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Background: Postoperative delirium (POD) is a common clinical complication in elderly patients after surgery and predicts poor outcomes. Aim: We researched whether postoperative infusion of dexmedetomidine (DEX) had prophylactic effect on POD in elderly patients. Methods: A total of 236 patients over the age of 60 years undergoing thoracoabdominal tumor surgery were enrolled in Zhejiang Cancer Hospital from November 2016 to October 2020. The patients were randomly assigned into DEX group (group D) and control group (Group C). DEX was provided via PCIA pump 1–3 days after surgery, which consisted of 3 ug/kg sufentanil and 3 ug/kg DEX in group D, and 3 ug/kg sufentanil without DEX in group C. The PCIA parameters were programmed as follows: total amount 150 ml, 2 ml bolus dose with a lock-out of 10 min and background infusion rate 2 ml/h. The primary endpoint was the incidence of POD, assessed twice daily within 7 days after surgery by Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale (RASS) and the Confusion Assessment Method–Intensive Care Unit (CAM-ICU). The secondary endpoint was postoperative hospitalization days, ICU stay time, adverse events and non-delirium complications. Results: The incidence of POD in all patients was 7%. The incidence of POD in group C was significantly higher than that in group D (10.1% vs 3.4%, P = 0.042). There were no significant differences in length of hospital stay after operation, ICU stay time, the percentage of patients discharged within 7 days after surgery, non-delirium complications, and 30-day all-cause deaths between the two groups. The incidence of hypertension in group D was lower than that in group C (P = 0.003), and there were no differences in other adverse events. Conclusion: Patients aged over 60 years received DEX in addition to intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (PCIA) for major thoracoabdominal surgery experienced less delirium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays customers would make decisions by reading online reviews and comparing differences in restaurants before visiting. Therefore how restaurants take advantage from such information is important to attract customers and stay competitive. Many researchers believe that increasing business performance could improve competitiveness. However, with changing customer requirements and business environment, it is challenging to understand which attributes matter the most to customers and how to improve considering competitors. Therefore this study proposed assessing restaurant competitiveness using online reviews. After crawling 38,479 online reviews employing Python, deep learning-based BERT is developed to measure attribute performance and understand the competitiveness through McKinsey Matrix. Then, the competitiveness was analyzed from a temporal dynamic view to present how attributes are changing importance. Notably, the asymmetric effects between attribute performance and satisfaction were considered. Results demonstrated encouraging accuracy in measuring restaurant competitiveness and explained how asymmetric McKinsey Matrix could help formulate efficient competitiveness enhancement strategies. • Develops a deep learning-based BERT to accurately assess restaurant competitiveness. • Incorporates asymmetric effects to formulate competitiveness enhancement strategies. • Considers how attributes are changing competition position over temporal dynamics. • Improves McKinsey Matrix for efficient restaurant competitiveness analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inhibiting the death receptor 3 (DR3) signaling pathway in group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s) presents a promising approach for promoting mucosal repair in individuals with ulcerative colitis (UC). Paeoniflorin, a prominent component of Paeonia lactiflora Pall., has demonstrated the ability to restore barrier function in UC mice, but the precise mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to delve into whether paeoniflorin may promote intestinal mucosal repair in chronic colitis by inhibiting DR3 signaling in ILC3s. C57BL/6 mice were subjected to random allocation into 7 distinct groups, namely the control group, the 2% dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) group, the paeoniflorin groups (25, 50, and 100 mg/kg), the anti-tumor necrosis factor-like ligand 1A (anti-TL1A) antibody group, and the IgG group. We detected the expression of DR3 signaling pathway proteins and the proportion of ILC3s in the mouse colon using Western blot and flow cytometry, respectively. Meanwhile, DR3-overexpressing MNK-3 cells and 2% DSS-induced Rag1−/− mice were used for verification. The results showed that paeoniflorin alleviated DSS-induced chronic colitis and repaired the intestinal mucosal barrier. Simultaneously, paeoniflorin inhibited the DR3 signaling pathway in ILC3s and regulated the content of cytokines (interleukin-17A, granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor, and interleukin-22). Alternatively, paeoniflorin directly inhibited the DR3 signaling pathway in ILC3s to repair mucosal damage independently of the adaptive immune system. We additionally confirmed that paeoniflorin-conditioned medium (CM) restored the expression of tight junctions in Caco-2 cells via coculture. In conclusion, paeoniflorin ameliorates chronic colitis by enhancing the intestinal barrier in an ILC3-dependent manner, and its mechanism is associated with the inhibition of the DR3 signaling pathway. [Display omitted] • Paeoniflorin relieves inflammatory symptoms of chronic colitis induced by DSS. Paeoniflorin ameliorated chronic colitis by enhancing the intestinal barrier depending on the group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s). • Paeoniflorin regulated ILC3 function by inhibiting the DR3 signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wilderness is of great value and conservation significance. An in-depth understanding of the evolution of the spatial distribution of wilderness conditions in China and the factors influencing them is crucial for biodiversity conservation and restoration. However, the evolution of its spatial and temporal patterns and the factors influencing them have been little explored in studies of wilderness. In this study, the Weighted Linear Combination model was utilized to assess the quality of wilderness in China over the past 20 years, and the geographic detector model assessed the key factors that have influenced wilderness. The study results indicate that (1) Over the past 20 years, the western wilderness has worsened, while the eastern and central regions have seen some improvement. (2) Changes in wilderness quality are mainly influenced by the temperature and the distribution of nature reserves. (3) High wilderness quality areas are mainly influenced by actual evapotranspiration and temperature, while population density and GDP play a dominant role in most medium and low wilderness quality areas. (4) Interacting factors are greater than any single factor affecting wilderness. The results of the study can provide a reference for the conservation and management of wilderness resources and biodiversity in China. [Display omitted] • Wilderness quality improved in >60% of Chinese provinces, but declined in Xizang (45.3%) and Xinjiang (50.8%). • Changes in wilderness quality are mainly influenced by the temperature and nature reserves distribution. • The dominant factors affecting wilderness quality differ depending on the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores naming practices among Chinese international students and their relation to personal identity during their sojourn in Japan. Although previous studies have reported that some Chinese international students in English-speaking countries adopt names of Western origin (Cotterill 2020; Diao 2014; Edwards 2006), participants in this study were found to exhibit different naming practices: either adopting names of Japanese or Western origin; or retaining both Western and Japanese names. Drawing on fifteen semi-structured interviews with Mainland Han Chinese students, this investigation examines their motivations for adopting non-Chinese names and determines how personal identities are presented through them. The qualitative analysis reveals that the practice of adopting non-Chinese names is influenced by teacher-student power relations, Chinese conventions for terms of address, pronunciation, and context-sensitivity of personal names. As will be shown in this article, through the respondents' years of selfexploration, their self-adopted non-Chinese names gradually became internalized personal identity markers that allow the bearers to explore and exhibit personality traits, which might not have been as easily displayed via their Chinese given names. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyse the impact of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) on the causal structure using a sequence of high-frequency transfer entropy networks. Calculations show that the event significantly affected the causal structure of the banking sector and that companies with high market capitalisation had stronger influence after the event. Finally, path-based indicators suggest that SVB had significant influence before the crisis. • This study used high-frequency data to analyse the impact of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). • This study analysed the causal structure of extreme values using networks and transfer entropy. • SVB did not have a strong direct impact on the banking sector before its collapse. • The collapse of SVB has significantly affected the structure of information flows in the banking sector. • High-capitalisation companies have a stronger impact after March 9th. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is a widely used plasticizer known for its environmental endocrine-disrupting properties, posing potential risks to various organs. However, the precise impact of DEHP on intestinal health and its contribution to the initiation of intestinal inflammation remains elucidated. This study aims to investigate the underlying mechanisms of DEHP-induced intestinal inflammation in mice, specifically focusing on the complex interplay between the gut microbiota-metabolite axis and associated pathophysiological alterations. Our findings showed that DEHP-induced damage of multiple organs systemically, as indicated by abnormal liver and kidney biochemical markers, along with a disrupted ileum morphology. Additionally, DEHP exposure disrupted gut barrier function, causing intestinal inflammation characterized by bacterial translocation and alterations in defense and inflammation-related gene expressions. Moreover, 16S rRNA analysis suggested that DEHP-induced gut microbial remodeling is characterized by an upregulation of detrimental bacteria (Erysipelotrichaceae) and a downregulation of beneficial bacteria (Muribaculaceae, Ruminococcaceae, and Lachnospiraceae). Metabolomics analysis revealed DEHP perturbed gut metabolic homeostasis, particularly affecting the degradation of aromatic compounds, which generated an aberrant activation of the AhR and NF-κB, subsequently causing intestinal inflammation. Consequently, our results elucidate the mechanistic link between disrupted gut microbiota and metabolome and the initiation of DEHP-induced intestinal inflammation, mediated through the AhR/NF-κB signaling pathway. [Display omitted] • DEHP induces systemic multiple organ damage in mice. • DEHP causes the imbalance of intestinal homeostasis and bacterial migration. • DEHP induces the imbalance of gut microbiota homeostasis and the change of metabolites. • DEHP induces intestinal inflammation by activating the AhR/NF-κB pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Including members of the public in the development of effective environmental monitoring systems is gaining traction. This research assesses the potential for a hybrid monitoring system for the case of coral at the Great Barrier Reef. Based on a review of citizen-derived data sources, the paper first develops a framework and then populates it with five datasets. These are then compared based on data volumes, type of data, spatial coverage, and bleaching patterns. The results reveal the inherent difficulties – both in terms of quantity and quality – for collective sensing data (Twitter in this case) and more structured human sensors approaches (Eye on the Reef Sightings). However, more targeted approaches, such as CoralWatch and tourism-operator based data collection, emerged as important contributors to information generation on the state of coral. Citizen-based data that either deliver a high data density per location, a wide geographic coverage, or regular observations over time are particularly valuable. Recommendations are made for developing a hybrid monitoring system that integrates citizen-derived with professionally collected data. • Framework for differentiating various approaches to citizen-derived data • Comparison of five data sources for coral at the Great Barrier Reef • Collective sensing data are insufficient in quantity and quality. • Structured citizen science programs can add considerable value. • A hybrid monitoring system could greatly assist the marine park authority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the dynamic field of destination management, maintaining a destination's competitiveness requires understanding the evolving preferences of tourists. However, current research often adopts a static approach, failing to capture the dynamic nature of tourist needs and the evolving competitiveness of a destination. To address this, we introduce a novel approach using user-generated content from various social media platforms over a six-year period to assess key attributes that influence destination competitiveness. The results indicate that attributes in deciding destination competitiveness are not fixed, with some remaining stable factors in competitiveness, while others fluctuate over time. Attributes that even alter their competitive standing could significantly impact overall destination competitiveness. This research contributes a dynamic model that allows destination managers to adapt strategies in real time, aligning with current market conditions and enhancing competitiveness in the tourism industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Colorectal cancer is associated with ulcerative colitis (UC). The infiltration of neutrophils is the main cause of DNA damage produced by inflammation in the intestinal epithelium. Under the action of peptidyl arginine deaminase 4 (PAD4), neutrophils dissociate chromatin and form neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), which can aggravate tissue inflammation and encourage tumor development. Although Huang Qin Decoction (HQD) was found to be useful in treating UC and was used to gradually prevent and treat digestive tract cancers, the underlying reasons were unclear.Methods: To demonstrate HQD could inhibits the initiation of colitis associated carcinogenesis by controlling NETs related inflammation, we first performed an AOM/DSS-generated colitis-associated carcinogenesis model to assess the efficacy of HQD in reducing neutrophil infiltration and anti-tumor activity. Then, using network pharmacology research, we investigated the potential mechanisms underlying those medicinal effects, as demonstrated by the detection of NETs aggregation and PAD4 expression changes in the colon.Results: HQD substantially reduced the number of colon cancers and the expression of Ki67, restored the level of intestinal tight junction protein occludin and ZO-1, and relieved the intestinal inflammation caused by TNF-α, IL-1β. At the same time, it inhibited neutrophil infiltration in the colon and improved the immunosurveillance of CD8+T cells. The potential mechanisms of HQD intervention against UC and UC with neoplasia (UCN) were studied using network pharmacology, and 156 conjunct genes as well as numerous inflammation-related pathways were identified. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis indicated that HQD inhibition of intestinal tumors might be related to the deactivation of PAD4, which was verified by the down-regulation of NETs, MPO-DNA complex levels, and PAD4 expression after HQD treatment.Conclusion: Huang Qin Decoction inhibits the initiation of colitis associated carcinogenesis by controlling PAD4-dependent neutrophil extracellular traps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gait is considered as a promising biometric feature due to its support for long-distance and non-contact recognition. Most existing skeleton-based gait recognition methods deliver the same topology of skeleton graph for each frame and treat them equally in the process of temporal feature extraction and fusion, which undoubtedly limits the expressive capability of the model. In this paper, we propose a frame-level refinement network to adaptively learn specific topology in different frames and capture long-range dependencies between frames through transformer self-attention. Specifically, we design a frame-level topology refinement graph convolution (FTR-GC) to dynamically model different correlations between joints for each frame. In addition, we introduce transformer self-attention at the frame level, which can learn inter-frame long-range relations between the same joint. Finally, an attention-based frame-level feature aggregation module (FFAM) is presented to produce discriminative global features of input gait sequences. Experiments on the popular public dataset CASIA-B and OUMVLP-Pose show that our method notably surpasses state-of-the-art model-based methods, verifying the effectiveness of the proposed modules. • FTR-GC adaptively refines the frame-specific topological structure of skeleton graph. • Transformer self-attention is introduced to capture long-range inter-frame dependencies. • Attention-based FFAM encodes frame-level features into a single discriminative vector. • The proposed model outperforms other state-of-the-art model-based methods on CASIA-B and OUMVLP-Pose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces an innovative approach for assessing visitor satisfaction at the destination level by identifying attributes of interest from social media text and indirectly measuring performance and importance values. A lexicon-based method for sentiment analysis is applied to determine performance value at the destination level, while importance is calculated using an adjusted association rule mining algorithm. The results are validated with earlier survey-based attributes relevant to visitors and Australia's case. The results demonstrate encouraging accuracy, suggesting that the proposed methodology offers opportunities to assess tourist satisfaction at destinations with larger sample sizes for a lower cost and greater data collection flexibility than traditional approaches. The methods proposed could be beneficial in a wide range of tourism contexts. • Destinations are recognized from tourists' travel itineraries. • Sentiment analysis is applied to identify performance at multiple destinations. • The importance of each attribute is calculated proportionally at each destination. • Validated results of social media data with survey data [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing concern about the climate crisis comes with increased scrutiny of flying as an emission-intensive activity. This study conceptualises a modern communication system and draws on social media data to examine pre-COVID-19 (September to December 2019) public conversations about aviation and climate change. The analysis of >326,000 Twitter posts reveals that issue salience can be considerable at times, especially during key events such as United Nation climate summits and for users from countries such as Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, France and Spain. Topic modelling identified five key frames: economy and industry, public opinion, fairness and conflict, consequences and responsibility. The fairness and conflict frame recorded the largest number of tweets, and was noteworthy for its negative sentiment. It also had the highest retweet rate and the densest network in terms of average users per community. The responsibility frame was interesting for its positive sentiment, and perhaps the opportunity for aviation stakeholders to contribute proactively to the conversations by sharing climate action success stories. Given the importance of public opinion (voters and consumers), and the link between media activity and policy decisions, the ongoing monitoring of issue salience, frames and peer groups related to flying and climate change seems beneficial. • Machine learning approach to monitoring social media discussions on aviation and climate change. •Aviation is a salient topic within climate change discussions on Twitter. •There are pronounced peaks in salience, often in association with key events. •Five frames have been identified from the aviation climate change social media activity. •The fairness and conflict frame is most prominent and negative and requires stakeholder attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel and innovative way of tracking Chinese visitors' mobility to Australia and other world regions • Mining data from Chinese social media Sina Weibo to understand their travel pattern • Hight resolution of data visualisation • Discover new dimension of global mobility [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The product of the MYBPC3 gene is necessary for myocardial contraction. • Establishing MYBPC3-iPSC from PBMNCs with MYBPC3 c.3369–3370 insC mutation. • The established iPSC is a useful tool for studying and modeling hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a disease in which the heart muscle becomes abnormally thick making it difficult for the heart to pump blood. In this study an induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) line was derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of a 62-year-old male hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) patient with the mutation of heterozygous pathogenic myosin binding protein C (MYBPC3) c.3369–3370 insC using an episomal method. The generated iPSC line presented normal 46, XY male karyotypes, expressed pluripotent markers and could spontaneously differentiate into triblast cells. This HCM-specific iPSC line could act as a useful tool for studying and modeling hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Intestinal epithelial barrier dysfunction, which involves myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) activation, contributes to the occurrence and progression of inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Wogonoside helps maintain intestinal homeostasis in mice with dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis, but it is unclear whether it modulates intestinal barrier function.Purpose: Here, we demonstrate that wogonoside protects against intestinal barrier dysfunction in colitis via the MLCK/pMLC2 pathway both in vivo and in vitro.Methods: Caco-2 cell monolayers treated with the proinflammatory cytokine TNF-α showed barrier dysfunction and were assessed in the absence and presence of wogonoside for various physiological, morphological, and biochemical parameters. Colitis was induced by 3% DSS in mice, which were used as an animal model to explore the pharmacodynamics of wogonoside. We detected MLCK/pMLC2 pathway proteins via western blot analysis, assessed the cytokines IL-13 and IFN-γ via ELISA, tested bacterial translocation via fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and a proper sampling of secondary lymphoid organs for bacterial culture. In addition, the docking affinity of wogonoside and MLCK was observed with DS2.5 software.Results: Wogonoside alleviated the disruption of transepithelial electrical resistance (TER) in TNF-α exposured Caco-2 cell; FITC-dextran hyperpermeability; loss of the tight junction (TJ) proteins occludin, ZO-1 and claudin-1 in Caco-2 cell monolayers; and bacterial translocation in colitic mice. Moreover, wogonoside reduced the levels of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-13 and IFN-γ to maintain intestinal immune homeostasis. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed that wogonoside ameliorated the destruction of intestinal epithelial TJs. Wogonoside not only inhibited the cytoskeletal F-actin rearrangement induced by TNF-α, stabilized the cytoskeletal structure, suppressed MLCK protein expression, and reduced MLC2 phosphorylation. In addition, the results of molecular docking analysis showed that wogonoside had a high affinity for MLCK and formed hydrogen bonds with the amino acid residue LYS261 and π bonds with LYS229.Conclusion: Collectively, our study indicates that wogonoside alleviates colitis by protecting against intestinal barrier dysfunction, and the potential mechanism may involve regulation of TJs via the MLCK/pMLC2 signaling pathway. Meanwhile, our study also explains the success of S. baicalensis in the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]