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Identifying circular RNA (circRNA)-drug sensitivity association (CDsA) is crucial for advancing drug development. As conducting traditional wet experiments for determining CDsA is costly and inefficient, calculation methods have already proven to be a valid approach to cope with this problem. However, there exists limited research addressing the prediction of the CDsA prediction problem, and certain discrepancies persist, particularly concerning false-negative associations. As a consequence, we present a multi-view framework, called MAGSDMF, for identifying latent CDsA. Firstly, MAGSDMF applies $\mathit{M}$ultiple $\mathit{A}$ttention mechanisms and $\mathit{G}$raph learning methods to dynamically extract features and strengthen the features of inside and across multi-similarity networks of circRNA and drug. Secondly, the $\mathit{S}$tack $\mathit{D}$eep $\mathit{M}$atrix Factorization (SDMF) is devised to directly extract features from CDsAs. We consider multi-similarity networks with the original CDsAs as multi-view information. Thirdly, MAGSDMF utilizes a multi-attention channel mechanism to integrate these features for the purpose of reconstructing CDsA. Finally, MAGSDMF performs another DMF based on the reconstruction to identify the latent CDsAs. Simultaneously, contrastive learning (CL) is implemented to enhance the generalization capability of MAGSDMF and oversee the learning process of the underlying links prediction task. In comparative experiments, MAGSDMF achieves superior performance on two datasets with AUC values of 0.9743 and 0.9739 based on 5-fold cross-validation. Moreover, in case studies, the achievements further validate the identification reliability of MAGSDMF.

ABSTRACTSafety has become the bottom line and fundamental goal of urban renewal with the accelerated urbanization process. Building a safe and stable urban residential environment is a meaningful way to improve cities’ “social-ecological” resilience. Based on the theory of environmental crime prevention and space syntax, taking Tiexinli old residential area in Qinhuangdao City as the research object, using Depth map software to quantitatively analyze the integration degree, synergy degree, connectivity degree, depth value, visual clustering coefficient, and choice value of the residential space, the results show that the accessibility of the spatial system of the old residential area is differentiated. The accessibility of the by-pass road is the lowest and lacks activity support. The spatial layout of the residential area is single and concurrent, and the entrances, exits, and the subsidiary road fail to play a good role in ” access control. ” The environment and landscape of green space between houses and negative space in the residential area are poorly maintained, and the visibility effect is limited. Therefore, the renovation of the old residential area should focus on optimizing the road system, increasing the monitoring of the activities of the people, and enriching the activities of the public space. This research contributes to addressing potential crime issues in urban renewal. It offers feasible and forward-looking approaches to crime prevention and control in the redevelopment of old residential areas in Asian countries. Additionally, this method can be applied in the planning and design of new residential areas to identify and rectify potential crime risks within design schemes, ensuring the safety and living quality of residential communities.

Objective: Proprionibacterium acnes(P. acnes)-induced inflammatory responses, proliferation and differentiation of keratinocytes contribute to the progression of acne vulgaris (AV). P. acneswas found to enhance the production of interleukin-8 (IL-8) by keratinocytes. This study aimed to investigate the role of IL-8 in P. acnes-induced proliferation and differentiation of keratinocytes and the underlying mechanism. Methods: The P. acnes-stimulated HaCaT cell (a human keratinocyte cell line) model was established. Western blotting and immunofluorescence were performed to detect the expression of the IL-8 receptors C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 1 (CXCR1) and C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 2 (CXCR2) on HaCaT cells. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, 5-ethynyl-20-deoxyuridine (EdU) assay and Western blotting were performed to examine the effects of IL-8/CXCR2 axis on the proliferation and differentiation of HaCaT cells treated with P. acnes, the IL-8 neutralizing antibody, the CXCR2 antagonist (SB225002), or the CXCR1/CXCR2 antagonist (G31P). Western blotting, nuclear and cytoplasmic separation, CCK-8 assay, and EdU assay were employed to determine the downstream pathway of CXCR2 after P. acnes-stimulated HaCaT cells were treated with the CXCR2 antagonist, the protein kinase B (AKT) antagonist (AZD5363), or the constitutively active forkhead box O1 (FOXO1) mutant. Finally, autophagy markers were measured in HaCaT cells following the transfection of the FOXO1 mutant or treatment with the autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine (3-MA). Results: The expression levels of CXCR1 and CXCR2 were significantly increased on the membrane of HaCaT cells following P. acnesstimulation. The IL-8/CXCR2 axis predominantly promoted the proliferation and differentiation of P. acnes-induced HaCaT cells by activating AKT/FOXO1/autophagy signaling. In brief, IL-8 bound to its receptor CXCR2 on the membrane of keratinocytes to activate the AKT/FOXO1 axis. Subsequently, phosphorylated FOXO1 facilitated autophagy to promote the proliferation and differentiation of P. acnes-induced keratinocytes. Conclusion: This study demonstrated the novel autocrine effect of IL-8 on the proliferation and differentiation of P. acnes-induced keratinocytes, suggesting a potential therapeutic target for AV.

Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer worldwide. With advancements in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, the prognosis of patients with early-stage cancer has significantly improved. Enhancing the long-term quality of life of patients after antineoplastic therapy, including visual quality, has become a crucial research focus. This review aims to comprehensively summarize dry eye disease adverse reaction resulting from pharmacotherapy for early-stage breast cancer. Through a review of the relevant literature, this study explored the etiology, clinical features, and potential therapeutic strategies for drug-induced dry eye disease in breast cancer treatment. A thorough understanding of the medication-induced dry eye disease adverse reaction aid clinicians in monitoring and managing patients' ocular health more effectively, facilitating early diagnosis and intervention, preventing complications, and ensuring optimal visual protection for patients undergoing breast cancer treatment.

Overtaking is a common driving behaviour used by human drivers while driving. Therefore, the decision on overtaking is very important in the automatic driving decision. To be able to improve the passing efficiency of intelligent vehicles, it is crucial to be able to interact with oncoming vehicles with different driving styles. An overtaking decision needs to be adapted to the situation where the vehicle being overtaken is potentially stationary or moving. Therefore, this paper proposes an overtaking decision method based on potential conflict area based on the requirements. Firstly, the planning method for each stage is given, and the generation method of the potential conflict area is proposed. Second, the interaction process between the host vehicle and the opposite oncoming vehicle is modelled by a dynamic game based on the potential conflict area. A driving style assessment method for oncoming vehicles based on potential conflict area is proposed. Thirdly, the priority of passing the potential conflict area of multiple oncoming vehicles is divided to correct the speed planning in the waiting and the speed payoff function in the game. Finally, the overtaking decision is simulated and validated by Virtual Test Drive.

Molybdenum (Mo)-based nanomaterials have been widely used in biomedical fields due to their various nanostructures and unique physical/chemical properties. Although various reviews have described the development of Mo-based materials in the biomedical field, an objective and comprehensive summary and analysis of research trends in this field is still rare. Therefore, we used the bibliometric analysis method to analyze all relevant literature on the biological application of Mo-based nanomaterials in recent years. First, we use bibliometric tools to analyze the dataset by year, country/region, institution and research hotspot to obtain the research trends. Next, based on objectively identified research hotspots, the biomedical applications of Mo-based nanomaterials are reviewed comprehensively, mainly including sensors, cancer imaging/therapy and antibacterial applications. Finally, we discussed the application prospects and challenges of Mo-based materials. This article provides a new perspective to understand the current research progress and further promote the development of Mo-based nanomaterials in biomedical research.

Light field tomography, an optical combustion diagnostic technology, has recently attracted extensive attention due to its easy implementation and non-intrusion. However, the conventional iterative methods are high data throughput, low efficiency and time-consuming, and the existing machine learning models use the radiation spectrum information of the flame to realize the parameter field measurement at the current time. It is still an offline measurement and cannot realize the online prediction of the instantaneous structure of the actual turbulent combustion field. In this work, a novel online prediction model of flame temperature instantaneous structure based on deep convolutional neural network and long short-term memory (CNN-LSTM) is proposed. The method uses the characteristics of local perception, shared weight, and pooling of CNN to extract the three-dimensional (3D) features of flame temperature and outgoing radiation images. Moreover, the LSTM is used to comprehensively utilize the ten historical time series information of high dynamic combustion flame to accurately predict 3D temperature at three future moments. A chaotic time-series dataset based on the flame radiation forward model is built to train and validate the performance of the proposed CNN-LSTM model. It is proven that the CNN-LSTM prediction model can successfully learn the evolution pattern of combustion flame and make accurate predictions.

Since December 2019, COVID-19 has occurred unexpectedly and emerged as a health problem worldwide. Despite the rapidly increasing number of cases in subsequent weeks, the clinical characteristics of pediatric cases are rarely described. A cross-sectional multicenter study was carried out in 10 hospitals across Hubei province. A total of 25 confirmed pediatric cases of COVID-19 were collected. The demographic data, epidemiological history, underlying diseases, clinical manifestations, laboratory and radiological data, treatments, and outcomes were analyzed. Of 25 hospitalized patients with COVID-19, the boy to girl ratio was 1.27:1. The median age was 3 years. COVID-19 cases in children aged <3 years, 3.6 years, and ≥6-years patients were 10 (40%), 6 (24%), and 9 (36%), respectively. The most common symptoms at onset of illness were fever (13 [52%]), and dry cough (11 [44%]). Chest CT images showed essential normal in 8 cases (33.3%), unilateral involvement of lungs in 5 cases (20.8%), and bilateral involvement in 11 cases (45.8%). Clinical diagnoses included upper respiratory tract infection (n=8), mild pneumonia (n=15), and critical cases (n=2). Two critical cases (8%) were given invasive mechanical ventilation, corticosteroids, and immunoglobulin. The symptoms in 24 (96%) of 25 patients were alleviated and one patient had been discharged. It was concluded that children were susceptible to COVID-19 like adults, while the clinical presentations and outcomes were more favorable in children. However, children less than 3 years old accounted for majority cases and critical cases lied in this age group, which demanded extra attentions during home caring and hospitalization treatment.

The precise control of singing techniques is of utmost importance in achieving emotionally expressive vocal performances. To bridge the gap between current Singing Voice Synthesis (SVS) systems and human singers, our paper focuses on developing an SVS system that allows for control over singing techniques. In this paper, we introduce SinTechSVS, a singing technique controllable SVS system composed of a singing technique annotator, a singing technique controllable synthesizer, and a singing technique recommender. Our approach leverages transfer learning for efficient singing technique annotation and adapts the DiffSinger framework with additional style encoders and an attention-based singing technique local score (STLS) module to enhance singing technique controllability. We also propose a Seq2Seq singing technique recommender for the new task of Singing Technique Recommendation (STR). Experimental results demonstrate that SinTechSVS significantly improves the quality and expressiveness of synthesized vocal performances, with comparable general synthesis capabilities to state-of-the-art SVS systems and enhanced control over singing techniques, as evidenced by objective and subjective evaluations. To the best of our knowledge, SinTechSVS is the first SVS capable of controlling singing techniques.

BackgroundOptical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) enables fast and non-invasive high-resolution imaging of retinal microvasculature and is suggested as a potential tool in the early detection of retinal microvascular changes in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). We developed a standardised OCTA analysis framework and compared their extracted parameters among controls and AD/mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in a cross-section study.MethodsWe defined and extracted geometrical parameters of retinal microvasculature at different retinal layers and in the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) from segmented OCTA images obtained using well-validated state-of-the-art deep learning models. We studied these parameters in 158 subjects (62 healthy control, 55 AD and 41 MCI) using logistic regression to determine their potential in predicting the status of our subjects.ResultsIn the AD group, there was a significant decrease in vessel area and length densities in the inner vascular complexes (IVC) compared with controls. The number of vascular bifurcations in AD is also significantly lower than that of healthy people. The MCI group demonstrated a decrease in vascular area, length densities, vascular fractal dimension and the number of bifurcations in both the superficial vascular complexes (SVC) and the IVC compared with controls. A larger vascular tortuosity in the IVC, and a larger roundness of FAZ in the SVC, can also be observed in MCI compared with controls.ConclusionOur study demonstrates the applicability of OCTA for the diagnosis of AD and MCI, and provides a standard tool for future clinical service and research. Biomarkers from retinal OCTA images can provide useful information for clinical decision-making and diagnosis of AD and MCI.

Novel lead thiazole aminoguanidines exhibited strong activity against Gram-positive bacteria. The potential targets of these substances are undecaprenyl diphosphate synthase (UPPS) and undecaprenyl diphosphate phosphatase (UPPP). Here, we report the synthesis and antibacterial evaluation of a library of thiazole aminoguanidines analogues, wherein the rotatable bond is inserted between the C2 position of thiazole and hydrophobic group. The molecular flexibility is increased, and new analogues with strong activity against MRSA and E. coliare produced. The best compound 4ishowed rapid sterilization and low tendency to induce bacterial resistance. The IC50of compound 4ito EcUPPS enzyme is 145 μmol L−1(58 μg mL−1). Compound 4ican also inhibit and destroy bacterial biofilms. These thiazole aminoguanidines can be developed as potential therapeutic candidates in the future.

Nowadays, with the depletion of high-grade scheelite resources, the efficient exploitation of complex, low grade with complicated geological structure scheelite ore have to take into account. This work introduces a feasible mineral processing method for the beneficiation of low grade and complex scheelite using the X-ray transmission (XRT) pre-concentration technology and mixed collectors. The results of XRT sorting shown that 94.85% WO3can be recovered with the discarding rate reached 40.62%. The closed-circuit flotation of actual ore using mixed collector obtained scheelite concentrate of 61.09% WO3grade with WO3recovery of 89.49%. The combined flowsheet of XRT sorting and mixed collector brought about RMB 4.5 million yuan profit per year for the mine company.

Background: The prophylactic effect of exogenous melatonin and melatonin receptor agonists (MMRAs) on postoperative delirium (POD) in elderly patients remains controversial. Objective: This study aimed to assess the prophylactic effect of MMRAs on POD by conducting a systemic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Methods: We systematically searched four electronic databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Embase for the eligible studies up to February 28, 2023. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used for assessing the risk of bias in the included RCTs. The occurrence of POD was the primary outcome. The quality of evidence was evaluated by Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation. Results: A total of 11 RCTs comprising patients (MMRA group: 777 patients and placebo group: 781 patients) were included. The results of the meta-analysis showed that the MMRA group had a lower occurrence of POD than the placebo group (risk ratio = 0.70, 95% confidence interval: 0.51–0.97, P&lt; 0.05, I2= 59%). The subgroup analysis showed that melatonin significantly reduced the occurrence of POD (moderate-quality evidence), whereas ramelteon and tryptophan had no significant impact (moderate-quality evidence). Conclusion: Existing evidence suggested that perioperative use of melatonin can prevent POD in elderly patients.

The influence of liquid viscoelasticity on the interaction between cavitation bubbles and free surfaces is of great practical significance in understanding bubble dynamics in biological systems. A series of millimeter cavitation bubbles were induced by laser near the free surfaces of the water and viscoelastic polyacrylamide (PAM) solutions with different concentrations. The effects of liquid viscoelasticity on the interactions of cavitation bubbles with free surfaces are analyzed from the perspectives of the evolution of free surface and bubble dynamics. The experimental results show that as the dimensionless standoff distance increases, the evolutions of free surface behaviors in all experimental fluids can be divided into six types of water mounds, i.e., breaking wrinkles, spraying water film, crown, swallowed water spike, hillock, and slight bulge. All the critical values of the dimensionless distance dividing different types decrease with increasing concentration. The evolutions of first four types of water mounds in PAM solutions differ from those in the water. Water droplets splashing in different directions are produced around the breaking wrinkles in the water. Meanwhile, the breaking wrinkles in PAM solution move with the “liquid filaments” towards the central axis. The water spike in the pattern of spraying water film in PAM solution is more stable than that in the water. As the solution concentration increases, the water skirt in the pattern of crown contracts earlier and faster, and the rate of increase in the height of the water skirt decreases. For swallowed water spike in PAM solution, the upper part of the newly formed water spike is not significantly thicker than the middle part, and thus the water waist structure does not form. Liquid viscoelasticity inhibits the bubble growth and collapse, and the bubble migration as well, especially in the second period. Shorter and thicker cavities are formed in PAM solutions with higher concentration, while slender and stable cavities formed in the water at the same dimensionless distance. The velocity and displacement of the tip of bullet jet both decrease as the solution concentration increases.

The single-cycle THz-driven streaking technique, renowned for its high temporal resolution in ultrafast beam diagnostics, faces challenges in improving streaking field excitation efficiency. Recent interest has focused on using strong fields generated in subwavelength structures driven by multicycle THz pulses to enhance THz-based electron acceleration and manipulation. This paper presents a method that utilizes the interaction between an electron beam and a reflective hole array grating to generate a multicycle THz pulse for exciting a split-ring resonator (SRR). By integrating a subwavelength hole array into a conventional rectangular grating, we optimize Smith-Purcell (SP) radiation characteristics and significantly increase radiation intensity. Adjusting the hole array width allows precise control of the THz pulse frequency, aligning it with the SRR's resonant frequency for efficient excitation. Theoretical analysis and simulations validate the method's feasibility, showcasing exceptional streaking performance and femtosecond temporal resolution. This method advances narrowband THz source development based on the SP radiation and introduces a novel excitation strategy for THz streak cameras.

With the development of intelligent vehicles for different types of drivers, generating different driving styles of driving schemes can improve the comfort of the automatic driving system. This paper proposes a human-like planning method for lane change and intersections. Firstly, in planning for the speed driving scheme to enter the intersection, a planning method is proposed to generate different types of speed schemes after determining the start and end speeds. Secondly, by analyzing the data collected under turning conditions on a driving simulator, we extracted the characteristics of driving behavior for each experiment and calculated the probabilistic statistical properties of turning radius and maximum lateral acceleration. Thirdly, the driving characteristics of lane changes are obtained through the fitting of the lane change dataset, and based on this, the probabilistic statistical properties of lane change behavior are determined. Fourthly, this paper proposes a method for deciding longitudinal acceleration by deep learning, by inputting the motion information of the surrounding traffic participants and the motion information of the host vehicle and outputting the decided acceleration, which has the characteristics of imitating the driving behaviors of the real drivers, and adding a safety limit to the output. Finally, simulations and tests are conducted on the VTD (Virtual Test Drive).

The multidimensional distribution of physical and chemical properties has a great influence on the design and utilization of the battery. A pseudo four dimensional electrochemical-three dimensional thermal coupled model is developed to investigate the electrochemical and thermal characteristics of the battery. The simulation and experimental results are verified at different charging rates. The results reveal that the max absolute value of the positive (or negative) electrode overpotential moves from the terminal side (top) to the bottom side of the cell with the charging process. The electrode particles near the tab preferentially complete the charging, which causes the position of the maximum current density to move from the top near the tab to the bottom of the battery. The heat generation of the negative electrode is significantly higher than that of the positive electrode, with irreversible heat generation surpassing reversible heat generation and similar levels of heat generation observed in the current collector and separator. The increase in the number of cell units, electrode size, and electrode thickness will increase the internal temperature and its inhomogeneity of the cell to different degrees, and the electrode thickness has a more significant influence. It is recommended that increasing battery capacity through enlarging electrode size and adding cell units will lead to better temperature uniformity than simply increasing electrode thickness. The present study is meaningful for the development of efficient battery thermal management systems.

Smart health is an essential domain within smart cities. Internet-assisted communication with medical practitioners is now widely used. This is important for elderly or disabled patients, who may not be able to travel but have inexpensive and simple Internet access they can take advantage of with video-call consultations. However, smart health based on the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart meters is not without its challenges. This article reviews the benefits and challenges of innovations in healthcare, with emphasis on IoT and smart meters. A top-level smart health with smart meter system design flowchart is given, and the component and module diagram is proposed.

As a part of industrial process tomography, acoustic tomography (AT) is a promising method for high-quality velocity field measurement, which is widely utilized in the monitoring of multiphase flow, atmospheric environment, and so on. However, subjected to the safety and reliability requirements of furnaces or industrial pipes, the number of installed transducers is restricted, which results in sparse valid data, and, thus, ill-posed and rank-deficient limited-data linear AT. Therefore, special attention should be given to the transducer arrangement in the framework construction module to maximize the reconstruction accuracy. Unlike methods that minimize relative reconstruction error including true value of interesting field, finding an alternative prior knowledge-based predictor that maps the reconstruction error is more practical and preferred. In this work, based on the prior information that the linear independence of vectors incorporates maximum measurement information, a linear independence degree (LID) metric is proposed to optimize the transducer array. It contains no prior information about flow velocity fields, which enables the procedure to be performed in an off-line mode. A covariance matrix adaptation evolution strategy (CMA-ES) algorithm is employed to solve this minimization problem. Proof-of-concept demonstrations, including representative synthetic vortical flow fields with a biased single vortex or with double vortices and experimental data-based velocity field, are performed by comparison with existing representative optimization strategies. Qualitative and quantitative results show the feasibility and robustness of the LID metric in improving imaging accuracy of arbitrary practical velocity fields based on AT. This prior metric is expected to provide guidance for better diagnosis of multiphase flow and optimization of industrial flow process.

Photoacoustic (PA) imaging using the nonlinear PA response of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) can effectively attenuate the interference from background noise caused by biomolecules (e.g., hemoglobin), thus offering a highly potential noninvasive biomedical imaging method. However, the mechanism of the nonlinear PA response of GNPs based on the thermal expansion mechanism, especially the effect of heat-transfer ability, still lacks quantitative investigation. Therefore, this work investigated the effect of heat-transfer ability on the nonlinear PA response of GNPs using the critical energy and fluence concept, taking into account the Au@SiO2core–shell nanoparticles (weakened heat transfer) and gold nanochains (enhanced heat transfer). The results showed that the stronger the heat transferability, the smaller the critical energy, indicating that the nonlinear PA response of different nanoparticles cannot be contrasted directly through the critical energy. Moreover, the critical fluence can directly contrast the proportion of nonlinear components in the PA response of different GNPs as governed by the combined effect of heat transferability and photothermal conversion ability.

The plenoptic imaging technique provides a promising approach to the non-invasive three-dimensional measurement, especially for the high-temperature combustion diagnosis. We establish a light-field convolution imaging model for diffusion flame in this work, considering the radiation transfer process inside the diffusion flame and the light transfer process inside the focused plenoptic camera together. The radiation transfer process is described by the radiation transfer equation and solved by the generalized source multi-flux method. Wave optics theory is adopted to describe the light transfer process, combining Fresnel diffraction and the phase conversion of the lens. The flame light-field image is obtained by the light-field convolution imaging model and adopted as the measurement signal to reconstruct three-dimensional temperature field. The inverse problem of temperature reconstruction is solved by the least square QR decomposition method. The simulative temperature reconstruction work is conducted, including the inverse analysis, the uncertainty analysis, and the measurement noise influence. All the results show that the proposed measurement method is available to reconstruct three-dimensional temperature with satisfactory accuracy and acceptable uncertainty. Both symmetric and asymmetric distributed temperature fields are investigated, and the reconstructed results prove the validity and universality of the measurement method.

Introduction: Postoperative analgesia in elderly patients is still a thorny problem. Ultrasound-guided oblique subcostal transverse abdominis plane block (TAPB) has been demonstrated to provide postoperative analgesia after abdominal surgeries. However, recent studies have suggested that an alternative method, erector spinae plane block (ESPB), might also be effective. In this study, we compared the postoperative analgesic effects of ESPB and TAPB in elderly patients who had undergone laparoscopic colorectal surgery. Methods: Sixty-two elderly patients (≥ 65 years old) scheduled for elective laparoscopic colorectal surgery with general anesthesia were randomly allocated to two equally sized groups: ESPB group and TAPB group. The ESPB group had a bilateral erector spinae plane block, and the TAPB group had a bilateral oblique subcostal transverse abdominis plane block. The primary outcome was visual analogue scale (VAS) pain score during the first 24 postoperative hours at resting and active states. The secondary outcomes were postoperative consumption of sufentanil, satisfaction score, the number of patients who required antiemetics, incidence of block-related complications, and other side events. Results: There were no demographic differences between two groups. Compared to the TAPB group, the ESPB group had lower VAS pain scores and sufentanil consumption during the first 24 postoperative hours. Additionally, ESPB reduced the occurrence of postoperative nausea and vomiting. Furthermore, the satisfaction score was higher in the ESPB group. No other complications were reported between the two groups. Conclusions: Compared with oblique subcostal TAPB, ESPB more effectively reduced postoperative pain and opioid consumption. Thus, ESPB is suitable for postoperative analgesia in elderly patients who have undergone laparoscopic colorectal surgery. Trial Registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry: ChiCTR2000033236.

There remains a significant gap in our quantitative understanding of crosstalk between apoptosis and necroptosis pathways. By employing the SWATH-MS technique, we quantified absolute amounts of up to thousands of proteins in dynamic assembling/de-assembling of TNF signaling complexes. Combining SWATH-MS-based network modeling and experimental validation, we found that when RIP1 level is below ~1000 molecules/cell (mpc), the cell solely undergoes TRADD-dependent apoptosis. When RIP1 is above ~1000 mpc, pro-caspase-8 and RIP3 are recruited to necrosome respectively with linear and nonlinear dependence on RIP1 amount, which well explains the co-occurrence of apoptosis and necroptosis and the paradoxical observations that RIP1 is required for necroptosis but its increase down-regulates necroptosis. Higher amount of RIP1 (>~46,000 mpc) suppresses apoptosis, leading to necroptosis alone. The relation between RIP1 level and occurrence of necroptosis or total cell death is biphasic. Our study provides a resource for encoding the complexity of TNF signaling and a quantitative picture how distinct dynamic interplay among proteins function as basis sets in signaling complexes, enabling RIP1 to play diverse roles in governing cell fate decisions.

In the field of underwater image recognition, a chip with smaller footprint and lower energy consumption is required to be implanted into autonomous intelligent underwater vehicle to make real-time response to the surrounding objects. Therefore, a promising accelerator with high performance and low energy consumption is designed, which optimizes the features possessed by convolutional neural network. The sharing of weights between neurons reduces the memory requirement. With all convolutional neural network data stored within on-chip static random-access memory, the need for memory access is drastically decreased. Besides, several small processing elements are used to form neural functional unit, which considerably reduces the bandwidth requirement through inter-processing element data transmission. By sending control signals to autonomous underwater vehicle, this accelerator enables it to avoid dangerous areas such as rocks and algae in time. The result suggests the proposed accelerator successfully achieves a higher processing speed than that of CPU and GPU with a footprint of 6.09 mm2only and the energy consumption of 327.3 mW at 1 GHz.

As the ocean data acquired by the Argo project is increasingly huge, how to use artificial intelligence to analyze it so as to discover the distribution and variation of ocean temperature with space and time becomes an important research topic in the world. In this article, a spatio-temporal dependence-based tensor fusion method is proposed, which can be used to determine and analyze the thermocline. In the time dimension, long short-term memory is used to predict the temperature of seawater; in the spatial dimension, the thermocline is found incrementally by using tensor analysis. Experiments on BOA Argo data from 2004 to 2016 show that the proposed method can accurately determine the boundary of the thermocline and predict the future trend of the thermocline.

Working in collaboration with an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle is a new working method for divers. Using gestures to give instructions for the diver is a simple and effective mode of underwater human–robot interaction (HRI). In this paper, a gestures tracking method for under human–robot interaction based on fuzzy control is proposed. Firstly, four object recognition algorithms in terms of gesture recognition are compared. YOLO V4-tiny was an extremely high performance, as the gesture area recognition algorithm. We propose a model based on Siamese Network for gesture classification. A gesture tracking method based on fuzzy control is proposed, analyzing the image from AUV front camera to establish a 3D fuzzy rule set. This method can realize the self-regulation of AUV and keep the diver's gestures in the camera view. The experiment result shows the efficiency of the proposed method.

Autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) plays an important role in ocean research and exploration. The underwater environment has a great influence on AUV control and human–robot interaction, since underwater environment is highly dynamic with unpredictable fluctuation of water flow, high pressure and light attenuation. The traditional control model contains a large number of parameters, which is not effective and produces errors frequently. The proposal of fuzzy control addressed this issue to a certain extent. It applies fuzzy variables to the controller, which replace the values in an interval. In addition to the controller, underwater human–robot interaction is also difficult. Divers cannot speak or show any facial expressions underwater. The buttons on the AUV also need to overcome the huge water pressure. In this paper, we proposed a method to recognize the gesture instructions and apply it to the fuzzy control of AUV. Our contribution is the gesture recognition framework for the human–robot interaction, including the gesture detection network and the algorithm for the control of AUV. The experiment result shows the efficiency of the proposed method.

In this paper, steel–polyethylene hybrid fiber-reinforced strain-hardening cementitious composites (HECC) are applied in beam–column external joint core region to form a novel HECC/reinforced concrete (RC) composite beam–column joint with reduced anchorage length of beam longitudinal rebar and eliminated transverse rebar, and thus to alleviate rebar congestion and simplify the construction process efficiently especially for precast RC frame structures. Five external beam–column joint specimens are constructed and tested under cyclic loading to illustrate the influences of the anchorage length of beam longitudinal rebar and longitudinal rebar ratio on the seismic performance of beam–column joint. The effects of design parameters on seismic performance, including hysteresis behavior, degradation of strength, energy dissipation capacity, and cracking patterns are discussed in detail. Experimental results indicate that the replacement of normal concrete with HECC in beam–column joint core region could apparently reduce the amount of stirrups in the joint core area while maintaining reliable seismic behavior. Remarkably, specimen with no stirrups in the core area exhibits nearly equivalent seismic behavior to that of the control RC specimen. Furthermore, the application of HECC in joint core area allows for a substantial reduction of the required anchorage length for the beam longitudinal rebar to 9d, which further simplifies the construction process considerably.

To investigate the expression of pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) in ocular surface in dry eye disease (DED) and its anti-inflammatory roles and mechanisms, clinically and by experiments in vivoand in vitro.

An outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) took place in Wuhan, China, by the end of 2019, and the disease continues to spread all over the world. The number of patients is increasing rapidly, a large number of infected patients is critically ill, and the mortality is high. However, information on COVID-19 patients is limited, and its clinical characteristics have not been fully studied. To compare the performances of point-of-care lung ultrasound (LUS) and bedside chest X-ray in assessing the condition of COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This observational study enrolled 42 COVID-19 patients with ARDS who were admitted to the Department of Critical Care Medicine of the Wuhan Union Hospital from February to April 2020. The point-of-care LUS characteristics of the COVID-19 patients with ARDS were summarized, and the performances of LUS and bedside chest X-ray in assessing the patient's condition were compared. Most of the 42 patients were elderly individuals with chronic clinical diseases. The proportion of patients older than 60?years old was 85.7%. All patients were given invasive mechanical ventilation; eight (19.0%) of them received venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support. LUS has evident advantages in detecting lung consolidation, patchy shadows, and pleural thickening, and pleural line changes in particular. The receiver operating characteristic analysis indicated that the sensitivity, Youden index, and kappa value for detecting COVID-19 patients with ARDS were higher for LUS than the chest X-ray. LUS has better diagnostic accuracy and sensitivity in COVID-19 patients with ARDS than the chest X-ray.

Lumbar spine surgery is one of the most widespread types of surgery for treating back and leg pain. However, the postoperative period always presents with severe pain due to the removal of skin, subcutaneous tissues, bones, and ligaments. Patients usually require high doses of opioids to relieve pain during the initial three days after operation, as well as experience drug-related complications and prolonged length of stay in hospital. We found that Erector spinae plane block significantly reduced postoperative opioid consumption and pain scores. The present systematic review revealed that ESPB was effective and safe for postoperative analgesia.

ABSTRACTThe objective of this study was to explore the effect of argon preconditioning on myocardial ischemia reperfusion (MI/R) injury and its mechanism. Cardiomyocytes H2C9 were pre-treated with 50% argon, and a cell model of oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) was established. CCK-8 and cytotoxicity detection kits were used to detect cell viability and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release. The miR-21 expression was detected using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Western blot analysis was performed to detect the expression of programmed cell death protein 4 (PDCD4) and homologous phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) proteins. The levels of inflammatory factors (IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8) and oxidative stress factors (reactive oxygen species ROS], malondialdehyde [MDA], and superoxide dismutase [SOD]) were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The effect of argon on cell apoptosis was detected using flow cytometry. Argon increased the proliferation of cardiomyocytes induced by OGD, decreased the release of LDH in cell culture medium, increased miR-21 expression in cells, decreased the expression of miR-21 target proteins PDCD4 and PTEN, decreased the levels of inflammatory factors (interleukin-1β [IL-1β], interleukin-6 [IL-6], and interleukin-8 [IL-8]) and oxidative stress factors (ROS and MDA), increased the SOD content, and decreased the cell apoptosis rate. Our results suggest that argon preconditioning inhibited the PDCD4/PTEN pathway via miR-21, thereby inhibiting ROS oxidative stress and preventing MI/R injury.

Brake friction materials with different zinc powder contents (0, 2, 4, 6, 8 wt.%) were fabricated via powder metallurgy method. The results indicate that with the increasing zinc powder content, the density and thermal conductivity of the materials gradually increase, while the hardness decreases monotonously. With increasing zinc powder content, the curve of the nominal friction coefficient shows fluctuating trend but the lowest friction coefficient also shows an increase. However, the wear rate and braking noise of the friction material monotonously decrease with increasing zinc content. This effect may be attributed to the transformation of the tribological mechanism from adhesive wear and abrasive wear to adhesive wear. The brake friction material with 4 wt.% zinc powder exhibits both the best tribological and noise performance.

In this work, the coupling of magnetoplasmon polaritons (MPP) to surface phonon polaritons (SPhPs) in near-field radiative heat transfer is theoretically investigated. The system is composed of two parallel graphene-coated SiO_2 substrates. By applying an external magnetic field, the separated branches of MPPs can couple with SPhPs to form tunable modes. The behavior remolds the energy transport of the system. The relative thermal magnetoresistance ratio can reach values of up to 160% for a magnetic field of 8 T. In addition, the thermal stealthy for the coated graphene is realized by tuning the intensity of fields. This work has substantial importance to graphene-based magneto-optical devices.

The boundary emissivity, thermal conductivity, and boundary time-varying heat flux in the participating media are retrieved in this work. In the forward model, the coupled radiation-conduction heat transfer in the participating medium is resolved by the finite volume method combined with discrete ordinates method. The inverse model utilizes the temperature signals at the appropriate position of the medium as the known information and uses the unscented Kalman filter (UKF) as an optimization tool to reconstruct the boundary emissivity, thermal conductivity, and boundary time-varying heat flux. It is found that when the emissivity, thermal conductivity, and boundary time-varying heat flux are reconstructed simultaneously, only the temperature information of two locations is required. The influence of the measurement noise, sampling interval, absorption coefficient, process noise covariance, measurement noise covariance on the accuracy and stability of the retrieval results is investigated in detail. All the reconstruction results indicate that the UKF technique is effective and robust for estimating the photothermal parameters and boundary condition of the radiation-conduction heat transfer problems.

Effective extraction of lithium from high Mg2+/Li+ratio brine lakes is of great challenge. In this work, organic–inorganic hybrid silica nanofiltration (NF) membranes were prepared by dip-coating a 1,2-bis(triethoxysilyl)ethane (BTESE)-derived separation layer on tubular TiO2support, for efficient separation of LiCl and MgCl2salt solutions. We found that the membrane calcinated at 400 °C (M1–400) could exhibit a narrow pore size distribution (0.63–1.66 nm) owing to the dehydroxylation and the thermal degradation of the organic bridge groups. All as-prepared membranes exhibited higher rejections to LiCl than to MgCl2, which was attributed to the negative charge of the membrane surfaces. The rejection for LiCl and MgCl2followed the order: LiCl > MgCl2, revealing that Donnan exclusion effect dominated the salt rejection mechanism. In addition, the triple-coated membrane calcined at 400 °C (M3–400) exhibited a permeability of about 9.5 L∙m−2∙h−1∙bar−1for LiCl or MgCl2solutions, with rejections of 74.7% and 20.3% to LiCl and MgCl2,respectively, under the transmembrane pressure at 6 bar. Compared with the previously reported performance of NF membranes for Mg2+/Li+separation, the overall performance of M3–400 is highly competitive. Therefore, this work may provide new insight into designing robust silica-based ceramic NF membranes with negative charge for efficient lithium extraction from salt lakes.

Here, we present a protocol for the examination of immune cells in the murine conjunctiva and lacrimal gland using flow cytometry. We describe steps for dissection, preparation of high-quality single-cell suspensions, utilization of comprehensive staining panels, and optimization of flow cytometry voltage. We then detail procedures for compensation adjustments and the implementation of effective gating strategies.

•Revealing effects of particle size and blowing ratio on the particle motion and deposition characteristics.•Comparing particle deposition morphology at different blowing ratios.•Identifying influence of deposition morphology on film cooling performance of blade.•Identifying influence of deposition morphology on deposition characteristic of blade.

Punicalagin showed significant nematotoxic activity against pine wood nematode (PWN), Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, in the authors’ previous research. The authors performed high-throughput transcriptomic sequencing of punicalagin-treated nematodes to generate clues for its nematotoxic mechanism of action. The authors identified 2,575 differentially expressed genes, 1,428 of which were up-regulated and 1,147 down-regulated. Based on a comprehensive functional in silicoanalysis, the authors speculate that PWN may respond to the stimulus of punicalagin through phagosome, endocytosis, peroxisome and MAPK signaling pathways. In addition, punicalagin could greatly affect PWN energy metabolism including oxidative phosphorylation. The genes encoding twitchin and a nematode cuticular collagen could be crucial regulation targets of punicalagin, which might contribute to its nematotoxic activity against PWN.

Pd-doped organosilica membranes were prepared by controlling calcination atmospheres (i.e.POS-Air, POS-N2, POS-H2, POS-H2/N2) to tailor their networks for improving their gas separation performance. This study shows that Pd (II) could be only maintained under non-reductive calcination atmosphere, while inert and reducing calcination atmosphere is more beneficial to maintain organosilica moieties in POS networks. POS-H2/N2membrane showed the optimal H2separation performance that its permselectivities for H2/CO2, H2/N2, H2/CH4and H2/SF6are 15.0, 96.7, 173.0 and 3400.0, respectively. Moreover, it is found that H2molecules pass through the four membranes based on activated diffusion, while CO2molecules permeation through POS-N2and POS-Air membrane is dominated by surface diffusion. This work may provide insight into the understanding of the calcination atmosphere effect on gas separation performance of metal-doped organosilica membranes.

The research work in this paper is focused on studying the failure behavior of an integral π-shaped laminated composite structure subjected to a bending load. A progressive damage model based on the 3D Tsai-Wu failure criterion and a developed gradual degradation model was employed to simulate and assess the load-carrying capacity, the onset and propagation of damage, and the failure mechanisms. For this unique π-shaped composite structure, disbonding was found to be the dominant damage mode under bending load, and the approximate maximum load could be maintained for a brief time during the final failure due to the gradual loss nature of the load-carrying capacity. The extent of damage was found to be more serious on the side of Rib II compared to the other side.

Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have been reported to participate in multiple biological processes. However, the effects of miR-495 on gastric cancer (GC) remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to explore the functions of miR-495 in GC cell proliferation, metastasis, and apoptosis. SGC-7901 and BGC-823 cell lines were transfected with miR-495 mimic, miR-495 inhibitor, and negative controls (mimic control and inhibitor control). The expressions of miR-495, cell viability, migration, apoptosis, and apoptosis-related factors were examined by qRT-PCR, trypan blue staining, Transwell, flow cytometry, and Western blot, respectively. Simultaneously, key factor expression levels of EMT were detected by qRT-PCR and Western blot. The direct target of miR-495 was confirmed by dual-luciferase assay. Additionally, sh-Twist1, pc-Twist1, and corresponding controls were transfected into SGC-7901 and BGC-823 cells, and the protein levels of EMT-associated factors were detected by Western blot. miR-495 was downregulated in GC cells. miR-495 expression level was effectively overexpressed or suppressed in SGC-7901 and BGC-823 cells. Overexpression of miR-495 significantly decreased cell viability and migration, increased apoptosis, and inhibited the EMT process. Suppression of miR-495 showed contrary results. Twist1 was clarified as a target gene of miR-495, and Twist1 silencing obviously reduced the promoting effect of miR-495 suppression on these biological processes. Twist1 silencing significantly blocked the EMT process in both SGC-7901 and BGC-823 cells. miR-495 inhibited proliferation and metastasis and promoted apoptosis by targeting Twist1 in GC cells. These data indicated that miR-495 might be a novel antitumor factor of GC and provide a new method for the treatment of GC.