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The advent and progression of AR (augmented reality) technology, coupled with the emergence of AR hearing aid glasses, offer a novel opportunity for people with hearing impairments (PHI). This study aims to explore the intention of this population to employ AR hearing aid glasses as their choice of hearing aid device and the specific factors influencing their preference. This study utilized the partial least squares SEM (PLS-SEM) analytical method to create structural equation model for intentions of PHI to use AR glasses as hearing aids. Data were gathered from on-site experiences across multiple locations; a total of 189 valid questionnaires from individuals with varying degrees of hearing disabilities were used for statistical analysis. According to the data analysis results, we discovered that functionality quality, perceived interaction speed, and perceived usability significantly influence communication effectiveness. Further, communication effectiveness positively influences confidence and societal perception, and the latter has a positive impact on information. Both of these factors positively influence behavioral intention. Based on these findings, this study offers design recommendations for AR hearing aid glasses to cater to the specific needs of PHI, aiming to enhance their quality of life. Furthermore, this study provides pivotal insights for the prospective growth of this emerging industry.

As an emerging game category, in-vehicle games have great development potential, but the factors influencing users’ acceptance and continuance intention of in-car games were still not determined. This study used the three perceived attributes of Diffusion of Innovations Theory, compatibility, complexity, and relative advantage, as basis and introduced perceived habits, fit, interaction quality, experience, play value, and continuous use intention to establish the users’ continuance intention model of in-vehicle games. The results of 305 valid questionnaires indicate that compatibility and play value have significant positive influence on continuance intention, of which fit shows stronger effect; perceived habits have significant influence on fit and interaction quality; both fit and quality have significant influence on experience; experience have significant influence on play value. The results of this study can provide reference for promotion design of in-vehicle games and important guidance for future development for in-vehicle game industry.

IntroductionStudents who use spherical video-based virtual reality (SVVR) teaching materials for learning are able to gain more self-regulated, explorative, and immersive experiences in a virtual environment. Using SVVR teaching materials in art courses can present diverse and unique teaching effects, while also leading to the emergence of students’ flow states.MethodsTherefore, through an art course teaching experiment, this study investigated 380 high school students and used structural equation modeling to analyze the antecedents and outcomes of students’ flow state in using SVVR teaching materials.ResultsThe results show that in using SVVR teaching materials in art courses, more attention should be paid to the control and telepresence in the antecedents of students’ flow state.DiscussionOnly when they obtain better flow experiences can they have higher perceived usefulness and satisfaction with the content of the art course, as well as stronger intentions to continue using it. These results can provide a reference for the development and use of SVVR teaching materials in high school art courses.

Colour is an important guideline for selection and consumption. It also draws attention to the designers, as some modern design styles require them to illustrate the taste of the product with a limited number of colours. In this case, a precise description of the taste-colour association is required. The present study explored the colour-taste crossmodal association of two tastes, crisp and dry, which are normally found in beers and are the preferred flavours of Chinese consumers. Experiments were carried out to determine the characteristics of the colours associated with the two tastes. And the strength of the tastes perceived from the colours with different hue angles was investigated. The results of this study reveal that the hue and chroma can both affect the perception of these tastes. Both tastes can be perceived from the same colour, but the strength of the taste can be varied from different hues.

Background: Three-dimensional facial soft tissue landmark prediction is an important tool in dentistry, for which several methods have been developed in recent years, including a deep learning algorithm which relies on converting 3D models into 2D maps, which results in the loss of information and precision. Methods: This study proposes a neural network architecture capable of directly predicting landmarks from a 3D facial soft tissue model. Firstly, the range of each organ is obtained by an object detection network. Secondly, the prediction networks obtain landmarks from the 3D models of different organs. Results: The mean error of this method in local experiments is 2.62±2.39, which is lower than that in other machine learning algorithms or geometric information algorithms. Additionally, over 72% of the mean error of test data falls within ±2.5 mm, and 100% falls within 3 mm. Moreover, this method can predict 32 landmarks, which is higher than any other machine learning-based algorithm. Conclusions: According to the results, the proposed method can precisely predict a large number of 3D facial soft tissue landmarks, which gives the feasibility of directly using 3D models for prediction.

Long-term monitoring data for super-long piles are scarce and valuable. This paper reports axial strain measurements of a cast-in-place large-diameter pile embedded 76.7 m into a “weathered trench” of granite in Nanshan District, Shenzhen, China, using BOFDA monitoring technology. An approach based on the load-transfer method to interpret data is proposed, in which the axial load at the pile head and the shear behavior at the pile–soil interface can be analyzed. Results show that these data can well reflect the increase in axial strain as the number of floors built increases, although there is deviation related to fiber cable bending due to the installation and compaction of concrete, and the complex loading condition at the pile head. Sensitivity analysis of parameters disclosed that the friction angle between the soil and the pile was approximately 10° for the cast-in-place pile monitored in this study, which is approximately one third of the interface friction angle, considering the slurry cake effect. The average axial force exerted on the pile head induced by building one floor ranged from 116.00 kN to 297.43 kN; this increased with the number of floors built and the total loads of the superstructure. This implies that the raft carried a large portion of the structural load during the early construction stage; piles gradually carried a major portion of the increased load due to continuous construction. The overall mobilized percentage of skin friction was approximately 40.8% when 40 floors were built, and the pile had the potential to carry more axial load.

A thermal plasma process at atmospheric pressure is an attractive method for continuous synthesis of graphene flakes. In this paper, a magnetically rotating arc plasma system is employed to investigate the effects of buffer gases on graphene flakes synthesis in a thermal plasma process. Carbon nanomaterials are prepared in Ar, He, Ar-H2, and Ar-N2 via propane decomposition, and the product characterization is performed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and the Brunauer−Emmett−Teller (BET) method. Results show that spherical particles, semi-graphitic particles, and graphene flakes coexist in products under an Ar atmosphere. Under an He atmosphere, all products are graphene flakes. Graphene flakes with fewer layers, higher crystallinity, and a larger BET surface area are prepared in Ar-H2 and Ar-N2. Preliminary analysis reveals that a high-energy environment and abundant H atoms can suppress the formation of curved or closed structures, which leads to the production of graphene flakes with high crystallinity. Furthermore, nitrogen-doped graphene flakes with 1−4 layers are successfully synthesized with the addition of N2, which indicates the thermal plasma process also has great potential for the synthesis of nitrogen-doped graphene flakes due to its continuous manner, cheap raw materials, and adjustable nitrogen-doped content.

While aging is associated with increased knowledge, it is also associated with decreased semantic integration. To investigate brain activation changes during semantic integration, a sample of forty-eight 25-75 year-old adults read sentences with high cloze (HC) and low cloze (LC) probability while functional magnetic resonance imaging was conducted. Significant age-related reduction of cloze effect (LC vs. HC) was found in several regions, especially the left middle frontal gyrus (MFG) and right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), which play an important role in semantic integration. Moreover, when accounting for global gray matter volume reduction, the age-cloze correlation in the left MFG and right IFG was absent. The results suggest that brain structural atrophy may disrupt brain response in aging brains, which then show less brain engagement in semantic integration.

Abstract Topological photonics provides a new degree of freedom to robustly control electromagnetic fields. To date, most of established topological states in photonics have been employed in Euclidean space. Motivated by unique properties of hyperbolic lattices, which are regular tessellations in non-Euclidean space with a constant negative curvature, the boundary-dominated hyperbolic topological states have been proposed. However, limited by highly crowded boundary resonators and complicated site couplings, the hyperbolic topological insulator has only been experimentally constructed in electric circuits. How to achieve hyperbolic photonic topological insulators is still an open question. Here, we report the experimental realization of hyperbolic photonic topological insulators using coupled ring resonators on silicon chips. Boundary-dominated one-way edge states with pseudospin-dependent propagation directions have been observed. Furthermore, the robustness of edge states in hyperbolic photonic topological insulators is also verified. Our findings have potential applications in the field of designing high-efficient topological photonic devices with enhanced boundary responses.

In this study, effects of four single factors which including slice thickness, frying temperature, frying time and deoilling time on the quality of persimmon chips under low-temperature vacuum frying were analyzed. According to the Box-Behnken test principle, the processing technology of persimmon chips under low-temperature vacuum frying was further optimized by taking crispness and chromatic aberration ΔE of persimmon chips as response values. Meanwhile, the physicochemical composition, microbiological index and microstructure of the final product were further researched. The results showed that all of frying temperature, frying time, deoiling time and slice thickness affected the crispness and chromatic aberration of persimmon chips, the optimal technology of vacuum frying persimmon chips at low temperature was determined by response surface optimization experiment and then actual correction were as follows: Deoiling time of 5 min, frying time of 50 min, frying temperature of 80 ℃ and thickness 5.5 mm. Under these conditions, the crispness, ΔE, water content, oil content, titrable acid and VC content of persimmon chips respective was 858.97 g, 17.28, 2.60%, 22.53%, 0.34 g/L and 31.20 mg/100 g. The persimmon chips were golden in color and complete in shape, and the inside of the chips presented a honeycomb-like porous and loose structure, the product had a crisp taste, and the microbial indicators met the health requirements. This research could provide technical support for the development of low-temperature vacuum frying persimmon chips.

Background: Acute liver injury (ALI) is a common side effect of cisplatin treatment in the clinic and can lead to liver failure if not treated promptly. Previous studies have revealed that Limonin, a critical bioactive substance in citrus fruits, can protect multiple organs from various medical conditions. However, whether Limonin could ameliorate cisplatin-induced ALI remains unclear. Methods: In vivo and in vitro models were induced by cisplatin in the present study. Non-targeted metabolomics was employed to analyze the metabolic changes in the liver after ALI. In addition, molecular docking was utilized to predict the potential targets of Limonin. Results: Limonin attenuated hepatic histopathological injury by reducing hepatocyte apoptosis, lipid peroxidation, and inflammation in cisplatin-challenged mice. Employing metabolomics, we revealed that Limonin mediated the balance of various disturbed metabolic pathways in the liver after cisplatin-induced ALI. Integrating public data mining, molecular docking studies, and in vitro experiments demonstrated that Limonin suppressed the expression and activity of its direct target, 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1), in the liver, thus reducing the production of corticosterone (CORT), a key metabolite promoted hepatocyte apoptosis. Conclusions: Limonin improves the liver metabolic microenvironment by inhibiting 11β-HSD1 to protect against cisplatin-induced ALI.

Click chemistry has been proven to be very useful in drug delivery. Due to the availability of a large number of click reactions with a various characteristics, selection of appropriate chemistry for a given application is often not a trivial task. This review is written for pharmaceutical researchers who are interested in click chemistry applications and yet may not be click chemistry experts. For this, the review gives an overview of available click reactions organized by application types. Further, the general understanding of click reactions being fast and high yielding sometimes overshadows the need to analyze reaction kinetics in assessing suitability of a given reaction for certain applications. For this, we highlight the need to analyze the relationship among reaction kinetics, concentration effects, and reaction time scales, knowing that lack of such analysis could easily lead to failures. Further, possible issues such as chemical stability with various click reagents are also discussed to aid experimental designs. Recent examples and extensive references are also provided to aid in-depth understanding of technical details. We hope this review will help those interested in using click chemistry in drug delivery to select the appropriate reactions/reagents and minimize the number of pitfalls.

In laser beam processing, the angle or offset between the auxiliary gas and the laser beam axis have been proved to be two new process optimization parameters for improving cutting speed and quality. However, a traditional electromechanical actuator cannot achieve high-speed and high-precision motion control with a compact structure. This paper proposes a magnetic levitation actuator which could realize the 5-DOF motion control of a lens using six groups of differential electromagnets. At first, the nonlinear characteristic of a magnetic driving force was analyzed by establishing an analytical model and finite element calculation. Then, the dynamic model of the magnetic levitation actuator was established using the Taylor series. And the mathematical relationship between the detected distance and five-degree-of-freedom was determined. Next, the centralized control system based on PID control was designed. Finally, a driving test was carried out to verify the five-degrees-of-freedom motion of the proposed electromagnetic levitation actuator. The results show it can achieve a stable levitation and precision positioning with a desired command motion. It also proves that the proposed magnetic levitation actuator has the potential application in an off-axis laser cutting machine tool.

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a known complication of cisplatin administration; currently, there are no effective ways to prevent it. Therefore, it largely limited the use of cisplatin in chemotherapy in the clinic. In this study, we reported that Limonin, a triterpenoid compound extracted from citrus, alleviated cisplatin-induced AKI through metabolic reprogramming in the diseased kidneys. Methods: Cisplatin was employed to induce AKI in mice. Three groups were set up: Sham, cisplatin + vehicle, and cisplatin + Limonin. Using UHPLC-TOF/MS, we conducted metabolomics to profile the kidneys' endogenous metabolites and metabolic pathways. A network pharmacological method was performed to identify the targets of Limonin on AKI. The human proximal tubular epithelial cell line (HK-2) was applied for in vitro studies. Results: Limonin preserved serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen levels after cisplatin-induced AKI. Employing metabolomics, we identified 33 endogenous differentially expressed metabolites and 7 significantly disturbed metabolic pathways in the diseased kidneys within three groups. After AKI, Limonin significantly reduced linoleic acid and its downstream product, arachidonic acid, thus exerting a protective effect on the kidney. The network pharmacological method identified CYP3A4 as a key target of Limonin in treating AKI, while CYP3A4 also serve as a mediator of arachidonic acid metabolism. In vitro, Limonin markedly reduced the level of arachidonic acid and HK-2 cell apoptosis triggered by cisplatin, mainly related to the targeted inhibition of CYP3A4-mediated arachidonic acid metabolism. Conclusion: Limonin ameliorates cisplatin-induced AKI by inhibiting CYP3A4 activity to regulate arachidonic acid metabolism, ultimately preserving kidney function.

Abstract We report acoustic impulse-response and system function of particle vibration inside viscous, dense solids and explain the physical mechanism of intrinsic-noise generation. With an external disturbance of a harmonic force acting on particles inside viscous solid media, the system of particle vibration goes through a gradual transition from a static state to a steady harmonic vibrational state. Based on the damped oscillator model, the transition frequency spectrum resembles the intrinsic noise generated by vibrating particles in viscous isotropic solids, which delivers a crucial understanding for applications to invert stratum characteristics around the drilled oil well and its abnormal geological structure.

Abstract Background Studies on surgical outcomes after robotic surgery are increasing; however, long-term oncological results of studies comparing robotic-assisted distal gastrectomy (RADG) versus laparoscopic-assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG) for advanced gastric cancer (AGC) are still limited. This study aimed to assess the surgical and oncological outcomes of RADG and LADG for the treatment of AGC. Methods A total of 1164 consecutive AGC patients undergoing RADG or LADG were enrolled between January 2015 and October 2021. Propensity score-matched (PSM) analysis was performed to minimize selection bias. The perioperative and oncological outcomes between the two groups were compared. Results Patient’s characteristics were comparable between the two groups after PSM. RADG group represented a longer operative time (205.2 ± 43.1 vs 185.3 ± 42.8 min, P

This study aimed to screen out polysaccharides with the ability to activate NK cells. Ten polysaccharides (OP) were isolated from orah mandarin (Citrus reticulata cv. Orah) peel using hot-water extraction combined with the alcohol precipitation method and the ultrafiltration-membrane separation method. After measuring the effects of 10 OPs on NK-92MI cell proliferation and cytotoxicity, it was found that the polysaccharide OP5 had the highest activity in vitro. OP5 can significantly promote the proliferation of and increase the gene expression of perforin, granzyme B and IFN-γ in NK-92MI cells. Its molecular weight was between 50 and 70 kDa. The identification results of monosaccharide composition indicated that OP5 was composed of arabinose (31.52%), galacturonic acid (22.35%), galactose (16.72%), glucose (15.95%), mannose (7.67%), rhamnose (2.39%), fucose (1.41%), xylose (1.30%), glucuronic acid (0.42%) and ribose (0.27%). The sugar ring of the β-configuration was the main, and that of the α-configuration was the auxiliary. These results would provide a foundation for the functional product development of OPs.

BackgroundThe transvaginal route for specimen extraction is considered ideal for colorectal surgery, but its safety is still questioned. There has been little research on transvaginal natural orifice specimen extraction surgery (NOSES) in the right hemicolectomy. As a result, we conducted a study comparing transvaginal NOSES to traditional transabdominal specimen extraction surgery.Patients and methodsData on female patients who underwent radical right hemicolectomy at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University between January 2015 and December 2020 were collected retrospectively. A total of 847 patients were compliant, with 51 undergoing the transvaginal specimen extraction surgery (NOSES) group and 796 undergoing the transabdominal specimen extraction surgery (TISES) group. A propensity score matching method (1:2) was used to balance the clinicopathological characteristics of the two groups.ResultsFinally, 138 patients were enrolled in our study, with 46 in the NOSES group and 92 in the TISES group. Compared to the TISES group, the NOSES group had less intraoperative blood loss (p = 0.036), shorter time to first flatus (p < 0.001), shorter time to first liquid diet (p < 0.001), lower postoperative white blood cell counts (p = 0.026), lower C-reactive protein levels (p = 0.027), and lower visual analog scale (VAS) scores (p < 0.001). Regarding the quality of life after surgery, the NOSES group had better role function (p < 0.01), emotional function (p < 0.001), and improved symptoms of postoperative pain (p < 0.001) and diarrhea (p = 0.024). The scar satisfaction was significantly higher in the NOSES group than in the TISES group. Overall survival and disease-free survival in two groups were similar.ConclusionThe short-term results of transvaginal NOSES were superior to conventional transabdominal specimen extraction surgery. At the same time, transvaginal NOSES could improve the abdominal wall appearance and quality of life. The long-term survival was similar in the two surgical approaches. Therefore, transvaginal NOSES is worthy of our implementation and promotion.

The effects of heat pump drying, microwave drying and vacuum freeze drying on the color, powder properties, amino acid components and volatile components in mulberry leaf powder were compared and analyzed. The results showed that L* and b*were the highest, while a* was the lowest of mulberry leaf powder dried by vacuum freeze drying. Wettability, water holding capacity and oil holding capacity of mulberry leaf powder dried by microwave drying were the worst, while solubility and bulk density were the strongest. Meanwhile wettability, hygroscopicity, water holding capacity and oil holding capacity of mulberry leaf powder dried by vacuum freeze drying were the highest , and the lowest bulk density. The content of total amino acids, essential amino acids and proportions of essential amino acids in microwave dried mulberry leaf powder were 11.68 mg/g, 3.40 mg/g and 29.11%. The contents and relative contents of sweet amino acids, aromatic amino acids and bitter amino acids in microwave drying were higher than others. Microwave drying and vacuum freeze drying were similar in the volatile components of mulberry leaf powder, with high content of alcohols and aldehydes. In conclusion, vacuum freeze dried mulberry leaf powder had better physical characteristics and volatile aroma components, while microwave drying was more suitable for industrial processing of mulberry leaf powder.

Abstract Background Urogenital dysfunction is recognized as a serious complication affecting patient quality of life after rectal cancer surgery to treat rectal cancer; however, the studies focus on the urogenital function after robot-assisted rectal cancer surgery compared to laparoscopic surgery are limited. Methods Male patients undergoing robotic total mesorectal excision (R-TME) or laparoscopic total mesorectal excision (L-TME) were prospectively enrolled. The International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and the five-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) scale were used to compare the urogenital function of the two groups preoperatively and 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively. Results Eighty-nine patients who planned to undergo R-TME and L-TME were prospectively enrolled; 77 patients of these patients (86.5%) completed all questionnaires at all time points and were thus included in the final analysis. Of the included patients, 38 underwent R-TME and 39 underwent L-TME. There was no significant difference in age, BMI, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, tumor location, neoadjuvant therapy, operation method, postoperative pathological results and adjuvant therapy between the two groups. Preoperative urogenital function was similar in both groups; however, the IPSS was significantly lower in R-TME patients than that in T-TME patients at 6 months and 12 months [(7.82 ± 2.25 vs. 9.95 ± 3.01, P = 0.006; 7.62 ± 2.5 vs. 9.12 ± 2.64, P = 0.012)]. IIEF-5 scores decreased 3 months after R-TME and L-TME surgery (14.87 ± 3.27 vs. 13.92 ± 3.62, p = 0.231) and then gradually increased; at 12 months, IIEF-5 scores were comparable to those at baseline in both groups. IIEF-5 scores were higher in R-TME patients than those in L-TME patients at 6 months (18.55 ± 3.45 vs. 16.75 ± 3.26, P = 0.021), but there was no significant difference between the two groups at 12 months (21.22 ± 3.06 vs. 19.95 ± 3.03, P = 0.071). Conclusions The robotic approach for TME was associated with more rapid restoration of male urogenital function than the laparoscopic approach.

Abstract This paper presents a study of bidirectional permanent magnet excited machine (BPMEM) based on the study of field-modulation permanent magnetic gear machine (FPGM). The BPMEM structure includes the installation of consequent-pole permanent magnets (PMs) on both the stator and rotor sides of the FPGM so that the stator and rotor can be bidirectionally excited to increase the working airgap flux density amplitude, reduce the flux leakage between poles, and increase the torque density. Therefore, the paper first analysis the influence of different airgap structures and PM arrangements on the airgap flux density and studies the winding slot–pole combination and the resulting working flux density harmonics to analyse the electromagnetic torque generation mechanism. By using the finite element analysis (FEA), the quantitative analysis and comparison of the FPGM, slot-wedge-less FPGM (SWL-FPGM), consequent-pole FPGM (CP-FPGM) and BPMEM verify the superiority of BPMEM in improving electromagnetic torque. In addition, the paper also studies the key performance of BPMEM’s overload capacity, power factor and flux-weakening capability. Finally, no-load and independent load experiments are carried out on the FPGM prototype to verify the correctness of the FEA model and analysis method of the machine in this paper.

BackgroundThe aim of the study was to develop and validate a nomogram for predicting cancer-specific survival (CSS) in lymph- node- positive rectal cancer patients after radical proctectomy.MethodsIn this study, we analyzed data collected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database between 2004 and 2015. In addition, in a 7:3 randomized design, all patients were split into two groups (development and validation cohorts). CSS predictors were selected via univariate and multivariate Cox regressions. The nomogram was constructed by analyzing univariate and multivariate predictors. The effectiveness of this nomogram was evaluated by concordance index (C-index), calibration plots, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Based on the total score of each patient in the development cohort in the nomogram, a risk stratification system was developed. In order to analyze the survival outcomes among different risk groups, Kaplan–Meier method was used.ResultsWe selected 4,310 lymph- node- positive rectal cancer patients after radical proctectomy, including a development cohort (70%, 3,017) and a validation cohort (30%, 1,293). The nomogram correlation C-index for the development cohort and the validation cohort was 0.702 (95% CI, 0.687–0.717) and 0.690 (95% CI, 0.665–0.715), respectively. The calibration curves for 3- and 5-year CSS showed great concordance. The 3- and 5-year areas under the curve (AUC) of ROC curves in the development cohort were 0.758 and 0.740, respectively, and 0.735 and 0.730 in the validation cohort, respectively. Following the establishment of the nomogram, we also established a risk stratification system. According to their nomogram total points, patients were divided into three risk groups. There were significant differences between the low-, intermediate-, and high-risk groups (p< 0.05).ConclusionsAs a result of our research, we developed a highly discriminatory and accurate nomogram and associated risk classification system to predict CSS in lymph-node- positive rectal cancer patients after radical proctectomy. This model can help predict the prognosis of patients with lymph- node- positive rectal cancer.

This paper is concerned with electric–acoustic/acoustic–electric conversions of thin-wafer piezoelectric transducers polarized in the thickness direction. By introducing two mechanical components with frequency-dependent values, i.e., radiation resistance and radiation mass, into the equivalent circuit of the thin-wafer piezoelectric transducer, we established a frequency-dependent dynamic mechanic-electric equivalent network with four terminals for an arbitrary given frequency, an enhancement from the conventional circuit networks. We derived the analytic expressions of its electric–acoustic and acoustic–electric conversion impulse responses using the four-terminal equivalent circuit to replace the traditional six-terminal equivalent circuit for a thin-wafer transducer with harmonic vibrational motion. For multifrequency electrical/acoustic signals acting on the transducer, we established parallel electric–acoustic/acoustic–electric conversion transmission networks. These two transmission network models have simple structures and clear physical and mathematical descriptions of thin-wafer transducers for electric–acoustic/acoustic–electric conversion when excited by a multifrequency electric/acoustic signal wavelet. The calculated results showed that the transducer’s center frequency shift relates to its mechanical load and vibration state. The method reported in this paper can be applied to conventional-sized and small-sized piezoelectric transducers with universal applicability.

Abstract Background Natural orifice specimen extraction surgery for colorectal cancer has been introduced in order to reduce the abdominal incision, demonstrating major development potential in minimally invasive surgery. We are conducting this randomized controlled trial to assess whether robotic NOSES is non-inferior to traditional robotic-assisted surgery for patients with colorectal cancer in terms of primary and secondary outcomes. Method/design Accordingly, a prospective, open-label, randomized controlled, parallel-group, multicenter, and non-inferiority trial will be conducted to discuss the safety and efficacy of robotic natural orifice extraction surgery compared to traditional robotic-assisted surgery. Here, 550 estimated participants will be enrolled to have 80% power to detect differences with a one-sided significance level of 0.025 in consideration of the non-inferiority margin of 10%. The primary outcome is the incidence of surgical complications, which will be classified using the Clavien-Dindo system. Discussion This trial is expected to reveal whether robotic NOSES is non-inferior to traditional robotic-assisted surgery, which is of great significance in regard to the development of robotic NOSES for patients with colorectal cancer in the minimally invasive era. Furthermore, robotic NOSES is expected to exhibit superiority to traditional robotic-assisted surgery in terms of both primary and secondary outcomes. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04230772 . Registered on January 15, 2020.

Multiple projects are often managed and run in a decentralized setting. In this paper, considering the uncertainty in project implementation, we study the distributed multi-project scheduling problem with uncertain duration. A multi-PR heuristic (MPR-H) is then proposed to dynamically coordinate the global resource conflicts while minimizing the expected total tardiness cost. Three priority rules based on current known information are also proposed and incorporated in our approach. We further consider the opportunistic behaviour of self-interested agents and design a payment negotiation process which is added to the MPR-H. In this paper, we then evaluate the performance of the MPR-H on the benchmark dataset MPSPLIB. The computational results confirm that MPR-H achieves significant improvements in comparison with several state-of-the-art distributed/centralized algorithms. The proposed algorithm also provides the senior manager with an efficient method to allocate global resources for large-size and strong conflicting instances under various activity duration distributions. Besides, we show that multi-projects with relative slack global resource constraints are more affected by the change of uncertainty. By analyzing the strategic behaviour of the agents in problems with two projects, we also show that in our MPR-H with payment negotiation approach, rational agents have to behave truthfully that is the dominant-strategy equilibrium leading to high-quality results.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is an essential signaling gas within the cell, and its endogenous levels are correlated with various health diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, Down’s syndrome, and cardiovascular disease. Because it plays such diverse biological functions, being able to detect H2S quickly and accurately in vivo is an area of heightened scientific interest. Using probes that fluoresce in the near-infrared (NIR) region is an effective and convenient method of detecting H2S. This approach allows for compounds of high sensitivity and selectivity to be developed while minimizing cytotoxicity. Herein, we report a review on the synthesis, mechanisms, optical properties, and selected biomedical applications of H2S sensors.

This study aimed to develop functional fruit wines using whole fruit, pulp, and peels from green bananas. The boiled banana homogenates were mixed with cane sugar before wine fermentation. Quality parameters, phenolic compounds, flavor components, and antioxidative properties of the green banana peel wine (GBPW), green banana pulp wine (GBMW), and whole banana wine (GBW) were determined. High-performance liquid chromatography was used to determine the phytochemical compounds in three wines, and the flavor components were further analyzed using headspace solid-phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The flavor components and in vitro antioxidant activities were, respectively, determined using the relative odor activity value and the orthogonal projections on latent structure discrimination analysis (OPLS-DA). In vitro antioxidative capacities for these wines were evaluated using antioxidant chemical assays and cell culture methods. The total phenolic and total tannin content of the GBPW, GBMW, and GBW showed reducing trends with increasing fermentation days, whereas the total flavonoid content of the wine samples exhibited downward trends. The antioxidant capacities of the three wine samples were higher than those of the raw fruit samples, except for the metal chelation rate (%). Additionally, the main flavor component in the wine samples was 3-methyl-1-butanol. Its percentages in the GBPW, GBMW, and GBW were 72.02%, 54.04%, and 76.49%, respectively. The OPLS-DA results indicated that the three wines presented significantly different antioxidant activities. The cell-culture-based antioxidant analysis showed that these wine samples had protective effects against the oxidative stress of the 3T3-L1 preadipocytes induced by hydrogen peroxide. This study provided a theoretical basis for defining the antioxidant characteristics of banana wines and expanding novel channels for using banana peels to develop nutraceuticals.

With the increase in demand of fruit wine year by year, it is necessary to develop novel fruit wine with high functional activities. Prunus salicina Lindl. (named as Niuxin plum) is a remarkable material for brewing fruit wine owing to its suitable sugar-acid ratio, characteristic aroma and bioactive compounds. This study intends to modify the fermentation technology, identify and quantify nutritional compositions and volatile profiles, as well as bioactive substances in Niuxin plum wine, as well as evaluate the antioxidant and hypoglycemic activities in vitro of major bioactive components from Niuxin plum wine. According to single-factor and orthogonal tests, the optimal fermentation conditions of 13.1% vol Niuxin plum wine should be Saccharomyces cerevisiae Lalvin EC1118 at 0.1% and a fermentation temperature of 20°C for 7 days. A total of 17 amino acids, 9 mineral elements, 4 vitamins, and 55 aromatic components were detected in plum wine. Polysaccharides from Niuxin plum wine (named as NPWPs) served as the major bioactive components. The NPWP with a molecular weight over 1,000 kDa (NPWP-10) demonstrated extraordinary DPPH free radical scavenging capacity and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity among all NPWPs having different molecular weight. Moreover, the structural characterization of NPWP-10 was also analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra studies. NPWP-10 was composed of mannose, rhamnose, arabinose, galactose and galacturonic acid with molar ratios of 2.570:1.775:1.045:1.037:1. NPWP-10 contained α-configuration as the main component and β-configuration as the auxiliary component. This study highlights NPWP-10 is an importantly biological polysaccharide from Niuxin plum wine, as well as provides a scientific basis for developing the plum wine industry.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Triptolide (TP), the primary biologically active ingredient of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F (TWHF), possesses the potential to solve the shortcomings of TWHF in treating diabetic kidney disease (DKD) in the clinic.Aim of the Study: We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of TP in treating DKD and offer solid evidence for further clinical applications of TP.Materials and Methods: Eight databases (CNKI, VIP, CBM, WanFang, PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Cochrane library) were electronically searched for eligible studies until October 17, 2020. We selected animal experimental studies using TP versus renin–angiotensin system inhibitors or nonfunctional liquids to treat DKD by following the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Two researchers independently extracted data from the included studies and assessed the risk of bias with the Systematic Review Centre for Laboratory Animal Experimentation Risk of Bias tool. Fixed-effects meta-analyses, subgroup analyses, and meta-regression were conducted using RevMan 5.3 software. Inplasy registration number: INPLASY2020100042.Results: Twenty-six studies were included. Meta-analysis showed that TP significantly reduced albuminuria (14 studies; standardized mean difference SMD: −1.44 [−1.65, −1.23], I2 = 87%), urine albumin/urine creatinine ratio (UACR) (8 studies; SMD: –5.03 [–5.74, −4.33], I2 = 84%), total proteinuria (4 studies; SMD: –3.12 [–3.75, −2.49], I2 = 0%), serum creatinine (18 studies; SMD: –0.30 [–0.49, −0.12], I2 = 76%), and blood urea nitrogen (12 studies; SMD: –0.40 [–0.60, −0.20], I2 value = 55%) in DKD animals, compared to the vehicle control. However, on comparing TP to the renin–angiotensin system (RAS) inhibitors in DKD treatment, there was no marked difference in ameliorating albuminuria (3 studies; SMD: –0.35 [–0.72, 0.02], I2 = 41%), serum creatinine (3 studies; SMD: –0.07 [–0.62, 0.48], I2 = 10%), and blood urea nitrogen (2 studies; SMD: –0.35 [–0.97, 0.28], I2 = 0%). Of note, TP exhibited higher capacities in reducing UACR (2 studies; SMD: –0.66 [–1.31, −0.01], I2 = 0%) and total proteinuria (2 studies; SMD: –1.18 [–1.86, −2049], I2 = 0%). Meta-regression implicated that the efficacy of TP in reducing DKD albuminuria was associated with applied dosages. In addition, publication bias has not been detected on attenuating albuminuria between TP and RAS inhibitors after the diagnosis of DKD.Systematic Review Registration:https://clinicaltrials.gov/, identifier INPLASY2020100042

Banana fruit is a widely cultivated and economically important crop, and it is susceptible to mechanical damage. The effects of three different phospholipase D inhibitors (0.1% n-butanol, 0.05% 2-butanol, and 0.1% hexanal) on the cell membrane integrity and membrane lipid metabolism in wounding banana fruits during storage were investigated. The results indicated that wounded banana treated with phospholipase D inhibitors showed significant (p < 0.05) delay in the ripening and senescence process than the control group after a 9-day storage. Of the three PLD inhibitors, hexanal showed the best effect in maintaining firmness, suppressing the increase of total soluble solids (TSS) and respiration rate, and reducing malondialdehyde (MDA) content and cell membrane permeability of wounded banana fruits. Furthermore, hexanal more efficiently decreased the phospholipase D (PLD) and lipoxygenase (LOX) activities, lowered the contents of phosphatidic acid (PA) and diacylglycerol (DAG), and inhibited the reduction of phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylinositol (PI) after 6 days of storage, compared to n-butanol or 2-butanol. These results demonstrate that application of hexanal treatment may be a reliable method to delay the senescence of harvested bananas subjected to mechanical wounding.

Abstract Purpose By comparing short- and long-term outcomes following totally robotic radical distal gastrectomy (TRDG) and robotic-assisted radical distal gastrectomy (RADG), we aimed to assess in which modus operandi patients will benefit more. Methods From January 2015 to May 2019, we included 332 patients undergone RADG (237) and TRDG (95). Based on the propensity score matching (PSM), inclusion and exclusion criteria, 246 patients were finally included in the propensity score-matched cohort including RADG group (164) and TRDG group (82). We then compared the short- and long-term outcomes following both groups. Results Propensity score-matched cohort revealed no significant differences in both groups. Intra-abdominal bleeding, time to pass flatus, postoperative activity time, length of incision hospital stays, and stress response were significantly less in TRDG group than in RADG group. We observed 30 complications in RADG group while 13 complications in TRDG group. There were no significant differences in TRDG group and RADG group in terms of operation time, time for anastomosis, proximal resection, distal resection margin, number of lymph node resection, and total hospitalization cost. Both 3-year overall survival and 3-year disease-free survival were comparable in both groups. Conclusions TRDG is a safe and feasible modus operandi profiting from short- and long-term outcomes compared with RADG. As surgeons improving their professional skills, TRDG could serve as the standard procedure for distal locally advanced gastric cancer with D2 lymphadenectomy.

Phospholipase D (PLD) in plants plays an important role in growth, development, and stress response. The effect of hexanal on PLD in banana fruit responding to Colletotrichum musae infection remains poorly understood. In this study, four putative PLD genes, named as MaPLD1, MaPLD2, MaPLD3, and MaPLD4 were identified from banana fruit. The four MaPLDs can be classified into three of the seven known PLD families according to sequence characterization. Their deduced amino acid sequences displayed homology of PLDs from other plant species. Furthermore, the specific expression analysis of PLD genes in banana fruit in response to infection in C. musae was studied and the response relationship between PLD family members and banana fruit under anthracnose stress was clarified. Changes in both the activity of PLD and PLC, and the connection between hexanal and phospholipases in the banana fruit C. musae infection were compared. The results showed that the incidence of disease in banana inoculated with C. musae was dramatically increased after 6 days of storage, the activation of PLD and PLC in infected anthracnose fruit before disease development, and that this activation was inhibited by hexanal treatment, which suggested that both enzymes play a protective role in banana fruit to cope with C. musae infection and the participation of hexanal in their regulation. Of the four MaPLD genes, the anthracnose had a stronger effect on MaPLD1 and MaPLD4. These data demonstrated that hexanal treatment could enhance fruit disease resistance to C. musae, and that PLD could take part in the disease defensive system of harvested banana fruit to C. musae by modulating the metabolism of cell membrane lipids, and thus suppress disease development in C. musae -inoculated banana during storage.

Gastric cancer is the most commonly occurring cancer with a rapidly increasing incidence rate worldwide. The underlying molecular mechanisms of gastric cancer require further investigation. MicroRNAs exhibit tissue sensitivity as tumor biomarkers that play a role by promoting tumor growth as oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes. We evaluated the effects of microRNA-12129 on gastric cancer and identified the underlying mechanisms of microRNA-12129. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was conducted to determine the expression levels of microRNA-12129 and sirtuin 1 in vivo and in vitro , and Western blot analysis was performed to detect sirtuin 1 at the protein level in gastric cancer cell lines. Cell proliferation and cell cycle progression were detected by Cell Counting Kit-8 assay and flow cytometry analysis, respectively. The potential targets of microRNA-12129 were predicted by bioinformatics analysis. The targets of microRNA-12129 were confirmed by luciferase reporter assay and rescue assay. We found that microRNA-12129 was downregulated in gastric cancer tissues and gastric cancer cell lines and was significantly associated with the prognosis of patients with gastric cancer. In addition, microRNA-12129 overexpression suppressed tumor cell proliferation and blocked cell cycle progression. Bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporter assay suggested that sirtuin 1 was a target of microRNA-12129, and sirtuin 1 expression was negatively related to microRNA-12129. Restoration of sirtuin 1 partly reduced the inhibition of cell proliferation and cell cycle progression induced by microRNA-144. Our results collectively suggested that microRNA-12129 suppressed cell proliferation and cell cycle progression in gastric cancer by targeting sirtuin 1. These findings indicated that manipulation of microRNA-12129 expression could help develop a novel therapeutic strategy for gastric cancer.

Summary: Protons are highly related to cell viability during physiological and pathological processes. Developing new probes to monitor the pH variation could be extremely helpful to understand the viability of cells and the cell death study. Carbonized polymer dots (CPDs) are superior biocompatible and have been widely applied in bioimaging field. Herein, a new type of extreme-pH suitable CPDs was prepared from citric acid and o-phenylenediamine (CA/oPD-CPDs). Due to the co-existence of hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups, CA/oPD-CPDs tend to aggregate in neutral condition with a dramatic decrease of fluorescence, but disperse well in both acidic and alkaline conditions with brighter emission. This specialty enables them to selectively illuminate lysosomes in cells. Moreover, CA/oPD-CPDs in the cytoplasm could serve as a sustained probe to record intracellular pH variation during apoptosis. Furthermore, CA/oPD-CPDs present a continuous fluorescence increase upon 2-h laser irradiation in living cells, underscoring this imaging system for long-term biological recording. : Organic Chemistry; Optical Materials; Biotechnology Subject Areas: Organic Chemistry, Optical Materials, Biotechnology