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Vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) plasticity is tightly associated with the pathological process of vasculopathy. Blood vessel epicardial substance (Bves) has emerged as an important regulator of intracardiac vasculogenesis and organ homeostasis. However, the involvement and role of Bves in VSMC plasticity and neointimal lesion development remain unclear.We used an in vivo rat model of graft arteriosclerosis and in vitro PDGF-treated VSMCs and identified the novel VSMC contractile phenotype-related gene Bves using a transcriptomic analysis and literature search. In vitro knockdown and overexpression approaches were used to investigate the mechanisms underlying VSMC phenotypic plasticity. In vivo, VSMC-specific Bves overexpression in rat aortic grafts was generated to assess the physiological function of Bves in neointimal lesion development.Here, we found that Bves expression was negatively regulated in aortic allografts in vivo and PDGF-treated VSMCs in vitro. The genetic knockdown of Bves dramatically inhibited, whereas Bves overexpression markedly promoted, the VSMC contractile phenotype. Furthermore, RNA sequencing unraveled a positive correlation between Bves and dual-specificity protein phosphatase 1 (Dusp1) expression in VSMCs. We found that Bves knockdown restrained Dusp1 expression, but enhanced p38MAPK and ERK1/2 activation, resulting in the loss of the VSMC contractile phenotype. In vivo, an analysis of a rat graft model confirmed that VSMC-specific Bves and Dusp1 overexpression in aortic allografts significantly attenuated neointimal lesion formation.Bves maintains the VSMC contractile phenotype through Dusp1-dependent p38MAPK and ERK1/2 signaling, and protects against neointimal formation, underscoring the important role of Bves in preventing transplant vasculopathy.

The proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) are fundamental hallmarks of vasculopathy. Transforming growth factor β-activated kinase-1 (TAK1) plays a crucial role in mediating cellular functions, including autophagy, which has been recently linked to the regulation of VSMC functions and the development of vasculopathy. This study aims to better dissect how TAK1 controls VSMC proliferation and migration.A rat model of graft arteriosclerosis was employed to explore the influence of TAK1 signaling activation on VSMC proliferation, migration, autophagy, and neointima formation in vivo. Knockdown and pharmacological inhibition of TAK1 were utilized in cultured VSMCs to investigate the mechanisms underlying the progression of VSMC proliferation and migration.Increased phosphorylation of TAK1 (Thr-184/Thr-187) was examined in SMα-actin positive cells in the medial and neointimal lesions of aortic allografts. Lentivirus-mediated Tak1 shRNA transfection of aortic allografts robustly suppressed neointimal formation and lumen stenosis, as well as autophagy and cell proliferative responses. In cultured PDGF-BB-incubated VSMCs, genetic and pharmacological inhibition of TAK1 markedly attenuated autophagy activation, and blocked the progression of cell cycle, proliferation, and migration responses.Activation of TAK1 in VSMCs in the setting of aortic transplantation is an early and critical event in VSMC proliferation and migration, as well as neointima formation, because it controls autophagy activation, constituting a potential molecular mechanism and target for preventing transplant vasculopathy.

Infectious disease epidemics have become more frequent and more complex during the 21st century, posing a health threat to the general public and leading to psychological symptoms. The current study was designed to investigate the prevalence of and risk factors associated with depression, anxiety and insomnia symptoms during epidemic outbreaks, including COVID-19. We systematically searched the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, OVID, Medline, Cochrane databases, bioRxiv and medRxiv to identify studies that reported the prevalence of depression, anxiety or insomnia during infectious disease epidemics, up to August 14th, 2020. Prevalence of mental symptoms among different populations including the general public, health workers, university students, older adults, infected patients, survivors of infection, and pregnant women across all types of epidemics was pooled. In addition, prevalence of mental symptoms during COVID-19 was estimated by time using meta-regression analysis. A total of 17,506 papers were initially retrieved, and a final of 283 studies met the inclusion criteria, representing a total of 948,882 individuals. The pooled prevalence of depression ranged from 23.1%, 95% confidential intervals (95% CI: [13.9-32.2]) in survivors to 43.3% (95% CI: [27.1-59.6]) in university students, the pooled prevalence of anxiety ranged from 25.0% (95% CI: [12.0-38.0]) in older adults to 43.3% (95% CI: [23.3-63.3]) in pregnant women, and insomnia symptoms ranged from 29.7% (95% CI: [24.4-34.9]) in the general public to 58.4% (95% CI: [28.1-88.6]) in university students. Prevalence of moderate-to-severe mental symptoms was lower but had substantial variation across different populations. The prevalence of mental problems increased over time during the COVID-19 pandemic among the general public, health workers and university students, and decreased among infected patients. Factors associated with increased prevalence for all three mental health symptoms included female sex, and having physical disorders, psychiatric disorders, COVID infection, colleagues or family members infected, experience of frontline work, close contact with infected patients, high exposure risk, quarantine experience and high concern about epidemics. Frequent exercise and good social support were associated with lower risk for these three mental symptoms. In conclusion, mental symptoms are common during epidemics with substantial variation across populations. The population-specific psychological crisis management are needed to decrease the burden of psychological problem and improve the mental wellbeing during epidemic.

The transition toward carbon-neutral electricity is one of the biggest game changers in addressing climate change since it addresses the dual challenges of removing carbon emissions from the two largest sectors of emitters: electricity and transportation. The transition to a carbon-neutral electric grid poses significant challenges to conventional paradigms of modern grid planning and operation. Much of the challenge arises from the scale of the decision-making and the uncertainty associated with the energy supply and demand. Artificial intelligence (AI) could potentially have a transformative impact on accelerating the speed and scale of carbon-neutral transition, as many decision-making processes in the power grid can be cast as classic, though challenging, machine-learning tasks. We point out that to amplify AI's impact on carbon-neutral transition of the electric energy systems, the AI algorithms originally developed for other applications should be tailored in three layers of technology, markets, and policy.

Lithium-ion batteries are a typical representative of energy storage system with high storage capacity and good cycle stability. However, the low specific capacity can not meet the storage capacity requirements for new generation of electronic products, which have limited their practical application. Herein, CoF 2 nanoparticles loaded on carbon fiber cloth (CoF 2 @CFC) as a flexible composite material prepared without binder or conductive agent is introduced as a cathode for lithium-ion batteries, which exhibit a high specific capacity of 330 mA h g −1 at 100 mA g −1 and have a stable specific capacity of 100 mA h g −1 at 1 A g −1 even after 1000 cycles. In addition, the flexibility of CoF 2 @CFC creates an application potential in the field of flexible electronic devices and wearable electronics.

With the diversification of power systems and the application of power electronic technology, the uncertainty of power systems is becoming more and more serious, and the traditional deterministic transient stability analysis methods encounter severe challenges. In this paper, a practical method is proposed for transient stability analysis of stochastic multi-machine systems based on EEAC. Firstly, the stochastic differential equation model of multi-machine systems is established. Secondly, the stochastic multi-machine system is equivalent to a stochastic single-machine infinite bus system according to coherency. Finally, the acceleration and deceleration area is constructed, and Heun’s method is used to seek the critical clearing time of the system. The method is applied to analyse transient stability of four machine system. Compared with the numerical simulation based on Monte Carlo method, the simplicity and effectiveness of the method are verified. The impact of stochastic disturbance intensity on stability is also presented.

Fossil leaves of Populus L. (Salicaceae Mirb.) were widely reported in the North Hemisphere during the Cenozoic. However, most of them are leaf impressions without details of cuticles or only preserved as tiny cuticle fragments. Here, we describe several fossil leaves of Populus with fine cuticular structures from the upper Pliocene of Tengchong, western Yunnan, China. The leaves have ovate, rhombic-ovate to orbicular leaf shape with long petioles, pinnate venation, rounded to cuneate bases, acuminate apices and serrate margins. They are pilose bilaterally with multicellular trichome bases and hypostomatic with paracytic stomata. According to the gross morphology and cuticle structures, the present fossils mostly resemble the extant species P. rotundifolia Griff. except that the fossils have denser trichome bases, and are therefore tentatively assigned to Populus cf. rotundifolia Griff. Nowadays, P. rotundifolia is distributed at mountain slopes above an elevation of 2000 m a.s.l. The present new finding indicates that western Yunnan might have approached its present height at least by the late Pliocene. Recent phylogenetic study proposed that the divergence of P. rotundifolia from P. davidiana Dode occurred at the Pleistocene (Calabrian, ca. 0.88 Ma). However, our fossil occurrence implies that such a divergence might have occurred at least by the late Pliocene (3.3–2.8 Ma), much earlier than the molecular estimation. In addition, the Hengduan Mountainous Region might be the species differentiation center of P. rotundifolia from P. davidiana based on their modern distributions and the present fossil occurrence.

The high price of potassium hexatitanate (K2Ti6O13) whiskers restricts its broad applications. The current production method is composed of complex processes and generates a large amount of wastewater. In this work, we propose a new one-step synthesis approach for producing potassium hexatitanate whiskers. Potassium dititanate and metatitanic acid are mixed at the ratio of TiO2/K2O = 4 and then calcined at 1000 °C to synthesize potassium hexatitanate whiskers. We used XRD, SEM, TG-DSC, and other characterization techniques combined with thermodynamic calculations to study the synthesis mechanism of such one-step process. The thermodynamic calculations show that the reaction free energy of K2Ti6O13 whiskers synthesized by this process is negative even at room temperature, confirming that this process has a higher reactivity than the conventional synthesis approach by K2CO3 and TiO2. Moreover, the melting of K2Ti2O5 at 916 °C provides a necessary environment for the crystal growth of K2Ti6O13 nanoparticles, which is the key to the preparation of K2Ti6O13 whiskers. This new synthesis approach will significantly reduce the producing cost of K2Ti6O13 whiskers, thereby expanding its applications.

Functionally graded material (FGM) has great potential in the application of thin-walled structures, since delamination failure can be suppressed. Functionally graded piezoelectric material (FGPM) is a special kind of FGM, which couples with elastic and electric fields. The modeling of FGPM coupled smart structures under nonlinear thermal load is still a challenge task. This paper develops an electro-thermo-elastic finite element (FE) model of FGPM integrated smart structures based on the first-order shear deformation hypothesis. The FE model proposes two different nonlinear configurations of thermal gradient distribution through the thickness, which are compared with linear thermal gradient distribution. An eight-node quadrilateral shell element is developed for finite element analysis . The present FE model is firstly validated by a PVDF bimorph beam under nonlinear thermal loads. Later, the model is applied to the static and dynamic simulation of FGPM cylindrical shells . The results show that thermal distribution configurations have great impact on structural response, which should be carefully chosen in the simulation of thermal coupled problems.

COF (covalent organic framework)-based composite membranes offer the opportunity for breakthroughs in separation performance through endowing COFs with easy film-forming properties. However, tough challenges of poor filler dispersity, limited functionality and interfacial compatibility severely restrict the development of COF-based composite membranes. Therefore, the careful design of physical and chemical structures for COFs is urgently needed. Here, a geometry transformation strategy, i.e. converting FCTF-1 (fluorinated covalent triazine frameworks) from 2D nanosheets to 0D quantum dots (QDs), is implemented to overcome some of the challenges. The greatly decreased filler size increases the solvent dispersibility and processability of FCTF-1 quantum dots (QD-FCTF-1), giving rise to thorough mixing between the polymer matrix and quantum dot filler. Apart from the changes in physical characteristics of filler, the geometry transformation using piranha solution introduces chemical functionality at the quantum dot edges, further strengthens the interfacial compatibility through the hydrogen bond interactions between polar hydroxy and amidine groups of QD-FCTF-1 and nitrile groups of PIM-1 (polymer of intrinsic microporosity). Moreover, these edge polar groups intensify favorable gas sorption due to their high affinity to CO2 molecules and thus significantly improve membrane gas pair selectivity. This work broadens the scope of framework-based materials and offers a new avenue for molecular separation.

Polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIMs) present an attractive opportunity for developing new types of anion exchange membranes (AEMs) for fuel cell featuring charged subnanometer-sized micropores. But challenges exist to make mechanically robust PIM AEMs due to their high chain rigidity. Imparting more flexibility improves mechanical properties but sacrifices microporosity. Here, a mechanically robust and highly anion conductive PIM AEM (QPIM-1) fabricated by facile animation and quaternization of PIM-1 membrane is reported, and its structure–property relationships are investigated, especially focusing on the microporous structure. High molecular weight alleviates brittleness, as QPIM-1 AEM shows comparable mechanical properties to conventional AEMs, quaternized poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (QPPO), at a membrane thickness down to ~35 μm and a high ion exchange capacity (IEC) up to ~2.1 mmol g−1. The micropores situated among the rigid and contorted polymer chains evolve into water/ion conduction channels when the membrane is hydrated. This results in improved morphology over dense polymeric AEMs by less hindered ion pathways. QPIM-1 AEMs exhibit superior ion conduction efficiency, which is 2.6–5.3 times that of dense QPPO AEM at similar ion exchange capacities (IECs). A high hydroxide ion conductivity of 57 mS cm−1 at 20 °C is obtained, which is among the highest reported anion conductive PIM-based AEMs. Even though the AEMs are microporous, only slight H2 permeation is observed when hydrated and at high open circuit voltage (OCV) of a single fuel cell.

Membrane-based separation provides an energetically efficient and environmentally benign solution to water purification. Biomimetic self-assembled membranes affording full-aqueous-phase membrane fabrication built on underwater bioadhesion create a new paradigm to green and controllable membrane fabrication, but currently are obstructed by fouling and stability hurdles. Inspired by the chemical features of charged cement proteins of sandcastle worm, we propose an electrostatic-driven complexation method to fabricate fouling-resistant robust membranes. Phosphorylated polyanion, quaternized polycation and perfluorinated sulfonic acid polyanion are successively assembled onto the porous substrate to obtain electrostatic-complexed fluorinated membranes (ECFMs), where quaternized cellulose serves as a bridging polyelectrolyte to induce and coordinate electrostatic complexation. Temporal complexation generates 84-nm-thick membranes with precisely controlled physicochemical structure, surface energy and spatial interaction with foulants, harvesting ultrahigh water permeance of 93.3 L m−2 h−1 bar−1 with organic dyes (>450 Da) removal over 90.0%, and high fouling resistance ensuring persistently high production of purified water. Unlike the amino protein of traditional bio-cement whose positive charge strongly relies on pH, the environmentally-independent chargeability of quaternary ammonium and hydrophobic fluorine segment synergistically renders the membranes superior adaptability towards various underwater conditions for dozens or hundreds of days.

Fluorene-based compounds are known for their unique role in photoluminescence and electroluminescent materials. Based on this idea, a series of fluorene-based fluorescent compounds were designed and synthesized by the Suzuki coupling reaction. The luminescence effect was evaluated by comparing fluorescence intensity and fluorescence quantum yield of the control compounds. The research indicated that the novel fluorene-based compounds 2,7-di(quinol-4-yl)-9,9-dimethylfluorene(F4) and 2,7-di(indole-5-yl)-9,9-dimethyl fluorene (F5) have better fluorescence characteristics. They are used as sensors for the recognition of nitro compounds and metal ions. In addition F4 has good selectivity and sensitivity to TNP(160600 M−1, 2.63 μM) and Fe3+ (121140 M−1, 1.68 μM). Finally, fluorescence quenching mechanism of F4 with TNP was studied by theoretical calculation.

Two compounds, 4-(4-(7-bromo-9, 9-dimethyl-fluoren-2-yl) phenyl) pyridine (4) and 2, 7-Bis-(4-tert-butyl-phenyl)-9,9-dimethyl-9H-fluorene (5), were synthesized by bromination, methylation and Suzuki coupling reaction with fluorene as the starting material. The compounds were used as fluorescent sensors to detect some nitro compounds (NACs), metal cations and amino acids. The test results showed that the 4-(4-(7-bromo-9, 9-dimethyl-fluoren-2-yl) phenyl) pyridine (4) as fluorescence sensor 1 detected 2, 4, 6-Trinitrophenol (TNP) at the magnitude of 10 μM, with a sensitivity of Ksv was 4.6 × 105 M−1 and the detection limit was 6.9 × 10−7 M. The sensitivity detection for Fe3+ with Ksv value was 1.4 × 105 M−1, and the detection limit was 3.6 × 10−7 M. At the same time, it was found that 2, 7-Bis-(4-tert-butyl-phenyl)-9,9-dimethyl-9H-fluorene (5) as fluorescence sensor 2 also showed excellent selective recognition ability toward the arginine (L-arg) in biomolecules with Ksv values of 3.9 × 10 4 M−1, and the detection limit was 1.15 × 10−6 M for arginine (L-arg).

Combining two facile methods, spinodal blending and self-crosslinking by chloromethyl groups are jointly utilized in fabricating alkaline anion exchange membranes (AEMs). Highly and moderately chloromethylated poly(ether ether ketone)s and sub-equimolar (to chloromethyl) amounts of 1-methylimidazole are mixed and reacted to form blend AEMs. Nanoscale bi-continuous phase separated morphologies are obtained due to spinodal decomposition. Subsequent heat treatment triggers self-crosslinking of the AEMs arising from residual chloromethyl groups in membranes. Compared with unblended and uncrosslinked AEMs having similar ion exchange capacity (IEC), the ion conductivity of the present AEMs is increased by 45.4% in water and 113% in 95% RH at 60 °C. Dimensional and alkaline stabilities of AEMs are also enhanced by the self-crosslinking, i.e., the swelling ratio decreases by 50.3% at 60 °C and the residual conductivity increases by 26.3% after alkaline treatment in 1 M NaOH at 60 °C. Interestingly, individual spinodal blending or self-crosslinking are found ineffective in overcoming the trade-off between AEM conductivity and stability, while a combination of both methods leads to a simultaneous improvement in conductivity and membrane stability.

Background: Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is one of the most common X-linked enzymopathies caused by G6PD gene mutation. We aimed to provide the characteristics of G6PD deficiency and G6PD gene mutation distribution in a large Chinese newborn screening (NBS) population. Methods: We collected screening information of all the NBS centers around China, from January 2013 to December 2017. G6PD activity fluorescence screenings and G6PD/6PGD tests were performed in 1,764,299 birth population from 29 centers in 12 representative provinces in 2016. We then performed multicolour melting curve analysis (MMCA) to classify G6PD gene mutations in 10,357 neonates with activity-confirmed G6PD deficiency, and DNA Sanger sequencing for G6PD coding exons if hot site mutations were not found. Finally, we investigated G6PD gene mutation with MMCA in 6,443 female and 7,358 male neonates with normal G6PD activity respectively. Findings: The screened population, organizations and provinces of G6PD deficiency were increased from 2013 to 2017 in China, high in South and low in North. The top 5 frequency of G6PD gene mutations were c.1376G>T, c.1388G>A, c.95A>G, c.1024C>T, and c.871G>A and varied in different provinces, with regional and ethnic features, and 4 pathogenic mutation sites (c.152C>T, c.290A>T, c.697G>C, and c.1285A>G ) were firstly reported. Three hundred and seventy-two (372/6,443, 5·77%) female neonates with normal G6PD activity were detected as G6PD gene heterozygotes and 50 (17·42%, 50/287) female G6PD heterozygotes showed G6PD deficiency symptom in two years, suggesting that a supplementary NBS strategy of G6PD gene first screening for female G6PD deficiency in high-incidence regions of South China. Interpretation: G6PD deficiency mainly occurs in South China, and the frequency of G6PD gene mutation varies in different regions and ethnicities. Our suggested NBS strategy for G6PD deficiency could enhance the detection rate of female G6PD heterozygotes. Funding Statement: This work is partially financial supported by Natural Scientific Foundation of China (81570142), and the Ministry of Science and Technology (2016YFA0101300, 2017YFC1001700). Declaration of Interests: All the authors have nothing to disclose. Ethics Approval Statement: This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committees of Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University and registered on Chinese Clinical Trail Registry (ChiCTR-SOC-17014057).

Poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) is among the most widely used conjugated polymers for opto-electronic applications. To enhance its properties, researchers have attempted to nanostructure this polymer using various processes including breath figure arrays, nanolithography and elaborated organic synthesis. We here demonstrate a simple process to nanostructure the conjugated polymer using self-assembly with polystyrene and selective removal of one of the phases. The influence of the molecular weight of each polymer on the thin film morphology was systematically studied by atomic force microscopy. Using this approach, we observe two types of nanostructure, namely, nanoporous and nanoisland structures, of which the dimensions can be tuned by modifying the molecular weight of each polymer in the blend. This simple process introduces a cost-effective alternative to produce thin films of conjugated polymer with average nano-features from 100 nm up to 500 nm which could be used in a wide range of applications.

The interfacial reactions and growth kinetics of intermetallic compounds at the solder/sintered Ag metallization interface in silicon solar cells were investigated during solid-state aging. Three common solders (Sn 37 Pb, Sn 36 Pb 2 Ag, and Sn 3 Ag 0.5 Cu) were used to conduct several experiments testing the quality of the solder joints in this study. Accelerated tests were performed to determine the long-term reliability of the solder joints. The storage temperatures were 100, 120, 150, and 180±1 °C for various aging durations. The results showed that the sintered Ag electrode gradually transformed into an Ag 3 Sn intermetallic compound (IMC), and the growth kinetics of Ag 3 Sn remained a diffusion-controlled process during isothermal aging. The formation of Ag 3 Sn increased the series resistances ( R S ) of the cell modules because Ag 3 Sn had a higher electrical resistivity than sintered Ag did. In addition, the results revealed that Sn 3 Ag 0.5 Cu PV ribbon effectively slowed down the growth kinetics of Ag 3 Sn. The apparent activation energies for Ag 3 Sn at Sn 37 Pb/sintered Ag, Sn 36 Pb 2 Ag/sintered Ag, and Sn 3 Ag 0.5 Cu/sintered Ag interfaces were calculated to be 104, 108, and 121 KJ/mole, respectively. These kinetics data were established for the first time for the solder alloys commonly used in PV module assembly industry.

Adoptive therapy using T cells modified with tumour antigen-specific T cell receptor (TCR) genes has become a popular area of research in tumour biotherapy research. However, the efficiency of this treatment is low. To increase the efficiency of this therapy, the antigen specific TCR expression in the T cells needs to be improved. Adenoviral vector-mediated gene expression is an attractive approach to bypass the issue of TCR gene modification. The efficiency of adenovirus vector serotype 5 (Ad5) infection is low due to the absence of coxsackievirus B-adenovirus receptor (CAR) expression in T cells. In the present study, a chimeric adenoviral vector (Ad5F35L) was generated; this construct contained both the natural long-shaft of Ad5 and the Ad35 knob. A transduction study showed that the Ad5F35L vector exhibited a higher transduction efficiency in human primary T lymphocytes than the Ad5 vector and the Ad5F35S vector, which contained the Ad35 natural short-shaft and the Ad35 knob. Similar transduction efficiencies were observed for both CD4(+) T lymphocytes and CD8(+) T lymphocytes and the transfection was independent of the expression of cell surface receptors. The activation of T lymphocytes resulted in an improvement of the Ad5F35L transduction efficiency in CD4(+) T cells and a decrease in Ad5F35L transduction efficiency in CD8(+) T cells. The results demonstrate that Ad5F35L is a promising viral vector and will facilitate the clinical application of tumour antigen-specific TCR gene therapy.

A novel water-soluble copolyamide based on Nylon 66 was synthesized via solution-melt polycondensation of hexanedioic acid and sodium 5-sulfoisophthalate with 1,6-diaminohexane. The chemical structures of the products were ascertained by various spectroscopic techniques (FT-IR, Raman, and 1 H NMR). The thermal properties of the polyamides under consideration were measured by TGA and DSC. According to the temperature dependence of FTIR spectra, it was found that the average strength of the intermolecular hydrogen bond of the water-soluble copolyamides becomes weak with increasing the temperature. It was found that the obtained random copolyamides could self-assemble into spherical micelles in aqueous solution with the size dependent on the hydrophilic fraction according to the DLS and TEM measurements.

This article discusses the issue of resource conflict in the generalized multi-protocol label switching (GMPLS) controlled optical network. Based on the analysis of the current random rebuilding mechanism and its drawbacks, this article presents two enhanced solutions for improvement, namely, the priority-based resource allocation mechanism and the network management system (NMS) based sequential resource allocation mechanism. Experimental results show that the presented mechanisms perform better than the original random rebuilding solution in terms of the connection setup/recovery time and successful rate.

Although a wide variety of signal enhancement algorithms are available for hearing aids, selection and parameterization of the best algorithm at any given time is highly dependent upon the environment of the hearing aid user. The use of auditory scene analysis has been proposed by several groups to categorize the background noise. In this work, an algorithm is proposed to categorize a foreground speaker as opposed to the background noise and parameterize a frequency-based compression algorithm which has been previously shown to improve speech understanding for some individuals with severe sensorineural hearing loss in the 2-3kHz range.

The role of cell-mediated immunity in human SARS-CoV infection is still not well understood. In this study, we found that memory T-cell responses against the spike (S) protein were persistent for more than 1 year after SARS-CoV infection by detecting the production of IFN-gamma using ELISA and ELISpot assays. Flow cytometric analysis showed that both CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells were involved in cellular responses against SARS-CoV infection. Interestingly, most of SARS-CoV S-specific memory CD4(+) T cells were central memory cells expressing CD45RO(+) CCR7(+) CD62L(-). However, the majority of memory CD8(+) T cells revealed effector memory phenotype expressing CD45RO(-) CCR7(-) CD62L(-). Thus, our study provides the evidence that SARS-CoV infection in humans can induce cellular immune response that is persistent for a long period of time. These data may have an important implication in the possibility of designing effective vaccine against SARS-CoV infection, specifically in defining T-cell populations that are implicated in protective immunity.

Deep neck infections may be lethal if life-threatening complications occur, especially in immunocompromised hosts such as diabetic patients. This study was undertaken to better define the clinical features and prognosis of deep neck infections in the diabetic patients with special emphasis on the use of empirical antibiotics and the role and timing of surgical management.A retrospective analysis of 105 consecutive patients treated at a single institution during a 9-year period was conducted. Of these, 30 patients also presented with diabetes mellitus.Compared with the nondiabetic patients, the unique features of deep neck infections in diabetic patients were as follows: (1) older age, (2) tendency of unclear infection source, (3) tendency to involve multiple spaces, (4) required more aggressive surgical intervention, (5) prolonged hospitalization, and (6) higher complication rate. The differences were statistically significant (P.05). There were no significant differences in the complete blood count/ differential count positive findings and fever between the 2 groups (P.05). Bacterial cultures showed that Klebsilla pneumoniae was the most common causative pathogen in diabetic patients.In deep neck infection patients with diabetes mellitus, the clinical course is more severe and there is a poorer prognosis. Thus, in treating them, we should keep close observation, appropriately control the diabetes, detect the life-threatening complications early, perform aggressive surgical treatment if fluctuation or complication occurs, and take into account the preponderance of K pneumoniae when administering the empirical antibiotics.

A linear decision binary tree structure is proposed in constructing piecewise linear classifiers with the Genetic Algorithm (GA) being shaped and employed at each nonterminal node in order to search for a linear decision function, optimal in the sense of maximum impurity reduction. The methodology works for both the two-class and multi-class cases. In comparison to several other well-known methods, the proposed Binary Tree-Genetic Algorithm (BTGA) is demonstrated to produce a much lower cross validation misclassification rate. Finally, a modified BTGA is applied to the important pap smear cell classification. This results in a spectrum for the combination of the highest desirable sensitivity along with the lowest possible false alarm rate ranging from 27.34% sensitivity, 0.62% false alarm rate to 97.02% sensitivity, 50.24% false alarm rate from resubstitution validation. The multiple choices offered by the spectrum for the sensitivity-false alarm rate combination will provide the-flexibility needed for the pap smear slide classification.

In this paper, the hybrid states are introduced to study DEDS. Based on the description of the hybrid states and under certain assumptions, the system becomes a time—homogeneous hybrid state Markovian process. The semi-group theory is used to study the process. A partial differential equation is obtained. The equation is further changed into an integral equation. It is proved that the integral equation has an unique solution.