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Cross-lingual text summarization is a highly desired service for overseas report editing tasks and is formulated in a distributed application to facilitate the cooperation of editors. The multilanguage pre-trained language model (MPLM) can generate high-quality cross-lingual text summaries with simple fine-tuning. However, the MPLM does not adapt to complex variations, like the word order and tense in different languages. When the model performs on these languages with separate syntactic structures and vocabulary morphologies, it will lead to the low-level quality of the cross-lingual summary. The matter worsens when the cross-lingual summarization datasets are low-resource. We use a knowledge distillation framework for the cross-lingual summarization task to address the above issues. By learning the monolingual teacher model, the cross-lingual student model can effectively capture the differences between languages. Since the teacher and student models generate summaries in two languages, their representations lie on different vector spaces. In order to construct representation relationships across languages, we further propose a similarity metric, which is based on bidirectional semantic alignment, to map different language representations to the same space. In order to improve the quality of cross-lingual summaries further, we use contrastive learning to make the student model focus on the differentials among languages. Contrastive learning can enhance the ability of the similarity metric for bidirectional semantic alignment. Our experiments show that our approach is competitive in low-resource scenarios on cross-language summarization datasets in pairs of distant languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyanobacterial blooms threaten the quality and safety of the Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis. A combination of microalgae and probiotics seems a promising way to prevent and control cyanobacterial blooms in aquaculture ponds. In E. sinensis cultivation, however, a related strategy is still lacking. To assess the potential combined effects of effective microorganisms (EM) and Chlorella vulgaris on regulating cyanobacterial blooms, in this study, we detected the alterations in the physiology of E. sinensis, as well as water quality and microbial compositions of E. sinensis culture ponds with cyanobacterial blooms. As a result, supplementary EM and C. vulgaris had no adverse effects on the growth or digestive or antioxidant ability of E. sinensis but improved the water quality of the pond by reducing total ammonia nitrogen and total nitrogen levels. We found an increase in bacterial diversity and evenness, while a decrease in the diversity of fungal and phytoplankton communities was related to supplementary EM and C. vulgaris. Interestingly, EM coupling C. vulgaris promoted the restoration of the bacterial and fungal community composition in cyanobacterial blooms ponds, particularly the increase of Mychonastes abundance and the decrease of Cyclotella. This study laid the foundation for the prevention and control of potential risks in aquaculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The American shad (Alosa sapidissima) is an important freshwater food fish, yet little is known about its postmortem quality. We sampled the meat of American shad and tracked the changes in color, pH, shear stress, cooking loss and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) over 48 h of storage at 24 °C (unrefrigerated) or 4 °C (refrigerated). Thereafter, the essential nutrients, fatty acids, hydrolyzed amino acids, free amino acids, and electronic tongue were evaluated. The results show that the L* and a* values decreased as storage progressed, while the b* value increased. The shear force decreased, but cooking losses in the American shad increased; the TVB-N value continuously increased over the duration of storage. The TVB-N content deviated from the freshness range at 48 h when stored at 24 °C. At 24 °C, the sweet amino acids reached a maximum at 6 h, and the bitter amino acids reached a maximum at 48 h. At 4 °C, there was a significant difference in bitter free amino acids at 48 h (p < 0.05). The nutrient composition showed that the contents of fat and protein decreased, whereas the water content increased. These results showed that American shad should be eaten within 6 h when stored at 24 °C, while American shad stored at 4 °C can maintain freshness for 24 h to obtain better product quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of combined arsenic and antibiotics pollution in the environment has recently gained more attention. In this study, a new approach to eliminate tetracycline antibiotics (TCs) from water, via the fern speciesPteris vittata(L.), an arsenic hyperaccumulator, was investigated. The encouraging results showed that more than half of the TCs could be removed from the water solution (with the starting concentration of TCs about 1.0 mg kg−1respectively) after one day of treatment. No TCs (less than 0.01 mg kg−1) were detected in the solution after five days of treatment. The results showed thatPteris vittatahas high ability to eliminate TCs, which makes it suitable for practical application. Further research found that TCs concentrations were very low in both the roots and the pinnae ofPteris vittata, which indicates that accumulation in the fronds is not the main removal mechanism and that degradation in the fronds might be the main cause. Present results provide a feasible method for simultaneous removal of arsenic and TCs from livestock-polluted wastewater. However, more research work should be done before any real-world application is made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microstructure and properties of laser welding lap joints with different assembly gap sizes are experimentally investigated. The laser weld joint is composed of γ-austenite and δ-ferrite, and the strip ferrite phase is mainly distributed at the austenite grain boundary. The weld metal presents the austenitic-ferritic (AF) solidification mode. When there is a gap between the two plates, a triangular region composed of similar equiaxed crystals can be found, and the size of the cellular crystals in this region decreases significantly. When the assembly gap size increases from 0.1 mm to 0.4 mm, the weld penetration state of the joint changes from full penetration to semi-penetration, and the surface collapse increases. The excessive size of the gap leads to a decrease in the tensile-shear force and fatigue strength of laser welded joints. In order to ensure that the surface morphology and properties of the welded joint meet the quality standard and requirement, the assembly gap should be less than 0.1mm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence proved that gestational ozone (O 3) exposure can increase the risk of neonatal adverse respiratory outcomes, but offspring asthma is unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether gestational O 3 exposure could exacerbate offspring asthma, and to research the differences in effects of O 3 exposure at different gestational periods on offspring asthma. The pregnant ICR mice were randomly grouped and were administered O 3 (air as control) at gestational day (GD) 1–6, 7–12, and 13–18, respectively. The pups aged 2–4 weeks were treated with ovalbumin (OVA) to establish a model of early life asthma. Asthma characteristics such as pulmonary inflammation, goblet cell proliferation, airway remodeling, OVA-specific immunoglobulin (Ig) E secretion and cytokines were examined. OVA sensitization and challenge successfully induced asthma in offspring. Compared with the air control, pulmonary inflammation infiltration, mucous secretion, the concentration of OVA-specific IgE, the level of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and T helper (Th) 2-skewed response were significantly exacerbated when O 3 exposure at GD13-18 following inhaling OVA, while pulmonary inflammatory infiltration, mucus secretion, and Th2-skewed response were not significantly changed when O 3 exposure at both GD1-6 and GD7-12. What's more, the above indicators in asthmatic offspring due to O 3 exposure at GD13-18 were more severe than at GD1-6 and GD7-12. Interestingly, the signs of asthma only appeared in the offspring after OVA inhalation. When offspring were not treated with OVA, the prenatal O 3 exposure alone did not lead to asthmatic reactions in offspring. In addition, O 3 exposure at GD13-18 markedly increased the number of neutrophils and macrophages in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid (BALF) of asthmatic offspring, and significantly exacerbated Th2 immune imbalance in asthmatic offspring, but had no effect on Th17 immune imbalance. Exposure to O 3 during pregnancy aggravated asthma in offspring, in which the third trimester is the most sensitive window. Image 1 • Exposure to O 3 during pregnancy exacerbated OVA-induced asthma in offspring. • The third trimester was the sensitive window for O 3 transgenerational toxicity. • Neutrophil and macrophage infiltration was the main feature in offspring asthma. • Th1/Th2 immune imbalance in asthmatic offspring was exacerbated. • The model of offspring asthma in early life was established and applied. Capsule: Exposure to O 3 during pregnancy aggravated OVA-induced asthma in offspring, in which the third trimester is the most sensitive window. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accumulating epidemiological studies showed that prenatal and early life exposure to ambient air pollution was important contributor to the development of childhood asthma. However, the effects and mechanisms of prenatal exposure to ozone (O 3), a type of ambient air pollution, on the progression of asthma in offspring remain unclear. This study aimed to determine the effects and mechanism of asthma in offspring after prenatal O 3 exposure. Pregnant BALB/c mice were exposed to O 3 or air on gestational days (GDs) 13–18. Their offspring were sensitized and challenged to ovalbumin (OVA) to establish asthma model, and the asthma features were evaluated. The splenic natural killer (NK) cells in the offspring were measured to explore the mechanism on the effects of asthma in the offspring. The responses of the pregnant mice and dams after O 3 exposure were evaluated. Airway inflammation, mucus secretion, OVA-specific immunoglobulin (Ig) E, T helper (Th) 2-skewed response, the frequency of CD3ε−CD49b+ splenic NK cells, the expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and IL (interleukin)-17 were significantly exacerbated in the OVA-induced asthma offspring after prenatal O 3 exposure. In addition, airway inflammation, a lower number of CD3ε−CD49b+ splenic NK cells, and systemic oxidative stress were caused at the end of pregnancy after O 3 exposure, which did not recover at the end of lactation for the first two responses. Prenatal O 3 exposure increased the severity of OVA-induced asthma in the offspring, which might be directly induced by CD3ε−CD49b+ splenic NK cells in the offspring and indirectly related to the damaged maternal immune system. Image 1 • Prenatal O 3 exposure increases the severity of OVA-induced asthma in offspring • Prenatal O 3 exposure increases the frequency of NK cells in offspring • Prenatal O 3 exposure exacerbates the imbalance of Th2/Th1 in offspring exposed to OVA • Maternal immune system disorder may aggravate offspring asthma [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The regulator of calcineurin 1 (RCAN1) is expressed in multiple organs, including the heart, liver, brain, and kidney, and is closely linked to the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases, Down syndrome, and Alzheimer's disease. It is also implicated in the development of various organ tumors; however, its potential role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains poorly understood. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the potential mechanisms of RCAN1 in HCC through bioinformatics analysis. Methods: We conducted a joint analysis based on the NCBI and TCGA databases, integrating both bulk transcriptome and single-cell analyses to examine the principal biological functions of RCAN1 in HCC, as well as its roles related to phenotype, metabolism, and cell communication. Subsequently, an RCAN1-overexpressing cell line was established, and the effects of RCAN1 on tumor cells were validated through in vitro experiments. Moreover, we endeavored to identify potential related drugs using molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations. Results: The expression of RCAN1 was found to be downregulated in 19 types of cancer tissues and upregulated in 11 types of cancer tissues. Higher levels of RCAN1 expression were associated with improved patient survival. RCAN1 was predominantly expressed in hepatocytes, macrophages, endothelial cells, and monocytes, and its high expression not only closely correlated with the distribution of cells related to the HCC phenotype but also with the distribution of HCC cells themselves. Additionally, Rcan1 may directly or indirectly participate in metabolic pathways such as alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism, as well as butanoate metabolism, thereby influencing tumor cell proliferation and migration. In vitro experiments confirmed that RCAN1 overexpression promoted apoptosis while inhibiting proliferation and invasion of HCC cells. Through molecular docking of 1615 drugs, we screened brompheniramine as a potential target drug and verified our results by molecular dynamics. Conclusion: In this study, we revealed the relationship between RCAN1 and HCC through bioinformatics methods, verified that RCAN1 can affect the progress of the disease through experiments, and finally identified potential therapeutic drugs through drug molecular docking and molecular dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Physical disability is an important cause of affecting the quality of life in the elderly. The association between standing height and physical disability is less studied. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the possible link between standing height and physical disability among U.S. adults aged 60 years and older. Methods: The cross-sectional data were obtained from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2015–2018. Physical disability was assessed by six questions: "Have serious difficulty hearing (SDH)?", "Have serious difficulty seeing (SDS)?", "Have serious difficulty concentrating (SDC)?", "Have serious difficulty walking (SDW)?", "Have difficulty dressing or bathing (DDB)?" and "Have difficulty doing errands alone (DDEA)?". Responses to these questions were "yes" or "no". Answer yes to one of the above six questions was identified as physical disability. Standing height (cm) was measured with an altimeter. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to examine the possible link between standing height and physical disability after adjustment for all covariates. Results: A total of 2624 participants aged ≥ 60 years were included in our study, including 1279 (48.7%) females and 1345 (51.3%) males. The mean age of participants was 69.41 ± 6.82 years. After adjusting for all potential confounders, the inverse relationship between standing height and all physical disability (APD) was statistically significant (OR = 0.976, 95%CI:0.957–0.995). In addition, among six types of physical disability (SDH, SDS, SDC, SDW, DDB, DDEA), standing height was also a protective factor for SDW (OR = 0.961, 95%CI:0.939–0.983) and DDEA (OR = 0.944, 95%CI:0.915–0.975) in the full-adjusted model. Conclusion: The cross-sectional population based study demonstrates that standing height is a protective factor for physical disability among U.S. adults aged 60 years and older. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The spectral-element method (SEM), which combines the flexibility of the finite element method (FEM) with the accuracy of spectral method, has been successfully applied to simulate seismic wavefields in geological models on different scales. One kind of SEMs that adopts orthogonal Legendre polynomials is widely used in seismology community. In the SEM with orthogonal Legendre polynomials, the Gauss-Lobatto-Legendre (GLL) quadrature rule is employed to calculate the integrals involved in the SEM leading to a diagonal mass matrix. However, the GLL quadrature rule can exactly approximate only integrals with a polynomial degree below 2N-1 (N is the interpolation order in space) and cannot exactly calculate those of polynomials with degree 2N involved in the mass matrix. Therefore, the error of the mass matrix originating from inexact numerical integration may reduce the accuracy of the SEM. To improve the SEM accuracy, we construct a least-squares objective function in terms of numerical and exact integrals to increase the accuracy of the GLL quadrature rule. Then, we utilise the conjugate gradient method to solve the objective function and obtain a set of optimal quadrature weights. The optimal mass matrix can be obtained simultaneously by utilising the GLL quadrature rule with optimal integration weights. The improvement in the numerical accuracy of the SEM with an optimal mass matrix (OSEM) is demonstrated by theoretical analysis and numerical examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abscisic acid (ABA) plays a physiological role in regulating the heat tolerance of plants and maintaining crop productivity under high-temperature stress. Appropriate cultivation techniques can regulate endogenous ABA and help farmers improve food production under high-temperature stress. Here, the physiological basis for ABA-induced heat tolerance in crops is reviewed. High-temperature stress stimulates ABA, which reduces stomatal opening and promotes root growth. The root system absorbs water to maintain the water status, thus allowing the plant to maintain physiological activities under high-temperature stress. ABA plays a synergistic role with nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide biosynthesis to improve the thermal stability of the cell membrane, maintain a dynamic balance between material and energy, and reduce the negative effects of high-temperature stress on kernel number and kernel weight. Cultivation and tillage techniques adapted to high-temperature stress, such as adjustment of sowing time, application of plant growth regulators and fertilizers, and the use of irrigation, subsoiling and heat acclimation, and the mechanisms by which they improve crop heat tolerance, are also reviewed. The results of the studies reviewed here will help researchers develop techniques for cultivating food crops under heat stress and apply them to food-production fields to improve crop productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2015 Mw7.8 Gorkha earthquake is the latest strong event with magnitude greater than Mw7.5 in the Himalayas. The occurrence of this event provides a good opportunity to better understand the characteristics of ground motion produced by a low dip thrust fault. In this study, we constructed a kinematic source model and established a numerical model that incorporates realistic surface topography, velocity structure and the Kathmandu basin for the Gorkha event. Based on the source and structure models, ground motions in the periods of 2–20 s were simulated by a spectral element method. Our results are as follow. (1) Ground motions show prominent directivity along strike. (2) The basin effect can amplify the amplitude of ground motion in Kathmandu especially on the horizontal component. (3) Horizontal ground motions in Kathmandu valley exhibit obvious amplification in the frequency range of 0.2–0.4 Hz, which is absent in vertical component. The results of this work are of importance for future studies on assessing seismic hazard in the Himalayas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is a tropical woody oil crop of the palm family and is known as "the oil king of the world," but its palm oil contains about 50% palmitic acid, which is considered unhealthy for humans. Intron polymorphisms (IP) are highly efficient and easily examined molecular markers located adjacent to exon regions of functional genes, thus may be associated with targeted trait variation. In order to speed up the breeding of oil palm fatty acid composition, the current study identified a total of 310 introns located within 52 candidate genes involved in fatty acid biosynthesis in the oil palm genome. Based on the intron sequences, 205 primer pairs were designed, 64 of which showed polymorphism among 70 oil palm individuals. Phenotypic variation of fatty acid content in the 70 oil palm individuals was also investigated. Association analysis revealed that 13 IP markers were significantly associated with fatty acid content variation, and these IP markers were located on chromosomes 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10 of oil palm. The development of such IP markers may be useful for the genetic improvement of fatty acid composition in oil palm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We aimed to investigate the validity of noninvasive prenatal diagnosis (NIPD) based on direct haplotype phasing without the proband or other family members and its feasibility for clinical application in the case of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).Methods: Thirteen singleton-pregnancy families affected by DMD were recruited. The pathogenic variants in the pregnant females have been identified by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA). We resolved maternal haplotypes for each family by performing targeted linked-read sequencing of their high molecular weight DNA, respectively. Then, we integrated the maternal haplotypes and the targeted sequencing results of maternal plasma DNA to infer the fetal haplotype and the DMD gene variant status. The fetal genotypes were further validated by using chorionic villus sampling.Results: The method of directly resolving maternal haplotype through targeted linked-read sequencing was smoothly performed in 12 participated families, but one failed (F11). The predicted variant status of 12 fetuses was correct, which had been confirmed by invasive prenatal diagnosis.Conclusion: Direct haplotyping of NIPD based on linked-read sequencing for DMD is accurate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the difference in the failures of laboratories #7 and #8 of the China Jinping Underground Laboratory Phase II (CJPL-II), different loading and unloading stress path tests were carried out under a true triaxial compression condition based on the measured in situ stress of CJPL-II. The strength, deformation and failure mechanisms of Jinping marble under different stress paths were thoroughly investigated. The results showed that under the same stress state as that at sample failure, the bearing capacity and deformation of the unloading stress path were greater than those of the loading stress path. The bearing capacity and deformation in the σ2 and σ3 directions of stress path II and stress path III were similar, and the others decreased from stress path IV to stress path V under unloading conditions. The failure mode results reflect the violence of the unloading failure. The failure features and mechanisms of different stress paths were analysed though the acoustic emission (AE) ring, cumulative energy and strain energy trend. This research may provide a reference for the excavation and support of deep underground works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A plate-type port valve with rubber valve plate in a miniature diaphragm pump is presented. To investigate the dynamic characteristics of this type of discharge valve, a two-way fluid structure interaction model is proposed. The interaction between the dynamic behavior of the fluid and rubber is considered in the fluid structure interaction model. Based on the fluid structure interaction model, the internal flow of the pump, the deflection of the diaphragm and discharge valve plate is calculated. To verify the validity of the numerical model, a prototype pump is fabricated and tested. The experimental pressures in the working chamber of the pump show the same overall trends with the numerical results. The deviations between the numerical and experimental flowrates are less than 7.2%. The experimental results prove that the numerical model is effective in predicting a complete discharge process of the pump. There is a big difference between the deflection of the center of the valve plate and the edge of the valve plate. The oscillation period of the pressure in the working chamber of the pump is approximately double that of the discharge valve plate. When the pump speed is lower than 2500 r/min, it has little influence on the lag angles of the discharge valve under rated pressure. The lag angles at rated pump speed increase when the backpressures increase. The stress of the discharge valve plate reaches a peak when the valve plate impact on the valve limiter or valve seat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

5.2 HT ht 13 HT ht Based on Eq. (1), the maximum sin I i SB I b i sb can be obtained when HT ht . 15 HT ht. [Extracted from the article]

Selective catalytic reduction is the main technology to reduce oxides of nitrogen of diesel exhaust. As an important part of the selective catalytic reduction system, the air-assisted urea dosing system regulates the flow rate by adjusting the pump speed, and the flow rate and its metering accuracy directly affect the efficiency of oxides of nitrogen conversion. A mathematical model coupled with the air-assisted urea dosing system and the suction pipeline was built, and the influences of the discharge pressure, pump speed, suction pipeline length, and diameter on the flow characteristics and metering accuracy of the air-assisted urea dosing system were analyzed. The flow rate and metering accuracy of a prototype of the air-assisted urea dosing system were tested under different conditions on a test rig. Results show that the flow stability and metering accuracy of the prototype elevate with increasing the discharge pressure when the prototype has no overfeeding, and it gets down under any discharge pressure when the prototype occurs overfeeding. The flow stability and metering accuracy of the prototype improve with increasing the pump speed, and increase significantly when the suction pipeline length becomes shorter and the diameter gets larger. The metering accuracy of the prototype can achieve to ±2% by optimizing the suction pipeline parameters. The experimental results prove that the proposed mathematical model is effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unless the targeted mesh is developable, metric distortion is inevitable during the process of surface mesh parameterization, thus one important objective of all involved parametric studies is to reduce the metric distortion. In order to further reduce area and angle distortion, a novel method of boundary-free mesh parameterization is presented in the paper. Firstly, the initial boundary-fixed conformal parameterization from 3D surface mesh patch to a plane is performed in the method. Then, based on the initial parameterization, the iterations of boundary-free quasi-harmonic parameterization are developed, where the tensor field is updated in each iterative step and the principal curvature direction is utilized to terminate the iteration. The solution of the novel method is convenient to calculate since it involves a series of linear systems. In our novel parameterization method, lower metric distortion and considerable efficiency have been obtained in experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fabrication of non‐noble metal‐based heterogeneous catalysts by a facile and cost‐effective strategy for ecofriendly catalytic transfer hydrogenation (CTH) is of great significance for organic transformations. A cobalt@nitrogen‐doped carbon (Co@NC) catalyst was prepared from renewable biomass‐derived sucrose, harmless melamine, and earth‐abundant Co(AcO)2 as the precursor materials by hydrothermal treatment and carbonization. Co nanoparticles (NPs) were coated with NC shells and uniformly embedded in the NC framework. The as‐obtained Co@NC‐600 (carbonized at 600 °C) catalyst exhibited excellent catalytic efficiency for CTH of various functionalized nitroarenes with formic acid (FA) as hydrogen donor in aqueous solution. The uniformly incorporated N atoms in the C matrix and the encapsulated Co NPs showed synergistic effects in the CTH reactions. A mechanistic analysis indicated that the protons from FA were activated by Co sites after being captured by N atoms, and then reacted with nitroarenes adsorbed on the surface of the catalysts to generate the corresponding aromatic amines. Moreover, the catalyst showed excellent durability and reusability without obvious decrease in activity even after five reaction cycles. Thus, the study reported herein provides a cost‐effective, sustainable strategy for fabrication of biomass‐derived non‐noble metal‐based catalysts for green and efficient catalytic transformations. Give it some sugar: A cobalt nanoparticles@nitrogen‐doped carbon (Co@NC) catalyst is prepared from biomass‐derived sucrose, ecofriendly melamine, and earth‐abundant Co(AcO)2. The Co@NC catalyst exhibits excellent catalytic efficiency for catalytic transfer hydrogenation (CTH) of various functionalized nitroarenes with formic acid as hydrogen donor in aqueous solution [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Essential proteins as a vital part of maintaining the cells’ life play an important role in the study of biology and drug design. With the generation of large amounts of biological data related to essential proteins, an increasing number of computational methods have been proposed. Different from the methods which adopt a single machine learning method or an ensemble machine learning method, this paper proposes a predicting framework named by XGBFEMF for identifying essential proteins, which includes a SUB-EXPAND-SHRINK method for constructing the composite features with original features and obtaining the better subset of features for essential protein prediction, and also includes a model fusion method for getting a more effective prediction model. We carry out experiments on Yeast data to assess the performance of the XGBFEMF with ROC analysis, accuracy analysis, and top analysis. Meanwhile, we set up experiments on E. coli data for the validation of performance. The test results show that the XGBFEMF framework can effectively improve many essential indicators. In addition, we analyze each step in the XGBFEMF framework; our results show that both each step of the SUB-EXPAND-SHRINK method as well as the step of multi-model fusion can improve prediction performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To investigate the occurrence of antibiotic residues in different types of environmental samples including water samples in rural Shandong province, China. Further, to characterize the potential ecological risk for development of antibiotic resistance in the environment, and the potential direct human health risk of exposure to antibiotics via drinking water and vegetables. Methods Environmental samples ( n  = 214) (river water, waste water, drinking water, sediments, manure, soil and edible parts of vegetables) were collected in twelve villages in Shandong province in eastern China. High performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS/MS) was used to determine the concentration of antibiotic residues. The ratio of the measured environmental concentrations (MEC) to the predicted no-effect concentrations (PNEC) was used to evaluate the ecological risk (risk quotient, RQ) for development of antibiotic resistance. The potential risks to human health through exposure to antibiotics in drinking water were assessed by comparing measured environmental concentrations (MEC) and predicted no-effect concentration in drinking water (PNEC DW ), and in vegetables by comparing estimated daily intake (EDI) to ADI. Results Sulfapyridine, sulfamethoxazole, ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, levofloxacin, norfloxacin, chloramphenicol, florfenicol, doxycycline, and metronidazole were detected at concentrations ranging between 0.3 and 3.9 ng/L in river water, 1.3 and 12.5 ng/L in waste water, 0.5 and 21.4 ng/L in drinking water, 0.31 and 1.21 μg/kg in river sediment, 0.82 and 1.91 μg/kg in pig manure, 0.1 and 11.68 μg/kg in outlet sediment, 0.5 and 2.5 μg/kg in soil, and 6.3 and 27.2 μg/kg in vegetables. The RQs for resistance development were >1 for enrofloxacin, levofloxacin, and ranged between 0.1 and 1 for ciprofloxacin. MECs/PNEC DW ratios were <1 from exposure to antibiotics through drinking water for both adults and children. EDI/ADI ratios were <0.1 from exposure to antibiotics by vegetable consumption. Conclusions Antibiotic pollutants were ubiquitous in various environmental compartments of Shandong province of China. Risk estimates indicated a potential for the measured levels of enrofloxacin, levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin in waste water to pose an ecological risk for resistance selection, and further studies are needed to validate this finding. The investigated antibiotics did not appear to pose an appreciable direct human health risk from environmental exposure through drinking water or vegetables consumption. However, they might still pose a risk for resistance development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the impact of trade liberalization on trade patterns, firm markups, and firm locations in a two-factor monopolistic competition model that features variable elasticity of substitution by a general additively separable utility. We find that, depending on the relative export hurdles, either direction of one-way trade may occur when trade opens up. Its direction determines the responses of firm-level markups and various home market effects to falling trade costs. Our results show that some important findings in the literature are robust only with particular classes of preferences. We provide a possible rationale for some well-known conflicting empirical facts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite recent legislation and regulations to protect homeowners’ rights in the process of urbanization, forced eviction remains one of the most prevalent causes of violence in contemporary China. This article examines the capacity of residents of Chinese cities to protect their property rights using new media to produce alternative discourses on law in the urbanization process. Fieldwork conducted in Beijing from 2007 to 2008, a period during which the national capital underwent massive development schemes for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, shows that homeowners create virtual precedents, backed not by the authority of the court, but by that of the media. Evictees of so-called dingzihu (nail-houses) facing chaiqian (demolition and relocation) develop arguments based on the 2007 case of Wu Ping, the first new media superstar in (post-)socialist China. The article, following post-structuralist formulations, develops a theory of ‘legal surrealism’ characteristic of the position of law in reform-era China. Whereas social media is equated with revolution elsewhere, in China, the lesson of the role of new media in effecting social change may be one of limitation. While digital mass communication technologies may assist individual ‘victories’, challenges to eviction face both intrinsic and extrinsic obstacles for collective action. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

To further open up China's banking, insurance, securities and auto financing markets was one of the commitments China made on accession to the World Trade Organization in December 2001. By examining China's implementation of these commitments in the past few years and the reform of China's law and regulations in banking, insurance, securities and auto financing, this article attempts to explore, first, some of the issues raised in the WTO annual transitional reviews of China's implementation, second, the economic impacts that the reform of China's financial services law and regulations has brought about, and third, future reforms of China's financial services law and regulations. The discussion includes different views from scholars and commentators and covers the approach taken by the Chinese government and financial regulators. The article points out that future reform of China's financial services law and regulations depends upon, on the one hand, China's continuous implementation of its WTO commitments and, on the other, the reforms in such other areas as foreign exchange, taxation, and the personal credit information network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some inflammatory biomarkers are associated with the post-surgical prognosis in cancer patients. However, their clinical importance in gallbladder cancer has rarely been explored. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of surgical intervention and the effectiveness of preoperative test on neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) for predicting the prognosis in gallbladder cancer patients. In this study, a total of 255 gallbladder cancer patients were retrospectively selected. For each patient, we recorded his/her treatment algorithm (with or without surgery) and their preoperative inflammatory biomarkers, as well as their detailed survival information for 5 years. A total of 216 patients received surgical intervention and the other 39 chose conservative treatment. The median survival time was 4.6 months for non-surgical group (P < 0.001), and 12.2 months for surgical intervention group. Among the surgical group, ROC analysis showed the AUC of NLR, PLR and MLR were 0.675 (95% CI: 0.600 to 0.751, P < 0.001), 0.599 (95% CI: 0.520 to 0.677, P = 0.017) and 0.607 (95% CI: 0.529 to 0.686, P = 0.009), respectively. In conclusion, surgical intervention did improve the overall survival, and elevated NLR and MLR before surgery are associated with shorter OS of GBC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The safety of vascular closure devices (VCDs) is still debated. The emergence of more related randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and newer VCDs makes it necessary to further evaluate the safety of VCDs. Relevant RCTs were identified by searching PubMed, EMBASE, Google Scholar and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials electronic databases updated in December 2014. Traditional and network meta-analyses were conducted to evaluate the rate of combined adverse vascular events (CAVEs) and haematomas by calculating the risk ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Forty RCTs including 16868 patients were included. Traditional meta-analysis demonstrated that there was no significant difference in the rate of CAVEs between all the VCDs and manual compression (MC). Subgroup analysis showed that FemoSeal and VCDs reported after the year 2005 reduced CAVEs. Moreover, the use of VCDs reduced the risk of haematomas compared with MC. Network meta-analysis showed that AngioSeal, which might be the best VCD among all the included VCDs, was associated with reduced rates of both CAVE and haematomas compared with MC. In conclusion, the use of VCDs is associated with a decreased risk of haematomas, and FemoSeal and AngioSeal appears to be better than MC for reducing the rate of CAVEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]