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Abstract Background Ligamentum flavum hypertrophy (LFH) is a primary contributor to lumbar spinal stenosis. However, a thorough understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms driving LFH fibrotic progression remains incomplete. Methods Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) was performed to construct the single-cell map of human ligamentum flavum (LF) samples. An integrated multi-omics approach, encompassing scRNA-seq, bulk RNA sequencing (bulk RNA-seq), and Mendelian randomization (MR), was applied to conduct comprehensive functional analysis. Clinical tissue specimens and animal models were employed to further confirm the multi-omics findings. Results ScRNA-seq provided a single-cell level view of the fibrotic microenvironment in LF, revealing significantly increased proportions of fibroblasts, myofibroblasts, and macrophages in LFH. Using transmission electron microscopy, single-cell gene set scoring, and MR analysis, ferroptosis was identified as a critical risk factor and pathway within LFH. Subcluster analysis of fibroblasts revealed functional heterogeneity among distinct subpopulations, highlighting the functional characteristics and the metabolic dynamics of fibroblast with a high ferroptosis score (High Ferro-score FB). The quantification of gene expression at single-cell level revealed that ferroptosis increased along with fibrosis in LFH specimens, a finding further validated in both human and mice tissue sections. Consistently, bulk RNA-seq confirmed increased proportions of fibroblasts and macrophages in LFH specimens, underscoring a strong correlation between these cell types through Spearman correlation analysis. Notably, subcluster analysis of the mononuclear phagocytes identified a specific subset of SPP1+ macrophages (SPP1+ Mac) enriched in LFH, which exhibited activation of fibrosis and ferroptosis-related metabolic pathways. Cell-cell communication analysis highlighted that SPP1+ Mac exhibited the strongest outgoing and incoming interactions among mononuclear phagocytes in the LFH microenvironment. Ligand-receptor analysis further revealed that the SPP1-CD44 axis could serve as a key mediator regulating the activity of High Ferro-score FB. Multiplex immunofluorescence confirmed substantial Collagen I deposition and reduced Ferritin Light Chain expression in regions with SPP1-CD44 co-localization in LFH specimens. Conclusions Our findings indicated that SPP1+ Mac may contribute to LFH fibrosis by regulating ferroptosis in High Ferro-score FB through the SPP1-CD44 axis. This study enhances our understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying LFH progression, potentially improving early diagnostic strategies and identifying new therapeutic targets.

Abstract A leaf spot disease affecting Curcuma kwangsiensis (Zingiberaceae) has been observed in Qinzhou City, Guangxi Province. Infected leaves exhibit yellow-brown spots that progressively expand and eventually lead to leaf death. Curvularia isolates were obtained from the diseased leaves with tissue isolation and single spore purification methods. To accurately identify these isolates, we analyzed their morphological characteristics and phylogenetic relationships using combinations of ITS, GAPDH, and EF-1α gene sequences. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the investigated strains formed a distinct clade separate from other recognized Curvularia species. Furthermore, the strains exhibited differences in conidiophore size and conidia shape/size. Based on phylogenetic studies, morphology, and pathogenicity tests, the pathogen was identified as a new species named Curvularia qinzhouensis. Optimal conditions for mycelial growth were observed at 30 °C and pH 8. The sensitivity of the pathogen to various phytochemicals was also examined. Honokiol, thymol, and citral demonstrated effective antifungal effects, with EC50 values of 6.72 ± 1.75, 25.74 ± 4.30, and 54.24 ± 4.69 µg/ml, respectively. The present investigation provides the first report of leaf spot disease on C. kwangsiensis caused by C. qinzhouensis, and valuable insights for the prevention and control of this disease.

Abstract Background A positive work environment can enhance nursing safety and patient satisfaction while alleviating nurse stress. Conversely, a poor work environment can harm nurses’ physical and mental health and compromise the quality of care, particularly in the high-intensity and shift-based setting of the ICU. Objectives Based on the Job demands-resources (JD-R) model, this study examined the effects of job demands and job resources in the work environment, as well as personal resources, on the night-shift alertness of ICU shift nurses. Methods This cross-sectional correlational exploratory study, conducted from July to September 2022, recruited 291 ICU shift nurses from a hospital in Beijing, China. The Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ), the Self-resilience scale, the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), and the Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT) were used to subjectively and objectively measure the job demands, job resources, personal resources, and night-shift alertness. SPSS 26.0 and Mplus 8.3 were used to analyze the data and construct the structural equation model. Results The night-shift reaction time was 251.0 ms (Median), indicating a relatively high level of alertness. Job demands were negatively correlated with both job resources (r=-0.570, P

Abstract Background This study aimed to investigate functions of GLP-1R agonist by liraglutide (LIRA) and revealing the mechanism related to AGEs/RAGE in chondrocytes. Methods To illustrate potential effect of GLP-1R agonist on AGEs induced chondrocytes, chondrocytes were administrated by AGEs with LIRA and GLP-1R inhibitor exendin. Inflammatory factors were assessed using ELISA. Real-time PCR was used to evaluate the catabolic activity MMPs and ADAMTS mRNA level, as well as anabolic activity (aggrecan and collagen II). RAGE expression was investigated by Western blotting. TUNEL, caspase3 activity and immunofluorescence were performed to test the apoptotic activity. Results Our results showed that treatment with LIRA at > 100 nM attenuated the AGE-induced chondrocyte viability. Western bolt demonstrated that GLP-1R activation by LIRA treatment reduced RAGE protein expression compared with the AGEs groups. ELISA showed that LIRA hindered the AGEs-induced production of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-12 and TNF-α) in primary chondrocytes. AGEs induced catabolism levels (MMP-1, -3, -13 and ADAMTS-4, 5) are also attenuated by LIRA, causing the retention of more extracellular matrix (Aggrecan and Collagen II). TUNEL, caspase3 activity and immunofluorescence results indicated that LIRA inhibited the AGEs-induced production of inflammatory cytokines in primary chondrocytes and attenuated the caspase 3 level, leading to the reduced apoptotic activity. All the protective effects are reversed by exendin (GLP-1R blockers). Conclusions The present study demonstrates for the first time that LIRA, an agonist for GLP-1R which is commonly used in type 2 diabetes reverses AGEs induced chondrocyte inflammation and apoptosis through suppressing RAGE signaling, contributing to reduced catabolism and retention of more extracellular matrix. The above results indicate the possible effect of GLP-1R agonist on treating OA.

Abstract Background Accurate prognostic assessment is vital for the personalized treatment of endometrial cancer (EC). Although radiomics models have demonstrated prognostic potential in EC, the impact of region of interest (ROI) delineation strategies and the clinical significance of peritumoral features remain uncertain. Our study thereby aimed to explore the predictive performance of varying radiomics models for the prediction of LVSI, DMI, and disease stage in EC. Methods Patients with 174 histopathology-confirmed EC were retrospectively reviewed. ROIs were manually delineated using the 2D and 3D approach on T2-weighted MRI images. Six radiomics models involving intratumoral (2Dintra and 3Dintra), peritumoral (2Dperi and 3Dperi), and combined models (2Dintra + peri and 3Dintra + peri) were developed. Models were constructed using the logistic regression method with five-fold cross-validation. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was assessed, and was compared using the Delong’s test. Results No significant differences in AUC were observed between the 2Dintra and 3Dintra models, or the 2Dperi and 3Dperi models in all prediction tasks (P > 0.05). Significant difference was observed between the 3Dintra and 3Dperi models for LVSI (0.738 vs. 0.805) and DMI prediction (0.719 vs. 0.804). The 3Dintra + peri models demonstrated significantly better predictive performance in all 3 prediction tasks compared to the 3Dintra model in both the training and validation cohorts (P

ABSTRACTPathogenic bacteria have evolved many strategies to evade surveillance and attack by complements. Streptococcus suis is an important zoonotic pathogen that infects humans and pigs. Hyaluronidase (HylA) has been reported to be a potential virulence factor of S. suis. However, in this study, it was discovered that the genomic region encoding HylA of the virulent S. suis strain SC19 and other ST1 strains was truncated into four fragments when aligned with a strain containing intact HylA and possessing hyaluronidase activity. As a result, SC19 had no hyaluronidase activity, but one truncated HylA fragment, designated as HylS,’ directly interacted with complement C3b, as confirmed by western ligand blotting, pull-down, and ELISA assays. The deposition of C3b and membrane attack complex (MAC) formation on the surface of a HylS’-deleted mutant (ΔhylS’) was significantly increased compared to wild-type SC19. In human sera and whole blood, ΔhylS’ survival was significantly reduced compared to that in SC19. The resistance of ΔhylS’ to macrophages and human polymorphonuclear neutrophil PMNs also decreased. In a mouse infection model, ΔhylS’ showed reduced lethality and lower bacterial load in the organs compared to that of SC19. We conclude that the truncated hyaluronidase HylS’ fragment contributes to complement evasion and the pathogenesis of S. suis.

Anaerobic co-digestion was conducted on the solid residues after three-phase separation of kitchen waste (KWS) and waste-activated sludge (WAS), the synergistic effects and process performance were studied during co-digestion at different ratios of KWS to WAS. KWS and WAS mix ratios of 0:1, 1:4, 1:3, 1:2, 1:1, 2:1, 3:1, 4:1 and 1:0 (based on TS). The results showed that a ratio of KWS to WAS of 1:1 got a very high methane recovery with a methane yield of 310.45 ± 30.05 mL/g VSadded. The highest concentration of free ammonia among all reaction systems was only 70.23 ± 5.53 mg/L, which was not enough to produce ammonia inhibition in the anaerobic co-digestion system. However, when the KWS content exceeded 50%, methane inhibition and prolongation of the lag phase were observed due to the accumulation of volatile fatty acids (VFAs), and during the lag phase. Microbial community analysis showed that various bacterial groups involved in acid production and hydrolysis were mainly dominated by phylum Firmicutes, Chloroflexi, Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes. Hydrogenotrophic methanogen was found to dominate all archaeal communities in the digesters. Co-digestion of KWS with WAS significantly increased the relative abundance of Methanobacterium compared with anaerobic digestion of WAS alone. HIGHLIGHTS Anaerobic co-digestion of solid residue after three-phase separation of kitchen waste and waste-activated sludge.; When the ratio of KWS to WAS was 1:1, the methane recovery was higher and was 310.45 + 30.05 mL/g VSadded.; As the amount of KWS added increased, the protein-like fluorescence intensity increased in the co-digestion system.; Hydrogenotrophic methanogen (Methanobacterium) dominated all archaeal communities in the digesters.;

Hair loss is one of the skin conditions that can affect people’s mental health. Plant raw material extracts are of great interest due to their safety. In this study, we utilize reverse network pharmacology to screen for key targets of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and the TGFβ/BMP signaling pathway, as well as key differential lipids, for plant raw materials selection. The aim is to identify plant raw materials that may have anti-hair loss properties and to validate these findings through cell experiments. Licorice, salvia miltiorrhiza, mulberry leaf, ephedra and curcumae radix were found that may possess anti-hair loss effects. Licorice water extract (LWE), salvia miltiorrhiza water extract (SMWE), mulberry leaf water extract (MLWE), ephedra water extract (EWE) and curcumae radix water extract (CRWE) did not exhibit cytotoxicity on human dermal papilla cells (HDPCs). Through ALP staining, it was found that the expression of ALP in HDPCs treated with LWE, SMWE, MLWE, EWE and CRWE was enhanced. In addition, LWE, SMWE, MLWE, EWE and CRWE have reduced the expression of hair growth inhibitory factor TGF-β1 and inflammatory factor IL-6. Additionally, various water extracts can enhance the secretion of VEGF, with high concentrations of SMWE, EWE and CRWE exhibiting better efficacy. Furthermore, β-catenin, a key factor of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, was enhanced by LWE, SMWE, MLWE, EWE and CRWE treatment in cultured HDPCs. In conclusion, all five plant raw materials showed some anti-hair loss potential, providing theoretical support for their application in anti-hair loss products.

ObjectiveObservational studies have revealed a link between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and sarcopenia. However, it remains unclear whether this correlation between IBD and sarcopenia is causal.MethodsThe genetic instrumental variables (IVs) associated with IBD and sarcopenia-related traits were derived from publicly available genome-wide association studies. We employed a two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) method. we obtained genetic IVs for five phenotypes from 34,652 cases in IBD, 27,432 cases in ulcerative colitis (UC), 212356 cases in crohn’s disease (CD), 9336415 cases in low hand grip strength (LHGS), and 450243 cases in appendicular lean mass (ALM), respectively. The inverse variance weighting and other MR methods were used to explore the bidirectional causal relationship. Furthermore, we performed heterogeneity test, pleiotropy test, leave-one-out sensitivity test, and multivariate MR to evaluate the robustness of the results.ResultsThe forward MR results showed that the UC (OR=0.994, 95% CI: 0.9876–0.9998, P = 0.044) and CD (OR=0.993, 95% CI: 0.988–0.998, P = 0.006) was negatively correlated with ALM. In the reverse MR analysis, we also found that LHGS was negatively correlated with the IBD (OR=0.76, 95% CI: 0.61–0.94, P = 0.012) and CD (OR=0.53, 95% CI: 0.40–0.70, P

Objective Nowadays, more than 90% of people over 50 years suffer from intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD), but there are exist no ideal drugs. The aim of this study is to identify a new drug for IDD. Methods An approved small molecular drug library including 2040 small molecular compounds was used here. We found that taurocholic acid sodium hydrate (NAT) could induce chondrogenesis and osteogenesis in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Then, an in vivo mouse model of IDD was established and the coccygeal discs transcriptome analysis and surface plasmon resonance analysis (SPR) integrated with liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry assay (LC‐MS) were performed in this study to study the therapy effect and target proteins of NAT for IDD. Micro‐CT was used to evaluate the cancellous bone. The expression of osteogenic (OCN, RNX2), chondrogenic (COL2A1, SOX9), and the target related (ERK1/2, p‐ERK1/2) proteins were detected. The alkaline phosphatase staining was performed to estimate osteogenic differentiation. Blood routine and blood biochemistry indexes were analyzed for the safety of NAT. Results The results showed that NAT could induce chondrogenesis and osteogenesis in MSCs. Further experiments confirmed NAT could ameliorate the secondary osteoporosis and delay the development of IDD in mice. Transcriptome analysis identified 128 common genes and eight Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways for NAT. SPR‐LC–MS assay detected 57 target proteins for NAT, including MAPK3 (mitogen‐activated protein kinase 3), also known as ERK1 (extracellular regulated protein kinase 1). Further verification experiment confirmed that NAT significantly reduced the expression of ERK1/2 phosphorylation. Conclusion NAT would induce chondrogenesis and osteogenesis of MSCs, ameliorate the secondary osteoporosis and delay the progression of IDD in mice by targeting MAPK3.Furthermore, MAPK3, especially the phosphorylation of MAPK3, would be a potential therapeutic target for IDD treatment.

Abstract Background China is experiencing an aging population, leading to a significant demand for “Internet + nursing services” tailored for elderly individuals. However, there are many risk problems in the process of nurse service, which hinder the development of the service, and a scale is needed to assess the risk problems faced by nurses in “Internet + nursing services” for the elderly. Objective The purpose of this study is to develop an assessment scale for risk factors and outcomes related to nurses’ involvement in the “Internet + Nursing Service” for the elderly and to assess its reliability and validity. Methods Based on literature analysis, focus group, the Delphi method, and a presurvey, we designed an initial scale. The initial scale comprised two sections: risk factors and risk outcomes for nurses. In January and February of 2023, nurses engaged in “Internet + nursing services” for the elderly in Shanxi Province were chosen through a convenience sampling technique for a questionnaire survey. Subsequently, item analysis and exploratory factor analysis were employed to refine and develop a test version of the scale further. A follow-up questionnaire survey was carried out in March and April 2023 using a similar approach. The reliability and validity of the scale were assessed through confirmatory factor analysis, culminating in the formation of the final scale. Results The initial survey yielded 244 valid responses. The cumulative variance contributions of the two segments from the exploratory factor analysis were 84.584% and 90.089%, respectively. A subsequent survey garnered 220 valid responses. The confirmatory factor analysis results indicated: χ2/df = 2.086, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.918, normative fit index (NLI) = 0.855, root mean square of residuals (RMR) = 0.045, and root mean square of error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.070. These results demonstrate good structural, convergent, and discriminant validity. The content validity index at the item level (I-CVI) ranged between 0.875 and 1.000, while the content validity index at the scale level (S-CVI/Ave) was 0.941. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the entire scale stood at 0.970. Moreover, the scale exhibited a split-half reliability of 0.876 and a retest reliability of 0.980 (p

Abstract Background High-spatial resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is essential for imaging ankle joints. However, the clinical application of fast spin-echo sequences remains limited by their lengthy acquisition time. Artificial intelligence-assisted compressed sensing (ACS) technology has been recently introduced as an integrative acceleration solution. We compared ACS-accelerated 3-T ankle MRI to conventional methods of compressed sensing (CS) and parallel imaging (PI) . Methods We prospectively included 2 healthy volunteers and 105 patients with ankle pain. ACS acceleration factors for ankle protocol of T1-, T2-, and proton density (PD)-weighted sequences were optimized in a pilot study on healthy volunteers (acceleration factor 3.2–3.3×). Images of patients acquired using ACS and conventional acceleration methods were compared in terms of acquisition times, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), subjective image quality, and diagnostic agreement. Shapiro-Wilk test, Cohen κ, intraclass correlation coefficient, and one-way ANOVA with post hoc tests (Tukey or Dunn) were used. Results ACS acceleration reduced the acquisition times of T1-, T2-, and PD-weighted sequences by 32−43%, compared with conventional CS and PI, while maintaining image quality (mostly higher SNR with p < 0.004 and higher CNR with p < 0.047). The diagnostic agreement between ACS and conventional sequences was rated excellent (κ = 1.00). Conclusions The optimum ACS acceleration factors for ankle MRI were found to be 3.2–3.3× protocol. The ACS allows faster imaging, yielding similar image quality and diagnostic performance. Relevance statement AI-assisted compressed sensing significantly accelerates ankle MRI times while preserving image quality and diagnostic precision, potentially expediting patient diagnoses and improving clinical workflows. Key points • AI-assisted compressed sensing (ACS) significantly reduced scan duration for ankle MRI. • Similar image quality achieved by ACS compared to conventional acceleration methods. • A high agreement by three acceleration methods in the diagnosis of ankle lesions was observed. Graphical Abstract

With the development of science and technology and the improvement of hardware computing power, the application of large models in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) has become a current research hotspot Among the focal points in the field of deep learning, AI for science is one of the highlighted areas, utilizing deep learning methods for pattern recognition, anomaly detection, predictive analysis, and more on a large scale of scientific data. In the realm of materials science, the structure of crystals is composed of edges and nodes, making it readily representable as a graph. In previous research, some typical models, such as the MEGNet model, utilized their graph neural network features to fit computational results based on density functional theory for predicting various material properties. Building on this concept, the authors propose a novel graph neural network (GNN) model, optimized with a Multi-Head Self-Attention (MHSA) mechanism, for predicting materials data with crystal structures. This model is named self-attention enhanced graph neural network. The model segments the input data into three parts: edges, nodes, and global features. The graph convolutional layer module is primarily used for aggregating node, edge, and global features, learning node representations, and capturing higher-order neighborhood information through multiple layers of GNN. The MHSA component allows nodes to learn global dependencies, providing different representation subspaces for the nodes. In comparison with other machine learning and deep learning models, the results indicate an improvement in the predictive accuracy of this model. A new graph neural network (GNN) model called Self-Attention Enhanced Graph Neural Network (SA-GNN) is proposed for predicting the properties of materials with crystal structures. This model incorporates multi-head self-attention to allow nodes to learn global dependencies and generate different representational subspaces. Compared to other machine learning and deep learning models, the results show improved predictive accuracy, demonstrating the potential of graph networks combined with self-attention for modeling crystal material data.

Background: /purpose: The quality of the hybrid layer is of great importance for dentin bonding. The purpose of this study was to develop a novel copper-based pretreatment and investigate the effect of the pretreatment combined with universal adhesives on the dentin bond strength. Materials and methods: Etch-and-rinse adhesive Single Bond 2 (SB2) and two universal adhesives Prime Bond Universal (PBU) and Single Bond Universal (SBU) were selected. The dentin surfaces were pretreated with CuSO4 solution and K2HPO4 solution in turn (Cu–P pretreatment), and the adhesive was applied following the manufacturer's instructions. There were four groups of Cu–P pretreatment: HH-Cu (1.5 mol/L CuSO4 + 1.0 mol/L K2HPO4); H–Cu (0.15 mol/L CuSO4 + 0.1 mol/L K2HPO4); L-Cu (0.015 mol/L CuSO4 + 0.01 mol/L K2HPO4); and LL-Cu (0.0015 mol/L CuSO4 + 0.001 mol/L K2HPO4). The microtensile bond strength (μ-TBS) and fracture mode were determined. The dentin surface after pretreatment and the antimicrobial properties of the pretreatment agent were also evaluated. Results: The minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration of Cu–P pretreatment were 0.012 mol/L CuSO4 + 0.008 mol/L K2HPO4. Combined with SB2, the H–Cu and L-Cu groups showed a higher μ-TBS (P

ObjectiveThis study aimed to examine the clinical distinctions among patients diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis (AE) based on the presence or absence of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) oligoclonal bands (OCBs). Additionally, it sought to explore the relationship between OCBs and the severity and prognosis of autoimmune encephalitis.MethodsA retrospective analysis was conducted on 94 patients diagnosed with AE at the People’s Hospital of Zhengzhou University between October 2016 and June 2022. The patients were divided into OCB-positive and OCB-negative groups based on CSF-OCBs. Patient severity at admission was assessed utilizing the Clinical Assessment Scale for Autoimmune Encephalitis (CASE) and the modified Rankin scale (mRS). Additionally, some oligoclonal-positive patients underwent dynamic longitudinal analysis of cerebrospinal fluid test indices. The mRS score was ultimately employed to evaluate patients’ short-term prognosis (6 months) and long-term prognosis (at least 12 months) following immunotherapy.ResultsOf the 94 patients, 34 (36.2%) belonged to the OCB-positive group, while 60 (63.8%) belonged to the OCB-negative group. The group with anti-n-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (anti-NMDAR) encephalitis exhibited the highest rate of oligoclonal positivity at 27 (49.1%), followed by anti-aminobutyric acid B receptor (GABABR) encephalitis with 4 cases (30.8%), anti-contactin-associated protein-like 2 (CASPR2) encephalitis with 2 cases (20%), and anti-leucine-rich glioma inactivating protein 1 (LGI1) encephalitis with 1 case (6.25%). No statistically significant differences were found between the two groups regarding gender, age, prodromal symptoms, psychiatric disorders, seizures, language disorders, motor dysfunction, cognitive dysfunction, tumor incidence, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) abnormalities (p > 0.05). The OCB-positive group exhibited higher rates of autonomic dysfunction, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, CSF leukocytes, and IgG index compared to the OCB-negative group (p

In response to the needs of national ecological construction, especially the construction of high-quality marine space and reasonable use of the marine environment, Pingtan Island as a demonstration area of China's environmental construction, this study evaluates the quality of its ecological environment, which provides reference for the protection of the future ecological environment. In this study, CASA (Carnegie-ames-stanford approach), RUSLE (Revised universal soil loss equation) and InVEST (Integrated valuation of ecosystem services and trade-offs) models were selected for ecological environment assessment in the Pingtan Island. The NPP (Net primary productivity) calculated by CASA model, soil erosion data calculated by RUSLE and habitat quality, total carbon, water yield, and sediment delivery ratio calculated by InVEST model showed that the ecological environment quality and ecological service function of the study area had a weakening trend from 2000 to 2010. In particular, there was a tendency to weaken the water yield and sediment delivery ratio in the Pingtan Island between 2000 and 2010. The weakening trend during 2010 and 2020 was much higher than that during 2000 and 2010. The main influencing factor of each ecological service function is NDVI, which indicates that the degree of vegetation cover is the key factor determining the ecological service function. The impact of GDP and population on the ecological service functions is also large, which indicates that with the acceleration of urbanization, the ecological service function of the research area has been negatively affected. Changes in ecological services and ecological restoration functions are significant for local sustainable development.

Abstract The spatial and spectral information contained in the hyperspectral image (HSI) make it widely used in many fields. However, the sharp increase of HSI data brings enormous pressure to the data storage and real‐time transmission. The research shows that hyperspectral compressive sensing (HCS) breaks through the bottleneck of the Nyquist sampling theorem, which can relieve the massive pressure on data storage and real‐time transmission. Existing HCS methods try to design advanced compression sampling matrix or reconstruction algorithms, but cannot connect the two through a unified framework. To further improve the image reconstruction quality, a novel codec space‐spectrum joint dense residual network (CDS2‐DResN) is proposed. The CDS2‐DResN is divided into block compression sampling part and reconstruction part. For block compression sampling, coded convolutional layer (CCL) is leveraged to compress and sample HSI. For measurements reconstruction, deconvolution layer is first leveraged to initially reconstruct HSI, and then build a space‐spectrum joint network to refine the initial reconstructed HSI. Moreover, the CCL and reconstruction network are optimized via a unified framework, which can simplify the pre‐processing and post‐processing process of HCS. Extensive experiments have shown that CDS2‐DResN has an excellent HCS reconstruction effect at measurement rates 0.25, 0.10, 0.04 and 0.01, respectively.

Abstract Background hsa_circ_0001727 (circZKSCAN1) has been reported to be a tumor-associated circRNA by sponging microRNAs. Intriguingly, we found that circZKSCAN1 encoded a secretory peptide (circZKSaa) in the liver. The present study aims to elucidate the potential role and molecular mechanism of circZKSaa in the regulation of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression. Methods The circRNA profiling datasets (RNA-seq data GSE143233 and GSE140202) were reanalyzed and circZKSCAN1 was selected for further study. Mass spectrometry, polysome fractionation assay, dual-luciferase reporter, and a series of experiments showed that circZKSCAN1 encodes circZKSaa. Cell proliferation, apoptosis, and tumorigenesis in nude mice were examined to investigate the functions of circZKSaa. Mechanistically, the relationship between the circZKSaa and mTOR in HCC was verified by immunoprecipitation analyses, mass spectrometry, and immunofluorescence staining analyses. Results Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis demonstrated that the secretory peptide circZKSaa encoded by circZKSCAN1 might be the potential biomarker for HCC tissues. Through a series of experiments, we found that circZKSaa inhibited HCC progression and sensitize HCC cells to sorafenib. Mechanistically, we found that the sponge function of circZKSCAN1 to microRNA is weak in HCC, while overexpression of circZKSaa promoted the interaction of FBXW7 with the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) to promote the ubiquitination of mTOR, thereby inhibiting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Furthermore, we found that the high expression of cicZKSCAN1 in sorafenib-treated HCC cells was regulated by QKI-5. Conclusions These results reveal that a novel circZKSCAN1-encoded peptide acts as a tumor suppressor on PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, and sensitizes HCC cells to sorafenib via ubiquitination of mTOR. These findings demonstrated that circZKSaa has the potential to serve as a therapeutic target and biomarker for HCC treatment.

Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor encephalitis is a type of autoimmune encephalitis (AE) characterized by antibodies against NMDA receptor. As the most common AE, anti-NMDAR encephalitis affects 54% ~ 80% of patients with AE. It is associated with a high percentage of severe illness. It typically manifests as behavioral and psychiatric disturbance, epilepsy, cognitive decline, decreased level of consciousness, involuntary movements, autonomic dysfunction, central hypoventilation, etc. We report two refractory anti-NMDAR encephalitis. One of them describes a case of anti-NMDA encephalitis coexisting with MOG antibodies. The two patients were administered first-line therapy with glucocorticoids and intravenous immunoglobulin but did not improve clinically. Therefore, the patient was switched to the fully human anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, ofatumumab. Their consciousness, behavioral and psychiatric disturbance, and capacity to conduct daily tasks improved markedly after sequential therapy with ofatumumab, as demonstrated by the modified Rankin scale (mRS) score. For the first time, we report a successful approach to the treatment of refractory anti-NMDAR encephalitis using the fully human anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody ofatumumab, which serves as an important reference for the treatment of AE.

Background To compare the mid-term follow-up clinical efficacy among three treatment approaches for lumbar degenerative diseases (LDD): standalone oblique lumbar interbody fusion (SF), oblique lumbar interbody fusion combined with lateral screw fixation (LF), and oblique lumbar interbody fusion combined with posterior screw fixation (PF). Method This retrospective study included a total of 71 cases of single level LDD that underwent OLIF in Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine were retrospectively collected between March 2016 and September 2017. Patients were divided into three groups: 24 cases in the SF group, 24 cases in the LF group and 23 cases in the PF group. Various parameters, such as operation time, hospitalization time, and complications, were recorded. The fusion condition was assessed at last follow up. Clinical outcomes were evaluated using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) from pre-operation to 5 years post-surgery. Results Significantly lower mean operation time and hospitalization time were observed in the SF and LF groups compared to the PF group ( p < .05). However, no significant difference in fusion rate was found among the three groups. Regarding clinical outcomes, there was no statistically significant difference in VAS scores between the three groups during all follow-up periods. At the 6th month and 1st year after surgery, the SF and LF groups had significantly lower Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores compared to the PF group ( p < .05). There was no significant difference in perioperative complication rates among the three groups ( p > .05). In the LF group, one case of instrument displacement and urethra injury were reported, while in the SF, LF, and PF groups, 10, 9, and 3 cases of cage subsidence were reported, respectively. Conclusion The study findings suggest that oblique lumbar interbody fusion (OLIF) is a safe and effective treatment for mid-term management of lumbar degenerative diseases (LDD). Compared to the posterior screw fixation (PF) group, both the standalone OLIF (SF) and OLIF combined with lateral screw fixation (LF) groups showed advantages in terms of reduced operation time, shorter hospitalization, and faster symptom alleviation in the short-term. However, OLIF combined with PF demonstrated comparable symptom relief in the mid-term and had the additional benefit of lower cage subsidence rates while improving fusion rates as well.

Pericytes are multipotent mesenchymal precursor cells that demonstrate tissue-specific properties. In this study, by comparing human adipose tissue– and periosteum-derived pericyte microarrays, we identified T cell lymphoma invasion and metastasis 1 (TIAM1) as a key regulator of cell morphology and differentiation decisions. TIAM1 represented a tissue-specific determinant between predispositions for adipocytic versus osteoblastic differentiation in human adipose tissue–derived pericytes. TIAM1 overexpression promoted an adipogenic phenotype, whereas its downregulation amplified osteogenic differentiation. These results were replicated in vivo, in which TIAM1 misexpression altered bone or adipose tissue generation in an intramuscular xenograft animal model. Changes in pericyte differentiation potential induced by TIAM1 misexpression correlated with actin organization and altered cytoskeletal morphology. Small molecule inhibitors of either small GTPase Rac1 or RhoA/ROCK signaling reversed TIAM1-induced morphology and differentiation in pericytes. In summary, our results demonstrate that TIAM1 regulates the cellular morphology and differentiation potential of human pericytes, representing a molecular switch between osteogenic and adipogenic cell fates.

Abstract Background Ewing sarcoma/primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) of the renal is extremely rare. The common cause of ectopic ACTH syndrome is pulmonary neuroendocrine tumors, such as small cell carcinomas and carcinoid tumors. Here, we present an unusual case of ectopic ACTH syndrome and hypothyroidism caused by Ewing sarcoma/PNET of the right kidney. Case presentation A 19-year-old girl presented with a history of right lumbar pain and discomfort for 2 months, aggravated for 2 days. Abdominal contrast-enhanced computed tomography and computed tomography angiography showed an upper pole occupancy of the right kidney occupancy with subepithelial hemorrhage. Preoperative hormone levels including plasma total cortisol (PTC), adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) and thyroid hormone measurements were abnormal, indicating that the patient had Cushing syndrome and hypothyroidism. The patient underwent right radical nephrectomy. Histopathological analysis revealed a renal small round blue cell tumor (consistent with a primitive neuroectodermal tumor), with positive immunohistochemistry for CD99 and Ki67 (about 10%) and molecular pathology for EWSR1 gene fusions. PTC, ACTH and thyroid hormone returned to normal after surgery. Conclusions We report a rare ectopic ACTH syndrome and hypothyroidism due to renal Ewing sarcoma/PNET. The clinical manifestation of renal Ewing sarcoma/PNET is non-specific and the diagnosis relies on pathological morphology, immunohistochemistry and fusion gene detection. At present, surgery combined with radiotherapy and chemotherapy is used in the treatment, but the prognosis is still not optimistic.

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD) are a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by progressive degeneration of neurons. NDDs threaten the lives of millions of people worldwide and regretfully remain incurable. It is well accepted that dysfunction of mitochondria underlies the pathogenesis of NDDs. Dysfunction of mitochondria results in energy depletion, oxidative stress, calcium overloading, caspases activation, which dominates the neuronal death of NDDs. Therefore, mitochondria are the preferred target for intervention of NDDs. So far various mitochondria-targeting drugs have been developed and delightfully some of them demonstrate promising outcome, though there are still some obstacles such as targeting specificity, delivery capacity hindering the drugs development. In present review, we will elaborately address 1) the strategy to design mitochondria targeting drugs, 2) the rescue mechanism of respective mitochondria targeting drugs, 3) how to evaluate the therapeutic effect. Hopefully this review will provide comprehensive knowledge for understanding how to develop more effective drugs for the treatment of NDDs.

Geological storage of CO2 in basalts provides a new and potentially significant option for carbon capture and storage (CCS). So far, there are only three demonstration projects in the world, namely Nagaoka in Japan, Wallula in the United States of America and Carbfix in Iceland. These examples have confirmed the technical and economic feasibility of geological storage of CO2 in basalts. The main progress achieved on the technology of CO2 capture and storage in basalts are as follows (1) CO2 in flue gas can be better captured by using aqueous solution instead of amine solvent, so that CO2 and other water-soluble gases are easily captured at the same time, while equipment such as scrubbing tower is just simply installed as a gas separation device near the emission point source. (2) The Carbfix method suitable for CO2 saturated solution injection and storage is proposed, and a special system which can inject gas and water solution respectively is designed. (3) In the process of CO2 injection and sequestration, the tracer element monitoring method was firstly adopted, and the percentage of carbonation of CO2 injected was quantitatively estimated by the mass balance method. It was found that at least 95% of basalts were completely mineralized in less than two years after CO2 injection. However, the remain technical problems exist and need to be further studied, which include (1) how to choose the correct injection means between the CO2 saturated and supercritical solutions. (2) Whether sea water can replace fresh water to dissolve CO2. (3) How to improve the accuracy of geochemical simulation of injection and geological storage of CO2 in basalts. (4) How to reduce the cost of carbon capture, separation and transportation. There are still a long way to go before we can effectively deploy such CCS technologies throughout the world.

The effect of feeding fermented liquid feed (FLF) with added Pediococcus acidilactici to weaning piglets challenged with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) F4 on aspects of diarrhea, performance, immune responses, and intestinal epithelial barrier function was investigated. A total of 46 weaners (weaning at 27–30 days of age) were assigned to four treatments: (1) Non-challenged and dry feed (Non-Dry); (2) Challenged and dry feed (Ch-Dry); (3) Non-challenged and FLF (Non-Ferm); (4) Challenged and FLF (Ch-Ferm). All groups received the same feed, either dry (Non-Dry and Ch-Dry), or in liquid form (Non-Ferm and Ch-Ferm) in which the cereals with added P. acidilactici (106 CFU/g cereals) had been fermented for 24 h at 30°C. On day 1 and 2 post weaning, Ch-Dry and Ch-Ferm were orally inoculated with 5 mL × 109 CFU ETEC F4/mL, whereas the Non-Dry and Non-Ferm received the same amount of saline. Fecal samples and blood samples were collected through the study period. The microbial composition, concentration of microbial metabolites and nutrient composition indicated that the quality of the FLF was high. In the first week, ADFI of both non-challenged groups was significantly higher (p

Milk protein is an important component in milk and dairy products, and its content and composition are important factors influencing the functionality of milk such as nutrition and immunity. Protein components in milk are complex, and the content of different components varies greatly. With the development of functional properties of milk protein, it is of great significance and value to determine the content of milk protein components in a faster and more accurate way. Currently, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), capillary electrophoresis (CE), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) are the main methods used to determine protein components in milk. In this article, the measurement principle, applicability, and the characteristics of these methods are reviewed, which could provide reliable technical reference for accurate measurement and establishment of a novel method in milk protein evaluation, while this could also be a theoretical support for dairy nutrition research, development of dairy products and infant formula optimization.

Abstract The outer coverings of the skeleton, which is also known as the periosteum, are arranged in concentric layers and act as a reservoir for tissue-specific bone progenitors. The cellular heterogeneity within this tissue depot is being increasingly recognized. Here, inducible PDGFRα reporter animals were found to mark a population of cells within the periosteum that act as a stem cell reservoir for periosteal appositional bone formation and fracture repair. During these processes, PDGFRα reporter+ progenitors give rise to Nestin+ periosteal cells before becoming osteoblasts and osteocytes. The diphtheria toxin-mediated ablation of PDGFRα reporter+ cells led to deficits in cortical bone formation during homeostasis and a diminutive hard callus during fracture repair. After ossicle transplantation, both mouse PDGFRα reporter+ periosteal cells and human Pdgfrα+ periosteal progenitors expand, ossify, and recruit marrow to a greater extent than their counterpart periosteal cells, whereas PDGFRα reporter− periosteal cells exhibit a predisposition to chondrogenesis in vitro. Total RNA sequencing identified enrichment of the secreted factors Fermt3 and Ptpn6 within PDGFRα reporter+ periosteal cells, which partly underlie the osteoblastogenic features of this cell population.

Let $ \omega $ belong to the weight class $ \mathcal{W} $, the large Fock space $ \mathcal{F}_{\omega}^{p} $ consists of all holomorphic functions $ f $ on $ \mathbb{C}^{n} $ such that the function $ f(\cdot)\omega(\cdot)^{1/2} $ is in $ L^p(\mathbb{C}^{n}, dv) $. In this paper, given a positive Borel measure $ \mu $ on $ {\mathbb C}^n $, we characterize the boundedness and compactness of Toeplitz operator $ T_\mu $ between two large Fock spaces $ F^{p}_\omega $ and $ F^{q}_\omega $ for all possible $ 0 < p, q < \infty $.

Riptortus pedestris is a potential edible insect, and its powder can be considered as an ideal nutrient source. This study sought to determine the nutritive quality of the powder from Riptortus pedestris. The protein and crude fat content of dried R. pedestris powder were 77.61 g 100 g-1 and 18.01 g 100 g-1, respectively. It contained 18 amino acids and 6 fatty acids comparable to eggs and soybean. The total essential amino acid contents could meet the requirement of preschool children and adults. The unsaturated fatty acid content in R. pedestris powder was comparatively more than saturated fatty acid content. Essential unsaturated fatty acids content, especially linoleic acid, was quite high than egg or some other edible stinkbugs. Additionally, R. pedestris powder was rich in various mineral substances, and the macro-element and micro-element contents were more balanced than other edible stinkbugs. These results suggest that R. pedestris powder could be a highly nutritious, alternative novel nutrition source for humans.

Abstract Peri-implantitis is a common reversible disease after tooth implantation, caused by a variety of pathogenic microorganisms. Based on non-surgical or surgical treatment principles, supplementation by local or systemic drugs might enhance treatment efficacy. Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) (ATCC 33,277) and Prevotella intermedius (Pi) (ATCC 25,611) were used as test strains. The effects of Pln 149 on the biofilm formation and growth of four periodontal pathogens were evaluated by RT-PCR, fluorescence microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The antibacterial mechanism was tested by the patch-clamp technique. The cytotoxicity of Pln 149 (125 µg/ml) to bone marrow stromal cell (BMSC) was assessed using an MTT assay. Pln 149 exhibited significant inhibitory effects on Pg and Pi (P

BackgroundApart from myasthenia gravis (MG), thymoma is associated with a wide spectrum of autoimmune paraneoplastic syndromes (PNSs). Here, we report on a rare case presenting with four different PNSs, namely, MG, membranous nephropathy, cutaneous amyloidosis, and Morvan’s syndrome associated with thymoma.Case presentationA middle-aged man was frequently hospitalized because of nephrotic syndrome (stage I membranous nephropathy), cutaneous amyloidosis, and MG with acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibody and titin antibody positivity. Chest CT showed a thymic mass in the left anterior mediastinum, and he received intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), methylprednisolone pulse therapy, thoracoscopic thymoma resection, and radiotherapy. Postoperative pathological examination revealed a type B2 thymoma. During the perioperative stage, his electrocardiogram (ECG) showed myocardial infarction-like ECG changes; however, his levels of cardiac enzymes and troponin were normal, and he had no symptoms of precardiac discomfort. Six months after thymectomy, his nephrotic syndrome and MG symptoms were relieved; however, he presented with typical manifestations of Morvan’s syndrome, including neuromyotonia, severe insomnia, abnormal ECG activity, and antibodies against leucine-rich glioma-inactivated 1 (LGI1) and γ-amino-butyric acid-B receptor (GABABR). His symptoms did not improve after repeated IVIG and steroid therapies. Finally, he received low-dose rituximab, and his symptoms gradually resolved.ConclusionThis case serves to remind us that apart from MG, thymoma is also associated with other autoimmune PNSs such as membranous nephropathy, cutaneous amyloidosis, and Morvan’s syndrome. Autoimmune PNSs can present concurrently with or after surgical or medical therapy for thymoma. For Morvan’s syndrome post-thymectomy with LGI1 antibody positivity, B-cell depletion therapy such as intravenous rituximab is an effective treatment.

Soft tissue trauma can result in aberrant osteochondral differentiation of local mesenchymal progenitor cells. Here the authors show that, in mice, soft tissue trauma results in NGF expression by perivascular cells, which leads to axonal invasion and drives abnormal osteochondral differentiation, and show that this process can be prevented by inhibition of NGF signaling.

Abstract Progenitor cells from adipose tissue are able to induce bone repair; however, inconsistent or unreliable efficacy has been reported across preclinical and clinical studies. Soluble inhibitory factors, such as the secreted Wnt signaling antagonists Dickkopf‐1 (DKK1), are expressed to variable degrees in human adipose‐derived stem cells (ASCs), and may represent a targetable “molecular brake” on ASC mediated bone repair. Here, anti‐DKK1 neutralizing antibodies were observed to increase the osteogenic differentiation of human ASCs in vitro, accompanied by increased canonical Wnt signaling. Human ASCs were next engrafted into a femoral segmental bone defect in NOD‐Scid mice, with animals subsequently treated with systemic anti‐DKK1 or isotype control during the repair process. Human ASCs alone induced significant but modest bone repair. However, systemic anti‐DKK1 induced an increase in human ASC engraftment and survival, an increase in vascular ingrowth, and ultimately improved bone repair outcomes. In summary, anti‐DKK1 can be used as a method to augment cell‐mediated bone regeneration, and could be particularly valuable in the contexts of impaired bone healing such as osteoporotic bone repair.

The year 2020 and 2021 have been decimated by the pandemic, leading to outbound vacations largely scrapped. Staycation, a typical domestic journal, has then been adopted by those who are tired of self-isolation for so long. This study aims to explore and assess the drivers exerting impact on attitude of tourists toward staycation and the interrelationship among the research constructs is also examined. A quantitative analysis is employed for evaluating the roles of reduced risk perception, benign envy, and perceived benefits as they exert the effect on attitude toward staycation. An online questionnaire survey was used, and a total of 213 samples were collected from target respondents in Hong Kong, which were still under lockdown at the time of the study. The results of the study showed that reduced risk perception, benign envy as well as perceived benefits will influence tourists’ attitude toward staycation. The managerial and theoretical implications of the results are discussed based on the significant relationships identified in the study.

With people’s concerns about the environment growing, the demand for organic food has increased. However, few studies have focused on organic dining intention. Therefore, this study examined generativity, which is defined as the direction and care for the growth of future generations through self-expanding forms, and its influence on attitude toward organic food, environment concern and dining intention. The moderating effect of age was also examined. A total of 418 responses were collected through a face-to-face survey from Shanghai respondents. PLS-SEM was utilized to verify the model and test the relationships among the constructs. The results show that generativity directly influences environmental concerns, attitudes toward organic food and dining intentions. Furthermore, environmental concerns and attitudes toward organic food are mediating variables for generativity to affect dining intentions. The older the age group, the more likely it is for generativity to have a positive influence on attitude toward organic food and environmental concerns. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed in this study.

The skeleton is one of the largest organ systems in the body and is richly innervated by the network of nerves. Peripheral nerves in the skeleton include sensory and sympathetic nerves. Crosstalk between bones and nerves is a hot topic of current research, yet it is not well understood. In this review, we will explore the role of nerves in bone repair and remodeling, as well as summarize the molecular mechanisms by which neurotransmitters regulate osteogenic differentiation. Furthermore, we discuss the skeleton’s role as an endocrine organ that regulates the innervation and function of nerves by secreting bone-derived factors. An understanding of the interactions between nerves and bone can help to prevent and treat bone diseases caused by abnormal innervation or nerve function, develop new strategies for clinical bone regeneration, and improve patient outcomes.

Myocardial infarction (MI) is a serious threat to people’s life and health, which is significantly hindered by effective treatment formulations. Interestingly, our recent endeavour of designing selenium-containing polymeric hydrogel has been experimentally proved to be helpful in combating inflammatory responses and treating MI. The design was inspired by selenium with anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrosis activities, and the formulation could also serve as a support of myocardial tissue upon the failure of this function. In details, an injectable selenium-containing polymeric hydrogel, namely, poly[di-(1-hydroxylyndecyl) selenide/polypropylene glycol/polyethylene glycol urethane] [poly(DH-SE/PEG/PPG urethane)], was synthesised by combining a thermosensitive PPG block, DH-Se (which has oxidation-reduction properties), and hydrophilic PEG segments. Based on the established mouse model of MI, this formulation was experimentally validated to effectively promote the recovery of cardiac function. At the same time, we confirmed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, Masson staining and Western blotting that this formulation could inhibit inflammation and fibrosis, so as to significantly improve left ventricular remodelling. In summary, a selenium-containing polymeric hydrogel formulation analysed in the current study could be a promising therapeutic formulation, which can provide new strategies towards the effective treatment of myocardial infarction or even other inflammatory diseases.

Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae causes porcine pleuropneumonia. The function of the outer membrane protein W gene (ompW) of A. pleuropneumoniae has not been evaluated. Thus a deletion mutant of ompW, ΔompW, was constructed to explore the effect of ompW gene deletion on bacterial growth, biofilm formation, bacterial morphology, oxidative tolerance, susceptibility to antibiotics, and the expression of ribosome synthesis and ABC transporter related genes. Results showed that the ompW gene deletion did not affect biofilm formation and the growth of A. pleuropneumoniae but did affect bacterial morphology during steady growth, oxidative tolerance, and bacterial susceptibility to polymyxin B, kanamycin, and penicillin. The ompW gene deletion also affected the expression of ribosome synthesis and ABC transporter related genes. These results suggested that ompW may regulate the biological phenotype of A. pleuropneumoniae.

The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is vulnerable to deliberate spoofing signal attacks. Once the user wrongly locks on the spoofing signal, the wrong position, velocity, and time (PVT) information will be calculated, which will harm the user. GNSS spoofing signals are difficult to carry out spoofing attacks in the direction of arrival (DOA) of the real signal, so the spoofing detection method based on DOA is very effective. On the basis of identifying spoofing signals, accurate DOA information of the signal can be further used to locate the spoofer. At present, the existing DOA monitoring methods for spoofing signals are mainly based on dedicated antenna arrays and receivers, which are costly and difficult to upgrade and are not conducive to large-scale deployment, upgrade, and maintenance. This paper proposes a spoofing detection and direction-finding method based on a low-cost commercial GNSS board component (including an antenna). Based on the traditional principle of using a multi-antenna carrier phase to solve DOA, this paper innovatively solves the following problems: the poor direction-finding accuracy caused by the unstable phase center of low-cost commercial antennas, the low success rate of spoofing detection in a multipath environment, and the inconsistent sampling time among multiple low-cost commercial GNSS boards. Moreover, the corresponding prototype equipment for spoofing detection and direction-finding is developed. The measured results show that it can effectively detect spoofing signals in open environments. Under a certain false alarm rate, the detection success rate can reach 100%, and the typical direction-finding accuracy can reach 5°.

Background: Cytological detection of early esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains challenging. Therefore, we introduced a rapid cytological screening method and evaluated its efficacy as a pre-endoscopy screening for early ESCC and precursor lesions. Methods: This method consisted of a sponge sample retrieval, automatic liquid-based cytological treatment and slides preparation, computer-assisted screening and manual diagnosis. Efficacy for detection of early ESCC and precursor lesions was evaluated. Also, diagnostic efficiency was compared with manual diagnosis. Results: Eighty-three patients with early ESCC and precursor lesions and 2,090 asymptomatic participants with high risks of ESCC were enrolled. Whole procedure was accomplished within two working days. Abnormal cells were detected in all 83 patients, and in 272 (13.01%) subjects among 2,090 asymptomatic participants. Early ESCC, high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia, low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia and reflux esophagitis and normal endoscopic findings were detected in 8, 13, 11, 187 and 53 participants with abnormal cells, respectively. The calculated sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value for detection of early ESCC and precursor lesions were 100%, 88.34%, 11.76%, and 100%, respectively. Compared with manual diagnosis, this method was accomplished in a shorter time duration (5.4 ± 0.45 min vs 320.2 ± 132.4 min, p

In order to obtain more children’s physical training information and improve the accuracy of children’s physical training monitoring, a multisensor-based children’s physical training information collection, analysis, and monitoring system is proposed. In the process of physical training and sports training, people’s physical training information collection is directly related to the level and effectiveness of physical training. With the combination of multisensor concept and sports training information collection, it can collect the key index data of sports mobilization in real time with the help of multiple sensors and information technology. Taking children’s physical training as the object, this paper designs a multisensor physical training data information acquisition terminal, collects different training characteristic data with the help of multisensor equipment, and then comprehensively analyzes and monitors the physical information with the help of certain fusion technology, so as to construct a human posture recognition algorithm based on children’s physical training information acquisition. Support vector machine and decision tree are used to classify children’s different physical exercise states, and a relatively perfect algorithm architecture of human posture recognition is constructed. The results show that for two decision trees, each decision tree is trained with a total of 675 groups of data, and a total of 342 groups of data are verified and pruned. The two decision trees take 7.17 s and 7.32 s to complete the training process, respectively. It can be seen that when the number of training groups is equal, the training time of the two placement methods is close, so it can be considered that the two placement methods have little effect on the training speed of decision tree. The experimental data show that the design of children’s physical training monitoring system in this paper has a certain market value.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra of the midbrain. The etiology of PD has yet to be elucidated, and the disease remains incurable. Increasing evidence suggests that oxidative stress is the key causative factor of PD. Due to their capacity to alleviate oxidative stress, antioxidants hold great potential for the treatment of PD. Vitamins are essential organic substances for maintaining the life of organisms. Vitamin deficiency is implicated in the pathogenesis of various diseases, such as PD. In the present study, we investigated whether administration of vitamin B12 (VB12) could ameliorate PD phenotypes in vitro and in vivo. Our results showed that VB12 significantly reduced the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the rotenone-induced SH-SY5Y cellular PD model. In a Parkin gene knockout C. elegans PD model, VB12 mitigated motor dysfunction. Moreover, in the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced mouse PD model, VB12 also displayed protective effects, including the rescue of mitochondrial function, dopaminergic neuron loss, and movement disorder. In summary, our results suggest that vitamin supplementation may be a novel method for the intervention of PD, which is safer and more feasible than chemical drug treatment.

The present study preliminarily evaluated neurotoxicity injuries induced by chlorpyrifos in PC12 ​cell, which were used as a model for nervous cell system. In cultured PC12 ​cell, application of soy isoflavones (genistein, daidzein, monomer and mixture) significantly reduced chlorpyrifos induced toxicity, a widely used pesticide, and resulted in a better cell survival rate. Treatments with isoflavones reduced malondialdehyde content, reactive oxygengeneration and acetylcholine level in medium, and maintained mitochondrial membrane potential integrity. Daidzein enhanced endogenous antioxidant system in PC12 ​cell with an increasing in superoxide dismutase per-unit activity. Genistein reduced acetylcholine content in the medium. Daidzein and genistein showed different effects, and their combined effect were greater than individual. In conclusion, soy isoflavones as an antioxidant and neuroprotectant, enhanced choline metabolism, which effectively mitigated disadvantageous influence of PC12 ​cell caused by chlorpyrifos.

Aberrant tissue repair may result in heterotopic ossification (HO), but how this process is regulated by local inflammatory responses is still unclear. Here the authors show, using a mouse burn/trauma model, that TGFβ-producing monocytes/macrophages at the injury site contribute to HO induction, while CD47 activation helps antagonize this process.

For decades, a vital area of computer vision research has been multiview stereo (MVS), which creates 3D models of a scene using photographs. This study presents an effective MVS network for 3D reconstruction utilizing multiview pictures. Alternative learning-based reconstruction techniques work well, because CNNs (convolutional neural network) can extract only the image’s local features; however, they contain many artifacts. Herein, a transformer and CNN are used to extract the global and local features of the image, respectively. Additionally, hierarchical aggregation and heterogeneous interaction modules were used to improve these features. They are based on the transformer and can extract dense features with 3D consistency and global context that are necessary to provide accurate matching for MVS.

The scenario is very important to smartphone-based pedestrian positioning services. The smartphone is equipped with MEMS(Micro Electro Mechanical System) sensors, which have low accuracy. Now, the methods for scenario recognition are mainly machine-learning methods. The recognition rate of a single method is not high. Multi-model fusion can improve recognition accuracy, but it needs to collect many samples, the computational cost is high, and it is heavily dependent on feature selection. Therefore, we designed the DT-BP(decision tree-Bayesian probability) scenario recognition algorithm by introducing the Bayesian state transition model based on experience design in the decision tree. The decision-tree rules and state transition probability assignment methods were respectively designed for smartphone mode and motion mode. We carried out experiments for each scenario and compared them with the methods in the references. The results showed that the method proposed in this paper has a high recognition accuracy, which is equivalent to the accuracy of multi-model machine learning, but it is simpler, easier to implement, requires less computation, and requires fewer samples.

Abstract Background The differential diagnosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) from chronic pancreatitis (CP) is clinically challenging due to a lack of minimally invasive diagnosis methods. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) derived from small extracellular vesicles (EVs) in the blood have been reported as a promising diagnosis biomarker for various types of cancer. However, blood small EV miRNA signatures and their diagnostic value to differentiate between PDAC and CP remain to be determined. Methods In this study, 107 patients with PDAC or CP were recruited, and 90 patients were finally enrolled for a training cohort (n = 48) and test cohort (n = 42). Small RNA sequencing was used to assess the expression of blood small EV miRNAs in these patients. Results The linear model from the differentially expressed blood small EV miR‐95‐3p divided by miR‐26b‐5p showed an average sensitivity of 84.1% and an average specificity of 96.6% to identify PDAC from CP in the training cohort and the test cohort, respectively. When the model was combined with serum carbohydrate antigen 19‐9 (CA19‐9), the average sensitivity increased to 96.5%, and the average specificity remained at 96.4% of both cohorts, which demonstrated the best performance of all the published biomarkers for distinguishing between PDAC and CP. The causal analysis performed using the Bayesian network demonstrated that miR‐95‐3p was associated with a “consequence” of “cancer” and miR‐26b‐5p as a “cause” of “pancreatitis.” A subgroup analysis revealed that blood small EV miR‐335‐5p/miR‐340‐5p could predict metastases in both cohorts and was associated with an overall survival (p = 0.020). Conclusions This study indicated that blood small EV miR‐95‐3p/miR‐26b‐5p and its combination with serum levels of CA19‐9 could separate PDAC from CP, and miR‐335‐5p/miR‐340‐5p was identified to associate with PDAC metastasis and poor prognosis. These results suggested the potentiality of blood small EV miRNAs as differential diagnosis and metastases biomarkers of PDAC.

Introduction Inadequate care during early childhood can lead to long-term deficits in skills. Parenting programmes that encourage investment in young children are a promising tool for improving early development outcomes and long-term opportunities in low-income and middle-income regions, such as rural China.Methods We conducted a systematic review and a meta-analysis to investigate the prevalence of early developmental delays and stimulating parenting practices as well as the effect of parental training programmes on child development outcomes in rural China. We obtained data in English from EconPapers, PubMed, PsycARTICLES, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and Scopus (Elsevier) and in Chinese from China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data and VIP Information. We conducted frequentist meta-analyses of aggregate data and estimated random-effects meta-regressions. Certainty of evidence was rated according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach.Results We identified 19 observational studies on the prevalence of developmental delays and stimulating parenting practices for children under 5 years of age (n=19 762) and ten studies on the impact of parental training programmes on early child development (n=13 766). Children’s risk of cognitive, language and social-emotional delays in the rural study sites (covering 14 provinces mostly in Central and Western China) was 45%, 46%, and 36%, respectively. Parental training programmes had a positive impact on child cognition, language and social-emotional development.Conclusion There is evidence to suggest that early developmental delay and the absence of stimulating parenting practices (ie, reading, storytelling and singing with children) may be prevalent across rural, low-income and middle-income regions in Central and Western China. Results support the effectiveness of parental training programmes to improve early development by encouraging parental engagement.Trial registration number This study was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020218852).

Objective: To investigate the genetic characteristics and transcriptional regulation of the SCN5A gene of Brugada syndrome (BrS) patients in China.Methods: Using PubMed, Medline, China National Knowledge Internet (CNKI), and Wanfang Database, Chinese patients with BrS who underwent SCN5A gene testing were studied.Results: A total of 27 suitable studies involving Chinese BrS patients who underwent the SCN5A gene test were included. A total of 55 SCN5A gene mutations/variations were reported in Chinese BrS patients, including 10 from southern China and 45 from northern China. Mutations/variations of BrS patients from southern China mostly occurred in the regions of the α-subunit of Nav1.5, including DIII (Domain III), DIV, DIII-DIV, C-terminus regions, and the 3'UTR region. Furthermore, we analyzed the post-transcriptional modifications (PTMs) throughout the Nav1.5 protein encoded by SCN5A and found that the PTM changes happened in 72.7% of BrS patients from southern China and 26.7% from northern China.Conclusions: SCN5A mutations/variations of BrS patients in southern China mostly occurred in the DIII-DIV to C-terminus region and the 3'-UTR region of the SCN5A gene, different from northern China. PTM changes were consistent with the mutation/variation distribution of SCN5A, which might be involved in the regulation of the pathogenesis of BrS patients.

Emerging evidence has shown that circular RNAs (circRNAs) and DNA methylation play important roles in the causation and progression of cancers. However, the roles of circRNAs and abnormal methylation genes in the tumorigenesis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) are still largely unknown. Expression profiles of circRNA, gene methylation, and mRNA were downloaded from the GEO database, and differentially expressed genes were obtained via GEO2R, and a ceRNA network was constructed based on circRNA-miRNA pairs and miRNA-mRNA pairs. Inflammation-associated genes were collected from the GeneCards database. Then, functional enrichment analysis and protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks of inflammation-associated methylated expressed genes were investigated using Metascape and STRING databases, respectively, and visualized in Cytoscape. Hub genes of PPI networks were identified using the NetworkAnalyzer plugin. Also, we analyzed the methylation, protein expression levels, and prognostic value of hub genes in PDAC patients through the UALCAN, Human Protein Atlas (HPA), and Kaplan-Meier plotter databases, respectively. The circRNA_102049/miR-455-3p/CD80 axis was identified by the ceRNA network and hub genes. In vitro and in vivo experiments were performed to evaluate the functions of circRNA_102049. The regulatory mechanisms of circRNA_102049 and miR-455-3p were explored by RT-PCR, western blot, and dual-luciferase assays. In the present study, twelve hub genes (STAT1, CCND1, KRAS, CD80, ICAM1, ESR1, RAF1, RPS6KA2, KDM6B, TNRC6A, FOSB, and DNM1) were determined from the PPI networks. Additionally, the circRNA_102049 was upregulated in PDAC cell lines. Functionally, the knockdown of circRNA_102049 by siRNAs inhibited cell growth, inflammatory factors, and migratory and invasive potential and promoted cell apoptosis. Mechanistically, circRNA_102049 functioned as a sponge of miR-455-3p and partially reversed the effect of miR-455-3p and consequently upregulated CD80 expression. Our findings showed that circRNA_102049 and methylated hub genes play an important role in the proliferation, apoptosis, migration, invasion, and inflammatory response of PDAC, which might be selected as a promising prognostic marker and therapeutic target for PDAC.