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Bone nonunion and bone defects frequently occur following high‐energy open injuries or debridement surgeries, presenting complex challenges to treatment and significantly affecting patients' quality of life. At present, there are three primary treatment options available for addressing bone nonunion and bone defects: vascularized bone grafts, the Masquelet technique, and the Ilizarov technique. The Ilizarov technique, also known as distraction osteogenesis, is widely favored by orthopedic surgeons because of several advantages, including minimal soft tissue requirements, low infection risk, and short consolidation time. However, in recent years, the application of the Masquelet technique has resulted in novel treatment methods for managing post‐traumatic bone infections when bone defects are present. Although these new techniques do not constitute a panacea, they continue to be the most commonly employed options for treating complex large bone nonunion and bone defects. This review evaluates the currently available research on the Ilizarov and Masquelet bone transport techniques applied at various anatomical sites. Additionally, it explores treatment durations and associated complications to establish a theoretical foundation that can guide clinical treatment decisions and surgical procedures for the management of bone nonunion and bone defects.

Summary: Background: Dysbiosis of the oral mycobiome has been linked to some diseases, including cancers. However, the role of oral fungal communities in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) carcinogenesis has not previously been investigated. Methods: We characterized the oral salivary fungal mycobiome in 476 untreated incident NPC patients and 537 population-based controls using fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS)-2 sequencing. The relationship between oral fungal mycobiome and the risk of NPC was assessed through bioinformatic and biostatistical analyses. Findings: We found that lower fungal alpha diversity was associated with an increased odds of NPC [lower vs. higher: observed features (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 5.81, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.60–9.38); Simpson diversity (1.53, 1.03–2.29); Shannon diversity (2.03, 1.35–3.04)]. We also observed a significant difference in global fungal community patterns between cases and controls based on Bray–Curtis dissimilarity (P

We have established a novel method for quadrature signal construction in a semiconductor laser diode self-mixing interferometry system using two photodiodes and a beam splitter with a liquid crystal phase shifter (LCPS). This method entails placing an LCPS between the photodiode and the beam splitter so that another phase shift self-mixing signal can be obtained. Then, an arctangent phase algorithm can be used to demodulate the pair of quadrature signals to reconstruct the vibration information of the target object. This method simplifies the self-mixing signal demodulation process and the reconstruction of vibration information. Our experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of using self-mixing phase shifter detection for self-mixing optical measurements. The work illustrates a sort of efficient and referable novel design guidance model which supports the quadrature signals construction in a self-mixing interferometer based on a semiconductor laser diode.

Previous research on antibiotic resistance genes and microorganisms centered on those in urban sewage treatment plants, breeding farms, hospitals and others with serious antibiotic pollution. However, at present, there are evident proofs that antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) indeed exist in a primitive environment hardly without any human’s footprints. Accordingly, an original karst mountain swamp ecosystem in Niangniang Mountain, Guizhou, China, including herbaceous swamp, shrub swamp, sphagnum bog and forest swamp, was selected to analyze the physical and chemical parameters of sediments. Moreover, microbial compositions, functions, as well as their connections with ARGs were assayed and analyzed using metagenomic technology. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the dominant microorganisms and ARGs in the four marshes, in which the dominant bacteria phyla were Proteobacteria (37.82 %), Acidobacteriota (22.17 %) and Actinobacteriota (20.64 %); the dominant archaea Euryarchaeota. (1.00 %); and the dominant eukaryotes Ascomycota (0.07 %), with metabolism as their major functions. Based on the ARDB database, the number of ARGs annotated reached 209 including 30 subtypes, and the dominant ARGs were all Bacitracin resistance genes (bacA, 84.77 %). In terms of the diversity of microorganisms and ARGs, the herbaceous swamp ranked the top, and the shrub swamp were at the bottom. Correlation analysis between microorganisms and resistance genes showed that, apart from aac2ic, macB, smeE, tetQ, and tetL, other ARGs were positively correlated with microorganisms. Among them, baca coexisted with microorganisms. Pearson correlation analysis results showed that contrary to ARGs, microorganisms were more affected by environmental factors.

Background: To study the pathogenesis of steroid-induced femoral head osteonecrosis, an ideal animal model is very important. As experimental animals, mice are beneficial for studying the pathogenesis of disease. However, there are currently few mouse models of steroid-induced femoral head osteonecrosis, and there are many questions that require further exploration and research.Purposes: The purpose of this study was to establish a new model of osteonecrosis in mice using angiotensin II (Ang II) combined with asparaginase (ASP) and dexamethasone (DEX) and to study the effects of this drug combination on femoral head osteonecrosis in mice.Methods: Male BALB/c mice (n = 60) were randomly divided into three groups. Group A (normal control, NC) was treated with physiological saline and given a normal diet. Group B (DEX + ASP, DA) was given free access to food and water (containing 2 mg/L DEX) and subjected to intraperitoneal injection of ASP (1200 IU/kg twice/week for 8 weeks). Group C (DEX + ASP + Ang II, DAA) was treated the same as group B, it was also given free access to food and water (containing 2 mg/L DEX) and subjected to intraperitoneal injection of ASP (1200 IU/kg twice/week for 8 weeks), but in the 4th and 8th weeks, subcutaneous implantation of a capsule osmotic pump (0.28 mg/kg/day Ang II) was performed. The mice were sacrificed in the 4th and 8th weeks, and the model success rate, mouse mortality rate, body weight, blood lipids, coagulation factors, histopathology, and number of local vessels in the femoral head were evaluated.Results: DAA increased the model success rate [4th week, 30% (DA) vs. 40% (DAA) vs. 0% (NC); 8th week, 40% (DA) vs. 70% (DAA) vs. 0% (NC)]. There was no significant difference in mortality rate between the groups [4th week, 0% (DA) vs. 0% (DAA) vs. 0% (NC); 8th week, 5% (DA) vs. 10% (DAA) vs. 0% (NC)]. DAA affected mouse body weight and significantly affected blood lipids and blood coagulation factors. DAA reduces the number of blood vessels in the femoral head and destroys the local blood supply.Conclusion: Angiotensin II combined with asparaginase and dexamethasone can obviously promote the necrosis of femoral head and provide a new idea for the model and treatment of osteonecrosis.

BackgroundMarijuana use is common in persons with HIV, but there is limited evidence of its relationship with potential health benefits or harms. ObjectiveThe Marijuana Associated Planning and Long-term Effects (MAPLE) study was designed to evaluate the impact of marijuana use on HIV-related health outcomes, cognitive function, and systemic inflammation. MethodsThe MAPLE study is a longitudinal cohort study of participants living with HIV who were recruited from 3 locations in Florida and were either current marijuana users or never regular marijuana users. At enrollment, participants completed questionnaires that included detailed marijuana use assessments, underwent interviewer-administered neurocognitive assessments, and provided blood and urine samples. Ongoing follow-ups included brief telephone assessments (every 3 months), detailed questionnaires (annually), repeated blood and urine samples (2 years), and linkage to medical records and statewide HIV surveillance data. Supplemental measures related to intracellular RNA, COVID-19, Alzheimer disease, and the gut microbiome were added after study initiation. ResultsThe MAPLE study completed enrollment of 333 persons between 2018 and 2021. The majority of participants in the sample were ≥50 years of age (200/333, 60.1%), male (181/333, 54.4%), cisgender men (173/329, 52.6%), non-Hispanic Black (221/333, 66.4%), and self-reported marijuana users (260/333, 78.1%). Participant follow-up was completed in 2022, with annual updates to HIV surveillance data through at least 2027. ConclusionsThe MAPLE study is the largest cohort specifically designed to understand the use of marijuana and its effects on HIV-related outcomes. The study population has significant diversity across age, sex, gender, and race. The data will help clinicians and public health officials to better understand patterns of marijuana use associated with both positive and negative health outcomes, and may inform recommendations for future clinical trials related to medical marijuana and HIV. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/37153

Background We hypothesized that specific amino acids or acylcarnitines would have benefits for the differential diagnosis of diabetes. Thus, a targeted metabolomics for amino acids and acylcarnitines in patients with diabetes and its complications was carried out. Methods A cohort of 54 normal individuals and 156 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and/or diabetic complications enrolled from the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University was studied. The subjects were divided into five main groups: normal individuals, impaired fasting glucose, overt diabetes, diabetic microvascular complications, and diabetic peripheral vascular disease. The technique of tandem mass spectrometry was applied to obtain the plasma metabolite profiles. Metabolomics multivariate statistics were applied for the metabolic data analysis and the differential metabolites determination. Results A total of 10 cross-comparisons within diabetes and its complications were designed to explore the differential metabolites. The results demonstrated that eight comparisons existed and yielded significant metabolic differences. A total number of 24 differential metabolites were determined from six selected comparisons, including up-regulated amino acids, down-regulated medium-chain and long-chain acylcarnitines. Altered differential metabolites provided six panels of biomarkers, which were helpful in distinguishing diabetic patients. Conclusion Our results demonstrated that the biomarker panels consisted of specific amino acids and acylcarnitines which could reflect the metabolic variations among the different stages of diabetes and might be useful for the differential diagnosis of prediabetes, overt diabetes and diabetic complications.

BackgroundThe human microbiome has been reported to mediate the response to anticancer therapies. However, research about the influence of the oral microbiome on nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) survival is lacking. We aimed to explore the effect of oral microbiota on NPC prognosis.MethodsFour hundred eighty-two population-based NPC cases in southern China between 2010 and 2013 were followed for survival, and their saliva samples were profiled using 16s rRNA sequencing. We analyzed associations of the oral microbiome diversity with mortality from all causes and NPC.ResultsWithin- and between-community diversities of saliva were associated with mortality with an average of 5.29 years follow-up. Lower Faith’s phylogenetic diversity was related to higher all-cause mortality [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR), 1.52 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.06–2.17)] and NPC-specific mortality [aHR, 1.57 (95% CI, 1.07–2.29)], compared with medium diversity, but higher phylogenetic diversity was not protective. The third principal coordinate (PC3) identified from principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) on Bray–Curtis distance was marginally associated with reduced all-cause mortality [aHR, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.73–1.00)], as was the first principal coordinate (PC1) from PCoA on weighted UniFrac [aHR, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.74–1.00)], but neither was associated with NPC-specific mortality. PC3 from robust principal components analysis was associated with lower all-cause and NPC-specific mortalities, with HRs of 0.72 (95% CI, 0.61–0.85) and 0.71 (95% CI, 0.60–0.85), respectively.ConclusionsOral microbiome may be an explanatory factor for NPC prognosis. Lower within-community diversity was associated with higher mortality, and certain measures of between-community diversity were related to mortality. Specifically, candidate bacteria were not related to mortality, suggesting that observed associations may be due to global patterns rather than particular pathogens.

Objectives: Given the role of exposures related to residence in the development of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has not been well explored, present study aims to investigate the magnitude and pattern of associations for NPC with lifelong residential exposures. Materials and Methods: We carried out a multi-center, population-based case-control study with 2533 incident NPC cases and 2597 randomly selected population controls in southern China between 2010 and 2014. We performed multivariate logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the risk of NPC associated with residential exposures. Results: Compared with those living in a building over lifetime, risk of NPC was higher for individuals living in a cottage (OR: 1.56; 95% CI: 1.34–1.81) or in a boat (3.87; 2.07–7.21). NPC risk was also increased in individuals using wood (1.34; 1.03–1.75), coal (1.70; 1.17–2.47), or kerosene (3.58; 1.75–7.36) vs. using gas/electricity as cooking fuel; using well water (1.57; 1.34–1.83), river water (1.80; 1.47–2.21), or spring/pond/stream water (2.03; 1.70–2.41) vs. tap water for source of drinking water; living in houses with smaller-sized vs. larger windows in the bedroom (3.08; 2.46–3.86), hall (1.89; 1.55–2.31) or kitchen (1.67; 1.34–2.08); and increasing exposure to cooking smoke [(1.53; 1.20–1.94) for high exposure)] or burned incense [(1.59; 1.31–1.95) for daily use)]. Weighted Cox regression analysis corroborated these results. Conclusion: Poorer residential conditions and household air pollution are associated with an increased risk of NPC. Large-scale studies in other populations or longitudinal studies are warranted to further corroborate these findings.

This article investigates the influence of frequency on the field-dependent non-linear rheology of magnetorheological (MR) grease under large amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS). First, the LAOS tests with different driving frequencies were conducted on MR grease at four magnetic fields, and the storage and loss moduli under the frequency of 0.1, 0.5, 1, and 5 Hz were compared to obtain an overall understanding of the frequency-dependent viscoelastic behavior of MR grease. Based on this, the three-dimensional (3D) Lissajous curves and decomposed stress curves under two typical frequencies were depicted to provide the non-linear elastic and viscous behavior. Finally, the elastic and viscous measures containing higher harmonics from Fourier transform (FT)-Chebyshev analysis were used to quantitatively interpret the influence of the frequency on the non-linear rheology of MR grease, namely, strain stiffening (softening) and shear thickening (thinning), under LAOS with different magnetic fields. It was found that, under the application of the magnetic field, the onset of the non-linear behavior of MR grease was frequency-dependent. However, when the shear strain amplitude increased in the post-yield region, the non-linear rheology of MRG-70 was not affected by the oscillatory frequency.

A novel enriched finite element method (EFEM) was employed to analyze the transient wave propagation problems. In the present method, the traditional finite element approximation was enriched by employing the appropriate interpolation covers. We mathematically and numerically showed that the present EFEM possessed the important monotonic convergence property with the decrease of the used time steps for transient wave propagation problems when the unconditional stable Newmark time integration scheme was used for time integration. This attractive property markedly distinguishes the present EFEM from the traditional FEM for transient wave propagation problems. Two typical numerical examples were given to demonstrate the capabilities of the present method.

Magnetorheological gel (MRG) excels in the material properties in term of adjustability and sedimentation performance, which could upgrade the performances of the current magnetorheological fluid based adjustable devices for structural control and vibration mitigation. However, the characterization and modelling of the stress-strain hysteresis responses of MRG has not been reported in the past, which are fundamental steps towards engineering applications. In this study, the stress-strain hysteresis of polyurethane based MRG sample with 60% carbonyl iron particle weight fraction was characterized under sinusoidal shear excitations with broad ranges of strain amplitude (5%–100%), excitation frequency (0.1 Hz–2 Hz) and magnetic fields (0–0.91 T). Significant stress overshooting phenomenon were observed under the application of low magnetic fields (0.27 T). A structurally-simple and accurate phenomenological model has been established to capture this unique nonlinearity. By validating the experimental results, the proposed model accurately predicts the hysteretic behaviour and the overshoot of the MRG under the excitation scenarios and the magnetic fields considered. Finally, the support vector machine (SVM) was implemented to provide the solution to the model generalization. The SVM-assisted model showed good agreement with the experimental data and can benefit the efficiency and viability in developing controllable MRG-based devices and system.

ABSTRACT Oral health and changes in the oral microbiome have been associated with both local and systemic cancer. Poor oral hygiene is a known risk factor for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), a virally associated head and neck cancer endemic to southern China. We explored the relationship between NPC and the oral microbiome using 16S rRNA sequencing in a study of 499 NPC patients and 495 population-based age and sex frequency-matched controls from an area of endemicity of Southern China. We found a significant reduction in community richness in cases compared to that in controls. Differences in the overall microbial community structure between cases and controls could not be explained by other potential confounders; disease status explained 5 times more variation in the unweighted UniFrac distance than the next most explanatory variable. In feature-based analyses, we identified a pair of coexcluding Granulicatella adiacens amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) which were strongly associated with NPC status and differed by a single nucleotide. The G. adiacens variant an individual carried was also associated with the overall microbial community based on beta diversity. Co-occurrence analysis suggested the two G. adiacens ASVs sit at the center of two coexcluding clusters of closely related organisms. Our results suggest there are differences in the oral microbiomes between NPC patients and healthy controls, and these may be associated with both a loss of microbial diversity and niche specialization among closely related commensals. IMPORTANCE The relationship between oral health and the risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) was previously established. However, the role of oral microbiome has not been evaluated in the disease in a large epidemiological study. This paper clearly establishes a difference in the oral microbiomes between NPC patients and healthy controls which cannot be explained by other confounding factors. It furthermore identifies a pair of closely related coexcluding organisms associated with the disease, highlighting the importance of modern methods for single-nucleotide resolution in 16S rRNA sequence characterization. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first examples of cancer-associated niche specialization of the oral microbiome.

In this paper, a novel enriched three-node triangular element with the augmented interpolation cover functions is proposed based on the original linear triangular element for two-dimensional solids. In this enriched triangular element, the augmented interpolation cover functions are employed to enrich the original standard linear shape functions over element patches. As a result, the original linear approximation space can be effectively enriched without adding extra nodes. To eliminate the linear dependence issue of the present method, an effective scheme is used to make the system matrices of the numerical model completely positive-definite. Through several typical numerical examples, the abilities of the present enriched three node triangular element in forced and free vibration analysis of two-dimensional solids are studied. The results show that, compared with the original linear triangular element, the present element can not only provide more accurate numerical results, but also have higher computational efficiency and convergence rate.

Abstract Background Subjects with elevated Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) immunoglobulin A (IgA) titers have a higher risk of developing nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), indicating that reactivation of EBV in the local mucosa might be important for NPC carcinogenesis. Cigarette smoking appears to be one of the environmental risk factors for NPC. However, it remains unclear whether smoking-induced nasopharyngeal carcinogenesis acts through reactivating EBV in the nasopharyngeal mucosa. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the association between cigarette smoking and nasopharyngeal EBV reactivation in a NPC high-risk population. Methods A NPC high-risk cohort study, established from a population-based NPC screening program of 22,816 subjects, consisted of 1045 subjects with elevated serum IgA antibodies against EBV viral capsid antigen (VCA/IgA). Among high-risk subjects, information on detailed cigarette smoking history was collected among 313 male subjects. The associations between cigarette smoking and EBV antibody levels, EBV DNA load of the nasopharynx were analyzed. Results No significant association was observed between either nasopharyngeal EBV DNA load or serum VCA/IgA titers and smoking status, age at smoking initiation, daily smoking intensity, smoking duration, cigarette type, or pack-years of smoking. Cigarette smoking characteristics in all subgroups did not correlate with nasopharyngeal EBV DNA positivity or EBV VCA/IgA seropositivity. Conclusions In a population at high risk of NPC, our study suggests that cigarette smoking is neither associated with nasopharyngeal EBV DNA load nor serum VCA/IgA antibody level. Smoking-associated NPC carcinogenesis may act through other mechanisms than reactivating nasopharyngeal EBV replication.

In this paper, to improve the heat dissipation efficiency of a radiator for focal plane assemblies, a topology optimization method is introduced into the design process. For the realization of the optimization, an objective of maximal thermal stiffness concerning the radiator is formulated. The topology optimization is performed under the same mass constraint of 2.05 kg as the initial design. To improve the manufacturability of topology optimization result, an inverse design is conducted to reconstruct a new model. In transient thermal simulation, the average maximal temperature on focal plane assemblies with a reconstructed radiator is 8.626 °C, while the average maximal temperature with the initial design is 9.793 °C. Compared to the initial design, a decrease of 1.167 °C on maximal temperature is achieved. As the heat dissipation efficiency of the proposed radiator design is improved compared to the initial design, it is meaningful in future applications.

The paper tests the influence of mass fractions of carbonyl iron particles (CIPs) on the rheological properties of magnetorheological (MR) gels. Polyurethane-based MR gels with different weight fraction of CIPs, i.e., 40, 60, and 80%, were firstly prepared by mechanical mixing, respectively. The changes of shear stress and viscosity with shear rate under different magnetic flux density were tested and analyzed. It was found that the shear stress increases with mass fraction under magnetic flux density. The viscoelastic properties of MRGs were achieved by oscillatory shear measure. The effects of strain amplitude and frequency on viscoelastic of MRGs under different magnetic flux density were measured and analyzed. The study results shown that the elastic characteristics become more obvious with the increase of CIPs mass fraction. However, it has opposite effect on the viscous properties of materials.

The cable-driven soft arm is mostly made of soft material; it is difficult to control because of the material characteristics, so the traditional robot arm modeling and control methods cannot be directly applied to the soft robot arm. In this paper, we combine the data-driven modeling method with the reinforcement learning control method to realize the position control task of robotic soft arm, the method of control strategy based on deep Q learning. In order to solve slow convergence and unstable effect in the process of simulation and migration when deep reinforcement learning is applied to the actual robot control task, a control strategy learning method is designed, which is based on the experimental data, to establish a simulation environment for control strategy training, and then applied to the real environment. Finally, it is proved by experiment that the method can effectively complete the control of the soft robot arm, which has better robustness than the traditional method.

In order to analyze the partial discharge (PD) characteristics of a liquid/solid composite medium in an oil-filled submarine cable terminal; we have designed five discharge models including needle-plate, plate-to-plate air gap, surface, slide-flash and suspension potential. At the same time, the ultrasonic signals of PD have been extracted through the typical fault model research platform of oil-filled submarine cable equipment. First, we use SureShrink threshold wavelet denoising to suppress the ultrasonic signal noise. Secondly, through the multi-scale analysis of the signal, the energy distribution maps of five different types of PD are obtained; the analysis found that needle-plate discharge, suspension discharge, and slide-flash discharge have better resolution; and plate-to-plate air gap discharge and creeping discharge have similar characteristics and are not easy to distinguish. Finally, we designed six characteristic parameters of the ultrasound signal, and screened three feature quantities by a back propagation (BP) neural network to distinguish between plate-to-plate air gap discharge and surface discharge. In summary, the method of combining multi-scale analysis and neural networks is used to distinguish the five discharge types by extracting the characteristic values of the characteristic signals.

Magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) is a type of magnetic soft material consisting of ferromagnetic particles embedded in a polymeric matrix. MRE-based devices have characteristics of adjustable stiffness and damping properties, and highly nonlinear and hysteretic force−displacement responses that are dependent on external excitations and applied magnetic fields. To effectively implement the devices in mitigating the hazard vibrations of structures, numerically traceable and computationally efficient models should be firstly developed to accurately present the unique behaviors of MREs, including the typical Payne effect and strain stiffening of rubbers etc. In this study, the up-to-date phenomenological models for describing hysteresis response of MRE devices are experimentally investigated. A prototype of MRE isolator is dynamically tested using a shaking table in the laboratory, and the tests are conducted based on displacement control using harmonic inputs with various loading frequencies, amplitudes and applied current levels. Then, the test results are used to identify the parameters of different phenomenological models for model performance evaluation. The procedure of model identification can be considered as solving a global minimization optimization problem, in which the fitness function is the root mean square error between the experimental data and the model prediction. The genetic algorithm (GA) is employed to solve the optimization problem for optimal model parameters due to its advantages of easy coding and fast convergence. Finally, several evaluation indices are adopted to compare the performances of different models, and the result shows that the improved LuGre friction model outperforms other models and has optimal accuracy in predicting the hysteresis response of the MRE device.

With extensive application of foil gas journal bearings in high temperature conditions, the effect of increasing temperature on performance in the bearings have attracted more attention. High temperature can result in significant effects on static and dynamic characteristics and stability in foil gas journal bearings. In-depth understanding about thermal performance of foil bearings is in favor of structural optimization and developing more advanced foil bearings. This paper presents a short introduction about operational mechanisms and advantages of foil gas journal bearings firstly. Then, many works concerning thermal effects in foil gas journal bearings are detailedly reviewed. The problems that need to be improved or developed in the study of thermal effects of foil bearings are also presented, that is, accuracy and reliability of thermal predicting model, cooling methods and details of bearings and solid lubricant coatings which can be applied to a more wide temperature range.

Serological detection of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antibodies is frequently used in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) mass screening. However, the large number of seropositive subjects who require close follow-up is still a big burden. The present study aimed to detect the nasopharyngeal EBV load in a high-risk population seropositive for antibodies against EBV, as well as to examine whether assay for nasopharyngeal EBV DNA load might reduce the number of high-risk subjects for follow-up and improve early detection of NPC. A prospective and population-based cohort study was conducted in southern China from 2006 through 2013. Among 22,186 participants, 1045 subjects with serum immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibodies against viral capsid antigen (VCA) titers ≥ 1:5 were defined as high-risk group, and were then followed-up for NPC occurrence. Qualified nasopharyngeal swab specimens were available from 905 participants and used for quantitative PCR assay. Our study revealed that 89% (802/905) subjects showed positive EBV DNA in nasopharyngeal swab. The nasopharyngeal EBV load in females was higher than that in males. The nasopharyngeal EBV load increased with increasing serum VCA/IgA titers. Eight cases of newly diagnosed NPC showed an extremely elevated EBV load, and 87.5% (7 of 8 patients) were early-stage NPCs. The EBV loads of 8 NPCs were significantly higher than those of 897 NPC-free subjects (mean, 2.8 × 10(6) copies/swab [range 4.8 × 10(4)-1.1 × 10(8)] vs. 5.6 × 10(3) [range 0-3.8 × 10(6)]). Using mean EBV load in NPC-free population plus two standard deviations as cut-off value, a higher diagnostic performance was obtained for EBV load test than serum VCA/IgA test (area under ROC, 0.980 vs 0.895). In conclusion, in a prospective and population-based study we demonstrated that an additional assay of EBV load in the nasopharynx among high-risk individuals may reduce the number of subjects needed to be closely followed up and could serve as part of a NPC screening program in high-risk populations.

Abstract Road traffic accidents are the leading causes of injuries and fatalities. Understanding the traffic accident occurrence pattern and its contributing factors are prerequisites for effective traffic safety management. The paper proposes a deep learning approach for traffic accident recognition and information extraction from online Chinese news to extract and organize traffic accidents automatically. The approach consists of three modules, including automated news collection, news classification, and traffic accident information extraction. The automated news collection module crawls news from online sources, cleans and organizes it into a general news database with different categories of news. The news classification module robustly recognizes the traffic accident news from all types of news by fusing the sentence‐wise and context‐wise semantic news information. The accident information extraction module extracts the key attributes of traffic accidents (e.g. causes, times, locations) from news text using the SoftLexicon‐BiLSTM‐CRF method. The proposed approach is validated by comparing it with state‐of‐the‐art text mining methods using Chinese news data crawled online. The results show that the approach can achieve a high information extraction performance in terms of precision, recall, and F1‐score. It improves the performance of the best benchmark model (BiLSTM‐CRF) by 18.8% in precision and 12.08% in F1‐score. In addition, the potential value of the automatically extracted accident data is illustrated from online news in complementing traditional authority accident data to drive more effective traffic safety management in practice.

Abstract In response to the challenge of telomere attrition during DNA replication, cancer cells predominantly employ telomerase or, in 10–15% of cases, the alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT). The intricate details of ALT, however, remain elusive. In this study, we unveil that the knockdown of lamina-associated polypeptide 2 alpha (LAP2α) in ALT cells results in telomere dysfunction, triggering a notable increase in ALT-associated hallmarks, including high frequencies of PML bodies (APBs), C-rich extrachromosomal circles (C-circles), and telomere sister chromatid exchange (T-SCE). Furthermore, LAP2α emerges as a crucial player in break-induced telomere replication for telomerase-positive cells following telomeric double-strand breaks. Mechanistically, our investigation suggests that LAP2α may influence the regulation of the heterochromatic state of telomeres, thereby affecting telomeric accessibility. In line with our findings, LAP2α expression is markedly reduced in ALT-positive osteosarcoma. And the use of methotrexate (MTX) can restore the heterochromatin state altered by LAP2α depletion. This is evidenced by a significant inhibition of tumor proliferation in ALT-positive patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mouse models. These results indicate the important role of LAP2α in regulating ALT activity and offer insights into the interplay between lamina-associated proteins and telomeres in maintaining telomere length. Importantly, our findings may help identify a more appropriate target population for the osteosarcoma therapeutic drug, MTX.