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IntroductionWith nicotine dependence being a significant healthcare issue worldwide there is a growing interest in developing novel therapies and diagnostic aids to assist in treating nicotine addiction. Glutamate (Glu) plays an important role in cognitive function regulation in a wide range of conditions including traumatic brain injury, aging, and addiction. Chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) imaging via ultra-high field MRI can image the exchange of certain saturated labile protons with the surrounding bulk water pool, making the technique a novel tool to investigate glutamate in the context of addiction. The aim of this work was to apply glutamate weighted CEST (GluCEST) imaging to study the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) in a small population of smokers and non-smokers to determine its effectiveness as a biomarker of nicotine use.Methods2D GluCEST images were acquired on 20 healthy participants: 10 smokers (ages 29-50) and 10 non-smokers (ages 25-69), using a 7T MRI system. T1-weighted images were used to segment the GluCEST images into white and gray matter tissue and further into seven gray matter regions. Wilcoxon rank-sum tests were performed, comparing mean GluCEST contrast between smokers and non-smokers across brain regions.ResultsGluCEST levels were similar between smokers and non-smokers; however, there was a moderate negative age dependence (R2 = 0.531) in smokers within the cingulate gyrus.ConclusionFeasibility of GluCEST imaging was demonstrated for in vivo investigation of smokers and non-smokers to assess glutamate contrast differences as a potential biomarker with a moderate negative age correlation in the cingulate gyrus suggesting reward network involvement.

ObjectiveThe aim was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the vapocoolants for vascular puncture in children and adults.MethodThe search was carried out in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and The Cochrane Library, from inception to March 2022. Randomized controlled trials comparing vapocoolants to control conditions for participants received intravenous cannulation or arterial puncture were included. Two reviewers independently performed selection of studies, data extraction, and assessment of risk of bias. The analysis was performed using fixed or random-effects model with mean differences or standardized mean difference and risk ratios.ResultsA total of 25 studies involving 3143 participants were included. Compared with control conditions, vapocoolants may not decrease the pain of patients with arterial puncture (SMD = -0.36, 95% CI = -0.92 to -0.19, P = 0.20), but may more effectively relieve pain for adults received vein puncture (SMD = -0.65, 95% CI = -0.85 to -0.45, P < 0.00001). The application of vapocoolant increased the procedural difficulty of medical personnel (RR = 2.49, 95% CI = 1.62 to 3.84, PConclusionsVapocoolant spray may relieve pain in adults received vein puncture and cannot cause severe side effects, but is ineffective in children. It also had no effect on patients with arterial puncture. In addition, the application of spray increases procedural difficulties for medical professionals, but does not decrease first attempt success rate, and many patients would like to use the spray again for pain relief in the future. Thus, more rigorous and large-scale studies are needed to determine its effectiveness in vascular access.

Volatile profiles yielded from gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis provide abundant information not only for metabolism-related research, but also for chemotaxonomy. To study the chemotaxonomy of Mangshanyegan, its volatile profiles of fruit and leaf and those of 29 other genotypes of Citrus, Poncirus, and Fortunella were subjected to phylogenetic analyses. Results showed that 145 identified (including 64 tentatively identified) and 15 unidentified volatile compounds were detected from their peel oils. The phylogenetic analysis of peel oils based on hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) demonstrated a good agreement with the Swingle taxonomy system, in which the three genera of Citrus, Poncirus, and Fortunella were almost completely separated. As to Citrus, HCA indicated that Citrophorum, Cephalocitrus, and Sinocitrus fell into three subgroups, respectively. Also, it revealed that Mangshanyegan contain volatile compounds similar to those from pummelo, though it is genetically believed to be a mandarin. These results were further supported by the principal component analysis of the peel oils and the HCA results of volatile profiles of leaves in the study.

There are currently no studies exploring omicron infection and male sexual function and semen quality. Our aim was to estimate changes in sexual function and semen quality in men recovering from infection since the COVID-19 Omicron pandemic started in China in late 2022. We collected 1540 questionnaires and assessed male function before infection and acute phase after infection by using International Index of Erectile Function-5, Premature Ejaculation Diagnostic Tool, and Arizona Sexual Experience Scale. We also collected the before and after semen analysis results of 247 male patients. During the acute phase after infection, the proportion of erectile dysfunction was significantly higher than before infection, but ejaculatory function was not significantly altered; In addition, semen analysis showed significant difference in semen concentration, semen activity and PR a+b sperm forward movement after infection compared to pre-infection.: COVID-19 Omicron can affect erectile function as well as sexual experience in male patients in the acute phase. Decreased sexual function due to COVID-19 Omicron may be related to body temperature and anxiety during infection., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Xiao et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Atomic magnetometer (AM) is utilized to non-invasively detect event-related magnetic fields (ERMFs) evoked by visual stimuli in rats. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between N2-like amplitude and visual attention. To achieve this, we combined the AM with a visual stimulation system and employed the passive single-stimulus paradigm. By measuring the ERMFs at various inter-stimulus intervals (ISIs) with a sensitivity of 20 fT/[Formula: see text], we analyzed the effects of the ISI and the 'habituation' resulting from repeated stimuli on the N2-like amplitude. Our method serves as a valuable reference for studying the passive single-stimulus paradigm and the time course of mammalian attention., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Liu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) is a prevalent orthopedic condition with lower back pain as the predominant clinical presentation that challenges clinical treatment with few therapeutic options. Duhuo Jisheng Decoction (DHJSD) has been proven effective in the therapy of IVDD, but the precise underlying mechanisms remain not fully elucidated. The current study was designed to test our hypothesis that DHJSD may systematically correct the phenotypic disruption of the gut microbiota and changes in the serum metabolome linked to IVDD. Analysis of the active ingredients of DHJSD by ultra high performance liquid chromatography. An integrated metagenomic and metabonomic approach was used to analyze feces and blood samples from normal and IVDD rats. Compared to the control group, fiber ring pinning on the caudal 3 to caudal 5 segments of the rats caused IVDD and significantly altered the compositions of the intestinal microbiota and serum metabolites. Integrated analysis revealed commonly-altered metabolic pathways shared by both intestinal microbiota and serum metabolome of the IVDD rats. DHJSD inhibited the degenerative process and restored the compositions of the perturbed gut microbiota, particularly the relative abundance of commensal microbes of the Prevotellaceae family. DHJSD also corrected the altered metabolic pathways involved in the metabolism of glycine, serine, threonine, valine, the citric acid cycle, and biosynthesis of leucine and isoleucine. DHJSD inhibited the disc degeneration process by an integrated metagenomic and metabonomic mechanism to restore the microbiome profile and normalize the metabonomic pathways., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Song et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

In an environment marked by global economic volatility and geopolitical uncertainties, the stability of Taiwan's supply chain takes on heightened importance, particularly given Taiwan's crucial role in the global semiconductor supply chain. In recent years, semiconductor companies in Taiwan have faced increasing inventory pressures, which will reduce their competitiveness and increase operational costs over the long term. Although previous studies have explored the influence of trade facilitation on macroeconomic and trade efficiencies, its specific impacts on the semiconductor industry have been less frequently addressed. This study integrates corporate inventory, trade facilitation, and geopolitical factors within a unified analytical framework to construct a model that explores mediating and moderating effects. This study conducted regression analysis on data from 52 Taiwan-listed integrated circuit companies from 2014 to 2022. Contrary to traditional findings that trade facilitation decreases inventory in other industries, it predominantly fosters inventory accumulation within Taiwan's semiconductor sector by expanding market size, thereby affecting supply chain efficiency. Moreover, geopolitical factors were found to intensify the effects of trade facilitation on corporate inventory. Elevated geopolitical risks lead to greater inventory accumulation, which ultimately threatens long-term competitiveness and diminishes the semiconductor industry's advantage in Taiwan, further influencing supply chain efficiency. Consequently, this study recommends that to more accurately forecast market size, semiconductor companies in Taiwan are encouraged to expand their manufacturing investments in Chinese mainland. Additionally, the prudent handling of cross-strait relations by the Taiwan authorities is an important strategy to mitigate geopolitical risks affecting the semiconductor supply chain., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Liu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a cancer caused by abnormal cell growth due to faulty signal transduction. Cells secrete tumor suppressor factors in response to potential carcinogenic signals, inducing cellular senescence (CS) as a countermeasure. However, accurately measuring CS levels in different types of tumors is challenging due to tumor heterogeneity and the lack of universal and specific CS markers. Machine learning has revealed unique molecular traits in HCC patients, leading to clinical advantages. More research is needed to understand senescence-related molecular features in these patients. In this study, the gene expression profile features of patients with HCC were analyzed by integrating single-cell RNA sequencing and bulk RNA-seq datasets from HCC samples. The analysis identified the senescence-related pathways exhibiting HCC specificity. Subsequently, genes from these pathways were used to identify senescence-related molecular subtypes in HCC, showing significant variations in biological and clinical attributes. An HCC-specific CS risk model developed in this study revealed substantial associations between the patients' CS scores and prognosis grouping, clinical staging, immune infiltration levels, immunotherapy response, and drug sensitivity levels. Within the constructed model, G6PD was identified as a key gene, potentially serving as a senescence-related target in liver cancer. Molecular biology experiments demonstrated that overexpression of G6PD effectively promotes the proliferative, invasive, and migration capacities of HepG2 and SK-HEP-1 cells. In conclusion, this analysis offers a valuable framework for understanding senescence in HCC and introduces a new biomarker. These findings improve our understanding of senescence in HCC and have potential for future research., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 He et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The accuracy of digital elevation models (DEMs) in forested areas plays a crucial role in canopy height monitoring and ecological sensitivity analysis. Despite extensive research on DEMs in recent years, significant errors still exist in forested areas due to factors such as canopy occlusion, terrain complexity, and limited penetration, posing challenges for subsequent analyses based on DEMs. Therefore, a CNN-LightGBM hybrid model is proposed in this paper, with four different types of forests (tropical rainforest, coniferous forest, mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forest, and broad-leaved forest) selected as study sites to validate the performance of the hybrid model in correcting COP30DEM in different forest area DEMs. In the hybrid model of this paper, the choice was made to use the Densenet architecture of CNN models with LightGBM as the primary model. This choice is based on LightGBM's leaf-growth strategy and histogram linking methods, which are effective in reducing the data's memory footprint and utilising more of the data without sacrificing speed. The study uses elevation values from ICESat-2 as ground truth, covering several parameters including COP30DEM, canopy height, forest coverage, slope, terrain roughness and relief amplitude. To validate the superiority of the CNN-LightGBM hybrid model in DEMs correction compared to other models, a test of LightGBM model, CNN-SVR model, and SVR model is conducted within the same sample space. To prevent issues such as overfitting or underfitting during model training, although common meta-heuristic optimisation algorithms can alleviate these problems to a certain extent, they still have some shortcomings. To overcome these shortcomings, this paper cites an improved SSA search algorithm that incorporates the ingestion strategy of the FA algorithm to increase the diversity of solutions and global search capability, the Firefly Algorithm-based Sparrow Search Optimization Algorithm (FA-SSA algorithm) is introduced. By comparing multiple models and validating the data with an airborne LiDAR reference dataset, the results show that the R2 (R-Square) of the CNN-LightGBM model improves by more than 0.05 compared to the other models, and performs better in the experiments. The FA-SSA-CNN-LightGBM model has the highest accuracy, with an RMSE of 1.09 meters, and a reduction of more than 30% of the RMSE when compared to the LightGBM and other hybrid models. Compared to other forested area DEMs (such as FABDEM and GEDI), its accuracy is improved by more than 50%, and the performance is significantly better than other commonly used DEMs in forested areas, indicating the feasibility of this method in correcting elevation errors in forested area DEMs and its significant importance in advancing global topographic mapping., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Li et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Type II crustacean hyperglycemic hormone (CHH) neuropeptides play diverse roles in crustaceans. In the hermaphrodite shrimp Lysmata vittata, two transcripts of type II CHHs (molt-inhibiting hormone/gonad-inhibiting hormone, MIH/GIH1 and MIH/GIH2) were identified by transcriptome sequencing, and MIH/GIH1 was later named Lvit-GIH1 for its inhibitory effect on ovarian development. Based on the high similarity of MIH/GIH2 to Lvit-GIH1, we named tentatively MIH/GIH2 as Lvit-GIH2 and explored the role of Lvit-GIH2 in ovarian development. The open reading frame (ORF) of Lvit-GIH2 was 333 bp in length, encoding a precursor consisted of a 32-aa signal peptide and a 78-aa mature peptide, which shared high sequence similarity with the type II subfamily peptides in crustaceans. Notably, Lvit-GIH2 was widely expressed in multiple tissues. The qRT-PCR findings indicated a rising trend in the expression of Lvit-GIH2 from the male phase to the euhermaphrodite phase. Both RNA interference and addition of GIH2 recombinant proteins (rGIH2) experiments showed that Lvit-GIH2 suppressed Lvit-Vg expression in hepatopancreas and Lvit-VgR expression in ovary. To further investigate the role of Lvit-GIH2 in ovarian development, the RNA-sequence analysis was performed to examine the changes in ovary after addition of rGIH2. The results showed that the pathways (Cysteine and methionine metabolism, Apoptosis-multiple species, etc.) and the genes (17bHSD8, IGFR, CHH, etc.) related to ovarian development were negatively regulated by rGIH2. In brief, Lvit-GIH2 might inhibit the ovarian development in L. vittata., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Lan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

It has been reported that Ywhah (14-3-3η) reduces glycolysis. However, it remains unclear about the downstream mechanism by which glycolysis is regulated by 14-3-3η in cardiac hypertrophy. As an important regulator, Yes-associated protein (YAP) interacts with 14-3-3η to participate in the initiation and progression of various diseases in vivo. In this study, the model of H9C2 cardiomyocyte hypertrophy was established by triiodothyronine (T3) or rotenone stimulation to probe into the action mechanism of 14-3-3η. Interestingly, the overexpression of 14-3-3η attenuated T3 or rotenone induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and decreased glycolysis in H9C2 cardiomyocytes, whereas the knockdown of 14-3-3η had an opposite effect. Mechanistically, 14-3-3η can reduce the expression level of YAP and bind to it to reduce its nuclear translocation. In addition, changing YAP may affect the expression of lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA), a glycolysis-related protein. Meanwhile, LDHA is also a possible target for 14-3-3η to mediate glycolysis based on changes in pyruvate, a substrate of LDHA. Collectively, 14-3-3η can suppress cardiomyocyte hypertrophy via decreasing the nucleus translocation of YAP and glycolysis, which indicates that 14-3-3η could be a promising target for inhibiting cardiac hypertrophy., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Wan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Against the background of digital development, this study's research object is the platform-based highway transportation supply chain. It also analyzes two modes of supply chain financial credit financing, namely, upstream, and downstream enterprises of the platform, and network freight platform as the main financing body. Notably, the financial provider sets up a transaction credit based on the principle of business truth, and closed-loop transactions, determine the upper limit of the credit line based on the principle of financing self-compensation, build the expected profit maximization model, and establish the optimal credit line. Combined with the Highway Freight Index and Logistics Prosperity Index, the dynamic early warning value is established for the financing mode, where the platform as the main financing body. Through numerical analysis, the credit line and expected profit increase with the transaction credit, expected freight volume, and credit interest rate under the two modes, and the increase deriving from the credit interest rate is more significant. Finally, this paper describes the two-dimensional credit matrix of the financing subject via transaction credit and credit interest rate, which provides an intuitive credit reference for financial institutions to conduct the credit financing of the platform-based highway transportation supply chain., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Xu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The burgeoning field of fog computing introduces a transformative computing paradigm with extensive applications across diverse sectors. At the heart of this paradigm lies the pivotal role of edge servers, which are entrusted with critical computing and storage functions. The optimization of these servers' storage capacities emerges as a crucial factor in augmenting the efficacy of fog computing infrastructures. This paper presents a novel storage optimization algorithm, dubbed LIRU (Low Interference Recently Used), which synthesizes the strengths of the LIRS (Low Interference Recency Set) and LRU (Least Recently Used) replacement algorithms. Set against the backdrop of constrained storage resources, this research endeavours to formulate an algorithm that optimizes storage space utilization, elevates data access efficiency, and diminishes access latencies. The investigation initiates a comprehensive analysis of the storage resources available on edge servers, pinpointing the essential considerations for optimization algorithms: storage resource utilization and data access frequency. The study then constructs an optimization model that harmonizes data frequency with cache capacity, employing optimization theory to discern the optimal solution for storage maximization. Subsequent experimental validations of the LIRU algorithm underscore its superiority over conventional replacement algorithms, showcasing significant improvements in storage utilization, data access efficiency, and reduced access delays. Notably, the LIRU algorithm registers a 5% increment in one-hop hit ratio relative to the LFU algorithm, a 66% enhancement over the LRU algorithm, and a 14% elevation in system hit ratio against the LRU algorithm. Moreover, it curtails the average system response time by 2.4% and 16.5% compared to the LRU and LFU algorithms, respectively, particularly in scenarios involving large cache sizes. This research not only sheds light on the intricacies of edge server storage optimization but also significantly propels the performance and efficiency of the broader fog computing ecosystem. Through these insights, the study contributes a valuable framework for enhancing data management strategies within fog computing architectures, marking a noteworthy advancement in the field., Competing Interests: The research software utilized in this study spans across all fields of computer and information science., (Copyright: © 2024 Zhao et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

This study proposes a framework for the risk structure of group polarization in the online information of sudden public health incidents, as well as the causes and constraints of group polarization distributed in the ternary space. Then, combining the above two and based on the concept of phase change space, a simulation model of group polarization of online information in sudden public health incidents was constructed by reflecting the risk of group polarization with the number of network users who hold extreme views. The system dynamics simulation of the model is carried out by using the software Anylogic, and predict the evolution trend of the model from the perspective of simulation. The research results indicate that the model built in this study can effectively simulate the formation and dissemination of extreme opinions in the online public opinion of public health emergencies. The vital factors or constraints on the group polarization include emotional guidance, heat reduction, as well as and life pressure., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Lu, Liu. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Introduction and Aims: In the specialized nursing setting, nurses are susceptible to developing negative mental health issues. Such conditions among nurses can potentially result in unfavorable medical outcomes. Consequently, this study aims to explore the role of social support in regulating between sleep and mental health in nurses., Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in September 2022 on 1219 nurses in Quanzhou. The study comprised general demographic information and utilized various questionnaires, namely the Social Support Rate Scale (SSRS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index Questionnaire (PSQI), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD-7), and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). The data analysis was performed using t-tests, ANOVAs, Pearsons correlations and hierarchical regression analyses in SPSS software., Results: Results show that significant associations of sleep quality and social support with anxiety and depression. Simple slope analysis shows that under low levels of social support, sleep quality has a positive impact on anxiety(β = 0.598) and depression(β = 0.851), and the impact is significant. Under high levels of social support, sleep quality also has a positive impact on anxiety(β = 0.462) and depression(β = 0.578), but the impact is smaller. This indicates that as the level of social support increases, the positive predictive effect of sleep quality on anxiety and depression gradually diminishes., Conclusions: Social support has the potential to alter the impact of sleep quality on anxiety and depression. Therefore, healthcare policymakers need to focus on enhancing the level of social support and mitigating the impact of poor sleep on anxiety and depression., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Zhao et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: The cardiac-brain connection has been identified as the basis for multiple cardio-cerebral diseases. However, effective therapeutic targets for these diseases are still limited. Therefore, this study aimed to identify pleiotropic and specific therapeutic targets for cardio-cerebral diseases using Mendelian randomization (MR) and colocalization analyses., Methods: This study included two large protein quantitative trait loci studies with over 4,000 plasma proteins were included in the discovery and replication cohorts, respectively. We initially used MR to estimate the associations between protein and 20 cardio-cerebral diseases. Subsequently, Colocalization analysis was employed to enhance the credibility of the results. Protein target prioritization was based solely on including highly robust significant results from both the discovery and replication phases. Lastly, the Drug-Gene Interaction Database was utilized to investigate protein-gene-drug interactions further., Results: A total of 46 target proteins for cardio-cerebral diseases were identified as robust in the discovery and replication phases by MR, comprising 7 pleiotropic therapeutic proteins and 39 specific target proteins. Followed by colocalization analysis and prioritization of evidence grades for target protein, 6 of these protein-disease pairs have achieved the highly recommended level. For instance, the PILRA protein presents a pleiotropic effect on sick sinus syndrome and Alzheimer's disease, whereas GRN exerts specific effects on the latter. APOL3, LRP4, and F11, on the other hand, have specific effects on cardiomyopathy and ischemic stroke, respectively., Conclusions: This study successfully identified important therapeutic targets for cardio-cerebral diseases, which benefits the development of preventive or therapeutic drugs., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright: © 2024 Zhu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Building on the Fano resonance observation, a new refractive index transducer structure at the nanoscale is proposed in this article, which is a refractive index transducer consisting of a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) waveguide structure coupled with a ring cavity internally connected to an h-shaped structure (RCIhS). Using an analytical method based on COMSOL software and finite element method (FEM), the effect of different geometric parameters of the structure on the trans-mission characteristics of the system is simulated and analyzed, which in turn illustrates the effect of the structural parameters on the output Fano curves. As simulation results show, the internally connected h-shaped structure is an influential component in the Fano resonance. By optimizing the geometrical parameters of the structure, the system finally accomplishes a sensitivity (S) of 2400 nm/RIU and a figure of merit (FOM) of 68.57. The sensor has also been demonstrated in the realm of temperature detection, having tremendous potential for utilization in future nano-sensing and optically integrated systems., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Chang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Since the COVID-19, cough sounds have been widely used for screening purposes. Intelligent analysis techniques have proven to be effective in detecting respiratory diseases. In 2021, there were up to 10 million TB-infected patients worldwide, with an annual growth rate of 4.5%. Most of the patients were from economically underdeveloped regions and countries. The PPD test, a common screening method in the community, has a sensitivity of as low as 77%. Although IGRA and Xpert MTB/RIF offer high specificity and sensitivity, their cost makes them less accessible. In this study, we proposed a feature fusion model-based cough sound classification method for primary TB screening in communities. Data were collected from hospitals using smart phones, including 230 cough sounds from 70 patients with TB and 226 cough sounds from 74 healthy subjects. We employed Bi-LSTM and Bi-GRU recurrent neural networks to analyze five traditional feature sets including the Mel frequency cepstrum coefficient (MFCC), zero-crossing rate (ZCR), short-time energy, root mean square, and chroma&#95;cens. The incorporation of features extracted from the speech spectrogram by 2D convolution training into the Bi-LSTM model enhanced the classification results. With traditional futures, the best TB patient detection result was achieved with the Bi-LSTM model, with 93.99% accuracy, 93.93% specificity, and 92.39% sensitivity. When combined with a speech spectrogram, the classification results showed 96.33% accuracy, 94.99% specificity, and 98.13% sensitivity. Our findings underscore that traditional features and deep features have good complementarity when fused using Bi LSTM modelling, which outperforms existing PPD detection methods in terms of both efficiency and accuracy., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Xu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Nine land types in the northern mining area (BKQ) (mining land, smelting land, living area), the old mining area (LKQ) (whole-ore heap, wasteland, grassland), and southern mining area (NKQ) (grassland, shrubs, farmland) of Xikuang Mountain were chosen to explore the composition and functions of soil bacterial communities under different habitats around mining areas. The composition and functions of soil bacterial communities were compared among the sampling sites using 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing and metagenomic sequencing. α diversity analysis showed the soil bacterial diversity and abundance in the old mining area were significantly higher than those in the northern mining area. β diversity analysis demonstrated that the soil bacterial community composition was highly similar among different vegetation coverages in the southern mining area. Microbial community function analysis showed the annotated KEGG function pathways and eggNOG function composition were consistent between the grassland of the old mining area and the grassland of the southern mining area. This study uncovers the soil bacterial community composition and functions among different habitats in the mining areas of Xikuang Mountain and will underlie soil ecosystem restoration in different habitats under heavy metal pollution around the mining areas there., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright: © 2024 Yue et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

We explore theoretically Goos-Hänchen (GH) shift around the defect mode in superconducting defective photonic crystals (PCs) in cryogenic environment. The defective PCs are constructed by alternating semiconductors and superconductors. A defect mode arises in the photonic bandgap and sensitively depends on environment temperature and hydrostatic pressure. Reflection and transmission coefficient phases make an abruptly jump at the defect mode and giant GH shifts have been achieved around this mode. The maximum GH shift can get as high as 103λ (incident wavelength), which could be modulated by the values of temperature and hydrostatic pressure. This study may be utilized for pressure- or temperature-sensors in cryogenic environment., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Liu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Fast-growing poplar plantations are considered a great benefit to timber production, but water availability is a key factor limiting their growth and development, especially in arid and semi-arid ecosystems. Super-absorbent polymers facilitate more water retention in soil after rain or irrigation, and they are able to release water gradually during plant growth. This study aimed to examine the effects of reduced irrigation (60% and 30% of conventional border irrigation) co-applied with super-absorbent polymers (0, 40 kg/ha) on root exudates, enzyme activities, microbial functional diversity in rhizosphere soil, and volume increments in poplar (Populus euramericana cv. 'Neva'). The results showed that 60% border irrigation co-applied with super-absorbent polymers significantly increased the content of organic acids, amino acids and total sugars in the root exudates, and the activities of invertase, urease, dehydrogenase, and catalase in the rhizosphere soil in comparison to conventional border irrigation without super-absorbent polymers. Meanwhile, this treatment also enhanced the average well-color development, Shannon index, and McIntosh index, but decreased the Simpson index. Additionally, the average volume growth rate and relative water content of leaves reached their maximum using 60% irrigation with super-absorbent polymers, which was significantly higher than other treatments. However, using 30% irrigation with super-absorbent polymers, had a smaller effect on rhizosphere soil and volume growth than 60% irrigation with super-absorbent polymers. Therefore, using an appropriate water-saving irrigation measure (60% conventional border irrigation with super-absorbent polymers) can help to improve enzyme activities and microbial diversity in the rhizosphere soil while promoting the growth of poplar trees., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Liu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Generally, UHS-ECC should consume massive cement, which is negative to its sustainability as cement production leads to 8% of global CO2 emissions. To decrease the cost of production and carbon emissions of UHS-ECC, rice husk ash was employed to replace the cement as a supplementary cementitious material in this study. Experiment results illustrate that blending rice husk ash (RHA) would decrease the fluidity of mortar. Furthermore, the green UHS-ECC shows a maximum compressive strength of 130.3 MPa at 28 days when RHA content was 20% of cement. The ultimate tensile strength of UHS-ECCs first increased and then decreased, while both tensile strain and strain energy presented an opposite tendency. At the micro-scale, if RHA content was lower than 20% of cement, incorporating RHA can significantly decreasing fiber bridging complementary energy of UHS-ECC, thus reducing pseudo strain hardening energy (PSHenergy) index, which finely agrees with the degradation of ductility of UHS-ECCs. To guarantee the features of ultra-high strength, acceptable workability, and high tensile ductility, the RHA dosage should not be in excess 20% of cement. These researched results are prospected to the contribution of pozzolanic RHA on the efficient usage of sustainable UHS-ECC., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Liu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The expansion of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has raised a wide range of concerns about its environmental impact. Therefore, from the perspective of environmental impacts, this study used the two-way fixed effect staggered differences in differences (TWFE Staggered DID) method to examine the impact of the BRI on the Environment Goods (EGs) intra-industry trade (IIT) between China and other Belt and Road (B&R) countries, including a sample of 191 countries, covering the period from 2010 to 2019 for eliminating the impact of COVID-19 and the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009. Because only 135 countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding between 2010 and 2019, this study treated these B&R countries as the study group, and the other 73 countries (non-B&R countries) as the control group. This study described EGs using the 54 6-digit code Environment Goods in Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System listed in the "APEC LIST OF ENVIRONMENT GOODS" published by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in 2012, and used the intra-industry trade index proposed by Grubel and Lloyd in 1971 to measuring dependent variable. The research results indicated that the BRI has significantly promoted bilateral EGs IIT. The mechanism test implied that, in addition to direct impacts, the BRI also has indirect impacts by boosting the energy restructuring of B&R countries. These results prove that the BRI has positive impacts on the environment. The heterogeneity test showed that there is a heterogeneous impact depending on the type of IIT, product categorization, B&R countries' income levels, and geographic environment. This study not only gives theoretical and empirical evidence of the positive environmental impacts of the BRI, but also provides practical guidance for the development of EGS IIT between China and B&R countries, thereby contributing to global carbon emissions reduction and environmental governance to some degree., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Zhou et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic winds down, both individuals and society are gradually returning to life and activities before the pandemic. This study aims to explore how people's emotions have changed from the pre-pandemic period during the pandemic to this post-emergency period and whether the sentiment level nowadays has returned to the pre-pandemic level., Method: We collected Reddit social media data in 2019 (pre-pandemic), 2020 (peak period of the pandemic), 2021, and 2022 (late stages of the pandemic, transitioning period to the post-emergency period) from the subreddits communities in 128 universities/colleges in the U.S., and a set of school-level baseline characteristics such as location, enrollment, graduation rate, selectivity, etc. We predicted two sets of sentiments from a pre-trained Robustly Optimized BERT pre-training approach (RoBERTa) and a graph attention network (GAT) that leverages both the rich semantic information and the relational information among posted messages and then applied model stacking to obtain the final sentiment classification. After obtaining the sentiment label for each message, we employed a generalized linear mixed-effects model to estimate the temporal trend in sentiment from 2019 to 2022 and how the school-level factors may affect the sentiment., Results: Compared to the year 2019, the odds of negative sentiment in years 2020, 2021, and 2022 are 25%. 7.3%, and 6.3% higher, respectively, which are all statistically significant at the 5% significance level based on the multiplicity-adjusted p-values., Conclusions: Our study findings suggest a partial recovery in the sentiment composition (negative vs. non-negative) in the post-pandemic-emergency era. The results align with common expectations and provide a detailed quantification of how sentiments have evolved from 2019 to 2022 in the sub-population represented by the sample examined in this study., Competing Interests: NO authors have competing interests., (Copyright: © 2024 Yan, Liu. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Over time, environmental concerns have gained much importance and main debatable issue. Green products are becoming popular due to their positive impact on environment and their role in the green economy. However, the significance of environmental awareness, perceived cost, face culture and policy incentives on green consumption behavior is not fully examined in prior research. This research aimed to analyze the various dimensions impacting behavior regarding green consumption in China. Moreover, the moderating impact of policy incentives, perceived cost, and face culture is also explored. An internet-based survey was undertaken and findings indicate that environmental awareness serves as foundation for eco-friendly consumption. The transition from awareness to action is influenced by various factors. Among these, the perceived cost by consumers represents a significant barrier to green consumption, while face culture has a significant impact in encouraging green consumption. Interestingly, policy incentives do not exhibit any notable direct effect or moderating influence on green consumption practices of consumers., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Liu, Madni. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Drug repurposing is a strategy for identifying new uses of approved or investigational drugs that are outside the scope of the original medical indication. Even though many repurposed drugs have been found serendipitously in the past, the increasing availability of large volumes of biomedical data has enabled more systemic, data-driven approaches for drug candidate identification. At National Center of Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), we invent new methods to generate new data and information publicly available to spur innovation and scientific discovery. In this study, we aimed to explore and demonstrate biomedical data generated and collected via two NCATS research programs, the Toxicology in the 21st Century program (Tox21) and the Biomedical Data Translator (Translator) for the application of drug repurposing. These two programs provide complementary types of biomedical data from uncovering underlying biological mechanisms with bioassay screening data from Tox21 for chemical clustering, to enrich clustered chemicals with scientific evidence mined from the Translator towards drug repurposing. 129 chemical clusters have been generated and three of them have been further investigated for drug repurposing candidate identification, which is detailed as case studies., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.)

Pan-entertainment live streaming combines video with two-way communication and real-time viewer participation, allowing viewers to send virtual gifts to their favorite streamers. Drawing on social exchange theory, this study investigates the factors that influence viewers' gift-giving intentions in live streaming from the perspectives of both viewers and streamers. It also explores the moderating role of streamers' deceptive self-presentation. The theoretical framework is tested using AMOS and PROCESS Macro based on survey responses collected from 331 TikTok users in China. The results suggest that streamers' attractiveness, expertise, parasocial interaction, and the viewers' deceptive self-presentation significantly affect viewers' gift-giving intention, and that streamers' deceptive self-representation moderates the relationship between attractiveness, expertise, parasocial inter-action and the viewer's consumer intention. These findings contribute to social exchange theory by highlighting the importance of streamers' deceptive self-presentation in moderating the effects of attractiveness, expertise, parasocial interaction, and the viewer's deceptive self-presentation on the viewer's gift-giving intention., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Zhang, Liu. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Pine wilt disease (PWD) is caused by the pine wood nematode (PWN, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) and transmitted by a vector insect, the Monochamus alternatus. The PWN has caused much extensive damage to pine-dominated forest ecosystems. Trunk injection of emamectin benzoate (EB) has been found to be the most useful protective measure against the PWN, due to its low effective dose and long residence time in the field. However, the interactions between EB and the host or the environment remain largely unknown, which limits the efficacy and stability of EB in practical field settings. In this study, we investigated the impact on PWN from EB injection for both adult and young host plants (Pinus massoniana) by taking a multi-omics (phenomics, transcriptomics, microbiome, and metabolomics) approach. We found that EB injection can significantly reduce the amount of PWN in both living adult and young pine trees. Additionally, EB was able to activate the genetic response of P. massoniana against PWN, promotes P. massoniana growth and development and resistance to Pine wilt disease, which requires the presence of PWN. Further, the presence of EB greatly increased the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the host plant in a PWN-dependent manner, possibly by affecting ROS-related microbes and metabolites. Moreover, we uncovered the function of EB limiting the consumption of P. massoniana by the JPS. Based on biochemical and gut microbial data, we found that EB can significantly reduces cellulase activity in JPS, whose transcription factors, sugar metabolism, and the phosphotransferase system are also affected. These results document the impact of EB on the entire PWD transmission chain through multi-omics regarding the dominant pine (P. massoniana) in China and provide a novel perspective for controlling PWD outbreaks in the field., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Liu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

This study aims to uncover the dynamic mechanism of users' willingness to actively publish Electronic word-of-Mouth (eWOM) on tourism platform. For this, a model with system dynamics and structural equation methods were constructed and validated. It was found that perceived usefulness, utilizing attitude, participatory, social identity, tourism experience, and platform agenda settings all had significant and positive effects on eWOM users' willingness to actively publish eWOM on tourism platforms. However, perceived ease of use showed no effect. This study provides a reference paradigm for future studies on willingness to actively publish eWOM. The results bear implications for the management practices of tourism platforms operators and tourism destination operators. It also helps platform operators to develop relevant strategies for recovering the tourism industry in the post-COVID-19 era., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Li, Liu. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Smoke and fire detection technology is a key technology for automatically realizing forest monitoring and forest fire warning. One of the most popular algorithms for object detection tasks is YOLOv5. However, it suffers from some challenges, such as high computational load and limited detection performance. This paper proposes a high-performance lightweight network model for detecting forest smoke and fire based on YOLOv5 to overcome these problems. C3Ghost and Ghost modules are introduced into the Backbone and Neck network to achieve the purpose of reducing network parameters and improving the feature's expressing performance. Coordinate Attention (CA) module is introduced into the Backbone network to highlight the object's important information about smoke and fire and to suppress irrelevant background information. In Neck network part, in order to distinguish the importance of different features in feature fusing process, the weight parameter of feature fusion is added which is based on PAN (path aggregation network) structure, which is named PAN-weight. Multiple sets of controlled experiments were conducted to confirm the proposed method's performance. Compared with YOLOv5s, the proposed method reduced the model size and FLOPs by 44.75% and 47.46% respectively, while increased precision and mAP(mean average precision)@0.5 by 2.53% and 1.16% respectively. The experimental results demonstrated the usefulness and superiority of the proposed method. The core code and dataset required for the experiment are saved in this article at https://github.com/vinchole/zzzccc.git., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Yang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

While China's digital trade is developing rapidly, it is facing the problem of uncoordinated and uneven regional development. In order to explore countermeasures to bridge the differences in regional digital trade, this paper first measures the development level of digital trade in 11 provinces of the Yangtze River Economic Belt through entropy-weighting TOPSIS. Secondly, the fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis method was used to analyze the influencing factors and improvement paths of digital trade development in various provinces of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. The research results show that: first, the current development level of digital trade is gradually weakening from east to west, especially the development of digital trade in the Yangtze River Delta region is the best, showing a large regional imbalance and uncoordinated development. What's more, the market size and urbanization have the most significant impact on the development of digital trade. Finally, we examine the reliability of the results by sensitivity analysis, and find that our ranking results are robust. In the future, China should continue to actively promote the coordinated development strategy of regional economy and participate in international digital trade exchanges and cooperation, so as to promote the coordinated and high-quality development of digital trade., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Xiaomei Hu. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Objective: To evaluate transverse maxillomandibular discrepancy and dental compensation in first molar areas in 7- to 9-year-old children with skeletal Class III malocclusion without posterior crossbite using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT)., Methods: The sample of this retrospective study consisted of 60 children (7 to 9 years old), who were divided into the skeletal Class III malocclusion group (study group, skeletal Class III malocclusion without posterior crossbite, N = 31) and the Class I occlusion group (control group, Class I occlusion with one or two impacted teeth, N = 30). CBCT data were obtained from the database of the Department of Radiology of Hospital of Stomatology, Shandong University. For three-dimensional reconstruction of the head, the dental arch width, basal bone width, and buccolingual inclination angle were measured using MIMICS 21.0 software. Independent-sample t tests were used to compare the two groups., Results: The mean age of the children was 8.18±0.83years. The width of the maxillary basal bone was significantly smaller in the skeletal Class III malocclusion group (59.75 ± 3.14 mm) than in the Class I occlusion group (62.39 ± 3.01 mm) (P < 0.01). The mandibular basal bone width was significantly larger in the skeletal Class III malocclusion group (60.00 ± 2.56 mm) than in the Class I occlusion group (58.19 ± 2.42 mm) (P < 0.01). The difference in the width of the maxillary and mandibular bases in the skeletal Class III malocclusion group (-0.25 ± 1.73 mm) was significantly different from that in the Class I occlusion group (4.20 ± 1.25 mm) (P < 0.01). However, there was no significant difference in the upper or lower dental arch width between the two groups (P > 0.05). The buccal inclination of the maxillary molars in the skeletal Class III malocclusion group (31.4° ± 8.9°) was significantly higher than that in the Class I occlusion group (17.64° ± 7.3°) (P < 0.01), as was the lingual inclination angle of mandibular molars (45.24° ± 8.3° vs. 37.96° ± 10.18°; P < 0.01)., Conclusion: Transverse maxillary and mandibular discrepancies in the posterior area and transverse dental compensation were found in the early mixed dentition of patients with skeletal Class III malocclusion without posterior crossbite. This suggests that even in the absence of posterior crossbite, maxillary expansion can be attempted to correct the maxillomandibular transverse discrepancy., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Liu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: Acupuncture may become a treatment for postpartum depression (PPD). Currently, little is known about the use of acupuncture in the treatment of PPD from the point of view of practitioners. The aim of this study was to explore practitioners' perspectives on the treatment of PPD with acupuncture and provide suggestions for future improvement., Methods: This study employed a qualitative descriptive method. Semistructured, open-ended interviews were conducted with 14 acupuncture practitioners from 7 hospitals via face-to-face or telephone interviews. The data were collected using interview outline from March to May 2022 and analysed using qualitative content analysis., Results: In general, the use of acupuncture for treating PPD was positively regarded by practitioners. They claimed that acupuncture is both safe and helpful for breastfeeding women who are experiencing emotional discomfort and that it can alleviate a variety of somatic symptoms. The following three themes were extracted: (a) patient acceptance and compliance; (b) acupuncture as a treatment for PPD; and (c) the advantages and drawbacks of acupuncture treatment., Conclusion: Practitioners' optimistic outlooks demonstrated that acupuncture is a promising treatment option for PPD. However, the time cost was the most significant barrier to compliance. Future development will focus mostly on improving acupuncture equipment and the style of service., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Liu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

In this study, the regional spatial-temporal variability of cadmium (Cd) in the topsoil of Guangxi, China from 2010 to 2016 was studied from data obtained from the China Geochemical Baseline Project (CGB Ⅰ and CGB Ⅱ). The driving forces of natural and anthropogenic variables were quantitatively analyzed using a geographically and temporally weighted regression model. The results showed that 1) soil Cd was highly enriched in 2010 and in soils of Hechi city in northwest Guangxi, a non-ferrous metal mining and metallurgy area, ~17% of the samples exceeded the soil contamination risk limit. In contrast, in 2016, the topsoil Cd content decreased significantly, with 7% of sites exceeding the soil risk limit. 2) Multiple factors jointly influenced the regional spatial variability of Cd. pH and organic carbon were found to be the main factors influencing Cd content and were strongly spatially correlated with Cd. Anthropogenic activities, including mining and industrial emissions, resulted in significant Cd enrichment in local areas, whereas agricultural and domestic pollutants were relatively weakly correlated with Cd. The weathering products of carbonates were significantly enriched in Cd; thus, the geological background played a significant role in the spatial variability of Cd. Soil-forming factors, including temperature, precipitation, and elevation influenced the spatial distribution of Cd, especially in the Cd background area. 3) Anthropogenic activities were the key factors influencing temporal changes in Cd. Mining caused significant enrichment of Cd in CGB Ⅰ, while industrial emissions were the primary factor for Cd enrichment in CGB Ⅱ. In addition, natural factors also played an important role; the increased Normalized Difference Vegetation Index suggested reduced desertification and reduction of soil erosion in the watershed and in pollutants transported from upstream., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Tian et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: Opinions on the optimal age for surgical management of hydroceles in young boys are not uniform. Scrotal ultrasonography can be used to diagnose hydroceles and measure testicular size. A comparison of bilateral testicular size with hydrocele and the change in trend with age has not been reported. We therefore aimed to analyze the bilateral testicular size of children with unilateral non-communicating hydroceles and examine the correlation between age and testicular volume., Methods: Non-communicating hydrocele cases in children were included. Ultrasound results, age, and diagnose time were retrospectively recorded. The bilateral testicular size was compared, and the correlation between age and testicular volume was analyzed., Results: There were 138 cases of non-communicating hydrocele, ranging in age from 11 to 72 months. The diagnose time ranged from 3 days to 54 months. The volume of the testis on the side of the hydrocele was larger than that on the normal side (P < 0.001). Testicular length was not different bilaterally. Testicular width and height were greater on the hydrocele side than on the normal testicular side (P<0.001). Age was positively correlated with testicular volume on the normal side (P = 0.004) but not on the hydrocele side., Conclusions: An important finding was that when the contralateral normal testicular volume increases with age, the testicular volume does not increase on the hydrocele side. This finding confirms the adverse effects of hydrocele on testicular growth and provides a basis for early treatment., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Li et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: Mainland China has the most smartphone users worldwide, especially among college students, while mindfulness intervention can significantly alleviate the level of problematic smartphone use. We examined the effects of a brief mindfulness intervention on problematic smartphone use and investigated if this effect is mediated by self-control., Methods: Participants were recruited randomly from a university in Beijing of China. Forty-four college students were assigned to a mindfulness group or a control group. The mindfulness group took part in a brief (30 min) single-session mindfulness intervention. The control group was instructed to listen to a neutral news audio recording for the same duration (30 min). The Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory, Mobile Phone Addiction Tendency Scale, and Self-control Scale were used to measure state mindfulness, problematic smartphone use, and self-control of college students at pre-intervention and post-intervention, respectively., Results: Two-way repeated-measures ANOVA revealed that the mindfulness group had significant improvements in state mindfulness (p = .049) and self-control (p = .012), and had significant alleviation in problematic smartphone use (p < .001) at post-intervention. In the regression model, self-control had a mediating effect between mindfulness intervention and problematic smartphone use (95% CI [0.490, 7.216])., Conclusions: A brief single-session mindfulness intervention can alleviate the level of problematic smartphone use and increase the level of state mindfulness and self-control compared to the control group. Self-control can completely mediate the efficacy of the mindfulness intervention in reducing problematic smartphone use., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2022 Liu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

This paper uses data of Chinese listed enterprises and economic policy uncertainty index for empirical analysis, and conducts a study through three channels of monetary policy uncertainty affecting enterprise innovation investment, and finds that economic policy uncertainty has a positive promotion effect on enterprise R&D investment, and its increase in tension is instead a clear signal that can effectively increase enterprise R&D investment, this promotion effect seems unexpected, this paper Through theoretical analysis and combined with the actual practice, this incentive effect is found to be in line with reality. However, in the subsequent heterogeneity analysis, this paper finds that it positively promotes R&D investment when economic policy uncertainty is low and may have a suppressive effect on R&D investment when monetary policy uncertainty is high., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2022 Kun et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Malaria vector control interventions in Sumba, Indonesia, have not been able to eliminate malaria. Human drivers of exposure to Anopheles bites were investigated as part of a larger clinical trial evaluating the impact of a spatial repellent product on malaria incidence. Human behavioral observations (HBOs) evaluating temporal and spatial presence, sleeping behaviors, and insecticide treated net (ITN) use, were collected parallel to entomological collections-indoor and outdoor human landing catches (HLCs), and house hold surveys. Data demonstrates that mosquito access to humans, enabled by structurally open houses, is evident by the similar entomological landing rates both inside and outside households. The presence of animals inside houses was associated with increased mosquito entry-however, the number of humans present inside houses was not related to increased mosquito landing. Analyzing mosquito landing rates with human behavior data enables the spatial and temporal estimation of exposure to Anopheles bites, accounting for intervention (ITN) presence and usage. Human behavior adjusted exposure to Anopheles bites was found to be highest in the early in the evening, but continued at lower levels throughout the night. Over the night, most exposure (53%) occurred when people were indoors and not under the protection of nets (asleep or awake) followed by exposure outside (44%). Characterized gaps in protection are outdoor exposure as well as exposure indoors-when awake, and when asleep and not using ITNs. Interestingly, in the primary trial, even though there was not a significant impact of the spatial repellent on vector biting rates by themselves (16%), when factoring in human behavior, there was approximately 28% less exposure in the intervention arm than in the placebo arm. The treated arm had less human behavior adjusted bites in all spaces evaluated though there was proportionally higher exposure indoors. This analysis points to the importance of using HBOs both towards understanding gaps in protection as well as how interventions are evaluated. To mitigate ongoing transmission, understanding context specific spatial and temporal exposure based on the interactions of vectors, humans and interventions would be vital for a directed evidence-based control or elimination strategy., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2022 Rozi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected our society and human well-being in various ways. In this study, we investigate how the pandemic has influenced people's emotions and psychological states compared to a pre-pandemic period using real-world data from social media., Method: We collected Reddit social media data from 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 2020 (pandemic) from the subreddits communities associated with eight universities. We applied the pre-trained Robustly Optimized BERT pre-training approach (RoBERTa) to learn text embedding from the Reddit messages, and leveraged the relational information among posted messages to train a graph attention network (GAT) for sentiment classification. Finally, we applied model stacking to combine the prediction probabilities from RoBERTa and GAT to yield the final classification on sentiment. With the model-predicted sentiment labels on the collected data, we used a generalized linear mixed-effects model to estimate the effects of pandemic and in-person teaching during the pandemic on sentiment., Results: The results suggest that the odds of negative sentiments in 2020 (pandemic) were 25.7% higher than the odds in 2019 (pre-pandemic) with a p-value &lt; 0.001; and the odds of negative sentiments associated in-person learning were 48.3% higher than with remote learning in 2020 with a p-value of 0.029., Conclusions: Our study results are consistent with the findings in the literature on the negative impacts of the pandemic on people's emotions and psychological states. Our study contributes to the growing real-world evidence on the various negative impacts of the pandemic on our society; it also provides a good example of using both ML techniques and statistical modeling and inference to make better use of real-world data., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2022 Yan, Liu. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Video question answering (Video-QA) is a subject undergoing intense study in Artificial Intelligence, which is one of the tasks which can evaluate such AI abilities. In this paper, we propose a Modality Attention Fusion framework with Hybrid Multi-head Self-attention (MAF-HMS). MAF-HMS focuses on the task of answering multiple-choice questions regarding a video-subtitle-QA representation by fusion of attention and self-attention between each modality. We use BERT to extract text features, and use Faster R-CNN to ex-tract visual features to provide a useful input representation for our model to answer questions. In addition, we have constructed a Modality Attention Fusion (MAF) framework for the attention fusion matrix from different modalities (video, subtitles, QA), and use a Hybrid Multi-headed Self-attention (HMS) to further determine the correct answer. Experiments on three separate scene datasets show our overall model outperforms the baseline methods by a large margin. Finally, we conducted extensive ablation studies to verify the various components of the network and demonstrate the effectiveness and advantages of our method over existing methods through question type and required modality experimental results., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Objective: The objective was to analyze the clinical characteristics and pathological characteristics of sural biopsy in nitrous oxide (N2O) -induced peripheral neuropathy., Methods: We recruited 18 patients with N2O abuse-induced neurological disorders and reported their demographic data, clinical manifestations, laboratory examinations, and nerve conduction studies. Seven patients underwent sural nerve biopsy pathologic examination., Results: All 18 patients had polyneuropathy, the nerve conduction results showed significant reductions in motor and sensory amplitudes, slowing of conduction velocities, and prolongation of latencies in most tested nerves compared to the controls. Toluidine blue staining of semi-thin sections of sural nerve biopsy showed decreased myelinated nerve fiber density, increased thin myelinated nerve fiber density, and axonal regeneration. Electron microscopy showed axonal degeneration and nerve regeneration., Conclusion: The main manifestations of peripheral nerve damage caused by the abuse of N2O are lower limb weakness and distal sensory disorder. The nerve conduction study results demonstrated that mixed axonal and demyelinating neuropathy was the most common type of neuropathy. Sural biopsy showed the main pathological change was chronic axonal degeneration., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Background and Objectives: The 6-minute walk test (6MWT) is a field test commonly used to predict peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak) in people after stroke. Inclusion of cardiodynamic variables measured by impedance cardiography (ICG) during a 6MWT has been shown to improve prediction of VO2peak in healthy adults but these data have not been considered in people after stroke. This study investigates whether the prediction of VO2peak can be improved by the inclusion of cardiovascular indices derived by impedance cardiography (ICG) during the 6MWT in people after stroke., Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Patients diagnosed with stroke underwent in random order, a maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) and 6MWT in separate dates. Heart rate (HR), stroke volume (SV) and cardiac output (CO) were measured by ICG during all tests. Oxygen consumption was recorded by a metabolic cart during the CPET. Recorded data were subjected to multiple regression analyses to generate VO2peak prediction equations., Results: Fifty-nine patients, mean age 50.0±11.7 years were included in the analysis. The mean distance covered in the 6MWT (6MWD) was 294±13 m, VO2peak was 19.2±3.2 ml/min/kg. Mean peak HR, SV and CO recorded during 6MWT were 109±6 bpm, 86.3±8.8 ml, 9.4±1.2 L/min and during CPET were 135±14 bpm, 86.6±9 ml, 11.7±2 L/min respectively. The prediction equation with inclusion of cardiodynamic variables: 16.855 + (-0.060 x age) + (0.196 x BMI) + (0.01 x 6MWD) + (-0.416 x SV6MWT) + (3.587 x CO 6MWT) has a higher squared multiple correlation (R2) and a lower standard error of estimate (SEE) and SEE% compared to the equation using 6MWD as the only predictor., Conclusion: Inclusion of SV and CO measured during the 6MWT in stroke patients further improved the VO2peak prediction power compared to using 6MWD as a lone predictor., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Click-through rate prediction has become a hot research direction in the field of advertising. It is important to build an effective CTR prediction model. However, most existing models ignore the factor that the sequence is composed of sessions, and the user behaviors are highly correlated in each session and are not relevant across sessions. In this paper, we focus on user multiple session interest and propose a hierarchical model based on session interest (SIHM) for CTR prediction. First, we divide the user sequential behavior into session layer. Then, we employ a self-attention network obtain an accurate expression of interest for each session. Since different session interest may be related to each other or follow a sequential pattern, next, we utilize bidirectional long short-term memory network (BLSTM) to capture the interaction of different session interests. Finally, the attention mechanism based LSTM (A-LSTM) is used to aggregate their target ad to find the influences of different session interests. Experimental results show that the model performs better than other models., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Tetracycline (TC) is widely-used antibiotic pollutant with high toxicity, refractory, persistence and bacteriostasis, and its removal from water needs to be enhanced. In this work, a novel Graphite-UiO-66(Zr)/Ti electrode was successfully prepared and evaluated for electrochemical oxidation degradation of TC. The electrochemical performance tests indicate the Graphite-UiO-66(Zr)/Ti electrode had higher electrochemical oxidation activity, which achieved higher TC removal efficiency (98.1% ± 1.5%) than Ti plate (65.2% ± 3.5%), Graphite-MIL-53(Al)/Ti electrode (79.5% ± 2.9%) and Graphite-MIL-100(Fe)/Ti electrode (89.0% ± 2.6%). The influence of operating condition was also systematically studied, and the optimized condition was pH 5.0, 20 mA/cm2 current density and 0.1 M electrolyte (Na2SO4). Through the liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS), the TC degradation pathway by Graphite-UiO-66(Zr)/Ti electrode oxidation was proposed. Under the •OH free radical oxidative decomposition effect, the double bond, phenolic group and amine group of TC were attacked. TC was transformed into intermediate product ① (m/z = 447), then was further degraded to intermediates ② (m/z = 401) and ③ (m/z = 417). The latter was fragmented into small fractions ④ (m/z = 194), ⑤but-2-enedioic acid (m/z = 116) and ⑥oxalic acid (m/z = 90, the proposed intermediate). In addition, TC removal remained at 89.6% ± 2.7% in the sixth cycle of operation, which confirmed the efficient reusability and stability for antibiotics removal from water., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Aims: Glucagon‑like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) treatment can improve adipose distribution. We performed this meta-analysis to investigate whether GLP-1RAs preferentially reduce visceral adipose tissue (VAT) over subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) in patients with type 2 diabetes., Materials and Methods: We searched MEDLINE and the Cochrane Library for randomised controlled trials explicitly reporting changes in VAT and SAT. A random-effects model was performed to estimate the weighted mean difference (MD) for VAT and SAT. Heterogeneity among the studies was assessed using I2 statistics, and publication bias was assessed using Egger's tests. Meta-regression was performed to identify the correlation between changes in adipose tissues and changes in body weight and glycated haemoglobin level., Results: Ten trials with 924 patients were enrolled in the meta-analysis. GLP-1RA treatment led to similar absolute area (cm2) reductions in VAT (MD -21.13 cm2, 95% CI [-29.82, -12.44]) and SAT (MD -22.89 cm2, 95% CI [-29.83, -15.95]). No significant publication bias was detected, and this result was stable in the sensitivity and subgroup analyses. Moreover, GLP-1RA treatment resulted in a greater reduction in VAT and SAT in the subgroup with a greater reduction in body weight. The absolute area reduction in VAT was significantly correlated with the reduction in body weight (r = 6.324, p = 0.035)., Conclusions: GLP-1RA treatment leads to significant and similar absolute reductions in VAT and SAT, and the reduction in adipose tissues may be correlated with the reduction in body weight., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Many studies suggest that species diversity and abiotic factors promote ecosystem multifunctionality. However, whether ecosystem multifunctionality is impacted by phylogenetic diversity remains controversial. The present study tested this in an arid desert ecosystem in Ebinur Lake Basin using soil C:N ratio, soil pH, and soil salinity as abiotic factors, and species diversity and phylogenetic diversity as indicators of plant diversity. The effects of plant diversity and abiotic factors on single ecosystem functions (nutrient cycling, carbon stocks, water regulation, and wood production) and ecosystem multifunctionality were studied. We used structural equation modeling to assess the relationships among different functional groups and factors. The results showed that: (1) abiotic factors, particularly pH and C:N ratio in soil, had the strongest positive impact on multifunctionality (P < 0.001). The phylogenetic diversity and species diversity showed inconsistent changes, and their contribution to multifunctionality were not outstanding. (2) Abiotic factors were closely related to different ecosystem functions. Soil C:N had a significant positive effect on carbon stocks (P < 0.001), with an effect index of 0.89. Soil pH significantly enhanced nutrient cycling and water regulation. The role of plant diversity varied with the combination of different ecosystem functions. Phylogenetic diversity and species diversity influenced wood production, but showed opposite functions. (3) The importance of four single-ecosystem functions in an arid region was ranked as follows: carbon stocks > water regulation > nutrient cycling > wood production, emphasizing the importance of carbon elements in these ecosystems. These results improve our understanding of the drivers of multifunctionality in arid ecosystems, facilitating the elucidation of the influence of abiotic factors and phylogenetic diversity., Competing Interests: NO authors have competing interests Enter: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Microwave remote sensing can provide long-term near-surface soil moisture data on regional and global scales. Conducting standardized authenticity tests is critical to the effective use of observed data products in models, data assimilation, and various terminal scenarios. Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) soil moisture data were used as a reference for comparative analysis, and triple collocation analysis was used to validate data from four mainstream passive microwave remote sensing soil moisture products: Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS), Soil Moisture Active and Passive (SMAP), Global Change Observation Mission-Water using the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) instrument, and Fengyun-3C (FY-3C). The effects of topography, land cover, and meteorological factors on the accuracy of soil moisture observation data were determined. The results show that SMAP had the best overall performance and AMSR2 the worst. Passive microwave detection technology can accurately capture soil moisture data in areas at high altitude with uniform terrain, particularly if the underlying surface is soil, and in areas with low average temperatures and little precipitation, such as the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. FY-3C performed in the middle of the group and was relatively optimal in northeast China but showed poor data integrity. Variation in accuracy between products, together with other factors identified in the study, provides a baseline reference for the improvement of the retrieval algorithm, and the research results provide a quantitative basis for developing better use of passive microwave soil moisture products., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction: The present existing data on the association of metastatic sites and prognosis of patients with metastatic adrenal malignancy are limited. This study aims to investigate the impact of different distant metastases pattern on the survival of patients with adrenal malignancy., Methods: A dataset from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) 18 Registries (2000-2017) was selected for a retrospective metastatic adrenal malignancy cohort study. There was information on distribution of metastatic lesions in bone, brain, liver, and lung in the SEER database. Kaplan-Meier analysis and nomogram analyses were applied to compare the survival distribution of cases. Univariate and multivariate cox regression models were used to analyze survival outcomes., Results: From the SEER database, a total of 980 patients with primary metastatic adrenal malignancy from 2010 to 2017 were enrolled in this cohort study. Based on the initial metastatic sites, 42.3%, 38.4%, 30.5%, and 4.9% of patients were found bone, liver, lung, and brain metastasis, respectively. Patients who had a single site of distant metastases accounted for 52.6% (515/980) and had a better overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) (both P < 0.001). In contrast with the tumor arising from the cortex, the tumor from the medulla showed better survival outcomes in both OS and CSS (P < 0.001)., Conclusion: Different histological types possess various metastatic features and prognostic values. Understanding these differences may contribute to designing targeted pre-treatment assessment of primary metastatic adrenal malignancy and creating a personalized curative intervention., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.