Search

Millimeter wave radar can measure distances, directions, and Doppler velocity for objects in harsh conditions such as fog. The 4D imaging radar with both vertical and horizontal data resembling an image can also measure objects' height. Previous studies have used 3D radars for ego-motion estimation. But few methods leveraged the rich data of imaging radars, and they usually omitted the mapping aspect, thus leading to inferior odometry accuracy. This paper presents a real-time imaging radar inertial odometry and mapping method, iRIOM, based on the submap concept. To deal with moving objects and multipath reflections, we use the graduated non-convexity method to robustly and efficiently estimate ego-velocity from a single scan. To measure the agreement between sparse non-repetitive radar scan points and submap points, the distribution-to-multi-distribution distance for matches is adopted. The ego-velocity, scan-to-submap matches are fused with the 6D inertial data by an iterative extended Kalman filter to get the platform's 3D position and orientation. A loop closure module is also developed to curb the odometry module's drift. To our knowledge, iRIOM based on the two modules is the first 4D radar inertial SLAM system. On our and third-party data, we show iRIOM's favorable odometry accuracy and mapping consistency against the FastLIO-SLAM and the EKFRIO. Also, the ablation study reveal the benefit of inertial data versus the constant velocity model, and scan-to-submap matching versus scan-to-scan matching., Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, 4 tables, the proofread version will appear on RA-L soon

BACKGROUND: Diaphragmatic electromyographic (EMGdi) is a helpful method to reflect the respiratory center’s activity visually. However, the electrocardiogram (ECG) severely affected its weakness, limiting its use. OBJECTIVE: To remove the ECG artifact from the EMGdi, we designed a Morphological ECG subtraction method (MES) based on three steps: 1) ECG localization, 2) morphological tracking, and 3) ECG subtractor. METHODS: We evaluated the MES method against the wavelet-based dual-threshold and stationary wavelet filters using visual and frequency-domain characteristics (median frequency and power ratio). RESULTS: The results show that the MES method can preserve the features of the original diaphragm signal for both surface diaphragm signal (SEMGdi) and clinical collection of diaphragm signal (EMGdi_clinic), and it is more effective than the wavelet-based dual-threshold and stationary wavelet filtering methods. CONCLUSION: The MES method is more effective than other methods. This technique may improve respiratory monitoring and assisted ventilation in patients with respiratory diseases.

X-ray optics with good focusing ability and high spectral resolution are required in X-ray spectroscopy for the diagnosis of high temperature and density plasmas. In our study, a novel X-ray spectrometer is developed to provide the ability to record spectra with excellent focusing performance and high energy resolution. It is accomplished by using a continuously conical crystal (CCC) that is formed by circles with different curvatures. In this paper, we present the foundational work of the design and development of continuously conical crystal spectrometer (CCCS) along with initial results obtained with a titanium (Ti) target as the object source. First, the spectrometer based on such a continuously conical crystal is used to measure X-ray spectra on Ti target X-ray Tube device. The spectral resolution (λ/Δλ) is around 615 with the source size of 1 mm. Then, we test the capability of the spectrometer on Xingguang-III Laser Facility with Ti target. He-like and Li-like Ti lines are recorded based on which the spectrometer performance is evaluated. The experiment result shows that the spectrometer provides a high spectral resolving power up to 1000, while acquiring a one-dimensional image of the source.

Background: Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is a severe neurological demyelinating autoimmune disease affecting the optic nerves and spinal cord. The binding of neuromyelitis optica immunoglobulin G (NMO- IgG) and aquaporin-4 (AQP4) on the surface of astrocytes in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid is the main pathogenesis of NMO. Currently, therapeutic strategies for NMO include a reduction of the secondary inflammation response and the number of NMO-IgG, which can only alleviate clinical symptoms rather than fundamentally preventing a series of pathological processes caused by NMO-IgG binding to AQP4. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the blocking effect of melanthioidine on the binding of NMO-IgG to AQP4 and its potential cytotoxicity. Methods: The current study developed a cell-based high-throughput screening approach to identify a molecular blocker of NMO-IgG binding to AQP4 using the Chinese hamster lung fibroblast (V79) cells expressing M23- AQP4. By screening ~400 small molecules, we identified melanthioidine with blocking effects without affecting AQP4 expression or its water permeability. Results: Melanthioidine effectively blocked the binding of NMO-IgG to AQP4 in immunofluorescence assays and reduced complement-dependent cytotoxicity against both NMO-IgG/complement-treated Fischer rat thyroid- AQP4 cells and primary astrocytes. The docking computations identified the putative sites of blocker binding at the extracellular surface of AQP4. Conclusion: This study serves as proof of a potential NMO therapy by using a small-molecule blocker to target NMO pathogenesis.

Intestinal organoid may serve as an alternative model for toxicity testing. However, the linkage between specific morphological alterations in organoids and chemical-induced toxicity has yet to be defined. Here, we generated C57BL/6 mouse intestinal organoids and conducted a morphology-based analysis on chemical-induced toxicity. Alterations in morphology were characterized by large spheroids, hyperplastic organoids, small spheroids, and protrusion-loss organoids, which responded in a concentration-dependent manner to the treatment of four metal(loid)s including cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), hexavalent chromium (Cr-VI), and inorganic trivalent arsenic (iAs-III). Notably, alterations in organoid morphology characterized by abnormal morphology rate were correlated with specific intestinal toxic effects, including reduction in cell viability and differentiation, induction of apoptosis, dysfunction of mucus production, and damage to epithelial barrier upon repeated administration. The benchmark dose (BMDL(10)) values of morphological alterations (0.007–0.195 μM) were lower than those of conventional bioassays (0.010–0.907 μM). We also established that the morphologic features of organoids upon Cd, Pb, Cr-VI, or iAs-III treatment were metal specific, and mediated by Wnt, bone morphogenetic protein, apoptosis induction, and Notch signaling pathways, respectively. Collectively, these findings provide novel insights into the relevance of morphological alterations in organoids to specific toxic endpoints and identify specific morphological alterations as potential indicators of enterotoxicity.

Background Recalibration using serum pools assigned by higher-order reference methods had been demonstrated to be effective in improving the agreement among insulin immunoassays. To promote the application of serum pools in insulin harmonization, this study analyzed serum pools’ commutability between insulin immunoassays, and their short- and long-term stability at different temperatures. The agreement between commonly used immunoassays was also evaluated. Methods Insulin in 69 individual serum samples, 10 serum pools, and three EQA samples (lyophilized powder of serum pools) were detected by six widely used immunoassays. The commutability of serum pools and EQA samples was evaluated according to the IFCC-recommended approach. Serum pools’ stability at different temperatures was investigated by placing them at various temperatures for varying lengths of time. Individual serum samples’ results were analyzed using the Bland–Altman and Passing and Bablok regression analyses. Results Serum pools were commutable among most assays, the EQA samples—lyophilized serum pools—were non-commutable among most assays. Serum pools can be stably stored at −20°C and −80°C for at least one year, but can only be stably stored at room temperature for twenty-four hours. Significant relative differences were observed among assays. Recalibration using serum pools can only improve the assays’ agreement at middle and high insulin levels, but not at low levels. Conclusions Serum pools were commutable and stable for insulin measurement and can be used in insulin harmonization. The existing EQA materials were non-commutable between most assays, and other EQA materials, such as serum pools, should be studied.

ImportanceMild thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) negatively impacts quality of life, yet no clinical guidelines for its treatment are available. Existing evidence supports the use of doxycycline in treating mild TAO.ObjectiveTo evaluate the short-term (12 weeks) efficacy of doxycycline in treating mild TAO.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsIn this placebo-controlled multicenter randomized double-masked trial, 148 patients were assessed for eligibility. After exclusions (patients who were pregnant or lactating, had an allergy to tetracyclines, or had uncontrolled systematic diseases), 100 patients with mild TAO (orbital soft tissue affected mildly) at 5 centers in China were enrolled from July 2013 to December 2019 and monitored for 12 weeks.InterventionsParticipants were randomly assigned 1:1 to receive doxycycline (50 mg) or placebo once daily for 12 weeks.Main Outcomes and MeasuresThe primary outcome was the rate of improvement at 12 weeks compared with baseline assessed by a composite indicator of eyelid aperture (reduction ≥2 mm), proptosis (reduction ≥2 mm), ocular motility (increase ≥8°), and Graves ophthalmopathy-specific quality-of-life (GO-QOL) scale score (increase ≥6 points). Adverse events were recorded.ResultsA total of 50 participants were assigned to doxycycline and 50 to placebo. The mean (SD) age was 36.7 (9.1) years; 75 participants (75.0%) were female and 100 (100.0%) were Asian. Medication compliance was checked during participant interviews and by counting excess tablets. At week 12, the improvement rate was 38.0% (19 of 50) in the doxycycline group and 16.0% (8 of 50) in the placebo group (difference, 22.0%; 95% CI, 5.0-39.0; P = .01) in the intention-to-treat population. The per-protocol sensitivity analysis showed similar results (39.6% [19 of 48] vs 16.0% [8 of 50]; difference, 23.6%; 95% CI, 6.4-40.8; P = .009). No adverse events other than 1 case of mild gastric acid regurgitation was recorded in either group.Conclusions and RelevanceThe results of this study indicate that oral doxycycline, 50 mg daily, resulted in greater improvement of TAO-related symptoms at 12 weeks compared with placebo in patients with mild TAO. These findings support the consideration of doxycycline for mild TAO but should be tempered by recognizing the relatively short follow-up and the size of the cohort.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02203682

Microphthalmia transcription factor (MITF) regulates melanocyte development and is the "lineage-specific survival" oncogene of melanoma. MITF is essential for melanoma initiation, progression, and relapse and has been considered an important therapeutic target; however, direct inhibition of MITF through small molecules is considered impossible, due to the absence of a ligand-binding pocket for drug design. Here, our structural analyses show that the structure of MITF is hyperdynamic because of its out-of-register leucine zipper with a 3-residue insertion. The dynamic MITF is highly vulnerable to dimer-disrupting mutations, as we observed that MITF loss-of-function mutations in human Waardenburg syndrome type 2 A are frequently located on the dimer interface and disrupt the dimer forming ability accordingly. These observations suggest a unique opportunity to inhibit MITF with small molecules capable of disrupting the MITF dimer. From a high throughput screening against 654,650 compounds, we discovered compound TT-012, which specifically binds to dynamic MITF and destroys the latter's dimer formation and DNA-binding ability. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation assay and RNA sequencing, we showed that TT-012 inhibits the transcriptional activity of MITF in B16F10 melanoma cells. In addition, TT-012 inhibits the growth of high-MITF melanoma cells, and inhibits the tumor growth and metastasis with tolerable toxicity to liver and immune cells in animal models. Together, this study demonstrates a unique hyperdynamic dimer interface in melanoma oncoprotein MITF, and reveals a novel approach to therapeutically suppress MITF activity.

A viable anode of atomic Sb with a super-coordinated O2Sb1N4 structure anchored on N-doped micropore carbon nanosheets (O–Sb–N SA@NC) is developed, demonstrating significantly enhanced performance in both half and full potassium-ion batteries.

Two fully non-fused electron acceptors based on terthiophene have been synthesized and a PCE of 11.2% is achieved.

One-pot fabrication of pectin-based biopolymer nanoparticles with tailorable versatility through aqueous solvent/non-solvent switching-induced nanoprecipitation is reported in this paper.

Previously, we have demonstrated ID1/Myc signaling is highly expressed in oxaliplatin-resistant hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study sought to investigate the role of ID1/Myc signaling on immune evasion in oxaliplatin-resistant HCC.The oxaliplatin-resistant hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines (Hepa 1-6-OXA, 97H-OXA and 3B-OXA) were established and their oxaliplatin tolerance was confirmed in vitro and in vivo. The relationship between ID1/Myc and PD-L1 upregulation, polymorphonuclear myeloid-derived suppressor cells (PMN-MDSCs) accumulation was explored. The underlying mechanism in which ID1/Myc signaling regulated PD-L1 expression and PMN-MDSCs accumulation was investigated in vitro and vivo.Increased ID1/Myc expressions were identified in oxaliplatin-resistant HCC and correlate with PD-L1 upregulation and PMN-MDSCs accumulation. The knockdown of Myc sensitized oxaliplatin-resistant HCC cells to oxaliplatin and resulted in a decrease of PMN-MDSCs and an increase of IFN-γID1/Myc signaling drives immune evasion in oxaliplatin-resistant HCC via PD-L1 upregulation and PMN-MDSCs recruitment. Blocking the ID1/Myc induced immune tolerance represents a promising treatment target to conquer chemoresistance in HCC.

The corresponding relationships between temperature, precipitation, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentration in a typical ombrotrophic peatland in Dajiuhu, Shennongjia, were quantitatively characterized by field sampling tests validated with simulation experiments. The PAH concentrations of peat cores in Dajiuhu peatland ranged from 262 to 977 ng·g

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-binding cassette (ABC) transporters play an important role in the response to methotrexate (MTX). In this study, we investigated the frequency distribution of three splicing-regulatory polymorphisms in ABC transporters (ABCC2 rs2273697 GA, ABCG2 rs2231142 GT, and ABCB1 rs1128503 AG) and their effects on MTX concentrations and the clinical outcome in a Chinese pediatric population with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).A fluorescence polarization immunoassay was used to measure the serum MTX concentrations in 24 h (CThe study population had significantly lower frequencies of ABCC2 rs2273697 A, ABCG2 rs2231142 G, and ABCB1 rs1128503 G than African and European samples (P 0.05). The dose-normalized MTX concentrations after 24 h and the proportion of CIn conclusion, our study confirmed the ethnicity-based differences in the distribution of the three investigated SNPs. The ABCG2 rs2231142 polymorphism exerted a significant effect on the level of MTX exposure. These findings may help explain the variability in MTX responses and optimize MTX treatment in pediatric patients with ALL.

Covid-19 has been spreading throughout the world, having a significant impact on people’s lives. Many countries have used quarantine policies to effectively limit the spread of disease. However, each coin has two sides. This policy is expected to have an adverse effect on people’s psychological health because it isolates them at home. This paper aims to review studies on how this policy has caused depression and anxiety in various countries. Most countries conduct surveys to assess participants’ mental health. The findings show that depression and anxiety are positively related to COVID-19 and different demographic groups feel negative emotions to a varying degree during the quarantine period. At last, it is important to take into account how proper governmental actions, social assistance, and self-help techniques can assist people to cope with unpleasant feelings.

BACKGROUND: Arteriosclerosis is one of the diseases that endanger human health. There is a large amount of information in pulse wave signals to reflect the degree of arteriosclerosis. OBJECTIVE: The degree of arteriosclerosis is assessed by analyzing pulse wave signal and calculating multi-scale entropy values. METHODS: A method based on the multiscale cross-approximate entropy of the pulse wave of the human finger is proposed to assess the degree of arteriosclerosis. A total of 86 subjects were divided into three groups. The data of 1000 pulse cycles were selected in the experiment, and the multiscale cross-approximate entropy was calculated for the climb time and pulse wave peak interval. Independent sample t-test analysis gives the small-scale cross-approximate entropy of the two time series of climb time and pulse wave peak interval as p< 0.001 in Groups 1 and 2. The large-scale cross-approximate entropy of the two time series of climb time and pulse wave peak interval is p< 0.017 in Groups 2 and 3. RESULTS: Using the proposed algorithm, the results showed that the small-scale cross-approximate entropy of climb time and pulse wave peak interval could reflect the degree of arteriosclerosis in the human body from the perspective of autonomic nerve function. The large-scale cross-approximate entropy of climb time and pulse wave peak interval confirmed the effect of diabetes on the degree of arteriosclerosis. CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrate the multiscale cross-approximate entropy is a comprehensive index to evaluate the degree of human arteriosclerosis.

Phosphor-converted white light-emitting diodes (pc-wLEDs) are promising candidates for next-generation solid-state lighting and display technologies. However, most of the conventional phosphors in pc-wLED devices suffer from serious thermal quenching (TQ) at high temperatures. Herein, we investigate an unconventional high-efficiency metal-halide cluster-based phosphor with dynamic Cu-Cu interactions that can resist the TQ effect of photoluminescence. The temperature-dependent structure and solid-state and