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This paper proposes a new 3D Lyapunov guidance vector field(3D-LGV) avoidance strategy based on reinforcement learning for the satellite evasion and interception problem. Combining it with the interfered fluid dynamical system (IFDS) enables the satellite to evade and smoothly enter orbit according to the state of the intercepting satellite in real time. 3D-LGV provides an initial flow field approaching an elliptical orbit, while IFDS provides a perturbed flow field based on the intercepting satellite position. The combined potential field of the initial flow field and the disturbed flow field is the planned velocity direction of the satellite. As a decision-making layer, the proximal policy optimization (PPO) dynamically adjusts the perturbed flow field in the IFDS to increase the avoidance success rate in different scenarios. The experimental results show that, compared with the particle swarm optimization with rolling horizon control algorithm, the algorithm proposed in this paper has a shorter decision time and a higher avoidance success rate. At the same time, Monte Carlo simulation shows that the evasion success rate of the proposed algorithm reaches 98%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a novel miniaturized optical attenuator based on the evanescent-field coupling between two nanofibers. Benefiting from a wavelength-dependent waveguiding property of the coupled structure, a tunable attenuation with maximum extinction ratio of ~ 20 dB is demonstrated with an ultrawide optical bandwidth up to 0.7 μm in experiment. The wavelength-depended waveguiding properties of both one single nanofiber and coupled nanofibers are investigated in both theory and simulation. Using an adiabatic coupling structure, an attenuation range from − 0.16 dB to − 18.46 dB is obtained within a spectrum from 1.2 μm to 1.7 μm experimentally. Moreover, the simulated results indicate that, the attenuation only shows a slight change of ~ 0.1 dB with a lateral misalignment of 0.5 μm between the two nanofibers, indicating a high tolerance of this attenuator to the lateral misalignment. Considering the wide bandwidth as well as the ultracompact structure, this attenuator shows high potential in applications such as all-fiber optical sensing and communicating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The accurate identification of microvascular invasion (MVI) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is of great clinical importance. Purpose: To develop a radiomics nomogram based on susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) and T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) for predicting MVI in early-stage (Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stages 0 and A) HCC patients. Materials and methods: A prospective cohort of 189 participants with HCC was included for model training and testing, and an additional 34 participants were enrolled for external validation. ITK-SNAP was used to manually segment the tumour, and PyRadiomics was used to extract radiomic features from the SWI and T2W images. Variance filtering, student's t test, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression and random forest (RF) were applied to select meaningful features. Four machine learning classifiers, including K-nearest neighbour, RF, logistic regression and support vector machine-based models, were established. Independent clinical and radiological risk factors were also determined to establish a clinical model. The best radiomics and clinical models were further evaluated in the validation set. In addition, a nomogram was constructed from the radiomic model and independent clinical factors. Diagnostic efficacy was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis with fivefold cross-validation. Results: AFP levels greater than 400 ng/mL [odds ratio (OR) 2.50; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.239–5.047], tumour diameter greater than 5 cm (OR 2.39; 95% CI 1.178–4.839), and absence of pseudocapsule (OR 2.053; 95% CI 1.007–4.202) were found to be independent risk factors for MVI. The areas under the curve (AUCs) of the best radiomic model were 1.000 and 0.882 in the training and testing cohorts, respectively, while those of the clinical model were 0.688 and 0.6691. In the validation set, the radiomic model achieved better diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.888) than the clinical model (AUC = 0.602). The combination of clinical factors and the radiomic model yielded a nomogram with the best diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.948). Conclusion: SWI and T2WI-derived radiomic features are valuable for noninvasively and accurately identifying MVI in early-stage HCC. Furthermore, the integration of radiomics and clinical factors yielded a predictive nomogram with satisfactory diagnostic performance and potential clinical benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A self-powered photoelectrochemical (PEC) aptamer sensor based on ZnIn2S4 as the photoanode and Cu2O@Ag@Ag3PO4 as the sensing cathode is designed for the detection of Hg2+. An indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode modified with ZnIn2S4 was used instead of a platinum (Pt) counter electrode to provide an obviously stable photocurrent signal. The suitable band gap width of ZnIn2S4 can generate photogenerated electrons well. The unique hydrangea structure of ZnIn2S4 can enhance light absorption and accelerate the separation and transfer of photocarriers. At the same time, Cu2O@Ag@Ag3PO4 with excellent electrical conductivity further enhances the photocurrent provided by the ZnIn2S4 photoanode. Because the reducing substances in the biological medium can change the photoanode characteristics of the photoanode interface, the separation of the photoanode and the sensing bicathode is beneficial to improve the anti-interference ability of the sensor. Under optimized conditions, the PEC aptamer sensor realizes the detection of Hg2+ (1 mM–1 fM), and the detection limit is 0.4 fM. In addition, the constructed self-powered PEC sensor has good selectivity, repeatability, and stability, which provides a new idea for the design of the PEC aptamer sensor platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stepped-nozzle arc plasma torch (SNAPT) is a promising arc source due to the advantages of high stability and high energy density, but the micro-time scale discharge characteristics have not yet been adequately investigated. In this study, a SNAPT was designed and studied, in order to investigate the effects of discharge current, gas flow rate, and nozzle morphology on the discharge characteristics. The results show that the volt-ampere characteristics of the SNAPT have an increasing curve when the gas flow rate is greater than 4 Nm3/h, and a decreasing curve when the gas flow rate is 3 Nm3/h. This result is related to the position of the arc root, and an arc constriction phenomenon occurs at high current and low gas flow rate. The thermal efficiency of the SNAPT decreases with the increasing current and decreasing gas flow rate, ranging from 69.6 to 82.3% within the experimental parameters. The optical emission spectroscopy results show that there are many active particles inside the plasma. The experimental parameters of the heavy particle temperature of 4851.5 to 9189.3 K and the electron temperature of 7846.9 to 10185.6 K both correspond to the Boltzmann distribution and are close to the local thermodynamic equilibrium state. Comparative experimental results show that the cylindrical-nozzle has the decreasing volt-ampere characteristics and higher voltages, but has large voltage fluctuations and poor stability compared with the stepped-nozzle. The results of the study are of guiding significance for design, selection of operating parameters, and application scenarios for this type of plasma torch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A self-powered photoelectrochemical (PEC) aptamer sensor based on ZnIn2S4 as the photoanode and Cu2O@Ag@Ag3PO4 as the sensing cathode is designed for the detection of Hg2+. An indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode modified with ZnIn2S4 was used instead of a platinum (Pt) counter electrode to provide an obviously stable photocurrent signal. The suitable band gap width of ZnIn2S4 can generate photogenerated electrons well. The unique hydrangea structure of ZnIn2S4 can enhance light absorption and accelerate the separation and transfer of photocarriers. At the same time, Cu2O@Ag@Ag3PO4 with excellent electrical conductivity further enhances the photocurrent provided by the ZnIn2S4 photoanode. Because the reducing substances in the biological medium can change the photoanode characteristics of the photoanode interface, the separation of the photoanode and the sensing bicathode is beneficial to improve the anti-interference ability of the sensor. Under optimized conditions, the PEC aptamer sensor realizes the detection of Hg2+ (1 mM–1 fM), and the detection limit is 0.4 fM. In addition, the constructed self-powered PEC sensor has good selectivity, repeatability, and stability, which provides a new idea for the design of the PEC aptamer sensor platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Impeded diffusion fraction (IDF) is a novel and promising diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) technique that allows for the detection of various diffusion compartments, including macromolecular coordinated water, free diffusion, perfusion, and cellular free water. This study aims to investigate the clinical potential of IDF-DWI in detecting microvascular invasion (MVI) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: 66 patients were prospectively included. Metrics derived from IDF-DWI and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were calculated. Multivariate logistic regression was employed to identify clinical risk factors. Diagnostic performance was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC-ROC), the area under the precision-recall curve (AUC-PR), and the calibration error (cal-error). Additionally, a power analysis was conducted to determine the required sample size. Results: The results suggested a significantly higher fraction of impeded diffusion (FID) originating from IDF-DWI in MVI-positive HCCs (p < 0.001). Moreover, the ADC was found to be significantly lower in MVI-positive HCCs (p = 0.019). Independent risk factors of MVI included larger tumor size and elevated alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels. The nomogram model incorporating ADC, FID, tumor size, and AFP level yielded the highest diagnostic accuracy for MVI (AUC-PR = 0.804, AUC-ROC = 0.783, cal-error = 0.044), followed by FID (AUC-PR = 0.693, AUC-ROC = 0.760, cal-error = 0.060) and ADC (AUC-PR = 0.570, AUC-ROC = 0.651, cal-error = 0.164). Conclusion: IDF-DWI shows great potential in noninvasively, accurately, and preoperatively detecting MVI in HCC and may offer clinical benefits for prognostic prediction and determination of treatment strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid advancements in flexible electronics and military applications necessitate high-performance electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorbers. While huge breakthroughs in achieving high-attenuation microwave absorption, conventional EMW absorbing materials have single function and ambiguous absorption mechanisms. Herein, numerous gel-type absorbers are fabricated by introducing "regulators" into poly(acrylamide-co-acrylic acid) (P(AM-co-AA)) networks through radical polymerization in a glycerol-water mixed solvent. The dielectric constant and EMW absorption performance of the gels are precisely predicted by adjusting monomer concentration, the ratio of glycerol/water, and the content of the regulators. Notably, A6G20T20-2 exhibits promising absorption performance with a minimum reflection loss (RLmin) of −33.8 dB at 12.4 GHz. The effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) covers the entire X-band (8.2–12.4 GHz) at a thickness of 2.7 mm. A6G20T20-2 also has sensitive deformation responses and excellent tensile strength, adhesiveness, self-healing and anti-freezing properties. Overall, this work not only provides insight into the polarization loss mechanism of the gels as the result of high correlation between EMW absorbing properties and molecular polarization, but also offers an important reference for developing functional protective materials because of the rich functionalities and efficient protective capabilities of the gels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supramolecular glass is a non-covalently cross-linked amorphous material that exhibits excellent optical properties and unique intrinsic structural features. Compared with artificial inorganic/organic glass, which has been extensively developed, supramolecular glass is still in the infancy stage, and itself is rarely recognized and studied thus far. Herein, we present the development of the host–guest molecular recognition motifs between methyl-β-cyclodextrin and para-hydroxybenzoic acid as the building blocks of supramolecular glass. Non-covalent polymerization resulting from the host–guest complexation and hydrogen bonding formation enables high transparency and bulk state to supramolecular glass. Various advantages, including recyclability, compatibility, and thermal processability, are associated with dynamic assembly pattern. Short-range order (host–guest complexation) and long-range disorder (three dimensional polymeric network) structures are identified simultaneously, thus demonstrating the typical structural characteristics of glass. This work provides a supramolecular strategy for constructing transparent materials from organic components. Strategies to produce supramolecular glass and the study of its intrinsic structure and mechanical properties remains largely unexplored. Here, the authors prepare a supramolecular glass via the host–guest recognition between methyl-β-cyclodextrin and para-hydroxybenzoic acid with recyclability, compatibility, and thermal processability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Habitat imaging allows for the quantification and visualization of various subregions within the tumor. We aim to develop an approach using diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI)–based habitat imaging for preoperatively predicting the microvascular invasion (MVI) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: Sixty-five patients were prospectively included and underwent multi-b DWI examinations. Based on the true diffusion coefficient (Dt), perfusion fraction (f), and mean kurtosis coefficient (MK), which respectively characterize cellular density, perfusion, and heterogeneity, the HCCs were divided into four habitats. The volume fraction of each habitat was quantified. The logistic regression was used to explore the risk factors from habitat fraction and clinical variables. Clinical, habitat, and nomogram models were constructed using the identified risk factors from clinical characteristics, habitat fraction, and their combination, respectively. The diagnostic accuracy was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs). Results: MVI-positive HCC exhibited a significantly higher fraction of habitat 4 (f4) and a significantly lower fraction of habitat 2 (f2) (p < 0.001), which were selected as risk factors. Additionally, tumor size and elevated alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) were also included as risk factors for MVI. The nomogram model demonstrated the highest diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.807), followed by the habitat model (AUC = 0.777) and the clinical model (AUC = 0.708). Decision curve analysis indicated that the nomogram model offered more net benefit in identifying MVI compared to the clinical model. Conclusions: DWI-based habitat imaging shows clinical potential for noninvasively and preoperatively determining the MVI of HCC with high accuracy. Clinical relevance statement: The proposed strategy, diffusion-weighted imaging–based habitat imaging, can be applied for preoperatively and noninvasively identifying microvascular invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma, which offers potential benefits in terms of prognostic prediction and clinical management. Key Points: • This study proposed a strategy of DWI-based habitat imaging for hepatocellular carcinoma. • The habitat imaging–derived metrics can serve as diagnostic markers for identifying the microvascular invasion. • Integrating the habitat-based metric and clinical variable, a predictive nomogram was constructed and displayed high accuracy for predicting microvascular invasion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Varying diffusion curvature (VDC) MRI is an emerging diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) technique that can capture non-Gaussian diffusion behavior and reflect tissue heterogeneity. However, its clinical utility has hardly been evaluated. We aimed to investigate the value of the VDC technique in noninvasively assessing microvascular invasion (MVI) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: 74 patients with HCCs, including 39 MVI-positive and 35 MVI-negative HCCs were included into this prospective study. Quantitative metrics between subgroups, clinical risk factors, as well as diagnostic performance were evaluated. The power analysis was also carried out to determine the statistical power. Results: MVI-positive HCCs exhibited significantly higher VDC-derived structural heterogeneity measure, D1 (0.680 ± 0.100 × 10–3 vs 0.572 ± 0.148 × 10–3 mm2/s, p = 0.001) and lower apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) (1.350 ± 0.166 × 10–3 vs 1.471 ± 0.322 × 10–3 mm2/s, p = 0.0495) compared to MVI-negative HCCs. No statistical significance was observed for VDC-derived diffusion coefficient, D0 between the subgroups (p = 0.562). Tumor size (odds ratio (OR) = 1.242) and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) (OR = 2.527) were identified as risk factors for MVI. A predictive nomogram was constructed based on D1, ADC, tumor size, and AFP, which exhibited the highest diagnostic accuracy (AUC = 0.817), followed by D1 (AUC = 0.753) and ADC (AUC = 0.647). The diagnostic performance of the nomogram-based model was also validated by the calibration curve and decision curve. Conclusion: VDC can aid in the noninvasive and preoperative diagnosis of HCC with MVI, which may result in the clinical benefit in terms of prognostic prediction and clinical decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To construct an MRI-based habitat imaging model to help predict component percentage in combined hepatocellular carcinoma-cholangiocarcinoma (cHCC-CCA) preoperatively, and investigate the biologic underpinnings of habitat imaging in cHCC-CCA. Methods: The study consisted of one retrospective model-building dataset and one prospective validation dataset from two hospitals. All voxels were assigned into different clusters according to the similarity of enhancement pattern by using K-means clustering method, and each habitat's volume fraction in each lesion was calculated. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis was performed to select optimal predictors, and then to establish an MRI-based habitat imaging model. R-squared was calculated to evaluate performance of the prediction models. Model performance was also verified in the prospective dataset with RNA sequencing data, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis was then applied to investigate the biologic underpinnings of habitat imaging. Results: A total of 129 patients were enrolled (mean age, 56.1 ± 10.4, 102 man), among which 104 patients were in the retrospective model-building set, while 25 patients in the prospective validation set. Three habitats, habitat1 (HCC-alike habitat), habitat2 (iCCA-alike habitat), and habitat3 (in-between habitat), were identified. Habitat 1's volume fraction, habitat 3's volume fraction, nonrim APHE, nonperipheral washout, and LI-RADS categorization were selected to develop an HCC percentage prediction model with R-squared of 0.611 in the model-building set and 0.541 in the validation set. Habitat 1's volume fraction was correlated with genes involved in regulation of actin cytoskeleton and Rap1 signaling pathway, which regulate cell migration and tumor metastasis. Conclusion: Preoperative prediction of HCC percentage in patients with cHCC-CCA was achieved using an MRI-based habitat imaging model, which may correlate with signaling pathways regulating cell migration and tumor metastasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) are the two most frequently performed techniques in treating obesity and its related comorbidities. We aimed to compare the clinical efficacy and safety of LSG with LRYGB in terms of short- and mid-term outcomes of weight loss, obesity-related comorbidities, and post-operative complications via a meta-analysis of RCTs. Methods: Clinical comparative RCTs on LSG and LRYGB were searched through PubMed, MEDLINE, and Web of Science databases from inception to August 2022. Pooled outcomes from the selected studies were discussed by the random-effect meta-analysis method. Quality assessment and risk of bias for selected RCTs were implemented, and all the statistical analyses were performed. Results: Twenty studies, including 1270 patients, were enrolled. Meta-analysis results indicated the great superior efficacy of LRYGB to LSG in BMI loss at 6 (MD -1.35 kg/m2, 95% CI: -2.07 to -0.62, p = 0.0003), 12 months (MD -1.09 kg/m2, 95% CI: -1.86 to -0.33, p = 0.005), and 36 months (MD -1.47 kg/m2, 95% CI: -2.77 to -0.16, p = 0.03) as well as %EWL gaining at 36 months. Significantly higher remission rates of T2DM and dyslipidemia were achieved by LRYGB at 12 months. Besides, better improvements for T2DM-related and lipid biochemical parameters were found favoring LRYGB. However, LSG resulted in a lower post-operative complication rate and shorter operating time. Conclusions: Present meta-analysis results suggested that LRYGB was superior to LSG concerning short- and mid-term weight loss, short-term T2DM remission efficacy, and related biochemical parameters. LSG is favored for obviously fewer complications and shorter operating time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polishing path optimization plays a crucial role in achieving high-quality and uniform surface polishing of free-form surfaces. To address the issue of uncontrollable ripple errors caused by uneven material removal in traditional contact polishing, this paper proposes an adaptive polishing path optimization method for uniform polishing of free-form surfaces based on footprint evolution. The presented approach considers the influence of curvature on footprint evolution and seeks to dynamically optimize the spacing between adjacent paths. This optimization ensures suitable overlap between neighboring footprints, ultimately leading to the achievement of uniform depth removal. Through modeling simulations and experimental comparisons involving different contact curvatures, it has been conclusively established that surface curvature plays a pivotal role in footprint evolution. Additionally, surface polishing experiments yielded results indicating a reduction in surface waviness within the central polishing area, decreasing from a root-mean-square value of 5.1766 to 4.1448 nm. These outcomes preliminary demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. This study presents an efficient curvature adaptive path planning approach based on footprint evolution, offering new insights into achieving uniform polishing and suppressing waviness errors on free-form surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To establish a non-invasive diagnostic system for intrahepatic mass-forming cholangiocarcinoma (IMCC) via decision tree analysis. Methods: Totally 1008 patients with 504 pathologically confirmed IMCCs and proportional hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) and combined hepatocellular cholangiocarcinomas (cHCC-CC) from multi-centers were retrospectively included (internal cohort n = 700, external cohort n = 308). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were applied to evaluate the independent clinical and MRI predictors for IMCC, and the selected features were used to develop a decision tree–based diagnostic system. Diagnostic efficacy of the established system was calculated by the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis in the internal training-testing and external validation cohorts, and also in small lesions ≤ 3 cm. Results: Multivariate analysis revealed that female, no chronic liver disease or cirrhosis, elevated carbohydrate antigen 19–9 (CA19-9) level, normal alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level, lobulated tumor shape, progressive or persistent enhancement pattern, no enhancing tumor capsule, targetoid appearance, and liver surface retraction were independent characteristics favoring the diagnosis of IMCC over HCC or cHCC-CC (odds ratio = 3.273–25.00, p < 0.001 to p = 0.021). Among which enhancement pattern had the highest weight of 0.816. The diagnostic system incorporating significant characteristics above showed excellent performance in the internal training (area under the curve (AUC) 0.971), internal testing (AUC 0.956), and external validation (AUC 0.945) cohorts, as well as in small lesions ≤ 3 cm (AUC 0.956). Conclusions: In consideration of the great generalizability and clinical efficacy in multi-centers, the proposed diagnostic system may serve as a non-invasive, reliable, and easy-to-operate tool in IMCC diagnosis, providing an efficient approach to discriminate IMCC from other HCC-containing primary liver cancers. Clinical relevance statement: This study established a non-invasive, easy-to-operate, and explainable decision tree–based diagnostic system for intrahepatic mass-forming cholangiocarcinoma, which may provide essential information for clinical decision-making. Key Points: • Distinguishing intrahepatic mass-forming cholangiocarcinoma (IMCC) from other primary liver cancers is important for both treatment planning and outcome prediction. • The MRI-based diagnostic system showed great performance with satisfying generalization ability in the diagnosis and discrimination of IMCC. • The diagnostic system may serve as a non-invasive, easy-to-operate, and explainable tool in the diagnosis and risk stratification for IMCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The double-chamber arc plasma torch (DCAPT) is a promising arc source due to its high energy efficiency and low erosion rate. It has been widely used in various fields including coal powder ignition, boiler heavy oil-free ignition, and production of sheet-shaped carbon materials, among others, but research on its micro-discharge characteristics is still insufficient. In this work, a magnetically-stabilized DCAPT with a quartz window on the inner electrode is designed and studied, in order to investigate the effects of magnetic field position and intensity, discharge current, gas flow rate, electrode diameter, and electrode polarity on its discharge characteristics. Results show that both the volt-ampere characteristics and thermal efficiency of DCAPT exhibit a strictly decreasing trend, and both of them can be accurately predicted using similar theoretical approaches. The discharge characteristics of DCAPT differ significantly for different polarities. When in reverse polarity, the outer cathode arc root attaches to the outlet, resulting in an increased arc length and greater randomness in the arc-root fluctuations. As a result, the arc length, voltage, thermal efficiency, and voltage fluctuations are all greater than with normal polarity. Within the experimental range of the parameters, the thermal efficiency of DCAPT is between 40 and 74%. Due to the cathode's "easily mobility" characteristic, the rotation speed of the cathode arc root is always greater than that of the anode, resulting in higher thermal losses for the cathode than for the anode. This is the primary source of thermal loss and the main factor contributing to the rapid erosion of the cathode in the DCAPT. This study reveals the correlation between the volt-ampere characteristics, thermal characteristics, and dynamic evolution of the DCAPT. The research findings have significance for guiding the structural design, parameter selection, and choice of application of this type of plasma torch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Retroperitoneal soft tissue sarcoma (RPS) is a quite rare disease,and new nomograms need to be constructed to predict the overall survival (OS) and cancer specific survival (CSS) of RPS patients. Methods: The clinical data of patients with RPS were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database and authors' hospital. The LASSO method and COX proportional hazard regression were used to screen independent risk factors which were used to develop nomograms. Nomograms was evaluated in terms of discrimination by consistency index (C-index) and calibration curve. Decision curve analysis (DCA) and integrated discrimination index (IDI) were performed to assess net benefit and the improvement of model, respectively. Kaplan–Meier method and log-rank test were applied to compare the survival difference between groups. Results: A total of 1164 cases were enrolled which were divided into training cohort (n = 814) and internal validation cohort (n = 350) at a 7:3 ratio. The discrimination of nomograms were good with C-index of 0.728 (95%CI = 0.704–0.752, R2 = 0.270), 0.754 (95%CI = 0.729–0.779, R2 = 0.281) for OS and CSS, respectively. Calibration curve showed good predictive accuracy of nomograms both in internal and external validation cohort, and IDI indicated that nomograms perform well than AJCC stage. Kaplan Meier curve and log-rank test uncovered statistically significance survival difference between high- and low-risk groups with P < 0.001 in terms of OS and CSS. Conclusion: Novel nomograms predicting the OS and CSS of RPS patients perform well in discrimination, calibration, clinical benefit and IDI. These nomograms may facilitate risk stratification and making clinical decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) is an aggressive primary liver cancer with dismal outcome, high Ki-67 expression is associated with active progression and poor prognosis of iCCA, the application of MRE in the prediction of iCCA Ki-67 expression has not yet been investigated until now. We aimed to evaluate the value of magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) in assessing Ki-67 expression for iCCA. Results: In the whole cohort, 97 patients (57 high Ki-67 and 40 low Ki-67; 58 males, 39 females; mean age, 58.89 years, ranges 36–70 years) were included. At the multivariate analysis, tumor stiffness (odds ratio (OR) = 1.669 [95% CI: 1.307–2.131], p < 0.001) and tumor apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) (OR = 0.030 [95% CI: 0.002, 0.476], p = 0.013) were independent significant variables associated with Ki-67. Areas under the curve of tumor stiffness for the identification of high Ki-67 were 0.796 (95% CI 0.702, 0.871). Tumor stiffness was moderately correlated with Ki-67 level (r = 0.593, p < 0.001). When both predictive variables of tumor stiffness and ADC were integrated, the best performance was achieved with area under the curve values of 0.864 (95% CI 0.780–0.926). Conclusion: MRE-based tumor stiffness correlated with Ki-67 in iCCA and could be investigated as a potential prognostic biomarker. The combined model incorporating both tumor stiffness and ADC increased the predictive performance. Critical relevance statement: MRE-based tumor stiffness might be a surrogate imaging biomarker to predict Ki-67 expression in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma patients, reflecting tumor cellular proliferation. The combined model incorporating both tumor stiffness and apparent diffusion coefficient increased the predictive performance. Key points: • MRE-based tumor stiffness shows a significant correlation with Ki-67. • The combined model incorporating tumor stiffness and apparent diffusion coefficient demonstrated an optimized predictive performance for Ki-67 expression. • MRE-based tumor stiffness could be investigated as a potential prognostic biomarker for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Microvascular invasion (MVI) is a significant adverse prognostic indicator of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) and affects the selection of individualized treatment regimens. This study sought to establish a radiomics nomogram based on the optimal VOI of multi-sequence MRI for predicting MVI in ICC tumors. Methods: 160 single ICC lesions with MRI scanning confirmed by postoperative pathology were randomly separated into training and validation cohorts (TC and VC). Multivariate analysis identified independent clinical and imaging MVI predictors. Radiomics features were obtained from images of 6 MRI sequences at 4 different VOIs. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator algorithm was performed to enable the derivation of robust and effective radiomics features. Then, the best three sequences and the optimal VOI were obtained through comparison. The MVI prediction nomogram combined the independent predictors and optimal radiomics features, and its performance was evaluated via the receiver operating characteristics, calibration, and decision curves. Results: Tumor size and intrahepatic ductal dilatation are independent MVI predictors. Radiomics features extracted from the best three sequences (T1WI-D, T1WI, DWI) with VOI10mm (including tumor and 10 mm peritumoral region) showed the best predictive performance, with AUCTC = 0.987 and AUCVC = 0.859. The MVI prediction nomogram obtained excellent prediction efficacy in both TC (AUC = 0.995, 95%CI 0.987–1.000) and VC (AUC = 0.867, 95%CI 0.798–0.921) and its clinical significance was further confirmed by the decision curves. Conclusion: A nomogram combining tumor size, intrahepatic ductal dilatation, and the radiomics model of MRI multi-sequence fusion at VOI10mm may be a predictor of preoperative MVI status in ICC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, lignin-aminated polyol (LAP) was synthesised and used to enhance the anchor capability of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) sponges for silver nanoparticles (AgNPs); the prepared Ag/LAP/PVA sponge was used as efficient and recyclable catalysts for removing harmful organic pollutants 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) and methylene blue (MB). The structural morphology of Ag/LAP/PVA was firstly investigated by SEM with EDS analysis and XRD analysis. Then, the chemical composition of which was characterized by IR spectra, Raman spectra, and XPS analysis. Finally, the catalytic properties of which was tested by Brunauer–Emmett–Teller method and UV–vis spectra. The structural morphology result demonstrated that Ag/LAP/PVA had porous structure and AgNPs were firmly anchored on the wall of sponge and evenly dispersed in the sponge. The chemical composition result of which demonstrated that Ag/LAP/PVA had been successfully prepared and hydroxyl functional groups on LAP and PVA synergistic enhanced the anchoring capacity of LAP/PVA sponges for AgNPs. The catalytic properties result demonstrated that Ag/LAP/PVA had excellent catalytic property for 4-NP and MB reduction, with an apparent rate constant of 0.6082 min−1 and 0.8238 min−1, respectively. Furthermore, Ag/LAP/PVA exhibits excellent catalytic repeatability for 4-NP after 12 consecutive cycles without significant loss of activity. Therefore, the facile, efficient, and recyclable Ag/LAP/PVA catalyst broadens the application of lignin and has enormous potential applications in sewage treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the image quality of reduced field-of-view (rFOV) DWI for abdominal imaging at 5.0 Tesla (T) compared with 3.0 T. Methods: Fifteen volunteers were included into this prospective study. All the subjects underwent the 3.0 T and 5.0 T MR examinations (time interval: 2 ± 1.9 days). Free-breathing (FB), respiratory-triggered (RT), and navigator-triggered (NT) spin-echo echo-planner imaging-based rFOV-DWI examinations were conducted at 3.0 T and 5.0 T (FB3.0 T, NT3.0 T, RT3.0 T, FB5.0 T, NT5.0 T, and RT5.0 T) with two b values (b = 0 and 800 s/mm2), respectively. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of different acquisition approaches were determined and statistically compared. The image quality was assessed and statistically compared with a 5-point scoring system. Results: The SNRs of any 5.0 T DWI images were significantly higher than those of any 3.0 T DWI images for same anatomic locations. Moreover, 5.0 T rFOV-DWIs had the significantly higher sharpness scores than 3.0 T rFOV-DWIs. Similar distortion scores were observed at both 3.0 T and 5.0 T. Finally, RT5.0 T displayed the best overall image quality followed by NT5.0 T, FB5.0 T, RT3.0 T, NT3.0 T and FB3.0 T (RT5.0 T = 3.9 ± 0.3, NT5.0 T = 3.8 ± 0.3, FB5.0 T = 3.4 ± 0.3, RT3.0 T = 3.2 ± 0.4, NT3.0 T = 3.1 ± 0.4, and FB3.0 T = 2.7 ± 0.4, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The 5.0 T rFOV-DWI showed better overall image quality and improved SNR compared to 3.0 T rFOV-DWI, which holds clinical potential for identifying the abdominal abnormalities in routine practice. Critical relevance statement: This study provided evidence that abdominal 5.0 Tesla reduced field of view diffusion-weighted imaging (5.0 T rFOV-DWI) exhibited enhanced image quality and higher SNR compared to its 3.0 Tesla counterparts, holding clinical promise for accurately visualizing abdominal abnormalities. Key points: • rFOV-DWI was firstly integrated with high-field-MRI for visualizing various abdominal organs. • This study indicated the feasibility of abdominal 5.0 T-rFOV-DWI. • Better image quality was identified for 5.0 T rFOV-DWI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently licensed influenza vaccines focus immune responses on viral hemagglutinin (HA), while the other major surface glycoprotein neuraminidase (NA) is not tightly controlled in inactivated vaccine formulations despite evidence that anti-NA antibodies reduce clinical disease. We utilized a bicistronic self-amplifying mRNA (sa-mRNA) platform encoding both HA and NA from four seasonal influenza strains, creating a quadrivalent influenza vaccine. sa-mRNA vaccines encoding an NA component induced the production of NA-inhibiting antibodies and CD4+ T-cell responses in both monovalent and quadrivalent formulations. Including NA in the vaccine enabled cross-neutralization against antigenically drifted strains and provided greater protection than HA alone upon A(H3N2) challenge in ferrets. These results demonstrate that next-generation bicistronic sa-mRNA vaccines expressing HA and NA induce potent antibodies against both viral coat proteins, as well as vaccine-specific cell-mediated immunity. When formulated as a quadrivalent seasonal influenza vaccine, the sa-mRNA platform provides an opportunity to increase the breadth of protection through cross-neutralizing anti-NA antibodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We systematically analyzed and attempted to discuss the possibility that deficiencies of zinc or selenium were associated with the incidence and severity of COVID-19. We searched for published and unpublished articles in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and Cochrane up to 9 February 2023. And we selected healthy individuals, mild/severe, and even deceased COVID-19 patients to analyze their serum data. Data related to 2319 patients from 20 studies were analyzed. In the mild/severe group, zinc deficiency was associated with the degree of severe disease (SMD = 0.50, 95% CI 0.32–0.68, I2 = 50.5%) and we got an Egger's test of p = 0.784; but selenium deficiency was not associated with the degree of severe disease (SMD = − 0.03, 95% CI − 0.98–0.93, I2 = 96.7%). In the surviving/death group, zinc deficiency was not associated with mortality of COVID-19 (SMD = 1.66, 95%CI − 1.42–4.47), nor was selenium (SMD = − 0.16, 95%CI − 1.33–1.01). In the risk group, zinc deficiency was positively associated with the prevalence of COVID-19 (SMD = 1.21, 95% CI 0.96–1.46, I2 = 54.3%) and selenium deficiency was also positively associated with the prevalence of it (SMD = 1.16, 95% CI 0.71–1.61, I2 = 58.3%). Currently, serum zinc and selenium deficiencies increase the incidence of COVID-19 and zinc deficiency exacerbates the disease; however, neither zinc nor selenium was associated with mortality in patients with COVID-19. Nevertheless, our conclusions may change when new clinical studies are published. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Characterizing the composition of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and peritumoral micro-environment may provide sensitive biomarkers. We aimed to predict the recurrence-free survival (RFS) of HCC (≤ 5 cm) with habitat imaging of HCC and its peritumoral micro-environment. Material and Methods: A total of 264 patients with HCC were included. Taking advantage of the enhancement ratio at the arterial and hepatobiliary phase of contrast-enhanced MRI, all HCCs and their peritumoral tissue of 3 mm and 4 mm were encoded with different habitats. Besides, the quantitative fraction of each habitat of HCC and peritumoral tissue were calculated. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression analysis was performed to select the prognostic factors. The nomogram-based predictor was established. Kaplan–Meier analysis was conducted to stratify the recurrence risk. Fivefold cross-validation was performed to determine the predictive performance with the concordance index (C-Index). Decision curve analysis was used to evaluate the net benefit. Results: Qualitatively, the spatial distribution of the habitats varied for different survival outcomes. Quantitatively, the fraction of habitat 3 in peritumoral tissue of 4 mm (f3-P4) was selected as independent risk factors (OR = 89.2, 95% CI = 14.5–549.2, p < 0.001) together with other two clinical variables. Integrating both clinical variables and f3-P4, a nomogram was constructed and showed high predictive efficacy (C-Index: 0.735, 95% CI 0.617–0.854) and extra net benefit according to the decision curve. Furthermore, patients with low f3-P4 or risk score given by nomogram have far longer RFS than those with high f3-P4 or risk score (stratification by f3-P4: 131.9 vs 55.0 months and stratification by risk score:131.9 vs 34.1 months). Conclusion: Habitat imaging of HCC and peritumoral microenvironment can be used for effectively and non-invasively estimating the RFS, which holds potential in guiding clinical management and decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understory vegetation is a vital part of urban forests and provides a habitat for the sustainability of plant and animal biodiversity. Understory vegetation in urban forests is highly sensitive to anthropogenic stress and thus more prone to plant invasions. However, the influencing factors and invasion mechanisms of nonnative species (nonnatives) in the understory layers of urban forests remain poorly understood. Here, we studied the understory community structure and composition in 75 plots across 16 urban forests in Shanghai, China. We employed the random forest model, structural equation models and phylogenetic methods to explore the factors contributing to invasion success and impact of nonnatives, and also examined the phylogenetic distance and trait difference between native and nonnatives. We found that 19.4% of the species were nonnatives and Erigeron philadelphicus Willd. was the most frequent species, occurring in 33.5% of the plots. Socio-economic variables (gross domestic product, population, and distance from the city center), the understory cover of native species, and overstory canopy cover were the primary factors driving the invasion success and impact of nonnatives. The variation of the nearest phylogenetic distance between native and nonnative species indicated that both anthropogenic stress and light availability affect understory invasion success, but with different mechanisms. Specifically, an increase in light availability reduces the competition for light and provides invasion opportunities for nonnatives that are phylogenetically close to natives, while more habitat types created by human activities provide more invasion opportunities for species with distant phylogenetic relationships with the native species. We believe that these findings have important implications in the management and control of understory invasions in urban forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A floating-slab track (FST) increases the interior noise and reduces the passenger's acoustic comfort. A study combining experimental measurement and numerical simulation was conducted to reveal the characteristics of internal structure-borne noise on different tracks and improve riding comfort. A field measurement was taken to analyze the essential interior noise characteristics on different tracks with different speeds. A noise prediction model was built by combining a vehicle-track coupling model, the structural finite element method and the acoustic boundary element method to predict the interior noise and study the panel contribution for noise control. The results show that the sound pressure level (SPL) of FST is 5 – 10 dB higher than the ordinary monolithic track (OMT). The curve section is 1 – 4 dB larger than the straight section. In the range of 90 – 110 Hz and 135 – 150 Hz, the SPL of FST condition is higher than that of OMT condition, with a maximum difference of 12 dB. And the SPLs at five ISO positions all have peaks at 30 Hz and 90 Hz frequencies, and the sound pressure fluctuates wildly at 100 Hz. The vibration at 90 Hz is relatively violent, which leads to more significant noise, but at 110 Hz, that is small. At different frequencies, the contribution of the panels to the sound pressure in the carriage is different, and the acoustic contribution of these panels may be the opposite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the significance of the predominant component of combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma (cHCC-CC) in terms of MRI manifestation and its potential prognostic value compared to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). Materials and methods: A total of 300 patients with chronic liver disease from two centers were retrospectively enrolled, including 100 surgically proven cases of cHCC-CC, HCC, and ICC each. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed to identify independent predictors for distinguishing HCC-predominant cHCC-CC and ICC-predominant cHCC-CC from HCC and ICC, respectively. Diagnostic models were constructed based on the independent features. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) was estimated and compared between groups. Results: The predominant component was an independent predictor for RFS in cHCC-CC (hazard ratio = 1.957, P = 0.044). The presence of targetoid appearance (odds ratio(OR) = 10.907, P = 0.001), lack of enhancing capsule (OR = 0.072, P = 0.001) and arterial peritumoral enhancement (OR = 0.091, P = 0.003) were independent predictors suggestive of HCC-predominant cHCC-CC over HCC; their combination yielded an area under the curve of 0.756. No significant differences were observed in RFS between HCC-predominant cHCC-CC and HCC (P = 0.864). Male gender (OR = 4.049, P = 0.015), higher alpha fetoprotein (OR = 16.789, P < 0.001) and normal carbohydrate antigen 19–9 (OR = 0.343, P = 0.036) levels, presence of enhancing capsule (OR = 7.819, P < 0.001) and hemorrhage (OR = 23.526, P = 0.004), and lack of targetoid appearance (OR = 0.129, P = 0.005) and liver surface retraction (OR = 0.190, P = 0.021) were independent predictors suggestive of ICC-predominant cHCC-CC over ICC; their combination yielded an area under the curve value of 0.898. ICC-predominant cHCC-CC exhibited poorer survival with shorter RFS than ICC (P = 0.009). Conclusion: The predominant histopathological component is closely related to the imaging manifestation of cHCC-CC; and more importantly, it plays a significant prognostic role, which may alter the RFS prognosis of cHCC-CC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamic regulation of supramolecular chirality in non-equilibrium systems can provide valuable insights into molecular self-assembly in living systems. Herein, we demonstrate the use of chemical fuels for regulating self-assembly pathway, which thereby controls the supramolecular chirality of assembly in non-equilibrium systems. Depending on the nature of different fuel acids, the system shows pathway-dependent non-equilibrium self-assembly, resulting in either dynamic self-assembly with transient supramolecular chirality or kinetically trapped self-assembly with inverse supramolecular chirality. More importantly, successive conducting of chemical-fueled process and thermal annealing process allows for the sequential programmability of the supramolecular chirality between four different chiral hydrogels, affording a new example of a multistate supramolecular chiroptical switch that can be recycled multiple times. The current finding sheds new light on the design of future supramolecular chiral materials, offering access to alternative self-assembly pathways and kinetically controlled non-equilibrium states. The dynamic regulation of supramolecular chirality in non-equilibrium systems can provide valuable insights into molecular self-assembly in living systems. Here, the authors demonstrate the use of chemical fuels for regulating self-assembly pathway, which thereby controls the supramolecular chirality of a non-equilibrium assembled system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study sought to determine the diagnostic performance of magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) for pancreatic solid masses, compared with diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and serum CA19-9, to establish a threshold for differentiating between pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and benign tumors in pancreas. Materials and methods: Between July 2021 to January 2023, 75 adult patients confirmed with pancreatic solid tumors were enrolled in this prospective and consecutive study. All patients underwent MRE and DWI examinations that were both performed with a spin echo-EPI sequence. Stiffness maps and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps were generated, with MRE-derived mass stiffness and stiffness ratio (computing as the ratio of mass stiffness to the parenchyma stiffness) and DWI-derived ADC values obtained by placing regions of interest over the focal tumors on stiffness and ADC maps. Further analysis of comparing diagnostic performances was assessed by calculating the area under ROC curves. Results: PDAC had significantly higher tumor stiffness [3.795 (2.879–4.438) kPa vs. 2.359 (2.01–3.507) kPa, P = 0.0003], stiffness ratio [1.939 (1.562–2.511) vs. 1.187 (1.031–1.453), P < 0.0001] and serum CA19-9 level [276 (31.73–1055) vs. 10.45 (7.825–14.15), P < 0.0001] than other pancreatic masses. Mass stiffness, stiffness ratio and serum CA19-9 showed good diagnostic performance for differentiation with AUC of 0.7895, 0.8392 and 0.9136 respectively. The sensitivity/specificity/positive predictive value/negative predictive value for differentiating malignant from benign pancreatic tumors with mass stiffness (cutoff, > 2.8211 kPa) and stiffness ratio (cutoff, > 1.5117) were 78.4/66.7/82.9/60% and 77.8/83.3/90.3/65.2% respectively. The combined performance of Mass stiffness, stiffness ratio and serum CA19-9 got an AUC of 0.9758. Conclusion: MRE holds excellent clinical potential in discriminating pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma from other pancreatic solid masses according to their mechanical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The red imported fire ant (RIFA), Solenopsis invicta Buren (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), is an invasive species that is considered to be among the 100 most dangerous species to human health and the environment. RIFA is currently controlled primarily by chemical insecticides. However, human health concerns and environmental problems require environment friendly, green insect pest control technology. In this study, the HS-SPME–GC/MS method was used to determine the volatile components of six essential oils, namely Illicium verum Burm, Blumea balsamifera (L.) DC., Citrus limon Burm, Acorus tatarinowii Schott, Mosla chinensis Maxim, and Cinnamomum cassia Presl, as well as their fumigation activity against RIFA. D-Limonene was identified as a core volatile in all six essential oils. The effects of volatile substances from essential oils on the fumigation activity and behavior of RIFA workers were studied by closed fumigation method. Except for C. limon essential oil, all other five plant essential oils exhibit excellent fumigation activity under the treatment of a concentration at 10 μL/ cm3 within 24 h. All plant essential oils are capable of causing the death of all red fire ants, while C. limon essential oil exhibited the lowest fumigation activity at 63.25%. Significant reductions in RIFA aggregation, aggressiveness, and gripping abilities were observed with all plant essential oils, and antenna sensilla appeared to bend or break. Moreover, after treating red ant fire ants with essential oil for 24 h, three protective enzyme activities were assessed. All six plant essential oils were shown to have enhanced enzyme activities for superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione S-transferase (GST), and catalase (CAT). It has been shown that plant essential oils have the capability of reducing the viability of red fire ants via receptor and behavioral factors, ultimately causing them to die off. As a conclusion, plant oils were demonstrated to be negatively affecting RIFA and providing a green and environmentally sustainable control method in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-frequency interior noise tends to tire passengers and affect their health, the wheel/rail vibration and rolling noise are crucial noise sources. For a metro vehicle, the wheel/rail vibration transmits to the car body through the primary and secondary suspensions, causes the car floor vibration, the wheel/rail rolling noise transmits to carriage. An original study tries to predict low-frequency interior noise and reveal the acoustic law of panel contribution and improve ride comfort combining a wheel/rail rolling noise model, a rigid-flexible vehicle-track coupled dynamic model and detailed car body structural/acoustic finite element models. The results show that, based on the acoustic transfer vector method, the critical element contribution areas to the low-frequency noise were found; after removing the impact of critical elements, the sound pressure level peak at 80 Hz and 110–200 Hz decreased. The thickness increase can improve sound insulation level, but change the lower natural frequency, improve the structure's stiffness, suppress the amplitude of the transfer function. Based on element contribution analysis, the damping optimization method shows that the global SPL peak decreases by 4.3, 6.4, 7.8, 1.8, 3.5, and 5.2 dB (A,) respectively, from position 1 to 6. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bi3+-doped δ-MnO2 materials (BMX, X = 5, 10, 15) with long cycle life were obtained by an in situ electrochemical reaction using δ-MnO2 and Bi2O3 mixture as raw materials. According to the material characterization and electrochemical performance test, it indicates that the bismuth is evenly incorporated into δ-MnO2. Among these obtained materials, BM10 exhibits the best performance. The specific capacity of the BM10 cathode is maintained at 108 mAh g−1 after 5000 cycles at a current density of 3 A g−1 and remains at 70 mAh g−1 after 9000 cycles without attenuation at a high current density of 10 A g−1. The Bi3+ modification mechanism is also revealed by the electrochemical kinetic and chemical analyses, which can effectively stabilize the layered structure of δ-MnO2, increase the diffusion rate of Zn2+ and H+, and inhibit the dissolution of Mn2+ formed by the disproportionation reaction of Mn3+. The preparation process of manganese-based materials with excellent performance is easy to handle and has large-scale production and application prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the clinical efficacy of antibiotic bone cement–coated implants compared with external fixations for treating infected bone defects. Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 119 patients with infected bone defects in our hospital from January 2010 to June 2021, of which 56 were treated with antibiotic bone cement–coated implants and 63 were with external fixation. Results: The pre-operative and post-operative haematological indexes were tested to assess the infection control; the post-operative CRP level in the internal fixation group was lower than that in the external fixation group. No statistical significance was found in the rate of infection recurrence, loosening and rupture of the fixation, and amputation between the two groups. Twelve patients in the external fixation group had pin tract infection. In the evaluation of the Paley score scale, bone healing aspect revealed no significant difference between the two groups, while in the limb function aspect, antibiotic cement–coated implant group showed a much better score than the external fixation group (P = 0.002). The anxiety evaluation scale result also showed lower score in the antibiotic cement implant group (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Compared with external fixation, antibiotic bone cement–coated implant had the same effect on controlling infection and was more effective in recovering limb function and mental health in the first-stage treatment of infected bone defects after debridement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep learning has shown remarkable performance in quantity of vision tasks. However, its large network generally requires quantity of samples to support sufficient parameters learning during training process. Such high request greatly reduces efficiency when applying on a small dataset with few samples. To alleviate this problem, we propose a novel data enhancement method for few-shot learning via a cutout approach and feature enhancement. After enhancement, the generated network not only produces distinguish feature map without collecting more samples, but also achieves advantage of feature representation with high efficiency for computing. Specifically, cutout approach is simple yet highly effective for image regulation, which enhances input image matrix by adding a fixed mask to improve robustness and overall performance of network. Afterward, we perform feature enhancement by proposing a feature promotion module, which uses characteristics of dilated convolution and sequential processing to improve feature representation ability, thus improving efficiency of the whole network. We conduct comparative experiments on both miniImageNet and CUB datasets, where the proposed method is superior to comparative methods in both 1-shot and 5-shot cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Incidence and mortality of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) have been increasing over the past few decades, and Ki67 is an adverse prognostic predictor and an attractive therapeutic target for ICC patients. Thus, we aim to develop and validate a combined Ki67 prediction model for ICC patients. Materials and methods: Preoperative contrast-enhanced MR images were collected from 178 patients with postoperative pathologically confirmed ICC, and randomly divided into training and validation cohorts in a ratio of 7:3 (124:54). A time-independent test cohort of 49 ICC patients was used for validation. Independent clinicoradiological features of Ki67 status were determined by multivariate analysis. Optimal radiomics features were selected by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator logistic regression and linear discriminant analysis was used to construct combined models. The prediction efficacy of combined model was assessed by receiver operating characteristics curve, and verified by its calibration, decision and clinical impact curves. Results: HBV (p = 0.022), arterial rim enhancement (p = 0.006) and enhancement pattern (p = 0.012) are independent clinicoradiological features. The radiomics model achieves good prediction efficacy in the training cohort (AUC = 0.860) and validation cohort (AUC = 0.843). The combined Ki67 prediction model incorporates clinicoradiological and radiomics features, and it yields desirable predictive efficiency in test cohort (AUC = 0.815). Decision curves and clinical impact curves further validate that the combined Ki67 prediction model can achieve net benefits in clinical work. Conclusion: The combined Ki67 model incorporating HBV, arterial rim enhancement, enhancement pattern and radiomics features is a potential biomarker in Ki67 prediction and stratification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To explore the potential value of diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) for identification of cytokeratin 19 (CK19) status of HCCs. Methods: This study was approved by the local institute review board and written informed consent was obtained. 73 patients with pathologically confirmed HCCs were included in this prospective study. All the diffusion-weighted (DW) images were acquired using a 3.0-T MR scanner with 4 b-values (0, 800, 1500 and 2000 s/mm2). The mean diffusion value (MD) and mean kurtosis coefficient (MK) from DKI, apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) from DW imaging (b = 0, 500 s/mm2), and tumor-to-liver signal intensity ratios on ADC map (SIRADC) and DW images with b-value of 500 s/mm2 (SIRb500) were calculated and compared between CK19-positive (n = 23) and CK19-negative (n = 50) HCC groups. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify risk factors for the positive expression of CK19. Results: Increased a-fetoprotein level (p = 0.021) and SIRb500 (p = 0.006) and decreased ADC (p = 0.021) and MD (p < 0.001) were significantly correlated with CK19-positive HCCs at univariate analysis. Decreased MD value (odds ratio: 0.042, p = 0.002) and a-fetoprotein level (odds ratio: 5.139, p = 0.015) were the independent risk factors for CK19-positive HCCs at multivariate analysis. The area under the curve of MD value by receiver operating characteristic analysis was 0.823 with a sensitivity of 86.96% and a specificity of 76% for the prediction of CK19-positive HCCs. Conclusion: The decreased MD value derived from DKI is potential quantitative biomarker for predicting CK19-positive HCCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, A new composite material composed of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and waterborne polyurethane (WPU) was prepared. The thermal stability and mechanical properties of composites were studied. Compared with composites with CNCs without acylation treatment, the composites with modified CNCs by acylation reagents exhibited better thermal stability and mechanical properties. In addition, CNCs modified by butyric anhydride in composites demonstrated excellent mechanical properties. When 1.00% of CNCs modified by butyric anhydride were added to WPU, the fracture stress of the resulting composite material reached 52.15 MPa, which was 1262% higher than that of WPU (3.81 MPa), and 157% higher than that of the composite 1% CNCs without acylation treatment (20.31 MPa). This preparation of CNCs-WPU composites with better performance on thermal and mechanical properties provides guidelines for further improving the application of WPU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) had potential application in self-powered systems for wearable thermoelectric devices due to their light weight, flexibility, and high conductivity, how to improve their thermoelectric properties was still a great challenge. In this study, to improve the thermoelectric properties, aniline tetramer (ANIT) has been assembled on the surface of SWCNTs via π-π interaction to form ANIT/SWCNT films. The thermoelectric properties had been optimized via tuning the microstructure of ANIT/SWCNT. When the SWCNTs were coated by ANIT layer with several nanometer thicknesses, the carrier concentration and carrier mobility was optimized and matched to high thermoelectric properties. Compared to pure SWCNTs, the Seebeck coefficient of ANIT/SWCNT was increased greatly, and the electrical conductivity hardly changed. A maximum power factor of 98.7 μW·m−1·K−2 at 298 K was obtained for the ANIT/SWCNT (10:100), showing a 68% increase compared to pure SWCNTs. Therefore, the doping of ANIT into SWCNT provided a new method for improving the thermoelectric properties of SWCNTs based materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Restriction spectrum imaging (RSI) is a novel diffusion MRI model that separates water diffusion into several microscopic compartments. The restricted compartment correlating to the tumor cellularity is expected to be a potential indicator of rectal cancer aggressiveness. Our aim was to assess the ability of RSI model for rectal tumor grading. Methods: Fifty-eight patients with different rectal cancer grading confirmed by biopsy were involved in this study. DWI acquisitions were performed using single-shot echo-planar imaging (SS-EPI) with multi-b-values at 3 T. We applied a three-compartment RSI model, along with ADC model and diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) model, to DWI images of 58 patients. ROC and AUC were used to compare the performance of the three models in differentiating the low grade (G1 + G2) and high grade (G3). Mean ± standard deviation, ANOVA, ROC analysis, and correlation analysis were used in this study. Results: The volume fraction of restricted compartment C1 from RSI was significantly correlated with grades (r = 0.403, P = 0.002). It showed significant difference between G1 and G3 (P = 0.008) and between G2 and G3 (P = 0.01). As for the low-grade and high-grade discrimination, significant difference was found in C1 (P < 0.001). The AUC of C1 for differentiation between low-grade and high-grade groups was 0.753 with a sensitivity of 72.0% and a specificity of 70.0%. Conclusion: The three-compartment RSI model was able to discriminate the rectal cancer of low and high grades. The results outperform the traditional ADC model and DKI model in rectal cancer grading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the research of two-dimensional layered transition metal dichalcogenides has made great progress due to their high potential in advanced electronic devices. In this work, H-phase VS2 atomic layers with different morphologies and stacking orders were successfully synthesized on sapphire via chemical vapor deposition. The H-phase VS2 shows semiconductor characteristic with its valence band maximum located ~ 0.25 eV below the Fermi level. Interlayer many-body interactions are strongly stacking-dependent, leading to distinguished intensity ratio between the breathing and shear modes, 2.99 ± 0.94 for AA, and 1.72 ± 0.26 for AB stacking. The intralayer S-V interaction (force constant: 2.80–3.54 × 1021 N/m3) is two orders of magnitude larger than the interlayer S–S interaction (force constant: 1.98–6.70 × 1019 N/m3). The shear modulus is further derived to be ~ 12.8 GPa, ~ 30% smaller than that of MoS2. The prepared VS2 film exhibits obvious magnetic behavior at room temperature with the attenuation distance of ~ 16–25 nm in out-of-plane direction. The morphology dependent magnetism and stability investigations indicate that the measured magnetic behaviors of the sample have a certain degree of extrinsic contributions, which may settle down some experimental controversies about the magnetic behaviors in this specific system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the increasing number of wireless terminals and progressively extensive interconnections among them, interaction between the attack group and defense group is becoming a dominant security manifestation in future wireless networks. This paper focuses on the modeling and analysis of multi-attacker to multi-defender interaction. First, considering the continuous interaction between the attack group and defense group in real-time, a differential game-based multi-attacker to multi-defender interaction model is explicated with paralysis threshold introduced to reduce the ping-pong effect in paralysis. Optimal control theory is then introduced to obtain the equilibrium strategy with Hamilton best control method and a proposed optimal strategy selection algorithm for multi-attacker to multi-defender interaction. Finally, simulations are provided to demonstrate the evolutionary trajectory of optimal attack and defensive strategies and the relationship between the paralysis threshold and the group strength evolution results. Numerical results show the attackers and defenders are aggressive to strengthen their groups initially and then gradually decrease their strength to obtain ideal cost-effectiveness ratios. Moreover, increasing the defense paralysis threshold within a certain range will be more conducive to improving the defense effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To ensure the ride quality of metro system in mountain cities, the characteristics of the wind-train-bridge system with high-piers are studied, and the corresponding safety threshold is calculated in this paper. The improved spatial gust model considering the wind speed-up effect in mountainous terrain and spatial correlation is established. The time series of the wind loads are input to the dynamic system. The finite element method is used to model the bridge and the track, the multi-rigid-body system connected with the suspension spring and the damper is used to model each vehicle in the train. The whole process of the metro train running on the three-span high-pier viaduct is simulated. The study shows that both amplitude and frequency components of fluctuating wind have greater influence than the average wind, which can make the calculation result tend to be conservative and more conducive to analyze the vehicle running performance. Due to the comprehensive effect of the correlation of gust in spatial distribution, different vehicle parameters and aerodynamic coefficient differences, the response of each vehicle is different. The windward side of the high-pier bridge is the conservative calculation condition to evaluate the running performance. The wind barrier weakens the wind resistance of the bridge, but greatly improves the wind environment for the train. Metro train is less sensitive to increased wind speed with the wind barrier, but exceeds the limit under the same condition without any measures. When wind speed reaches 30 and 32 m/s, the ride comfort and running safety cannot be guaranteed respectively. The corresponding value for with single-side and bilateral barrier are 0.063 g and 0.061 g, decrease by 37% and 39% than that without barrier, and the value with two barriers are 0.216 and 0.211, decrease by 73% and 74%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to satisfy the increasing demand for the marine forecasting capacity, the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea Operational Oceanography Forecasting System (BYEOFS) has been upgraded and improved to Version 2.0. Based on the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS), a series of comparative experiments were conducted during the improvement process, including correcting topography, changing sea surface atmospheric forcing mode, adjusting open boundary conditions, and considering atmospheric pressure correction. (1) After the topography correction, the volume transport and meridional velocity maximum of Yellow Sea Warm Current increase obviously and the unreasonable bending of its axis around 36.1°N, 123.5°E disappears. (2) After the change of sea surface forcing mode, an effective negative feedback mechanism is formed between predicted sea surface temperature (SST) by the ocean model and sea surface radiation fluxes fields. The simulation errors of SST decreased significantly, and the annual average of root-mean-square error (RMSE) decreased by about 18%. (3) The change of the eastern lateral boundary condition of baroclinic velocity from mixed Radiation-Nudging to Clamped makes the unreasonable westward current in Tsushima Strait disappear. (4) The adding of mean sea level pressure correction option which forms the mean sea level gradient from the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea to the western Pacific in winter and autumn is helpful to increasing the fluctuation of SLA and outflow of the Yellow Sea when the cold high air pressure system controls the Yellow Sea area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grasping unfamiliar objects (unknown during training) based on limited prior knowledge is a challenging task in robotic manipulation. Recent solutions typically require predefined information of target objects, task-specific training data, or a huge experience data with training time-consuming to achieve usable generalization ability. This paper introduces a robotic grasping strategy based on the model-free deep reinforcement learning, named Deep Reinforcement Grasp Policy. The developed system demands minimal training time and limited simple objects in simulation and generalizes efficiently on novel objects in real-world scenario. Without requiring any type of prior object awareness or task-specific training data. Our scalable visual grasping system is entirely self-learning approach. The model trains end-to-end policies (from only visual observations to decisions-making) to seek optimal grasp strategy. A perception network utilizes a convolutional neural network that maps visual observations to grasp action as dense pixel-wise Q-values represent the location and orientation of a primitive action executed by a robot. In simulation and physical experiments, a six-DOF robot manipulator with a two-finger gripper is utilized to validate the developed method. The empirical results demonstrated successfully based only on minimal previous knowledge of a few hours of simulated training and simple objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Initial non-operative management of children with complicated appendicitis has been well studied but when comparing emergency procedures the long-term effectiveness of interval appendectomy remains undefined. This study aimed to determine the effects of interval appendectomy from the perspective of long-term follow-up. Methods: A retrospective review of patients with complicated appendicitis between 2010 and 2017 was performed. The medical records of 471 patients with initial non-operative therapy and 377 patients treated with emergency appendectomy who served as controls were reviewed. Propensity score matching was performed to adjust for any potential selection bias in the two strategies. A comparison of the clinical outcomes, including short- and long-term postoperative complications, was conducted in the 348 matched patients. Results: On presentation, there were no differences in age, weight, sex distribution, white blood cell (WBC), or procalcitonin (PCT) between the two groups, except for days of symptoms. The patients undergoing emergency appendectomy had a high American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) score (p = 0.002). The patients who underwent initial non-operative therapy had a lower complication rate, including surgical wound infection [odds ratio (OR), 3.77; 95% CI 2.59–5.50; p < 0.001) and postoperative peritonitis or abscess (OR, 3.81; 95% CI 1.79–8.12; p < 0.001) than those who underwent emergency appendectomy. Furthermore, the incidence of adhesive small bowel obstruction (ASBO) was lower in patients who underwent initial non-operative therapy than in patients who underwent emergency appendectomy (OR, 4.6; 95% CI 0.99–21.41; p = 0.032). Conclusions: Initial non-operative therapy with interval appendectomy was feasible for most patients with appendiceal abscesses and had advantages in terms of postoperative complications, especially regarding long-term obstruction events. Therefore, initial non-operative therapy with interval appendectomy should be considered the first treatment of choice for pediatric patients with complicated appendicitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microlandform classification of grid digital elevation models (DEMs) is the foundation of digital landform refinement applications. To solve the shortcomings of the traditional regular grid DEM microlandform classification method, including low automation and incomplete classification results, a support vector machine (SVM) classifier was designed for grid DEM microlandform classification, and an automatic grid-based DEM microlandform classification method based on the SVM method was created. The experiment applies the SVM-based grid DEM microlandform classification method to identify different hill positions, namely, the summit, shoulder, back-slope, foot-slope, toe-slope, and alluvium. The results show that this method is most efficient in identifying the toe-slope, with an accuracy rate of 99.60%, and least efficient in identifying the foot-slope, with an accuracy rate of 98.18%. The kappa coefficient and model evaluation index F1-score verify that the method and model are reliable when applied to grid DEM microlandform classification problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The importance of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) has been identified in human cancers, such as emerged as tumor facilitator or tumor suppressor. Small nucleolar RNA host gene 10 (SNHG10) has been reported as an oncogenic lncRNA in hepatocellular carcinoma. However, its functional role and underlying mechanism in gastric cancer (GC) need to be further explored. Aims: Our study was conducted to investigate the function and molecular mechanism of SNHG10 in GC. Methods: SNHG10 expression was detected by qRT-PCR. The effect of SNHG10 on GC cell growth was assessed by colony formation, EdU, JC-1, flow cytometry, and wound-healing assays. The interaction between SNHG10 and PBX3 was confirmed through ChIP and luciferase reporter assay. RIP and RNA pull down assays was used to define the binding of DEAD-box helicase 54 (DDX54) to SNHG10 or PBX homeobox 3 (PBX3). Results: SNHG10 was expressed at a high level in GC cells. SNHG10 knockdown resulted in the inhibition on GC cell proliferation, migration but induced cell apoptosis. PBX3 could interact with SNHG10 promoter and thereby activate the expression of SNHG10. Subsequently, it was confirmed that SNHG10 positively modulated the expression of PBX3. Based on this, we found that DDX54 could bind to SNHG10 and PBX3, suggesting that SNHG10 maintained PBX3 mRNA stability through recruiting DDX54. Restoration assays indicated that PBX3 overexpression recovered SNHG10 silencing-induced inhibition on GC cell growth. Conclusions: SNHG10 facilitates cell growth by affecting DDX54-mediated PBX3 mRNA stability in GC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]