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The present protocol describes an observational cohort study that was designed to propose a therapeutic scheme and formulate an individualized treatment strategy for frail elderly patients diagnosed with multiple diseases in a Chinese, multicenter setting. Over a 3-year period, we will recruit 30,000 patients from 10 hospitals and collect baseline data including patient demographic information, comorbidity characteristic, FRAIL scale, age-adjusted Charlson comorbidity index (aCCI), relevant blood tests, the results of imaging examination, prescription of drugs, length of hospital stay, number of overall re-hospitalizations and death. Elderly patients (≥ 65 years old) with multimorbidity and receiving hospital care are eligible for this study. Data collection is being performed at baseline and 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after discharge. Our primary analysis was all-cause death, readmission rate and clinical events (including emergency visits, stroke, heart failure, myocardial infarction, tumor, acute chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, etc). The study is approved by the National Key R & D Program of China (2020YFC2004800). Data will be disseminated in manuscripts submitted to medical journals and in abstracts submitted to international geriatric conferences. Clinical Trial Registration: [www.ClinicalTrials.gov], identifier [ChiCTR2200056070].

Leaf pigments are critical indicators of plant photosynthesis, stress, and physiological conditions. Inversion of radiative transfer models (RTMs) is a promising method for robustly retrieving leaf biochemical traits from canopy observations, and adding prior information has been effective in alleviating the "ill-posed" problem, a major challenge in model inversion. Canopy structure parameters, such as leaf area index (LAI) and average leaf inclination angle (ALA), can serve as prior information for leaf pigment retrieval. Using canopy spectra simulated from the PROSAIL model, we estimated the effects of uncertainty in LAI and ALA used as prior information for lookup table-based inversions of leaf chlorophyll (C-ab) and carotenoid (C-ar). The retrieval accuracies of the two pigments were increased by use of the priors of LAI (RMSE of C(ab )from 7.67 to 6.32 mu g cm(2) , C-ar from 2.41 to 2.28 mu g cm(2)) and ALA (RMSE of C-ab from 7.67 to 5.72 mu g cm(2) , C-ar from 2.41 to 2.23 mu g cm(2)). However, this improvement deteriorated with an increase of additive and multiplicative uncertainties, and when 40% and 20% noise was added to LAI and ALA respectively, these priors ceased to increase retrieval accuracy. Validation using an experimental winter wheat dataset also showed that compared with C-ar , the estimation accuracy of C-ab increased more or deteriorated less with uncertainty in prior canopy structure. This study demonstrates possible limitations of using prior information in RTM inversions for retrieval of leaf biochemistry, when large uncertainties are present. (C) 2022 Crop Science Society of China and Institute of Crop Science, CAAS. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.

In this paper we propose a new finite element method for solving elliptic optimal control problems with pointwise state constraints, including the distributed controls and the Dirichlet or Neumann boundary controls. The main idea is to use energy space regularizations in the objective functional, while the equivalent representations of the energy space norms, i.e., the $H^{-1}(\Omega)$-norm for the distributed control, the $H^{1/2}(\Gamma)$-norm for the Dirichlet control and the $H^{-1/2}(\Gamma)$-norm for the Neumann control, enable us to transform the optimal control problem into an elliptic variational inequality involving only the state variable. The elliptic variational inequalities are second order for the three cases, and include additional equality constraints for Dirichlet or Neumann boundary control problems. Standard $C^0$ finite elements can be used to solve the resulted variational inequality. We provide preliminary a priori error estimates for the new algorithm for solving distributed control problems. Extensive numerical experiments are carried out to validate the accuracy of the new algorithm.

The mechanical properties of S32760 duplex stainless steel under dynamic loading conditions at high strain rates are significantly different from those under quasi-static conditions. As a result of large strain, high strain rate, and high temperature, the analysis of the cutting process needs to factor in the influence of the viscous behavior of the material on the plastic deformation process. Based on the viscous effect of the two phases and the mixing rule, a mechanical threshold stress (MTS) constitutive model of S32760 duplex stainless steel considering the viscous effect is established to analyze the effect of strain rate on flow stress. An inverse identification method of the constitutive parameters based on Oxley's theory is proposed. The constitutive parameters of S32760 duplex stainless steel were reversely modified using an equal shear zone model and an orthogonal cutting experiment. The results show that the viscosity of the austenite phase was greater than that of the ferrite phase, and the strain rate had the greatest influence on the viscosity effect in the constitutive model. The prediction error of the constitutive model constructed in this manuscript was less than 4%, which had high accuracy.

Yong Li,1,* Sheng-Chun Fang,2,* Lan Zhou,1 Xue-Mei Mo,3 Hao-Dong Guo,3 Yan-Bo Deng,3 Hong-Hao Yu,1 Wei-Yi Gong3 1College of Biotechnology, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, Guangxi, 541100, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Anesthesiology, Wuhan Children’s Hospital (Wuhan Maternal and Child Healthcare Hospital), Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430015, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Pain Management, Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University, Guilin, Guangxi, 541000, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Hong-Hao Yu, College of Biotechnology, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, Guangxi, 541100, People’s Republic of China, Email geneyhh@126.com Wei-Yi Gong, Department of Pain Management, Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University, Guilin, 541000, Guangxi, People’s Republic of China, Email 942261597@qq.comBackground: Neuropathic pain (NP) after spinal cord injury (SCI-evoked NP) is clinically challenging; the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood, leading to a lack of promising treatment options. NP occurs in only a subset of patients with SCI. The injured spinal cord exhibits a series of histopathological changes, and the complement system has been shown to play an important role in these processes. In addition, NMDA receptor subunit 2B (NR2B) is involved in the development and maintenance of NP. This preliminary study was performed to investigate the correlations of the complement receptor 3/complement component 3 (CR3/C3) pathway and NR2B with SCI-evoked NP.Methods: A trauma-induced SCI animal model was established and SCI-evoked NP was evaluated by behavioural analysis. Transcriptome analysis was performed to identify genes in the CR3/C3 pathway related to synaptic modification, while the expression and distribution of NR2B in the injured spinal cord, and the relation to NP, were examined by immunohistochemical analysis.Results: Nine of seventeen SCI rats (52.9%) developed NP. C3 mRNA expression was significantly decreased in SCI-evoked NP rats and significantly increased in the non-NP SCI rats. C1q mRNA and CR3 mRNA expression were significantly increased in all SCI rats, but higher levels of expression were observed in the non-NP SCI rats. NR2B mRNA expression was significantly increased in the SCI-evoked NP rats and significantly decreased in the non-NP SCI rats. In addition, significantly elevated expression of NR2B-positive cells was seen in lamina II of the superficial dorsal horn in SCI-evoked NP rats in comparison with non-NP SCI rats.Conclusion: NP occurred in only a subset of SCI rats, and the CR3/C3 pathway and NR2B were involved in SCI-evoked NP. Further studies are required to determine the mechanisms underlying the SCI-evoked NP associated with the CR3/C3 pathway and NR2B.Keywords: spinal cord injury, neuropathic pain, complement receptor 3, complement component 3, NMDA receptor 2B subunit

IntroductionCopper (Cu) is an essential trace element for the growth of rabbits. This study aimed to investigate the effects of different Cu sources on intestinal microorganisms and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in growing rabbits.MethodsThe experimental animals were randomly divided into four experimental groups, each group comprised eight replicates, with six rabbits (half male and half female) per replicate. And they were fed diets was composed by mixing the basal diet with 20 mg/kg Cu from one of the two inorganic Cu (cupric sulfate and dicopper chloride trihydroxide) or two organic Cu (cupric citrate and copper glycinate). Cecal contents of four rabbits were collected from four experimental groups for 16S rDNA gene amplification sequencing and gas chromatography analysis.ResultsOur results indicate that the organic Cu groups were less variable than the inorganic Cu groups. Compared with the inorganic Cu groups, the CuCit group had a significantly higher relative abundance of Rikenella Tissierella, Lachnospiraceae_NK3A20_group, Enterococcus, and Paeniclostridium, while the relative abundance of Novosphingobium and Ruminococcus were significantly lower (p 4 and CuCl2 groups. The relative abundance of Rikenella and Turicibacter genera was significantly negatively correlated with the butyric acid level in the CuCit group compared with both inorganic Cu groups. These results revealed that the organic Cu (CuCit) group had an increased abundance of Rikenella, Enterococcus, Lachnospiraceae_NK3A20_group, and Turicibacter genera in the rabbit cecum.DiscussionIn summary, this study found that organic Cu and inorganic Cu sources had different effects on cecal microbiota composition and SCFAs in rabbits. The CuCit group had the unique higher relative abundance of genera Rikenella and Lachnospiraceae_NK3A20_group, which might be beneficial to the lower incidence of diarrhea in rabbits.

The boom of the Internet of Things has revolutionized people's lives, but it has also resulted in massive resource consumption and environmental pollution. Recently, Green IoT (GIoT) has become a worldwide consensus to address this issue. In this paper, we propose EEWScatter, an energy-efficient WiFi backscatter communication system to pursue the goal of GIoT. Unlike previous backscatter systems that solely focus on tags, our approach offers a comprehensive system-wide view on energy conservation. Specifically, we reuse ambient signals as carriers and utilize an ultra-low-power and battery-free design for tag nodes by backscatter. Further, we design a new CRC-based algorithm that enables the demodulation of both ambient and tag data by only a single receiver while using ambient carriers. Such a design eliminates system reliance on redundant transceivers with high power consumption. Results demonstrate that EEWScatter achieves the lowest overall system power consumption and saves at least half of the energy. What's more, the power consumption of our tag is only 1/1000 of that of active radio. We believe that EEWScatter is a critical step towards a sustainable future.

High-dimensional optimization problems are increasingly pervasive in real-world applications nowadays and become harder and harder to optimize due to increasingly interacting variables. To tackle such problems effectively, this paper designs a random elite ensemble learning swarm optimizer (REELSO) by taking inspiration from human observational learning theory. First, this optimizer partitions particles in the current swarm into two exclusive groups: the elite group consisting of the top best particles and the non-elite group containing the rest based on their fitness values. Next, it employs particles in the elite group to build random elite neighbors for each particle in the non-elite group to form a positive learning environment for the non-elite particle to observe. Subsequently, the non-elite particle is updated by cognitively learning from the best elite among the neighbors and collectively learning from all elites in the environment. For one thing, each non-elite particle is directed by superior ones, and thus the convergence of the swarm could be guaranteed. For another, the elite learning environment is randomly formed for each non-elite particle, and hence high swarm diversity could be maintained. Finally, this paper further devises a dynamic partition strategy to divide the swarm into the two groups dynamically during the evolution, so that the swarm gradually changes from exploring the immense solution space to exploiting the found optimal areas without serious diversity loss. With the above mechanisms, the devised REELSO is expected to explore the search space and exploit the found optimal areas properly. Abundant experiments on two popularly used high-dimensional benchmark sets prove that the devised optimizer performs competitively with or even significantly outperforms several state-of-the-art approaches designed for high-dimensional optimization.

Parameter estimation is always a difficult issue for crop model users, and inaccurate parameter values will result in deceptive model predictions. Parameter values may vary with different inversion methods due to equifinality and differences in the estimating processes. Therefore, it is of great importance to evaluate the factors which may influence parameter estimates and to make a comparison of the current widely-used methods. In this study, three popular frequentist methods (SCE-UA, GA and PEST) and two Bayesian-based methods (GLUE and MCMC-AM) were applied to estimate nine cultivar parameters using the ORYZA (v3) Model. The results showed that there were substantial differences between the parameter estimates derived by the different methods, and they had strong effects on model predictions. The parameter estimates given by the frequentist methods were obviously sensitive to initial values, and the extent of the sensitivity varied with algorithms and objective functions. Among the frequentist methods, the SCE-UA was recommended due to the balance between stable convergence and high efficiency. All the parameter estimates remarkably improved the goodness of model-fit, and the parameter estimates derived from the Bayesian-based methods had relatively worse performance compared to the frequentist methods. In particular, the parameter estimates with the highest probability density of posterior distributions derived from the MCMC-AM method (MCMC_Pmax) led to results equivalent to those derived from the frequentist methods, and even better in some situations. Additionally, model accuracy was greatly influenced by the values of phenology parameters in validation.

Hyper-inflammation associated with cytokine storm syndrome causes high mortality in patients with COVID-19. Glucocorticoids, such as methylprednisolone sodium succinate (MPSS), effectively inhibit this inflammatory response. However, frequent and chronic administration of glucocorticoids at high doses leads to hormone dependence and serious side effects. The aim of the present study was to combine nanoparticles with erythrocytes for the targeted delivery of MPSS to the lungs. Chitosan nanoparticles loading MPSS (MPSS-CSNPs) were prepared and adsorbed on the surface of red blood cells (RBC-MPSS-CSNPs) by non-covalent interaction. In vivo pharmacokinetic study indicated that RBC-hitchhiking could significantly reduce the plasma concentration of the drug and prolong the circulation time. The mean residence time (MRT) and area under the curve (AUC) of the RBC-MPSS-CSNPs group were significantly higher than those of the MPSS-CSNPs group and the MPSS injection group. Moreover, in vivo imaging and tissue distribution indicated that RBC-hitchhiking facilitated the accumulation of nanoparticles loading fluorescein in the lung, preventing uptake of these nanoparticles by the liver. Furthermore, compared with the MPSS-CSNPs and MPSS treatment groups, treatment with RBC-MPSS-CSNPs considerably inhibited the production of inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α and IL-6, and consequently attenuated lung injury induced by lipopolysaccharide in rats. Therefore, RBC-hitchhiking is a potentially effective strategy for the delivery of nanoparticles to the lungs for the treatment of acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome., Graphical abstract The study involves preparation of chitosan nanoparticles using the ionotropic-gelation method, which were attached noncovalently to the erythrocytes obtained by centrifugation of the whole blood collected through the abdominal aorta of rats. RBC-hitchhiking facilitated delivery of the chitosan nanoparticles to the lungs to treat inflammation.Unlabelled Image

Additional file 1. Supplementary Material [39].

The aim of this paper is to study the shape optimization method for solving the Bernoulli free boundary problem, a well-known ill-posed problem that seeks the unknown free boundary through Cauchy data. Different formulations have been proposed in the literature that differ in the choice of the objective functional. Specifically, it was shown respectively in [14] and [16] that tracking Neumann data is well-posed but tracking Dirichlet data is not. In this paper we propose a new well-posed objective functional that tracks Dirichlet data at the free boundary. By calculating the Euler derivative and the shape Hessian of the objective functional we show that the new formulation is well-posed, i.e., the shape Hessian is coercive at the minimizers. The coercivity of the shape Hessian may ensure the existence of optimal solutions for the nonlinear Ritz-Galerkin approximation method and its convergence, thus is crucial for the formulation. As a summary, we conclude that tracking Dirichlet or Neumann data in its energy norm is not sufficient, but tracking it in a half an order higher norm will be well-posed. To support our theoretical results we carry out extensive numerical experiments., Comment: 27 pages, 6 figures, 4 tables, 27 references, will be resubmitted

In this paper, we consider the finite element approximation to a parabolic Dirichlet boundary control problem and establish new a priori error estimates. In the temporal semi-discretization we apply the DG(0) method for the state and the variational discretization for the control, and obtain the convergence rates $O(k^{\frac{1}{4}})$ and $O(k^{\frac{3}{4}-\varepsilon})$ $(\varepsilon>0)$ for the control for problems posed on polytopes with $y_0\in L^2(\Omega)$, $y_d\in L^2(I;L^2(\Omega))$ and smooth domains with $y_0\in H^{\frac{1}{2}}(\Omega)$, $y_d\in L^2(I;H^1(\Omega))\cap H^{\frac{1}{2}}(I;L^2(\Omega))$, respectively. In the fully discretization of the optimal control problem posed on polytopal domains, we apply the DG(0)-CG(1) method for the state and the variational discretization approach for the control, and derive the convergence order $O(k^{\frac{1}{4}} +h^{\frac{1}{2}})$, which improves the known results by removing the mesh size condition $k=O(h^2)$ between the space mesh size $h$ and the time step $k$. As a byproduct, we obtain a priori error estimate $O(h+k^{1\over 2})$ for the fully discretization of parabolic equations with inhomogeneous Dirichlet data posed on polytopes, which also improves the known error estimate by removing the above mesh size condition.

a supplement for 482629 and 6297337, including the simulated RRE and further validation for the accuracy

Aerosol-induced cloud radiative forcing (CRF) of tropical deep convective cloud clusters (DCCs) has been considered near zero, where thermal and solar effects offset each other. However, added aerosols lead to DCC invigoration with colder tops, expanded and longer-lived ice-topped anvils, which are known to have positive radiative effects. Here, we present that aerosols simultaneously enhance the expansion and brightening of both DCC and its background water clouds below anvil. A positive DCC forcing emerges over land when using a radiation reference that also includes the underlying water clouds instead of the conventional cloud-free surface. The DCC warming forcing is dominated by aerosol-induced expanded and longer-lived anvils, which partly overlap with the background water clouds below anvils. The DCC CRF over land amounts to 3.2±1.7 W m-2 in the containing domain when the fine aerosol mass concentration doubles, while the value is neutral over ocean (-0.1±1.6 W m-2). Calculating the global aerosol-induced forcing requires climate models. However, the processes that induce positive DCC radiative forcing are not currently represented in numerical weather predictions and climate models. The incorporation of these processes would increase the overall predictions accuracy, and decrease somewhat the climate sensitivity and predicted global warming of greenhouse gases., The 28th IUGG General Assembly (IUGG2023) (Berlin 2023)

BACKGROUND: Haemoglobin drop is common in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients and correlates with poor prognosis. However, the association between mild haemoglobin drop and adverse clinical outcome remains insufficiently investigated. This study aimed to examine the association between in-hospital haemoglobin drop and risk for adverse clinical outcomes in ACS patients, especially those with mild drop. METHODS: Included patients from the BleeMACS (Bleeding complications in a Multicenter registry of patients discharged after an Acute Coronary Syndrome) registry were categorized into three groups by the presence and amount of in-hospital haemoglobin drop (non-drop, mild drop and severe drop). The cut-off point between mild drop and severe drop is ≥ 3 g/dL. Multivariate Cox regression was used to assess the association between haemoglobin drop and major adverse cardiac endpoints (MACE). Patients taking potent P2Y(12) inhibitors were selected for the additional analysis. Propensity score matching was used to avoid selective bias in the additional analysis. RESULTS: Of 6911 patients, 4949 patients (71.6%) experienced in-hospital haemoglobin drop. Compare with non-drop group, patients with haemoglobin drop had higher risk of MACE [adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 1.36, 95% CI: 1.03–1.80 for mild drop group; adjusted HR = 1.70, 95% CI: 1.07–2.68 for severe drop group]. Patients in mild drop group were less likely to receive potent P2Y(12) inhibitors at discharge (mild drop group vs. severe drop group vs. non-drop group: 10.9% vs. 10.7% vs. 23.8%). After propensity score matching adjustment among patients with potent P2Y(12) inhibitors, patients in mild drop group were not associated with an increased risk of MACE than those in non-drop group (adjusted HR = 1.52, 95% CI: 0.49–4.72). CONCLUSIONS: In-hospital haemoglobin drop was common in ACS patients and associated with a higher risk for adverse events. Reduced prescription for potent P2Y(12) inhibitors may be responsible for poor prognoses among patients with mild haemoglobin drop.

Suction caisson foundations are often subjected to vertical pullout loads, where the uplift bearing capacity of caisson is only composed of the internal and external friction and caisson weight under the drainage condition, hence the uplift bearing capacity is usually small. However, there is no corresponding bearing capacity improvement technology research. So a new suction caisson foundation, gravitational reinforced composite suction caisson foundation, is proposed to solve this problem. The uplift bearing capacity of the gravitational reinforced composite suction caisson foundation and the shearing characteristics of caisson-cement soil interface were studied through the model test and pushout test. The test results show that the uplift bearing capacity of the gravitational reinforced composite suction caisson foundation is much higher than the uplift bearing capacity of the traditional suction caisson foundation. And the uplift bearing capacity increases gradually with the increase of additional load and reinforcement range. The interface shear strength of caisson-cement soil will increases with the increase of normal stress and cement penetration ratio. The ring rib width is wider, the area of the shear zone above the ring rib is larger. The bearing capacity composition and the calculation method of the interfacial shear strength are proposed for analyzing the uplift bearing characteristics of the gravitational reinforced composite suction caisson foundation. It can provide a reference for the engineering design of the gravitational reinforced composite suction caisson foundation under vertical load.

The permeability jail refers to a specific water saturation range in a tight gas reservoir, where almost no gas or water phase can flow effectively. In the process of drilling and fracturing, water saturation rises and falls into the permeability jail. To reduce or avoid falling into the permeability jail in the recovery process, a method for measuring gas–water relative permeability of tight sandstone is established here that considers salt sensitivity, gas slippage effect, stress sensitivity, and high bound water saturation. Then, the permeability jail range was determined to provide guidance and suggestions for field application. Considering a typical tight sandstone as an example, the proposed method was used to expand the measurement range of gas–water relative permeability and observe the permeability jail range, laying an experimental foundation for accurately determining the permeability jail range in a given formation. The Byrnes model can preliminarily predict the permeability jail range with accurate bound water saturation and residual gas saturation. When the permeability jail phenomenon occurs in the core, the larger the permeability is, the smaller the permeability jail range will be; and the larger the porosity is, the smaller the permeability jail range will be. When the permeability jail phenomenon occurs in the tight sandstone reservoir, the damage to the reservoir due to external fluid and solid phased particles should be strictly controlled. The damage is stronger, the permeability and porosity decline, and the permeability jail range is wider. Other gases or solvents can be used as fracturing fluids to minimize formation damage.

For carbon dioxide concentration (XCO2) distribution, the improvement of spatial and temporal resolution is very important in some scientific studies (e.g., studies of the carbon cycle and assessment of carbon emissions based on top-down theory). However, carbon sniffing satellites based on passive theory (e.g., Gosat-2, OCO-2, and OCO-3) are susceptible to cloud and aerosol interference when the data are captured. Therefore, the data collected by carbon sniffing satellites have relatively low utilization, especially in some regions where data gaps exist. Here, we present the Carbon Dioxide Coverage (CDC) dataset, an innovative theory to obtain high spatial and temporal resolution maps of XCO2 distribution by combining spatial attributes and extracted temporal attributes from the GOSAT satellite series data. This theory is divided into the following three parts. Firstly, several background values in the raw GOSAT data were removed through data pre-processing, and for spatial attributes, GOSAT satellite data gap areas were filled by combining adjacent GOSAT data and empirical Bayesian kriging (EBK) theory in the study area. Secondly, for the temporal attributes, we constructed a time profile parameter library, based on the GOSAT data of the time series to extract the temporal parameters from a specific formula at each point of the study area. Finally, for the integration of temporal and spatial information, based on the GOSAT satellite data and the populated data based on spatial attributes, we assign the temporal parameter information from the time parameter library to each pixel location in the study area, combining the transfer component analysis (TCA) theory, and then combine the assigned parameters with specific formulas to complete the prediction of XCO2 distribution. For temporal resolution, both the GOSAT_FTS_L3_V2.95 and CDC datasets are monthly-averaged resolution datasets from 2010 to 2020. And for spatial resolution, the CDC dataset is 0.25° resolution with a significant improvement compared to GOSAT_FTS_L3_V2.95 which is 2.5° resolution. And the dataset contained 136 files. Besides, for the data validation part, we used OCO-2 satellite data from 2009 to 2020 and TCCON data at mid and low latitudes, respectively. This CDC dataset and the original data from the TCCON sites were compared on a monthly-averaged scale. And the results showed that R2 was 0.9686, and RMSE was 1.3811 ppm. We also derived statistical monthly averaged XCO2 from OCO-2 data and compared it with the data set from our theory. And our evaluation index R was greater than 0.7, by comparison with OCO-2 during 2014–2020. Finally, to assess the accuracy of the algorithm, we compared the predicted results with the input data for the period of 2009–2020. And the comparison results show that the mean value of R2 is 0.93 and the mean value of RMSE is 0.53 ppm during 2010–2020. Data gaps produced by sniffer satellites are disturbed by factors such as clouds and aerosols and can be filled by this mapping technique is mentioned in this paper. This technique improves the utilization of XCO2 and the accuracy and resolution of the CDC dataset is sufficient for scientific applications. And the CDC dataset is publicly available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.17826404.v4 (Zhang et al., 2022), which is of significance for a multitude of scientific carbon research.

BACKGROUND: As pain is a common symptom following a stroke, pressure pain threshold (PPT) assessment can be used to evaluate pain status or pain sensitivity of patients. However, the reliability of PPT test in stroke patients is still unknown. AIM: To examine the intra- and inter-rater reliability of PPT measurements in poststroke survivors and explore their factors. DESIGN: An observational study. SETTING: The setting of the study is a rehabilitation hospital. POPULATION: The population of the study was represented by a total of 54 patients after stroke. METHODS: The study included 16 measured points on the affected and unaffected sides. PPT was assessed by two raters in turn. Intra- and inter-rater reliability was evaluated by intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). RESULTS: All intra-rater (ICC=0.84-0.97) and inter-rater (ICC=0.83-0.95) reliability for PPT assessment were good or excellent in stroke patients. Of the 16 points, 12 showed higher intra-rater ICC values than inter-rater, whereas no evident difference was observed between the affected and unaffected sides. Furthermore, patients who were male, ischemic, or with higher motor function generally performed higher ICC values than those who were female (24 out of 32 results), hemorrhagic (28 out of 32 results), or mobility dysfunction (26 out of 32 results), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: PPT assessment with good or excellent reliability can be used in stroke patients. Neither of the two sides (affected or unaffected) affects PPT reliability, and intra-rater reliability is better than inter-rater reliability. In addition, gender, stroke type, and motor function can affect the reliability of measuring mechanical pain threshold in poststroke survivors. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT: The pressure algometer can be used as a reliable and portable tool to assess the mechanical pain tolerance and sensory function in stroke patients in clinics.

The quantification of CH4 emissions from coal mines has large uncertainty owing to the lack of effective monitoring methods. In this study, we developed a genetic algorithm–interior point penalty function (GA-IPPF) model to calculate the emission rate of large point sources of CH4 based on concentration sample. This model can provide optimized dispersion parameters and self-calibrate, thus lowering the requirements for auxiliary data accuracy. Meanwhile, we evaluated the influence of multiple parameters on retrieving CH4-emission rate by the GA-IPPF, including the uncertainty of CH4 concentration measurements, the number of CH4 measurements, and the accuracy of meteorological data. Based on the atmospheric CH4 concentration measurements from a UAV-based AirCore system and the GA-IPPF model, we retrieved the CH4-emission rates from the Pniówek coal (Silesia coal mining region mine, Poland) ventilation shaft. Results show that, the CH4 concentrations reconstructed by the model is highly consistent to the measured ones. And the CH4-emission rates are variable even in a single day, ranging from 639.3±22.8 to 1415.5±68.5 kg/hour on August 18, 2017 and from 342.5±34.8 to 1449.8±57.1 kg/hour on August 21, 2017. The combination of the flexible UAV-based AirCore CH4 measurements and the robust GA-IPPF model provides an effective means to quantify CH4 emissions.

Objective To explore the effect of long noncoding RNA cancer susceptibility 2 (lncRNA CASC2) on the sensitivity of glioma cells to temazolamide (TMZ) and investigate the underling mechanism. Methods Forty glioma tissue samples derived from the 40 patients undergoing surgical treatment in our department from July 2018 to March 2020 were enrolled in this study. The expression of lncRNA CASC2 in the glioma tissues was detected with RT-PCR, and the results were analyzed with pathological grades and compared between the patients with isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) 1/2 mutant (n=17) and IDH 1/2 wild type (n=9). Glioma cells U251 were cultured and transfected with plasmid pc-CASC2 to overexpress lncRNA CASC2 and/or interfering RNA of multi-drug resistance protein ABCG2. CCK-8 assay and flow cytometry were used to detect the cell viability and apoptotic rate in above cell groups after 30 μg/mL TMZ treatment. After mouse intracranial glioma model was established, high performance liquid chromatography was adopted to determine the concentration of TMZ. The correlation between lncRNA CASC2 and ABCG2 was detected by immunofluorescence staining and RNA immunoprecipitation. Results LncRNA CASC2 level was decreased in the glioma tissues with IDH 1/2 wild type, and had a negative correlation with pathological grade of glioma. LncRNA CASC2 overexpression resulted in significantly lower IC50 to TMZ (36.7±4.2 μg/mL) than the U251 cells after pc-Null transfection (t=4.41, P < 0.05). Under 30 μg/mL TMZ stimulation, the cell viability was reduced and the proportion of apoptotic cells was increased after lncRNA-CASC2 overexpression. In the mouse intracranial glioma model, the concentration of intracellular TMZ active product was increased after lncRNA-CASC2 overexpression. LncRNA CASC2 and ABCG2 were evenly distributed in the cytoplasm, and RNA immunoprecipitation showed that the content of lncRNA CASC2 in ABCG2 antibody group was higher than that in IgG control group. In addition, down-regulation of intracellular ABCG2 by siRNA decreased the TMZ sensitivity of U251 cells that could enhanced by lncRNA CASC2. Conclusion LncRNA CASC2 improves the sensitivity of glioma U251 cells to TMZ. However, ABCG2 inhibition by siRNA attenuates the above effects of lncRNA CASC2.

Background Somatosensory deficits and abnormal pain sensitivity are highly prevalent among stroke survivors, which negatively impacts their quality of life and recovery process. However, the factors for pressure pain threshold (PPT) and somatosensory abnormalities in post-stroke elderly remain unknown. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of age, side and other functional conditions, such as spasticity and motor functions, on PPT and sensory abnormalities among elderly after stroke. Methods The cross-sectional study finally included 43 post-stroke elderly aged over 60 and assessed the PPT of 14 bilateral muscles widely located in the whole body by using a digital force gage. Meanwhile, spasticity, motor function, joint pain and activity of daily living (ADL) were evaluated by the Modified Ashworth scale, Fugl-Meyer, and Barthel Index, respectively. All participants were divided into higher-aged and lower-aged groups based on the median age of all of them. Results Higher age tended to be associated with higher sensitivity but not significant except for one upper limb muscle, and the affected side showed significantly higher PPTs than the unaffected side in three out of seven muscles (p p p Conclusions The age and side differences of mechanical pain sensitivity were found among post-stroke elderly. Older patients show higher sensitivity in both sides compared with the younger ones, and the affected side of the elder shows more somatosensory abnormalities, particularly hypoalgesia, than that of the younger ones. Post-stroke elderly in good functional conditions, such as normal muscle tone, better physical function and daily activities, and less joint pain, seems to have more equal pain sensitivity between both sides than those in poor conditions.

Purpose: To investigate the effects of zerumbone on cell invasion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and the potential signaling pathway involved in ovarian cancer cells.Methods: Caov-3 cell proliferation was assessed using 3-(4,5)-dimethylthiahiazo (-z-y1)-3,5-diphenytetrazoliumromide (MTT) assay. Wound healing assay was used to determine Caov-3 cell migration while cell invasion was evaluated using Transwell assay. Protein expression was determinedby western blot.Results: Cell viability was reduced by 5, 10, 20, and 50 μM zerumbone (p < 0.05) in a concentrationdependent manner while cell migration and invasion were inhibited by 10 and 20 μM zerumbone (p < 0.05). Protein expression levels of E-cadherin and cytoplasm β-catenin were upregulated by zerumbone (p < 0.05) in a concentration-dependent manner. On the other hand, protein expression levels of Ncadherin, vimentin, ZEB1, nuclear β-catenin, and c-Myc were suppressed by zerumbone (p < 0.05) also in a concentration-dependent manner.Conclusion: The results demonstrate that zerumbone inhibits cell proliferation, migration and invasion, but represses the EMT process via inactivation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Keywords: Zerumbone, Ovarian cancer, Wnt/β-catenin pathway, Epithelial-mesenchymal transition

Crossbreeding capitalizes on heterosis effects and results in increased performance of crossbred animals. Dominance hypothesis and overdominance hypothesis are 2 common models proposed to explain heterosis. Differential gene expression between parents and hybrids is hypothesized to be responsible for heterosis. This study aimed to investigate the heat tolerance and inheritance patterns of leukocyte transcriptomics in F1 hybrid cattle (Angus males × Droughtmaster females) and their parents Red Angus (AN) and Droughtmaster (DR) under heat stress. According to the respiratory rate and heat tolerance coefficient index, DR was better adapted to heat stress than AN. The physiological responses to heat stress of F1 hybrids were similar to AN. We identified 802 differentially expressed genes in leukocytes between AN and DR under heat stress using mRNA sequencing. Compared with AN, upregulated genes in DR were enriched in biological processes of response to stress, external and chemical stimulus, and cytokine, cell surface receptor signaling pathway, and cardiovascular system development. In contrast, upregulated genes in AN were enriched in B cell activation and regulation of B cell activation. Gene expression levels can be inherited additively or nonadditively and are classified into additive (35%), dominance (44%), and overdominance and underdominance (18%) modes in F1 hybrids and their parents. Inheritance patterns of gene expression showed that 97% (249/255) of the dominant genes were classified as paternal AN dominant in hybrids. The paternal imprinted PEG10 gene and its regulatory transcription factor MYC showed an AN dominant expression pattern. The MYC interacted with most AN dominant genes. These transcriptomic analyses revealed that DR and AN had specific cellular and humoral immunity and cardiovascular systems development function under heat stress. Inheritance pattern analyses from gene expression partly explained phenotypic differences between parents and F1 hybrids. The paternal imprinted PEG10 gene interaction with transcription factor MYC may contribute to explaining paternal dominant gene expression in hybrids.

Changes of total nitrogen (TN), organic matter, microbial metabolic activity, aerobic denitrifying bacteria and aerobic denitrifying genes (nirS and nirK) in water and surface sediments under mixing aeration were studied in Heihe Jinpen Reservoir. Results showed that compared with the control area, the total nitrogen concentration of water and surface sediments in the enhanced area decreased by 29.7%~49.2% and 17.9%. Metabolic activity of microorganisms increased by more than 14%, the utilization rate of carbon source increased by 30% and the McIntosh diversity index of microorganisms increased by 20%. The number of aerobic denitrifiers and genes of aerobic denitrifiers was also increased by 20%. Illumina high-throughput DNA sequencing results showed that the proportion of aerobic denitrifiers such as Acidovorax increased from 0.01% to 0.15%, showing an increase of 15 times. The production practice showed that mixed aeration can improve the metabolic activity and denitrification characteristics of indigenous aerobic denitrifiers, providing theoretical support and technical guarantee for denitrification and carbon removal of slightly polluted source water.

Background G protein-gated inwardly rectifying potassium (GIRK) channels are involved in the regulation of neuronal excitability. Four GIRK subunits (GIRK1-4) are expressed in rat dorsal root ganglia (DRGs). Recently, we have characterized the expression of GIRK1 and -2, and both are downregulated in rat DRGs and spinal cord after a complete sciatic nerve transection (axotomy). Here, we aimed to study the neurochemical characteristics of GIRK3, and its regulation in rat DRGs and spinal cord induced by nerve injury. Methods A sciatic nerve axotomy was performed to study the influences of injury on GIRK3 expression in DRGs and spinal cord. A dorsal root rhizotomy and a sciatic nerve crush were employed to study the axonal transport of GIRK3 protein, respectively. Immunohistochemistry analysis was employed for investigating the neurochemical characteristics of GIRK3. Results In control DRGs, ~18% of neuron profiles (NPs) were GIRK3-positive (+), and ~41%, ~48% and ~45% of GIRK3+ NPs were CGRP+, IB4+ and NF200+, respectively. GIRK3-like immunoreactivity was observed in glabrous skin of hind paws and axons originating from DRG neurons. Fourteen days after axotomy, more than one-third of DRG NPs were GIRK3+, and among these ~51% and ~56% coexpressed galanin and neuropeptide Y, respectively. In control animals, a small group of interneurons found in the dorsal horn was GIRK3+. In addition, GIRK3+ processes could be observed in superficial laminae of spinal dorsal horn. After nerve injury, the intensity of GIRK3-like immunoreactivity in the superficial layers was increased. Evidence based on rhizotomy and sciatic nerve crush indicated both anterograde and retrograde transport of GIRK3. Conclusion Our study demonstrates that GIRK3 is expressed in sensory neurons and spinal cord. GIRK3 has both anterograde and retrograde axonal transport. GIRK3 expression can be regulated by peripheral nerve injury.

Purpose To compare renal sinus fat volume (RSFV) separately within the right and left kidneys between bilateral nephrolithiasis patients and healthy controls. Methods This cross-sectional study analyzed patients who underwent unenhanced abdominal computed tomography (CT) divided into nephrolithiasis (n = 102) and healthy control (n = 130) groups. Age, sex, blood pressure [systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP)], estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), body weight, and height of each participant were extracted. Volumetric renal sinus adipose tissue was measured separately for both kidneys on CT images. Urea, serum creatinine (Scr), uric acid (UA), total serum cholesterol (TCH), serum triglyceride (TG), and serum high- and low-density lipoprotein (HDL and LDL, respectively) cholesterol levels were obtained. Results Overall, 232 participants (mean age 47 years, 50% women) were enrolled. There were no differences in sex, DBP, urea, and LDL-cholesterol between the two groups (all p > 0.05). However, nephrolithiasis patients had higher age, BMI, SBP, and RSFV; higher Scr, UA, TCH, and TG serum levels; and lower HDL-cholesterol level and eGFR. Average left RSFV was significantly higher than right RSFV in healthy controls (4.56 ± 2.29 versus 3.34 ± 1.90 cm3, p Conclusions Our data showed renal sinus adipose tissue accumulation and the relationship among RSFV, age, BMI, and LDL-cholesterol in bilateral nephrolithiasis patients.

In this paper we analyze the Schwarz alternating method for unconstrained elliptic optimal control problems. We discuss the convergence properties of the method in the continuous case first and then apply the arguments to the finite difference discretization case. In both cases, we prove that the Schwarz alternating method is convergent if its counterpart for an elliptic equation is convergent. Meanwhile, the convergence rate of the method for the elliptic equation under the maximum norm also gives a uniform upper bound (with respect to the regularization parameter $\alpha$) of the convergence rate of the method for the optimal control problem under the maximum norm of proper error merit functions in the continuous case or vectors in the discrete case. Our numerical results corroborate our theoretical results and show that with $\alpha$ decreasing to zero, the method will converge faster. We also give some exposition of this phenomenon.

Supplemental Material for Shared and specific biological signalling pathways for diabetic retinopathy, peripheral neuropathy and nephropathy by high-throughput sequencing analysis by Zhu Hui, Yan-ming Chen, Wei-kun Gong, Jing-bo Lai, Bin-bin Yao, Zhi-jia Zhao, Qin-kang Lu, Ke Ye, Lin-dan Ji, and Jin Xu in Diabetes and Vascular Disease Research

Figures S1 to S3 and tables S1 to S3

Additional file 4: Table S1. Sequence information of primers used in RT-qPCR assay.

Supplementary materials

Additional file 1.

Additional file 1: Table S1. Logistic regression analysis of specific organ failures in patients with AP and serum SF levels. Table S2. Comparison of Clinical characteristics and outcomes between AP patients according to the cut-off value of SF level.

Microglia are the brain's primary innate immune cells, and they are activated and affect pro-inflammatory phenotype or regulatory phenotype after ischemic stroke. Vagus nerve stimulation was shown to activate microglial phenotypic changes and exhibit neuroprotective effects in ischemia/reperfusion injury. In this study, we established rat models of ischemic stroke by occlusion of the middle cerebral artery and performed vagus nerve stimulation 30 minutes after modeling. We found that vagus nerve stimulation caused a shift from a pro-inflammatory phenotype to a regulatory phenotype in microglia in the ischemic penumbra. Vagus nerve stimulation decreased the levels of pro-inflammatory phenotype markers inducible nitric oxide synthase and tumor necrosis factor α and increased the expression of regulatory phenotype markers arginase 1 and transforming growth factor β through activating α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor expression. Additionally, α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor blockade reduced the inhibition of Toll-like receptor 4/nuclear factor kappa-B pathway-associated proteins, including Toll-like receptor 4, myeloid differentiation factor 88, I kappa B alpha, and phosphorylated-I kappa B alpha, and also weakened the neuroprotective effects of vagus nerve stimulation in ischemic stroke. Vagus nerve stimulation inhibited Toll-like receptor 4/nuclear factor kappa-B expression through activating α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor and regulated microglial polarization after ischemic stroke, thereby playing a role in the treatment of ischemic stroke. Findings from this study confirm the mechanism underlying vagus nerve stimulation against ischemic stroke.

Recent advances in backscatter open a promising direction for ultra-low power communication. However, the state-of-art ZigBee backscatter system, Interscatter, has several drawbacks to deploy. Its backscatter tag and exciting source, Bluetooth, can hardly decode packets from other ZigBee nodes, which left Interscatter one-way communication. Besides, it adopts instantaneous phase change to modulate information, producing obvious sidelobes and interfering devices working on neighboring channels severely. To address the problems mentioned above, we introduce Homoscatter, a novel ZigBee backscatter system that adopts specific ZigBee devices to generate a single tone and leverages continuous phase change to modulate information, which eliminates spectral leakage. It also does codeword translation on the packet header of exciting packets, improving the utilization of ambient signal. The prototype of Homoscatter consists of a microchip radio, a backscatter tag, and a commodity receiver. The evaluations show that the occupied bandwidth of Homoscatter achieves 3x smaller than Interscatter. When the channel capacity is 17.5 kbps, the continuous phase change modulation achieves 13 kbps with the codeword translation on the excitation header. Based on the widely spread IoT devices, Homoscatter is a practical way to build an efficient connection between IoT devices., This article has very many grammatical errors, plus its logic needs to be reorganized to avoid creating a reading barrier for the reader. We withdraw this article and intend to reorganize the work

N6-methyladenosine (m

To explore whether resveratrol dependents on the production of suppressor of cytokine signaling suppressor 3 (SOCS-3) in inhibiting mRNA production of macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2) in osteoblasts induced by lipopolysaccharides(LPS) extracted from Porphyromonas endodontalis(P.e).MC3T3-E1 cells were treated with different concentrations of resveratrol (0, 5, 10 and 20 μmol/L) and 20 μmol/L resveratrol for different time( 0, 10, 30, 60, 120 and 180 min). The expression of SOCS-3 protein was detected by Western blot. MC3T3-E1 cells were transfected with mouse SOCS3 siRNA (si-SOCS-3) and control siRNA(si-control). Reverse transcription real-time PCR(real-time RT-PCR) and Western blot was used to detect the silencing efficiency of SOCS-3. Cells were stimulated by 20 μg/mL P.e-LPS for 24 h after transfection, in the absence or presence of 20 μmol/L resveratrol for 1 h , and the changes of MIP-2 mRNA were determined by real-time RT-PCR. Statistical analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA and Dunnett t test with SPSS 13.0 software package.Treatment of MC3T3-El cells with different concentrations of resveratrol caused a significant increase in SOCS-3 protein expression in a dose-dependent manner. During the observation time of 180 min, SOCS-3 protein expression was the highest at 20 μmol/L resveratrol-treated osteoblasts for 60 min. The silencing efficiency of SOCS-3 mRNA was 63.7%. Transfection with SOCS-3 siRNA increased MIP-2 mRNA expression in LPS-stimulated MC3T3-E1 cells and negated the inhibitory effects of resveratrol on LPS-induced MIP-2 mRNA expression(P0.05).Resveratrol inhibits the expression of MIP-2 mRNA in osteoblasts induced by P.e-LPS by up-regulating the expression of SOCS-3 protein.