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Hupo Bian,1 Shaoqi Zhu,2 Yonghua Zhang,3 Qiang Fei,4 Xiuhua Peng,1 Zanhui Jin,1 Tianxiang Zhou,5 Hongxing Zhao1,6 1Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Huzhou Normal University, Huzhou, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Huzhou Normal University, Huzhou, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Radiology, The Wuxing District People’s Hospital, Huzhou, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Radiology, The Linghu People’s Hospital, Huzhou, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Urinary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Huzhou Normal University, Huzhou, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China; 6Huzhou Key Laboratory of Precise Diagnosis and Treatment of Urinary Tumors, Huzhou, Zhejiang, 313000, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Hongxing Zhao, Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Huzhou Normal University, No. 158, Plaza Back Road, Wuxing District, Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China, Email zhx2113408@126.comObjective: A bibliometric analysis was conducted using VOSviewer and CiteSpace to examine studies published between 2009 and 2023 on the utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).Methods: On March 24, 2024, a computer search was conducted on the Web of Science (WOS) core collection dataset published between January 1, 2009, and December 30, 2023, to identify literature related to the application of artificial intelligence in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). VOSviewer was utilized for visual analysis of countries, institutions, authors, co-cited authors, and keywords. CiteSpace was employed to analyze the intermediary centrality of institutions, references, keyword outbreaks, and co-cited literature. Relevant descriptive analysis tables were created using Excel2021 software.Results: This study included a total of 646 papers from WOS. The number of papers remained small and stable from 2009 to 2017 but started increasing significantly annually since 2018. The United States had the highest number of publications among countries/regions while Silverman Edwin K and Harvard Medical School were the most prolific authors and institutions respectively. Lynch DA, Kirby M. and Vestbo J. were among the top three most cited authors overall. Scientific Reports had the largest number of publications while Radiology ranked as one of the top ten influential journals. The Genetic Epidemiology of COPD (COPDGene) Study Design was frequently cited. Through keyword clustering analysis, all keywords were categorized into four groups: epidemiological study of COPD; AI-assisted imaging diagnosis; AI-assisted diagnosis; and AI-assisted treatment and prognosis prediction in the COPD research field. Currently, hot research topics include explainable artificial intelligence framework, chest CT imaging, and lung radiomics.Conclusion: At present, AI is predominantly employed in genetic biology, early diagnosis, risk staging, efficacy evaluation, and prediction modeling of COPD. This study’s results offer novel insights and directions for future research endeavors related to COPD.Keywords: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, artificial intelligence, visual analysis, bibliometric analysis

Yiming Zhang,1,2,* Yiming Dou,1,2,* Yang Liu,1,2 Mingyuan Di,1,2 Hanming Bian,1,2 Xun Sun,1,2 Qiang Yang1,2 1Department of Spine Surgery, Tianjin Hospital, Tianjin University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China; 2Clinical School of Orthopedics, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Xun Sun; Qiang Yang, Department of Spine Surgery, Tianjin Hospital, 406 Jiefang SouthRoad, Hexi District, Tianjin, 300211, People’s Republic of China, Email sunxun_tju@yeah.net; yangqiang1980@126.comAbstract: Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanoscale bilayer phospholipid membrane vesicles released by cells. Contained large molecules such as nucleic acid, protein, and lipid, EVs are an integral part of cell communication. The contents of EVs vary based on the cell source and play an important role in both pathological and physiological conditions. EVs can be used as drugs or targets in disease treatment, and changes in the contents of EVs can indicate the progression of diseases. In recent years, with the continuous exploration of the structure, characteristics, and functions of EVs, the potential of engineered EVs for drug delivery and therapy being constantly explored. This review provides a brief overview of the structure, characteristics and functions of EVs, summarizes the advanced application of EVs and outlook on the prospect of it. It is our hope that this review will increase understanding of the current development of medical applications of EVs and help us overcome future challenges.Keywords: extracellular vesicle, nanotherapeutic, disease diagnosis, engineered exosome, advances applications

Kai Li,1,2,* Peipei Duan,1,2,* Haifa He,3,* Ruijuan Du,1,2 Qian Wang,1,2 Pengju Gong,4 Hua Bian1 1Zhang Zhongjing College of Chinese Medicine, Nanyang Institute of Technology, Nanyang, Henan, People’s Republic of China; 2Henan Key Laboratory of Zhang Zhongjing Formulae and Herbs for Immunoregulation, Nanyang Institute of Technology, Nanyang, Henan, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Pathology, Nanyang Central Hospital, Nanyang, Henan, People’s Republic of China; 4The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UThealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX, USA*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Hua Bian; Kai Li, Zhang Zhongjing College of Chinese Medicine, Nanyang Institute of Technology, No. 80 Changjiang Road, Wancheng District, Nanyang, Henan, People’s Republic of China, Email biancrown@163.com; likai718@whu.edu.cnIntroduction: Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is one of the histologic types of esophageal cancer with a poor prognosis. The majority of EAC originate from Barrett’s esophagus (BE). There are few studies focusing on the dynamic progression of BE to EAC.Methods: R software was used to analyze differentially expressed genes (DEGs) based on RNA-seq data of 94 normal esophageal squamous epithelial (NE) tissues, 113 BE tissues and 147 EAC tissues. The overlapping genes of DEGs between BE and EAC were analyzed by Venn diagram tool. The hub genes were selected by Cytoscape software based on the protein-protein interaction network of the overlapping genes using STRING database. The functional analysis of hub genes was performed by R software and the protein expression was identified by immunohistochemistry.Results: In the present study, we found a large degree of genetic similarity between BE and EAC, and further identified seven hub genes (including COL1A1, TGFBI, MMP1, COL4A1, NID2, MMP12, CXCL1) which were all progressively upregulated in the progression of NE-BE-EAC. We have preliminarily uncovered the probable molecular mechanisms of these hub genes in disease development and constructed the ceRNA regulatory network of hub genes. More importantly, we explored the possibility of hub genes as biomarkers in the disease progression of NE-BE-EAC. For example, TGFBI can be used as biomarkers to predict the prognosis of EAC patients. COL1A1, NID2 and COL4A1 can be used as biomarkers to predict the response to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy. We also constructed a disease progression risk model for NE-BE-EAC based on CXCL1, MMP1 and TGFBI. Finally, the results of drug sensitivity analysis based on hub genes showed that drugs such as PI3K inhibitor TGX221, bleomycin, PKC inhibitor Midostaurin, Bcr-Abl inhibitor Dasatinib, HSP90 inhibitor 17-AAG, and Docetaxel may be potential candidates to inhibit the progression of BE to EAC.Conclusion: This study is based on a large number of clinical samples with high credibility, which is useful for revealing the probable carcinogenic mechanism of BE to EAC and developing new clinical treatment strategies.Keywords: Barrett’s esophagus, esophageal adenocarcinoma, hub genes, carcinogenic mechanism, biomarker

Haiyan Bian,1 Lisheng Wang,2 Chengwen Gao,3 Zhihe Liu,1 Yang Sun,2 Minghui Hu,4 Yujing Xiao,5 Fengyun Hao,5 Yushuo Ma,1 Xia Zhao1 1Department of Hematology, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, People’s Republic of China; 2Laboratory of Molecular Diagnosis and Regenerative Medicine, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, People’s Republic of China; 3Laboratory of Medical Biology, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, People’s Republic of China; 4Clinical Laboratory, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Pathology, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Xia Zhao, Department of Hematology, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, 16 Jiangsu Road, Shinan District, Qingdao, 266000, People’s Republic of China, Email zhaoxia@qdu.edu.cnPurpose: Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) responds favorably to radiation, chemotherapy and targeted drug therapy. However survival is usually worse, the treatment-related drug resistance and recurrence are still clinical problems to be solved urgently. Studies have shown that cytokines are expressed in varying degrees in patients with lymphoma, which is significantly related to the progression, poor prognosis and drug resistance of lymphoma. We explore the expression and clinical significance of Th1/Th2/Th17 cytokines and lymphocyte subsets in patients with PCNSL to provide a more sufficient theoretical basis for its diagnosis and treatment.Patients and Methods: We measured and analysed the levels of Th1/Th2/Th17 cytokines and the distribution of lymphocyte subsets (including Treg cells, CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD19+, and CD4+/CD8+) in 39 patients with PCNSL and 96 patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) without central nervous system involvement. The cytokines of 13 healthy people and the lymphocyte subsets of 27 healthy people were measured as the control group.Results: We found a significant difference in the level of Th1/Th2/Th17 cytokines and lymphocyte subsets between PCNSL and healthy controls, especially IL-2, after treatment, which was significantly higher than before treatment (p< 0.01). However, the level of CD19+ and CD4+/CD8+ decreased while CD8+ and CD3+ increased after treatment (regardless of whether the treatment was effective), and the difference was statistically significant. In addition, our analysis of different prognostic factors found that HD-MTX-based chemotherapy appears to have a longer progression-free survival and overall survival than osimertinib-based chemotherapy.Conclusion: There are significant differences in Th1/Th2/Th17 cytokines and lymphocyte subsets among PCNSL, DLBCL, and healthy controls, and their detection is helpful for the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of PCNSL. HD-MTX-based chemotherapy may still be the first choice for PCNSL.Keywords: PCNSL, Th1/Th2/Th17 cytokines, lymphocyte subsets, HD-MTX, osimertinib

Zhao-Yin Ma,1,&ast; Yong-Ya Wu,2,&ast; Hong-Yin-Long Cui,3 Guang-Yan Yao,3 Hong Bian3,4 1Department of Diagnostic, Medical Integration and Practice Center, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Emergency Critical Care Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Neurology, Central Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Neurology, Jinan Central Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Hong Bian, Department of Neurology, Central Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-15318816109, Fax +86-053188382085, Email jnbianh@163.comObjective: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and ischemic stroke, which are common diseases among older people, are closely related to cognitive impairment. This study aims to investigate the influencing factors of post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) in patients with T2DM.Methods: We enrolled 161 patients with T2DM who experienced acute ischemic stroke and were hospitalized in the Department of Neurology, Jinan Central Hospital, Shandong, China. Cognitive function was evaluated with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment scale. According to the results, patients were divided into three groups—the cognitively normal group, mild cognitive impairment group, and severe cognitive impairment group. We analyzed general demographic data, laboratory information, imaging data, the results of neuropsychological evaluation, and clinical features as well as influencing factors of PSCI in these patients and established a prediction model.Results: The three groups of patients were significantly different in terms of age, education level, course of diabetes mellitus (DM), recurrent cerebral infarction (RCI), and other factors. RCI, course of DM, and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) were independent risk factors of PSCI in patients with T2DM, with odds ratio (95% confidence interval): 7.17 (2.09, 30.37), 5.39 (2.40, 14.59), and 3.89 (1.66, 10.04), respectively, whereas female, senior high school, serum albumin were protective factors: 0.28 (0.07, 0.95), 0.05 (0.01, 0.21), 0.20 (0.08, 0.42), respectively. Furthermore, we constructed a prediction model using sex, age, education level, RCI, DM course, HbA1c and serum albumin and obtained a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The area under the ROC curve is 0.966, suggesting the significant association of these influencing factors with PSCI in patients with T2DM.Conclusion: In this study, the occurrence of PSCI in patients with T2DM was related to RCI, course of DM, and HbA1c, among other factors. Attention to influencing factors is needed in these patients for early diagnosis and timely intervention of cognitive impairment.Keywords: blood glucose, cognitive impairment, ischemic stroke, risk factor

Sha Chen,1 Hao Bian,2 Jingyu Duan1 1Department 2 of Ultrasound, Cangzhou Central Hospital, Cangzhou, 061000, Hebei, People’s Republic of China; 2Magnetic Resonance Imaging Department, Cangzhou Central Hospital, Cangzhou, 061000, Hebei, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Sha Chen, Department 2 of Ultrasound, Cangzhou Central Hospital, No. 16, Xinhua West Road, Yunhe District, Cangzhou, 061000, Hebei, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-18232858958, Email haoshalin2013@163.comBackground: Paclitaxel (PTX) is an important oncologic chemotherapeutic agent against breast cancer, but breast cancer patients develop significant resistance to PTX during chemotherapy. Alterations in tubulin and associated proteins have been implicated in resistance to PTX. High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) induces deep tumor penetration of anti-tumor agents in solid tumors.Methods: We investigated the influence of HIFU on the anti-tumor activities of PTX in breast cancer. Both in vivo and in vitro experiments were performed in this research: mice were treated with 2 mg/Kg PTX through tail vein injection, while breast cancer cells were treated with 400 nM PTX. Cell viability was analyzed through Cell Counting Kit-8. Cell apoptosis was evaluated through Annexin-V/PI Apoptosis Analysis Kit. The activities of catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA) were evaluated by relative commercial kits.Results: HIFU enhanced PTX-inhibited breast cancer cell viability and PTX-induced cell apoptosis. Simultaneous treatment of HIFU and PTX decreased the activities of CAT and SOD and increased the concentration of MDA. In mice bearing MDA-MB-231 tumors, the treatment of HIFU and PTX significantly decreased tumor size, increased body weight and elevated animal survival. HIFU enhanced the distribution of PTX in tumor tissues.Conclusion: The performance of HIFU promoted the distribution of PTX and enhanced its anti-tumor activities in breast cancer.Keywords: breast cancer, paclitaxel, high-intensity focused ultrasound, cancer therapy

Daye Chen, Hongliang Bian, Lanlan Zhang Department of Pediatrics, Yancheng Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Yancheng, People’s Republic of China Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety profile of levetiracetam as add-on therapy in patients with refractory epilepsy.Methods: Web of Science, MEDLINE (Ovid and PubMed), Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Google Scholar were systematically searched to identify potential eligible randomized controlled trials by two reviewers independently. Pooled estimates of risk ratios (RRs) for 50%, 75%, and 100% reduction from baseline were calculated using the fixed-effect model or random-effect model. Quality of included studies was assessed with the Cochrane Collaboration’s Risk of Bias tool. Serious adverse events and withdrawals induced by interventions and the most common side effects were analyzed.Results: Seventeen trials with a total of 3,205 participants were included in this meta-analysis, including 14 trials for adulthood and three trials for children. Pooled estimates suggested that levetiracetam was an effective anti-epileptic drug at 1,000–3,000 mg/day (RR =2.00 for 1,000 mg/day, RR =2.68 for 2,000 mg/day, RR =2.18 for 3,000 mg/day) for adults and 60 mg/kg/day (RR =2.00) for children compared to placebo in terms of 50% reduction from baseline. Likewise, as for seizure freedom rate, levetiracetam had an advantage over placebo at 1,000–3,000 mg/day (RR =5.84 for 1,000 mg/day, RR =4.55 for 2,000 mg/day, RR =4.57 for 3,000 mg/day, respectively) for adults and 60 mg/kg/day (RR =4.52) for children. Regarding safety profile, patients treated with levetiracetam had significantly higher occurrence than placebo for somnolence, asthenia, dizziness, infection, nasopharyngitis, anxiety, and irritability; however, most studies reported that these adverse events were mild and transient.Conclusion: Levetiracetam is an effective anti-epileptic drug for both adults and children with generalized or partial-onset refractory seizures at 1,000–3,000 or 60 mg/kg/day, with a favorable adverse event profile. Keywords: levetiracetam, adjunctive, refractory epilepsy, placebo

Against the backdrop of rapid growth in electric vehicle holdings, there is a growing demand for the construction of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. To improve the charging station operation economy, an optimal scheduling method of EV charging stations with access to shared energy storage is proposed. Firstly, the operation modes of distributed energy storage and shared energy storage are analyzed, and the two-layer optimal scheduling model of EV charging station considering different operation modes of energy storage is constructed by taking the lowest annual investment cost and annual operating cost of charging station as the upper level objective function and the lowest typical daily operation cost as the lower level objective function. Secondly, three EV charging stations with differentiation are simulated and different energy storage operation modes in multiple scenarios are compared. Sensitivity analyses are then conducted on this basis for the effects of shared energy storage service fees and EV discharge losses on dispatching results. Finally, the example shows that shared energy storage access has a positive effect on reducing the operating costs of charging stations, and that reasonable pricing of the energy storage services and the cost of EV discharge losses can reduce the operating costs of charging stations.

Abstract The East Asian summer monsoon precipitation has exhibited a well-known “southern China flood and northern China drought” pattern in recent decades. The increase in aerosols and warming oceans are recognized as two important forcings that control of the precipitation trends over East Asian land. However, in this study, by using large ensemble simulations from the CMIP6 Polar Amplification Model Intercomparison Project (PAMIP), the influence of Arctic amplification, serving as the prominent feature of global warming, is very important in modulating the East Asian summer precipitation pattern, which is comparable to the influence of sea surface temperature (SST). Additionally, the observed “southern China flood and northern China drought” pattern only exists in July and August, whereas a triple pattern with the precipitation positive anomaly center over Middle China occurs in June. These patterns are closely connected with the regional differences in Arctic sea ice loss from June to July, affected through both the Rossby waves propagating in a weaker westerly jet and the decrease in the large-scale meridional thermal contrast in a warming climate.

In this study, based on the rainfall measurements from weather stations over China and atmospheric reanalysis products from the fifth-generation European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalysis (ERA5) during the period of 1979-2020, the dynamic mechanisms and differences of persistent rainstorm (PRS) events and extreme intense rainfall (EIR) events over the Yangtze-Huaihe Meiyu domain (YMD) are revealed from the perspective of potential vorticity (PV)-forced vertical motion. According to the improved definitions of PRS and EIR events, 24 PRS events and 24 EIR cases are identified over the YMD during the Meiyu period from 1979 to 2020. Composite analyses for the two types of events demonstrate that the most intense rainband of PRS events is mainly located in the Yangtze River and over the southern regions of it, while for the EIR, the most intense rainband is located in the Yangtze River and over the northern regions of it. The PRS events are found to be closely related to tropical atmospheric intraseasonal oscillation, during which the upper-tropospheric South Asian high extends more eastward, while the northwestern Pacific subtropical anticyclone in the lower and middle troposphere shifts more westward. Thus, the dry and cold air with high-PV around the upper-tropospheric westerly jet located more southward latitudes tends to intrude equatorward and downward, converging with the warm and moist air from the southwest in the lower and middle troposphere to form Meiyu front. However, the EIR events are more dependent to a greater extent on the upper-tropospheric divergence on the southern side of the westerly jet located more northward latitudes and PV-forced downward-intruding cold air. The quantitative diagnoses of PV budget for EIR events show that before and during the peak of intense rainfall, the net negative PV tendency in the upper troposphere is mainly dominated by the negative vertical PV advection, while the positive PV tendency in the middle and lower troposphere is mainly caused by the PV generation due to the vertically non-uniform diabatic heating and vertical PV advection. The vertical velocity decomposition of a typical EIR event further demonstrates that the component of ascending velocity forced by the vertical increase of horizontal PV advection plays an important role in triggering the EIR event.

Frequency is one of the most significant indicators of power system, which needs accurate estimation to provide a reliable basis for monitoring, control, and protection. Owning to the efficiency, DFT is widely used in the frequency measurement of power systems. However, the inherent defects, that is, the spectral leakage and picket fence effect, decrease the accuracy of DFT. One of the variants, named the windowed phase difference method (WPD), addresses the problem using the phase variation of two windowed sequences in the frequency domain and achieves accurate frequency estimation. Suffering from the ignored negative component and contamination of noise, there are still undesired errors in WPD-based frequency estimation. To reduce the influence of the undesired errors, this paper first analyzes the systematic error of WPD introduced by spectrum leakage and proposes an improved WPD (IWPD) through systematic error compensation to achieve more accurate frequency estimations. Then, the windowing effect on IWPD-based frequency estimation of a noisy signal is studied by deducing the theoretical expression of frequency estimation variance. Finally, the proposed IWPD is validated by extensive computer simulations and practical experiments.

Abstract Using reanalysis data and simulations, this study revealed a pronounced negative interannual relationship between tropical southern Atlantic (TSA) sea surface temperature (SST) and East Asian surface air temperature (SAT) during boreal spring (March–May). Results confirm that the March–May TSA–SST anomaly can be considered an independent tropical driver unrelated to El Niño–Southern Oscillation. A possible mechanism linking TSA–SST and East Asian spring SAT involves an atmospheric wave train, energy conversion, and potential vorticity (PV)–θ dynamics. The anomalous TSA–SST induces an anomalous Walker circulation, which initiates a wave train that extracts energy from a westerly jet and propagates toward East Asia. Subject to PV–θ dynamics, the East Asian PV anomaly embedded within this wave train leads to bowed isentropes and resultant notable anomalous East Asian SAT. In particular, the bootstrapping results suggest that TSA–SST anomaly can cause an approximately sevenfold increase in the occurrence probability of extreme East Asian spring SAT.

Abstract Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Since the start of the pandemic, olfactory dysfunction (OD) has been reported as a common symptom of COVID-19. In some asymptomatic carriers, OD is often the first and even the only symptom. At the same time, persistent OD is also a long-term sequela seen after COVID-19 that can have a serious impact on the quality of life of patients. However, the pathogenesis of post-COVID-19 OD is still unclear, and there is no specific treatment for its patients. The aim of this paper was to review the research on OD caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection and to summarize the mechanism of action, the pathogenesis, and current treatments.

Objective To analyze the epidemiological characteristics and trend of primary intussusception in children in Wuhan from 2016 to 2022. Methods Clinical data of hospitalized children with primary intussusception admitted in our department from January 2016 to December 2022 were collected and retrospectively studied. Then descriptive research was performed to analyze the epidemiological characteristics and trend of primary intussusception in recent 7 years. Results A total of 6 506 children of primary intussusception were treated in our hospital during the past 7 years, including 4 457 boys and 2 049 girls, with a female-to-male ratio of 2.18 ∶1. They were at a mean age of 23.56±18.03 months (2 d~12 years). The disease was more common in an age of 6 to 12 months, and 81.16% (5 280/6 506) of the patients were under 3 years old. Most onset cases occurred in July. During 2016 and 2022, the constitution ratio of these children younger than 1 year old was decreased from 41.36% to 16.67%, while that of those aged 1-3 years was increased from 43.80% to 56.28%, and the average age of the patients was increased from 20.04±15.88 months to 30.37±20.30 months. Significant differences were observed in the age distributions between different genders (P < 0.01). For the patients aged < 3 years, the girls took larger proportion, while the male patients covered larger proportion among those over 3 years old. There were no statistically differences in the seasonal and urban-rural distributions of the disease between different genders. Abdominal ultrasound examination was a major imaging method (98.97%, 6 439/6 506). Non-surgical therapy was the majority of treatment (92.64%, 6 027/6 506), with a success rate of 92.25% (5 560/6 027). Recurrence occurred in 376 (5.78%) cases, 56.91% of whom were younger than 1 years old, and among them, 214 (75.27%) cases occurred within 6 months. But no statistical differences were observed in the age distribution and disease course between the successful enema group and the failure group (P=0.024). Conclusion From 2016 to 2022, the average age of primary intussusception among children in the Wuhan region shows an increasing trend year by year, and the constitution ratio of the children younger than 1 year old is in a decreasing trend. For these children with primary intussusception, the age distribution is correlated with gender, and the time of first recurrence is negatively correlated with age. The younger the age and the longer the course of the disease, the higher the failure rate of enema reduction.

The potato rot nematode (Ditylenchus destructor) is a very economically important nematode in agronomic and horticultural plants worldwide. In this study, 43 populations of D. destructor were collected from different hosts across China, including 37 populations from Chinese herbal medicine plants. Obtained sequences of ITS-rDNA and D2–D3 of 28S-rDNA genes of D. destructor were compared and analyzed. Nine types of significant length variations in ITS sequences were observed among all populations. The differences in ITS1 length were mainly caused by the presence of repetitive elements with substantial base substitutions. Reconstructions of ITS1 secondary structures showed that the minisatellites formed a stem structure. Ten haplotypes were observed in all populations based on mutations and variations of helix H9. Among them, 3 known haplotypes (A–C) were found in 7 populations isolated from potato, sweet potato, and Codonopsis pilosula, and 7 unique haplotypes were found in other 36 populations collected from C. pilosula and Angelica sinensis compared with 7 haplotypes (A–G) according to Subbotin’ system. These unique haplotypes were different from haplotypes A–G, and we named them as haplotypes H–N. The present results showed that a total of 14 haplotypes (A–N) of ITS-rDNA have been found in D. destructor. Phylogenetic analyses of ITS-rDNA and D2–D3 showed that all populations of D. destructor were clustered into two major clades: one clade only containing haplotype A from sweet potato and the other containing haplotypes B–N from other plants. For further verification, PCR-ITS-RFLP profiles were conducted on 7 new haplotypes. Collectively, our study suggests that D. destructor populations on Chinese medicinal materials are very different from those on other hosts and this work provides a paradigm for relevant researches.

Through the corresponding investigation and analysis, this paper derives the evaluation indexes of the coupling degree of coordination between the protection of historical neighborhoods and tourism development, establishes the weight of each index through the entropy method, conducts the mathematical and statistical analysis of the data, and applies them to the coupling relationship between the protection of historical neighborhoods and the development of modern functions, and constructs the coupling degree of coordination evaluation model to evaluate the relationship between the two. The results show that the commercial/residential interface ratios of Sanfangqixiang, Langzhong, and Zhouzhuang in the sample historic districts are 0.67, 0.88, and 049. In the type structure of the sample districts’ businesses, retail businesses account for 50% or less, catering businesses account for 36%-57%, and specialty businesses account for less at present. Langzhong and Nanluoguxiang have the best coupled and coordinated development of historic district protection and tourism development, with coupled coordination degrees of 1.968 and 1.956, respectively. Therefore, this paper uses the coupled coordination evaluation model to explore the coordinated development of historic district protection and modern functions and to continuously adjust and optimize the integration strategy for sustainable development.

Fully understand the development of suppliers in order to make better supplier selection. This paper is based on the knowledge graph, through the knowledge updating of the knowledge graph combined with the Transformer model for knowledge extraction of supplier entity relationship, forming the ternary semantic information of supplier entity relationship. Then, based on the big data platform for the construction of supplier holographic portrait and knowledge storage, through information integration, analysis and other links to identify the supplier attributes for label definition. Taking cell phone product suppliers as an example, we use Python technology to obtain relevant data and validate the specific role of supplier holographic portrait in terms of the supplier’s comprehensive strength, behavioral prediction, transaction closeness, and comprehensive evaluation. The results show that: the correlation between the comprehensive strength of suppliers and the amount of winning bids is strong, and its R2 test result is 0.5924, and it can realize the behavioral prediction of suppliers in the supply chain. Supplier H offers a range of cell phone products in 2022, which is 17.62%21.17% higher than the benchmark market price. The holographic portrait of suppliers based on a knowledge graph combined with a big data platform can meet the need to carry out an all-around analysis of suppliers and provide more accurate support for diversified decision-making on the demand side.

MAO coatings were prepared on AZ91D magnesium alloy surface in the phosphate electrolyte containing different concentrations of titanium nanoparticles.The effects of titanium nanoparticle concentration on the morphology,composition and properties of the as-prepared coatings were studied.Scanning electron microscope,energy dispersive spectrometer,X-ray diffractometer and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were employed to characterize the morphology and composition of such coatings.The corrosion resistance of coatings was tested by an electrochemical workstation,and the light absorption performance of the coatings was evaluated by a spectrophotometer.Results showed that the added titanium nanoparticles in electrolyte had little influence on voltage variation.However,the titanium nanoparticles in electrolyte could form Mg2TiO4in the micro-arc oxidation coatings.With the increase of the concentration of titanium nanoparticles,the small micropores on the surface of the coatings decreased first and then increased,so the corrosion resistance increased first and then decreased;furthermore,the coating's color changed from gray to light blue and then dark blue,leading to a gradual decrease of the reflectivity to simulated sunlight

High population density in major cities has led to compact designs of residential multi-story buildings. Consequently, it is a natural choice of the architects to suggest the location of high-voltage wires close to the ducts with contaminated air. This observation results in the motivation for this study, i.e., the understanding of the complicated interaction of the Lorentz force (due to the current-carrying wire) with the micropolar flow in the vertical direction in the duct, with polluted air (containing dust particles) being modeled as a micropolar fluid, which is driven by some external pressure gradient. Therefore, this study focuses on an incompressible and electrically conducting micropolar fluid flow through a rectangular vertical duct, in the presence of a current-carrying wire placed outside the flow regime. The governing equations, after being translated into a dimensionless form, are solved numerically using a finite volume approach. The velocity, microrotation, and temperature fields thus obtained are examined. It has been noted that the strong magnetic force caused by the wire may distort the flow symmetry and slows down the flow. Furthermore, in the absence of wire, particles spinning in clockwise and counter-clockwise directions occupy the same amount of space in the duct, thus incorporating a sort of equilibrium in the duct. However, the imposed variable magnetic field adds to the spinning of particles in one part of the duct, while simultaneously suppressing it in the other region.

Background/Aim. There is growing evidence suggesting that high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) is a reliable biomarker in patients with hypertension. While the relation-ship between hypertension and age is well established, the connection between hs-CRP and age remains unclear. The aim of the study was to determine a relationship between hs-CRP and age, body mass index (BMI), and blood pressure in middle-aged people. Methods. This cross-sectional survey was conducted in Shanghai, China, and it included data from 1,677 healthy male participants aged 18 to 50 years and 1,127 healthy female participants aged 19 to 49 years recruited during routine health examinations. The hs-CRP, BMI, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were recorded. Results. The participants were first separated into four age quartile groups, in which an increase in BMI, SBP, and DBP was observed but not in hs-CRP. Afterward, the participants were divided into four hs-CRP quartile groups, in which an increase in BMI, SBP, and DBP was noted, but not in age. Finally, using Pearson correlation, positive correlations were found between hs-CRP, BMI, SBP, and DBP, but no correlation was discovered between age and hs-CRP. Conclusion. The authors showed that age is likely a confounding factor that correlates with SBP, DBP, and BMI, but it does not directly correlate with hs-CRP.

To study the extraction rate of soluble dietary fiber (soluble dietary fiber, SDF) contained in the artichoke after ultrafine crushing and high pressure homogenization composite modification, single factor experiment was conducted to investigate the homogenization temperature, homogenization pressure and material concentration on artichoke SDF yield. The response surface method was used to optimize the artichoke SDF extraction process with three factors and three levels. The model between artichoke SDF extraction conditions and yield was established and analyzed to obtain the optimal process parameters and improve the artichoke SDF yield. The results showed that after ultrafine crushing and high pressure homogenization compound modification, the yield of artichoke SDF was significantly affected by the compound modification. The best process for extracting artichoke SDF was a homogenization temperature of 41 ℃ and a homo-genization pressure of 97 MPa, material concentration 2.5%. The theoretical maximum yield of artichoke SDF was 20.70%. With this process, the average yield of artichoke SDF was 20.13%. The Fourier infrared spectroscopy showed that the chemical composition of artichoke dietary fiber had not changed after compound modification.

We propose herein an algorithm to resample the Raman spectra which aims to correct the predicted error induced by spectral shift. The same set of training data for both human and nonhuman blood Raman spectra was applied to build the model using partial least squares (PLS) method. Several kinds of Raman spectra of the blood samples originating from human, goose, monkey, chicken, sheep and duck without spectral shift were used to validate the model. The Raman spectra of the same blood samples with a shift of 9.18 cm-1 were used to illustrate the influence of the spectral shift to the model. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm proposed, Raman spectra with spectral shift were resampled. The results show that the resampling algorithm can improve both the stability and accuracy of the model and reduce the impact of the spectral shift, which is promising for quantitative or qualitative analysis in Raman spectroscopy for complex samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) on epilepsy in children. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 169 children suffering from epilepsy admitted in No. 1 People's Hospital of Jining from July 2015 to December 2016 were enrolled as the research subjects. Immunohistochemistry and real time-PCR were used for analysis of the expression of STAT3 and p-STAT3 in epilepsy patients. The genotypes and alleles of rs1053005 and re744166 were analyzed through polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. Statistical analysis was conducted to explore the correlation between the polymorphism of STAT3 and the incidence of epilepsy in children, and the polymorphism of STAT3 in the drug-resistant and non-resistant patients was compared. RESULTS: Both the STAT3 and p-STAT3 were over-expressed in epilepsy patients. The GG genotype of rs1053005 was significantly lower in epilepsy patients than that of health control, p<0.05. By contrast, no significant difference was found in genotypes of rs744166 between epilepsy and healthy children. When comparing the genotypes of drug-resistant patients and that of non-resistant patients, the distribution of rs1053005 genotypes in the two groups showed a significant difference, p<0.05. No statistical difference was observed in rs744166 genotypes. CONCLUSIONS: STAT3 polymorphism was associated with the risk of epilepsy and drug resistance to epilepsy. This study may provide a better understanding of STAT3 in epilepsy patients and provide new targets for the treatment of epilepsy patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]