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Target detection is an important task in computer vision research, and such an anomaly detection and the topic of small target detection task is more concerned. However, there are still some problems in this kind of researches, such as small target detection in complex environments is susceptible to background interference and poor detection results. To solve these issues, this study proposes a method which introduces the attention mechanism into the you only look once (YOLO) network. In addition, the amateur-produced mask dataset was created and experiments were conducted. The results showed that the detection effect of the proposed mothed is much better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the wettability of surfactants on bituminous coal and to explore its wettability and wettability mechanism on bituminous coal, taking the Sandaogou bituminous coal as an example, a single factor experiment was carried out first. Through contact angle and surface tension experiments, three surfactants with good wettability were selected from among the nine surfactants and mixed in equal proportions two by two to determine the optimal compounding method and compounding concentration. The experimental results show that the compounding of nonionic and anionic, nonionic and zwitterionic, anionic and zwitterionic surfactants can have synergistic effects and significantly improve the wettability of bituminous coal. Among them, the 0.5 wt% SDS + 0.5 wt% CAB-50 (R2) compound surfactant had the best wettability on bituminous coal, and the contact angle and surface tension were only 15.24° and 23.62 mN/m, respectively. The surface electrostatic potential values of each material molecule were calculated by Materials Studio software based on the quantum chemistry method, and correlation analysis was carried out with wettability. The results show that the surface electrostatic potentials of CDEA, SDS and CAB-50 were greater than those of water and bituminous coal, and the region of maximum negative electrostatic potential corresponded to oxygen atoms, which are easier to adsorb on bituminous coal and water molecules. Then, through molecular dynamics simulation, the interaction energy and the distribution of contributions along the Z-axis of the water/compound surfactant/bituminous coal system at equilibrium were investigated, and finally, a spray dust reduction test was carried out in the Sandaogou Coal Mine. The results showed that the 0.5 wt% SDS + 0.5 wt% CAB-50 compound solution can be used as a water molecule adsorption carrier, prompting more water molecules to be embedded into coal molecules, increasing the relative concentration of water molecules on the surface of bituminous coal, restricting the diffusion of water molecules, and greatly improving the wettability. After the addition of 0.5 wt% SDS + 0.5 wt% CAB-50 as a spray agent, the concentration of total dust at the driver's position decreased from 65.14 to 9.11 mg/m3, the concentration of exhaled dust decreased from 30.07 to 3.35 mg/m3, and the efficiency of total and exhaled dust reduction compared with that of pure water was 86.01% and 89.35%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate local properties in the system of completely integral mapping spaces. We introduce notions of injectivity, local reflexivity, exactness, nuclearity, finite-representability and WEP in the system of completely integral mapping spaces. First we obtain that any finite-dimensional operator space is injective in the system of completely integral mapping spaces. Furthermore we prove that ℂ is the unique nuclear operator space and the unique exact operator space in this system. We also show that ℂ is the unique operator space which is finitely representable in {Tn}n∈ℕ in this system. As corollaries, Kirchberg's conjecture and QWEP conjecture in the system of completely integral mapping spaces are false. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heart transplantation is the gold standard for treating patients with advanced heart failure. Although improvements in immunosuppressive therapies have significantly reduced the frequency of cardiac graft rejection, the incidences of T cell-mediated rejection (TCMR) and antibody-mediated rejection remain almost unchanged. A four-archetype analysis (4AA) model, developed by Philip F. Halloran, illustrated this problem well. It provided a new dimension to improve the accuracy of diagnoses and an independent system for recalibrating the histology guidelines. However, this model was based on the invasive method of endocardial biopsy, which undoubtedly increased the postoperative risk of heart transplant patients. Currently, little is known regarding the associated genes and specific functions of the different phenotypes. We performed bioinformatics analysis (using machine-learning methods and the WGCNA algorithm) to screen for hub-specific genes related to different phenotypes, based Gene Expression Omnibus accession number GSE124897. More immune cell infiltration was observed with the ABMR, TCMR, and injury phenotypes than with the stable phenotype. Hub-specific genes for each of the four archetypes were verified successfully using an external test set (accession number GSE2596). Logistic-regression models based on TCMR-specific hub genes and common hub genes were constructed with accurate diagnostic utility (area under the curve > 0.95). RELA, NFKB1, and SOX14 were identified as transcription factors important for TCMR/injury phenotypes and common genes, respectively. Additionally, 11 Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs were chosen from the DrugBank Database for each four-archetype model. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors may be a promising new option for transplant rejection treatment. KRAS signaling in cardiac transplant rejection is worth further investigation. Our results showed that heart transplant rejection subtypes can be accurately diagnosed by detecting expression of the corresponding specific genes, thereby enabling precise treatment or medication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positive and negative leadership styles may influence classroom norms and be related to the school and psychological adjustment of children in general, and victims in particular. This study tested the relation between leadership styles and children's adjustment, and the moderating effects of leadership on the association between self-reported victimization and school and psychological adjustment (self-esteem, social anxiety, and depressive symptoms); and it tested for potential gender differences. Classrooms were classified into those with only positive leaders, only negative leaders, both positive and negative leaders, and without leaders. The sample contained 8748 children (Mage = 10.05, SD = 1.22; 51.2% girls) from 392 classrooms, in grades three to six, in 98 Dutch schools. Multilevel analysis revealed that, in general, children in negative leader classrooms experienced lower school well-being than children in other classrooms. In positive leader classrooms, male and female victims had lower school well-being. For psychological well-being, female victims had lower self-esteem and more depressive symptoms in positive leader classrooms. Male and female victims in negative leader classrooms did not suffer from additional maladjustment. These results demonstrate that negative leadership styles are related to lower school well-being of all children, whereas victimization in classrooms with positive leaders is negatively related to male and female victims' school well-being and girls' psychological adjustment (depressive symptoms); this is in line with the 'healthy context paradox'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lymph node (LN) status is vital to evaluate the curative potential of relatively early gastric cancer (GC; T1–T2) treatment (endoscopic or surgery). Currently, there is a lack of robust and convenient methods to identify LN metastasis before therapeutic decision-making. Methods: Genome-wide expression profiles of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) in primary T1 gastric cancer data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) was used to identify lncRNA expression signature capable of detecting LN metastasis of GC and establish a 10-lncRNA risk-prediction model based on deep learning. The performance of the lncRNA panel in diagnosing LN metastasis was evaluated both in silico and clinical validation methods. In silico validation was conducted using TCGA and Asian Cancer Research Group (ACRG) datasets. Clinical validation was performed on T1 and T2 patients, and the panel's efficacy was compared with that of traditional tumor markers and computed tomography (CT) scans. Results: Profiling of genome-wide RNA expression identified a panel of lncRNA to predict LN metastasis in T1 stage gastric cancer (AUC = 0.961). A 10-lncRNA risk-prediction model was then constructed, which was validated successfully in T1 and T2 datasets (TCGA, AUC = 0.852; ACRG, AUC = 0.834). Thereafter, the clinical performance of the lncRNA panel was validated in clinical cohorts (T1, AUC = 0.812; T2, AUC = 0.805; T1 + T2, AUC = 0.764). Notably, the panel demonstrated significantly better performance compared with CT and traditional tumor markers. Conclusions: The novel 10-lncRNA could diagnose LN metastasis robustly in relatively early gastric cancer (T1–T2), with promising clinical potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A slightly asymmetrical electrode pair configuration was employed on the 304 SS to promote the possible preferential pitting propagation on one electrode, while the other was relatively quiet. The pitting propagation kinetics was analyzed based on the estimated anodic current according to an allocation model as validated by the microscopic examination. The quasi-stable propagation mode was revealed due to its kinetic feature in between the metastable and the stable pitting, which resulted in a serious of dispersive pits gathered around some weak sites of the passive film. The proposed electrochemical noise signal collection device as well as the signal processing method may be beneficial for the understanding of the real pit propagation at free potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Previous research has shown that leadership is associated not only with positive but also with negative characteristics and behaviors; knowledge of the similarities and differences between positive and negative leaders remains insufficient. This study aimed to examine (1) the existence of different subtypes of leaders and (2) to what extent these leaders differed on individual and interpersonal characteristics. The sample contained 9213 students in grades 3–6 (Dutch grades 5–8), from 392 classrooms in 98 schools (50.3% girls, Mage = 10.13 ± 1.23 years). Latent profile analysis identified three leader profiles and four non-leader profiles based on peer nominations received for leadership, popularity, and positive (defending) and negative (bullying) behavior: (1) positive leaders, (2) negative leaders, (3) non-popular leaders, (4) popular children, (5) bullies, (6) extreme bullies, and (7) modal children. Multinomial logistic regression showed similarities and differences between positive and negative leaders, as well as between each of these and the other five profiles. Positive leaders were more accepted and less rejected and had more friendships than negative leaders, but the differences in individual characteristics (self-esteem, self-control, and social goals) were less clear. This study demonstrated that 10–15% of the children were perceived as leaders, and that positive leadership became more prevalent in the higher grades. Nevertheless, negative leadership occurred also in the higher grades. Interventions aimed at turning negative leaders into positive leaders may work, because positive and negative leaders do not differ greatly in individual characteristics. Such interventions may improve the relationships of negative leaders with their classmates, which may be good for their likeability (but not at the expense of their popularity) as well as for the social atmosphere in the class as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chiral amines are commonly used in the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries1. The strong demand for unnatural chiral amines has driven the development of catalytic asymmetric methods1,2. Although the N-alkylation of aliphatic amines with alkyl halides has been widely adopted for over 100 years, catalyst poisoning and unfettered reactivity have been preventing the development of a catalyst-controlled enantioselective version3–5. Here we report the use of chiral tridentate anionic ligands to enable the copper-catalysed chemoselective and enantioconvergent N-alkylation of aliphatic amines with α-carbonyl alkyl chlorides. This method can directly convert feedstock chemicals, including ammonia and pharmaceutically relevant amines, into unnatural chiral α-amino amides under mild and robust conditions. Excellent enantioselectivity and functional-group tolerance were observed. The power of the method is demonstrated in a number of complex settings, including late-stage functionalization and in the expedited synthesis of diverse amine drug molecules. The current method indicates that multidentate anionic ligands are a general solution for overcoming transition-metal-catalyst poisoning.The chemoselective and enantioconvergent N-alkylation of aliphatic amines, including ammonia, is achieved using chiral tridentate anionic ligands and a copper catalyst; the method shows excellent enantioselectivity and functional-group tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pressure-sensitive paint (PSP) measurement for turbine blades and vanes is often limited by the optical window and occlusion of the complex blade structure. Endoscopic PSP imaging systems have been designed for the pressure measurement of integrated inter-turbine duct (IITD) guide vanes. Notably, the objective lens of the endoscope leads to severe and dynamic image distortion. The classical direct linear transformation (DLT) algorithm does not consider nonlinear distortion, which reduces the accuracy of three-dimensional (3D) pressure field reconstruction. Therefore, in this study, a dynamic distortion correction endoscopic (DDCE) PSP technique is proposed. Real-time endoscopic images are registered to the post-calibration images through affine transform. Next, the distortion was compensated using the post-calibrated distortion and intrinsic matrix, and the relationship between the pixels on the distorted two-dimensional (2D) PSP images and 3D points on the vanes can be reliably acquired. Reprojection errors are used to evaluate the performance of the proposed technique. The maximum and average errors decrease from 30 to 4 pixels and from 4.8 pixels to 0.8 pixels, respectively. Subsequently, the DDCE PSP technique is applied for the pressure measurement on turbine guide vanes with outlet Mach number ranging from 0.65 to 0.95. Endoscopic PSP images of a structural vane and two aero-vanes are recorded, and the 2D pressure fields of the three vanes are defined through in situ calibration of the PSP. Finally, the 3D pressure fields are reconstructed by mapping the 2D pressure field to the 3D point cloud using the DDCE PSP technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the factors related to renal impairment in patients with diabetic kidney disease (DKD) from the perspective of integrated Chinese and Western medicine. Methods: Totally 492 patients with DKD in 8 Chinese hospitals from October 2017 to July 2019 were included. According to Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) staging guidelines, patients were divided into a chronic kidney disease (CKD) 1–3 group and a CKD 4–5 group. Clinical data were collected, and logistic regression was used to analyze the factors related to different CKD stages in DKD patients. Results: Demographically, male was a factor related to increased CKD staging in patients with DKD (OR=3.100, P=0.002). In clinical characteristics, course of diabetes >60 months (OR=3.562, P=0.010), anemia (OR=4.176, P<0.001), hyperuricemia (OR=3.352, P<0.001), massive albuminuria (OR=4.058, P=0.002), atherosclerosis (OR=2.153, P=0.007) and blood deficiency syndrome (OR=1.945, P=0.020) were factors related to increased CKD staging in patients with DKD. Conclusions: Male, course of diabetes >60 months, anemia, hyperuricemia, massive proteinuria, atherosclerosis, and blood deficiency syndrome might indicate more severe degree of renal function damage in patients with DKD. (Registration No. NCT03865914) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies show that two dimensional (2D) nanomaterial and its hybrid have a great promise in tribology for the special laminar microstructure. However, the majority of performed investigations about 2D graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanosheets are most focused on energy storage, catalysis, adsorption, rarely tribology. In the present study, g-C3N4 supporting mono-dispersed Ag nanoparticle hybrid (g-C3N4/Ag) is prepared, and its microstructure and chemical composition are determined. More specifically, the tribological performance as the lubricating additive of poly phthalazinone ether sulfone ketone (PPESK) composite is investigated using the ball-on-disc friction tester. Moreover, the corresponding enhancement mechanism is well proposed based on the experimental analysis and theoretical simulation. Obtained results show that Ag nanoparticles with a size of about 10–20 nm are homogeneously anchored on g-C3N4 nanosheets, favoring for good compatibility between g-C3N4/Ag and PPESK. It is found that when 0.3 wt% of g-C3N4/Ag is added to PPESK, the friction coefficient and wear rate of PPESK decrease by 68.9% and 97.1%, respectively. These reductions are mainly attributed to the synergistic self-lubricating effect of Ag nanoparticles and g-C3N4 nanosheet, the formation of transfer film, as well as the limited effect of g-C3N4/Ag on the shear deformation of PPESK composite film. Furthermore, it is found that the proposed g-C3N4/Ag-PPESK composite still keeps reasonable friction-reducing and wear-resistant properties under heavy loads and high rotating speeds. The present study demonstrates that the proposed g-C3N4/Ag hybrid is an excellent lubricating additive for polymer composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, CH3NH3SnI3, SnO2, CH3NH3SnI3/SnO2 composites with or without Pd or Au doping was prepared by normal liquid phase method. The CO sensing properties of these composites were studied in detail. It was found that CH3NH3SnI3/SnO2/Pd/Au material has the best sensing performance among all the samples. CH3NH3SnI3/SnO2/Pd/Au sensor can detect CO at room temperature with response (Response = Ra/Rg, Ra and Rg are the electrical resistance of the samples in air and test gas, respectively) of 68 to 50 ppm CO, and the response and recovery time is 25 s and 32 s, respectively. In addition, it also shows outstanding stability (without any change after 30 days). Under the same situation, pure SnO2 has no sensitivity to CO. Single Pd, Au, and CH3NH3SnI3 can all increase the sensitivity of SnO2 a little and the effect of Pd is a little higher than the other 2 species. However, the combination of CH3NH3SnI3 with Au or Pd especially with Pd can make the effect enhance significantly. CH3NH3SnI3 can improve the sensing performance by restraining the recombination of electron/hole pairs or by increasing the oxygen vacancies content to accelerate sensing reaction. Pd can improve the sensing performance by increasing the free electron transfer or by forming PdO to oxidize CO. Au can only play its role together with Pd and CH3NH3SnI3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal-catalysed cross-couplings are a mainstay of organic synthesis and are widely used for the formation of C–C bonds, particularly in the production of unsaturated scaffolds1. However, alkyl cross-couplings using native sp3-hybridized functional groups such as alcohols remain relatively underdeveloped2. In particular, a robust and general method for the direct deoxygenative coupling of alcohols would have major implications for the field of organic synthesis. A general method for the direct deoxygenative cross-coupling of free alcohols must overcome several challenges, most notably the in situ cleavage of strong C–O bonds3, but would allow access to the vast collection of commercially available, structurally diverse alcohols as coupling partners4. We report herein a metallaphotoredox-based cross-coupling platform in which free alcohols are activated in situ by N-heterocyclic carbene salts for carbon–carbon bond formation with aryl halide coupling partners. This method is mild, robust, selective and most importantly, capable of accommodating a wide range of primary, secondary and tertiary alcohols as well as pharmaceutically relevant aryl and heteroaryl bromides and chlorides. The power of the transformation has been demonstrated in a number of complex settings, including the late-stage functionalization of Taxol and a modular synthesis of Januvia, an antidiabetic medication. This technology represents a general strategy for the merger of in situ alcohol activation with transition metal catalysis.A metallaphotoredox-based cross-coupling platform is capable of activating a wide range of free alcohols using N-heterocyclic carbene salts, cleaving C–O bonds to form free carbon radicals that are then used to form new C–C bonds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: During the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, oncologists face new challenges, and they need to adjust their cancer management strategies as soon as possible to reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and tumor recurrence. However, data on cancer patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection remains scarce. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study on 223 cancer patients with SARS-CoV-2 from 26 hospitals in Hubei, China. An individualized nomogram was constructed based on multivariate Cox analysis. Considering the convenience of the nomogram application, an online tool was also created. The predictive performance and clinical application of nomogram were verified by C-index, calibration curve and decision curve analysis (DCA). Results: Among cancer patients with SARS-CoV-2, there were significant differences in clinical characteristics between survivors and non-survivors, and compared with patients with solid tumors including lung cancer, patients with hematological malignancies had a worse prognosis. Male, dyspnea, elevated PCT, increased heart rate, elevated D-dimers, and decreased platelets were risk factors for these patients. Furthermore, a good prediction performance of the online tool (dynamic nomogram: https://covid-19-prediction-tool.shinyapps.io/DynNomapp/) was also fully demonstrated with the C-indexes of 0.841 (95% CI 0.782–0.900) in the development cohort and 0.780 (95% CI 0.678–0.882) in the validation cohort. Conclusion: Overall, cancer patients with SARS-CoV-2 had unique clinical features, and the established online tool could guide clinicians to predict the prognosis of patients during the COVID-19 epidemic and to develop more rational treatment strategies for cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rehabilitation robots for stroke patients have drawn considerable attention because they can reduce the economic and labor costs brought by traditional rehabilitation. Control methods for rehabilitation robots have been developed to stimulate the active motion of patients and to improve the effectiveness of rehabilitation care. However, current control methods can only roughly adjust the system's stiffness and may fail in achieving satisfactory performance. To this end, this paper introduces a novel cost function consisting of the tracking error term and the stiffness term. The cost function contains an interaction factor that represents the patient's motion intention to balance the weight of these two terms. When the patients try to actively do training tasks, the weight of stiffness term increases, which leads to the larger allowable tracking error and lower stiffness eventually. An iterative updating law of the stiffness matrix is given to reduce the proposed cost function. Theoretical analysis based on the Lyapunov theory is given to ensure the feasibility of the proposed algorithm. Furthermore, a force estimation is used to improve interaction control performance. Finally, simulation experiments are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to introduce the notions of injectivity, local reflexivity, exactness, and nuclearity in the system ( (Γ 2 c (⋅ , ⋅) , γ 2 c (⋅)) ). We find that every dual operator space is injective in the system ( (Γ 2 c (⋅ , ⋅) , γ 2 c (⋅)) ) and nuclearity is equivalent to exactness in this system. As a corollary, we prove that Kirchberg's conjecture on the equivalence of exactness and local reflexivity for C* -algebras is false in this system, i.e., there exists a C*-algebra A that is locally reflexive in this system but is not exact in this system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tracking animal behavior by video is one of the most common tasks in the life sciences. Although commercial software exists for executing this task, they often present enormous cost to the researcher and can entail purchasing hardware that is expensive and lacks adaptability. Additionally, the underlying code is often proprietary. Alternatively, available open-source options frequently require model training and can be challenging for those inexperienced with programming. Here we present an open-source and platform independent set of behavior analysis pipelines using interactive Python that researchers with no prior programming experience can use. Two modules are described. One module can be used for the positional analysis of an individual animal, amenable to a wide range of behavioral tasks. A second module is described for the analysis of freezing behavior. For both modules, a range of interactive plots and visualizations are available to confirm that chosen parameters produce the anticipated results. Moreover, batch processing tools for the fast analysis of multiple videos is provided, and frame-by-frame output makes alignment with biological recording data simple. Lastly, options for cropping video frames to mitigate the influence of fiberoptic/electrophysiology cables, analyzing specified portions of time, and defining regions of interest, are readily implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this note, we show that a von Neumann algebra M is injective if and only if the weak* similarity degree d*( M) ≤ 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soybean oligopeptides (SOP) with low molecular weights were prepared by two-step enzymatic hydrolysis on a pilot-scale. Peptide and free amino acid contents of SOP were 82.5 ± 1.13 % and 3.7 ± 0.28 % respectively. The molecular weight distribution of SOP was mainly bellow 1,000 Da (85.4 %), 56.7 % of which were 140-500 Da. SOP showed strong stability to proteolytic digestion by pepsin and trypsin. The antioxidant activities and in vitro and in vivo antihypertensive effects of SOP were evaluated. Results showed that SOP exhibited 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging effect (IC = 4.5 ± 0.13 mg/mL), and significantly inhibited lipid peroxidation in linoleic acid oxidation system (IC = 1.2 ± 0.09 mg/mL). SOP had potent angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitory activity (IC = 1.1 ± 0.06 mg/mL), and antihypertensive effect in spontaneously hypertensive rats at a dose of 200 mg/kg. This study indicated that SOP could be a natural antioxidative or antihypertensive compound in the medicine and food industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We develop a Hilbert module version of the Haagerup property for general C*-algebras $${{\mathcal{A} \subseteq \mathcal{B}}}$$ . We show that if $${\alpha : \Gamma \curvearrowright \mathcal{A}}$$ is an action of a countable discrete group Γ on a unital C*-algebra $${\mathcal{A}}$$ , then the reduced C*-algebra crossed product $${\Gamma \ltimes _{\alpha, r} \mathcal{A}}$$ has the Hilbert $${\mathcal{A}}$$ -module Haagerup property if and only if the action α has the Haagerup property. We are particularly interested in the case when $${\mathcal{A} = C(X)}$$ is a unital commutative C*-algebra. We compare the Haagerup property of such an action $${\alpha: \Gamma \curvearrowright C(X)}$$ with the two special cases when (1) Γ has the Haagerup property and (2) Γ is coarsely embeddable into a Hilbert space. We also prove a contractive Schur mutiplier characterization for groups coarsely embeddable into a Hilbert space, and a uniformly bounded Schur multiplier characterization for exact groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Myocarditis is an acute inflammatory disease of the heart and is often a precursor of dilated cardiomyopathy. Experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) has been used as a model for human myocarditis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the therapeutic role of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor, rosuvastatin, on the development of EAM. Methods: Experimental autoimmune myocarditis was induced in BALB/c mice by immunization with murine cardiac α-myosin heavy chain (MyHc-α [Ac-SLKLMATLFSTYASAD-OH]). High-dose (10 mg/kg/day) or low-dose (1 mg/kg/day) rosuvastatin or vehicle was administered orally by gastric gavage to mice with EAM from day 0 to day 21 after immunization. On day 21 after immunization, echocardiography was carried out and the severity of myocarditis was detected by histopathological evaluation. Levels of serum tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6 were measured by ELISA. Histopathology was performed using haematoxylin and eosin. With apoptosis examined by Tunel, the expression of active caspase-3 in myocardium was investigated by immunohistochemistry. Results: Rosuvastatin attenuated the histopathological severity of myocarditis. Cardiac function was improved in the two rosuvastatin-treated groups compared to the non-treated EAM group (LVFS: high-dose rosuvastatin group [group H], 0.38 ± 0.10%; low-dose rosuvastatin group [group L], 0.34 ± 0.06%; non-treated EAM group [group N], 0.29 ± 0.07%. LVEF: group H, 0.80 ± 0.09%; group L, 0.71 ± 0.07%; group N, 0.68 ± 0.07%). Furthermore, treatment with rosuvastatin decreased the expression levels of TNF-α (group H, 65.19 ± 7.06 pg/ml; group L, 108.20 ± 5.28 pg/ml; group N, 239.34 ± 11.65 pg/ml) and IL-6 (group H, 14.33 ± 2.15 pg/ml; group L, 19.67 ± 3.04 pg/ml; group N, 40.39 ± 7.17 pg/ml). The rates of expression of active Caspase-3 and myocardial apoptosis were positively correlated with the scores for myocardial pathology. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that administration of rosuvastatin can ameliorate EAM progression, inhibit apoptosis of cardiomyocytes, and preserve cardiac output, and they also suggest rosuvastatin may be a promising novel therapeutic strategy for the clinical treatment of myocarditis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three new complexes, [Zn(dtb)(4,4′-bipy)]·5H2O (1), [Zn(dtb)(bpp)]·H2O (2) and [Zn(dtb)(phen)2]·CH3-CH2OH·H2O (3) (dtb = 5,5′-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid), 4,4′-bipy = 4,4′-bipyridine, bpp = 1,3-bi(4-pyridyl) propane, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline), have been constructed by dtb ligand and zinc salt in the presence of different assistant N-containing ligands under hydrothermal conditions. The structures of the complexes were established by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Although compounds 1 and 2 are both 2D networks, the cavities′ forms and pitch of helix are different. The structure of compound 3 shows a 1D helical chain, and is extended by the supermolecule interactions into a 2D framework. These neutral polymeric complexes exhibit structural and dimensional diversity due to the different coordination modes of the flexible dtb ligand and the effect of assistant ligands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the need for faculty development among Chinese medical educators. Leaders at each medical school in China were asked to complete a 123-item survey to identify interest in various topics and barriers and perceived benefits of participating in faculty development programs. Interest levels were high for all topics. Experience with Hospital Management and Research positively correlated with interest in learning more ( p < 0.001). Ninety-two percent believe that international experiences are very or extremely important to medical educators’ career advancement. Chinese medical education faculty members have a strong interest in faculty development programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given two vectors x, y in a Hilbert space and a weakly closed T (N)-module U, we provide a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of a compact operator T in U satisfying T x = y. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suppose that U is a norm closed nest algebra module. Using the characterization of rank one operators in U ⊥, a complete description of the extreme points of the unit ball U 1 is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the tensor product [formula] of Jacobson radicals in nest algebras, and obtains that [formula]; and based on the characterization of rank-one operators in [formula], it is proved that if [formula], are non-trivial then [formula] if and only if [formula] are continuous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A challenge of chronic diseases that remains to be solved is how to liberate patients and medical resources from the burdens of long-term monitoring and periodic visits. Precise management based on artificial intelligence (AI) holds great promise; however, a clinical application that fully integrates prediction and telehealth computing has not been achieved, and further efforts are required to validate its real-world benefits. Taking congenital cataract as a representative, we used Bayesian and deep-learning algorithms to create CC-Guardian, an AI agent that incorporates individualized prediction and scheduling, and intelligent telehealth follow-up computing. Our agent exhibits high sensitivity and specificity in both internal and multi-resource validation. We integrate our agent with a web-based smartphone app and prototype a prediction-telehealth cloud platform to support our intelligent follow-up system. We then conduct a retrospective self-controlled test validating that our system not only accurately detects and addresses complications at earlier stages, but also reduces the socioeconomic burdens compared to conventional methods. This study represents a pioneering step in applying AI to achieve real medical benefits and demonstrates a novel strategy for the effective management of chronic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poly-substituted aromatic sulfur compounds are widely found in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and organic materials. However, the position that a sulfur moiety can be introduced to is largely restricted to a pre-functionalized site; otherwise, use of electronically biased substrates or auxiliary groups that direct catalysis is required. Here we report a general ortho thiolation of common aryl and heteroaryl iodides via palladium-norbornene cooperative catalysis. Using this approach, an aryl or alky sulfur moiety can be site-selectively introduced at the arene ortho position without using sterically or electronically biased substrates. The arene ipso functionalization is simultaneously achieved through Heck, Suzuki or Sonogashira termination. The reaction is enabled by a unique class of electrophiles in palladium-norbornene cooperative catalysis, which are sulfenamides derived from seven-membered lactams. The broad substrates scope and high chemoselectivity could make this method attractive for synthesis of complex sulfur-containing aromatic compounds. Poly-substituted aromatic sulfur compounds are part of many pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and organic materials. Here, the authors developed a sulfenamide-enabled ortho-thiolation of aryl iodides via Pd/norbornene cooperative catalysis for the preparation of polysubstituted aromatic sulfur compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]