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We examine the impact of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) on innovation using China's county-level data from 1985 to 2011. Results show that the establishment of SEZs promotes a county's innovation in terms of application, grant and citation numbers of patents by 15%–25%, 8%–22% and 15%–25%, respectively. The promoting effect of establishing high-tech SEZs is higher than that of establishing economic and technological SEZs. Compared with provincial SEZs, national SEZs have a greater effect on innovation. Counties with universities nearby apply for more patents. The SEZs not only promote innovation in existing technical fields, but also continuously expand new research fields. The SEZs promote innovation by providing tax credits, technological subsidies and attracting more enterprises.

Natural gas, an important low-carbon and clean energy, is increasingly replacing high-pollution sources such as coal and gasoline. Accurate natural gas consumption forecasts are important to policy makers in making plans, saving costs, and improving efficiency. This study developed a discrete fractional grey model with a time power term (denoted as DFGM(1,1,t α )) with reference to the discretization technique. The new model is simplified, generalized, and overcomes existing model drawbacks. Moreover, the quantum genetic algorithm (QGA) is used to determine the new coefficients, namely, the fractional order and time-power coefficient. Based on observations from 2001 to 2018, the novel model predicted the natural gas consumption in China from 2019 to 2025 better than other benchmarks. Specifically, natural gas consumption was predicted to maintain a steady upward trend, reaching 315.30 billion cubic metres (hereinafter referred to as Bcm) in 2020 and 439.14 Bcm in 2025. Reasonable suggestions are put forward for associated sectors based on the forecasts.

Road markings are of great significance to road inventory management, intelligent transportation systems, high-definition maps (HD Maps), and autonomous driving. Most existing methods focus on extracting and classifying the road markings from mobile laser scanning (MLS) point clouds. Nevertheless, the performance suffers from the wear and incompleteness of road markings. Converting the extracted road marking points into a consistent representation with a sparse set of parameters needs extensive study as well. This paper presents a two-stage coarse-to-fine object detection and localization approach for automatically extracting and modeling road markings from mobile laser scanning (MLS) point clouds, which is robust to variations in reflective intensity, various point density, and partial occlusion. The first step is to use a general object detection network to detect bounding boxes with semantic labels of road markings on feature maps, which consists of information about intensity, elevation, and distance to the scanner. Next, accurate positions, orientations, and scales of candidate road markings are determined in the raw point clouds coordinate system through a shape matching operator that leverages the standard geometric structure and radiometric appearance of road markings. Finally, a re-ranking operator combining the coarse detection confidence and fine localization score is used to acquire the final road marking models. Comprehensive experiments revealed that the proposed method achieved an overall performance of 92.3% in recall and 95.1% in precision for extracting 12 types of road markings from urban scene point cloud datasets, even with worn and incomplete road markings. The modeling performance was 0.504 using the mIoU metric.

Purpose: To compare the efficacy and safety of plasma kinetic enucleation of the prostate (PKEP) with holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) for treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Methods: A total of 160 patients with indications for the surgical treatment of BPH were randomly assigned to receive either PKEP or HoLEP prospectively. Baseline characteristics, perioperative data, and postoperative outcomes of the patients were recorded. One hundred twenty-six (78.75%) patients (PKEP 64 vs HoLEP 62) completed the 3-year follow-up assessment. Results: Patients in both groups had similar baseline characteristics. Compared with PKEP, HoLEP was associated with shorter operative time as well as take-out time, lower perioperative hemoglobin decrease, and shorter bladder irrigation time, catheterization time, and hospital stay time. PKEP was superior to HoLEP in terms of the noise of the machine and hospitalization expenses. There were no significant differences in enucleating time, resected weight, and serum sodium levels. Both groups achieved satisfactory results and maintained improvement from baseline in terms of maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax), International Prostatic Symptomatic Score, quality of life, and postvoid residual at 3-year follow-up, with no significant differences between the two procedures. Except for re-catheterization rate, postoperative data such as transrectal ultrasound volume, International Index of Erectile Function-5, and follow-up scores of the flexible cystourethroscopy results, as well as the acute and mid-to long-term complications after surgery, were statistically similar. Conclusion: The 3-year follow-up data of this randomized trial confirmed that both PKEP and HoLEP were effective and safe surgical procedures for the transurethral management of BPH. HoLEP presented certain advantages compared to PKEP, such as reduced operative duration, decreased risk of blood loss, and less bladder irrigation, hospital stay time, and re-catheterization rate, whereas PKEP had lower noise and no additional laser cost. Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR-TRC-13004468).

To evaluate the applicability of bisulfate conversion-free methylation assay based on enzyme digestion in fecal screening for colorectal cancer (CRC). Stool samples were collected from a total of 1142 participants with intestinal abnormalities, including 180 positive cases, 60 advanced adenomas, and 902 negative cases. DNA from reference cell lines and clinical samples was extracted and digested with an enzyme to detect the methylation of CRC markers SEPT9, SDC2, NDRG4, SFRP2, and BMP3 genes. Statistical analysis was then used to determine the ability of the markers, both individually and in combination, to detect CRC and adenoma. Our results showed that the enzyme digestion method could suitably detect DNA marker methylation in as low as 1% of the cell lines. BMP3 had a considerably low detection rate in all clinical samples, with only 6 positive cases detected out of 180 cancer samples. Our findings showed that the combination of SEPT9, SDC2, and SFRP2 had an area under the receiver operation curve of 0.937, sensitivity of 94.11%, and specificity of 89.21% for detecting CRC. Moreover, the detection sensitivity of adenoma can also reach 38.33%. After innovatively utilizing bisulfate conversion-free methylation assay for CRC screening, this study verified the potential clinical applicability of combining multiple biomarkers for CRC screening in a large number of samples.

Introduction: Owing to the poor prognosis of Ewing's sarcoma, reliable prognostic biomarkers are highly warranted for clinical diagnosis of the disease. Materials and Methods: A combination of the weighted correlation network analysis and differentially expression analysis was used for initial screening; glycolysis-related genes were extracted and subjected to univariate Cox, LASSO regression, and multivariate Cox analyses to construct prognostic models. The immune cell composition of each sample was analysed using CIBERSORT software. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed for assessing the differential expression of modelled genes in Ewing's sarcoma and paraneoplastic tissues. Results: A logistic regression model constructed for the prognosis of Ewing's sarcoma exhibited that the patient survival rate in the high-risk group is much lower than in the low-risk group. CIBERSORT analysis exhibited a strong correlation of Ewing's sarcoma with naive B cells, CD8+ T cells, activated NK cells, and M0 macrophages (P < 0.05). Immunohistochemical analysis confirmed the study findings. Conclusions: GLCE and TPI1 can be used as prognostic biomarkers to predict the prognosis of Ewing's sarcoma, and a close association of Ewing's sarcoma with naive B cells, CD8+ T cells, activated NK cells, and M0 macrophages provides a novel approach to the disease immunotherapy.

Global lipidomics is of considerable utility for exploring altered lipid profiles and unique diagnostic biomarkers in diseases. We aim to apply ultra‐performance liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry to characterize the lipidomics profile in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients and explore the underlying pathogenic pathways using the lipidomics approach. Plasma samples from 18 SLE patients, 20 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, and 20 healthy controls (HC) were collected. A total of 467 lipids molecular features were annotated from each sample. Orthogonal partial least square‐discriminant analysis, K‐mean clustering analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis indicated disrupted lipid metabolism in SLE patients, especially in phospholipid, glycerol, and sphingolipid metabolism. The area under curve (AUC) of lipid metabolism biomarkers was better than SLE inflammation markers that ordinarily used in the clinic. Proposed model of monoglyceride (MG) (16:0), MG (18:0), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) (18:3–16:0), PE (16:0–20:4), and phosphatidylcholine (PC) (O‐16:2–18:3) yielded AUC 1.000 (95% CI, 1.000–1.000), specificity 100% and sensitivity 100% in the diagnosis of SLE from HC. A panel of three lipids molecular PC (18:3‐18:1), PE (20:3–18:0), PE (16:0–20:4) permitted to accurately diagnosis of SLE from RA, with AUC 0.921 (95% CI, 0.828–1.000), 70% specificity, and 100% sensitivity. The plasma lipidomics signatures could serve as an efficient and accurate tool for early diagnosis and provide unprecedented insight into the pathogenesis of SLE., Lipidomics profiling workflow. (a) Plasma lipidomics extraction was accomplished by fractionating samples after addition internal standard. (b) UPLC‐MS/MS‐based platforms were used to perform optimal profiling of plasma lipidomics. Normalization was carried out with quality control (QC) calibration and internal standard correction. (c) Univariate and multivariate data analyses were performed. (d) Selection of the best candidate biomarkers for the early diagnosis of SLE.

Purpose: To assess the safety and long-term scleral biomechanical stability of rhesus eyes after blue light scleral CXL by investigating the biomechanical and microstructural changes.Methods: Seven rhesus monkeys (14 eyes) were observed in this study. All right eyes received blue light scleral CXL at the superior temporal equatorial sclera, and the left eyes served as controls. Biological ocular parameters were followed up to 1 year after scleral CXL. Stress-strain measurements of three rhesus sclera were measured, three rhesus retinas were examined histologically by H&E and TUNEL staining. And the microstructure of both the sclera and retina were observed by transmission electron microscopy at 1 year.Results: As for the retinal thickness, choroidal thickness, flow density of retinal superficial vascular networks and flash electroretinography (f-ERG) results, no significant differences were observed between the paired eyes at 1 year (P >.05). At the same time, the scleral collagen fibril distribution was much tighter, and the scleral biomechanical properties were significantly increased in the experimental eyes. However, apoptotic cells and retinal ultrastructural changes could still be found in the retina of the experimental eyes.Conclusion: This study demonstrates that blue light scleral CXL could effectively increase the scleral stiffness of the rhesus eye for at least 1 year, but ultrastructural change was still observed in the retina of scleral CXL eye. Therefore, the long-term intraocular safety of the blue light scleral CXL technique for preventing myopia progression should be investigated further.

In this article, a novel parallel tracking control optimization algorithm is first proposed for partially unknown fuzzy interconnected systems. In the existing standard optimal tracking control, the bounded or nonasymptotic stable reference trajectory will lead the feedback control not converging to zero, which causes the performance index infinite and invalid. By using the precompensation technique, in this article, the working feedback control is considered as a reconstructed dynamic with the virtual control and a new augmented fuzzy interconnected tracking system is built, thus that the performance index is valid for optimal control. Then, combining the integral reinforcement learning (RL) method and decentralized control design, the novel integral RL parallel algorithm is first developed to solve the tracking controls for interconnected systems, which relax the requirements of exact matrices information $A_i^k$ and $B_i^k$ during the solving process. Both the convergence and stability of the designed control optimization scheme are guaranteed by theorems. Finally, the new parallel tracking algorithm for interconnected systems is verified through the dual-manipulator coordination system and simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness.

Background Circular ribonucleic acids (circRNAs) are highly stable and conserved forms of RNAs present in all eukaryotes. They can modulate the expression of genes by sponging specific micro RNAs (miRNAs), thereby affecting various disease processes. However, their expression pattern in human breast cancer has not been elucidated. Methods In this study, differentially expressed circRNAs in breast cancer tissues and paired noncancerous tissues were analyzed using an Arraystar Human circRNA Microarray, and hsa_circ_0006220 was selected for its 27-fold downregulation in breast cancer tissues. Its expression was also verified in 50 breast cancer and paired noncancerous tissues using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). An analysis of the expression of hsa_circ_0006220 and the clinicopathological factors in breast cancer was conducted. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of hsa_circ_0006220 was constructed. The interaction between hsa_circ_0006220 and five possible target miRNAs was predicted, and their expression were verified when overexpressing hsa_circ_0006220 by RT-PCR. Results Hsa_circ_0006220 was found to be significantly downregulated in breast cancer tissues compared to the paired noncancerous tissues by microarray and RT-PCR. The expression of hsa_circ_0006220 was significantly inversely correlated with histological type (P=0.0028) and lymph node metastasis (P=0.0341). The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.706. Five miRNAs that might be sponged by hsa_circ_0006220 were predicted. MiR-197-5p was significantly downregulated after overexpression of hsa_circ_0006220. Conclusions Our results indicated that hsa_circ_0006220 may play a role in human breast cancer and might be a potential tumor marker for breast cancer screening.

Deep neural networks have enabled astonishing transformations from low-resolution (LR) to super-resolved images. However, whether, and under what imaging conditions, such deep-learning models outperform super-resolution (SR) microscopy is poorly explored. Here, using multimodality structured illumination microscopy (SIM), we first provide an extensive dataset of LR-SR image pairs and evaluate the deep-learning SR models in terms of structural complexity, signal-to-noise ratio and upscaling factor. Second, we devise the deep Fourier channel attention network (DFCAN), which leverages the frequency content difference across distinct features to learn precise hierarchical representations of high-frequency information about diverse biological structures. Third, we show that DFCAN's Fourier domain focalization enables robust reconstruction of SIM images under low signal-to-noise ratio conditions. We demonstrate that DFCAN achieves comparable image quality to SIM over a tenfold longer duration in multicolor live-cell imaging experiments, which reveal the detailed structures of mitochondrial cristae and nucleoids and the interaction dynamics of organelles and cytoskeleton.

MicroRNA 200a (miR-200a) can inhibit the activation and proliferation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) through the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling pathway, and improve fibrotic lesions. However, to date, there is no study exploring the role of miR-200a in schistosomiasis liver fibrosis (SLF). In this study, 64 healthy female Balb/c mice were selected and randomly divided into four groups: normal control group (non-infected schistosomiasis group), schistosomiasis model group, Lenti-NC group (lentivirus-negative control group), and Lenti-miR-200a group (lentivirus experimental group). Fluorescence quantitative PCR detection was used to measure the expression level of RNA. HE and Masson staining were used to observe the pathological changes of mouse liver tissue. Furthermore, ELISA was used to detect the serum concentrations of inflammation factors. We found that the expression level of miR-200a in liver tissues gradually decreased with the development of SLF. However, fibrosis factors (α-SMA and TGF-β2) and inflammatory cytokines (IL-4 and IFN-γ) in liver tissues and serum increased and the expression level of Colla I reached its peak in the 6th week of infection. Besides, compared with the schistosomiasis group and Lenti-NC group, the Lenti-NC group had lower levels of α-SMA, TGF-β2 and Colla I (P > 0.05). Furthermore, inflammatory cells and blue collagen fibers appeared and they increased with the development of infection in the schistosomiasis group and Lenti-NC group, but these changes reduced significantly in Lenti-miR-200a group. Our study demonstrated that upregulation of miR-200a might contribute to inhibiting schistosomiasis liver fibrosis., Graphical abstract

Background Breast cancer is one of the most significant causes of death in women around the world. Circular RNAs (circRNAs), which are a novel class of conserved RNA molecules, are involved in the occurrence and development of various diseases, especially malignancies; however, researchers rarely report their roles in human breast cancer. Methods In the present study, the differentially expressed levels of circRNAs in human breast cancer tissues and paired noncancerous tissues were screened by circRNA microarray. Hsa_circ_0043278 was downregulated 43-fold in breast cancer and was selected for further analysis. The expression of hsa_circ_0043278 was verified in breast cancer specimens and paired noncancerous tissues by quantitative reverse transcription polymerized chain reaction (qRT-PCR) technique. The relationship between the expression of hsa_circ_0043278 and the clinicopathological features was analyzed. Results Among the 520 differentially expressed circRNAs, 292 significantly upregulated circRNAs and 228 downregulated circRNAs in the breast cancer tissues compared with the paired noncancerous tissues. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of hsa_circ_0043278 was 0.690. The results of the bioinformatics prediction showed five target miRNAs that might be sponged by hsa_circ_0043278. The expression of hsa_circ_0043278 was associated with lymph node metastasis and histological type of the patient. Patients with lymph node metastasis have tumors with significantly downregulated expression of hsa_circ_0043278 (P=0.0201). Conclusions Our results suggest that hsa_circ_0043278 is downregulated and may play a key role in human breast cancer.

The worldwide severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak has led to the rapid spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The quantitative real time PCR (qPCR) is widely used as the gold standard for clinical detection of SARS-CoV-2. However, more and more infected patients are relapsing after discharge, which suggests qPCR may fail to detect the virus in some cases. In this study, we selected 74 clinical samples from 43 recovering inpatients for qPCR and Droplet Digital PCR (ddPCR) synchronous blind detection, and established a cutoff value for ddPCR diagnosis of COVID-19. The results showed that at a cutoff value of 0.04 copies/µL, the ddPCR sensitivity and specificity are 97.6% and 100%, respectively. In addition, we also analyzed 18 retained samples from 9 discharged patients who relapsed. Although qPCR showed all 18 samples to be negative, ddPCR showed 12 to be positive, and there was only one patient with two negative samples; the other eight patients had at least one positive sample. These results indicate that ddPCR could significantly improve the accuracy of COVID-19 diagnosis, especially for discharged patients with a low viral load, and help to reduce misdiagnosis during recovery.

Monolayer iron germanium telluride Fe3GeTe2, one of the typical two-dimensional ferromagnetic materials, hitherto, has only been studied by exfoliated micron-sized samples. We achieve high-quality wafer-scale growth of thin Fe3GeTe2 films by molecular beam epitaxy, greatly expanding the types of characterization tools employable and providing the possibility for its integration in devices like consumer electronics. Thickness-dependent transport measurements are used to characterize and probe for magnetic order. Ferromagnetic states exist in 1–10 layer thick Fe3GeTe2, with Curie temperatures ranging from ~75 K in one layer samples to above 175 K in ten layer samples. A single ferromagnetic phase with significant magnetic anisotropy is revealed for all layer numbers. We submit the capability of synthesizing, wafer-scale Fe3GeTe2 as an essential step towards its fulfillment in any applications involving magnetism, such as spintronics.

Deception is a human behavior and its cognitive process and mechanism involve complex neuronal activities of the brain. In this article, we develop a simple and feasible concealed information test (CIT) method which is based on the audio–visual event-related potentials (ERPs) and its spatial and temporal features. The main purpose of this article is to extend a pattern recognition method with functional network parameters and global feature entropy of the EEG signals from the whole brain. At the same time, a novel quantum neural network (QNN) classifier was developed to distinguish the guilty and innocent conditions. Functional connectivity can provide extra information of interdependence between different brain regions from the spatial dimension, and entropy can reflect the complexity of the whole brain from the temporal dimension. 20 subjects participated in the CIT experiment and 30 channel ERPs were recorded. A high accuracy of 87.67% was got in recognizing the concealed information, which was higher than 85.43% for basic features, demonstrated the effectiveness of this article. Future studies should further clarify the connectivity difference and further improve the accuracy of the QNN classifier for CIT.

Aim A device for newborn heart rate (HR) monitoring at birth that is compatible with delayed cord clamping and minimises hypothermia risk could have advantages over current approaches. We evaluated a wireless, cap mounted device (fhPPG) for monitoring neonatal HR. Methods A total of 52 infants on the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and immediately following birth by elective caesarean section (ECS) were recruited. HR was monitored by electrocardiogram (ECG), pulse oximetry (PO) and the fhPPG device. Success rate, accuracy and time to output HR were compared with ECG as the gold standard. Standardised simulated data assessed the fhPPG algorithm accuracy. Results Compared to ECG HR, the median bias (and 95% limits of agreement) for the NICU was fhPPG -0.6 (-5.6, 4.9) vs PO -0.3 (-6.3, 6.2) bpm, and ECS phase fhPPG -0.5 (-8.7, 7.7) vs PO -0.1 (-7.6, 7.1) bpm. In both settings, fhPPG and PO correlated with paired ECG HRs (both R2 = 0.89). The fhPPG HR algorithm during simulations demonstrated a near-linear correlation (n = 1266, R2 = 0.99). Conclusion Monitoring infants in the NICU and following ECS using a wireless, cap mounted device provides accurate HR measurements. This alternative approach could confer advantages compared with current methods of HR assessment and warrants further evaluation at birth.

Foothold identification is a key ability for legged robots that allows generating terrain adaptive behaviors (e.g., gait and control parameters) and thereby improving mobility in complex environment. To this end, this paper addresses the issue of foothold characterization and identification over rugged terrain, from the terrain geometry point of view. For a terrain region that might be a potential foothold of a robotic leg, the characteristic features are extracted as two first-order partial derivatives and two curvature parameters of a quadric regression surface at this location. These features are able to give an intuitive and, more importantly, accurate characterization towards the specific geometry of the ground location. On this basis, a supervised learning technique, Support Vector Machine (SVM), is employed, seeking to learn a foothold identification policy from human expert demonstration. As a result, an SVM classifier is learnt using the extracted features and human-demonstrated labels, which is able to identify whether or not a certain ground location is suited as a safe foot support for a robotic leg. It is shown that over 90% identification rate can be achieved with the proposed approach. Finally, preliminary experiment is implemented with a six-legged robot to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

All resources relevant for the ELS case study are available at: https://github.com/haslab/Electrum2/wiki/ELS., This paper reports on the development and validation of a formal model for an automotive adaptive exterior lights system (ELS) with multiple variants in Electrum, a lightweight formal specification language that extends Alloy with mutable relations and temporal logic. We explore different strategies to address variability, one in pure Electrum and another through an annotative language extension. We then show how Electrum and its Analyzer can be used to validate systems of this nature, namely by checking that the reference scenarios are admissible, and to automatically verify whether the established requirements hold. A prototype was developed to translate the provided validation sequences into Electrum and back to further automate the validation process. The resulting ELS model was validated against the provided validation sequences and verified for most of requirements for all variants., The authors would like to thank Frank Houdek for helping clarifying the requirements. This work is financed by National Funds through the Portuguese funding agency, FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, within project UIDB/50014/2020. The third author was financed by the ERDF – European Regional Development Fund through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation – COMPETE 2020 Programme and by National Funds through the FCT, within project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016826.

Itch (pruritus), specifically chronic itch associated with disease conditions, significantly impairs the patient’s quality of life. At present, the mechanisms underlying this aversive experience are still unclear, and the effective treatment of itch is largely unmet. Here, we report that intragastrical administration of bulleyaconitine A (BLA), which has been used for treating chronic pain for 30 years in China, inhibited itch-like behaviors induced by intradermal injection of histamine and chloroquine in mice and rats, dose-dependently. We found that a single application of the pruritic agents at the skin region innervated by the sural nerve induced long-term potentiation (LTP) of C-fiber field potentials evoked by the stimulation of the same nerve in the spinal dorsal horn of rats. The spinal LTP was remarkably reversed by the spinal application of either BLA or gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR) antagonist (PD176252). The effect of PD176252 was completely occluded by BLA, while the effect of BLA was only partially occluded by PD176252. Repetitive injection (daily, for four days) of either histamine or chloroquine in the back of the neck enhanced scratching behaviors progressively, and the itch sensitization persisted for at least one week after the discontinuation of the injections. The behavioral change was accompanied with the potentiation of C-fiber synaptic transmission in the dorsal horn. Both the itch sensitization and synaptic potentiation were substantially attenuated by intragastrical BLA. Together, BLA was effective in inhibiting histamine-dependent and histamine-independent itches, and the mechanisms underlying these effects were involved but not limited to the inhibition of gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP)–GRPR signaling in the spinal dorsal horn.

Root nodules are agricultural-important symbiotic plant-microbe composites in which microorganisms receive energy from plants and reduce dinitrogen (N2) into fertilizers. Mimicking root nodules using artificial devices can enable renewable energy-driven fertilizer production. This task is challenging due to the necessity of a microscopic dioxygen (O2) concentration gradient, which reconciles anaerobic N2 fixation with O2-rich atmosphere. Here we report our designed electricity-powered biological|inorganic hybrid system that possesses the function of root nodules. We construct silicon-based microwire array electrodes and replicate the O2 gradient of root nodules in the array. The wire array compatibly accommodates N2-fixing symbiotic bacteria, which receive energy and reducing equivalents from inorganic catalysts on microwires, and fix N2 in the air into biomass and free ammonia. A N2 reduction rate up to 6.5 mg N2 per gram dry biomass per hour is observed in the device, about two orders of magnitude higher than the natural counterparts., Root nodules are of key importance in nitrogen fixation. Here, the authors report on an electrically powered artificial root nodule for nitrogen fixation made from silicon-based microwires which can accommodate nitrogen fixing symbiotic bacteria for fixing nitrogen into biomass and free ammonia.

Primary age-related tauopathy (PART) is characterized by the presence of tau neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) which are typically observed in alzheimer’;s disease (AD) brains, with few or without β-amyloid (Aβ) plaques. The diagnosis of PART can be categorized into “definite” or “possible” depending on the amount of Aβ plaques. Definite PART is diagnosed when NFTs are observed and the Braak stage is ≤IV, with Thal Aβ Phase 0 (Crary et al., 2014). According to the neuropathological diagnostic criteria, we reported that PART was frequently observed in the Chinese population according to our findings from specimens in our brain bank, with 47% of brain bank subjects meeting the criteria for PART. There is no consensus on the nature of PART. It remains to be elucidated whether PART is an early form of AD or a novel tauopathy (Duyckaerts et al., 2015; Jellinger et al., 2015).

Land use reflects human activities on land. Urban land use is the highest level human alteration on Earth, and it is rapidly changing due to population increase and urbanization. Urban areas have widespread effects on local hydrology, climate, biodiversity, and food production. However, maps, that contain knowledge on the distribution, pattern and composition of various land use types in urban areas, are limited to city level. The mapping standard on data sources, methods, land use classification schemes varies from city to city, due to differences in financial input and skills of mapping personnel. To address various national and global environmental challenges caused by urbanization, it is important to have urban land uses at the national and global scales that are derived from the same or consistent data sources with the same or compatible classification systems and mapping methods. This is because, only with urban land use maps produced with similar criteria, consistent environmental policies can be made, and action efforts can be compared and assessed for large scale environmental administration. However, despite of the fact that a number of urban-extent maps exist at global scales [3,4], more detailed urban land use maps do not exist at the same scale. Even at big country or regional levels such as for the United States, China and European Union, consistent land use mapping efforts are rare.

The fiber-reinforced voxel modeling technique is proposed to analyze the stress field and predict stiffness properties of textile composites. The textile reinforcements and matrix materials are modeled by virtual fibers and 3D voxel elements separately. Then the virtual fibers are “inserted” into the background voxel elements to construct the fiber-reinforced voxel elements. Stiffness properties of each fiber-reinforced voxel element are determined using volume average method based on the volume fraction and orientation of the virtual fibers it occupies. Geometry modeling and meshing of the complex reinforcements and matrix regions are avoided. As the reinforcements are generated in quasi-fiber scale, contact interactions and compaction deformations of the yarns can be modeled with high fidelity. A composite model containing one crimped yarn is used to verify the proposed method by comparing the calculating results of the fiber-reinforced voxel and traditional meso-scale models. The effect of voxel meshing density and virtual fiber radius on the simulation accuracy is also analyzed. Mechanical modeling of a multiply plain weave composite is performed by this model. Influence of nesting and compaction of the plies on the stress field can be fully characterized.

In wireless sensor networks, energy harvesting is developed as an effective way to solve energy drain problem of nodes which powered by battery, just like that cooperative communication is used to improve transmission reliability. In some energy harvesting networks, the nodes’ energy harvested from ambient environment is disequilibrium. For example, nodes exposed to sunlight collect more solar energy than those shaded. Impoverished energy will reduce transmission reliability because some nodes have not enough energy to send data or are forced to decrease transmission power to save energy. In this paper, energy collaboration is taken into consideration for non-homogeneous energy harvesting in cooperative wireless sensor networks, where all sensor nodes harvest solar energy and then store it in rechargeable battery. And an energy cooperative protocol is proposed for energy inhomogeneity to enhance transmission reliability among relay nodes through radio frequency, where the nodes with abundant energy share excess power to other nodes which undertake the forwarding task but store insufficient energy. By exploiting ACK/NACK frame fed back from the destination node and No Enough Energy (NEE) frame advertised by the forwarding relays in the active set, each candidate node forms its energy supply set when all of them are lack of energy for transmitting. For the relay selection, three strategies are presented for choosing the pair of the best forwarding relay and the optimal energy supply relay, which are respectively named Best Channel Strategy, Nearest Distance Strategy and Minimum Energy Sharing Strategy. Furthermore, the outage probability of cooperative transmission under energy collaboration is derived. Simulation results show that energy collaboration for cooperative wireless sensor networks can significantly reduce the outage probability of the system and improve transmission reliability of the network.

Image texture smoothing (ITS) aims at completely removing textures while preserving as much as possible different-scale structures of an image. However, few quality assessment metrics have been formulated to objectively evaluate the ITS results, due to the lack of ground-truth texture-free images. Considering both the smoothness of textures and the preservation of structures, we make the debut of objective evaluation of ITS results, and design an intuitive Texture Smoothness and Structural Similarity Index (T3SI) based on human perception. Specifically, we first intuitively select some patches which contain relatively more texture/structure information. We then employ the Edge Preservation Index and the Structural Similarity Index Measure to evaluate the texture smoothness and the structure similarity on the selected patches, respectively. We finally formulate the novel exponential entropy function to balance the texture smoothness and the structure similarity for the quality assessment of ITS. T3SI is objective, easy to use, simple to implement, and stable. An independent User Study is performed to verify our proposed T3SI, and large experiments show that T3SI competes successfully to the state-of-the-art metrics. Our code is publicly available.

Introduction Noninvasive fetal heart rate monitoring using transabdominal fetal electrocardiographic detection is now commercially available and has been demonstrated to be an effective alternative to traditional Doppler ultrasonographic techniques. Our objective in this study was to compare the results of computerized identification of fetal heart rate patterns generated by ultrasound-based and transabdominal fetal electrocardiogram-based techniques with simultaneously obtained fetal scalp electrode-derived heart rate information. Material and methods We applied an objective computer-based analysis for recognition of fetal heart rate patterns (Monica Decision Support) to data obtained simultaneously from a direct fetal scalp electrode, Doppler ultrasound, and the abdominal-fetal electrocardiogram techniques. This allowed us to compare over 145 hours of fetal heart rate patterns generated by the external devices with those derived from the scalp electrode in 30 term singleton uncomplicated pregnancies during labor. The direct fetal scalp electrode is considered to be the most accurate and reliable technique used in current clinical practice, and was, therefore, used as the standard for comparison. The program quantified the baseline heart rate, long- and short-term variability. It indicated when an acceleration or deceleration was present and whether it was large or small. Results Ultrasound was associated with significantly greater deviations from the fetal scalp electrode results than the abdominal fetal electrocardiogram technique in recognizing the correct baseline heart rate, its variability, and the presence of small and large accelerations and small decelerations. For large decelerations the two external methods were each not significantly different from the scalp electrode results. Conclusions Noninvasive fetal heart rate monitoring using maternal abdominal wall electrodes to detect fetal cardiac activity more reliably reproduced the computerized analysis of heart rate patterns derived from a direct fetal scalp electrode than did traditional ultrasound-based monitoring. Abdominal-fetal electrocardiogram should, therefore, be considered a primary option for externally monitored patients.

Pursuing a higher response signal is the core challenge in improving the detection performance of a microelectrode-based amperometric electrochemical sensor. Band microelectrode arrays (bMEAs) are attractive due to their high response current and economical fabrication process. However, further amplifying the response current by arranging the array more compactly or increasing its size is generally hindered by the shielding effect or the restricted construction region. A novel array of sinuous band microelectrodes (sbMEA) is proposed, produced by deforming a bMEA by tilting and bending. Its response and diffusion characteristics are simulated and analyzed. The effects of structural parameters on its performance are revealed, and their optimal value is deduced. The simulation demonstrates that a sbMEA can generate a larger current than a MEA of traditional shape. Production of such a sbMEA does not involve any additional fabrication costs compared with a bMEA. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) tests with potassium ferrocyanide solution verify the theoretical performance of the sbMEA, and a 10% higher current was obtained compared to the corresponding bMEA.

Disinfection byproduct (DBP) exposure has been associated with birth size, pregnancy oxidative stress, and other adverse perinatal outcomes. However, little is known about the potential effect of prenatal DBP exposure on intrauterine growth. The present study included 1516 pregnant women from the Xiaogan Disinfection By-Products (XGDBP) birth cohort who were measured for four blood trihalomethanes [i.e., chloroform (TCM), bromodichloromethane (BDCM), dibromochloromethane (DBCM), and bromoform (TBM)] and two urinary haloacetic acids [i.e., dichloroacetic acid (DCAA) and trichloroacetic acid (TCAA)] across pregnancy trimesters. Second- and third-trimester fetal ultrasound measures of the abdominal circumference (AC), head circumference, biparietal diameter, femur length, and estimated fetal weight and birth weight were converted into z-scores. After adjusting for potential confounders, linear mixed models showed a decreasing AC z-score across tertiles of blood brominated THM (Br-THMs, the sum of BDCM, DBCM, and TBM) and total THM (THM4, the sum of Br-THMs and TCM) concentrations (both p for trend

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a carcinoma in which fatty acids are abundant. Fatty acid metabolism is rewired during PCa development. Although PCa can be treated with hormone therapy, after prolonged treatment, castration-resistant prostate cancer can develop and can lead to increased mortality. Changes to fatty acid metabolism occur systemically and locally in prostate cancer patients, and understanding these changes may lead to individualized treatments, especially in advanced, castration-resistant prostate cancers. The fatty acid metabolic changes are not merely reflective of oncogenic activity, but in many cases, these represent a critical factor in cancer initiation and development. In this review, we analyzed the literature regarding systemic changes to fatty acid metabolism in PCa patients and how these changes relate to obesity, diet, circulating metabolites, and peri-prostatic adipose tissue. We also analyzed cellular fatty acid metabolism in prostate cancer, including fatty acid uptake, de novo lipogenesis, fatty acid elongation, and oxidation. This review broadens our view of fatty acid switches in PCa and presents potential candidates for PCa treatment and diagnosis.

The excessive ammonia produced in pond aquaculture processes cannot be ignored. In this review, we present the distribution and diversity of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and anaerobic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AnAOB) in the pond environment. Combined with environmental conditions, we analyze the advantages of AOA and AnAOB in aquaculture water treatment and discuss the current situation of pond water treatment engineering involving these microbes. AOA and AnAOB play an important role in the nitrogen removal process of aquaculture pond water, especially in seasonal low temperatures and anoxic sediment layers. Finally, we prospect the application of bioreactors to purify pond aquaculture water using AOA and AnAOB, in autotrophic nitrogen removal, which can reduce the production of greenhouse gases (such as nitrous oxide) and is conducive to the development of environmentally sustainable pond aquaculture.

Objective: The objective of this study was to use functional connectivity and graphic indicators to investigate the abnormal brain network topological characteristics caused by Parkinson's disease (PD) and the effect of acute deep brain stimulation (DBS) on those characteristics in patients with PD.Methods: We recorded high-density EEG (256 channels) data from 21 healthy controls (HC) and 20 patients with PD who were in the DBS-OFF state and DBS-ON state during the resting state with eyes closed. A high-density EEG source connectivity method was used to identify functional brain networks. Power spectral density (PSD) analysis was compared between the groups. Functional connectivity was calculated for 68 brain regions in the theta (4–8 Hz), alpha (8–13 Hz), beta1 (13–20 Hz), and beta2 (20–30 Hz) frequency bands. Network estimates were measured at both the global (network topology) and local (inter-regional connection) levels.Results: Compared with HC, PSD was significantly increased in the theta (p = 0.003) frequency band and was decreased in the beta1 (p = 0.009) and beta2 (p = 0.04) frequency bands in patients with PD. However, there were no differences in any frequency bands between patients with PD with DBS-OFF and DBS-ON. The clustering coefficient and local efficiency of patients with PD showed a significant decrease in the alpha, beta1, and beta2 frequency bands (p < 0.001). In addition, edgewise statistics showed a significant difference between the HC and patients with PD in all analyzed frequency bands (p < 0.005). However, there were no significant differences between the DBS-OFF state and DBS-ON state in the brain network, except for the functional connectivity in the beta2 frequency band (p < 0.05).Conclusion: Compared with HC, patients with PD showed the following characteristics: slowed EEG background activity, decreased clustering coefficient and local efficiency of the brain network, as well as both increased and decreased functional connectivity between different brain areas. Acute DBS induces a local response of the brain network in patients with PD, mainly showing decreased functional connectivity in a few brain regions in the beta2 frequency band.

PM2.5 is recently identified as a kind of material possessing severe biohazard. It can enter human body and exerts pathological effects on lung, eyes, and the central nervous system (CNS). Maternal exposure to PM2.5 can affect neural development and cause cognitive decline in offspring, with the underlying mechanisms unclear, however. The inflammasome monitors and responds to biological stressors, with HMGB1-NLRP3 inflammatory axis as an essential pathophysiological player outside the brain. The present work is to investigate its role in cognitive impairment induced by gestational exposure to PM2.5 in mice offspring. We found that HMGB1-NLRP3 pathway was activated in the hippocampus of mice offspring by gestational exposure to PM2.5 in a dose-dependent manner, with protein levels of HMGB1, NLRP3, and cleaved caspase-1 as approximately three times as high as those of control. And down-regulating HMGB1 during pregnancy could alleviate the resultant impairment on learning and working memory as well as hippocampal neurons, up-regulate the synapse related proteins of SYP and PSD-95 and correct the increased expression of 5-HT2A to comparable levels to control, as well as inhibiting the activation of microglia and decreasing the expression of HMGB1 and Iba1/HMGB1 double positive cells in the hippocampus of mice offspring. Meanwhile, protein levels of NLRP3, cleaved caspase-1, IL-1β and IL-18, as well as TLR4, phosphorylated NF-κB, and MAPKs, were almost down-regulated to those of control. Therefore, HMGB1 intervention inhibits the NLRP3 inflammasome mediated hippocampal inflammatory response through TLR4/MAPKs/NF-κB signaling pathway, alleviating PM2.5-induced cognitive dysfunction. Further in vitro results suggest that PM2.5 can activate microglia and HMGB1-NLRP3 inflammatory axis. Pretreatment with HMGB1 inhibitor significantly reduced the phosphorylation of MAPKs and NF-κB, and inhibited the inflammatory response mediated by NLRP3 inflammasome similarly to those in vivo. These results suggest that PM2.5 exposure promotes the inflammatory response in hippocampus mediated by HMGB1-NLRP3 inflammatory axis in microglia, resulting in cognitive dysfunction in offspring, which could be alleviated by simultaneous HMGB1 suppression. These findings provide a theoretical basis for preventing cognitive impairment in offspring caused by environmental pollution during pregnancy.

Background There have been few literature reports on the use of perioperative parameters to predict the risk of albumin transfusion after spinal tuberculosis surgery based on the application of nomogram and propensity score matching (PSM) analysis. Objective The purpose was to predict the risk of albumin transfusion after spinal tuberculosis surgery based on a combination of PSM and nomogram. Methods The clinical data of the patients were collected in our hospital, including preoperative clinical data, preoperative laboratory tests, and postoperative clinical data. All data were divided into 2 groups, including the albumin transfusion group and the non–albumin transfusion group. The PSM analysis was used to adjust the baseline data of the 2 groups. The nomogram was further constructed. The practicability and predictive ability of the model were evaluated. Results A total of 494 cases were collected in this article; 102 pairs by PSM analysis were used to construct the nomogram. There were statistical differences in surgical approach, aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase levels, drainage, and kyphosis by logistic analysis, and these parameters were included in the construction of the nomogram. The C-index of the prediction model was 0.734. The area under the curve was 0.73 and the net benefit was between 0.13 and 0.99. The calculated C-index was 0.71 by the internal verification method. Conclusions The PSM analysis had a good matching effect and the nomogram had a good predictive ability. Surgical approach, aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase levels, drainage, and kyphosis might be predictors of albumin transfusion after spinal tuberculosis surgery.

Capillary refill time (CRT) refers to the time taken for body tissue to regain its colour after an applied blanching pressure is released. Usually, pressure is manually applied and not measured. Upon release of pressure, simple mental counting is typically used to estimate how long it takes for the skin to regain its colour. However, this method is subjective and can provide inaccurate readings due to human error. CRT is often used to assess shock and hydration but also has the potential to assess peripheral arterial disease which can result in tissue breakdown, foot ulcers and ultimately amputation, especially in people with diabetes. The aim of this study was to design an optical fibre sensor to simultaneously detect blood volume changes and the contact pressure applied to the foot. The CRT probe combines two sensors: a plastic optical fibre (POF) based on photoplethysmography (PPG) to measure blood volume changes and a fibre Bragg grating to measure skin contact pressure. The results from 10 healthy volunteers demonstrate that the blanching pressure on the subject’s first metatarsal head of the foot was 100.8 ± 4.8 kPa (mean and standard deviation), the average CRT was 1.37 ± 0.46 s and the time to achieve a stable blood volume was 4.77 ± 1.57 s. For individual volunteers, the fastest CRT measured was 0.82 ± 0.11 and the slowest 1.94 ± 0.49 s. The combined sensor and curve fitting process has the potential to provide increased reliability and accuracy for CRT measurement of the foot in diabetic foot ulcer clinics and in the community.

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammation of the joints and spine. Its pathogenesis has not been elucidated, especially involving hip joint disease. The purpose of this study was to analyze the proteome of diseased hip in AS and to identify key protein biomarkers. We used label-free quantification combined with liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) to screen for differentially expressed proteins in hip ligament samples between AS and No-AS groups. Key protein was screened by Bioinformatics methods and verified by in vitro experiments. There were 3755 identified proteins, of which 92.916% were quantified. 193 DEPs (49 up-regulated proteins and 144 down-regulated proteins) were identified according to P < 0.01 and Log|FC| > 1. DEPs were mainly involved in cell compartment, including the vacuolar lumen, azurophil granule,primary lysosome, etc. The main KEGG pathway included Phagosome, Glycerophospholipid metabolism, Lysine degradation, Pentose phosphate pathway. Myeloperoxidase (MPO) was identified as a key protein participated in Phagosome pathway, which induces hip lesions in ankylosing spondylitis. Further experiments confirmed that MPO promoted the inflammatory response of fibroblasts in AS-affected hip joint.

Background: Vemurafenib, a BRAF V600E inhibitor, provides therapeutic benefits for melanoma patients, but the frequently emergence of drug resistance remains a challenge. Understanding the mechanisms behind vemurafenib resistance may generate novel therapeutic strategy for melanoma patients. Methods: KEGG analysis for eIF3a-mediated pathway and identified the KRAS pathway was significantly enriched after silencing eIF3a. The role of eIF3a in vemurafenib chemosensitivity were investigated by CCK8, and clonogenic assay. To explore the underlying molecular mechanisms of eIF3a on regulating ERK, we performed a series of overexpression and knockdown experiments. In addition, luciferase assay and RIP assay were used to demonstrate the translation regulation between eIF3a and PPP2R1B. The association between eIF3a and PPP2R1B mRNA expression was analyzed using the TCGA datasets. Results: we demonstrated that eIF3a, a translational regulatory protein, was an important mediator involved in vemurafenib resistance. EIF3a expression was significantly lower in vemurafenib-resistant A375 melanoma cells (A375R) compared with the parental A375 cells. Overexpression of eIF3a enhanced the sensitivity of BRAF inhibitor by downregulating p-ERK expression. We further revealed that eIF3a controls ERK activity though regulating the phosphatase PPP2R1B expression via translation mechanism, thus determining the sensitivity of vemurafenib in melanoma cells. In addition, the positive relationship between eIF3a and PPP2R1B was also demonstrated in tumor samples from HPA and TCGA database. Conclusion: eIF3a is a potential prognostic predictor for vemurafenib therapy, which may provide new strategy for predicting vemurafenib responses in clinical treatment.

Fungi play an irreplaceable role in drug discovery in the course of human history, as they possess unique abilities to synthesize diverse specialized metabolites with significant medicinal potential. Trichoderma are well-studied filamentous fungi generally observed in nature, which are widely marketed as biocontrol agents. The secondary metabolites produced by Trichoderma have gained extensive attention since they possess attractive chemical structures with remarkable biological activities. A large number of metabolites have been isolated from Trichoderma species in recent years. A previous review by Reino et al. summarized 186 compounds isolated from Trichoderma as well as their biological activities up to 2008. To update the relevant list of reviews of secondary metabolites produced from Trichoderma sp., we provide a comprehensive overview in regard to the newly described metabolites of Trichoderma from the beginning of 2009 to the end of 2020, with emphasis on their chemistry and various bioactivities. A total of 203 compounds with considerable bioactivities are included in this review, which is worth expecting for the discovery of new drug leads and agrochemicals in the foreseeable future. Moreover, new strategies for discovering secondary metabolites of Trichoderma in recent years are also discussed herein.

The role of high-fat diet (HFD) induced gut microbiota alteration and Ghrelin as well as their correlation in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) were explored in our study. The gut microbiota was analyzed by 16s rRNA sequencing. Ghrelin levels in serum, along with Ghrelin and Ghrelin receptor in prostate tissue of mice and patients with BPH were measured. The effect of Ghrelin on cell proliferation, apoptosis, and induction of BPH in mice was explored. Our results indicated that BPH mice have the highest ratio of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes induced by HFD, as well as Ghrelin level in serum and prostate tissue was significantly increased compared with control. Elevated Ghrelin content in the serum and prostate tissue of BPH patients was also observed. Ghrelin promotes cell proliferation while inhibiting cell apoptosis of prostate cells. The effect of Ghrelin on enlargement of the prostate was found almost equivalent to that of testosterone propionate (TP) which may be attenuated by Ghrelin receptor antagonist YIL-781. Ghrelin could up-regulate Jak2/pJak2/Stat3/pStat3 expression in vitro and in vivo. Our results suggested that Gut microbiota may associate with Ghrelin which plays an important role in activation of Jak2/Stat3 in BPH development. Gut microbiota and Ghrelin might be pathogenic factors for BPH and could be used as a target for mediation.

This paper introduces our solution for the Track2 in AI City Challenge 2021 (AICITY21). The Track2 is a vehicle re-identification (ReID) task with both the real-world data and synthetic data. We mainly focus on four points, i.e. training data, unsupervised domain-adaptive (UDA) training, post-processing, model ensembling in this challenge. (1) Both cropping training data and using synthetic data can help the model learn more discriminative features. (2) Since there is a new scenario in the test set that dose not appear in the training set, UDA methods perform well in the challenge. (3) Post-processing techniques including re-ranking, image-to-track retrieval, inter-camera fusion, etc, significantly improve final performance. (4) We ensemble CNN-based models and transformer-based models which provide different representation diversity. With aforementioned techniques, our method finally achieves 0.7445 mAP score, yielding the first place in the competition. Codes are available at https://github.com/michuanhaohao/AICITY2021_Track2_DMT., Comment: CVPR 2021 AI CITY CHALLENGE City-Scale Multi-Camera Vehicle Re-Identification Top 1. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2004.10547

Background Phthalates, which are used as excipients of drugs, have been related to adverse reproductive outcomes. However, the relationships between medication use and phthalate exposure among women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) have not been studied. Objective To investigate the associations between the medication intake and phthalate metabolites in urine and follicular fluid (FF). Method Eight phthalate metabolites were measured in urine and FF samples from 274 women undergoing IVF using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Information on recent medication intake was obtained via interview by trained staff. We constructed generalized linear regression models to examine the associations of medication intake with phthalate metabolite concentrations and dose-response relationships between the number of medicines used and metabolite concentrations in two matrices. Results Four of 10 drugs were used by more than 10% of the participants, including vitamins (23.0%), traditional Chinese medicine (TCM, 22.3%), antioxidants (12.4%) and amoxicillin (10.2%). Participants who had used TCM had 26.0% (95% CI: 0.0, 58.8%), 32.6% (95% CI: 4.2, 68.8%) and 32.3% (95% CI: 2.6, 70.6%) higher urinary mono-n-butyl phthalate (MBP), mono(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (MEHHP) and mono(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP) concentrations, respectively, than those who had not. Antioxidant intake was associated with a 30.6% (95% CI: −48.5, −6.6%) decrease in the urinary MBP concentration. Compared with non-users, women who reported the use of medicines had 53.2% (95% CI: 2.7, 128.5%) higher concentrations of MMP and a 37.7% (95% CI: −60.7, −1.5%) lower level of MBP in FF, respectively. Conclusion Our data suggest that the intake of some medications may increase phthalate exposure among women undergoing IVF.

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes and diagnostic value of serum ADA activity in autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and myasthenia gravis (MG). Methods Serum ADA activity, including total ADA (tADA) and its isoenzymes (ADA1 and ADA2), was determined in patients with different autoimmune diseases (144 RA, 114 SLE, 55 AS, 68 MG). The changes in serum ADA activity in patients were analysed. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was applied to evaluate the diagnostic performance of serum ADA activity. Results Compared with healthy controls, the serum tADA activity in SLE patients was significantly increased (p0.05). The ROC analysis showed that the optimal cut-off value of serum tADA activity for SLE diagnosis was 10.5 U/L (79.8% specificity and 74.6% sensitivity; likelihood ratio (LR): 3.693; p Conclusion These findings suggest that serum tADA and ADA2 activity might play an important role in SLE progression.

Dexmedetomidine (Dex) has been proven to exert protective effects on multiple organs in response to ischaemia‐reperfusion injury, but the specific mechanism by which this occurs has not been fully elucidated. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether Dex attenuates spinal cord ischaemia‐reperfusion injury (SCIRI) by inhibiting endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS). Our team established a model of SCIRI and utilized the endoplasmic reticulum agonist thapsigargin. Dex (25 g/kg) was intraperitoneally injected 30 minutes before spinal cord ischaemia. After 45 minutes of ischaemia, the spinal cord was reperfused for 24 hours. To evaluate the neuroprotective effect of Dex on SCIRI, neurological function scores were assessed in rats and apoptosis of spinal cord cells was determined by TUNEL staining. To determine whether the endoplasmic reticulum apoptosis pathway CNPY2‐PERK was involved in the neuroprotective mechanism of Dex, the expression levels of related proteins (CNPY2, GRP78, PERK, CHOP, caspase‐12, caspase‐9 and caspase‐3) were detected by western blot analysis and RT‐PCR. We observed that Dex significantly increased the neurological function scores after SCIRI and decreased apoptosis of spinal cord cells. The expression of ERS‐related apoptosis proteins was significantly increased by SCIRI but was significantly decreased in response to Dex administration. Taken together, the results of this study indicate that Dex may attenuate SCIRI by inhibiting the CNPY2‐ERS apoptotic pathway.

In this paper, we report the study of the process of fabricating a multi-layer metal micro-structure using UV-LIGA overlay technology, including mask fabrication, substrate treatment, and UV-LIGA overlay processes. To solve the process problems in the masking procedure, the swelling problem of the first layer of SU-8 thick photoresist was studied experimentally. The 5 μm line-width compensation and closed 20 μm and 30 μm isolation strips were designed and fabricated around the micro-structure pattern. The pore problem in the Ni micro-electroforming layer was analyzed and the electroforming parameters were improved. The pH value of the electroforming solution should be controlled between 3.8 and 4.4 and the current density should be below 3 A/dm2. To solve the problems of high inner stress and incomplete development of the micro-cylinder hole array with a diameter of 30 μm, the lithography process was optimized. The pre-baking temperature was increased via gradient heating and rose every 5 °C from 65 °C to 85 °C and then remained at 85 °C for 50 min – 1 h. In addition, the full contact exposure was used. Finally, a multi-layer metal micro-structure with high precision and good quality of micro-electroforming layer was fabricated using UV-LIGA overlay technology. Keywords: UV-LIGA overlay technology, SU-8 photoresist, Micro-electroforming technology, Multi-layer metal micro-structure

To investigate the safety of blue light scleral cross-linking (SXL) by evaluating changes in biological parameters in the retina and choroid in the eyes of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta).Fifteen 3-year-old macaques (30 eyes) were randomly divided into three groups (n = 5). SXL was performed via riboflavin (0.5%) and blue light (460 nm) at the location of the equatorial sclera. Right eyes served as experimental eyes, and left eyes as control eyes. One quadrant of each right eye was irradiated in group A, two quadrants of each right eye and one quadrant of each left eye were irradiated in group B, and two quadrants of each right eye were irradiated in group C. Optical coherence tomography, optical coherence tomography angiography, and flash electroretinography (f-ERG) examinations were performed at baseline and 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after SXL. Additionally, retinal tissue alterations were detected via transmission electron microscopy at 1 week postoperatively.There were no significant differences between experimental eyes and control eyes in retinal thickness, vessel density of retinal superficial capillary plexus, and choroid thickness in any of the groups at any of the time points investigated (p 0.05). Significant reductions in f-ERG parameters were detected 1 week postoperatively in the experimental eyes of groups A and C (p 0.05), but they gradually recovered, and there was no significant difference 1 month postoperatively (p 0.05). Ultrastructural changes were evident in the retinal layers of SXL eyes. In group B, there were no significant differences between the right and left eyes at any of the follow-up time points investigated.Blue light SXL can cause transient retina damage. The f-ERG parameters reductions and retinal ultrastructural changes were found at early stage, even though there were not significant changes in retinal thickness, vessel density of retinal superficial capillary plexus, and choroid thickness after blue light SXL. The long-term intraocular safety of the blue light SXL technique should be investigated further.

Blood trihalomethanes (THMs) and urinary haloacetic acids (HAAs) are the leading candidate biomarkers for disinfection byproduct (DBP) exposure. However, no studies have assessed the exposure profiles, temporal variability, and potential predictors of these biomarkers during pregnancy. Here we collected blood (n = 4304) and urine samples (n = 4165) from 1760 Chinese pregnant women during early, mid-, and late pregnancy, which were separately analyzed for 4 THMs and 2 HAAs. We calculated the intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) to assess the variability of these biomarkers and estimated their correlations with sociodemographic, water-use behavioral, dietary and sample collection factors using mixed models. The median concentrations of TCM, BDCM, Br-THMs [sum of BDCM, dibromochloromethane (DBCM), bromoform (TBM)], total THMs (TTHMs, sum of TCM and Br-THMs), DCAA and TCAA in the water distribution system were 4.2 μg/L, 1.7 μg/L, 2.9 μg/L, 7.1 μg/L, 3.4 μg/L and 8.2 μg/L, respectively. Chloroform (TCM), bromodichloromethane (BDCM), dichloroacetic acid (DCAA) and trichloroacetic acid (TCAA) were detected in > 75% of the biospecimens. Repeated measurements of blood TCM, BDCM, Br-THMs and TTHMs and urinary DCAA and TCAA uniformly exhibited high variability (ICCs = 0.01–0.13); the use of a single measurement to classify gestational average exposure resulted in a high degree of exposure misclassification. The sampling season was a strong predictor of all analyzed DBPs. Additionally, we detected a positive association of blood TCM and BDCM with household income, urinary DCAA with age, and urinary TCAA with tap water usage, education level and amount of tap water consumed. Inverse associations were found between blood BDCM and vegetable consumption, and between blood Br-THM and TTHM and time interval since the last bathing/showering. Afternoon samples had lower DCAA concentrations than did early morning samples. Our results indicate that blood THM and urinary HAA concentrations vary greatly over the course of pregnancy and are affected by sampling season, time of day of blood/urine collection, sociodemographic factors, recent water-use activities and dietary intake.

To evaluate long-term effects of biochar addition and straw return (SR) on N2O fluxes in wheat-maize rotation system, a 2-year field experiment following a 7-year biochar addition and SR was investigated in an intensively managed agricultural soil in the North China Plain (NCP). Four treatments were included: 1) no biochar addition (CK); 2) biochar treatment with 4.5 t ha−1 yr−1 (C1); 3) biochar treatment with 9.0 t ha−1 yr−1 (C2); and 4) all the wheat/maize straw return (SR). The results showed the annual cumulative N2O emissions from C1 treatment were increased by 15.9–16.5%, while C2 treatment suppressed the annual cumulative N2O emissions by 22.8–26.3%. In comparison, straw return suppressed N2O emissions by 13.4–43.6% in the wheat season but increased N2O emissions remarkably by 45.3–53.9% in the maize season. Biochar addition enhanced the copies of AOA, AOB, nirK, nirS, and nosZ genes, while straw return decreased the copies of AOB, nirK, nirS, and nosZ genes at the high N2O emission period in the maize season. The production of N2O in the maize season was mainly driven by the AOB and nosZ genes, and by AOB gene in the wheat season. These results suggest that application of 9.0 t ha−1 yr−1 biochar is a more optimum agricultural strategy for reducing N2O emission in the wheat-maize system.

To present 12 cases of arterial priapism treated by superselective embolization and propose our management algorithm for this condition. Between February 2013 and May 2018, 12 cases of arterial priapism caused by blunt trauma were treated by superselective embolization. The mean age of patients was 36 years (25–47 years). All of the patients had normal sexual capability before priapism (IIEF-5 scores 24–25). All patients were treated with superselective embolization after more than 3 weeks of simple conservative treatment had failed. All cases but one used a gelatin sponge as embolic agent. A microcoil was added in one case in which the gelatin sponge failed to occlude the pseudoaneurysm. After superselective embolization, ice pack and “observation” treatments continued. The sexual capability of the patients was evaluated by IIEF-5 scores at 6 months and 12 months postoperatively. The mean follow-up period was 27.2 months (13–48 months). Three patients achieved complete detumescence immediately. Nine cases needed 2–17 days to return to a flaccid nonpainful state. No patient underwent a second embolization. The time needed to improve erectile function was from 7 days to 4 months. There has been no recurrence. Eleven patients treated with gelatin sponge have normal erectile function, while one patient treated with additional microcoil embolization had mild erectile dysfunction. Superselective embolization of the fistula is an effective option for arterial priapism. Absorbable agents should be used. Superselective arterial embolization should be considered after 3 weeks of conservative treatment. Patients should undergo another 3 weeks of “observation” treatment before repeated intervention.