Search

Shan Tang,1 Jingxiao Lu,1 Cheng Xu,2 Lu Wei,1 Shenglan Mei,1 Rong Chen,1,2 Qing-Tao Meng1,2 1Department of Anesthesiology, East Hospital, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Anesthesiology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Qing-Tao Meng, Tel +8615178857650, Email mengqingtao2018@126.comPurpose: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of remazolam compared with propofol in patients who underwent laryngeal mask airway (LMA) insertion without the use of muscle relaxant agents during hysteroscopic surgery.Patients and Methods: A total of 72 patients undergoing hysteroscopy with LMA insertion were assigned to two groups. The patients in the remazolam group received 0.3 μg/kg sufentanil, 0.3 mg/kg remazolam and 1.2 mg/kg remifentanil, whereas the patients in the propofol group received 0.3 μg/kg sufentanil, 2.0 mg/kg propofol and 1.2 mg/kg remifentanil for insertion of the LMA. The primary endpoint was the summed score of the insertion conditions. The secondary endpoints included hemodynamics, the duration of induction, the duration of insertion, tidal volume, plateau pressure and adverse events.Results: No difference was identified between the propofol group and remazolam group in the median summed score [18.0 (18.0, 18.0), 18.0 (17.0, 18.0), respectively, P > 0.05]. The induction duration was significantly longer (P < 0.05) in the remazolam group than propofol group. The cost of dopamine (P < 0.05) was significantly lower in the remazolam group compared with the patients in the propofol group, while the plateau pressure (P < 0.05) and the incidence of transient mild laryngospasm (P < 0.05) were significantly higher in the remazolam group. No differences were identified between the two groups in terms of heart rate, tidal volume, injection pain or hiccups (P > 0.05).Conclusion: Remazolam provided similar insertion conditions and better hemodynamic stability than propofol during LMA insertion without the use of muscle relaxant agents. However, a higher incidence of transient mild laryngospasm was found in the remazolam group, which should be considered.Keywords: remazolam, propofol, laryngeal mask airway, muscle relaxants

Sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) methods are a class of Monte Carlo methods that are used to obtain random samples of a high dimensional random variable in a sequential fashion. Many problems encountered in applications often involve different types of constraints. These constraints can make the problem much more challenging. In this paper, we formulate a general framework of using SMC for constrained sampling problems based on forward and backward pilot resampling strategies. We review some existing methods under the framework and develop several new algorithms. It is noted that all information observed or imposed on the underlying system can be viewed as constraints. Hence the approach outlined in this paper can be useful in many applications.

Cyclosporin A is a calcineurin inhibitor which has a narrow therapeutic window and high interindividual variability. Various population pharmacokinetic models have been reported; however, professional software and technical personnel were needed and the variables of the models were limited. Therefore, the aim of this study was to establish a model based on machine learning to predict CsA trough concentrations in Chinese allo-HSCT patients. A total of 7874 cases of CsA therapeutic drug monitoring data from 2069 allo-HSCT patients were retrospectively included. Sequential forward selection was used to select variable subsets, and eight different algorithms were applied to establish the prediction model. XGBoost exhibited the highest prediction ability. Except for the variables that were identified by previous studies, some rarely reported variables were found, such as norethindrone, WBC, PAB, and hCRP. The prediction accuracy within ±30% of the actual trough concentration was above 0.80, and the predictive ability of the models was demonstrated to be effective in external validation. In this study, models based on machine learning technology were established to predict CsA levels 3–4 days in advance during the early inpatient phase after HSCT. A new perspective for CsA clinical application is provided.

Previous studies have demonstrated that low-intensity transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) can eliminate hippocampal neural activity. However, until now, it has remained unclear how ultrasound modulates theta and gamma oscillations in the hippocampus under different behavioral states. In this study, we used ultrasound to stimulate the CA1 in mice in anesthesia, awake and running states, and we simultaneously recorded the local field potential of the stimulation location. We analyzed the power spectrum, phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) of theta and gamma oscillations, and their relationship with ultrasound intensity. The results showed that (i) TUS significantly enhanced the absolute power of theta and gamma oscillations under anesthesia and in the awake state. (ii) The PAC strength between theta and gamma oscillations is significantly enhanced under the anesthesia and awake states but is weakened under the running state with TUS. (iii) Under anesthesia, the relative power of theta decreases and that of gamma increases as ultrasound intensity increases, and the result under the awake state is opposite that under the anesthesia state. (iv) The PAC index between theta and gamma increases as ultrasound intensity increases under the anesthesia and awake states. The above results demonstrate that TUS can modulate theta and gamma oscillations in the CA1 and that the modulation effect depends on behavioral states. Our study provides guidance for the application of ultrasound in modulating hippocampal function.

The gas-liquid two-phase flow is widely applied in engineering. Studying the bubble movement in the liquid phase is valuable for achieving efficient operation of relevant reactors. In this study, the ascending morphology of single-pore bubbles and double-pore bubbles in liquids was photographed by building a visualization experimental setup. Together with MATLAB, the effects of different variables on the ascending of bottom-blown bubbles were analyzed. Experimental results showed the bubble departure diameter was enlarged with the increase of pore inner diameter. At larger pore inner diameter, the bubble orbits were more disorderly, and the ultimate bubble velocity was smaller. At larger gas flow rate, the orbit of single bubbles was closer to a straight line, and the disturbance of double bubbles was intensified, leading to coalescence. The ultimate bubble velocity in water was accelerated with the increase of gas flow rate, and when the number of pores changed, the flow rate was more influential than the pore inner diameter on the ultimate bubble velocity. The centroid orbits of single bubbles were not significantly different between the two liquid-phase conditions, but the swinging amplitude of double bubbles in water was smaller than that in the 0.75% NaCl solution. The horizontal velocities were not significantly different, but the first velocity and ultimate velocity of bubbles at the vertical level in the 0.75% NaCl solution were both larger than those in water. These findings offer basic data for research on bubble strengthening and blending effects in vertical channels.

Spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) transmit sound signals received by hair cells to the auditory center to produce hearing. The quantity and function are important for maintaining normal hearing function. Limited by the regenerative capacity, SGNs are unable to regenerate spontaneously after injury. Various neurotrophic factors play an important role in the regeneration process. Neuritin, a neurite outgrowth factor, is a neurotrophic factor closely related to neural plasticity. In this study, we used bioinformatics analysis to show that neuritin was negatively correlated with cochlear damage. Then, we aimed to establish a cochlear spiral ganglion-specific sensorineural deafness model in gerbils using ouabain and determine the effects of exogenous neuritin protein in protecting damaged cochlear SGNs and repairing damaged auditory nerve function. The provides a new research strategy and scientific basis for the prevention and treatment of sensorineural deafness caused by the loss of SGNs. We found that neuritin is expressed throughout the development of the gerbil cochlea, primarily in the SGNs and Corti regions. The expression of neuritin was negatively correlated with the sensorineural deafness model. In vitro and in vivo revealed that neuritin significantly maintained the number and arrangement of SGNs and nerve fibers in the damaged cochlea and effectively protected the high-frequency listening function of gerbils.

BackgroundAnaerobic digestion (AD) is important in treating of food waste, and thousands of metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) have been constructed for the microbiome in AD. However, due to the limitations of the short-read sequencing and assembly technologies, most of these MAGs are grouped from hundreds of short contigs by binning algorithms, and the errors are easily introduced.ResultsIn this study, we constructed a total of 60 non-redundant microbial genomes from 64.5 Gb of PacBio high-fidelity (HiFi) long reads, generated from the digestate samples of a full-scale biogas plant fed with food waste. Of the 60 microbial genomes, all genomes have at least one copy of rRNA operons (16S, 23S, and 5S rRNA), 54 have ≥18 types of standard tRNA genes, and 39 are circular complete genomes. In comparison with the published short-read derived MAGs for AD, we found 23 genomes with average nucleotide identity less than 95% to any known MAGs. Besides, our HiFi-derived genomes have much higher average contig N50 size, slightly higher average genome size and lower contamination. GTDB-Tk classification of these genomes revealed two genomes belonging to novel genus and four genomes belonging to novel species, since their 16S rRNA genes have identities lower than 95 and 97% to any known 16S rRNA genes, respectively. Microbial community analysis based on the these assembled genomes reveals the most predominant phylum was Thermotogae (70.5%), followed by Euryarchaeota (6.1%), and Bacteroidetes (4.7%), and the most predominant bacterial and archaeal genera were Defluviitoga (69.1%) and Methanothrix (5.4%), respectively. Analysis of the full-length 16S rRNA genes identified from the HiFi reads gave similar microbial compositions to that derived from the 60 assembled genomes.ConclusionHigh-fidelity sequencing not only generated microbial genomes with obviously improved quality but also recovered a substantial portion of novel genomes missed in previous short-read based studies, and the novel genomes will deepen our understanding of the microbial composition in AD of food waste.

In this paper we describe NPSA, the first parallel nonparametric global maximum likelihood optimization algorithm using simulated annealing (SA). Unlike the nonparametric adaptive grid search method NPAG, which is not guaranteed to find a global optimum solution, and may suffer from the curse of dimensionality, NPSA is a global optimizer and it is free from these grid related issues. We illustrate NPSA by a number of examples including a pharmacokinetics (PK) model for Voriconazole and show that NPSA may be taken as an upgrade to the current grid search based nonparametric methods., Comment: 35 pages, 11 figures, 1 table

Microbial communities are fundamental components driving critical biogeochemical carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) cycles in groundwater ecosystems. The reduction–oxidation (redox) potential is one important environmental factor influencing the microbial community composition. Here, we developed a bio-trap method using in-situ sediment as a matrix to collect aquifer sediment samples and evaluate the response of microbial composition and C/N/S cycling functions to redox variations created by providing sole O2, joint O2 and H2, and sole H2 to three wells. Illumina sequencing analyses showed that the microbial communities in the bio-trap sediment could respond quickly to redox changes in the wells, demonstrating that this bio-trap method is promising for detecting microbial variation in the aquifer sediment. The microbial metabolic functions related to C, N and S cyclings and organic pollutants degradation were predicted by the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) approach. It was found that the joint O2 and H2 injection produced medium oxidation–reduction potential (ORP −346 and −614 mV) and enhanced more microbial functions than sole O2 or H2, which mainly include oxidative phosphorylation, most carbon source metabolism, various pollutants degradation, and nitrogen and sulfur metabolism. Moreover, the functional genes encoding phenol monooxygenase, dioxygenase, nitrogen fixation, nitrification, aerobic and anaerobic nitrate reductase, nitrite reductase, nitric oxide reductase, and sulfur oxidation increased. These findings tell us the contaminant bioremediation and N, S metabolism can be promoted by adjusting ORP realised by injecting joint O2 and H2.

Additional file 1: Figure S1. Subgroup analysis on hospital mortality according to the number of research centers. Figure S2. Sensitivity analysis of heterogeneity among studies on hospital mortality. Figure S3. Meta-regression analysis to find the impact factor of ACEI/ARB continuation on hospital mortality. Figure S4. Univariate meta-regression analysis to find the impact factor of ACEI/ARB continuation on in-hospital mortality. Figure S5. Funnel plots to estimate the publication bias regarding the effect of ACEI/ARB continuation on hospital mortality. Table S1. Reasons of discontinuing ACEi/ARB. Table S2. Blood pressure of the included patients. Table S3. Baseline acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease. Table S4. The pooled adjusted RR of the outcomes of interest.

Additional file 2. Table S1. Clinical and molecular genetic data of previously reported 82 PFIC3 patients.

Additional file 1: Figure S1. Quantile normalization of miRNA microarray data (GSE69580) containing five tumors and five normal tissues. Figure S2. Overlapping genes between miRNA (seven upregulated and two downregulated miRNAs) target genes and immune genes from the ImmPort Portal database. Figure S3. The normalization of 393 genes from the TCGA database. Figure S4. (A) Expression levels and (B) overall survival rate of 11 genes obtained from the TCGA database. (*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001, n.s. not statistically significant). Figure S5. The heatmap of CD320, PSMD14, NTF3, and SORT1 expression in different immune cells. Figure S6. The correlation analyses between (A) miR-21-5p, (B) miR-125b-5p and related methyltransferase genes (DNMT1, DNMT3A, and DNMT3B). Figure S7. (A–D) The calibration analysis of the 4 prognostic nomogram models (CD320, PSMD14, SORT1, and NTF3). Figure S8. (A–D) Immunohistochemistry validation of gene protein expression (CD320, PSMD14, NTF3, and SORT1) from the Human Protein Atlas database. Figure S9. Investigate the 4 hub genes (CD320, PSMD14, SORT1, and NTF3) expression level in the GSE14520 (T = 247; N = 241) (A), GSE76427 (T = 115; N = 52) (B), and TCGA (T = 371; N = 160) (C) expression matrix. (*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001, n.s. not statistically significant). Figure S10. Prediction of DEIRGs-related drugs. Table S1. Prediction of DEIRGs-related top 10 drugs.

Paris spp. are important medicinal plant and main raw material for many Chinese patent medicines, but viral diseases have became serious problems in cultivation of this group of important medicinal plants in China. In this study, eight viruses were identified in the diseased plants of Paris yunnanensis by high-throughput sequencing (HTS) and RT–PCR. These viruses include three novel viruses (two potyviruses and one nepovirus), Hippeastrum chlorotic ringspot virus (HCRV), Lychnis mottle virus (LycMoV), Paris mosaic necrosis virus (PMNV), Paris virus 1 and pepper mild mottle virus. The three new viruses were tentatively named Paris potyvirus 3 (ParPV-3), Paris potyvirus 4 (ParPV-4), Paris nepovirus 1 (ParNV-1) and their complete genome sequences were determined. Sequence analyses showed ParPV-3 and ParPV-4 shared the highest amino acid (aa) sequence identities of 54.3% to each other and 53.0–57.8% to other known potyviruses. ParNV-1 had aa sequence identities of 28.8–63.7% at protease-polymerase (Pro-Pol) with other nepoviruses. Phylogenetic analyses further support that the three viruses are new members of their corresponding genera. Analyses of the partial sequences of HCRV and LycMoV infecting P. yunnanensis revealed they diverged from existing isolates by aa sequence identities of 97.1% at glycoprotein precursor of HCRV and 93.3% at polyprotein of LycMoV. These two viruses are reported for the first time in Paris spp. A total of 123 field samples collected from P. yunnanensis in four counties of Yunnan, Southwest China were tested by RT–PCR for detecting each of the eight viruses. Results showed that nearly half of the samples were positive for at least one of the eight viruses. Two potyviruses, ParPV-3 (26.8%) and PMNV (24.4%), were predominant and widely distributed in the fields, while other viruses occurred in low rates and/or had limited distribution. This study insights into the virome infecting P. yunnanensis and provides valuable information for diagnosis and control of viral diseases in P. yunnanensis.

The aim of this study was to determine the cellular and molecular mechanisms of leptin (LEP) and the leptin receptor (LEPR) in testicular development of prepubertal ganders. In an in vivo animal experiment, active immunization against LEPR severely depressed prepubertal testicular development by significantly reducing testicular weights at 200 and 227 days of age. The number of elongated spermatids in the seminiferous tubules was also significantly decreased by immunization with LEPR at ages of 200 and 227 days. Inhibition of testicular development by LEPR immunization was associated with decreases in LHR, StAR, 3β-HSD, CYP11A1, CYP17A1, and PRLR mRNA expression levels in testicular tissue, which resulted in a significant decrease in testosterone synthesis. In the in vitro experiments, the addition of LEP combined with anti-LEPR antibodies strengthened LEPR signal transduction, and inhibited significantly testosterone production in cultured Leydig cells isolated from prepubertal gander testes. The mRNA expression of LHR, StAR, 3β-HSD, CYP11A1, CYP17A1 also decreased significantly after treatment with LEP combined with anti-LEPR antibodies in cultured Leydig cells. These results suggest that anti-LEPR antibodies strengthen LEPR signaling transduction in the presence of LEP, and immunization against LEPR inhibited testes development and testosterone secretion in prepubertal ganders.

BackgroundEndovascular therapy (EVT) is complex in the context of intracranial atherosclerosis (ICAS)-related large vessel occlusion (LVO) and the re-occlusion rates are high due to residual stenosis, the procedure time is long and the optimal EVT technique is unclear. The Balloon AngioplaSty with the dIstal protection of Stent Retriever (BASIS) technique is a novel thrombectomy technique that allows emergent balloon angioplasty to be performed via the wire of the retrieval stent. Our study presents our initial experience with the BASIS technique in ICAS-related LVO and assesses its feasibility.MethodIn patients with ICAS-related LVO treated with BASIS, clinical and angiographic data were retrospectively analyzed. Angiographic data included first-pass reperfusion (PFR), the rate of residual stenosis, distal emboli, and re-occlusion post-procedure. The Extended Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction (eTICI) scale was used to assess reperfusion extent, and an eTICI score ≥2b was defined as successful perfusion. Clinical outcome was evaluated at 3 months (modified Rankin score [mRS]), and an mRS ≤ 2 was defined as a good clinical outcome.ResultsA total of seven patients with ICAS-related LVO were included, and the median age of the patients was 76 years. All patients achieved eTICI 3 reperfusion and FPR. The residual stenosis rate ranged from 5 to 10%. None of the patients had re-occlusion post-procedure. The median puncture-to-reperfusion time was 51 min. None of the patients had a symptomatic cerebral hemorrhage, re-occlusion, distal embolism, and dissection. Good clinical outcomes were observed in four patients (4/7, 57.1%), and 1 patient (1/7, 14.3%) died.ConclusionThe BASIS technique is feasible and safe for treating acute ICAS-related LVO.

Human metallothionein-2A (MT2A) protein participates in metal homeostasis, detoxification, oxidative stress reduction, and immune defense. It decreases heavy metal ions and reactive oxygen species (ROS) during injury of cells and tissues. The single nucleotide polymorphisms at the MT2A gene have been associated in various human diseases including cancer. The current study aimed to elucidate associations between MT2A genotypes with the clinical, biochemical, and molecular characteristics that potentially related to lowered MT2A ex-pression. One hundred and forty-one healthy Taiwanese subjects were enrolled from Changhua Show-Chwan Memorial Hospital. Clinical, biochemical and molecular characteristics including the frequent minor allele SNPs, rs28366003 and rs10636, within the MT2A gene were determined. The genotype distribution of MT2A rs10636 fits the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. The significant associations with gradually decline of mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) were identified with MT2A rs10636 and rs28366003 using analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Tukey’s analysis as a post hoc test. We further validated the correlations between the expressions of genes in erythropoiesis, cholesterol synthesis, platelet synthesis, insulin with MT2A using the web-based Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) databases. The results revealed that hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α), erythropoietin (EPO), lipoprotein lipase (LPL), and lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) mRNA ex-pression are significantly correlated with MT2A mRNA expression. In conclusion, these results suggested that genetic variations of MT2A rs10636 and rs28366003 might be an important risk factor for erythropoiesis in the Taiwanese general population.

Objective: Untreated protracted bacterial bronchitis (PBB), a chronic wet cough prevalent in children, may lead to chronic suppurative lung disease or bronchiectasis. However, clinical diagnostic criteria for PBB are nonspecific; thus, PBB may be misdiagnosed. Thus, we assessed the diagnostic value of fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FOB) and risk factors associated with PBB. Methods: Children with chronic cough at First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University from January 2015 to May 2020 were enrolled and allocated to a suspected PBB (n=141) or a non-PBB (n=206) group. All children underwent extensive laboratory, chest imaging, and allergen tests. Children with suspected PBB underwent FOB with bronchoalveolar lavage; lavage and sputum samples were cultured. Results: All 347 children had chronic wet cough for approximately 2 months. Of 141 children with suspected PBB, 140 received FOB with bronchoalveolar lavage. Visible tracheal changes included pale mucosa, mucosal congestion, edema, swelling, and increased secretions attached to the wall. Sputum was visible primarily in the left main bronchus (78.7%), left lower lobe (59.6%), right upper lobe (62.4%), and right lower lobe (64.5%). Sputum properties and amounts significantly differed between children with vs. without PBB ( P < 0.05). Dermatophagoides (odds ratio [OR], 2.642; 95% CI, 1.283–5.369) and milk protein (OR, 2.452; 95% CI, 1.243–4.836) allergies and eczema (OR, 1.763; 95% CI, 1.011–3.075) were risk factors significantly associated with PBB. Conclusion: Dermatophagoides, milk protein, and eczema were associated with increased risk of PBB. Sputum distribution and tracheal wall changes observed through FOB may distinguish PBB and assist in its diagnosis.

In this paper, outcomes of the study on the bilinear forms and vector bright solitons for a coupled nonlinear Schrodinger system with variable coefficients are presented, which describes the simult...

In the construction of the tunnel passing through the existing structure at an ultra-close distance, the existing structure will produce obvious deformation. It is very important to understand the deformation characteristics of the existing upper structure at different positions, especially to ensure the safety of the upper structure and improve the effectiveness of tunnel construction. In this study, the double-line tunnels of Qingdao Metro Line 4 passing under the Cuobuling station were taken as the engineering background, and a detailed 3D numerical model was established. This study comprehensively considered the on-site construction process, including grouting hardening, stress release of the excavated rock mass, grouting pressure and so on. The influence of tunnel excavation on the ground settlement was compared with or without a station structure, and the result was fitted with an empirical formula. Finally, the deformation of the station structure due to the excavation of the double-line tunnels was analyzed. The results of the analysis were as follows: (1) In the presence of the station structure, the excavation of the tunnels had a significant impact on the surface settlement. (2) The settlement of the sidewall caused by the excavation of the left-line tunnel was greater than that of the right-line tunnel, and the settlement at the junction of the sidewall and the bottom plate was smaller than that at other positions of the sidewall. (3) Compared with the roof and middle slabs, the floor of the station was more susceptible to the influence of tunnel excavation. Overall, the research could provide guidance and reference for similar double-line tunnels through existing stations.

In this paper, we study a (3+1)-dimensional generalized shallow water wave equation with variable coefficients, which describes the flow below a pressure surface in a fluid. We give the Kadomtsev-P...

As the demand for translation increases, the role of machine translation in improving the efficiency of translation is increasingly prominent, but due to its inherent limitations, the translation quality of machine translation is not guaranteed. Pre-editing is one of the ways to enhance the quality of machine translated texts. With Google online translation as a tool, the effect of pre-editing on the quality of machine translation is studied by adopting the Bilingual Evaluation Understudy (BLEU) approach. The pre-editing methods of additions, omissions, replacing and terminology preprocessing based on the lexical level are proposed. The results show these methods can play a role in improving the quality of English-to-Chinese machine translations. In most cases, pre-editing at the lexical level is sufficient to generate high-quality machine translation output, but the effectiveness of pre-editing can be further improved when perspective-shifting is involved or when the target language involves contextually consistent verb or person usage.

Nowadays, China has developed over 38,000-km high-speed railways (HSR). As one of the key elements in the HSR system, continuous welded rail (CWR) enables higher transportation efficiency, while demands for more robust inspection and maintenance techniques. The discrimination between longitudinal temperature force and longitudinal additional force is one of the main challenges in the rail health status evaluations. In this paper, the high-birefringence fiber Bragg grating (HB-FBG) is applied to reach the rail force discriminative measurement. By inscribing the Bragg grating on a high-birefringence fiber, two kinds of sensing modes can be generated and adopted to realize the discriminative measurement of longitudinal temperature force and longitudinal additional force. In the verification experiments, the longitudinal temperature and additional force are accurately measured with the error less than 1 kN. The accurate-measurement and easy-manufacture of the HB-fiber and HB-FBG make it possible to connect massive sensors in series to reach long-range monitoring of the rails on the land or cross-sea bridges.

A chemiresistive biosensor is described for simple and selective detection of miRNA-21. We developed chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and low-damage plasma treatment (LDPT)-treated bilayer graphene composite of graphene oxide/graphene (GO/GR) for the determination of a reliable biomarker. We have successfully overcome the self-limiting growth mechanism by using CVD method to grow more than one layer of graphene on copper foil. In addition, LDPT can be used to form GO/GR structures for chemiresistive biosensor applications. Due to the direct formation of BLGR (bilayer graphene), the coupling between graphene layers is theoretically superior to that of stacked BLGR, which is also confirmed by the blue shift of the characteristic peak of graphene in Raman spectroscopy. The shift is about double compared with that of stacked BLGR. Based on the results, the limit of detection for the target miRNA-21 was calculated to be 5.20 fM and detection rage is calculated as 100 fM to 10 nM, which is obviously better performance. Compared with previous work, this chemiresistive biosensor has good selectivity, and stability towards detection of miRNA-21. The ability to detect miRNA-21 in different biological fluids was almost identical to that in pH 7.4 phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). Thus, the proposed bilayer GO/GR of modified chemiresistive biosensor may potentially be applied to detect cancer cells in clinical examinations.

For a coupled nonlinear Schrodinger system with the negative coherent coupling, which describes two orthogonally polarized pulses in a weakly birefringent fibre, we construct the Darboux dressing t...

As a highly active photocatalyst, g-C3N4/TiO2 heterojunction nanocomposites were in situ synthesized by hydro-thermal method and calcination using melamine as precursors. The morphology and chemical structure of the prepared photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), SEM, UV-vis, and photoluminescence analysis (PLA). At last, the photocatalytic activities of g-C3N4/TiO2 nanocomposites to remove fluoride under simulated visible light were evaluated. Results showed that the fluoride removal rate of the prepared g-C3N4/TiO2 was about three times than pure g-C3N4 due to the rapid charge transfer and the efficient separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs in heterojunctions between g-C3N4 and TiO2. Heterojunction g-C3N4/TiO2 display the excellent fluoride removal rate due to the rapid charge transfer and efficient separation of electron-hole pairs.

With the rapid development of nanotechnology, stimulus-responsive nanofibers have in recent years, aroused the interest of many researchers. Due to their biocompatibility, favorable safety, and easy degradability, thermo-sensitive hydrogels, which are responsive to temperature change, have become increasingly attractive in the biomedicine field. Electrospinning is a unique fibrous manufacturing process in which a polymer solution is spun under a strong electric field to form into nanofibers. The porous structure and large surface area of electrospun nanofibers contribute significantly to the application of thermo-sensitive hydrogels in drug release systems, wound dressing materials, and biosensors. In the first part of this study, the mechanism of temperature sensitivity is detailed. Then the classification and preparation of electrospun thermo-sensitive hydrogels nanofibers are illustrated, followed by an introduction of their current applications in biomedical science. Finally, the current limitations and promise of electrospun thermo-sensitive hydrogels nanofibrous materials are presented.

Due to the oil price fluctuations in recent decades, international and national oil companies have developed programs of strategically oriented development and assets optimization. Many companies have also promptly promoted opportunities for oilfield joint ventures. Therefore, a fast and accurate assessment methodology of oilfield assets, including planning and costs assessment, is expected to be proposed. Oilfield development cost assessment can be dynamically affected by a number of factors, including oilfield internal indexes and macroeconomic indexes. Based on a machine learning algorithm and combining mathematical and statistical methodology, the Microsoft Azure machine learning studio has been used for modeling the oilfield development cost. The proposed method has adopted three algorithms: a neural network, a boosted decision tree, and a decision forest. Results showed that the boosted decision tree and decision forest algorithms can achieve PFI ranking with stable training results. The results of the machine training model have been analyzed, and they showed that the permutation feature importance (PFI) model can provide reasonable scientific and technical support for oil companies and help to attain more effective and accurate estimation and prediction of oilfield assets.

Na+-taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide deficiency (NTCPD) is an autosomal recessive disorder arising from biallelic SLC10A1 mutations. As a newly-described inborn error of bile acid metabolism, the epidemiology of this condition remains largely unclear in Chinese population so far. In this study, a total of 2,828 peripheral blood samples were collected from 12 cities in Guangdong, a province with the largest population in China, and the four prevalent SLC10A1 variants c.800C > T (p.Ser267Phe), c.263T > C (p.Ile88Thr), c.595A > C (p.Ser199Arg) and c.665T > C (p.Leu222Ser) were screened for by using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)- restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). As a result, 663 mutated SLC10A1 alleles were detected, and the mutated allele frequency was calculated to be 11.72% (663/5,656), with a carrier frequency 20.69% (1/5) and a theoretical morbidity rate 1.37% (1/73) of NTCPD in Guangdong province. The variant c.800C > T (p.Ser267Phe) exhibited highest allele frequency among the four prevalent variants (χ2 = 1501.27, p < 0.0001) as well as higher allele frequency in the peripheral region than that within the Pearl River Delta (χ2 = 4.834, p < 0.05). The results suggested that NTCPD might be a disorder rather common in Guangdong province. The findings depicted the molecular epidemiologic features of NTCPD, providing preliminary but significant laboratory evidences for the subsequent NTCPD diagnosis and management in Guangdong population.

In neural decoding, a behavioral variable is often generated by manual annotation and the annotated labels could contain extensive label noise, leading to poor model generalizability. Tackling the label noise problem in neural decoding can improve model generalizability and robustness. We use a deep neural network based sample reweighting method to tackle this problem. The proposed method reweights training samples by using a small and clean validation dataset to guide learning. We evaluated the sample reweighting method on simulated neural activity data and calcium imaging data of anterior lateral motor cortex. For the simulated data, the proposed method can accurately predict the behavioral variable even in the scenario that 36 percent of samples in the training dataset are mislabeled. For the anterior lateral motor cortex study, the proposed method can predict trial types with F1 score of around 0.85 even 48 percent of training samples are mislabeled.

Weathered residual Kaolin deposits on the northern margin of the Qinzhou-Hangzhou Suture Zone are characterized by more feldspar-containing minerals and fewer dark minerals. These deposits have attracted increasing attention because of their high whiteness, low harmful impurity content, low depth of weathered mineralization, and ease for mining. The ore-forming rock masses mainly include granite (granite porphyry), quartz porphyry, eurite, haplite, and other acidic veins; the ore-bearing walls are mainly of Upper Proterozoic. Previous studies suggested that dyke rocks related to Kaolin deposits in this belt belong to the Mesozoic, but there is a lack of information regarding specific mineralization ages. In this study, two dyke wall-type weathered residual Kaolin deposits were selected from the northern margin of the Qinzhou-Hangzhou Suture Zone (Dongxicun and Yinbeidong, Jiangxi Province, China) for zircon SHRIMP dating. Two zircon U-Pb-based ages were obtained: 843 ± 10 Ma from Dongxicun granite veins that intrude into the Neoproterozoic Jiuling rock masses; 152.3 ± 1.8 Ma for Yinbeidong granite porphyry veins that intrude into the Neoproterozoic Anlelin Formation. We suggest that the dykes related to the Kaolin deposits were formed in the Neoproterozoic and late Jurassic. The Neoproterozoic dyke may be related to the convergence, formation, or pyrolysis of the Rodinia Supercontinent and the late Jurassic dyke may be related to the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Plate. These results provide a chronological basis for the investigation and evaluation of weathered residual Kaolin deposits on the Qinzhou-Hangzhou Suture Zone.

BackgroundThe Hippo pathway is an essential signaling cascade that regulates cell and organ growth. However, there is no consensus about (i) the expression levels of the Hippo signaling core components yes-associated protein (YAP) and transcriptional co-activator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ) in lung cancer, especially in small cell lung cancer (SCLC), or (ii) their association with the prognosis of patients with SCLC.MethodsWe screened relevant articles and identified eligible studies in the PubMed, EMBASE, COCHRANE, and WanFang databases. A combined analysis was performed to investigate (i) the expression levels of the major effectors, YAP and TAZ, in lung cancer and its subsets and (ii) their prognostic role in lung cancer, especially in SCLC.ResultsIn total, 6 studies related to TAZ and 13 studies concerning YAP were enrolled in this meta-analysis. We found that high TAZ expression was significantly associated with poor overall survival (OS) of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the overall population [Ph < 0.001, crude hazard ratio (HR) = 1.629, 95% CI = 1.199–2.214 for TAZ expression; Ph = 0.029, adjusted HR = 2.127, 95% CI = 1.307–3.460 for TAZ], the Caucasian population (Ph = 0.043, crude HR = 1.233, 95% CI = 1.030–1.477 for TAZ expression), and the Asian population (Ph = 0.551, adjusted HR = 2.676, 95% CI = 1.798–3.982 for TAZ). Moreover, there was a significant negative association between YAP expression and an unsatisfactory survival of patients with lung cancer (Ph = 0.327, crude HR = 1.652, 95% CI = 1.211–2.253 for YAP expression) and patients with NSCLC [disease-free survival (DFS): Ph = 0.693, crude HR = 2.562, 95% CI = 1.876–3.499 for YAP expression; Ph = 0.920, crude HR = 2.617, 95% CI = 1.690–4.052 for YAP-mRNA; OS: Ph = 0.878, crude HR = 1.777, 95% CI = 1.233–2.562 for YAP expression], especially in the Asian population (DFS: Ph = 0.414, crude HR = 2.515, 95% CI = 1.755–3.063; OS: Ph = 0.712, crude HR = 1.772, 95% CI = 1.214–2.587). However, no association was observed in the multivariate combined analysis. High YAP expression was significantly associated with short OS of patients with SCLC in our combined multivariate analysis in the Asian population (Ph = 0.289, crude HR = 4.482, 95% CI = 2.182–9.209), but not with crude data (Ph = 0.033, crude HR = 1.654, 95% CI = 0.434–6.300).ConclusionThe Hippo pathway is involved in carcinogenesis and progression of NSCLC and SCLC, and high expression levels of YAP and TAZ are independent and novel prognostic factors for lung cancer.

The red-crowned crane (

High-resolution micro traffic data are important to traffic safety and efficiency analysis. In this study, a roadside LiDAR sensor is used to collect 3D point clouds of surrounding objects. An automatic background construction and object detection method is proposed on the basis of the operation principle of the LiDAR sensor. In the algorithm, the discrete horizontal and vertical angular values can be considered as coordinates of pixels in digital images, and the farthest and mean distance of each azimuth are used to construct the background dataset. Then, vehicle and pedestrian points are extracted on the basis of the distance difference of each point with the same angular value between the target frame dataset and the background dataset. A density-based spatial clustering method is employed to group points into clusters and identify vehicles and pedestrians automatically. Finally, the performance of the algorithm is tested for roadside LiDAR data preprocessing under different traffic conditions. Our algorithm can perform well with high accuracy. Experimental results demonstrate that our algorithm can achieve a larger detection range and exhibit lower time complexity in comparison with a previously proposed algorithm.

Purpose Pneumonia is one of the common complications of hip fracture. This study aimed to evaluate the risk factors and apply a nomogram to predict postoperative pneumonia in elderly hip fracture patients. Materials and Methods From August 2014 to October 2019, 1113 hip fracture patients who were older than 65 years and underwent surgical treatment in our hospital were subjects of this study. Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses were used to identify independent risk factors. A predictive nomogram model was built, and the discrimination and calibration were determined by receiver operating characteristic and calibration plot. Results A total of 166 patients developed pneumonia after operation (14.91%, pneumonia group) while the remaining 947 patients did not (85.09%, non-pneumonia group). According to the results, body mass index (OR, 0.76, 95% CI, 0.70 to 0.84, P

Distribution of SARS-CoV-2 virus and pathological features of multiple organs in COVID-19 patients remains unclear, which interferes with the improvement of COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment. In this article, we summarize the pathological findings obtained from systematic autopsy (37 cases) and percutaneous multiple organ biopsy (“minimally invasive autopsy”, 54 cases). These findings should shed light on better understanding of the progression of COVID-19 infection and the means of more effective intervention.

Based on the technical characteristics of double-row ridge planting, a double V-shaped opener with the furrow compaction function was designed. This opener with the sliding knife and profiling mechanism was capable of furrow opening, compacting and profiling, and thereby created excellent seedbeds with tight bottom and soft soils. Through sunlight greenhouse tests, the effects of the double V-shaped opener on seedbed characteristics and soybean emergence were studied under the compaction forces of T1 (0 N), T2 (500 N), T3 (600 N) and T4 (700 N). The furrow compaction planting significantly affected the seedbed characteristics and soybean emergence and could preserve soil moisture in seedbeds. Under the semiarid condition, the average emergence time under T2 was 0.79 day earlier than under T1, and the emergence rates under T2, T3 and T4 were significantly raised. The seedling height uniformity under T2 was 5.34% higher than under T1. The average emergence time ranked from early to later as T3

As a kind of typical structure, the hat-shaped structure (HSS) is widely used in carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) aircraft parts. In this work, a scheme of filling fillers and adding reinforcing plies in R-regions was proposed to strengthen the R-regions of HSS. Moreover, the force analysis of R-region with or without strengthening in R-region under pull-off load was presented. A finite element model was developed to study the failure behavior of R-regions. A series of HSS samples were fabricated by co-curing process. The pull-off tests of HSS were conducted to validate the model, and the failure mechanism of R-regions was further studied by characterizing the macro-micro structure of R-regions in HSS under pull-off load. Results showed that the structural bearing capacity of HSS can be improved by strengthening in R-regions. After strengthening in R-regions, the pull-off load was borne by multiple interfaces, and the interlaminar interface pull-off strength can increase by 38.8 %.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of active immunization against recombinant Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) protein on the ovarian follicular development, egg production, and molecular regulatory mechanisms in broody-prone Zhedong White geese. For this, a recombinant goose AMH protein was expressed using a prokaryotic expression system. Fifty incubating geese from the same genetic background were selected and equally divided into two groups. The immunization group was actively immunized against the recombinant goose AMH protein, whereas the control group was immunized against bovine serum albumin (BSA). Immunization against AMH accelerated ovarian follicular development and increased clutch sizes by one to two eggs in two consecutive laying-incubation cycles. Furthermore, immunization against AMH upregulated the mRNA transcription levels of the FSH-beta gene in the pituitary gland, and FSHR, 3beta-HSD, and Smad4 genes in the granulosa layer of pre-ovulatory follicles; however, immunization downregulated the expression of the OCLN gene in the granulosa layer of pre-ovulatory follicles, and Smad5 and Smad9 genes in the granulosa layer of SYFs. These results suggest that AMH might hinder ovarian follicular development by decreasing both pituitary FSH secretion as well as ovarian follicular sensitivity to FSH. The latter molecular mechanism could be fulfilled by regulating Smad5 or Smad9 signals in SYFs, as well as the FSHR and Smad4 signals that affect progesterone synthesis and yolk deposition in the pre-ovulatory follicles.

The nanoscale zero-valent nickel (nano-Ni0) was prepared by liquid-phase reduction method and characterized by BET, XPS, FT-IR and XRD and be used to remove U(VI) from aqueous solution. The data were analyzed by the Langmuir and Freundlich models. The kinetic data were analyzed by pseudo-first-order kinetic and pseudo-second-order models. The results showed that the nano-Ni0 had a good removal efficient on U(VI), after reaction, the peaks of Ni2+ and U4+ appeared in XPS spectra, which revealed that the U(VI) was reduced to U(IV) and Ni0 was oxidated to Ni2+ and Ni3+. The kinetics and isothermal models showed that the adsorption process was surface monolayer adsorption and was controlled by chemical adsorption rate.

In this paper, we investigate the dark solitons for the three-component Gross–Pitaevskii system, which describes the $$F=1$$ spinor Bose–Einstein condensate, with F denoting the atom’s spin. We construct a Lax pair and a binary Darboux transformation for such a system. Based on a nonzero seed solution, we obtain the kink and dark solitons corresponding to the ferromagnetic and polar states, respectively. Moreover, we obtain the W-shaped dark soliton. Interactions between the two dark solitons are discussed. We find that the interaction is inelastic if a kink soliton is included.

Cadmium (Cd) is a ubiquitous toxic heavy metal in the natural environment that can cause multiple organ damage to the bodies of animals and humans. Selenium yeast (SeY) is a kind of organic selenium (Se) that has a very strong function against Cd-induced injury to tissues or organs. The aim of the current study was to investigate the roles of inflammatory factors and heat shock proteins (HSPs) in inflammatory injury triggered by Cd and to analyze the protective effects of SeY on Cd-induced damnification in the livers of chickens. Two hundred 120-day-old layers were randomly divided into four groups and raised on a conventional diet, or with Se (0.5 mg/kg SeY), Cd (150 mg/kg CdCl2), or Se + Cd (0.5 mg/kg SeY and 150 mg/kg CdCl2) in their basic diets for 120 days. Then, the liver histopathology, production of nitric oxide (NO), activity of inducible NO synthase (iNOS), and mRNA and protein expression levels of inflammatory factors (iNOS, NF-κB, TNF-α, and PTGE) and heat shock proteins (HSPs 27, 40, 60, 70, and 90) were examined. The results showed that exposure to Cd obviously increased Cd accumulation, NO production, iNOS activity, inflammatory factor, and HSP mRNA and protein expression levels and further caused an inflammatory response. Supplementation with SeY had an antagonistic effect on Cd-induced inflammatory injury in chicken livers. Thus, the present study suggests that SeY can be taken as a potential therapeutic for Cd-induced liver inflammatory injury in chickens.