐2‐H‐tetrazolium bromide (MTT) analysis was applied to determine the inhibition rate of cell proliferation and the half‐maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of cisplatin. In addition, BGC‐823 and BGC‐823/DDP cells were treated with curcumol for 48 hr followed with detection of cell viability and apoptosis using MTT and flow cytometry assay, respectively. Moreover, MTT analysis was applied to test the effects of curcumol on cisplatin sensitivity in gastric cancer cells. Lastly, Western blot assay and qRT‐PCR analysis were utilized to check the functions of curcumol on PI3K/AKT pathway‐related markers. Results: We found that BGC‐823/DDP cells exhibited stronger resistance to cisplatin compared with BGC‐823 cells. Furthermore, curcumol evidently reduced cell proliferation and facilitated cell apoptosis in BGC‐823/DDP and BGC‐823 cells. Moreover, results from MTT assay demonstrated that curcumol notably promoted the suppression effect of cisplatin and decreased the IC50 of cisplatin in BGC‐823/DDP and BGC‐823 cells. It was also presented that curcumol suppressed the PI3K/AKT pathway dose‐dependently in BGC‐823/DDP and BGC‐823 cells. Conclusion: The findings in the current research demonstrated that curcumol could promote the sensitivity of gastric cancer cells to cisplatin‐based chemotherapies via inhibiting the phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase (PI3K)/Protein Kinase B (AKT) pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although neural stem cells (NSCs) could migrate towards lesions after central nervous system (CNS) injury, the migration ability always is restricted due to the disturbed composition and density of the adhesion ligands and extracellular matrix (ECM) gradient after CNS injury. To date, various methods have been developed to enhance NSC migration and a number of factors, which are affecting NSC migration potential, have been identified. Here, primary NSCs were cultured and the expression of actin alpha 2 (ACTA2) in NSCs was determined using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunostaining. Next, the role of ACTA2 in regulating NSC migration and the potential mechanism was explored. Our results demonstrated that ACTA2 expressed in NSCs. Meanwhile, downregulated ACTA2 using siRNA inhibited NSC migration through hindering actin filament polymerization via increasing RhoA expression and decreasing Rac1 expression. The present study might enrich the basic knowledge of ACTA2 in NSC migration and open an avenue for enhancing NSC migration potential, subsequently providing an intervention target for functional recovery after CNS injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]