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Abstract Food contamination poses a significant threat to public health, the economy, and human health worldwide, occurring at any stage of the food supply chain, from farm to fork. Efficient and effective real‐time monitoring methods for the early identification and rapid detection of pathogen contamination are critical to preventing possible food safety issues. In the past decade, flexible electrochemical biosensors have rapidly expanded in the detection of foodborne pathogens, owing to their ability to function well at biological interfaces that may be soft, intrinsically curvy, irregular, or deformable. The most important features of flexible sensors are their flexibility, multifunctionality, low cost, and good compatibility with solution processing methods. These properties enable flexible sensors to be used in various applications, including smart packaging. This review focuses on the materials, structures, and fabrication methods of flexible biosensors, as well as their applications in food safety monitoring. It examines recent advances in electrochemical immunosensors and aptasensors for pathogen detection, with a focus on their key components and their application in food analysis, while critically examining their current trends, particularly in conjunction with nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, gold nanoparticles, Indium tin oxide, etc. Finally, current issues and prospects for the future are discussed.

Promoting the mechanization of aquaculture is one of the most important supporting measures to ensure the high-quality development of the aquaculture industry in China. In order to solve the problems of predominantly manual work and to decrease the costs of aquaculture, the influencing factors of China’s aquaculture mechanization were systematically analyzed. The triple bottom theory was selected, and three aspects were identified, including environmental, economic, and social aspects. Through the literature review, the Delphi method, and the analytic hierarchy process, the comprehensive evaluation indicator system, including 18 influencing factors, was proposed. Moreover, the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method was combined with the model to solve the evaluation results. A case study in Liaoning Province was offered and, according to the analysis results, the economic aspect at the first level was the most critical factor; the financial subsidy for the purchase of aquaculture machinery, the energy consumption of the machinery and equipment, and the promotion and use of aquaculture technology were the most important factors and had the greatest impact on the development of aquaculture mechanization in China. The effective implementation paths and countermeasures were proposed, such as the promotion of mechanized equipment and the enhancement of the machinery purchase subsidies, in order to provide an important decision-making basis for the improvement of the level of aquaculture mechanization.

This paper aims to provide the analytical solutions of the ground settlement for a space curved shield tunnel in the case of yaw construction. Settlement inducements include ground loss and construction loads, and two corresponding analytical models have been proposed in this study. Three-dimensional image theory has been adopted to calculate the ground settlement due to ground loss. Yaw-related parameters are introduced into the calculation model to deduce the relevant laws of the ground settlement. Based on modified Mindlin solutions, analytical models are established to calculate the ground settlement induced by construction loads, such as the frontal additional thrust, axial friction of shield shell, and the grouting pressure. The method of calculating the position of the shield machine in the ground is refined, and the influence area of construction loads from the shield machine is optimized. Subsequently, the obtained solutions are validated by a numerical model and field data. Besides, a comparison reveals that the proposed model is the composition of three classical analytical models, thus it excels them in solving the problem mentioned. Finally, parametric analyses of yaw are conducted to examine yaw angle and pitch angle on ground settlement. The proposed model can effectively predict ground settlement caused by the spatial linear shield tunneling process.

Pansharpening refers to enhancing the spatial resolution of multispectral images through panchromatic images while preserving their spectral features. However, existing traditional methods or deep learning methods always have certain distortions in the spatial or spectral dimensions. This paper proposes a remote sensing spatial–spectral fusion method based on a multi-scale dual-stream convolutional neural network, which includes feature extraction, feature fusion, and image reconstruction modules for each scale. In terms of feature fusion, we propose a multi cascade module to better fuse image features. We also design a new loss function aim at enhancing the high degree of consistency between fused images and reference images in terms of spatial details and spectral information. To validate its effectiveness, we conduct thorough experimental analyses on two widely used remote sensing datasets: GeoEye-1 and Ikonos. Compared with the nine leading pansharpening techniques, the proposed method demonstrates superior performance in multiple key evaluation metrics.

Abstract Selective protein degradation platforms have opened novel avenues in therapeutic development and biological inquiry. Antibody‐based lysosome‐targeting chimeras (LYTACs) have emerged as a promising technology that extends the scope of targeted protein degradation to extracellular targets. Aptamers offer an advantageous alternative owing to their potential for modification and manipulation toward a multivalent state. In this study, a chemically engineered platform of multivalent aptamer‐based LYTACs (AptLYTACs) is established for the targeted degradation of either single or dual protein targets. Leveraging the biotin‐streptavidin system as a molecular scaffold, this investigation reveals that trivalently mono‐targeted AptLYTACs demonstrate optimum efficiency in degrading membrane proteins. The development of this multivalent AptLYTACs platform provides a principle of concept for mono‐/dual‐targets degradation, expanding the possibilities of targeted protein degradation.

Objective Adequacy of decompression for oblique lateral interbody fusion (OLIF) is a real concern in patients with severe lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). With this in mind, we combined OLIF with spinal endoscopic technique to achieve a solid fusion and an adequate decompression after one operation. Methods This is a technical note. The theoretical basis and operation process of this technique were introduced, and consecutive cases were retrospectively collected. Consecutive patients diagnosed with monosegmental severe LSS (L4/5) and underwent oblique lateral endoscopic decompression and interbody fusion (OLEDIF) from January 2018 to February 2020 were retrospectively collected. Clinical outcomes were assessed by claudication distance, Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores. Secondary indicators included operation time, operative blood loss, and postoperative complications. Results Ten patients were selected for the OLEDIF procedure. They were five women and five men ranging in age from 49 to 75 years (mean age of 63.9 years) and in BMI from 25.4 to 30.2 kg/m2 (mean BMI of 27.5 kg/m2). The preoperative claudication distance was 160.00 ± 68.96 m (range 70–250 m), which was significantly extended on the 3‐month and 1‐year follow‐up (1020.00 ± 407.70 m and 1040.00 ± 416.87 m, respectively). The preoperative VAS score of back pain and radiating leg pain was 5.50 ± 0.97 (range 4–7) and 6.40 ± 0.97 (range 5–8). The score on postoperative month 3 was 1.60 ± 0.52 (range 1–2) and 1.20 ± 0.79 (range 0–2), and the 1‐year follow‐up score was 1.90 ± 0.74 (range 1–3) and 1.60 ± 0.70 (range 1–3), respectively. The preoperative ODI was 72.23 ± 6.30 (range 64.4–82.2), the 3‐month follow‐up ODI was 31.12 ± 4.20 (range 24.4–35.6), and the 1‐year follow‐up ODI was 29.33 ± 5.92 (range 20.0–37.8). Compared with the transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) in the literature, the operation time was not prolonged (189.3 ± 32.5 min vs. 214.9 ± 60.0 min) but the amount of blood loss decreased significantly (113.3 ± 26.7 ml vs. 366.8 ± 298.2 ml). No complications were found except one case presented with dysesthesia of the left leg. Imaging results showed good fusion without cage subsidence during 1‐year follow‐up. Conclusion OLEDIF can achieve complete ventral decompression of the spinal canal and solid fusion of the lumbar spine at one time. It is an effective minimally invasive technique for the treatment of monosegmental severe LSS, which is promising and worthy of further clinical practice.

Clinical sorafenib treatment could activate C-X-C receptor type 4 (CXCR4)/stromal source factor-1α (SDF-1α) axis to aggravate intra-tumoral hypoxia of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which further leads to progression, invasion, metastasis, and immunosuppression of tumors and in return causes resistance to sorafenib therapy. Therefore, a multi-functional oxygen delivery nanoplatform was rationally constructed based on an oxygen-saturated perfluorohexane (PFH)-cored liposome, with the CXCR4 antagonist LFC131 peptides modifying on the surface to simultaneously deliver sorafenib and the CSF1/CSF1R inhibitor PLX3397 (named PFH@LSLP) for sorafenib-resistant HCC treatment. The PFH@LSLP was developed to overcome sorafenib resistance by synergistic effects of the following 3 roles: 1) the O2-saturated PFH core could alleviate the tumor hypoxia by O2 supply; 2) the LFC131 peptide recognized the hypoxia-related overexpressed CXCR4 and then blocked SDF-1α/CXCR4 axis to re-sensitize the HCC cells to sorafenib; 3) PLX3397 activated the immune responses via inhibiting the CSF1/CSF1R pathway in TAMs, further enhanced CD8+ T cell infiltration to reverse immunosuppression in tumors. Antitumor performance on H22 tumor-bearing mice and HCC patient-derived tumor xenograft (PDX) model showed that PFH@LSLP could overcome sorafenib resistance by synergistic effect of hypoxia attenuation, resistance-related gene regulation, and immune-microenvironment modification.

Since the establishment of the Ilkhanid Dynasty, Chinese painting has exerted a profound influence on various facets of Persian painting. This influence facilitated the divergence of Persian painting from Arab painting, fostering the gradual formation of an independent style. To explore whether Zen painting, which has been highly influential in contemporary China, also played a role in shaping Persian painting, this article first discusses the possibility that Zen books and Zen paintings were introduced to the Ilkhanid Dynasty. Subsequently, it delves into the illustrations of the Jāmiʿ al-Tavārīkh dating back to 1314–1315, analyzing Zen elements through three lenses: theme, brushwork, and compositional elements. Through this analysis, the article aims to provide insights into the impact of Chinese Zen art on Persian painting, offering a fresh perspective for scrutinizing the broader Chinese influence on Persian art.

Apoptosis in postmortem muscle is a potential factor affecting meat quality. This study aimed to investigate the changes in apoptotic genes and proteins, reactive oxygen species (ROS), caspase-3 activity and their underlying relationship with meat tenderization. As postmortem time extended, there was a significant increase in myofibril fragmentation index (MFI) and destruction of muscle fibers. Oxidative stress deepened alongside the onset of apoptosis. Mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) decreased, and caspase-3 activity increased during the first 24 h postmortem. Forty apoptotic genes displayed significant differences, involving DNA damage, autophagy, the death receptor pathway, the mitochondrial pathway, the Bcl-2 family, and the caspases family. The expression of most apoptotic genes was abundant in the early postmortem stage, enhancing the potential for early apoptosis. Apoptotic proteins of apoptosis-inducing factor, mitochondrion-associated 1 (AIFM1) and endonuclease G (ENDOG) showed the damage of apoptosis to DNA. Also, the decreasing expression of Bcl2 and increasing expression of Bak1 with time demonstrated the effects of mitochondrial apoptosis on postmortem muscle. These findings suggest that postmortem muscle apoptosis is a physiological process co-regulated by multiple genes, and potentially contributes to meat tenderization and quality.

Various structural defects deteriorate tunnel operation status and threaten public safety. Current tunnel inspection methods face problems of low efficiency, high equipment expense, and difficult data management. Combining the deep learning model and the 3D reconstruction method based on structure from motion (SfM), this paper proposes a novel SfM-Deep learning method for tunnel inspection. The high-quality 3D tunnel model is constructed by using images taken every 1 m along the longitudinal direction. The instance segmentation of leakage in longitudinal images is realized using the mask region-based convolutional neural network deep learning model. The SfM-Deep learning method projects the texture of the images after defect recognition to the 3D model and realizes the visualization of leakage defects. By projecting the model to the design cylindrical surface and expanding it, the tunnel leakage area is quantified. Through its practical application in a Shanghai metro shield tunnel, the reliability of the proposed method was verified. The novel SfM-Deep learning method can help engineers efficiently carry out intelligent tunnel detection.

Epoxy resins are a class of viscoelastic hygroscopic polymers widely used in plastic packaged devices. Stress relaxation and yielding may occur in plastic packaged devices under thermal-hygro environments, which seriously affect the reliability of the devices. It is important to obtain accurate viscoelastic parameters of the hygroscopic materials for analyzing the stresses and strains of plastic packaged devices. In this paper, a novel method for measuring the viscoelastic parameters of epoxy resins under water bath environments by using embedded strain gauges is proposed. A kind of epoxy resin-copper bi-layer plate is fabricated, and the biaxial strain gauges are embedded between the epoxy resin layer and the copper layer to monitor the deformations. The interfacial strains of the two test pieces at 85 °C/100% relative humidity are continuously measured up to 144 h. Combine the experimental strain curves and the analytical representation, the viscoelastic parameters of the epoxy resins are obtained by curve fitting with MATLAB and genetic algorithm. It is found that the viscoelasticity of epoxy resins could be described by an exponential function of order five shear modulus and relaxation times, and the interfacial strain curves obtained by genetic algorithm fit well with the experimental ones. The proposed testing and solving methods provide a valuable reference for getting the time-dependent viscoelasticities of epoxy resins under thermal-hygro environments.

Abstract Objectives To observe histological and inflammatory characteristics of epidural fat (EF) adjacent to the ossification area in patients with ossification of the thoracic ligament flavum (TOLF) and provide a preliminary research basis for investigating the impact of the EF on OLF. Methods Samples of EF and autologous subcutaneous adipose tissue (SCAT) from TOLF patients (n = 26) and non‐TOLF patients (n = 23) were harvested during posterior thoracic spine surgery. Adipocyte size and fibrosis were measured by histology. Vascularization and inflammatory cell infiltration were evaluated by immunohistochemical staining. Adipogenesis‐related genes were assessed by real‐time quantitative PCR. Conditioned media from cultured EF were evaluated via enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay to detect the secretion of inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), tumor necrosis factor (TNF‐α), and leptin. The phosphorylated STAT3 protein level in ligament flavum (LF) was examined using Western blot. Results Adipocytes size in EF was similar between in the TOLF and non‐TOLF groups, but significantly smaller than that from autologous SCAT. Adipogenesis‐related mRNA expression in EF was lower than that in SCAT. More fibrosis and vascularization were found in TOLF than in non‐TOLF. EF in the TOLF group exhibited more macrophages and B lymphocytes infiltrated. The levels of cytokines such as IL‐6, TNF‐α, and leptin secreted by EF were significantly higher in the TOLF group than non‐TOLF. The level of phosphorylated STAT3 in LF was significantly upregulated in the TOLF group. Conclusions Morphologically, EF adjacent to the ossification area is smaller and more uniform than autologous SCAT, exhibiting a characteristic similarity to visceral fat. EF in the TOLF group shows a more fibrotic, vascularized, and inflammatory phenotype, which secretes multiple cytokines. The phosphorylated STAT3 protein was significantly upregulated in the TOLF group. Whether these properties of EF directly affect the process of OLF needs to be further explored.

ObjectiveAllogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is an effective method for the treatment of refractory and relapsed acute leukemia, and the preconditioning methods before transplantationis one of the important factors affecting the survival of patients. Radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy is the most commonly used preconditioning method before transplantation. This study evaluated the safety and efficacy of total bone marrow combined with total lymphatic irradiation as a preconditioning method before hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.MethodsSeventeen patients with acute leukemia who were admitted to our center from 2016 to 2020 were selected. The median age was 17 years (8-35). The target area for TMLI includes the total bone marrow and total lymphatic space, and the organs at risk include the lens, lungs, kidneys, intestine, heart, and liver. The patients received a total bone marrow and lymphatic irradiation preconditioning regimen, the related acute adverse reactions were graded, and the prognosis of the patients after transplantation was observed.ResultsDuring patient preconditioning, only grade 1-2 toxicity was observed, and grade 3-4 toxicity did not occur. Except for one patient whose platelets were not engrafted, all the other patients were successfully transplanted. The median time of neutrophil implantation was 14 d (9-15 d), and the median time of platelet implantation was 14 d (13-21 d). With a median follow-up of 9 months (2-48), 4 relapses occurred, 3 died, and 10 leukemia patients survived and were disease-free. One-year overall survival was 69.8%, cumulative recurrence was 19.5%, disease-free-survival was 54.2%.ConclusionThe Allo-HSCT pretreatment regimen of total bone marrow combined with total lymphatic irradiation is safe and effective in the treatment of malignant hematological diseases. Total bone marrow combined with total lymphatic irradiation may completely replace total body irradiation, and the clinically observed incidence of acute toxicity is not high.

This study conducted a nationwide specific assessment of soil chromium (Cr) contamination status in 506 of China’s industrial regions. The overall soil Cr concentrations were 0.74–37,967.33 mg/kg, and the soil Cr content in 4.15% of the regions exceeded the reference screening value (2500 mg/kg). Geochemical accumulation index (Igeo) and monomial potential ecological risk index (E) revealed Cr salt production and tanning were the primary control industries. The non-carcinogenic risks posed by Cr salt production and tanning industries were higher than the national average values, and children were the most vulnerable groups. The heavily polluted regions were mainly located at the Yangtze River Delta, the Bohai Rim, the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Basin, and the Yellow River Basin. The Yangtze River Delta was further identified as the high priority control area based on the class distribution of Igeo and E. Regression analysis showed the soil Cr concentrations in industrial regions increased during 2002–2009 and then turned into a declining trend in 2009–2021. This paper gives detailed insights into soil Cr pollution status in industrial regions across China and the results may serve as references for formulating tailored control measures for different industries and areas.

Recently, female breast cancer (BC) has surpassed lung cancer to occupy the first place of the most commonly diagnosed cancer. The unsatisfactory prognosis of endocrine therapy for breast cancer might be attributed to the discordance in estrogen receptor (ER) status between primary tumors and corresponding metastases, as well as temporal and spatial receptor status heterogeneity at point-in-time between biopsy and treatment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic and predictive value of ER status in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in BC patients. We analyzed ER expression on CTCs isolated using the Pep@MNPs method in 2.0 ml of blood samples from 70 patients with BC and 67 female controls. The predictive and prognostic value of ER expression in CTCs and immunohistochemistry results of biopsies for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of patients in response to therapies were assessed. The detection rate for CTCs was 95.71% (67/70 patients), with a median of 8 CTCs within 2 ml of peripheral venous blood (PVB). A concordance of 76.56% in ER status between CTCs and corresponding primary tumor and 69.23% between CTCs and corresponding metastases was observed. We also found that patients with ER-positive CTCs (CTC ER+) had longer PFS and OS than those without ER-positive CTCs (CTC ER-). Our findings suggested that ER status in CTCs of BC patients may provide valuable predictive and prognostic insights into endocrine therapies, although further evaluation in larger prospective trials is required.

This article describes a newly devised autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) system for 19 autosomal loci (D12S391, D13S317, D16S539, D18S51, D19S433, D2S1338, D21S11, D3S1358, D5S818, D6S1043, D7S820, D8S1179, CSF1PO, FGA, TH01, TPOX, vWA, Penta D and Penta E), 27 Y-chromosome STR loci (DYS19, DYS385, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS437, DYS438, DYS439, DYS448, DYS449, DYS456, DYS458, DYS460, DYS481, DYS518, DYS533, DYS570, DYS576, DYS635, DYS627, YGATAH4 and DYF387S1) and amelogenin with six-colour fluorescent labelling. Various parameters were evaluated, such as its accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, stability, ability to analysis of mixtures and effects of changes in the PCR-based procedures. All of the 47 selected STR loci were accurately and robustly amplified from 282 bloodstain samples. The species-specificity was high and some ability to inhibit Hematin was identified. The lowest detectable DNA amount was ≥0.125 ng. All of the male loci of the secondary component were revealed precisely when the control DNA was mixed at male/female and male/male ratios of 1:4 or more. We conclude that the present 19-plex autosomal STR and 27 Y-STR assay is both accurate and sensitive. It constitutes an additional powerful tool for forensic applications.

Abstract Background This study aimed to explore the performance of Revolution CT virtual monoenergetic images (VMI) combined with the multi-material artifact reduction (MMAR) technique in reducing metal artifacts in oral and maxillofacial imaging. Results There were significant differences in image quality scores between VMI + MMAR images and VMI+MARS (multiple artifact reduction system) images at each monochromatic energy level (p = 0.000). Compared with the MARS technology, the MMAR technology further reduced metal artifacts and improved the image quality. At VMI90 keV and VMI110 keV, the SD, CNR, and AI in the Revolution CT group were significantly lower than in the Discovery CT, but no significant differences in these parameters were found between two groups at VMI50 keV, VMI70 keV, and VMI130 keV (p > 0.05). The attenuation was comparable between two groups at any energy level (p > 0.05). Conclusions Compared with the MARS reconstruction technique of Discovery CT, the MMAR technique of Revolution CT is better to reduce the artifacts of dental implants in oral and maxillofacial imaging, which improves the image quality and the diagnostic value of surrounding soft tissues.

ObjectivesIt is necessary to develop a high-performance and biocompatible contrast agent to accurately diagnose various diseases via in vivo computed tomography (CT) imaging. Here, we synthesized a small molecular Bi-DOTA complex as a high-performance contrast agent for in vitro and in vivo CT bioimaging.Materials and MethodsIn our study, Bi-DOTA was fabricated through a facile and one-pot synthesis strategy. The formed Bi-DOTA complex was characterized via different techniques. Furthermore, Bi-DOTA was used for in vitro and in vivo CT bioimaging to verify its X-ray attenuation ability, especially in vivo kidney imaging, gastrointestinal tract CT imaging, and spectral CT imaging.ResultsA small molecular Bi-DOTA complex with a molecular mass of 0.61 kDa was synthesized successfully, which exhibited outstanding dispersion, good biocompatibility, and superior X-ray attenuation ability. Meanwhile, we showed that the obtained contrast agent was quite biocompatible and safe in the given concentration range as confirmed by in vitro and in vivo cytotoxicity assay. Also, the proposed contrast agent can be rapidly excreted from the body via the urinary system, avoiding the potential side effects caused by long-term retention in vivo. Importantly, Bi-DOTA was successfully used in high-quality in vitro CT imaging, in vivo kidney imaging, gastrointestinal tract CT imaging, and spectral CT imaging.ConclusionsThese superiorities allowed Bi-DOTA to be used as an efficient CT contrast agent and laid down a new way of designing high-performance CT contrast agents with great clinical transformation potential.

The therapeutic efficacy of nanoscale drug delivery systems is related to particle size, zeta potential, morphology, and other physicochemical properties. The structure and composition of nanocarriers may affect their physicochemical properties. To systematically evaluate these characteristics, three analogues, namely polyethylene glycol (PEG), PEG-conjugated octadecylamine (PEG-C18), and tri(ethylene glycol) (TEG), were explored as nanocarriers to entrap celastrol (CSL) via the injection-combined dialysis method. CSL nanoparticles were successfully prepared as orange milky solutions, which revealed a similar particle size of approximately 120 nm, with narrow distribution and a negative zeta potential of −20 mV. All these CSL nanoparticles exhibited good storage stability and media stability but presented different drug-loading capacities (DLCs), release profiles, cytotoxicity, and hemolytic activity. For DLCs, PEG-C18/CSL exhibited better CSL entrapment capacity. Regarding the release profiles, TEG/CSL showed the lowest release rate, PEG-C18/CSL presented a moderate release rate, and PEG/CSL exhibited a relatively fast release rate. Based on the different release rates, PEG-C18/CSL and TEG/CSL showed higher degrees of cytotoxicity than PEG/CSL. Furthermore, TEG/CSL showed the lowest membrane toxicity, and its hemolytic rate was below 20%. These results suggest that the structural effects of nanocarriers can affect the interactions between nanocarriers and drugs, resulting in different release profiles and antitumor activity.

E. coli O157:H7, one of the major foodborne pathogens, can cause a significant threat to the safety of foods. The aim of this research is to develop an activated biochar-based immunosensor that can rapidly detect E. coli O157:H7 cells without incubation in pure culture. Biochar was developed from corn stalks using proprietary reactors and then activated using steam-activation treatment. The developed activated biochar presented an enhanced surface area of 830.78 m2/g. To develop the biosensor, the gold electrode of the sensor was first coated with activated biochar and then functionalized with streptavidin as a linker and further immobilized with biotin-labeled anti-E. coli polyclonal antibodies (pAbs). The optimum concentration of activated biochar for sensor development was determined to be 20 mg/mL. Binding of anti-E. coli pAbs with E. coli O157:H7 resulted in a significant increase in impedance amplitude from 3.5 to 8.5 kΩ when compared to an only activated biochar-coated electrode. The developed immunosensor was able to detect E. coli O157:H7 cells with a limit of detection of 4 log CFU/mL without incubation. Successful binding of E. coli O157:H7 onto an activated biochar-based immunosensor was observed on the microelectrode surface in scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images.

Abstract Brush polymers have emerged as components of novel materials that show huge potential in multiple disciplines and applications, including self‐assembling photonic crystals, drug delivery vectors, biomimetic lubricants, and ultrasoft elastomers. However, an understanding of how this unique topology can affect the properties of highly solvated materials like hydrogels remain under investigated. Here, it is investigated how the high functionality and large overall size of brush polymers enhances the gelation kinetics of low polymer weight percent gels, enabling 100‐fold faster gelation rates and 15‐fold higher stiffness values than gels crosslinked by traditional star polymers of the same composition and polymer chain length. This work demonstrates that brush polymer topology provides a useful means to control gelation kinetics without the need to manipulate polymer composition or crosslinking chemistry. The unique architecture of brush polymers also results in restrained or even nonswelling behavior at different temperatures, regardless of the polymer concentration. Brush polymers therefore are an interesting tool for examining how high‐functionality polymer building blocks can affect structure–property relationships and chemical kinetics in hydrogel materials, and also provide a useful rapidly‐setting hydrogel platform with tunable properties and great potential for multiple material applications.

In order to obtain high dielectric silicone rubber (SR)-based nanocomposites, graphene (Gr) was added by ultrasonication and mechanical mixing for the preparation of a microporous structure. It was discovered that the Gr content and the expansion rate had a great impact on the cellular structure. Based on the effects of the Gr content and the expansion rate on the dielectric property, hybrid materials were prepared and better properties appeared, as expected. For all samples, the dielectric constant increased with the Gr content until 3 wt% and then decreased. When the Gr content was 3 wt% and the expansion rate was 2, the dielectric constant reached 18.14 (1 kHz), which was 55% higher than that of the non-expansion sample (11.74) and several times that of the pure sample (3~6). Meanwhile, the dielectric loss was less than 0.01. This work proposed a method for producing high dielectric materials with important applications in the field of capacitors, sensors, and micro-resistors.

The objective of this study was to reveal the secrets of the unique meat characteristics of Beijing-you chicken (BJY) and to compare the difference of quality and flavor with Luhua chicken (LH) and Arbor Acres broiler (AA) at their typical market ages. The results showed the meat of BJY was richer in essential amino acids, arachidonic acid contents, inosine monophosphate (IMP), and guanosine monophosphate (GMP). The total fatty acid and unsaturated fatty acid contents of BJY chicken and LH chicken were lower than that of AA broilers, whereas the ratios of unsaturated fatty acids/saturated fatty acids (2.31) and polyunsaturated fatty acids/monounsaturated fatty acids (1.52) of BJY chicken were the highest. The electronic nose and SPME-GC/MS analysis confirmed the significant differences among these three chickens, and the variety and relative content of aldehydes might contribute to a richer flavor of BJY chicken. The meat characteristics of BJY were fully investigated and showed that BJY chicken might be favored among these three chicken breeds with the best flavor properties and the highest nutritional value. This study also provides an alternative way to identify BJY chicken from other chickens.

Background: Preoperative grading of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an important factor associated with prognosis after liver resection. The promising prediction of the differentiation of HCC remains a challenge. The purpose of our study was to investigate the value of amide proton transfer (APT) imaging in predicting the histological grade of HCC, compared with the intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) imaging.Methods: From September 2018 to February 2020, 88 patients with HCC were enrolled and divided into four groups (G1, G2, G3, and G4) based on the histologic grades. Preoperative APT signal intensity (SI), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), true molecular diffusion coefficient (D), pseudo-diffusion coefficient (D*), and perfusion fraction (f ) of HCC were independently measured by two radiologists. The averaged values of those parameters were compared using an analysis of variance. The Spearman rank analysis was used to compare the correlation between those imaging parameters and the histological grades. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to explore the predictive performance.Results: There were significant differences in APT SI, ADC, D, and f among the four grades of HCC (all P < 0.001). A moderate to good relationship was found between APT SI and the histologic grade of HCC (r = 0.679, P < 0.001). APT SI had an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.890 (95% CI: 0.805–0.947) for differentiating low- from high-grade HCC, and the corresponding sensitivity and specificity were 85.71% and 82.05%, respectively. Comparison of ROC curves demonstrated that the AUC of APT SI was significantly higher than those of IVIM-derived parameter (Z = 2.603, P = 0.0092; Z = 2.099, P = 0.0358; Z = 4.023, P = 0.0001; Z = 2.435, P = 0.0149, compared with ADC, D, D*, and f , respectively). Moreover, the combination of both techniques further improved the diagnostic performance, with an AUC of 0.929 (95% CI: 0.854–0.973).Conclusion: APT imaging may be a potential noninvasive biomarker for the prediction of histologic grading of HCC and complements IVIM imaging for the more accurate and comprehensive characterization of HCC.

Clustering algorithm is the main field in collaborative computing of social network. How to evaluate clusteringresults accurately has become a hot spot in clustering algorithm research. Commonly used evaluation indexesare SC, DBI and CHI. There are two shortcomings in the calculation of three indexes. (1) Keep the numberof clusters and the objects in the cluster unchanged. When transforming the feature vector, the three indexeswill change greatly; (2) Keep the feature vector and the number of clusters unchanged. When changing theobjects in the cluster, the three indexes will change tinily. This shows that the three indexes unable to evaluatethe clustering results very well. Therefore, based on the calculation process of the three indexes, the paperproposes new three indexes - NSC, NDBI and NCHI. Through testing on standard data sets, three new indexescan better evaluate clustering results.

To solve the challenge of single-channel blind image separation (BIS) caused by unknown prior knowledge during the separation process, we propose a BIS method based on cascaded generative adversarial networks (GANs). To ensure that the proposed method can perform well in different scenarios and to address the problem of an insufficient number of training samples, a synthetic network is added to the separation network. This method is composed of two GANs: a U-shaped GAN (UGAN), which is used to learn image synthesis, and a pixel-to-attention GAN (PAGAN), which is used to learn image separation. The two networks jointly complete the task of image separation. UGAN uses the unpaired mixed image and the unmixed image to learn the mixing style, thereby generating an image with the “true” mixing characteristics which addresses the problem of an insufficient number of training samples for the PAGAN. A self-attention mechanism is added to the PAGAN to quickly extract important features from the image data. The experimental results show that the proposed method achieves good results on both synthetic image datasets and real remote sensing image datasets. Moreover, it can be used for image separation in different scenarios which lack prior knowledge and training samples.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of ohmic heating and water bath heating (WB) on the metabolome of Escherichia coli O157:H7 cells at the same inactivation levels. Compared to low voltage long time ohmic heating (5 V/cm, 8.50 min, LVLT) and WB (5.50 min), the high voltage short time ohmic heating (10 V/cm, 1.75 min, HVST) had much shorter heating time. Compared to the samples of control (CT), there were a total of 213 differential metabolites identified, among them, 73, 78, and 62 were presented in HVST, LVLT, and WB samples, revealing a stronger metabolomic response of E. coli cells to HVST and LVLT than WB. KEGG enrichment analysis indicated that the significantly enriched pathways were biosynthesis and metabolism of amino acids (alanine, arginine, aspartate, and glutamate, etc.), followed by aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis among the three treatments. This is the first metabolomic study of E. coli cells in response to ohmic heating and presents an important step toward understanding the mechanism of ohmic heating on microbial inactivation, and can serve as a theoretical basis for better application of ohmic heating in food products.

A numerical simulation method was used to analyze the solidification process of Zr-based bulk metallic glass (BMG) during the horizontal continuous casting (HCC) process. The large-scale general-purpose finite element analysis software ANSYS was adopted to develop a temperature field model. The variation of temperature field in the specific area at different time was studied. Its accuracy was verified by the experimental results of Zr48Cu36Ag8Al8 bulk metallic glass continuous casting solidification process. The effects of casting parameters include intermittent casting procedure (drawing and stopping), casting speed, pouring temperature and cooling rate. The results show that the optimum casting speed range is 1-2 mm/s, pouring temperature is 1223 K and cooling rate of 10 mm rod casting is 5 L/min respectively. A fully Zr-based bulk metallic glass whose diameter is 10 mm and length has no limitation has been successfully fabricated.

A multi-wavelength based optical density sensor unit was designed, developed, and evaluated to monitor microalgae growth in real time. The system consisted of five main components including: (1) laser diode modules as light sources; (2) photodiodes as detectors; (3) driver circuit; (4) flow cell; and (5) sensor housing temperature controller. The sensor unit was designed to be integrated into any microalgae culture system for both real time and non-real time optical density measurements and algae growth monitoring applications. It was shown that the sensor unit was capable of monitoring the dynamics and physiological changes of the microalgae culture in real-time. Algae biomass concentration was accurately estimated with optical density measurements at 650, 685 and 780 nm wavelengths used by the sensor unit. The sensor unit was able to monitor cell concentration as high as 1.05 g·L−1 (1.51 × 108 cells·mL−1) during the culture growth without any sample preparation for the measurements. Since high cell concentrations do not need to be diluted using the sensor unit, the system has the potential to be used in industrial microalgae cultivation systems for real time monitoring and control applications that can lead to improved resource use efficiency.

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is an important agricultural crop that provides renewable natural fiber resources for the global textile industry. Technological developments in the textile industry and improvements in human living standards have increased the requirement for supplies and better quality cotton. Upland cotton 0-153 is an elite cultivar harboring strong fiber strength genes. To conduct quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping for fiber quality in 0-153, we developed a population of 196 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) from a cross between 0-153 and sGK9708. The fiber quality traits in 11 environments were measured and a genetic linkage map of chromosome 25 comprising 210 loci was constructed using this RIL population, mainly using simple sequence repeat markers and single nucleotide polymorphism markers. QTLs were identified across diverse environments using the composite interval mapping method. A total of 37 QTLs for fiber quality traits were identified on chromosome 25, of which 17 were stably expressed in at least in two environments. A stable fiber strength QTL, qFS-chr25-4, which was detected in seven environments and was located in the marker interval between CRI-SNP120491 and BNL2572, could explain 6.53%-11.83% of the observed phenotypic variations. Meta-analysis also confirmed the above QTLs with previous reports. Application of these QTLs could contribute to improving fiber quality and provide information for marker-assisted selection.

OBJECTIVE:This study was aimed at evaluating the clinical efficacy and safety of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) to treat muscle spasticity after brain injury (Chinese Clinical Trial Registry: ChiCTR-TRC-11001310). METHODS:A total of 60 patients with muscle spasticity after brain injury were randomized to the following 3 groups: 100, 2, and 0 Hz (sham) TEAS. The acupoints Hegu (LI4)--Yuji (LU10) and Zusanli (ST36)--Chengshan (BL57) on the injured side were stimulated at 0, 2, or 100 Hz, 5 times per week for 4 weeks. The patients were followed up for 1 and 2 months after the treatments. The effects of the treatments on muscle spasticity at the wrist, thumb, the other 4 fingers, elbow, shoulder, knee, and ankle were evaluated by the Modified Ashworth Scale, and the effects on disability were assessed by the Disability Assessment Scale. The walking capability was evaluated by the Holden functional ambulation classification score. The overall performance was assessed by the Global Assessment Scale score and the improved Barthel Index. The safety of the treatments administered was also monitored. RESULTS:The wrist spasticity was significantly reduced from baseline at weeks 2, 3, and 4 of treatment and at the 1- and 2-month follow-up visits in the 100 Hz group (P < 0.01). Compared with 2 Hz or sham TEAS, 100 Hz TEAS decreased wrist spasticity at weeks 2, 3, and 4 of treatment and 1 month after treatment (P < 0.001). The other endpoints were not affected by the treatments. No treatment-emergent adverse events were reported during treatments and follow-up visits. CONCLUSIONS:TEAS appears to be a safe and effective therapy to relieve muscle spasticity after brain injury, although large-scale studies are required to further verify the findings. TRIAL REGISTRATION:Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR-TRC-11001310 http://www.chictr.org.

We propose a hybrid algorithm based on estimation of distribution algorithm (EDA) and Nelder-Mead simplex method (NM) to solve a class of nonlinear bilevel programming problems where the follower’s problem is linear with respect to the lower level variable. The bilevel programming is an NP-hard optimization problem, for which EDA-NM is applied as a new tool aiming at obtaining global optimal solutions of such a problem. In fact, EDA-NM is very easy to be implementedsince it does not require gradients information. Moreover, the hybrid algorithm intends to produce faster and more accurate convergence. In the proposed approach, for fixed upper level variable, we make use of the optimality conditions of linear programming to deal with the follower’s problem and obtain its optimal solution. Further, the leader’s objective function is taken as the fitness function. Based on these schemes, the hybrid algorithm is designed by combining EDA with NM. To verify the performance of EDA-NM, simulations on some test problems are made, and the results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm has a better performance than the compared algorithms. Finally, the proposed approach is used to solve a practical example about pollution charges problem.

This paper discusses the distributed routing algorithm of wireless self-organized network and puts forward a new type of hybrid self-organizing clustering routing protocol by combining energy sense and maximum connectedness. This routing protocol adopts a mechanism which is mainly based on cluster routing with the theory of “on demand-based plane routing discovery mechanism” becoming secondary. The routing discovery and routing maintenance algorithm are also described in this paper. As the emulation experiment result shows, there is no significant difference between the routing protocol and the demand-based routing protocol; however, when there are quite a number of nodes in the network, the performance can be greatly enhanced compared with the demand-based routing protocol. The routing protocol discussed in this paper has better extendability, lower routing overhead, and better data transmission rate; thus it can extend network lifetime and enhance the network performance.

A V-shaped ligand Bis(2-benzimidazolymethyl)amine (bba) and its nickel(II) picrate (pic) complex, with composition [Ni(bba)2](pic)2⋅3MeOH, have been synthesized and characterized on the basis of elemental analyses, molar conductivities, IR spectra, and UV/vis measurements. In the complex, the Ni(II) ion is six-coordinated with a N2O4 ligand set, resulting in a distorted octahedron coordination geometry. In addition, the DNA-binding properties of the Ni(II) complex have been investigated by electronic absorption, fluorescence, and viscosity measurements. The experimental results suggest that the nickel(II) complex binds to DNA by partial intercalation binding mode.

In the title compound, [Cd(C22H26N4O)2](C6H2N3O7)2·C3H7NO, the CdII ion is coordinated by four N atoms and two O atoms from two tridentate 1,3-bis(1-propyl-1H-benzimidazol-2-yl)-2-oxopropane ligands in a distorted octahedral coordination environment. There are significant differences in the chemically equivalent Cd—O bond lengths [2.618 (2) Å and 2.561 (2) Å].

In the title molecular salt, C24H24N5+·C6H2N3O7−, the dihedral angle between the benzimidazole rings of the cation is 5.041 (2)°. In the anion, the three nitro groups make dihedral angles of 2.468 (3), 12.795 (3) and 24.958 (4)° with respect to the central ring. In the crystal, weak aromatic π–π stacking [centroid–centroid distance = 3.599 (15) Å] consolidates the packing. In addition, an intramolecular N—H...N hydrogen bond is observed.

In the title compound, [Cd(C20H22N4O)2](C6H2N3O7)2·2C3H7NO, the CdII ion is coordinated by four N atoms and two O atoms from two tridentate 1,3-bis(1-ethyl-1H-benzimidazol-2-yl)-2-oxapropane ligands in a distorted octahedral environment.

The crystal structure of the title compound, [Cd(C29H29N5)2](C6H2N3O7)2, consists of CdII complex cations and picrate anions. In the complex cation, the CdII ion is chelated by two bis(1-allylbenzimidazol-2-ylmethyl)benzylamine (babb) ligands in a distorted octahedral geometry. Extensive C—H...O hydrogen bonding occurs between cations and anions in the crystal structure.

In the title compound, [Zn(NO3)2(C4H12N2O)], the ZnII atom is N,O,N′-chelated by a 3-oxapentane-1,5-diamine ligand and is further coordinated by two nitrate anions in a distorted trigonal–bipyramidal geometry. Intermolecular N—H...O hydrogen bonding is present in the crystal structure. A short O...O contact of 2.816 (8) Å is observed between the nitrate anions of adjacent molecules.

In the title compound, [Cd(C18H18N4O)2](C6H2N3O7)2·1.5CH3CN·0.25H2O, the CdII ion is coordinated by four N atoms and two O atoms from two tridentate 1,3-bis(1-methyl-1H-benzimidazol-2-yl)-2-oxopropane ligands in a distorted octahedral coordination environment. The lengths of the chemically equivalent Cd—O bonds [2.4850 (16) and 2.5488 (16)Å] are signiificantly different. One of the picrate anions is disordered over two sets of sites, with refined occupancies of 0.504 (15) and 0.496 (15). A 0.5-occupancy acetonitrile solvent molecule is disordered over two sites with equal occupancies. The H atoms of a 0.25-occupancy solvent water molecule were neither located nor included in the refinement.

A new copper(II) complex with formulae of [Cu(buobb)2](pic)2, where buobb stands for the ligand of 1,3-bis(1- butylbenzimidazol-2-yl)-2-oxopropane and pic represents 2,4,6-trinitrophenol, has been synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, molar conductivity, IR, UV-Vis spectra measurements, and cyclic voltammetry. The crystal structure of the copper(II) complex has been determined by X-ray single-crystal diffraction. The coordination environment around each copper(II) atom can be described as a distorted octahedral geometry. The π-π stacking interactions link the copper(II) complex into a 1D infinite network. The interactions of the ligand and the copper(II) complex with calf thymus DNA (CT-DNA) are investigated by using electronic absorption titration, ethidium bromide-DNA displacement experiments, and viscosity measurements. Additionally, the copper(II) complex’s antioxidant properties have been investigated in vitro.

A novel complex of cadmium (II) picrate (pic) with V-shaped ligand bis(N-allylbenzimidazol-2-ylmethyl)benzylamine (babb), with composition [Cd(babb)2](pic)2, was synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses and electrical conductivity, IR, and UV/visible spectra. The crystal structure of the complex has been determined by the single-crystal X-ray diffraction. In the complex, the coordination sphere around Cd (II) is distorted octahedral, six nitrogen atoms involved in coordination afforded by two tridentate ligand babb. Moreover, The DNA-binding properties of the ligand babb and Cd (II) complex were investigated by spectrophotometric methods and viscosity measurements, and the results suggest that they bind to DNA via an intercalation binding mode, and the Cd (II) complex shows higher affinity than the ligand.

In the title complex, [Mn(C4H5O2)(C27H27N7)(C3H7NO)]ClO4·C3H7NO, the MnII ion is seven-coordinated in a distorted monocapped trigonal-prismatic geometry formed by a tetradentate tris(1-methyl-1H-benzimidazol-2-ylmethyl)amine molecule, a bidentate 2-methacrylate anion and a dimethylformamide molecule. The methyl groups of the coordinated dimethylformamide molecule and the perchlorate anions are disordered over two positions with occupancy factors of 0.640 (8) and 0.360 (8).