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Abstract DARS, encoding for aspartyl-tRNA synthetase, is implicated in the pathogenesis of various cancers, including renal cell carcinoma, glioblastoma, colon cancer, and gastric cancer. Its role in BCR/ABL1-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), however, remains unexplored. This study aimed to elucidate the expression of DARS in patients with MPNs (PV 23, ET 19, PMF 16) through immunohistochemical analysis and to examine the profiles of circulating immune cells and cytokines using flow cytometry. Our findings indicate a significant overexpression of DARS in all MPNs subtypes at the protein level compared to controls (P

Abstract Objective In the pathogenesis of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), inflammation plays an important role. However, it is unclear whether there is a causal link between inflammation and MPNs. We used a bidirectional, two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) approach to investigate the causal relationship between systemic inflammatory cytokines and myeloproliferative neoplasms. Methods A genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 8293 European participants identified genetic instrumental variables for circulating cytokines and growth factors. Summary statistics of MPN were obtained from a GWAS including 1086 cases and 407,155 controls of European ancestry. The inverse-variance-weighted method was mainly used to compute odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (Cl). Results Our results showed that higher Interleukin-2 receptor, alpha subunit (IL-2rα) levels, and higher Interferon gamma-induced protein 10 (IP-10) levels were associated with an increased risk of MPN (OR = 1.36,95%CI = 1.03–1.81, P = 0.032; OR = 1.55,95%CI = 1.09–2.22, P = 0.015; respectively).In addition, Genetically predicted MPN promotes expression of the inflammatory cytokines interleukin-10 (IL-10) (BETA = 0.033, 95% CI = 0.003 ~ 0.064, P = 0.032) and monokine induced by interferon-gamma (MIG) (BETA = 0.052, 95% CI = 0.002–0.102, P = 0.043) and, on activation, normal T cells express and secrete RANTES (BETA = 0.055, 95% CI = 0.0090.1, P = 0.018). Conclusion Our findings suggest that cytokines are essential to the pathophysiology of MPN. More research is required if these biomarkers can be used to prevent and treat MPN.

Abstract Background The low absorption of x-rays in lung tissue and the poor resolution of conventional computed tomography (CT) limits its use to detect lung disease. However, x-ray dark-field imaging can sense the scattered x-rays deflected by the structures being imaged. This technique can facilitate the detection of small alveolar lesions that would be difficult to detect with conventional CT. Therefore, it may provide an alternative imaging modality to diagnose lung disease at an early stage. Methods Eight mice were inoculated with lung cancers simultaneously. Each time two mice were scanned using a grating-based dark-field CT on days 4, 8, 12, and 16 after the introduction of the cancer cells. The detectability index was calculated between nodules and healthy parenchyma for both attenuation and dark-field modalities. High-resolution micro-CT and pathological examinations were used to crosscheck and validate our results. Paired t-test was used for comparing the ability of dark-field and attenuation modalities in pulmonary nodule detection. Results The nodules were shown as a signal decrease in the dark-field modality and a signal increase in the attenuation modality. The number of nodules increased from day 8 to day 16, indicating disease progression. The detectability indices of dark-field modality were higher than those of attenuation modality (p = 0.025). Conclusions Compared with the standard attenuation CT, the dark-field CT improved the detection of lung nodules. Relevance statement Dark-field CT has a higher detectability index than conventional attenuation CT in lung nodule detection. This technique could improve the early diagnosis of lung cancer. Key points • Lung cancer progression was observed using x-ray dark-field CT. • Dark-field modality complements with attenuation modality in lung nodule detection. • Dark-field modality showed a detectability index higher than that attenuation in nodule detection. Graphical Abstract

Mating plugs in animals are ubiquitous and are commonly interpreted to be products of mating strategies. In spiders, however, mating plugs may also take on functions beyond female remating prevention. Due to the vagaries of female genital (spermathecal) anatomy, most spiders face the problem of having to secure additional, non-anatomical, protection for transferred sperm. Here, we test the hypothesis that mating plugs, rather than (or in addition to) being adaptations for mating strategies, may serve as sperm protection mechanism. Based on a comparative study on 411 epigyna sampled from 36 families, 187 genera, 330 species of entelegyne spiders, our results confirm the necessity of a sperm protection mechanism. We divided the entelegyne spermathecae into four types: SEG, SED, SCG and SCD. We also studied detailed morphology of epigynal tracts in the spider Diphya wulingensis having the SEG type spermathecae, using 3D-reconstruction based on semi thin histological series section. In this species, we hypothesize that two distinct types of mating plug, the sperm plug and the secretion plug, serve different functions. Morphological details support this: sperm plugs are formed on a modified spermathecal wall by the spilled sperm, and function as a temporary protection mechanism to prevent sperm from leaking and desiccating, while secretion plugs function in postcopulation both as a permanent protection mechanism, and to prevent additional mating. Furthermore, with the modified spermathecal wall of S2 stalk, the problem of shunt of sperm input and output, and the possibility of female multiple mating have been resolved. Variation in spermathecal morphology also suggests that the problem of sperm protection might be resolved in different ways in spiders. Considering mating plugs of varying shapes and origins in the vast morphospace of spiders, we conclude that mating plugs might serve different purposes that relate both to mating strategies, as well as to sperm protection.

The complexity and strong heterogeneity of carbonate reservoirs with fracture-vuggy structures present significant challenges in reservoir characterization. To address these challenges, we propose a novel multi-element information fusion modeling approach. This approach is designed to integrate multiple methods and incorporate multi-probability fusion at various facies and scales, thereby bridging the gap between geological information and reservoir modeling. Our methodology involves four key steps. First, the statistics between frequency of karst and geological information are acquired, and we quantify the statistics to regression equations. Second, these regression equations are transferred to probability bodies. The probability bodies can be applied in modeling as a soft control. But just one single body can be input in modeling process. Third, multiple probability bodies are fused into a fusion probability body by a probability fusion algorithm, which can keep the potential information of probability bodies. Finally, we apply the probability body in modeling workflow. By this way, the fusion method bridges the gap between geological information and modeling. The model established through our proposed method showed a significant level of consistency with reservoir re-evaluation, achieving an impressive 90% degree of alignment. Furthermore, the history match analysis revealed a high correlation, indicating the model's reliability. The method effectively integrates various scales and types of geological information, offering an accurate approach to complex carbonate reservoir modeling.

Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) are recognized as promising detection biomarkers and attractive delivery vehicles, showing great potential in diagnosis and treatment of diseases. However, the applications of sEVs are usually restricted by their poor secretion amount from donor cells under routine cell culture conditions, which is especially true for mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) due to their limited expansion and early senescence. Here, a microfluidic device is proposed for boosting sEV secretion from MSCs derived from human fetal bone marrow (BM-MSCs). As the cells rapidly pass through a microfluidic channel with a series of narrow squeezing ridges, mechanical stimulation permeabilizes the cell membrane, thus promoting them to secrete more sEVs into extracellular space. In this study, the microfluidic device demonstrates that mechanical-squeezing effect could increase the secretion amount of sEVs from the BM-MSCs by approximately 4-fold, while maintaining cellular growth state of the stem cells. Further, the secreted sEVs are efficiently taken up by immortalized human corneal epithelial cells and accelerate corneal epithelial wound healing in vitro, indicating that this technique wound not affect the functionality of sEVs and demonstrating the application potentials of this technique.

Protoplast culture and transformation technology offer a novel method for developing new plant varieties. Nonetheless, the effective preparation of protoplasts and transformation technology specific to celery has yet to be achieved. This study utilized celery seedling leaves as the primary materials to examine the key factors influencing protoplast isolation. The aim was to prepare leaf protoplasts with a high yield and of high quality and subsequently conduct transient gene transformation and expression. The findings indicated that the most effective procedure for isolating and purifying protoplasts was enzymatic digestion using an enzyme solution consisting of 2.0% cellulase, 0.1% pectolase, and 0.6 M mannitol for a duration of 8 h. Subsequently, the protoplasts were filtered through a 400-mesh sieve and purified through centrifugation at 200× g. Within this system, the overall protoplast yield was exceptionally high, reaching a viability rate of up to 95%. The transient transformation system yielded a maximum transformation efficiency of approximately 53%, as evaluated using the green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a reporter gene. The parameters of the transient transformation system were as follows: a protoplast concentration of 5 × 105 cells·mL−1, exogenous DNA concentration of 500 μg·mL−1, final concentration of PEG4000 at 40%, and transformation duration of 15 min. The transient transformation system was also utilized to further analyze the protein localization characteristics of the celery transcription factor AgMYB80. The findings indicated that AgMYB80 predominantly localizes in the nucleus, thereby confirming the reliability and effectiveness of the transient transformation system. This study successfully established an efficient system for isolating, purifying, and transforming celery protoplasts, and will serve as a basis for future studies on molecular biology and gene function.

The sliding mode observer (SMO)–based sensorless control is essentially a discontinuous switching control algorithm. Therefore, there is large speed or torque chattering in the permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) with existing sliding mode observer–based control methods. In order to solve this problem well, an algorithm based on an improved sliding mode observer is proposed. In detail, the piecewise power function approach is used to replace the traditional ones, that is, the sgn function or the sigmoid function approach. Simulation verifications are conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed observer. It shows that the piecewise power function–based sliding mode observer algorithm has obvious advantages in the stability of the three-phase current, namely, it improves the estimation accuracy of the rotor position, rotor speed, and dynamic response to various loads. For further verification, the proposed sliding mode observer algorithm is implemented and verified in a marine electric propulsion motor with a DSP chip of TMS320F28377D. Experimental results validate that the piecewise power function–based sliding mode observer algorithm has high control accuracy and fewer fluctuations, which are all vital in marine engineering.

Multiorgan venous and lymphatic defect (MOVLD) syndrome is a unique visceral vascular malformations with complex etiologies. In this study, primary skin fibroblasts were obtained from three MOVLD patients and reprogrammed into iPSCs by Yamanaka’s classical strategy. The MOVLD- iPSCs carrying the DDX24 p.Glu271Lys mutation were confirmed by Sanger sequencing. The pluripotency of MOVLD-iPSCs was verified by the specific molecular markers and gene expression, trilineage differentiation potential. The establishment of the MOVLD-iPSCs will provide a useful model for understanding the mechanisms involved the MOVLD and promoting the development of medical treatment.

Though split pole shoe can solve the problems of increased cost and decreased efficiency caused by replacing pole shoes in the test, assembling and use of split sealing devices, it fails to overcome the issue of sealing in the gap between split pole shoe's junction surface and shaft. In this paper, a split magnetic liquid sealing structure is designed, combining magnetic liquid sealing and split pole shoe's plane sealing. In our study, we have adopted three methods for split sealing and use theory and simulation to ascertain the sealing performance of the split magnetic liquid sealing structure designed by us. The results indicate that magnetic sealant bonded split pole shoes show better sealing performance as compared to those bonded by ordinary sealant, and that the structural optimisation results can meet the requirement for sealing performance. The simulation results coincide with theoretical results, which proves the correctness of this research.

Limited-angle computed tomography (CT) has arisen in some medical and industrial applications. It is also a challenging problem since some scan views are missing and the directly reconstructed images often suffer from severe distortions. For such kind of problems, we analyze the features of limited-angle CT images and propose a multi-scale dilated convolution neural network (MSD-CNN) to correct the artifacts and to restore the image. In this network, the dilated convolution layer and multi-scale pooling layer are combined to form a group and exited in the whole encoder-decoder process. Since the dilated convolutions support an exponential expansion of the receptive field without losing resolution and coverage, the obtained artifact features possess the multi-scale characteristic. Furthermore, to improve the effectiveness and accuracy of the training step, we employ a preprocessing method, which extracts image patches. Numerical experiments verify the out-performance of the proposed method compared with some conventional methods, such as Unet based deep learning,TV- and L0 -based optimization methods.

Abstract Background Multiple factors, including co-exposure between lifestyle and environmental risks, are important in susceptibility to oxidative DNA damage. However, the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. This study was undertaken to evaluate whether Cytochrome P4501A1 (CYP1A1) methylation can mediate the co-exposure effect between smoking and occupational polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in development of oxidative DNA damage. Methods We explored the associations between smoking and occupational PAH co-exposure effect, CYP1A1 methylation and oxidative DNA damage among 500 workers from a coke-oven plant in China. Urine biomarkers of PAH exposure (1-hydroxypyrene, 1-OHP; 2-hydroxynaphthalene, 2-NAP; 2-hydroxyfluorene, 2-FLU; and 9-hydroxyphenanthren, 9-PHE) and a marker of oxidative DNA damage (8-hydroxy- 2′- deoxyguanosine, 8-OHdG) were measured by high performance liquid chromatography. CYP1A1 methylation was measured by pyrosequencing. Finally, mediation analysis was performed to investigate whether CYP1A1 methylation mediated smoking and occupational PAH co-exposure effect on oxidative DNA damage. Results We observed significant associations of smoking and 1-OHP co-exposure with CYP1A1 hypomethylation (OR: 1.87, 95% CI: 1.01–3.47) and high 8-OHdG (OR: 2.13, 95% CI: 1.14–3.97). There was a significant relationship between CYP1A1 hypomethylation and high 8-OHdG (1st vs. 3rd tertile = 1.58, 95% CI: 1.01–2.47, P for trend = 0.046). In addition, mediation analysis suggested CYP1A1 hypomethylation could explain 13.6% of effect of high 8-OHdG related to smoking and 1-OHP co-exposure. Conclusions Our findings suggested that the co-exposure effect of smoking and occupational PAH could increase the risk of oxidative DNA damage by a mechanism partly involving CYP1A1 hypomethylation.

Material decomposition (MD) is an important application of computer tomography (CT). For phase contrast imaging, conventional MD methods are categorized into two types with respect to different operation sequences, i.e., "before" or "after" image reconstruction. Both categories come down to two-step methods, which have the problem of noise amplification. In this study, we incorporate both phase and absorption (PA) information into MD process, and correspondingly develop a simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique (SART). The proposed method is referred to as phase & absorption material decomposition-SART (PAMD-SART). By iteratively solving an optimization problem, material composition and substance quantification are reconstructed directly from absorption and differential phase projections. Comparing with two-step MD, the proposed one-step method is superior in noise suppression and accurate decomposition. Numerical simulations and synchrotron radiation based experiments show that PAMD-SART outperforms the classical MD method (image-based and dual-energy CT iterative method), especially for the quantitative accuracy of material equivalent atomic number.

The upper computer communication operation state automatic monitoring system is mainly used to remotely monitor the equipment, obtain various parameter indexes in the operation process of remote equipment, realize remote monitoring and fault diagnosis, and improve the management efficiency of decentralized equipment. This paper completes the design of communication, data storage, query, and other subsystems of upper and lower computers. The lower computer establishes a data channel with the OPC server through the MPI protocol and uploads the collected data to the OPC server in real time. The upper computer reads the data through the OPC server and displays the changes of monitored parameters in real time through the monitoring interface, so as to give an alarm under abnormal conditions. In addition, since the default database of Kingview is access, considering that the Microsoft Access database can store up to 2G of content, in order to upgrade and expand the subsequent system, SQL Server database is selected for data query, backup, and saving. The parameter setting method of communication control system is analyzed, the simulation model of industrial boiler control system is established by using Matlab/Simulink, and the interface between host computer software (IBCCS-e) and the model is provided. This paper analyzes the results of communication parameter adjustment. The simulation results show that the industrial boiler computer control system (IBCCS) has stable performance, low cost, convenient operation, and good maintainability. After further improvement, it has certain application value in the operation transformation of new small- and medium-sized boilers and original boilers.

Our understanding of spider reproductive biology is hampered by the vast anatomical diversity and difficulties associated with its study. Although authors agree on the two general types of female spider genitalia, haplogyne (plesiomorphic) and entelegyne (apomorphic), our understanding of variation within each group mostly concerns the external genital part, while the internal connections with the reproductive duct are largely unknown. Conventionally and simplistically, the spermathecae of haplogynes have simple two-way ducts, and those of entelegynes have separate copulatory and fertilization ducts for sperm to be transferred in and out of spermathecae, respectively. Sperm is discharged from the spermathecae directly into the uterus externus (a distal extension of the oviduct), which, commonly thought as homologous in both groups, is the purported location of internal fertilization in spiders. However, the structural evolution from haplo- to entelegyny remains unresolved, and thus the precise fertilization site in entelegynes is ambiguous. We aim to clarify this anatomical problem through a widely comparative morphological study of internal female genital system in entelegynes. Our survey of 147 epigyna (121 examined species in 97 genera, 34 families) surprisingly finds no direct connection between the fertilization ducts and the uterus externus, which, based on the homology with basal-most spider lineages, is a dead-end caecum in entelegynes. Instead, fertilization ducts usually connect with a secondary uterus externus, a novel feature taking over the functional role of the plesiomorphic uterus externus. We hypothesize that the transition from haplo- to entelegyny entailed not only the emergence of the two separate duct systems (copulatory, fertilization), but also involved substantial morphological changes in the distal part of the oviduct. Thus, the common oviduct may have shifted its distal connection from the uterus externus to the secondary uterus externus, perhaps facilitating discharge of larger eggs. Our findings suggest that the conventional model of entelegyne reproduction needs redefinition.

Myocardial infarction (MI) is considered as one of the major life-threatening health issues worldwide. Growing number of cases every year is demanding rapid, portable, and early detection by the sensing devices for the identification of MI. This research work introduces a modified interdigitated electrode (IDE) sensing surface constructed with single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCN) to detect the cardiac biomarker, C-reactive protein (CRP). CRP-specific aptamer was conjugated with gold nanoparticle and attached on SWCN-constructed IDE surface. This probe-modified sensing surface has reached the limit of CRP detection to 10 pM on a linear regression curve with the regression coefficient of R² = 0.9223 [y = 0.9198x - 0.4326]. Further, control molecules, such as random aptamer sequence and nontarget cardiac biomarker (Troponin I), did not show the current response, indicating the specific CRP detection. This sensing strategy helps to detect the lower level of CRP and diagnose the MI at its earlier stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differential phase-contrast (DPC) X-ray imaging has been performed in the Talbot–Lau configuration, in which the X-ray source was a combination of an absorption grating and a laboratory X-ray generator. We report here quantitative analysis of partial coherence effects on the X-ray Talbot–Lau interferometer. Based on the visibility of the self-image, the well-known geometry condition is reproduced. It is shown that effects of partial coherence are determined by the opening ratio of the source grating, and that the effects are independent of the Talbot order and the type of the phase grating, a condition quite different from those in a Talbot interferometer. A possible explanation is discussed from the point of view of the effective spatial coherence length. Taking into account the available X-ray flux and experimental fluctuations, we present the optimum opening ratio. Furthermore, we mention that our results can also be successfully used to discuss the properties of a multiline X-ray source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of polychromaticity of the X-ray source on the performance of an X-ray Talbot interferometer applied for phase-contrast imaging is analyzed through numerical simulations based on the Fresnel diffraction theory. The presented simulation results show that the visibility of the self-image is fairly insensitive to the source polychromaticity and explain why the interferometer could be well combined with polychromatic X-ray sources in recent experiments. Furthermore, the self-image with a high visibility can be obtained under polychromatic illumination even at a high-order fractional Talbot distance. This fact implies that the acquired image quality for phase measurements can be improved, since the primary signal for phase measurement is proportional to the inter-grating distance. Finally, we mention that the results are also valid for Talbot–Lau interferometer and scanning double-grating configuration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]