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The disrupted oxidative redox homeostasis plays a critical role in the progress of ulcerative colitis (UC). Herein, hydrogel-forming viscous liquid (HSD) composed of cysteamine-grafted hyaluronic acid (HS) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) has been designed for UC. When the viscous HSD liquid was infused into colitis colon, SOD would convert the pathological superoxide (O 2 ·−) to hydrogen peroxides (H 2 O 2), which was subsequently scavenged by HS. Accordingly, the sol-gel transition of HSD was initiated by scavenging H 2 O 2 , enhancing its adhesion toward colitis colon. H 2 O 2 -treated HSD presented the higher storage modulus and stronger adhesion force toward porcine colon than the untreated HSD. Besides, H 2 O 2 -treated HSD presented the slower erosion profile in the colitis-mimicking medium (pH 3-5), while its rapid degradation was displayed in physiologic condition (pH7.4). The combination of pH-resistant erosion and ROS-responsive adhesion for HSD rendered it with the specifical retention on the inflamed colonic mucosa of DSS-induced colitis mice. Rectally administrating HSD could effectively hinder the body weight loss, reduce the disease activity index and improve the colonic shorting of DSS-induced colitis mice. Moreover, the pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α) were substantially decreased, the colonic epitheliums were well rearranged and the tight junction proteins were greatly recovered after HSD treatment. Besides, HSD also modulated the gut flora, markedly augmenting the abundance of Firmicutes, Barnesiella and Lachnospiraceae. Moreover, HSD treatment could regulate oxidative redox homeostasis via activating Nrf2-HO-1 pathway to reduce ROS and malondialdehyde and upregulate antioxidant enzymes (SOD, GPx and GSH). Collectively, HSD might be a promising therapy for UC treatments. Herein, a hydrogel-forming viscous liquid (HSD) was designed by cysteamine-grafted hyaluronic acid (HS) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) for UC treatments. When the viscous HSD liquid was infused into a colitis colon, SOD would convert the pathological superoxide to hydrogen peroxides (H2O2), which was subsequently scavenged by HS. Accordingly, the sol-gel transition of HSD was initiated by scavenging H2O2, enhancing its adhesion to the colitis colon. The colonic epitheliums of DSS-induced colitis mice were well rearranged and the tight junction proteins (Zonula-1 and Claudin-5) were greatly recovered after the HSD treatment. Moreover, the HSD treatment could regulate oxidative redox homeostasis via activating the Nrf2-HO-1 pathway to reduce ROS and malondialdehyde and upregulate antioxidant enzymes (SOD, GPx and GSH). [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To develop MRI-based radiomics models from the lesion level to the subject level and assess their value for differentiating myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-related disease (MOGAD) from non-MOGAD acute demyelinating syndromes in pediatrics. 66 MOGAD and 66 non-MOGAD children were assigned to the training set (36/35), internal test set (14/16), and external test set (16/15), respectively. At the lesion level, five single-sequence models were developed alongside a fusion model (combining these five sequences). The radiomics features of each lesion were quantified as the lesion-level radscore (LRS) using the best-performing model. Subsequently, a lesion-typing function was employed to classify lesions into two types (MOGAD-like or non-MOGAD-like), and the average LRS of the predominant type lesions in each subject was considered as the subject-level radscore (SRS). Based on SRS, a subject-level model was established and compared to both clinical models and radiologists' assessments. At the lesion level, the fusion model outperformed the five single-sequence models in distinguishing MOGAD and non-MOGAD lesions (0.867 and 0.810 of area under the curve [AUC] in internal and external testing, respectively). At the subject level, the SRS model showed superior performance (0.844 and 0.846 of AUC in internal and external testing, respectively) compared to clinical models and radiologists' assessments for distinguishing MOGAD and non-MOGAD. MRI-based radiomics models have potential clinical value for identifying MOGAD from non-MOGAD. The fusion model and SRS model can distinguish between MOGAD and non-MOGAD at the lesion level and subject level, respectively, providing a differential diagnosis method for these two diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Less solvent solid state reactions are reactions of solids with help of a little amount of solvent in ordinary stirring reactors. Due to the limited amount of solvent, only part of the substances can dissolve in the solvent, and the solvent can be regarded as a transport agent that makes the reactants contact easily. Here, we present an experiment about less solvent solid state reaction that enables students to use β-PbO and PbSO 4 to produce 3PbO·PbSO 4 ·H 2 O (tribasic lead sulfate, usually short as 3BS) in 2 h with its reaction monitored and product characterized with X-ray diffraction. By combining their experiment data with the thermodynamic analysis in the pre-lab lecture, students can understand why solution reactions reach equilibriums eventually while solid state reactions reach 100% completion, and how to get rid of the diffusion difficulty of solid state reactions. Meanwhile, exposure to this experiment can stimulate students to explore techniques for greener chemical processes other than solution reactions. [Display omitted] • Hands-on learning method to connect lab experiments and thermodynamic analysis. • An example about thermodynamic analysis of a real reaction process is presented. • Demonstrating the feasibility and advantages of less solvent solid state reaction. • The less solvent solid state reaction provides a new method to make chemical processes greener. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coupling and coordinated development of green-innovation (GICD) is a critical strategy to overcome the harmonious cohabitation challenge between economic development and ecological environment. Using data from Chinese provinces between 2011 and 2020, we investigate the impact of digital inclusive finance on green innovation by building a green-innovation coupling and coordinated development index evaluation system with coupled and coordinated scheduling and spatial Durbin model. This study conducts empirical tests to explore the mechanisms and nonlinear relationship from the perspectives of economic development level and fiscal decentralization. The findings indicate that digital inclusive finance can improve GICD and demonstrate the existence of spatial spillover effect. Additionally, digital inclusive finance enables the enhancement of GICD through the economic development level and curbs it through fiscal decentralization, and there is a nonlinear relationship between them. This study offers a better understanding of the relationship between digital inclusive finance and the coupling and coordinated development of green-innovation. This study also provides policy recommendations to boost green innovation coordinated development regarding a distinctive digital inclusive finance framework. • This study investigate the impact of digital inclusive finance on green innovation by a GICD index evaluation system. • Digital inclusive finance can improve GICD and demonstrate the existence of spatial spillover effect. • DIF enables the enhancement of GICD through the economic development level and curbs it through fiscal decentralization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste phosphors are critical rare earth secondary resources, and their recycling can help alleviate the depletion of rare earth mineral resources. However, stable Al–Mg spinel structures exist in waste phosphors. The direct acid leaching method remains difficult to use for leaching cerium and terbium. In this paper, the waste phosphors were first pretreated via alkali roasting. NaOH was used as an alkali roasting agent, thus achieving the decomposition of the Al–Mg spinel structure. On the basis of thermodynamic calculations, thermal decomposition experiments were performed. The results showed that when the temperature was greater than 500°C, the waste phosphors could be decomposed into MgO, Eu 2 O 3 , Y 2 O 3 , CeO 2 , Tb 4 O 7 , NaAlO 2 , and BaO. The Ce3+ and Tb3+ in the waste phosphors were partially oxidized to Ce4+ and Tb4+, respectively, during the roasting process. The BET surface area and the average pore diameter for the roasted products also increased. Under the conditions of roasting temperature at 900°C, NaOH/sample mass ratio of 2.5, and roasting time of 150 min, the leaching efficiencies of Y, Eu, Ce, and Tb could reach 99.4 %, 99.1 %, 98.5 %, and 98.8 %. The decomposition process of waste phosphors conformed to the unreacted shrinking core model. In addition, the conversion processes of Ce and Tb depended on the chemical reaction. The results may provide a new direction of development for the resource utilization of waste phosphors. [Display omitted] • The waste phosphors were decomposed by NaOH roasting. • The green powder could be decomposed more easily than the blue powder. • Ce3+ and Tb3+ were partially oxidized to Ce4+ and Tb4+, respectively. • Ce and Tb in the roasted products were present of CeO 2 and Tb 4 O 7 , respectively. • The conversion process of Ce and Tb depended on the chemical reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric vehicle routing problem (EVRP) is a special vehicle routing problem, which owns several specific characteristics of EV technology including the limited charging stations and the limited cruising range of EVs. This paper proposes a two-stage heuristic algorithm for EVRP with a kind of pseudo node, termed EVRPPN-TSH, which not only contributes to the model innovation but also to the algorithm design. In model innovation, the pseudo node is introduced into the EVRP model, forming EVRPPN, to reduce the search space and time complexity for obtaining service orders of customers from O (n) to O (1). Moreover, different from other research works which only use total distance as the fitness function, an improved fitness function is proposed, which takes all the distance, the electricity and capacity constraints compliance into consideration. In algorithm design, we first adopt the two-stage idea, which divides EVRP into the capacitated vehicle routing problem (CVRP) and a fixed route vehicle charging problem (FRVCP). Then we design a two-stage heuristic algorithm, termed as TSH. Specifically, for CVRP, a route division heuristic algorithm and a depot move heuristic algorithm are designed to divide routes. Further, an adjustment strategy with three operators is designed for adjusting the customer order. For FRVCP, an existing heuristic algorithm is adopted and enhanced by a variable extent shaking algorithm to avoid local trapped. Experimental results show that EVRPPN-TSH generally outperforms other state-of-the-art algorithms. Moreover, EVRPPN-TSH can obtain the best-known solution in all the 7 test cases, and update the best-known solution in test case E101 from 834.84 to 834.22. • In model innovation, we introduce pseudo node in EVRP model to reduce complexity. • An improved fitness function which considers constraint compliance is proposed. • In algorithm design, we propose two-stage heuristic approach to improve performance. • Illustrate the superiority of the improved model and the proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • CH-PANI MGs with strong NIR absorption, pH-responsiveness, polyampholyte behavior and biodegradability are synthesized. • Charge-reversal MGs are created by mild treatment with NaCl solution, and display high loading efficiency of cationic VM. • The MGs exhibit excellent resistance to gastric acidity and prevent premature VM leakage in healthy intestinal tract. • Lysozyme-triggered VM release renders the smart MGs with an obvious antibacterial activity. • The smart MGs can be employed as potential oral delivery system for IBD treatment. High-dose drug administration for the conventional treatment of inflammatory bowel disease induces cumulative toxicity and serious side effects. Currently, few reports have introduced smart carriers for intestinal inflammation targeting toward the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. For the unique lysozyme secretory microenvironment of the inflamed intestine, vancomycin-loaded chitosan-polyaniline microgels (CH-PANI MGs) were constructed for lysozyme-triggered VM release. Aniline was first grafted to chitosan to form polymers that were crosslinked by glutaraldehyde to achieve CH-PANI MGs using the inverse (water-in-oil) miniemulsion method. Interestingly, CH-PANI MGs exhibit polyampholyte behaviour and display charge-reversible behaviour (positive to negative charges) after treatment with a NaCl solution. The formed negatively charged N-CH-PANI MG aqueous solution is employed to load cationic vancomycin with a satisfactory loading efficiency of 91.3%, which is significantly higher than that of chitosan-based MGs. Moreover, N-CH-PANI MGs present lysozyme-triggered biodegradation and controllable vancomycin release upon the cleavage of glycosidic linkages of chitosan. In the simulated inflammatory intestinal microenvironment, vancomycin is rapidly released, and the cumulative release reaches approximately 76.9%. Remarkably, N-CH-PANI@VM MGs not only exhibit high resistance to harsh gastric acidity but also prevent the premature leakage of vancomycin in the healthy gastrointestinal tract. Encouragingly, the N-CH-PANI@VM MGs show obvious antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus at a relatively low concentration of 20 μg/mL. Compared to other pH-responsive carriers used to treat inflammatory bowel disease, the key advantage of lysozyme-responsive MGs is that they further specifically identify healthy and inflammatory intestines, achieving efficient inflammatory bowel disease treatment with few side effects. With this excellent performance, the developed smart MGs might be employed as a potential oral delivery system for inflammatory bowel disease treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For automated analysis of mitral valve regurgitation in non-Doppler-based 2D echocardiography, there is limited work on combining quantitative tasks for cardiac targets, such as semantic segmentation and motion tracking, with qualitative detection and etiological classification of mitral regurgitation, thus overlooking the common features that exist among these tasks. Therefore, we proposed a multi-task learning model called Attention-guided ResUNet-MTL (abbreviated as ARUNet-MTL), to address the task from a holistic view. Specifically, the model was built on the U-shaped architecture and emphasized the importance of inherent correlation among tasks by allowing all three tasks to share the encoder structure. Meanwhile, an attention mechanism called MSA was incorporated to improve the temporal continuity of segmentation image sequences by leveraging the bidirectional deformation field information achieved in motion tracking tasks. Besides, during the training phase of the model, the loss function was designed to assimilate two key aspects: the fidelity of cardiac anatomical structures in segmentation and motion tracking results, and the enforcement smooth transitions and coherence between consecutive frames in the sequence. Through 5-fold cross validation, the accuracy for mitral regurgitation etiological classification was 0.8946 and 0.9179 at the video level and subject level, respectively, while the macro-F1 score was 0.8976 and 0.9176, respectively. The segmentation results for the left atrium, left ventricle, and mitral valve yielded Dice coefficients of 0.9438, 0.9157, and 0.7951. Additionally, validation experiments were performed on two public datasets to verify the robustness of the model's segmentation and motion tracking branches. • The model processed 2DE for MR classification, segmentation, and motion tracking. • The model excels in all tasks by using shared features and attention mechanism. • The study supports rapid screening of general MR types with promising prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ulcerative colitis (UC) usually occurs in the superficial mucosa of the colorectum. Here, a double-network hydrogel (PMSP) was constructed from maleimided γ-polyglutamic acid and thiolated γ-polyglutamic acid through crosslinking of thiol-maleimide and self-oxidized thiols. PMSP with a negative charge specifically adhered to the inflamed mucosa with positively charged proteins rather than to the healthy mucosa. PMSP exhibited good mechanical strength with storage modulus (G′) of 17.6 Pa and a linear viscoelastic region (LVR) of 107.2% strain. Moreover, PMSP showed a stronger bio-adhesive force toward the inflamed tissue-mimicking substrate than toward its healthy counterpart. In vivo imaging confirmed that PMSP specifically adhered to the inflamed colonic mucosa of rats with TNBS-induced UC. KPV (Lys-Pro-Val) as a model drug was easily captured by PMSP through electrostatic interactions, thus retaining its bioactivity for a longer time under high temperature conditions. Moreover, the alleviating effect of KPV on rats with TNBS-induced colitis was significantly improved by PMSP after intracolonic administration. The epithelial barrier of the colon also effectively recovered following PMSP-KPV treatment. PMSP-KPV also modulated the gut flora, markedly augmenting the abundance of beneficial microorganisms in gut homeostasis. The mechanism by which PMSP-KPV induces a therapeutic effect may be associated with the inhibition of oxidative stress. Conclusively, the PMSP hydrogel seems to be a promising rectal delivery system for the therapy of UC. Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic and relapsing disease of the gastrointestinal tract. A key therapeutic approach to treat UC is to repair the mucosal barriers. Here, a double-network hydrogel (PMSP) was constructed from maleimided and thiolated γ-polyglutamic acid through crosslinking of thiol-maleimide and self-oxidized thiols. The negatively charged PMSP specifically adhered to the inflamed colon rather than its healthy counterpart and was retained for a longer time. KPV as a model drug was easily captured by PMSP, which provided better stability to KPV when exposed to high temperature of 50 °C. The epithelial mucosal barrier of the colon was effectively recovered by the rectal administration of PMSP-KPV to rats with TNBS-induced UC. Moreover, PMSP-KPV modulated the gut flora of colitic rats, markedly augmenting the abundance of beneficial microorganisms. Conclusively, PMSP seems to be a promising rectal delivery system for UC therapy. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article targets the design process of ethical guidelines for the SHAPES project (Smart and Healthy Aging through People Engaging in Supportive Systems) which is a H2020 Innovation Action project. The aim of the project is to build solutions that can make it easier for older individuals to live at home, such as, robots, wearables and sensor technologies that apply artificial intelligence (AI). The guiding method of the design process of ethical guidelines is Alan Hevner's Design Science Research. Theoretical background consists of a form of literature overview, which contains the most relevant ethical theories and research on AI ethics, machine ethics and human rights. This article introduces the process of building the ethical guidelines for the SHAPES project and further discussion if providing guidelines is the sufficient tool to developers to take ethical action in development of the AI systems. The SHAPES guidelines include the following themes; accountability, transparency and explainability, diversity, inclusion and fairness, safety and security and societal wellbeing and humanity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• For the first time in children with MOGAD, graph theory was used to analyze brain structural and functional impairment. • Children with MOGAD undergo significant structural connectivity network alterations that contribute to structural-functional connectivity decoupling. • Partial correlation and machine learning suggest that graph-theoretical properties may be used as markers of neurological impairment in MOGAD. To investigate the alteration in structural and functional connectivity networks (SCN and FCN) as well as their coupling in pediatric myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD), and determine if these properties could serve as potential biomarkers for the disease. In total of 32 children with MOGAD and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HC) were employed to construct the SCN and FCN, respectively. The graph-theoretical analyses of the global properties, node properties of the 90 brain nodes, and the structural-functional connectivity (SC-FC) coupling of the two networks were performed. The graph-theoretical properties that exhibited significant differences were analyzed using partial correlation analysis in conjunction with the clinical scales, including the expanded disability status scale (EDSS), modified Rankin scale (mRS), and pediatric cerebral performance category (PCPC) of the MOGAD group. Subsequently, a machine learning model was developed to discriminate between MOGAD and the HC group, aiming to explore the potential of these properties as biomarkers. The SCN of the MOGAD group exhibited aberrant global properties, including an increased characteristic path length (Lp) and a decreased global efficiency (Eg), along with reduced nodal properties such as degree centrality (Dc), nodal efficiency (Ne), and local efficiency in multiple nodes. The FCN of the MOGAD group only exhibited decreased Dc, Ne, and betweenness centrality in two nodes of nodal properties. Besides, MOGAD showed a significant decrease in SC-FC coupling compared to the HC group. The analysis of partial correlation revealed significant correlations between several properties and the scales of EDSS and mRS in the MOGAD group. The machine learning method was used to extract six features and establish the model, achieving a classification accuracy of 82.3% for MOGAD. Pediatric MOGAD showed a more pronounced impairment in the SCN along with decoupling of SC-FC. Both partial correlation analysis and discriminant modeling suggest that alterations in brain network properties have the potential as biomarkers for assessing brain damage in MOGAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies on the relation between maternal health and infant health, including the effect of structured antenatal education, have been published and expanded over the years. Investigate the impact of various antenatal education programmes on pregnancy outcomes to aid the development of future guidelines related to maternal and foetal health. Bibliographic databases (Cochrane, PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Korean Studies Information Service System) were searched up to November 2018, following the PICO criteria: population (pregnant women), intervention (antenatal education), comparison (not specified), and outcome (maternal and foetal outcome including physical or mental health components). We included 23 eligible studies consisting of 14 controlled trials and 9 observational studies. The maternal physical outcomes depending on participation in antenatal education were not significantly different; however, the caesarean birth rate was lower in the antenatal education group (relative risk, RR, 0.90; 95% confidence interval, CI, 0.82–0.99), as was the use of epidural anaesthesia (RR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.74–0.96). The maternal mental health outcomes of stress and self-efficacy significantly improved in the antenatal education group, although there was no difference in anxiety and depression. The foetal outcomes of birth weight or gestational age at birth were also not different between the groups. Antenatal education can reduce maternal stress, improve self-efficacy, lower the caesarean birth rate, and decrease the use of epidural anaesthesia; however, there is limited evidence of its effects on maternal or foetal physical outcomes. Therefore, antenatal education should be standardised to elucidate its actual mental and physical health effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Understanding of the true asymptomatic rate of infection of SARS-CoV-2 is currently limited, as is understanding of the population-based seroprevalence after the first wave of COVID-19 within the UK. The majority of data thus far come from hospitalised patients, with little focus on general population cases, or their symptoms.Methods: We undertook enzyme linked immunosorbent assay characterisation of IgM and IgG responses against SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein and nucleocapsid protein of 431 unselected general-population participants of the TwinsUK cohort from South-East England, aged 19-86 (median age 48; 85% female). 382 participants completed prospective logging of 14 COVID-19 related symptoms via the COVID Symptom Study App, allowing consideration of serology alongside individual symptoms, and a predictive algorithm for estimated COVID-19 previously modelled on PCR positive individuals from a dataset of over 2 million.Findings: We demonstrated a seroprevalence of 12% (51 participants of 431). Of 48 seropositive individuals with full symptom data, nine (19%) were fully asymptomatic, and 16 (27%) were asymptomatic for core COVID-19 symptoms: fever, cough or anosmia. Specificity of anosmia for seropositivity was 95%, compared to 88% for fever cough and anosmia combined. 34 individuals in the cohort were predicted to be Covid-19 positive using the App algorithm, and of those, 18 (52%) were seropositive.Interpretation: Seroprevalence amongst adults from London and South-East England was 12%, and 19% of seropositive individuals with prospective symptom logging were fully asymptomatic throughout the study. Anosmia demonstrated the highest symptom specificity for SARS-CoV-2 antibody response.Funding: NIHR BRC, CDRF, ZOE global LTD, RST-UKRI/MRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The susceptibility and mechanism of white matter fiber tract alternation in children with MOGAD were investigated using the automated fiber quantification approach. • Machine learning was used to analyze the aberrant white matter microstructure characteristics of MOGAD susceptible fiber tracts. • The diffusion tensor metrics of the white matter fiber tracts may serve as an imaging biomarker for MOGAD. Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated diseases (MOGAD) is an idiopathic inflammatory demyelinating disorder in children, for which the precise damage patterns of the white matter (WM) fibers remain unclear. Herein, we utilized diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)-based automated fiber quantification (AFQ) to identify patterns of fiber damage and to investigate the clinical significance of MOGAD-affected fiber tracts. A total of 28 children with MOGAD and 31 healthy controls were included in this study. The AFQ approach was employed to track WM fiber with 100 equidistant nodes defined along each tract for statistical analysis of DTI metrics in both the entire and nodal manner. The feature selection method was used to further screen significantly aberrant DTI metrics of the affected fiber tracts or segments for eight common machine learning (ML) to evaluate their potential in identifying MOGAD. These metrics were then correlated with clinical scales to assess their potential as imaging biomarkers. In the entire manner, significantly reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) was shown in the left anterior thalamic radiation, arcuate fasciculus, and the posterior and anterior forceps of corpus callosum in MOGAD (all p < 0.05). In the nodal manner, significant DTI metrics alterations were widely observed across 37 segments in 10 fiber tracts (all p < 0.05), mainly characterized by decreased FA and increased radial diffusivity (RD). Among them, 14 DTI metrics in seven fiber tracts were selected as important features to establish ML models, and satisfactory discrimination of MOGAD was obtained in all models (all AUC > 0.85), with the best performance in the logistic regression model (AUC = 0.952). For those features, the FA of left cingulum cingulate and the RD of right inferior frontal-occipital fasciculus were negatively and positively correlated with the expanded disability status scale (r = -0.54, p = 0.014; r = 0.43, p = 0.03), respectively. Pediatric MOGAD exhibits extensive WM fiber tract aberration detected by AFQ. Certain fiber tracts exhibit specific patterns of DTI metrics that hold promising potential as biomarkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• There is limited comparative literature on PIU. • The study assessed PIU among university/college students of eight countries. • The overall prevalence of PIU for the entire sample was 8.4%. • Depressive and anxiety symptoms were the most stable and strongest factors associated with PIU. Internet use has increased worldwide exponentially over the past two decades, with no up-to-date cross-country comparison of Problematic Internet Use (PIU) and its correlates available. The present study aimed to explore the pattern and correlates of PIU across different countries in the European and the Asian continent. Further, the stability of factors associated with PIU across different countries were assessed. An international, cross-sectional study with a total of 2749 participants recruited from universities/colleges of eight countries: Bangladesh, Croatia, India, Nepal, Turkey, Serbia, Vietnam, and United Arab Emirates (UAE). Participants completed the Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale -2 (GPIUS2) assessing PIU, and the Patient Health Questionnaire Anxiety-Depression Scale (PHQ-ADS) assessing the depressive and anxiety symptoms. A total of 2643 participants (mean age 21.3 ± 2.6; 63% females) were included in the final analysis. The overall prevalence of PIU for the entire sample was 8.4% (range 1.6% to 12.6%). The mean GPIUS2 standardized scores were significantly higher among participants from the five Asian countries when compared to the three European countries. Depressive and anxiety symptoms were the most stable and strongest factors associated with PIU across different countries and cultures. The PIU is an important emerging mental health condition among college/university going young adults, with psychological distress being the strongest and most stable correlate of PIU across different countries and cultures in this study. The present study highlighted the importance of screening university and college students for PIU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a country with the highest CO 2 emissions and at the turning point of socio-economic transition, China's effort to reduce CO 2 emissions will be crucial for climate change mitigation. Yet, due to geospatial variations of CO 2 emissions in different cities, it is important to develop city-specific policies and tools to help control and reduce CO 2 emissions. The key question is how to identify and quantify these variations so as to provide reference for the formulation of the corresponding mitigation policies. This paper attempts to answer this question through a case study of 26 cities in the Yangtze River Delta. The CO 2 emissions pattern of each city is measured by two statistics: Gini coefficient to describe its quantitative pattern and Global Moran's I index to capture its spatial pattern. It is found that Gini coefficients in all these cities are all greater than 0.94, implying a highly polarized pattern in terms of quantity; and the maximum value for Global Moran's I index is 0.071 with a standard deviation of 0.021, indicating a weak spatial clustering trend but strong difference among these cities. So, it would be more efficient for these cities at current stage to reduce CO 2 emissions by focusing on the large emission sources at certain small localities, particularly the very built-up areas rather than covering all the emission sources on every plot of the urban prefectures. And by a combination of these two metrics, the 26 cities are regrouped into nine types with most of them are subject to type HL and ML. These reclassification results then can serve as reference for customizing mitigation policies accordingly and positioning these policies in a more accurate way in each city. Image 1 • Most updated China high resolution emission database (CHRED). • CO2 emission is examined on a grid scale (1 km*1 km). • A two-dimension framework is used to capture the emission feature. • Cities are grouped with more customized mitigation policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Direct CO 2 and CO emission factors for rare earth electrolysis reported for the first time. • Developed an integrated sampling method for multiple greenhouse gases. • Analyzed time series of CO 2 and CO concentrations in Pr-Nd, La and Dy-Fe potlines. • Compared CO 2 and CO emission factors by two independent sampling methods. Rare earth (RE) metals are now being widely applied in new material industries with rapidly increasing production. However, there is limited research on greenhouse gas emission factors from RE metals production by electrolysis and currently no method exists to account for this industry's CO 2 emissions in the ' 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories '. This study employed two independent methods to determine direct carbon emission factors for industrial rare earth metals production by molten-salt electrolysis: continuous emissions monitoring by FTIR and time-integrated sampling with offline lab analysis, both measuring CO 2 and CO concentrations in the exhaust gases from Pr-Nd, Dy-Fe and La potlines in three companies in China. The study confirmed that CO 2 contributes >97% of the total carbon emission factor. Direct carbon emissions per tonne RE metal electrolysis is equivalent to one tenth to a half of the emission factor for aluminum production (due to much lighter molar mass of Al) but is similar on a mole basis (carbon emissions per mole metal). Emission factors vary with the type of rare earth metal or alloy produced and from one facility to another, ranging from 165.0 to 672.4 kg/t-RE metal for CO 2 , 3.00 to 8.23 kg/t-RE metal for CO and 46.4 to 186.8 kg/t-RE metal for total carbon. Direct CO 2 and CO emission factors from the two exhaust gas monitoring methods agreed well considering the uncertainties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Statement of problem An assessment of the evidence for the antagonist enamel wear of tooth-supported monolithic zirconia posterior crowns is lacking. Purpose The purpose of this systematic review was to identify and summarize clinical studies related to the antagonist enamel wear of tooth-supported monolithic zirconia posterior crowns. Material and methods PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane library searches were performed and complemented by manual searches from database inception to December 25, 2017, for title and abstract analysis. Results Initially, 198 articles were obtained through database searches. Twenty-one articles were selected for full-text analysis, and 5 studies met the inclusion criteria. Because of the heterogeneity in design, surface treatment, measurement methods, and wear parameters, a meta-analysis was not possible. The selected studies were analyzed regarding the antagonist natural enamel wear of zirconia, measurement methods, and surface treatment. The results of the antagonist enamel wear varied widely, which made comparing them scientifically with absolute values difficult. Conclusions This review indicated that the antagonist enamel wear of zirconia was similar to or more than that of natural teeth but less than that of metal-ceramics. Additional properly designed, longer follow-up clinical trials with larger sample sizes are needed to evaluate the antagonist enamel wear of monolithic zirconia crowns in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Pd-doping properties on the pristine Janus WSSe monolayer are expounded. • Adsorption and sensing characteristics of Pd-WSSe monolayer upon HCHO and C 2 H 3 Cl are uncovered. • The impact of H 2 O molecule on gas adsorption and sensing are illustrated. In a long-running dry-type transformer, the insulation defects, such as partial discharge and overload, can decompose the inside insulation medium, epoxy resin, into several toxic gases, including HCHO and C 2 H 3 Cl, called typical gases spreading around the transformer substations. In this work, we purpose Pd-doped Janus WSSe (Pd-WSSe) monolayer as a novel sensing material for detections of HCHO and C 2 H 3 Cl, based on the first-principles theory, in order to evaluate the operation status of the dry-type transformers. The Pd-doping behavior is studied and we find that the Pd dopant prefers to be adsorbed on the S-surface through the T W1 site with the binding energy of −2.54 eV. Besides, the Pd-WSSe monolayer performs chemisorption upon HCHO and C 2 H 3 Cl molecules with E ad of −0.83 and −1.21 eV, resulting in the sensing response of −93.2 % and −99.2 % in two systems, respectively. Moreover, it is proved that the existence of H 2 O molecule impact little to the adsorption and sensing performance of Pd-WSSe monolayer. The findings herein are meaningful to explore more sensing materials for applications in the power system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract District heating (DH) in Nordic countries largely relies on efficient large-scale combined heat and power (CHP) production. The currently low electricity market price has diminished the economic competitiveness of CHP production. Production of DH increasingly happens in thermal heat-only boilers, increasing long-term environmental impacts. An alternative is the use of large-scale heat pumps (LHPs). Utilization of LHPs in hours of low electricity price could be economically advantageous to producers, reduce carbon emissions from burning fuels, and aid in balancing the production and consumption of electricity in a future energy system where electricity production from variable renewable energy is increasing rapidly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rare earth (RE) metals have been widely applied in new materials, leading to their drastic production increase in the last three decades. In the production process featured by the molten-fluoride electrolysis technology, perfluorocarbon (PFC) emissions are significant and therefore deserve full accounting in greenhouse gas (GHG) emission inventories. Yet, in the ‘ 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories ’, no method currently exists to account for PFC emissions from rare earth metal production. This research aims to determine emission factors for industrial rare earth metals production through on-site monitoring and lab analysis of PFC concentrations in the exhaust gases from rare earth metal electrolysis. Continuous FTIR measurements and time-integrated samples (analysed off-site by high-precision Medusa GC–MS) were conducted over 24–60 h periods from three rare earth companies in China, covering production of multiple rare earth metals/alloys including Pr-Nd, La and Dy-Fe. The study confirmed that PFC emissions are generated during electrolysis, typically in the form of CF 4 (∼90% wt of detected PFCs), C 2 F 6 (∼10%) and C 3 F 8 (<1%); trace levels of c-C 4 F 8 and C 4 F 10 were also detected. In general, PFC emission factors vary with rare earth metal produced and from one facility to another, ranging from 26.66 to 109.43 g/t-RE for CF 4 emissions, 0.26 to 10.95 g/t-RE for C 2 F 6 , and 0.03 to 0.27 g/t-RE for C 3 F 8. Converted to 211.60 to 847.41 kg CO 2 -e/t-RE for total PFCs, this emissions intensity for rare earths electrolysis is of lower (for most RE production) or similar (Dy-Fe production) level of magnitude to industrial aluminium electrolysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The egg shell procedure provides an innovative approach to hip replacement for patients with bone tumors. • This technique is associated with improved joint mobility in patients with bone tumors. • Good quality of life observed in patients with bone tumors treated using the egg shell procedure. Proximal femoral replacement (PFR) for oncology patients is gaining interest as a limb salvage operation due to its obvious advantages. However, almost all hip replacement surgeries including PFR, are faced with the challenge of how to reconstruct the functional musculature in an optimal way. To address the challenge, we have developed an innovative eggshell procedure and through this study we aim to investigate the specific efficacy of the procedure. A total of 44 tumor patients with PFR surgery were incorporated into the study, including 12 who underwent the eggshell procedure and 32 who did not. General characteristics, short-term indicators, long-term indicators and complication outcomes were compared successively between the two groups of patients. No significant differences were identified in general characteristics between the two groups. Overall, in terms of both short-term and long-term indicators, the patients with eggshell procedure performed significantly superior to the patients without it. Moreover, the eggshell procedure significantly reduced the incidence of associated complications, including prosthesis dislocation and hip pain. Our eggshell procedure is convenient and accessible. On the one hand, it can reduce surgical side injuries without adding additional complications, and on the other it allows to improve joint mobility and life quality while diminishing the incidence of prosthesis dislocation and hip pain. Despite it may still remain limitations, we have reasons to believe that this procedure can be further promoted and applied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Cataract is one of the reasons which Decreases visual acuity after penetrating keratoplasty (PK). • Calculation of IOL power is more difficult in eyes with PK than in eyes with naive corneas. • Studies in the literature have shown that optical biometry and Scheimpflug camera combined with Placido-disc corneal topography gives similar results in calculating IOL power in naive corneas. To evaluate the accuracy of keratometric values obtained from Scheimpflug (Sirius) topography using Nidek AL-Scan optical biometry (OB) for intraocular lens (IOL) power calculating after penetrating keratoplasty (PK). Thirty eyes of 26 patients were included in this study. The demographic information, complete ophthalmic examination, IOL calculation technique, and its effect on final refractive results were evaluated. The mean age of the patients was 52.76 ± 16.20 years. The mean K readings using Nidek AL-Scan OB, mean simulated K (SimK) (3mm), and mean pupillary power (MPP) (4.5mm) K readings using Sirius were 41.92 ± 5.05 D, 42.99 ± 5.78 D, and 43.30±6.23 D (p = 0.515). Both devices correctly calculated IOL power after PK; however, Sirius SimK (3mm) gave the lowest mean absolute error (MAE) results and can be safely used for IOL power calculation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Gleason grading forms the basis of prognostic and therapeutic assessment in prostatic carcinoma despite its subjective nature and substantial interobserver variation. The accuracy of Gleason grading can be improved by the use of educational tools such as reference images. However, conventional microscopy images are of limited educational value because it is neither possible to view the sample at different magnifications nor to navigate into different areas of the specimen. This limitation can be overcome by the use of virtual microscopy, which allows viewing entire digitized microscope slides. We created an interactive Web site (http://www.webmicroscope.net/gleason) featuring a comprehensive set of prostatic needle biopsies as virtual slides, which can be viewed with a standard Web browser (Internet Explorer or Netscape). To evaluate the validity of Web-based virtual microscopy for Gleason grading, an experienced uropathologist (TK) scored a series of 62 biopsies from the original glass slides and 6 weeks later from virtual slides on the Web site using an ordinary desktop computer. The intraobserver agreement was excellent, with identical Gleason scores found in 48 of the 62 cases (κ = 0.73). The 14 remaining scores differed only by 1 point on the Gleason scale (2-10). The virtual slides were viewed by 2 other uropathologists (PM and HH), with interobserver κ coefficients ranging from 0.55 to 0.62, which is within the range of previously reported studies using glass slides. The 3 uropathologists'' Gleason scores were included as reference scores on the Web site, which now serves as a publicly open platform for self-testing and learning of Gleason grading. We conclude that Web-based virtual microscopy is a promising new tool for teaching and standardizing Gleason grading. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Osteosarcoma (OS) responds poorly to radiotherapy, but the mechanism is unclear. We found OS tumor tissues expressed high level of protein HIF-1α, a common biological marker indicative of hypoxia. It is known that hypoxic cells are generally radioresistant because of reduced production of irradiation-induced DNA-damaging reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the anaerobic condition. Here we report another mechanism how hypoxia induces radioresistance. In MG-63 human osteosarcoma cells, hypoxic pretreatment increased the cellular survival in irradiation. These hypoxia-exposed cells displayed compartmental recruitment of GFP-tagged LC3 and expression of protein LC3-II, and restored the radiosensitivity upon autophagy inhibition. The following immunohistochemistry of OS tumor tissue sections revealed upregulated LC3 expression in a correlation with HIF-1α protein level, implying the possibly causative link between hypoxia and autophagy. Further studies in MG-63 cells demonstrated hypoxic pretreatment reduced cellular and mitochondrial ROS production during irradiation, while inhibition of autophagy re-elicited them. Taken together, our study suggests hypoxia can confer cells resistance to irradiation through activated autophagy to accelerate the clearance of cellular ROS products. This might exist in human osteosarcoma as an additional mechanism for radioresistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• OCTA is valuable for measuring the microvascular parameters in the peripapillary and macular area along with the OCT measurements for the diagnosis and monitoring of PACG and POAG. • POAG eyes had significantly lower peripapillary FI in the inferior quadrant compared to PACG eyes. • Peripapillary FI had the highest diagnostic ability among all OCTA, OCT, and VF measurements and showed the highest correlation with all structural and VF parameters in both PACG and POAG eyes. • The PAC eyes in our study had significantly lower PD and VD than healthy control eyes at the superior and inferior quadrant of the macular outer circle, while RNFL and GCIPL thickness were not significantly different between these groups. To investigate and compare the peripapillary and macular microvascular parameters between eyes with primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG) and primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Seventy-nine eyes of 43 patients with primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG), 78 eyes of 43 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), 64 eyes of 35 patients with primary angle closure (PAC), and 73 eyes of 40 control subjects underwent imaging with OCTA. Perfusion density (PD) and vessel density (VD) for the macular area, and PD and flux index (FI) for the peripapillary area were calculated automatically. The area under receiver operator characteristic curves (AUC) were constructed to distinguish PACG and POAG eyes from healthy control eyes. The peripapillary FI in all quadrants and PD and VD of the macular outer circle in superior and inferior quadrants were significantly lower in PACG and POAG eyes than in control eyes. The peripapillary FI in the inferior quadrant was significantly lower in the POAG group than in the PACG group (0.348 ± 0.06 vs. 0.369 ± 0.06, p = 0.04). The remaining OCTA parameters in the peripapillary and macular area did not show a significant difference between the POAG and PACG groups. Eyes with PAC presented significantly lower PD and VD than healthy control eyes at the superior and inferior quadrant of the macular outer circle, while retinal nerve fiber layer and ganglion cell inner complex thickness were not significantly different from than control eyes. The best diagnostic parameter was peripapillary FI in both PACG (AUC: 0.922) and POAG (AUC: 0.938) eyes. We found significantly lower peripapillary FI in the inferior quadrant in POAG eyes compared to the PACG eyes, which may indicate the different underlying pathogenesis between POAG and PACG. The PAC eyes had lower macular PD and VD than normal eyes. This suggests that retinal vascular impairment may develop earlier than structural damage in PAC eyes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) remains a significant cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. During the last 10-years, the progress on minimal invasive surgical techniques, has stimulated many Pediatric Surgical centers to switch from traditional open surgery to thoracoscopic or laparoscopic repair. We report our experience to convert treatment of CDH from traditional to minimal invasive. We have reviewed the charts of 10 neonates with diagnosed CDH over the period 2016–2021. On all of them, we collected pre, intra and post-operative information. Interestingly, none of neonates had prenatal diagnosis of CDH but this didn't impact on morbidity or mortality. None of them was extremely preterm or had major cardiac anomalies. Thoracoscopic or laparoscopic approach was attempted in 3 cases but only in one patient was successful. In the other 2 neonates we had to switch to open surgery because of anatomical conditions. In our opinion, the learning curve needed to achieve minimal invasive treatment of CDH is associated with a high conversion rate often, as a consequence of anatomical conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, monomethoxy (polyethylene glycol)- b -P ( d , l -lactic- co -glycolic acid)- b -P ( l -glutamic acid) (mPEG-PLGA-PGlu) nanoparticles with the ability to rapidly respond to the endolysosomal pH and hydrolase were prepared and the pH-sensitivity was tuned by adjusting the length of the PGlu segment. The mPEG 5k -PLGA 20k -PGlu (60) nanoparticles were specifically responsive to an endosomal pH of 5.0–6.0 due to the configuration transition of the PGlu segment and rapidly initiated chemical degradation after incubation with proteinase k for 10 min. Doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX), used as a model drug, was easily encapsulated into nanoparticles and the DOX-loaded nanoparticles (DOX-NPs) exhibited a pH-dependent and enzyme-sensitive release profile in vitro. The dual sensitivity enabled the rapid escape of DOX-loaded nanoparticles from the endolysosomal system to target cellular nuclei, which resulted in increased cell toxicity against MCF/ADR resistant breast cancer cells and a higher cellular uptake than free DOX. In Vivo Imaging studies indicated that the nanoparticles could continuously accumulate in the tumor tissues through EPR effects and Ex vivo Imaging biodistribution studies indicated that DOX-NPs increased drug penetration into tumors compared with normal tissues. The in vivo antitumor activity demonstrated that DOX-loaded NPs had less body loss and a significant regression of tumor growth, indicating the increased anti-tumor efficacy and lower systemic toxicity. Therefore, this dual sensitive nanoparticle system may be a potential nanocarrier to overcome the multidrug resistance exhibited by breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practical exploitation of the high-capacity Si anodes suffers from the insufficient cation utilization degree in the energy-dense batteries, which originates from unstable interfacial dynamics, lithiation-induced mechanical stress, and irreversible Li trapping in the alloy intermediates. Herein, we develop a scalable, indirect mechanical calendaring approach to enable the homogeneous prelithiation process, specifically through interpolating an intermediate buffer layer (IBL) with tunable electronic/ionic pathways in-between the lithium foil source and the target high-capacity electrode. Upon the prototype assembly of various prelithiated Si/Graphite anodes (450–1000 mAh g−1 at the constant areal capacity of 4.6 mAh cm−2) and the LiNi 0.8 Co 0.1 Mn 0.1 O 2 cathode (NCM811, 23 mg cm−2 for the double-sided electrode), the enhanced Li utilization degree with the highest energy density up to 362 Wh kg−1 could be achieved on the realistic cell level (1.6 Ah pouch model). More encouragingly, the reversible phasic evolution of both the cathode and anode, upon the Li+ inventory replenishment, are real-time tracked by the transmission-mode operando X-ray diffraction (XRD). This IBL-regulated approach is further extended to construct an environmental-adaptive composite film that integrates the metallic Li source, the prelithiation of which could well function even at the extreme humid conditions (long-time shelf life or relative humidity up to 85%). Si-based anodes have been largely impeded by the loss of Li+ inventory due to SEI growth and irreversibly trapped Li-Si alloy. In this work, Wang et al. develop a prelithiation approach by interpolating an intermediate buffer layer (IBL) with controlled dimensional specification in-between the metallic lithium source and the Si/G composite anodes, enabling customized prelithiation and homogeneous Li+ replenishment. The dynamic phasic tracking reveals the crucial influence of the IBL-regulated prelithiation process on the Li utilization degree. [Display omitted] • Benefitting from tailored dimensional features and ionic diffusivities of the IBL, the versatile prelithiation approach could be applied to various anodes. • Transmission-mode operando XRD provides a real-time methodology to document the phasic transitions of both cathode and anode. • An environmental-adaptive Li-IBL was constructed, and the prelithiation of which could well function even at the extreme conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although register-based studies on statin adherence are increasing, for administrative data, little is known about the explanatory power of the predictors that explain adherence. Objective: The aim was to explore the ability of variables in administrative data to predict statin adherence in an unselected, universally insured population and, especially, to explore dispensation delay (time elapsed between prescription and dispensation) and out-of-pocket costs as explanatory factors. Methods: Statin initiators who were aged 45 to 75 years in 2000–2004 (n = 247, 051) were identified in the Finnish Prescription Register. First-year statin adherence was measured as the proportion of days covered (PDC). The effect of variables related to patient, health care, and payment was assessed with multivariable logistic regression. The C statistic was used to evaluate the explanatory power of different models. Results: Overall, 54.6% of the cohort had good adherence (PDC ≥ 80%). The explanatory power of all the models was low (C = 0.666 for the full model). The multivariable models, including only payment variables, had a greater explanatory power (C = 0.627) than models with only patient (C = 0.602) or health care (C = 0.548) variables. A shorter dispensation delay and lower out-of-pocket costs predicted better adherence. Of other patient-related variables, age, presence of acute coronary syndrome, and use of cardiovascular medications were significant predictors of adherence. Type of statin and the prescriber's workplace were also significantly associated with adherence. Conclusions: Models based on administrative data do not provide useful prediction of statin adherence. Of the individual predictors, long dispensation delay may serve as a practical tool for identifying patients at risk of poor adherence. Increases in out-of-pocket costs predict nonadherence. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Aircraft passengers are becoming more demanding in terms of thermal comfort, and many researches were conducted on this issue. But it is not yet easy for aircraft crew to control the Environment Control System (ECS) to satisfy the thermal comfort for passengers. By surveying 31 investigated flights, we draw the conclusion that there were uncomfortable levels of thermal phenomena in some civil aircraft flights, especially in some short-haul continental flights. It is then necessary to develop an easy way to predict and control the optimal operative temperature for a civil aircraft cabin so that the thermal comfort requirements can be satisfied for most of the passengers. In this paper, we use a Corrected Predicted Mean Vote (CPMV) model to obtain the thermal neutrality temperatures (T n,CPMV) for the investigated flights. We constructed a linear regressive relationship between T n,CPMV and the mean outdoor new effective temperature (ET*). The statistical significance of regression probably reflects the dependence of T n,CPMV on the outdoor climate of the departure city. By using this relationship, an optimal cabin operative temperature can be predicted easily. Hence the method presented in this paper can help the crew to control cabin temperature easily and directly according to the ET* of the departure city. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents a new model to determine the required impact toughness of petroleum drill pipe steel based upon leak-before-break fracture principle. The loss law of impact toughness in sour critical environment was also experimentally measured which could act as a good supplement for Leak-Before-Break fracture principle. The dominating products were experimentally measured to determine the current industrial ability. The results showed that the required impact toughness through above model could be fully realized now. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper introduces a new class of GARCH method, termed the GARCH-Fuzzy-Density method for density forecasting the realizations of a process in which the higher-order moments may be time-varying. The method is based on a probabilistic Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy system and GARCH model. Traditional GARCH models usually assume that the shape of the conditional distribution of a process is conditional only on the first two moments. However, it is well documented that in empirical applications the conditional distribution beyond the first two moments may be conditional on higher-order moments such as skewness. Therefore, traditional GARCH models are insufficient for capturing all aspects of such processes. To resolve the problem mentioned above, the GARCH-FuzzyDensity model was developed. The method is capable of modeling conditional distributions in which the higher-order moments may be time-varying. Therefore, the GARCH-FuzzyDensity model provides more accurate density forecasts for the higher-order moment varying processes than the traditional GARCH models. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The model of the polarization-insensitive metamaterial (MM) absorber composed of split cross-ring resonator (SCRR), cave-cross resonator (CCR) and dielectric substrate was proposed at microwave frequencies. Based on perfect impedance-matched () to the free space, the single unit cell could achieve near-unity absorbance by properly assembling the sandwich structure. We have simulated and measured the reflectivity and transmission properties of a planar MM absorber with the thickness of 0.6mm. The absorptivity of a single layer MM absorber achieve greater than 96% around 10.07GHz in experiments and 98% in simulations for incident electromagnetic (EM) wave with different polarizations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Pregnant women are at an increased risk of mortality and morbidity owing to COVID-19. Many studies have reported on the association of COVID-19 with pregnancy-specific adverse outcomes, but prediction models utilizing large cohorts of pregnant women are still lacking for estimating the risk of maternal morbidity and other adverse events.Objective: The main aim of this study was to develop a prediction model to quantify the risk of progression to critical COVID-19 and intensive care unit admission in pregnant women with symptomatic infection.Study Design: This was a multicenter retrospective cohort study including 8 hospitals from 4 countries (the United Kingdom, Austria, Greece, and Turkey). The data extraction was from February 2020 until May 2021. Included were consecutive pregnant and early postpartum women (within 10 days of birth); reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. The primary outcome was progression to critical illness requiring intensive care. The secondary outcomes included maternal death, preeclampsia, and stillbirth. The association between the primary outcome and 12 candidate predictors having a known association with severe COVID-19 in pregnancy was analyzed with log-binomial mixed-effects regression and reported as adjusted risk ratios. All the potential predictors were evaluated in 1 model and only the baseline factors in another. The predictive accuracy was assessed by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves.Results: Of the 793 pregnant women who were positive for SARS-CoV-2 and were symptomatic, 44 (5.5%) were admitted to intensive care, of whom 10 died (1.3%). The 'mini-COvid Maternal Intensive Therapy' model included the following demographic and clinical variables available at disease onset: maternal age (adjusted risk ratio, 1.45; 95% confidence interval, 1.07-1.95; P=.015); body mass index (adjusted risk ratio, 1.34; 95% confidence interval, 1.06-1.66; P=.010); and diagnosis in the third trimester of pregnancy (adjusted risk ratio, 3.64; 95% confidence interval, 1.78-8.46; P=.001). The optimism-adjusted area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.73. The 'full-COvid Maternal Intensive Therapy' model included body mass index (adjusted risk ratio, 1.39; 95% confidence interval, 1.07-1.95; P=.015), lower respiratory symptoms (adjusted risk ratio, 5.11; 95% confidence interval, 1.81-21.4; P=.007), neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (adjusted risk ratio, 1.62; 95% confidence interval, 1.36-1.89; P<.001); and serum C-reactive protein (adjusted risk ratio, 1.30; 95% confidence interval, 1.15-1.44; P<.001), with an optimism-adjusted area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.85. Neither model showed signs of a poor fit. Categorization as high-risk by either model was associated with a shorter diagnosis to intensive care unit admission interval (log-rank test P<.001, both), higher maternal death (5.2% vs 0.2%; P<.001), and preeclampsia (5.7% vs 1.0%; P<.001). A spreadsheet calculator is available for risk estimation.Conclusion: At presentation with symptomatic COVID-19, pregnant and recently postpartum women can be stratified into high- and low-risk for progression to critical disease, even where resources are limited. This can support the nature and place of care. These models also highlight the independent risk for severe disease associated with obesity and should further emphasize that even in the absence of other comorbidities, vaccination is particularly important for these women. Finally, the model also provides useful information for policy makers when prioritizing national vaccination programs to quickly protect those at the highest risk of critical and fatal COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Assault crime has been linked to green space. • This link is moderated by walkability. • High percentages of green space, grass, and trees reduce assault risk. • Walkability enhances the inhibitory effects of green space. Criminal behavior has been traditionally linked to green space. However, studies on the relationship between green space and crime vary in their conclusions and even contradict each other. This variability is primarily attributed to the mixing-up of specific crimes and the less-explored influencing mechanisms. This study considers Toronto and focuses on a specific kind of crime, assault, for exploring whether green space influences the neighborhood assault rate. If so, then how does it affect the assault rate? By considering the neighborhood as the spatial analysis unit, the indicators of green space and its component structure (namely the composition of trees, shrubs, and grass) are included in the regression analysis model used in this study. The dual effect (both positive and negative) of walkability on crime is treated as the moderator in the regression model. Our analysis revealed that high percentages of green space, tree area, and grass area potentially inhibit assault occurrence, while the shrub area percentage has no statistically significant association with the assault rate. When walkability reaches a certain degree (84th or/and 50th percentiles in this study), it can enhance the inhibitory impact of the green space and its component structure (including trees, shrubs, and grass) on the assault rate. Comparatively, this reduction effect is more significant for green space composed of grass. Therefore, we can infer that increasing the percentage of trees and grass, while simultaneously improving walkability, can reduce residents' risk of being assaulted at the neighborhood level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background/Purpose: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in children leads to progressive muscle weakness, dysphagia, aspiration, and death. We hypothesized that early laparoscopic fundoplication and gastrostomy in infants with SMA type I could be performed safely perhaps leading to fewer aspiration events and improved nutritional status. Methods: Children diagnosed with SMA type I from 2002 through 2005 were included (n = 12). All children underwent laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication with gastrostomy shortly after diagnosis. Postoperative respiratory management and discharge criteria were standardized. Results: All patients were extubated immediately postoperatively. There were no significant complications. Average time to full feeding and inpatient length of stay were 42 ± 4.9 hours (range, 30-48 hours) and 78 ± 22.5 hours (range, 44-120 hours), respectively. Mean weight-for-length percentile was doubled at 1 year postoperatively (P = .03). The number of respiratory-related hospitalizations in the cohort decreased by almost 50% in the ensuing 12 months after surgery, although this did not reach statistical significance in this small cohort (P = .34). Conclusions: Early laparoscopic fundoplication and gastrostomy is safe and is associated with improved nutritional status. A trend toward fewer significant long-term aspiration-related events was seen after fundoplication. To better assess the long-term benefits of performing an antireflux procedure in these high-risk patients, a larger prospective trial comparing current nutritional support practices is needed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The elucidation of the molecular mechanism of porcine adipocyte differentiation is important not only to domestic animal industry, but also to medical science because of the similarities in the trait of body lipid deposition between human and pigs. In this study, we investigated the roles of RXRα in porcine (Sus scrofa) adipocyte differentiation by using RNAi method and primary cultured porcine adipocytes. With the transfection of RXRα-siRNA, the gene and protein expressions of RXRα were successfully inhibited in differentiating porcine adipocytes. By the RXRα gene silencing, the adipocyte differentiation, as characterized by lipid accumulation and GPDH activity, was suppressed. Furthermore, in association with the decrease in RXRα gene expression level, PPARγ and C/EBPα genes expression level also decreased, suggesting that RXRα is involved in their expression. Thus, our study clearly demonstrated the pivotal roles of RXRα in porcine adipocyte differentiation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: Mechanisms of prostate cancer progression during hormonal therapy and the pathobiologic consequences of androgen receptor (AR) gene amplification are inadequately known. To further investigate the hypothesis that AR gene amplification is associated with increased cell proliferation, we analyzed 123 paraffin-embedded prostate cancer specimens from men who experienced tumor relapse during androgen withdrawal therapy. We used fluorescence in situ hybridization to quantify AR gene copy number and Ki-67 immunohistochemistry to determine cell proliferation. One third of the tumors showed AR gene amplification. Among tumors with AR amplification, the mean cell proliferation rate was 19.8 (SD, 12.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 15.4-24.1), whereas it was 13.0 (SD, 15.9; 95% CI, 9.1-16.8) in tumors without amplification (P = .032). In the best fitting logistic regression model, only proliferation remained significant (P = .040). When the median Ki-67 labeling index (6.7%) of all tumors was used as a cutoff point, the tumors with AR amplification were more frequently highly proliferating than tumors with no amplification (P = .010; odds ratio, 3.4; 95% CI, 1.4-8.3). Our results imply that progression of prostate cancer during androgen withdrawal therapy is associated with AR gene amplification and increased cell proliferation rate in one third of tumors. We suggest that AR gene amplification is an important molecular mechanism underlying the increase in proliferation rate of a substantial fraction of recurrent prostate carcinomas. However, efforts should be targeted to develop prostate cancer cell lines to study causal relationships between AR gene amplification and various biologic variables. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: Background: Nausea, and to a lesser extend vomiting, remain significant clinical problems after the administration of chemotherapy, with up to 60% of patients reporting nausea despite use of antiemetics. Combining antiemetics with other non-pharmacological treatments may prove more effective in decreasing nausea than antiemetics alone. Hence, the aim of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of using acupressure in Pericardium 6 (Neiguan) acu-point in managing chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. Methods: This was a randomised controlled trial. Acupressure was applied using wristbands (Sea-Band™) which patients in the experimental group had to wear for the 5 days following the chemotherapy administration. Assessments of nausea, retching and vomiting were obtained from all patients daily for 5 days. Thirty-six patients completed the study from two centres in the UK, with 19 patients allocated to the control arm and 17 to the experimental arm. Results: It was found that nausea and retching experience, and nausea, vomiting and retching occurrence and distress were all significantly lower in the experimental group compared to the control group (P <0.05). The only exception was with the vomiting experience, which was close to significance (P =0.06). Discussion: Results highlight the important role of safe and convenient non-pharmacological complementary therapies, such as acupressure, in the management of the complex symptoms of chemotherapy-related nausea and vomiting. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• We investigate the impact of environmental subsidies on environmental innovation. • Environmental subsidies significantly boost environmental management innovation. • Environmental subsidies do not show significant effect on environmental technology innovation. Although one of the main reasons why governments offer environmental subsidies to firms is to encourage environmental innovation, the effectiveness of such measures is unclear. In this study, we examine the effects of subsidies on firms' environmental innovation activities (i.e. environmental technology innovations and environmental management innovations). We use fine-grained panel data on Chinese listed manufacturing companies over the period 2011–2015. We find that whilst Chinese government environmental subsidies boost firms' environmental management innovation significantly, their effect on environmental technology innovations is not statistically significant. We employ an instrumental variable two-stage least squares (IV-2SLS) approach to handle potential selection bias. We find also that there is no statistically significant relationship between firms' environmental management innovations and environmental technology innovations. These findings hold for a range of robustness tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zhuke-Hulu tea is an herbal tea widely enjoyed by people in Southern China. For the first time the phytochemical compositions of Zhuke-Hulu tea ethanol extract (ZHTE) were analyzed by GC-MS and UPLC-ESI-MS/MS, and the anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities were evaluated. Several categories of substances in ZHTE were identified, among which organic acids, phenolics/phenolic acids and flavonoids were the major components. ZHTE showed significant anti-oxidant activity as measured by free radical scavenging assays and reducing power test. Moreover, ZHTE exhibited cytoprotective effect against H 2 O 2 -induced oxidative stress damage by enhancing endogenous anti-oxidant defense system and Nrf2 nuclear translocation. In addition, ZHTE also exerted anti-inflammatory efficiency by down-regulating the protein levels of iNOS and COX-2 as well as the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. In parallel, ZHTE alleviated intestinal inflammation induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) through reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines level, inhibiting inflammatory cell infiltration, and modulating gut microbiota. These findings provide a solid foundation for the nutraceutical benefits of Zhuke-Hulu tea and promote its consumption as a functional beverage. [Display omitted] • Phytochemical profile of Zhuke-hulu tea ethanol extract (ZHTE) was firstly analyzed. • Organic acids, polyphenols and flavonoids were the major components of ZHTE. • ZHTE showed significant anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. • ZHTE showed remarkable cytoprotective effect against oxidative stress damage. • Anti-colitis effect of ZHTE was related to the regulation of gut microorganisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Targeting ferroptosis in osteosarcoma. • A new strategy for the treatment of osteosarcoma. • A non-traditional mode of regulated cell death. Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary bone tumour in children and adolescents, with high degree of malignancy and an extremely poor prognosis. Ferroptosis, a non-traditional mode of regulated cell death (RCD) characterised by iron-dependent accumulation of lipid reactive oxygen species (ROS), is closely associated with a variety of cancers. It has been demonstrated that ferroptosis can regulate OS progression and exert an essential role in the treatment of OS, which is potentially of great value. By targeting ferroptosis in OS, the present review article summarises the relevant mechanisms and therapeutic applications along with discussing current limitations and future directions, which may provide a new strategy for the treatment of OS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well established that glycosaminoglycan (GAG) and histamine changes occur around wounds. Previous studies have not determined the exact dimensions of these changes. To delineate these, levels at newly formed GAG were determined sequentially at measured distances laterally from a linear skin wound on the backs of rats. Forty-eight hours prior to collection of tissue, the rats were given an intraperitoneal injection of 0.5 μCi S-35. On scheduled days after wounding, consecutive skin strips 2.5 mm wide and 4 cm long were excised parallel to the wound. This tissue was prepared for measurement by two methods. Liquid scintillation counting was used to determine the radioactive label that had been converted into sulfated GAG. The results indicate that sulfated GAG, newly formed in response to wounding, were limited to the zone within 5 mm from the wound edge. Increases in GAG content were noted at day 2 and reached peaks about days 5 and 26 alter wounding: by day 50, the values had returned to near control levels. These results correlate with other parameters of wound healing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to determine prevalence of voice problems and potential risk factors in teacher students at the start of their education. A total of 1494 students from seven teacher education schools participated in the study. The students answered a questionnaire about 11 risk factors, and one with six questions about voice symptoms, Screen6, and 30 statements in the Voice Handicap Index (VHI). Students reporting at least 2 weekly voice symptoms in Screen6 were assigned to the group with voice problems. Significance level was P < 0.05. Results: prevalence of risk factors was about the same in the seven groups of teacher students except the group with highest proportion of women that also showed the highest proportion of voice problems, 38%. Prevalence of voice problems in the total group was 17%. Comparison of students with or without voice problems showed that all factors except one were more prevalent among students with voice problems and women were overrepresented. Mean total VHI score was 22 in students with voice problems and eight in students without voice problems. Multiple regression analyses showed that frequent throat infections, hearing problems, previous speech therapy, or voice training were the potential risk factors that had the strongest association with voice symptoms as well as with total score in VHI. Conclusions: results from this study show that it is common that teacher students experience voice problems already at the start of their education and potential risk factors associated with voice problems are identified. Knowing that teaching is a high-risk profession for developing voice disorders, it is crucial that teacher students should receive compulsory preprofessional voice education including voice ergonomics and voice training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epithelial inclusions in the axillary lymph nodes are very rare and have even less commonly been reported with either benign or malignant changes. We present a case of synchronous high-grade micropapillary ductal carcinoma in situ arising in the breast and in an epithelial inclusion in an ipsilateral sentinel lymph node. Despite extensive sampling, no focus of invasive carcinoma was identified. This unique case highlights the difficulty in diagnosis of metastatic disease when there is a malignant change in an epithelial inclusion in a sentinel lymph node and highlights the need for very careful histologic assessment of such lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Most effective measures are associated to the reduction of deforestation. • Most effective policy instrument would be a fee for deforestation. • Experts emphasized efficiency and legitimacy of policy instruments. • More attention should be paid to the vertical coherence of policy instruments. The land use sector offers government the means to contribute to the achievement of climate change mitigation targets. The aim of this study was to identify the most important policy instruments for supporting climate change mitigation efforts in the land-use sector in Finland and increase understanding on the performance of these instruments. This was done by analysing experts' views on the most effective policy instruments related to climate change mitigation in agricultural and urban land use in Finland and identifying the criteria that experts use when evaluating these instruments. The experts' views were obtained by interviews, a workshop and a survey, and the results were qualitatively and quantitatively analysed. The experts emphasized the effectiveness of economic policy instruments in the promotion of practical measures for climate change mitigation. According to the experts, the most effective policy instrument for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the land use sector would be a fee for deforestation. However, based on the analyses using four other evaluation criteria (efficiency, legality, democracy, legitimacy), economic policy instruments imply greater challenges than regulatory or informational policy instruments. Furthermore, based on the results, the coherence of economic policy instruments, i.e. to what extent they have synergies in achieving different policy objectives, needs to be carefully examined in the planning phase. In particular, more attention should be paid to the analysis of relationship across different scales of governance when designing new policy instruments for climate change mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]