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Objectives: Wilson disease (WD) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by a mutation in the ATP7B gene. Neurological symptoms are one of the most common symptoms of WD. This study aims to construct a model that can predict the occurrence of neurological symptoms by combining clinical multidimensional indicators with machine learning methods. Methods: The study population consisted of WD patients who received treatment at the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from July 2021 to September 2023 and had a Leipzig score ≤ 4 points. Indicators such as general clinical information, imaging, blood and urine tests, and clinical scale measurements were collected from patients, and machine learning methods were employed to construct a prediction model for neurological symptoms. Additionally, the SHAP method was utilized to analyze clinical information to determine which indicators are associated with neurological symptoms. Results: In this study, 185 patients with WD (of whom 163 had neurological symptoms) were analyzed. It was found that using the eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGB) to predict achieved good performance, with an MCC value of 0.556, ACC value of 0.929, AUROC value of 0.835, and AUPRC value of 0.975. Brainstem damage, blood creatinine (Cr), age, indirect bilirubin (IBIL), and ceruloplasmin (CP) were the top five important predictors. Meanwhile, the presence of brainstemdamage and the higher the values of Cr, Age, and IBIL, the more likely neurological symptoms were to occur, while the lower the CP value, the more likely neurological symptoms were to occur. Conclusions: To sum up, the prediction model constructed using machine learningmethods to predictWD cirrhosis has high accuracy. Themost important indicators in the prediction model were brainstem damage, Cr, age, IBIL, and CP. It provides assistance for clinical decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote sensing image segmentation is a crucial technique in the field of land management. However, existing semantic segmentation networks require a large number of floating-point operations (FLOPs) and have long run times. In this paper, we propose a dual-path feature aggregation network (DPFANet) specifically designed for the low-latency operations required in land management applications. Firstly, we use four sets of spatially separable convolutions with varying dilation rates to extract spatial features. Additionally, we use an improved version of MobileNetV2 to extract semantic features. Furthermore, we use an asymmetric multi-scale fusion module and dual-path feature aggregation module to enhance feature extraction and fusion. Finally, a decoder is constructed to enable progressive up-sampling. Experimental results on the Potsdam data set and the Gaofen image data set (GID) demonstrate that DPFANet achieves overall accuracy of 92.2% and 89.3%, respectively. The FLOPs are 6.72 giga and the number of parameters is 2.067 million. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although the gut microbiota is involved in metabolic disease such as atherosclerosis, the underlying mechanism remains elusive. Paeonol (Pae) is a natural phenolic compound isolated from Cortex Moutan, which exhibits antiatherosclerotic effects. Our previous research demonstrated gut microbiota as a site of Pae action. However, the mechanism by which Pae exerts its antiatherosclerotic effect by the regulation of gut microbiota remains unclear. Objective: To investigate a potential mechanistic link between the gut microbial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation in atherosclerosis progression and explore the possible role of Pae. Methods: Experimental atherosclerosis was established in ApoE-/- mice, and the atherosclerosis mice were treated with Pae for 4 weeks before being sacrificed for analyses while conducting fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). The plaque area, levels of serum LPS, expressions of inflammatory factors in serum or aorta, and intestinal barrier permeability were determined. VSMCs were co-cultured with THP-1 cells. CCK-8 assay and EdU staining were performed to assess the proliferative capacity of VSMCs. Immunofluorescence staining was performed to observe the nuclear transfer of p65. Western blotting was used to detect the candidate protein expression level, and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the mRNA expression level in tissues or cells of each group. Results: During atherosclerosis progression, gut dysbiosis leads to the peripheral accumulation of gut microbial LPS, which acts as a trigger to stimulate osteopontin (OPN) production from circulating monocytes, inducing cell-to-cell crosstalk to promote VSMC proliferation in the aorta. Importantly, the elevation of LPS and OPN concentrations in the blood was also observed in patients with atherosclerosis. Pae could significantly improve atherosclerosis, suppress gut microbial LPS accumulation, and inhibit monocyte/macrophage activation and VSMC proliferation. Conclusions: The present study provides a mechanistic scenario for how longterm stimulation of gut microbial LPS in circulating blood generates a pathological secondary response that leads to abnormal proliferation of VSMCs using high OPN expression in circulating monocytes and suggests a novel strategy for atherosclerosis therapy by remodeling the gut microbiota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC) is one of the most common primary malignant liver tumors worldwide. The RAD52 motif-containing protein 1 (RDM1) has been shown to play a role in mediating DNA damage repair and homologous recombination. The present study was designed to determine the expression of RDM1 and its prognostic value as well as its relationship with immune infiltration in LIHC patients. Methods: Oncomine and Tumor Immunoassay Resource were used to assess the expression of RDM1. PrognoScan and Kaplan–Meier bioinformatics database were used to analyze the impact of clinical influencing factors on prognosis. Finally, the Tumor Immune Assessment Resource (TIMER) and Gene Expression Analysis Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) databases were used to detect the correlation between the expression of RDM1 and expression of marker genes related to immune infiltration. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) method was used to detect the expression level of RDM1 in 90 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma and adjacent normal liver tissues.Results: RDM1 expression was up-regulated in most cancers. The expression of RDM1 was remarkably higher than that of the corresponding normal control genes in LIHC tissues. The increase in RDM1 messenger RNA (mRNA) expression was closely related to the decreases in overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Additionally, the increase in RDM1 mRNA expression was closely related to the infiltration levels of macrophages, CD8+ T cells and B cells and was positively correlated with a variety of immune markers in LIHC. Conclusion: The findings of the present study demonstrate that RDM1 is a potentially valuable prognostic biomarker that can help determine the progression of cancer and is associated with immune cell infiltration in LIHC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A flat-plate ceramic ultrafiltration membrane with high permeability is prepared by a spray-dip coating method and one-step sintering. In the preparation process, the intermediate layer is prepared by spraying directly on the support even if the particle size of the powder is less than the pore size of the support. And then, the top separation layer is prepared by dipping the dried intermediate layer into the suspension and one-step co-sintering. The results show that the ceramic ultrafiltration membrane has an average pore size of 50 nm and a pure water flux of 725.74 L/(m2 h bar). The rejection rate is 98.8% and the stable flux is 180 L/(m2 h bar) in treating the stable 1,000 mg/L oil–water emulsion, which indicates the high permeability in treating oil-containing wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precipitation stable isotopes (2H and 18O) are adequately understood on their climate controls in the Tibetan Plateau, especially the north of Himalayas via about 30 years' studies. However, knowledge of controls on precipitation stable isotopes in Nepal (the south of Himalayas), is still far from sufficient. This study described the intra-seasonal and annual variations of precipitation stable isotopes at Kathmandu, Nepal from 10 May 2016 to 21 September 2018 and analysed the possible controls on precipitation stable isotopes. The enriched dD and d18O values were identified during non-monsoon season and depleted values were found during monsoon season, showing remarkable intra-seasonal characteristics of monsoon influence. The local meteoric water line suggested a strong influence of evaporation during rainfall in non-monsoon season and significant impact of non-equilibrium processes on precipitation during monsoon season. Temperature-dI8O exhibited negative correlation for overall samples and showed no significant correlation in seasonal scales, which was attributed to the influence of monsoon moisture. The positive correlation was observed between d18O and outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) in monsoon season, suggesting the significant impact of convective activity on temporal variations of precipitation stable isotopes. During April, and May of 2016 and 2017, variation of precipitation stable isotopes are probably related with the mixing of multi-moisture combined with the westerlies transport. Our study suggested that the moisture transport processes are the main controls of precipitation stable isotopes at Kathmandu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flat-sheet ceramic membrane without any transition layer was prepared directly applied on the surface of the support layer by a one-step pasting method. The preparation of the different thickness of plastic clay slice as the separation layer is the key point in membrane fabrication. The result shows that the formation of the defect-free ceramic membrane with even pore-size distribution after calcinated at 1,350°C for 2 h. With increasing the thickness of the membrane layer, the average poresize did not change notably. But, the permeability and the largest hole of the membrane decreased gradually. Additionally, the defects of the support had no effect on the performance of the separation layer with the one-step pasting method. Meanwhile, this method can improve the efficiency greatly and save the cost of the production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphate inhibitors added is a method to control iron release from the pipes. This paper studied the effect of different phosphates on controlling iron release in different pipes and different water bodies. A multi-factor fitting method was used to fit a series of models of the iron release rate constant K and the main influencing factors after adding five kinds of phosphates to two different types of iron pipes and two kinds of water, respectively. The inhibition effects of phosphates on iron release were compared according to the predicted values of K under conventional water quality and fluctuating water quality. The results show that Na2HPO4 can inhibit the release of iron with the most extensive application. In a gray iron pipe, turbidity has the greatest impact on K and negative correlation with K. However, in a ductile iron pipe, dissolved oxygen has the same effect on K comparing with turbidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogenous disinfection by-products (N-DBPs) are more genotoxic and cytotoxic than the currently regulated carbonaceous DBPs (i.e., C-DBPs), and it has become a frontier issue of drinking water safety research. In this paper, the effect of granular activated carbon (GAC) on adsorption and its influencing factors was investigated for a typical N-DBP phenylacetonitrile, which is produced during chlorination of phenylalanine precursor during water treatment. The results showed that GAC had a high adsorption capacity (qmax = 22.92 mg/g) for phenylacetonitrile, and the adsorption isotherm was fitted to the Langmuir isotherm model. Pseudo-second-order equation can well describe the behavior of phenylacetonitrile adsorption on activated carbon (R² > 0.990), and the adsorption rate constant k² = 0.7780-14.12 g/(mg h). Analysis of the influencing factors showed that higher phenylacetonitrile concentration improved the adsorption equilibrium capacity and the adsorption rate. Water temperature and pH had little effect on the capacity or rate of adsorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of the UV disinfection combined with chlorination in the inactivation of microorganisms and the formation of trihalomethanes (THMs). Experimental results showed that UV irradiation had obvious advantages in reducing the number of microbial species and community complexity. Under the same initial chlorine concentration, the amount of THMs increased with the UV radiation dose increasing. THMs will be reduced in the UV-chlorine disinfection process compared with the pure chlorine disinfection. In terms of number of surviving microorganisms in water, compared with a single chlorine disinfection, UV irradiation showed a very good disinfection effect. With an average 52.5% decline, the data reflected the sample after UV irradiation in microbial diversity and abundance significantly decreased. the physical and chemical properties of organic matter could be qualitatively and quantitatively described by 3DEEM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For heavily curtailed wind power caused by the coexistence of large-scale wind power and high-penetration combined heat and power (CHP) units, especially during the winter heating period in northern China, the flexible operation of CHP units with the introduction of thermal energy storage (TES) and heating load flexibility is very helpful for reducing wind power curtailment in northern China. Therefore, based on the construction of a two-stage trading mode in the day-ahead market, which consists of the conventional energy market and peak regulation market, a three-level optimization method is proposed for integrating heating loads and storage control through the coordinated operation of CHP units and TES devices and heating load management. Thus, the operation mode of CHP units can be optimized to supply peak regulation capacity for curtailed wind power under a certain agreed peak regulation price. Finally, the typical influence factors, such as the capacity of TES devices, the agreed peak regulation price, and the different operation modes, will be discussed to demonstrate the resulting economic benefit and curtailed wind power consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant carbon (C) content is one of the most important plant traits and is critical in the assessment of global C cycle and ecological stoichiometry. However, the global variation in plant C content remains poorly understood. We conducted a global analysis of the plant C content by synthesizing data from 4318 species to provide specific values of C content and to assess their variation across plant organs and life forms. Our results showed that C content varied markedly across plant organs. Plant organ C content ranged from 45.01 % in reproductive organs to 47.88 % in stems at global scales, which were significantly lower than a canonical value of 50 % that has been widely employed in previous studies. Plant C content in leaves was higher than that in roots. Across life forms, woody plants exhibited higher C content than herbaceous plants. Conifers, relative to broad-leaved woody species, had higher C content in roots, leaves and stems. Plant C content tended to decrease with the increasing latitude. The life form explained more variation of the C content than climate due to plant structural requirements. Our findings suggest that specific C content values from different organs and life forms may be more suitable to evaluate global vegetation C stock and plant ecological stoichiometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Groundwater infiltration through cracked sewer pipes has caused significant economic losses. This paper presents a three-dimensional analytical expression for calculating the steady-state groundwater infiltration rate into sewer systems. As an extension of the previously developed two-dimensional model by the author, this new model can be used to simulate the infiltration through an orifice defect. The derived analytical expression has been validated with experimental results. The new model incorporates all the related resistances during the infiltration process, including the soil head loss and the orifice loss. The soil head loss is assessed with Ergun equation, which involves an inertial loss term in addition to the viscous loss. This has significantly extended the application range of the new expression. A new OS number (the ratio of orifice loss to soil loss) expression is also presented. The order analysis of the OS number expression has demonstrated that in most real cases, the head loss through the soil layer dominates the whole infiltration process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the temporal and spatial variations in the occurrence of major algae and algaerelated taste and odour (T&O) compounds in Qingcaosha Reservoir, China. Water samples were collected monthly from seven sites in the reservoir and analysed using solid phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results showed that green algae were dominant over the 9-month study. In addition, cyanobacteria in the summer and early autumn peaked at 3.2 ~ 9.6 × 106 cell/L. Among the four most common algae-related T&O compounds, dimethyl trisulphide was undetectable at any of the sampling sites, and 2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB), geosmin and β-cyclocitral were frequently over their respective odour threshold levels from August through October. β-cyclocitral concentration was linearly correlated with the concentration of cyanobacteria (R2 = 0.9831). The peak β-cyclocitral concentrations varied from 452 to 1,293 ng/L and were observed close to the water table. In contrast, high concentrations of 2-MIB and geosmin occurred in the water overlying sediments, probably because some of the 2-MIB and geosmin came from the micro-organisms in the sediments. These results provide important information regarding algae and algae-related T&O compounds in a typical reservoir in estuary and coastal areas, and will be helpful for developing appropriate strategies to minimize undesirable T&O issues in water sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Muchang composite intrusion is located about 14 km southeast of the Fengwei town and south of the Baoshan-Zhenkang block. The rift-related intrusion consists of the early-stage riebeckite nordmarkite in the east and west sides and the discontinuous marginal zone, the late-stage main body of dominant riebeckite granite, and minor aegirine granite. Studies on petrological geochemistry and LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating of the late-stage riebeckite granite, origin and evolution of the Muchang alkali granite and the relationship between the granite and the associated skarn-type Luziyuan Pb-Zn deposit are discussed in this paper. The results show that the Muchang alkali granites belong to A-type granites, which are characterized by enrichment in Al2O3, SiO2, total alkali and Fe, depletion in MgO and CaO contents with high FeOT/MgO ratios. The REE concentrations are relatively high, exhibiting highly fractionated LREE patterns with significantly Eu negative anomaly. The Muchang granites are obviously enriched in lithophile elements (e.g., Rb, K, U and Th) and high field strength elements (e.g., Zr, Hf, Nb, Y and Ga) with high 10000×Ga/Al ratios and depleted in Sr, Ba, Ti, Cr and Ni, which are similar to those of the A-type granites and quite different from those of S-type and I-type granites. The LA-ICP-MS zircon dating results of the Muchang granite gave a weighted mean age of 266.2±5.4 Ma (2σ), suggesting that they were formed in the stage of extension at the end of post-collision at Middle Permian and the consumption of Paleo-Tethys ocean took place before 266 Ma. It is suggested that the unexposed intermediate-acid intrusive rocks in the Luziyuan ore district, which is the 'sister' rocks material of the Muchang granites and related closely to Luziyuan Pb-Zn mineralization, were the product of Middle Permian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interpolation error of an optical encoder is largely determined by the imperfections in the electrical signals, such as amplitude error, phase-shift error, DC error and higher harmonic distortion. In this paper, an optimized optical encoder based on generalized grating imaging is presented. We first describe the basic principle and configuration of the optical encoder. To achieve four electrical signals with equal amplitudes, equal DC contents and accurate 90° electrically phase-shift, a photodiodes array is adopted as the photo-detector. The photodiodes array offers the advantage of single-field scanning. Then, to solve the remaining problem of higher harmonic distortion, a slit-width-modulated index grating is proposed to suppress the dominant third order and fifth order harmonics simultaneously, and the cell’s width of the photodiodes array is optimized to further reduce the fifth order harmonic. Experiments have been carried out to verify the theoretical results. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed optimizing methods have been confirmed from the experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]